Marvel: A New God's Reign

Chapter 87: The 2nd Challenge

---

"Sometimes you need a little wishful thinking to keep living.

- Misato Katsuragi, (Neon Genesis Evangelion)"

---

<(Omniscient POV)>

According to the traditions that the Kree Dominion Duel followed, the battle between two participating contestants didn't need any particular mandatory greeting to be said at the start, and in this case, the battle apparently started the moment the two faced each other in the "arena".

Korath noticing the slight uneasy expression on Susan's face, instantly knew that she didn't have any prior experience in fighting a dual like this. So, being an experienced and ruthless punisher of the Krees, he was determined to make the most of it. Even before Susan could realize that the battle had already started, Korath without any sort of warning charged toward her in order to try and use the element of surprise to his advantage.

The Kree warrior used a gauntlet he was wearing on his left hand to fire a barrage of energy blasts at Susan with each one seemingly powerful enough to blast through concrete. In response, Susan quickly raised her hand, and an invisible force field blocked the attacks, only slightly shimmering with each impact.

After that, Susan immediately turned invisible and tried to sneak up behind Korath before sending a huge forcefield toward him. As the forcefield slammed into the guy like an over-speeding truck, knocking him back several feet and causing his armor to crack, Korath snarled and activated the cybernetic enhancements he had equipped all over his body, vastly increasing his speed and strength. With the help of an optic implant installed in his helmet, he was even able to somewhat track Susan's movements by the distortion in the air.

He slowly withdrew a pair of batons from his armor that was crackling with electricity, and lunged forward at an incredible speed, landing a blow that directly hit the force field Susan had erected for her protection. Her barrier instantly shattered with a single swing of his electrified batons in an explosion of energy. Under the force of the attack, Susan was thrown back but quickly recovered mid-air, conjuring an invisible platform under her feet to prevent a hard landing. She then retaliated by creating a massive, razor-sharp force field shaped like a cone in front of her and hurled it toward Korath.

The invisible cone-shaped projectile sliced through the air with a deadly whizz, threatening to pierce Korath in his stomach. However, displaying an incredible feat of speed and reflex, the Kree was barely able to dodge it although his shoulder was still grazed by the projectile, resulting in part of his armor hissing and sparking. Korath felt the stinging pain in his shoulder, but he just gritted his teeth and leaped in the air, using his enhanced agility to quickly close the distance between them. Once he reached close enough to Susan, he unleashed a flurry of punches, each one augmented by his gauntlets but Susan was deftly able to block them with rapidly forming forcefields.

***

"It seems that she is subconsciously holding herself back," Atem murmured with a frown on his face as he looked at Susan struggling to defend herself from Korath's relentless strikes.

The Kree punisher had already recognized that Susan was a long-distance fighter and was thus doing his best to fight her in a close-ranged battle to avoid giving her a chance to use her full capabilities. He wasn't even giving her enough time to focus her attention on a stronger attack, forcing Susan to be on the defense more than the offense.

"Maybe you should tell her to just end the battle by forming a forcefield inside Korath's head or brain. That would be the most effective victory for her, Master. Should I send her a telepathic message to do that?" Zoya proposed.