Chapter 42: Gold Rush

“Well, did you get all of that?” Ringing inside my head is Zagan’s voice as my mind finally returns to the reality in front of me.

“Yeah, pretty much,” I answer. The old man seems to think that I’m already dead, so right now his attention has shifted towards the other two. This is a perfect opportunity for a counter-attack… if my body isn’t at its wit's end already. A broken left arm, broken ribs, punctured lungs, and major blood loss… just standing up is hard enough.

I take a deep breath. A sharp pain courses through my body as I inhale. That was a bad idea.

Do it again. Shallow breaths. Faster paced. Compose myself. Focus.

Greed doesn’t mean gold, nor does it mean wealth. Greed means desire, the purest form of desire for humankind. What you want, you get. But desire is only that. You can get anything you want, but keeping them is not something you can achieve.

And of course, just because you desire something, doesn’t mean that this power will grant it to you no matter the cost. It can only be about yourself, and whatever else in your line of touch. And a half-baked desire like the one you had just now doesn’t cut it; be more specific, like how you thought of turning something to gold. But now, broader, so as to not limit yourself to just the metal anymore.

What do I want the most? To kill the man in front of me… no, to settle things between me and him once and for all. Even if he dies, that desire might not be fulfilled, and even if he lives, there’s a chance that it can be done. Then, what can I do to fulfill that desire? Beat him in this fight. But not with this body. That’s right, break it down into steps. Eventually, I’ll find a desire that involves me and me alone. First off… my current body. I need a fully healthy body, and a stronger one too. One that can withstand the countless assaults made by the old man. Stronger… harder…

A flash runs through my mind. Of course. I’ve already had my specific. It’s the same idea ingrained into me, after all. Gold is valuable, but it’s also soft. Turning something gold wouldn’t cut it. But what if it’s something else? Rock, or steel? Or maybe even…

My broken left arm starts to change as the image becomes clear in my head. Its exterior becomes harder and more rigid. Chunks start to form on it. The color changes from skin dyed red to a clearer, more transparent look, glimmering in the sunlight. The only downside now is that I still can’t feel anything with it, but this would suffice.

Breaking off a small piece of the arm, I wish to have time to marvel at its purest beauty. After all, who else can say that they hold what is probably the largest diamond in the world? But time is not something I have. I need to finish this battle fast.

With all of my strength, I throw the diamond shard as hard as I can. The shard tears through the air, grazing the old man’s cheek before planting itself firmly on the ground nearby. This is it. With this new form, I can finally have the chance to beat him.

The old man, meanwhile, wipes off the blood on his face with a surprised look.

“You… managed to awaken Zagan?” He asks.

“Yeah, so?” Finally standing back up, but still clutching to my now inorganic arm, I ask back.

A smile forms on Raphael’s face, but it’s a smile I’ve never seen before. It’s not one of lust for battle, nor is it one of joy. Instead, an inkling feeling arises in me, saying that somehow, the old man is… satisfied?

“Impressive, indeed. But since he’s not fully unleashed, it appears that I’ve won this battle,” replies Raphael. Without another moment of hesitation, the old man jumps towards me for a strike. A swift punch connects onto my unguarded face, sending me flying yet again. Damn it, so a strong body isn’t enough after all… To beat him, I need something more. Not just brute strength, but speed as well. Speed, however, is something the raw materials in this world lack… But who’s to say I need to limit myself to materials?

My legs turn leaner, and my calves become easier to distinguish with the human eyes. I can feel my toes slowly disappearing, or rather, merging into a single hoof. On the sole of my feet now reside two curved, metallic half-rings. My diamond arm also turns to normal, in an attempt to lessen my weight as much as possible. And just in time for the old man to once again come charging at me.

His punch, for the first time in this battle, has failed to reach its mark. With my newly-transformed legs, I gallop to safety just as his punch comes close to my face. Without a target, his fist crashes on the ground, blasting away a good chunk of rocks in the process. However, the more debris he creates, the better it is for me to counter.

Before the old man could react, I dash towards the rubble, and with a single touch, each of the crumbs of rocks turn into a sharp and hard shard of diamond. I gather them and throw them yet again, but like before, it’s only enough to graze his body. My arm’s power is still lacking.

Raphael jumps towards me again, but this time, I’m not so lucky. True to the monster that he is, the old man only needs to see my speed once to counter it perfectly. As if predicting where I would land, as soon as I leave my original position, he’s already appeared at my destination with a clenched fist in wait, right at the exact moment when I move towards that spot. My stomach eats a gut punch yet again, causing me to gasp in pain and kneels down, vomiting a splash of blood.

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Shit, is it still not enough? Even after all of that… is the gap just too big?

“No! I refuse to lose here!” I shout my thoughts out loud as the old man approaches me for a final hit. My arms and legs have already turned back to normal thanks to the shock of pain, but as long as I’m still alive and kicking, I’m not backing down again! Especially not after seeing what I’m capable of!

Screw the specifics, I want power! I want speed! I want smarts! I want everything that can help me win this fight! I don’t know what I could relate to, or what I could use in this situation, but I want them all! I desire them! I greed for them!

All of a sudden, my body bursts with power. It’s like I was struck by lightning; my muscles twitch wildly, unable to contain themselves. I feel my body lighter than air, yet harder than even that diamond from before. And the most important part is… I can feel myself thinking, and reacting, faster than ever before.

“Once a human’s desire outpaces even the principles of the world around them…” Before I could try asking the partner inside me, the old man has already answered my question with a bewildered face. “Once their greed is too big for even the world to contain… that is when Zagan’s full potential is unleashed, granting them the utmost limits of their potential for just a tiny period of time. Like the adrenaline that fills the human mind, the state is aptly named Gold Rush…”

“You’ve finally done it, Peter…” for the first time in my life, I see tears flowing out of the angel’s eyes. What exactly is he crying about? What happened to the stone-cold monster that once made my life a living hell?

“Why are you making that face?” I try to ask the old man, but he doesn’t answer. Instead, he resumes his attack. His right arm arches backwards, while his left leg takes a step back. A right punch, to my face.

I raise my hand and make a perfect block to his strike, but something still irks me. Even if everything about me is enhanced to my maximum, why does that hit feel so… light?

Another one of Raphael’s hits comes at me. Left knee bent, right leg forward… A knee strike? No, a forward kick. Aimed at the torso. Once again, I raise my arm in time to block, but once again, the attack feels off.

“You’re never this weak, old man! Answer me! Why are you like this?”

The angel doesn’t answer and continues his assault. However, I don’t even feel any killing intent left in his blows, as if he’s not trying to fight me at all. Even if punches after punches rain on me like a meteor shower, I barely feel anything, not even from my one arm which I’ve been using to block every single one of them. And his face as well… A strangely serene smile… He’s not fighting me seriously. No, he’s not fighting me. He’s only pretending to. But to who? And why?

I jump backwards to distance myself from Raphael. I want to win, but not like this. And I refuse to accept this.

“Be serious, old man! What gives? Why aren’t you fighting me for real anymore?”

It seems like he has finally realized my desire. Stopping his movement for a second, Raphael answers:

“If you wish to know, raise your arm forward.”

“Like this?”  Confused, I do as I was told. If it was an attempt at a surprise attack, I’m confident that I can handle it with ease now. And I don’t think the old man is the type to resort to such petty tricks.

“Stretch out your fingers. Like a blade.” Raphael continues, and I follow. However, as soon as the action is performed, the angel moves, and I also realize his intentions.

“Old man, wait!” I retract my fingers as fast as I can, but he’s already disappeared from his spot. Just as I expected, the old man was holding back, but I can’t ever imagine that his full power was even greater than my current state at the moment. I was outclassed in every single way, and yet, as he appears before me again, I still stand.

My hand that was raised forward is now dyed red once again, but this time, the blood isn’t mine. Standing in front of me is the strongest archangel, the embodiment of strength, the prideful Raphael… with a smile on his face, his heart pierced, and his eyes closed forever.   

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