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--donation bonus (day #31, post 2/5)--
‘It’s not over yet,’ said Mehlsanz. ‘I suspect Harper is holding back.’

‘Why would he possibly be--?’ She had to break the question off as she was abruptly confronted with Andres, who seemed just as surprised by the encounter. She struck before he could and punched him hard enough to make her calcified skin crumble.

Andres went toppling through the air and took a tree down with him.

‘Just be ready to run,’ said Mehlsanz. ‘If I’m right, then things are going to escalate very quickly.’

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Harper scowled as another aluminum wall rose to Tessa’s defense.

Even with Roman and Karkash thrown back into the mix, the battle saw little in the way of progress--which was unfortunately still in Abolish’s favor. They probably just wanted to buy time for their comrades to arrive from Rendon, at which point they would merely try to overwhelm Harper. Such was Darsihm’s assessment, anyway.

Conall and Tessa were the core problem, Harper knew. Conall’s mirrors needed to be broken down at close range, but that was where Tessa’s destruction power excelled. If Harper rushed in to smash through, she would be there with her unstoppable attack. And all the while, the other Abolishers were attacking more or less as they pleased, probably trying to catch him off guard.

He just needed an opening, a foothold, and he was sure that he would be able to make up all of his lost ground.

Then Roman fell out of the sky, crashing down at a low angle and skidding across dirt and stone right in front of Harper. Roman’s body was in tatters, bones sticking out of his flesh, limbs hardly seeming to function. But his right arm still worked. And that was enough.

Undeterred by the reflectivity of aluminum, Roman’s shock wave smashed through Conall’s barrier, leaving Tessa suddenly exposed.

Harper immediately capitalized, and a beam of light tore the woman asunder.

Now was the moment, he felt. The close range threat was gone for now. He still wasn’t sure where Tessa’s reaper was, so he just moved against Conall next.