by Yuri Ajin
“I see you haven’t changed much in these eighteen years, Alex,” he said in an icy voice.
How does he know who I am? Wait... Wait, wait, wait...! He called Diamond his little brother... And his name is Kai... No... There’s no way... It can’t be... Can it...? Alexander froze for a moment. “It can’t be... Kai?!” His eyes widened. “Are you really Kai Evans?!”
“Good! I didn’t hit you too hard! Your brain still works, thank God!” Kai snickered mockingly.
“But... But how? You died eighteen years ago! I attended your funeral and... Wait... The Soul Stage?! But the power of your blow and the ability to see me...” Alexander suddenly sighed, forcing himself to calm down. “I shouldn’t have expected anything less from you. If you really are who you claim to be... Although your stage...”
“Are you going to underestimate me again? Need I remind you of what happened the last time you did that?” Kai said with a haughty smile.
“Oh, yeah, it’s definitely you, Kai.” Alexander nodded. “I could never confuse that smirk of yours with anyone else. And since I’m so lucky to have you here, I demand a rematch!”
“Oh, don’t you worry.” Kai grinned. “I’m going to beat the shit out of you! But first...” Looking over his shoulder at Diamond, Kai concentrated on the Forces of Space.
“Don’t even try,” Alexander said, feeling that something was pressing on his technique. “You won’t be able to free your brother from the Night Space!”
“Recover for now and try not to leave this place,” Kai said and tossed a Healing Pill to Diamond.
A moment later, he was surrounded by Kai’s Forces and ki, after which he and his aura turned invisible.
WHAT?! The shocked Alexander almost cried out. He owns a technique similar to mine?! How’s that possible?!
Truth be told, Kai didn’t know he could do this. He was able to move his brother to a different pocket dimension thanks to an ability that he rarely used these days — copying, which he had learned during his early days of cultivation. By copying other people’s techniques, he was able to make his first steps on this new path. However, the further he got, the fewer opportunities he had to do this, since, starting from the Silver rank, techniques were related to one or even several elements. Without knowledge of them, he could no longer copy the techniques.
However, there were two elements with which Kai had relatively high success — Sword and Space. That was why, if the techniques of these Paths didn’t exceed peak quality and Gold rank (since he’d have to master the Force of Fusion for the Royal ones), copying them was relatively easy for him. The only reason why he rarely did it these days was because he didn’t want to mess with the arsenal of abilities that he already possessed. The Blade Release Technique was quite versatile, and he practically never came across Space techniques, since this was a rather rare and complex element.
That is, until today.
“Enough of this charade.” Alexander spat and activated a movement technique.
Appearing in front of Kai almost instantaneously, he attacked but didn’t reach his goal. Kai swiftly dodged, as if he knew where the blow would strike, and unsheathed his two swords.
“Gravitational Break!” Alexander shouted, hiding his surprise by swinging at Kai with all his might.
The power of his technique was amazing. Like a steamroller, it destroyed everything in its path. Had it hit a tank, it would’ve been crushed and thrown away like a feather.
Unable to use the Offset Step due to the spatial distortion, Kai crossed his blades in front of him, and then unleashed his true power. The scarlet sword energy and the bluish particles of the Cold Void swirled around his blades, while the Forces of Space, invisible to an ordinary eye, were already directed forward.
The collision made the Night Space tremble. A crack appeared on the dark sphere but was instantly healed.
Kai stood his ground. He didn’t even stagger. His power neutralized the destructive technique, leaving behind nothing save for a couple of fading ribbons of darkness. Alexander’s eyes widened in amazement. He would’ve made peace with it had Kai just blocked the blow but he destroyed his technique. He couldn’t believe that something like that was even possible! Not to mention that Kai had done it by using a fraction of his ki.
This might’ve seemed impossible and complicated at first glance, but the answer was actually simple, for it lay in the quality of one’s understanding of the Forces of Space. Using them as well as his energy vision and Ultimate Focus, Kai managed to identify and attack the weak points of Alexander’s technique. In addition, he used the Force of Sword and the Cold Void to protect himself, saving a lot of ki, which he otherwise would’ve had to spend on trying to defend himself.
Taking advantage of Alexander’s confusion, Kai crossed his blades at the level of his waist and swung. The Blade Release Technique collided with the Distortion Barrier. The former pushed with all its might, while the latter struggled to change the direction of the blow. However, due to the Force of Intent, this wasn’t an easy task.
While Alexander was trying to defend himself, Kai closed the distance between them. Finding himself on his opponent’s right side, he attacked without delay. To escape, Alexander would have to use a large amount of his ki.
But, in the next moment, Alexander disappeared. Kai’s attack flew through the air with a sharp hum.
“Hail of Crushing Spheres!” Alexander’s voice rang from afar.
Several dozen apple-sized dark spheres flew in Kai’s direction. Each of them could temporarily increase the power of gravity in a small area to colossal levels if it came into contact with something dense enough.
Aware of this, Kai immediately gave up trying to block the attack. Instead, he used the Offset Step again to get closer to his opponent. But just as he made the first step, two Spheres somehow appeared next to him.
What?! His technique reacted to my movement. They must’ve followed me! But how? God damn it, I hate to admit it, but this is amazing.
In order to stay alive, Kai had to pour a quarter of his ki into the Gates of Strength. Only after that did he manage to negate the technique’s effect with his Forces of Space.
He just barely managed to avoid colliding with three more Spheres, which approached him while he had been standing still. Dodging, he dashed toward Alexander without using the Offset Step this time. The Spheres continued to pursue him, although now they didn’t appear next to him instantly.
Using the energy vision, Ultimate Focus, and the activated Mind Gate, Kai was able to quickly unravel the secret of Alexander’s technique.
My God, I’m an idiot! That’s it! They’re following me because I’m in his space. Via a spirit connection with him, they respond to any object within the pocket dimension. If I try to move again, they’ll come right at me! I need to get rid of them.
Swinging his right blade at Alexander, he released a scarlet crescent to distract him. He then turned sharply and directed the second sword at the cluster of approaching Spheres. Partially using the Seven Blades Technique, he summoned three swords right in front of him.
Crimson and obsidian collided, which forced the Spheres to activate earlier than Alexander had planned. But before Kai could finish his attack, he felt something appear behind him.
Acting on instinct, he activated Retreat Step and managed to escape from the clutches of a new Gravitational Break at the last moment. Activating the Offset Step next, he finally got to Alexander.
His ranged attacks are much stronger than mine. Kai realized. I can’t let him get away!
Reaching his target, Kai brought down his blades. Swing after swing, he continued to push, not giving Alexander even the slightest opportunity to get away.
Enhanced by his strength, Forces of Sword and Space, as well as the Cold Void, his blows forced Alexander to switch to defense. With every moment, it became more and more difficult for Alexander to fight back, so he defended himself with a special spatial distortion technique that covered his arms and
legs like translucent armor. However, even this wasn’t enough, so he was forced to activate the Distortion Barrier, which consumed a lot of ki. He didn’t even bother with the Cover as Kai could tear through it as if it was made of paper.
With each passing second, it became more obvious to him that he’d lose. However, he didn’t panic. On the contrary, he was happy. Smiling like a child, he enjoyed the fight. Every attack. Every drop of blood. Every breath.
It’s been a long time since I had to give it my all. Ah, Kai, you made my dream of fighting someone worthy finally come true... But I’m not going to lose! Avoiding another attack, he activated a new technique. “Change of Vector!”
Kai felt the ground sinking from under his feet. By the time he realized that the Force of Gravity had been turned off, it was already too late — Alexander had bought a little time for his next attack.
It took Kai only a couple of seconds to adapt, since Ultimate Focus and the Gates of Mind were still active. However, even this was enough for Alexander to retreat.
“Let’s finish this!” Smiling, he pointed his fingers at Kai. “The Last Shift!”
Before the attack manifested itself, Kai felt the change in the Night Space and almost immediately realized that Alexander had halved the area in order to use some of the previously spent forces for his new attack.
In the next moment, a huge ball of something dark purple and alien, but related to the Forces of Space, flew toward Kai. Realizing that this attack would pursue him just as the Spheres had, Kai knew that all he could do was to defend himself.
Holding the blades in front of him, he focused on the Forces of Space. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward and then swung his swords upward. In a moment, Alexander’s technique engulfed his body.
Everything within that space exploded into ice the next moment, and the attack slowed down. But before Alexander had time to be surprised, he felt the control over his technique slip away from him. Concentrating, he continued to fight.
However, despite his best efforts, he still lost. His technique flashed, disintegrating into myriads of particles. Kai, breathing heavily, appeared far away with a smile on his lips.
He did it; he destroyed a Gold-rank technique relying only on his Forces of Space. However, he managed to do it only because his understanding of these Forces was higher than Alexander’s, which meant that the quality of their power was on a completely different level. He was sure that he would’ve lost had Alexander used some other element.
Despite his defeat, Kai wouldn’t call Alexander weak. He’d go so far as to compare him to North, a mid-level Exorcist. He was certain that even today, he’d have a tough time against that man.
“I agree, Alex, it really is time to end this.” He smiled and then sliced through the air with just one blade.
Even after a year and a half, he still hadn’t managed to figure out how to use Space Destruction Sweep with two swords at once. It was too complicated.
Alexander tried to dodge, but it didn’t help.
Kai had figured out that it wasn’t Alexander who was moving but the Night Space. By controlling it, Alexander forced it to move along with all the objects inside of it, except for himself.
However, there was a drawback to this ability of his — those who could sense energy could easily figure out the direction and distance of the shift in advance. Based on this, they could determine which way Alexander would go.
Having sensed that Alexander would try to move, Kai redirected his attack.
Emptiness began to appear in the Night Space. After a moment, it collapsed, returning Kai, Alexander, and Diamond to the hive. However, the reason for this wasn’t only Kai’s technique, but Alexander’s actions, too. Taking back the ki that he had spent on creating the pocket dimension, he used it to protect himself, accelerating its destruction.
The dark sphere that hung in the air in the middle of the battlefield between the Union and the Western Alliance disintegrated, spitting out three people, one of which was seriously injured.
However, almost no one even paid attention to it.
***
A minute earlier
The massive battle was drawing to a close. The Union had won. The Western Alliance had only a hundred and fifty soldiers left, and their Exorcists were barely holding on.
The Union was about to begin to celebrate their victory when the hive suddenly shook, and fear crept down everyone’s spine. Only this time there was no explosion. Fighting stopped, and in some places, members of the Western Alliance surrendered.
Meanwhile, more and more people began to notice a thin scarlet ray exiting the top of the queen’s chambers.
After a few seconds, all hell broke loose.
The top of the dome above the hall swelled. It was in that moment that the horrified soldiers realized that what seemed to be a dome was actually a giant cocoon full of... insectoids.
A strange feeling filled the hall. No one understood what was happening, but for some reason, everyone felt an irrational and inexplicable fear.
“Hey... Isn’t that what the outer layer of the queen’s belly looked like?” someone asked in a shaky voice.
But no one could answer them. Everyone was too busy staring at the cocoon, the top of which had opened and curled back, like four petals of a fleshy flower. A waterfall of a maroon and very viscous liquid splashed onto the ground.
For a while, people stared at it in silence, perplexed.
“Is this… is this some kind of joke?” one of the soldiers asked, breaking the eerie silence that fell upon them. His face was pale and bore a smile that stood on the border between hope and horror.
The liquid suddenly moved. Gathering in one place, it grew and thickened, forming a figure. Thirty seconds later, a seven-foot-tall creature stood in the center of the hive. He looked almost humanoid, but the presence of a long and thick tail with a stinger at the tip, as well as a third eye on the forehead, and claws, clearly indicated that he wasn’t a human.
Dressed in a robe formed from his ki and the same color as his fiery red hair, he just stood there motionless. After a moment of silence, he looked at his palm. Curling his long claws into a fist, he closed his eyes in order to examine his new body by using his aura.
Reincarnation was interrupted early. Plus, I didn’t have enough food. This womb allowed me to return to the beginning of the stage... Those soldiers weren’t enough. My calculations were wrong. I need more food. More nutritious food... My mentality has changed… Is it because of the Bloody Essence of the inhabitants of this world? Curious...
“How unusual...” He nodded slightly. He didn’t seem aware of the humans surrounding him. “Pity. It wasn’t possible to bypass the System. But it’ll still make things easier... Now I have not five, but fifteen percent of my energy available!”
“That’s... a mid-level Elementalist,” Ivsim whispered ever so quietly. Even one percent of their energy is a huge amount of power...
“Master...” The pale young man approached the insectoid. Bowing his head, his skull opened, revealing a creature that looked like a large worm. “I deserve to die! I had no right, but I still dared to awaken you so early! I deserve no forgiveness! I wouldn’t have done it had I had a choice! An unforeseen force appeared that could threaten you, so I had to act!”
The insectoid ignored him.
Well, nothing can be done about it I suppose… One way or another, I must find the Gates of this world if I am to launch a full invasion. All in the name of the Progenitrix of the Race, Empress Shaoh Kaoh’s! He thought, remembering his queen with fanatical devotion. But first... He raised his menacing gaze at the people before him. I need to deal with these pests...
The insectoid smiled, glad that his trap had worked.
Chapter 16
ALL AGAINST ONE
The appearance of the newcomer brought the battle between the Union and the Western Alliance to a halt. And while everyone was staring at the insectoid, Alexander assessed the situation. He had gre
atly underestimated the Union’s soldiers, and paid for his arrogance by losing a lot of his people.
Glancing at the insectoid, he saw a chance.
“John!” he shouted, barely standing. Only a handful of Healing Pills allowed him to remain conscious while his body was recovering. “As an ally, I ask for help! My people are losing!”
The young man with the pale face grinned.
“Master Liu?” The parasite in his head turned to the Elementalist.
“Of course.” Liu nodded.
Everyone stared in mute horror as Liu outstretched his hand. But before anyone could do anything, a bloodthirsty smile stretched his lips, and several dozen crimson threads escaped from the tips of his fingers and palm.
They all knew that this attack would be nothing short of devastating but no one could have imagined that it’d be aimed at the Western Alliance.
More than a hundred people were pierced with threads and turned into mummies within seconds. Like autumn leaves, their dried husks fell to the ground, while the survivors watched with sorrow and fear.
“BASTARD!” Alexander shouted like a wounded beast, enraged by the death of his soldiers, each of whom he knew personally. “We had a deal! We even signed a contract! Why would you do this? Why?!”
“Idiot”! John smiled vilely. “You’re just food for my master. The contract you signed was with the queen of this hive. But where is she? Is she still alive?”
Alexander froze. Remembering a System message that he had ignored due to his fight with Kai, he hurried to open it.
Attention!
The Spirit Contract between [America’s Western Alliance] (View Members List) and [Hive Queen Uno] has been terminated due to the death of [Hive Queen Uno].
His eyes widened. Clenching his fists and breathing violently, he glared at the insectoid.
“I’ll...” His almost inaudible whisper gradually became louder. “I’ll kill you all! EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU FUCKERS! I’LL RIP YOUR HEARTS OUT, YOU FUCKING BUGS!”
