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Squirming and cracking noises invaded Khan's mind as dirt covered his face, entering his mouth, nostrils, and eyes. A metallic taste joined it, and Khan almost missed it due to the mayhem created by his senses.
Buzzing noises soon replaced everything. The impact with the ground had sent Khan's senses in disarray, but he recovered quickly. He found himself in a hole of his own creation, a few meters under the surface, and his surroundings eventually became clear.
To Khan's surprise, the mutated Thilku didn't move after the attack. The alien had landed only to point its gaze at him. It was waiting for Khan for no apparent reason.
That scene enraged Khan, overloading his mind with surprisingly swift thoughts. He forcefully slammed his feet on the ground, flinging himself upward and lifting a lot of dust. He instantly appeared above the surface while his brain summarized the recent events.
'How did it take me by surprise?' Khan wondered. 'Why didn't it continue attacking me? Why did it say that?'
Those questions had resounded in Khan's mind while leaving the hole, and answers had arrived by the time he stopped above the surface. His senses had recovered by then, and looking at the Thilku added details that expanded those explanations.
The mutated alien was almost twice as big as the average Thilku. It was taller and had broader muscles that its shirtless state left exposed. It was a third-level warrior, but its grip had conveyed power that seemed to belong to a superior realm.
The reason behind that power was obvious. Khan didn't even need to question it. The Thilku had blue strands coming out of its nape, and its eyes shared that color. Scarce patches of azure hair also grew from its shoulders. That specimen had gone through the same transformation as Khan.
Everything else became clearer after confirming that detail. The Thilku had gone through a qualitative change, justifying its quick reactions, movements, and strength.
Khan believed himself to be faster, but the Thilku probably surpassed him during close combat. It had been the same with Amox, except for the fact that the mutated specimen didn't need techniques or spells to achieve those results.
Confirming those details left a single doubt in Khan's mind. He couldn't understand the mutated Thilku's intentions, but its words continued to echo through his thoughts, suppressing the pain coming from his body.
"[I'm no host]," Khan said, almost growling due to his annoyance.
The mutated Thilku smiled, showing its sharp canines, before releasing a calm, hoarse laugh. "[We all are]."
Khan's mana screamed in anger. A clicking growl invaded his mind, threatening to make him lose control of his body. He wanted to throw everything he had at the mutated Thilku, but his reasonable sides triumphed.
The huge battle was still raging past Khan and the mutated Thilku. Screams and howls filled the area as the two massive armies clashed with each other inside the vast gorge. The humanoid wolves also kept firing deadly bullets that often hit their enemies.
Nevertheless, Khan and the mutated Thilku ignored all that to focus on each other. They appeared unaffected by the chaos unfolding mere meters from them. Their eyes never faltered, and their intentions were clear.
Khan sprinted forward, flying through the air to approach the Thilku frontally. His knife glowed as he disregarded ideas of self-restraint. He wanted to capture the alien alive, but holding back wasn't an option against such a strong opponent.
The Thilku remained still until Khan got too close. Its right arm snapped upward at that point, and its hand opened with perfect timing. A huge palm suddenly filled Khan's vision, and his head risked falling right into it, but he had predicted a similar outcome.
Khan was using his top speed, but the situation pushed his power toward new heights. Answers about the Nak felt extremely close, and the Thilku had also insulted him. His body and mind wanted him to be stronger, facilitating an abrupt turn that made him slip past the huge palm.
The Thilku's odd size worked against it. Khan was far smaller in comparison, so crossing the open palm put him before a considerable amount of flesh. The Thilku's torso was so huge that Khan only needed to swing his knife to inflict a long injury.
However, as soon as Khan began to lift his knife, he felt the stretched arm descending toward him. That huge limb resembled a falling mountain in his senses due to the power it carried, forcing him to change direction.
Khan slipped past the descending arm, ending up a few meters above the mutated Thilku. His offensive never stopped, and his palms had already touched to create a glowing spear, which he didn't hesitate to throw at his opponent.
The Thilku could react to Khan's speed, so the spear couldn't surprise it. Yet, Khan had tinkered with the spell's stability, detonating it mid-air to catch the alien in its explosion.
A pillar expanded in every direction, filling the area with its raging mana. Still, a massive force suddenly appeared in the symphony, forcing Khan to perform an evasive maneuver.
A deafening clicking cry invaded the area as Khan moved away, and the scene that fell into his vision shocked him. The Thilku was screaming at the scorching pillar, spitting a conical version of the Wave spell that pushed that dangerous mana away.
Khan instinctively reached for his nape. The Thilku was using the same cry that resounded in his mind, and his core reacted to it. Khan knew that he shared more than hair and eyes with the Thilku. He was seeing a different version of himself fighting against his spell.
Acknowledging those similarities angered Khan even more. He had accepted his connection with the Nak, and that part of his power came from them. Still, he didn't have to like that, especially when the Thilku had dared to call him weak.
Khan did his best not to lose his cool. He knew too much about battles to allow himself to go wild. He couldn't risk being reckless against such a strong opponent, and the symphony guided his following actions.
While the Thilku was busy roaring at the pillar, Khan lifted his right hand, and a thread of mana appeared between his forefinger and thumb. He quickly pulled it, and a bullet shot forward when he released it.
The bullet landed on the Thilku's right shoulder, digging a hole that exposed its fuming flesh. The injury wasn't too deep, and the alien didn't falter either, but its voice grew louder, dispersing what remained of the pillar.
Khan flew around the Thilku, accumulating mana in the thread before releasing another bullet. He aimed that second attack at the alien's right knee, but a huge palm got in the way.
The symphony told Khan about the state of the alien's palm. Mana had flowed into it, protecting it from eventual damage. The Thilku had used something weaker but similar to the [Blood Shield], which was enough to protect it when paired with its strong flesh.
That impressive defense didn't demoralize Khan. He didn't even stop after seeing the Thilku reacting and stopping his attack. He continued to fly around it, sending bullets whenever his spell was ready.
Khan was faster than the Thilku, but the latter used both hands to intercept every bullet flying in its direction. That offensive appeared ineffective, but Khan pressed on, going faster and faster with each new attack.
That increase in speed was shocking. It didn't make sense for Khan to improve without training, but an explanation existed. Khan's body wasn't getting any stronger. The natural mana was to blame for his superior performance since the symphony began to help his every move.
Khan wasn't doing that on purpose. He had never stopped sending requests to rely on Maban's technique, but that was his usual fighting style. However, his influence slowly affected the symphony, giving him more power.
Khan was aware of those changes, but his entire focus was on his opponent. He wasn't sure why his mana was so hung up on that past comment, but his emotions weren't exactly easy to control.
The incessant assault lasted an entire minute, featuring more than seven bullets, before the Thilku finally decided to react. After blocking another attack, the alien pointed a finger at Khan and released a piercing beam.
Khan had already flown past his previous position and fired another bullet. However, the Thilku's hand was fast, and the beam shooting out of it pierced the incoming attack before threatening to reach Khan.
Another evasive maneuver unfolded. Khan dived toward the ground before accelerating to his side. The beam followed him and shrunk the distance that separated it from his head. The attack would hit Khan at that pace, so he changed direction, flying directly at the Thilku.
The mutated Thilku instantly pointed its finger at Khan's head, bringing the beam there. The attack touched the center of his forehead, but dark blood vessels popped out, preventing it from reaching his skull.
The [Blood Shield] threatened to shatter, but Khan was fast enough to reach the Thilku before that. He basically teleported before the alien's head, and his knees violently slammed into it.
Khan's knees hurt since his body wasn't ready to handle that momentum, but his actions never slowed down. The knife glowed in his hand, and he lowered it to slash at the already injured shoulder.
A deep injury opened on the Thilku's shoulder, but that body part was too big for Khan's knife. He could only cut through half of it before a warning reached his senses. He pushed himself away, but a clicking cry filled his ears, and his surroundings turned purple-red.
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