...
Shin watched Ezikiel undergo the same mutated transformation that Shaun had. He wanted to stop it from going further, but he could not break free from the pressure that was preventing him from advancing forward.
He wanted to blame it on the current state that he was in since he wanted to familiarize himself with it so that he could enter it again whenever he wanted.
He knew that this was the Natural State that was unique to Battle Genius, similar to the one that Arthur, who was a Martial Art Prodigy.
Regardless of his thoughts, he knew that understanding his current state was more beneficial to him than killing his opponent right away. After all, the latter was 'helping' him familiarized himself with this current state during their battle.
He could not complain about more.
He could only watch Ezikiel become a humanoid monster. The muscles of the latter continued to morph, swell, shrunk, or reshaped in a repeated process. It was too gruesome to watch that it even made Shin frown deeply.
But regardless of what he was feeling, he continued to steel his mind while keeping himself to be in the special state that he was in. Achieving the Natural State for Battle Genius and gaining an initial mastery over it was much more important than anything else.
Realizing that it would take some time before Ezikiel finished his transformation, alongside the pressure that was preventing Shin from moving forward, Shin decided to relax his body for a moment and get ready for the next round.
He sheathed his sword and stood straight before closing his eyes. He regulated his breathing while continuing to familiarize himself with his current state.
As he did that, his mind seemed to have been cleansed by something. His mind became empty while everything around him was starting to disappear one after another, leaving him standing at the center of darkness alone.
He remained to be on this state until it was finally time to make his move.
On the other hand, Ezikiel, who was undergoing a mutated transformation, miraculously retained some of his sanity during the entire process. Even he was shocked about it before his lips curved into an evil smile.
He used all his willpower to suppress the raging emotion that was trying to overwhelm him while also controlling the transformation of his body.
He suppressed everything until his body returned to its original size. But despite how hard he tried there were still some changes that occurred.
The color of his skin changed. His arm was painted with different shades of purple color, starting from his hands which had the darkest hue. A pale purple color overwhelmed his shoulders, moving up to his face and hair.
There were also visible veins in green color, completely bulged out from his tensed and tightened muscles.
Ezikiel could feel that he was still in the right mind, albeit not completely. He was losing his thoughts from time to time, but it was more than enough for him to keep himself under control.
'Is this because of those special training regimes that we have undergone before our graduation?' he was not sure about it, but he could at least guess that the training that was additionally added in their course of becoming an executioner had something to do with his current state, especially the special serums that they were thanking regularly at that time.
'Even though the experiment is not yet complete, it seems like the organization had already reached a critical point within us knowing,' he thought briefly before remembering his current situation.
He then started laughing manically as he could feel the overwhelming power that he currently had. The source of his power seemed to have come from the mutated core situated at the center of his dantian, which was now hosting an evil and eerie qi.
Swoosh!
It was only at that moment that the pressure that was produced by his transformation was finally subdued.
He then turned to the direction where Shin was standing silently. "You are now dead!"
Bang!
Swoosh!
His feet sank to the ground as he took a step forward. Then a deep footprint was left on it as his figure suddenly disappeared and quickly reappeared right in front of Shin while swinging his sword down.
Slash!
The sword cut through the air as he descended toward Shin's head.
…
Shin still refused to open his eyes during that time. He was still in the middle of his achieving his special state as the sword swiftly descended toward his head.
He stood in the middle of darkness, where nothing but him and his sword were present. And the instant that Ezikiel made his move, Shin 'heard' a sound of rippling water that quickly caught his attention.
The actions that Ezikiel had made sent a ripple in the surface of calm water, sending it toward the direction where Shin was standing.
And when that invisible ripple of water was almost upon him, the sword of his opponent was also about to split his head.
But before it could happen, Shin slowly opened his eyes and look straight at his opponent.
Swoosh!
Ezikiel suddenly felt a shiver that ran through his spine the moment when his eyes met Shin's gaze. Then he saw a vision of himself being cut down by the latter's katana before his sword could even reach the skull of his opponent.
Swoosh!
He quickly halted his action and swiftly retreated. When he created enough distance between himself and his opponent, he looked at Shin with eyes full of disbelief. "What was that?!"
And when he looked at Shin, he saw that the latter's eyes were glowing with a much more intense light than before. There was also an invisible pressure that was pressing on him that he could only feel from real experts of the organization.
"Did he break through?" mumbled Ezikiel as he looked at Shin.
But immediately after that, he denied the idea as he could feel that Shin was still far from completing his Spiritual Force and Natural Style. The body of the latter was even far from undergoing the special ritual to achieve his Natural Body.
"Then what was it?" he asked himself once again as he could feel himself being nervous due to some unknown reason.
Ezikiel felt that he was much more powerful than before, but he could also tell that there was still something missing in him compared to the artificial mutants that the organization had. He might have retained his sanity, but he had lost that thing those mutants had.
"It doesn't matter! All I have is to kill this guy!" he said to himself. He was urging himself to kill Shin as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, Shin had already achieved his goal. He had already achieved the ideal state for Battle Geniuses.
Moreover, he had even integrated it with his 'Immediate Response' Talent, which also lead him to incorporate them with his 'True Sight' ocular technique and Spiritual Sense.
The only drawback of it was it required a lot of concentration and burn an unimaginable amount of stamina. But with the monstrous willpower provide by his special bloodline, he would be able to persevere for an extended period of time.
Ezikiel could sense an overwhelming threat coming from Shin. And this one was much denser and more dangerous compared to the earlier one.
He was gritting his teeth and glaring at Shin while he was waiting for the latter to make his move. His guard was in full force while his senses were working twice as before.
Then, within a very brief moment, his eyes blinked as he could not suppress the burning sensation of his eyes.
Clink!
In the middle of it, he heard a subtle clicking sound that reverberated in his ears. And the moment his eyes reopened once again, he was immediately greeted by the sharp tip of a katana, which was rapidly magnifying right in front of his eyes.
Shing!
'Jade Kirin Scripture: Quick Draw – Flash Strike'
Swoosh!
Ezikiel quickly leaned his head and body back, trying to get away from the incoming tip of the katana. He was also swinging his sword upward to try defecting the latter.
Pu-chi!
Clank!
His sword as a little while as the sharp edge of the katana had already wounded the center of his brows, all the way to his forehead. It was able to draw a long wound before his sword could even defect it.
Rapidly retreating, Ezikiel quickly tried to regain his foot while preparing for the next attack.
Shin quickly followed suit, swiftly stepping forward with a long stride while redirecting the course of his katana in the air. And when arrived in front of Ezikiel once again, he had already drawn a beautiful arc with the katana as he swung it with extreme precision while borrowing the momentum of his stride.
Swoosh!
'Jade Kirin Scripture: First Movement – Collapsing Wind'
Shing!
The transition of techniques was so smooth that it created an illusion that made them look like they were some basic sword techniques.
But the outcome begged me to disagree.
Much less Ezikiel, who was on the receiving end.
Clank!
He pushed his body and reflex to the limit and even borrowed the enhancements that he had received from the special serum, just to be able to respond to the attack.
Clang!
He managed to raise his sword in time and blocked the incoming katana, but he was immediately knocked to the side due to the powerful force behind that strike.
Shin quickly retracted his sword, swiftly took a step forward, and suddenly spun around. This series of actions made him catch up with Ezikiel, who was still in midair and in the middle of being knocked to the side.
He then used the momentum generated from his spin before throwing a kick on the exposed side of his opponent.
It was not a simple kick, but one which was imbued with a large Mental Energy on his leg.
'Holy Azure Dragon Method: Fleeting Cloud, Dragon Kick'
Bang!
Ezikiel's body arched as his waist was hit back by that kick. There was a brief pause upon contact before his body was sent in the opposite direction.
Swoosh!
But that was not the end as Shin quickly chased after him right after his foot touched the ground.
His speed was so fast that he caught up to the flying body of his opponent once again before overtaking the latter.
'Holy Azure Dragon Method: Stepping through the Clouds'
He stopped himself from moving further with a powerful stomp. His katana was already positioned on his side at that time.
He then twisted his waist, applying a strong tension on it before whipping toward the other direction while swinging the white katana to greet his incoming opponent.
'Jade Kirin Scripture: Fourth Movement – Tempest Strike'
Shing!
A thin line was drawn in the air as his katana cut through the flesh of his opponent as they brushed past each other.
"Argh!" the pained groan of Ezikiel could be heard as he collided with the three blocking his path.
Bang!
He was still alive, and he had to thank the special serum that he had injected into himself for that. His body was regenerating at a visible rate while it was reattaching the lower and upper parts of his body that were almost separated from each other due to the previous technique of his opponent.
He tried his best to stand while glaring at Shin, who was coldly looking at him. Each step the latter took was like a beating drum on the ears of Ezikiel, which seemed to be calling out for his death.
He was slowly losing to his emotions, giving the special serum an opportunity to overwhelm and took over his mind.
He glared at Shin with bloodshot eyes before charging forward like a cornered beast, no longer thinking about its life.
Roar!
...
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