Chapter 67: Ch106. Hunter and prey - 2
"See? I told you that he would show up, sooner or later." Nikolai said, his voice a bit muffled due to his swollen lips. "I’m pretty sure you’re just a dead woman who will be reminded by him... To just drop de-"
The punch that Acacia gave Nikolai echoed in a loud BAM, and made Nikolai’s head drop sideways, his eyes completely white, out of it.
"How about you just shut up, you insolent human pest..." Acacia wasn’t smiling anymore. "Anyone else wants some?"
Both Evellyn and Cinthia kept silent.
But Kurt saw what happened, his senses sharpened to his ultimate limits.
He froze on his steps, feeling cold.
"System..."
[YES]
"How strong the enemy is?"
[THE ISHIR COMMANDER IS STRONGER THAN YOU]
[IF YOU ARE ASKING IN TERMS OF YOUR SOCIETY’S SYSTEM OF RANKINGS, HE IS IN THE S-RANK]
"Ishir commander?" Kurt frowned. "Wait... Does that mean the headmaster is...?"
[CORRECT]
[THE ONE YOU CALL HEADMASTER IS, IN TRUTH, -]
"Rhegal..." Kurt’s eyes went wide in surprise, but it didn’t take long for his expression go back to his usual nonchalance. "Good. I might start a war and reveal the truth, all in one kill." He grinned bitterly.
But his heart was in whether Nikolai was alive or not.
"System, is Nikolai-"
[I DETECT A FAINT LIFE SIGNATURE COMING FROM THE INDIVIDUAL NAMED NIKOLAI]
Kurt sighed in relief.
BOOM!
The door to the dorm’s main entrance exploded in rubble, and from the dust cloud, Acacia emerged with a wide, wicked grin in her lips.
"I was wondering why you were taking so long to come say hi, so I decided to come first." She said, her eyes gleaming against the setting sun.
"I’ll forgive you for harming my friends if you just surrender quietly and tell me the reason behind all this..." Kurt said, inhaling deeply. "Commander Rhegal Vir’Dun."
Acacia’s eyes went wide, but only for a moment, and she said.
"Well, you never cease to surprise me. But since you already know who I am..." She breathed in and out, pressed her bracelet, and started squirming, contorting in pain.
She growled and roared, her clothes taking a different shape, and her body growing.
After a few seconds of noise and movement, there was no longer any Acacia Sterling in front of Kurt.
Only Rhegal Vir’Dun, commander of the Ishir.
"Now, surrender quietly?" Rhegal’s draconic mouth widened in a wicked smile. "You have heart, I’ll give you that. But unfortunately, this same heart will soon beat in my hands!"
He roared loudly, and his body was enveloped by bright red energy.
And in less than the blink of an eye, he appeared behind Kurt.
But Kurt already expected something like that, having sharpened his senses to the point where everything he needed was his dexterity, and his pure instincts.
’It makes sense that my dexterity and movements match those of an S-rank, but I’m still far too weak to face him head on... I can feel it.’
The pressure Kurt felt over his body showed the difference between their strengths.
Part of him was screaming internally for him to just run away as he dodged Rhegal’s claws, ducking.
The part of him wanting to flee was strong enough to make his knees fail for a split-second, and as Kurt saw that he was falling to his knees, he put all his weight over his right hand, feeling more than seeing what kind of attack was coming next.
And faster than the eye could see, he kicked upwards, hitting Rhegal’s wrist and getting rid of a strike that would turn Kurt to bloody tatters.
"You’re fast, but not fast enough!" Rhegal shouted, using the momentum created by Kurt’s kick to roll backwards and pull himself forward.
The double-kick hit Kurt in his chest, almost making him gasp for air, but his instincts allowed him to mitigate the damage by a hairsbreadth.
’Fuck! The potions!’ Kurt’s eyes widened.
He took a few steps back and fumbled through the pockets of his blazer, but the potions were intact, luckily.
"Don’t take your eyes away from a fight!" Rhegal roared, kind of laughing, and vanishing from Kurt’s field of view.
But to Kurt’s surprise, his instincts didn’t warn you about anything, and he didn’t even feel any magical presence or killing intent coming from Rhegal.
All he felt and heard, for several seconds, were dead silence.
"You never know what will come next." Rhegal’s voice echoed around Kurt.
He felt a sudden pang on his side, and his body simply flew away, inside the dorm, like he weighed nothing.
The pain he felt was considerable, and he saw stars immediately after the impact, but he was lucky to be able to correct his trajectory and absorb the impact with a swift roll backwards.
He landed safely, aside from the pain on his side, and as soon as he saw Cinthia, Evellyn, and Nikolai, who was beginning to foam through his mouth, he took the potions from his pocket and said.
"Drink one each, but start with Nikolai, his life is in danger."
And he got up, taking distance between them and any eventual attack from Rhegal.
"It’s good that you’re showing me your tricks, but two can play this game. You know that, right?"
Kurt closed his eyes, focusing on sharpening his senses beyond its limits.
’Come on, give me anything. Anything...’
Time felt like slowing down around him, and suddenly, he hear a faint swish coming from behind him.
He focused more and more, his nose began bleeding ever so slightly, and when he felt like his brain was going to give up, he finally felt it.
The slightest pressure of a future impact, coming from right in front of him.
Kurt chuckled.
"I’ll show you mine."
Suddenly, Kurt wasn’t where Rhegal hit anymore.
Only an afterimage of the boy stood there, vanishing due to the strength of Rhegal’s strike.
"Wha-" Rhegal gasped, surprised.
Then, he felt his left knee wavering underneath him.
It wasn’t a kick too strong to deal significant damage, but it served its purpose.
’[GHOST MOVE]!’ Kurt thought again, when his heightened senses gave him the feeling of pressure coming for his head.
Again, there was only Kurt’s afterimage, vanishing upon Rhegal’s strike.
’Judging by his size and height...’ Kurt thought in that split-second that it took for him to reappear where he thought Rhegal was.
And in a movement faster than he’d ever tried, Kurt attacked with his elbow upwards.
The solid sensation of his bones colliding with something gave him what he needed.
Rhegal fell to his knees, suddenly making a loud noise.
"Your chin is a good weak spot." Kurt smirked.
But Rhegal didn’t say anything in return, he just got up, and his form reappeared, leaving behind the invisible camouflage of his strange skill.
Rhegal smirked in return.
"Oh, but that’s not the only trick I have for you. Now just wait until I have your power for myself..."
"So that’s what you want?"
But Rhegal weren’t listening.
He seemed like he had ignored even the fact that he might have said too much.
His head tilted upwards, his throat throbbed and bulged, and after a single second, he let our a screech that pierced everyone’s ears, including the students under his control, Evellyn, Cinthia, and Nikolai, who had already recovered from the beating.
Everyone there, including Kurt, then, suddenly felt their body freeze, with a chill running down their spines.
And a primal fear taking over them.
Kurt tried to not fall to his knees, but his body trembled, his breathing became shallow, and moving became impossible.
’Wha-what’s t-that?’ He tried asking, but his words echoed only in his mind.
"Surprised, are you?" Rhegal laughed. "How does it feel to find a skill that none of you humans have knowledge of or are able to deal with? This... This is Dragon Fear."
