Chapter 76: Ch115. Never forget
Zaval flew fast towards Kurt’s location, but Kurt was getting faster and faster.
He was the first to arrive at the fortieth floor, the last one before the roof, and when he got there, he waited, daggers in hand, [NIGHT VISION] heightened to its limits.
He waited.
And waited.
Suddenly, after what felt like minutes of waiting, to him, Zaval’s presence disappeared completely as he heard the sound of the floor’s door opening.
Kurt readied himself and prepared to dodge, his senses already at its limits.
But nothing came his way.
No strike hit him, and no air current flowed inside the vast, ruined floor for several seconds.
’Maybe I should...’
Kurt got off his fighting pose, slowly, with his senses still attuned with the dark world around him.
And that was when it happened.
Kurt felt the air pressure of Zaval’s attack coming right from behind him, but his foot was still planted enough on the floor for him to be able to dodge it and turn to face his enemy.
"You have some skills, new rat." Zaval said, opening his maw.
And when he did, the darkness of the room faded ever so slightly with the fire that escaped the Ishir’s mouth.
Kurt escaped by rolling sideways, feeling the heat of the blaze graze his cheek.
When he got up and wiped the sweat from his face, he felt the slight pain on his cheek.
He smirked, looking up at Zaval.
"You have the same tricks as your father." Kurt taunted him. "And guess what? I killed him..."
Zaval growled deeply towards Kurt, but his answer was completely different from what he was expecting.
"You might not understand it, because you’re too low of a life form in the universe to actually comprehend this concept. But I’m glad the old geezer died, because he finally reunited with The Great Red Flood. And since you’re here, it means that you didn’t kill him. Instead, he chose to die, just so he could reconnect with one of the Lost Worlds... Just to bring you to me..."
Kurt frowned, thoughtful.
In that briefest moment of what Zaval thought to be hesitation, he blasted another fireball, but Kurt was still aware of his opponent’s movements and attacks, so he was able to dodge it again.
More effectively, this time.
"So there are other versions of the Ishir in other worlds, as well..." Kurt caught himself thinking out loud.
"Versions of..." Zaval broke out in laughter. "Don’t make me laugh, virus! Do you really think we’re so low level creatures that we’d be affected by the Impact like that?"
Kurt thought over the words Zaval had just said, while parrying a double strike from Zaval’s claws with K’s daggers.
He didn’t have much time to question anything, as the heat of the fight was getting more and more intense, so he chose to accept parts of his enemy’s words, and process the only question he had in mind at the moment.
"If you’re not another version of Zaval, then you’re the original one. Or, somehow, at least part of the original. Meaning that you killed my mother..." He said, parrying another claw strike, and moving to slash against Zaval’s throat. "Why?"
Zaval opened his mouth once more, but he retracted his claws in lass than a blink of an eye, and intertwined his fingers with Kurt’s, applying an insane amount of force to it.
So much, that Kurt didn’t know how to escape.
Zaval’s throat began glowing with a bright red flame as he started to speak.
"Boy, I knew that humans were an under-leveled race, but to know that some of you don’t feel the joy of your loved ones’ deaths... It still makes me sick... Word of advice, virus. SNAP OUT OF IT!"
Kurt face contorted into a grimace, as he applied more and more force against Zaval’s grip, trying desperately to get away from the deadly touch of his enemy.
"Snap out of it, you say?" Kurt became angry, and Zaval noticed how it made him slightly stronger, able to push his opponent backwards.
Even if ever so slightly.
"YOU. KILLED. MY. MOM! DO YOU REALLY THINK I’M JUST GONNA LET YOU GET AWAY SCOTT-FREE FROM IT?" Kurt yelled at Zaval, pushing harder and harder.
"Of course!" Zaval growled, as the strength contest tilted towards Kurt. "Do you really think I killed your mother on purpose?" He laughed, his throat still glowing. "She was a mission casualty! I was there to kill you, and when you overpowered me, somehow, I got away, but she got on my way, so I pushed her away with more strength than I really wanted. She died, and soon you’ll join her!"
Everything inside Kurt broke when Zaval spoke those words.
As Zaval’s throat glowed brighter and brighter, Kurt opened one of his hands inside Zaval’s grip, and pulled.
So hard that Zaval lost his balance for a second, his mouth still open.
And when the Ishir was ready to let that torrent of bright red fire out on Kurt, he heard the loud clang that one of K’s daggers made when it touched the floor.
He looked at Kurt’s hand, lowered in a punching form, and readied himself to receive all the damage, still letting the fire rain over the human.
But Kurt didn’t punch.
Rather, he stuck his hand inside Zaval’s mouth, getting burned by the fire, but Kurt didn’t care.
He grabbed Zaval’s tongue and pulled it out.
He, then, opened his other hand, and escaped completely from the Ishir’s iron grasp, but before the other dagger could hit the floor, he took it again, in the swiftest of movements.
Zaval only felt the pain after being able to see what happened.
After he saw Kurt’s burned hand holding his severed tongue.
Zaval screeched loudly in pain, letting out everything he had to make the most powerful Dragon Fear he ever released.
But Kurt didn’t even shake.
Zaval stared at him, his mouth bleeding profusely, his fire extinguished.
In awe.
In fear.
"There’s one thing you should never do..." Kurt said, as the darkness returned to the whole floor, stronger and deeper than before.
Making even Zaval’s eyes, used to that world of shadows and darkness, go blind.
"... Never diminish the death of a human’s loved one."
Zaval then felt the impact of Kurt’s entire body pushing him backwards.
Towards a window.
There was a loud breaking sound as the window shattered, as if the building itself was a gigantic monster, vomiting the two enemies out.
Kurt had K’s two daggers in his hands, and he slashed through Zaval’s wings right when they unfolded, making Zaval let out another painful screech.
"You... Will... Die... Before... I do..." Kurt heard the words getting out of Zaval’s throat, and he understood that the Ishir wasn’t only stupendously stronger than back in his world-line.
He also had a fairly fast regenerating power.
Zaval opened his mouth, and began gathering his fire again, wrapping his arms around Kurt, in a hug not even he would be able to escape.
No matter how angry he was.
Beep!
[YOU PROVED YOUR WORTH TO WULFIR, AND HE HAS GRANTED YOU HIS INHERITANCE]
[THE PLAYER HAS BEEN CHOSEN BY – RIGHT HAND’S QUIETNESS]
[AWAKENING SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES]
