Chapter 166: Now Let’s Really Fight (Part 2)
Lightning exploded across the dungeon.
Wind erupted in every direction.
The shattered arena trembled as blue arcs raced across Kai’s Storm Sovereign Cloak, tearing through the air with sharp cracks that echoed against the broken walls.
The livestream viewer count surged.
Ninety thousand.
Ninety-five.
One hundred thousand.
Sora smiled.
"...He’s finally serious."
Across the ruined arena, crimson energy poured from Raze like smoke rising from molten metal.
His Blood Armor spread over his body, covering his arms, chest, and shoulders in layers of hardened crimson that pulsed with every heartbeat.
Battle Roar still echoed through the chamber.
Blood Tyrant continued stacking.
Every enhancement he possessed was active.
Raze rolled his shoulders.
"So this..."
He grinned.
"...is the real you."
Kai answered by raising the Fractured Blade.
The Tempest Fang shimmered into existence beside it. Ashen Seal floated behind him, surrounded by the rest of his weapons.
Wind circled him.
Lightning danced between the blades. "I guess hiding it isn’t an option anymore."
Neither moved.
Then both disappeared.
BOOM!
The collision split the arena. The Fractured Blade slammed into the crimson greatsword, releasing a shockwave that raced through the dungeon and shattered the ceiling above them.
Massive chunks of stone crashed into the battlefield.
Outside the Mythical Gate, Hunters instinctively looked toward the entrance. Several actually stumbled as the ground beneath them vibrated.
Inside...
Kai pushed forward. Lightning exploded from the Fractured Blade. Raze answered with raw strength. The crimson greatsword forced Kai backward several feet before Kai twisted his wrist and redirected the pressure away instead of trying to overpower it.
The redirected force carved a trench through the floor beside him.
Raze immediately followed.
Warstep.
His next swing launched his entire body forward.
Kai Air Stepped.
The greatsword missed him by inches. The shockwave behind it tore another support pillar apart. Kai reappeared above Raze.
Flaming Swordsman.
Fire ignited along the Fractured Blade. The slash descended but Raze crossed his sword upward.
Steel met flame.
The fire exploded across Blood Armor instead of cutting through it.
Raze laughed. "Hot!"
His shoulder slammed into Kai’s chest. The impact launched Kai backward through a broken wall but he quickly twisted in midair.
Threads.
Silver lines shot from his fingertips and anchored themselves across the collapsing room. The threads tightened and his momentum reversed. Instead of crashing into another wall, Kai slingshot himself back toward Raze.
Pulse Fist.
Compressed force erupted from his left hand. The invisible shockwave struck Raze square in the chest. The Blood Tyrant slid backward only three steps before stopping.
"Better!" Raze roared.
Execution Drive.
The greatsword lowered. His entire body became a charging fortress and the distance vanished.
Kai didn’t block.
Earth Mage.
Stone pillars erupted between them.
The first exploded.
Then the second.
Then the third.
Each one shattered beneath Raze’s charge. But each one stole a little momentum and it was enough. Kai stepped around the final pillar and brought the Fractured Blade across Raze’s side.
The strike landed and Blood Armor for the first had cracked. Not deeply but just enough to leave a glowing line.
Raze looked down and smiled wider. "There you go!"
Blood Tyrant surged.
The wound sealed almost immediately.
Kai frowned. "So it really is getting stronger."
Another swing came.
Kai ducked beneath it before a kick slammed into Raze’s knee. Not to damage but to interrupt. Raze staggered half a step. Kai immediately chained into another attack.
Pulse Fist.
A shockwave struck Raze’s shoulder. But the larger Hunter rotated with it instead of resisting. And then the greatsword spun around in a full circle. Kai barely leaned back in time as the crimson blade passed inches from his face.
It smashed through three remaining pillars before burying itself in the arena wall.
Raze pulled it free with one arm. "Again!"
Kai smiled. "Gladly."
They collided again.
And again.
Steel screamed.
Lightning scattered across crimson energy. Every clash sent another shockwave through the dungeon. The arena was disappearing beneath them. Kai switched styles without thinking.
One moment he fought like the Flame Swordsman.
The next he moved like Ironpact Kai.
Every movement became smaller and cleaner. A kick redirected Raze’s wrist. An elbow interrupted his shoulder. The Fractured Blade slipped through openings that hadn’t existed a second earlier.
Raze found himself missing by inches.
Not because Kai was faster but because Kai kept changing. Every exchange became different. Every answer created another question.
Kai noticed something.
Blood Tyrant made Raze stronger. Much stronger. But stronger attacks demanded larger movements.
Larger movements created longer recoveries. It was tiny, almost invisible for a hunter like Raze but they still existed. He stopped looking at Raze’s sword and watched Raze entire body for these gaps.
Raze swung but Kai was already gone.
The greatsword carved another crater through the arena. Kai appeared beside him wth his Pulse fist and then the shockwave shifted Raze’s balance.
Just enough.
Thread Caster.
A silver thread wrapped around Raze’s rear ankle but he cut it immediately. But his stance had already changed.
Earth Mage.
Stone erupted beneath that foot. The uneven ground forced Raze to adjust and opened himself up for Kai slash. The Fractured Blade carved another shallow line across Blood Armor.
Then another.
Then another.
The wounds weren’t serious. But it kept giving Kai enough information on how to adapt to Raze, something he too realized.
His grin grew wider than ever. "You’re analyzing me."
Kai didn’t deny it. "I usually solve problems."
Raze threw his head back and laughed. "I LOVE THAT!"
Crimson energy exploded outward. The remaining floor disappeared beneath a wave of blood-colored power.
Blood Spears.
Hundreds of crimson lances formed overhead. The viewers collectively gasped. The entire ceiling disappeared behind them.
Then the spears fell.
Kai vanished across the battlefield through empty air as the crimson spears crashed into the arena behind him, each impact leaving another smoking crater.
The dungeon shook continuously.
Raze hadn’t landed once. But he didn’t care as Blood Waves followed immediately. Every swing of Raze’s greatsword now released towering blades of crimson energy that stretched from wall to wall.
Kai didn’t block them. He flowed between Air Steps, slipping through impossible gaps as the blood blades carved apart everything they touched.
The arena ceased being an arena.
It became a storm.
Then crimson spheres appeared.
One.
Three.
Five.
Eight.
Blood Orbs.
They floated silently around Kai and then accelerated. Every orb chased him independently.
They crashed through walls.
Curved around pillars.
Ignored obstacles entirely.
Kai clicked his tongue. "So now you’re making me move."
Raze rested the greatsword across his shoulder. "No." He smiled. "I’m making you run."
Kai looked around.
Blood covered nearly every piece of the battlefield. The broken stone. The shattered walls. The enormous craters.
Everywhere.
Kai immediately understood that the blood wasn’t decoration. Every drop strengthened Raze and every second this battle continued, the Blood Tyrant grew stronger.
"Where was all of this in the boss battles?"
"This isn’t team friendly."
Kai laughed at that before he stopped thinking. He stopped trying to match Raze’s strength and tried to solve every attack one at a time.
Instead...
He simply went all out.
Raze charged first.
The crimson greatsword carved through the blood-soaked arena, dragging a towering Blood Wave behind it that swallowed everything in its path.
Kai didn’t retreat.
Threads shot from his fingertips. They anchored themselves around broken pillars and chunks of floating debris before tightening all at once. His body shifted sideways and the Blood Wave missed him by inches.
Earth Mage activated immediately afterward.
Stone erupted beneath Raze but The Blood Tyrant answered with overwhelming force. The greatsword split the pillar apart.
Exactly as Kai expected.
The collapsing stone hid Kai’s next movement.
Air Step.
He appeared directly above Raze and the Fractured Blade descended. Raze caught it. The clash echoed through the dungeon.
Kai smiled. "Too slow."
Pulse Fist exploded from his free hand. The invisible shockwave struck Raze’s shoulder.
Not enough to launch him but just enough to shift his balance. That tiny movement changed everything as the Tempest Fang came around from the opposite side.
Raze barely blocked.
Lightning burst between both weapons.
Kai didn’t stop as he lashed out with a kick into Raze ribs. The impact forced him another step sideways. A silver thread wrapped around his wrist but Raze immediately tore it apart. Yet the Fractured Blade was already waiting.
Steel screamed.
Another shallow cut appeared across Blood Armor.
Kai wasn’t chaining skills.
He was chaining opportunities.
Every attack existed because the previous one had forced it into existence.
Raze laughed. "This..."
The greatsword swept upward. Kai leaned around it. "...is..."
His elbow crashed into Raze’s jaw. Raze answered with a shoulder tackle but Kai vanished after jumping upwards.
Lightning crackled beneath his feet before he reappeared behind Raze. The Fractured Blade struck and the Blood Armor blocked most of it. Pulse Fist followed immediately afterward. The delayed shockwave finally staggered Raze.
"...AMAZING!"
His laughter shook the dungeon.
Blood Spears formed overhead again.
Hundreds.
They rained downward but Kai didn’t even look up. His body moved on instinct as he air-step between them over and over. Lightning carried him between the crimson spears as they hammered into the battlefield behind him.
Blood Orbs curved through the air.
One chased him.
Then three.
Then six.
Kai led them straight toward Raze.
Raze swung once.
The Blood Wave destroyed two.
Kai redirected the remaining four with Threads. The floating spheres slammed into each other and the four explosions shook the arena.
Smoke swallowed everything but Kai entered it willingly.
The viewers lost him. "So did Raze."
For half a second.
That was enough.
A flaming slash burst through the smoke.
Raze blocked.
Pulse Fist followed from below.
He blocked again.
Kai disappeared.
Air Step.
Kick.
Thread.
Sword.
The Blood Tyrant was forced backward, not because he was weaker. But because Kai refused to let him recover. Every strike interrupted the next movement and every movement created another opening.
Raze’s smile never faded as his excitement only grew. He swung harder and made his Blood Waves become larger. The entire arena disappeared beneath crimson energy but Kai continued to move through it.
A kick redirected the greatsword.
A knee interrupted Raze’s hips.
An elbow struck his shoulder.
The Fractured Blade cut across Blood Armor. Before Kai fought like Sovereign Kai as he stepped directly into Raze’s space. There was no wasted movement as he slashed onto the repeated damaged part of the Blood Armor.
Every strike landed exactly where it needed to before he shifted into Flame Swordsman. Fire exploded across the Fractured Blade and it smashed into Raze.
For the first time, pushing him off balance with the explosion. Then lightning exploded from the Storm Sovereign Cloak.
The dungeon became a storm.
Raze roared as blood flooded the battlefield. The Tyrant Domain strengthened again. Every drop of blood around him surged into his armor. His aura doubled and the crimson greatsword descended.
But Kai finally saw it, the one opening he needed. Everything around him seemed to become quiet. The next movements happened almost simultaneously. The silver line caught Raze’s wrist only for a second before his pulse fist shockwave redirected the greatsword.
A kick struck Raze’s knee and made his balance shift. Stone lifted beneath his rear foot and finally made him collapse. Kai stepped inside with his sword slashed down, elbow striking onto Raze, fist crashing into him, leg lashing out.
Over and over he kept on chaining his attacks into Raze’s body. Raze couldn’t recover and for the first time since the battle began...
The Blood Tyrant lost control.
Kai disappeared one final time and the viewers searched desperately. Then someone shouted. "ABOVE!"
Lightning filled the dungeon ceiling.
Kai stood high above Raze with the Fractured Blade glowed brilliantly. The Storm Sovereign Cloak spread behind him like wings.
The wind screamed.
One step.
One downward swing.
BOOM!
The Fractured Blade crashed into Raze’s greatsword and the impact shattered the crimson weapon’s guard.
Lightning erupted.
The remaining Blood Armor exploded apart.
Raze crashed downward like a meteor and the arena disappeared beneath the impact. A crater nearly fifty feet wide replaced what remained of the battlefield.
Silence followed.
The wind slowly faded.
The lightning disappeared.
The Storm Sovereign Cloak settled.
Ashen Seal vanished.
The Tempest Fang dissolved into light.
Class Emulation ended.
Dust drifted through the ruined dungeon and Kai landed beside the crater. He was breathing heavily and for the first time by the viewers, he looked exhausted. He looked into the enormous hole. Only Raze’s head and one arm remained visible above the broken stone.
Kai sat down beside the crater. "...Man." He laughed once. "You’re exhausting to deal with."
Silence answered him.
Then...
Raze started laughing. "You actually..." He coughed. "...beat me."
Kai smiled. "So?"
Raze looked toward the shattered ceiling. He slowly raised one hand. "I’m done. You win."
A familiar screen appeared before both of them.
[Authority Candidate: Raze Donovan.]
[Status Updated.]
[Withdrawn.]
The livestream exploded.
Comments flooded faster than anyone could read them.
Kai stood and offered a hand.
Raze looked at it.
Then laughed again before grabbing it.
Kai pulled him out of the crater and together they walked toward the exit.
As the gate opened, Raze bumped Kai’s shoulder. "Don’t lose." Kai looked at him. "Otherwise I got beat up for nothing."
Kai laughed. "I’ll do my best."
Raze nodded once. "Good."
The gate opened.
Both Hunters stepped through together.
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