Some things come a little too easily. Even when we make an effort at something, and experience a slight bit of hardship, overall it's really nothing when one takes into account the whole situation. Severin and I thought that it was finally over. We believed that the woman was the strong person that those ladies were talking about. We strongly believe it. Why? Because the alternative was that, if she wasn't the strongest one, then who was?
It was a thought that was on the far back of my mind, and I didn't want to confront it. I had a sneaking suspicion that even Severin didn't want to confront it. He just didn't show it. His ice-cold expression completely masks it. And yet, even his ice-cold expression could no longer be maintained.
“So you're the little birdies that are fucking up my plan.” A man suddenly said. Simultaneously, Severin and I quickly glanced at where the voice came from. It was at that moment that we knew we had met the leader. It didn't take the innate ability of the Schlieffen Family for me to know, we couldn't beat that guy.
“Oy, speak up. Is your mouth suddenly sewn shut just because I've arrived? Speak.”
“Who-” Before Severin could speak, the purple-eyed man was suddenly in front of Severin, his hand clenching his face, as he proceeded to slam it to the ground. I was about to also move, but he then vanished in front of me. It took me a tenth of a second to realize where he was, but by then, it seemed I was too late. I twisted and sliced the sword backward, and yet I didn't feel flesh being it.
It felt more like I hit a steel wall. “Nice sword. Mind letting me borrow it for a second.” The man, holding the edges of my sword with his two fingers, retched it out of my hand. I didn't fight back and went with the momentum, clenching my hand as I tried sending my fist towards his face.
I hit the air. A chilling sensation went across my spine. He's too strong.
“Seemed to have realized who you just messed with huh.”
We need to escape.
"And I'm also guessing you're trying for a way to es-” The man didn't finish his sentence. The compartment seemed to have frozen over. Severin recovered from the sudden shock and dashed toward the man with ice-cold power and precision. The man simply glanced at Severin, seemingly not even worried about him. Severin raised his leg, intending to kick the man in the face. This time, he didn't dodge and just let Severin hit him squarely in the side of his face.
I thought that at least, that would deal some little amount of damage. I am wrong. The man didn't even flinch, and as I looked closer, a purple-colored Kigen was layered on the area that Severin tried kicking. Even though his attack was also Kigen-empowered, it seems to not have been enough to bypass his attack.
Severin saw his attack, and instead of being discouraged, he continued his assault. The two exchanged their martial prowess. Severin sent hundreds of different combinations of martial arts, and yet every time, the man languidly defended it with a bored expression on his face.
"I was expecting more. I heard that someone here knew how to nullify Kigen. Which, from what I know, Is impossible. Sure theoretically it's possible, but the sheer precision to let the particles of Kigen bombard the opposing Kigen would take only the vision of someone who can see the particles. I may be strong, but even I can admit that I can't do that.”
The man continued his rant. Making it look like he was talking to a friend instead of fighting a life-or-death battle with someone. “But from what I can see, it's not you. Then there leaves, one little birdie.” The man seemingly grew bored of Severin, as he then blocked an attack as usual but followed with a counterattack. He slammed his fist against Severin's stomach, causing him to reel from the blow and wretch blood in the process. Severin flew across the air and crashed against the steel wall of the train.
Slowly, the man turned his gaze to me and said. “So it's you.”
Crap.
He was a blur. I didn't even blink. And yet he made it look like he teleported in front of me. He tried doing the same thing he did to Severin to me. He opened his palm and intended to grab my face and smash me to the ground. He grabbed my face, but I grabbed his wrist in turn, gripping it like a vice grip.
“Hoho, you're a strong one, aren't you. And a tad bit strong even without Kigen I see. Oh, so you're that type.” I hit his forearm, his grip on my face loosening and without even a moment to waste, I twisted in my place and built momentum on my elbow, intending to slam it on his face. He blocked my attack.
"A heavenly body. Very interesting. I do believe that when a battle dancer has a heavenly body, it means that they are severely lacking in some area.”
“Shut up already. You talk too much.”
“I don't? You're right, I should focus on smashing your face in, then we can have a proper conversation when you're half dead.”
"Wait- I take it b-”
He simply smiled and cut me off. He slammed his fist in my solar plexus, making me reel forward. Crap, I just poked a beehive, didn't I. I recovered and quickly lengthened the distance between us. I stared behind him and saw that Severin was slowly recovering. Our eyes collided, and I could see that there was a fiery determination that was fueling the ice-cold exterior.
But despite the desire burning inside of him to beat the man that is beating us, I could still see reason behind his eyes.
‘We need to retreat. We need a plan.’ I nodded at him, and the man seemed to have noticed. “Oy oy, what are you planning behind those little birdie eyes.” I ignored him and inspected my pool of Kigen. Halfway to full. Sigh, I'll make it work. I took a deep breath, lowered my body, and pounced.
"Finally!” The man shouted, seemingly excited to fight. We collided, our martial arts colliding. He wasn't even using Kigen, just using his body like me. Good. Our fight went on. I twisted and tried doing a roundhouse kick, yet he blocked it with the back of his palm and flicked. My balance slightly tipped and he took advantage of that.
Wrapping purple Kigen on his palm, he did a palm strike. I was waiting for that. I quickly recovered my feigned off-balance and used my technique.
24 Styles of Simplicity.
Nullifying Hand
Positive and Negative Kigen coalesced at my hand, and I extended it forward as to black the man's attack. I stopped him. Yet the force behind his fist was still not something I could fully take on. I skidded back a few inches from my feet, but I didn't let it bother me and used another style
24 Styles of Simplicity.
Heaven’s Fist.
A Golden shroud of Kigen wrapped my other hand and sent it to him. There was a surprised expression on the man's fist as he saw my Nullifying hand. But it became more pronounced once he saw my Heaven's fist. He didn't seem bothered by my attack and took it head-on. He crossed his arms in front of him, as I slammed it against his block.
Even though there was a chalk-like gap between our skills, I at least believed that I would throw him back a couple of meters. I am wrong. My fist collided with his defense, and yet the only reaction I got was a wince in his eyes and his skidding back a few inches.
"Ah yes. That's it. That's it indeed. It's a shame that you're only a 1st stage completer.”
He said. He looked at his arms, and simply shook it off. I was shocked. Every other person I used Heaven's fist was at least blown back and took damage enough to incapacitate them. But it seemed that it didn't even do that much against him.
“Don't be too upset, little birdie. That's just the difference between us. It's really a shame. I wanted to see how far you could go, but I have a mission you see. And those bastards above me really want this plan to go off without a hitch. So I'm afraid that you won't be leaving this train with your heart still beating.” He said. His aura suddenly took a turn.
Bloodlust leaked from his being, and at that moment, Severin and I realized that he was going to take this seriously. Severin already recovered and bolted towards him, an icy aura covering his entire body. I did the same and pushed my body as hard as I could. We clashed against him.
We both sent several attacks to him, all of them deadly and pinpointed at weak spots. And yet despite him fighting against both of us at the same time, he still managed to hold his own. It is not all doom and gloom though. A serious look passed through his expression, seemingly realizing that he would be really in trouble if he didn't take us with a degree of caution.
It is true. Despite Severin and I being a chasm apart from his level, it was not a good reason for him to just simply ignore us. As long as we can make one good hit against him, it would increase the odds of surviving against him.
There’s a fatal flaw in our plan though. Even as we continued the battle against him, pushing him back no matter how small it was, we still had no plans to actually beat him. We couldn't. He was a full stage ahead of us. If the completion of the first stage means that the Battle Dancer can now manipulate Kigen freely, then the completion of the next stage means that he has harmonized with Kigen.
Balancing the forces that are in one's own body with the ancient energy that is called Kigen. While Severin and I are kigen might be like a softly flowing river, then his is a torrent that would rage against anything that stood in his way.
Severin, already managing to take hold of his sword, sliced into the man. An icy aura coated his sword that threatened to freeze and shatter and slice anything that came along its way. At the same time, I put my full force into my right hand. Clenching it tightly, and slamming it towards his chest.
The man saw both of our attacks and yet a twisted smile appeared on his face. A sudden power rose from him. The feeling he was giving off was like a being from beyond our own strengths appeared and roared in our faces. A seemingly purple dragon wrapped along his two arms, and he used it to grab the forearms we used to attack him and throw us off in opposite directions.
Our bodies slammed against the steel walls of the train, most likely causing a dent. I felt my bones crushed, my inside turning as if someone dropped a ladle in it and started stewing a pot. Blood spurted out of my mouth.
"Oaghhh.” I groaned as the pain I felt was immense. Severin wasn't better off than me though. It looked like he got it worse as he was already being thrown against the wall the second time around.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
How the hell were we going to beat this guy. I gazed at him through my bloodied face. I felt a few of my bones were broken in several places. But it was not the point where I could not move. The man took a breath but that was it. We did all that, and all he did was take a breath. We need to change things up. Up...
As if lightning struck my mind, I realized how we could beat him.
Checking my Kigen reserves, It was about 10 percent. It's little, insignificant in some situations but not this one. I have one style that will give Severin and me some breathing room to work out our plan. The only problem is, I have to execute it under his damned eyes.
I recovered myself. Spitting out blood to the ground. I lowered my stance as If I was about to attack, and In a moment I dashed. The man seemed to have already gotten bored of it and simply prepared himself. Just as I was about arm's length from him, I used one of my styles.
24 Styles of Simplicity.
Footwork of Hermes.
Draining my last bit of Kigen, I infused positive Kigen into my legs, and without even giving time for the man to react, I sped past him. Reached Severin and grabbed him, and then left the compartment once a second passed. The man tried catching up with me, yet I simply left him in the dust, and in a while, we reached the end of the train.
First-Class Compartment.
Smoke billowed from my feet, yet I ignored it and put Severin down. He is a mess. Blood continuously dripped from his mouth. His once snow-white hair was dyed with his own blood and is all over the place. “Kaughh, Kayde... Fight... We need to.”
“I know, I know. But at this rate. It won't even be a fight. It would be more like a beating.”
"We can't... We can't leave them. Kayde.”
Through his bloodshot eyes, I could see that there was a determination to save the ones that were kidnapped. “I want to save them too. But we have to be smart about it.” Though reluctant, he took a metaphorical step back and leaned his body against the wall.
“Young master?” A voice made its presence known. I looked towards it and saw that it was the Guard that Severin was with. I was startled. He was actually fine. There were still some injuries apparent in his body, yet the man didn't seem to have noticed it and walked towards Severin. “Young master! Who did this? Was it this kid?” The man suddenly turned and glared at me.
“No, it's not him. It's the one that blew up the train.”
“I see. We must leave young masters. It is no longer safe here.”
“We can't.”
“Young master, please, do not be stubborn.”
“There are people to be saved and are in danger, Christoph.”
“Their lives are nothing compared to yours young master.”
“Christoph. Lives. LIVES are at stake here. Now shut it and help me stand.”
Severin calmly said. Christoph seemed to want to retort and insist on escaping, and it didn't look like Seveirn would leave. Especially when it came from an enemy that just beat him silly. “And there is another thing, Christoph. I will kill him.” It seemed that he was even more furious than he thought.
I think it might be because this is one of the first times that he has actually been defeated. I heard some rumors about this guy. It's said that he's the next in line to be the next Archduke of the Schlieffen Family. But that's not the strange part. So what, someone's next in line to the throne, big deal. Well, it's not that simple.
From what Bael has told me, every successor of the Schlieffen Family required unparalleled strength. Something like being one of the strongest Battle Dancers in a generation. And they have kept to that tradition since time immemorial. They really have produced some really strong Battle Dancers. But what I heard is that Severin is special. So special in fact, that the last time someone like Severin appeared in history, an Empire was made. And yes, it's the Empire that they belong to.
“Kayde. I have a plan.”
"What a coincidence. So do I.”
“Good. My plan involves activating an innate ability of mine. What about you.”
“Mine is simple.” I pointed up and both of them stared up at the same time. “We're going to fight on top of the train.”
20 Minutes Later.
It didn't take long for us to prepare. I recovered my Kigen fully. Severin did some first aid kit on himself with the help of his guardian. We discussed the plan and agreed that it was the best course of action. We can't kill him. We can't even beat him. But who said that the only way to beat an opponent is to make him submit?
“Kayde, I only have 5 minutes for my ability. We have to do it in that time frame or else, we are not going to succeed.”
“I know. And also remember, we can't bring your Guardian with you.”
“I also know that. He's going to take care of the hostages and the other lackeys, while we fight the purple-eyed man.”
“Young master, can I fight in your place? It seems like I and that guy are on the same stage.”
"You can't beat him.” Severin mercilessly judged. Christoph was startled, asking. "Why? The gap between us can't be that big.”
"The gap between you doesn't even matter. It's simply a chasm. Though you are on the same stage as him, his quality of Kigen is better. When we fought him, he wasn't even using his full strength. Half at most. He didn't even use Kigen techniques, and yet he beat me." Christoph wanted to retort but it's true.
Severin is one of those geniuses that can suppress an entire generation. And yet even he can't fully overcome him. It's like two children are trying to beat an adult. The children might be a little muscular, but they are still children in the end.
"Alright. To summarize our plan, Severin and I will fight the purple-eyed man. While Christoph will deal with the remaining lackeys and their potential plot.” The two nodded at me, and once we were prepared. We set off.
BOOOM!
Not again. A loud explosion rang out. The train rocked as if an earthquake had happened. We steadied ourselves. We all made eye contact and already knew what we all meant.
We need to hurry.
We bolted. Dashing from compartment to compartment, until we managed to arrive at the last one. He stood there, arms behind his back as he gazed out the window. “Beautiful isn't it. Destruction. Destruction at its finest is pure art. Nothing can compare.” We didn't respond and instead stuck to our plan. Christoph emitted a frosty aura like Severin, and though it was objectively stronger than Severin, it was less pure if that makes sense.
Severin and I dashed forward first. The man turned around and faced us once more, a grin gracing his face. "Welcome back little birdies. Have a nice rest. I hope so. Because the next rest you will be having is something that you won't wake up from.” He laughed, purple kigen wrapped around him. A dominating aura that willed to subjugate us both. We endured.
The first attack is the key to making our plan happen. Thus, I could feel an immense amount of Kigen was being infused on Schlieffen's left hand, while I readied myself to use Heaven's fist. We attacked at the same time. Sending our fist forward, with no worry that it won't hit.
We grasped a little bit of what the man was like, and we came to the conclusion that he took everything head-on from us. We speculated that it was because he looked down on us. Not even bothering to take us seriously; and instead opted to have fun.
That's fine with us. Hell, it's perfect.
Just as our fists were about to collide with him we changed its direction and soon it was pointing upwards. The man seemed to have noticed it but didn't seem to have cared either way. Our fists hit their target. He flew upwards, blasting a hole through the ceiling of the train. His laughter echoed as he was blasted away.
We followed.
We were now standing on top of the train, and opposite of us was him.
“I haven't properly introduced myself haven't I? Learning my name will be at least a gift for you in the afterlife. I am Shiryu. What are your little birdies?”
"Kayde.”
“Severin.”
“Well then, you guys aren't one to talk huh. Let's start then.”
His aura erupted. I rubbed my eyes and thought that I was hallucinating. I am not. From his immense aura, a dragon seemed to have formed behind him. But it was faint. It doesn't matter though. It was enough to make me feel chills. An aura of domination spilled out from him.
"5 Minutes. No more, no less.” Severin said. I then felt a real chill. I looked at him and saw that he was looking different. He reeled forward as he was in pain, groaning. I backed away a couple of steps and watched his transformation unfold. The rumors were true.
I thought that the kids from the neighborhood were making shit up, but I didn't actually think that it was possible.
"GRAHHHHHH,” Severin screamed. White hair started to grow out from his body. Claws that glistened under the sun extended out from his hands. His body was even growing, as muscles started forming. White ears that pointed to the sky replaced his old one. And finally, fangs that seemed to be sharp and powerful enough to bite through steel grew from his mouth. He opened his eyes, and I could see his dark pupils and blue irises.
"WOOOOOOO.” Severin howled, the volume of it echoing through the forest in the distance. His once icy aura strengthened, instantly freezing the ground he stood on. He then turned his gaze at me and I was shocked. "5 Minutes.” He growled at me. Not just that he said it to me with a bit of reverb. He literally growled at me.
He crouched down, his leg muscles protracting, and leaped towards Shiryu. The force from his leap shattered the train's ceiling. Wow. Yup, it's true.
There's a legend that within the Schlieffen Family, their 1st Patriarch, their Progenitor, was able to transform himself into a world of Legend. And it is because of that that their unique trait, Wulfin, sprouted throughout the generations. Unfortunately, it did not seem to have passed on to the following generations. Once the 1st patriarch crossed to the afterlife, the ability was lost to time. Hundreds of years have passed since their progenitor, and none have appeared.
That is, until Severin is here. He didn't turn into a full werewolf. Just something close to it. His body grew bigger and more muscular and had some of the traits that a wolf has, but he didn't transform fully. My theory is that he needs to reach a certain stage to fully activate it. I don't know, it's just my guess.
Severin's battle raged against the man. He no longer had that arrogant smile on his face and had a serious expression. Severins strength seemed to have grown, as he was able to match him in strength. He was even able to injure him to some degree. Severin slammed his fist against him, and Shiryu actually skidded back a few inches.
Heck, I could only do that with my Heaven Fist. Jesus, his normal attacks are terrifying.
Make no mistake though. Despite Severin's awesome transformation, we are by no means at an advantage. We are still at a disadvantage even. Shiryu seemingly already got over the sudden transformation, as he then said. "Ha! That old bag was actually right. A battle dancer that has the Werewolf bloodline. How unique. I changed my mind. You won't die, kid. You'll just suffer something worse than death.”
Just as Severin was able to match him, I then heard Shiryu say.
"Dragon Fist." His kigen which took the form of a dragon, wrapped itself around his right arm, and he promptly slammed it against Severin. Severin tried blocking by crossing his arms right in front of him yet it was futile.
Severin flew back.
At that moment I thought of catching him but I held myself back. He flew right past me, our eyes colliding for a split second as I saw that shock in his beastly eyes. I turned my head back and saw that he corrected his position in mid-air, punctured his claws into the ground, and slowed down his flight.
I looked back at the purple-eyed man and felt shivers down my spine. It was faint, but it was like there was a purple dragon wrapped around his body. His eyes seemed to have been brighter and more apparent. “You two have potential. Normally, the people who are hit by Dragon Fist go splat, and the people who see it firsthand flee. But you two... I have an offer that you would love."
“What is it?” I said, buying time. I could hear Severin that even though he managed to endure the attack, he was still reeling from the impact. Based on what I know, Werewolves, even though Severins are only half right now, have an increased healing factor. He just needs a minute to recover and then we can continue with our plan.
“It's simple. Join us- Or die- it's that simple.”
“I see. Are there perks and what's the pay like?”
“Well let's see...” The man looked down and held a pondering look on his face. He then looked up, had a wide grin on his face, and said. “You will see something interesting.” Goosebumps ran down my arm as he said that. I held my arm as I tried hiding it and replied. “What do you mean interesting?”
"It's just something interesting. A sight to see that you will never forget even if you want to.”
“That's not very attractive is it.”
"Oh I almost forgot, if you join, the organization will fulfill your one wish in exchange for your services.”
I froze. The man noticed and his grin became even wider. “It seems that you want something yourself. Hoho, what is it little birdie? Oh and if you're wondering why the organization won't keep its word, you don't have to worry. Their organization will collapse if they start going back on their word. I mean, some of us are only here because of our one wish.”
I tried opening my mouth but I shut it right away. My mind was thrown into chaos. Various thoughts sprang up, reasons as to why I should take it. Better yet, why can't I take it? I'm not exactly a beacon of justice nor do I claim to be. Yes... If I take this then I can have them back. Then we can be complete-
“We decline.” Somebody then grabbed my shoulder tightly and snapped me out of my thoughts. I quickly looked towards Seveirn and saw his cold gaze. He nodded at me and I nodded back. ‘Thank you,’ I whispered. He didn't reply and continued what he was saying.
“Our wishes will be fulfilled by ourselves. No one else. Only then will our suffering mean anything in the end.” I then thought back to my own suffering. The crippling loneliness I had endured in that big house. The seer heat I endured at the beginning of my apprenticeship. I passed out several times because of it. But I moved forward either way.
"Young people. So nice to be given the luxury of naivete. Well as a proper adult, I should break it for you noh.” He wiped off his grin. His aura escalated and it shook the top of the train. We didn't wait for him to attack first. I infused kigen to my feet, and Severin howled as his claws noticeably sharpened and enhanced by kigen.
Thus we begin.