An Enemy Impossible To Defeat

Heian Ciemnosc lunged his arms forwards. His wrists bent but became much more solid as his fingertips aimed at the aged man's abdomen with his left hand and left forearm with his right hand. The man didn't have time to respond. Heian Ciemnosc quickly sensed unbelievably powerful Power Energy fluctuations come to fruit to protect the aged man's inner body. But Heian Ciemnosc's fingertips were already grazing his skin!

“Aaah! Yo-!”

Swish- cuh cuh, phhshk~ splassshh~~. The aged man’s response was interrupted amidst his widening eyes and lifted eyebrows. The sinister glint in his black eyes was also halted. And his long white hair, as healthy as a young man, retracted uglily backwards as Heian Ciemnosc’s Claws Out sounded a ‘click-pshift’ and pierced his body!

But the target didn’t just let his body be pierced by those ‘hidden’ weapons. The moment his left forearm was perforated, and he felt it almost ripped off, Power Energy concentrated there and on his abdomen, where the other ‘hidden’ weapons pierced his skin. The Power Energy arrived in time and tried breaking those weapons straight up, but they were seemingly indestructible. They continued to damage his body, and the aged man could only slowly put his Power Energy towards his palms.

Heian Ciemnosc’s momentum as he came rushing in wasn’t affected, as he even entered the central building through the door while pushing backwards the bleeding aged man’s body. But this wasn’t his chosen battlefield. He was only waiting for the target to strike back so they could return to the corridor. He didn’t know nor couldn’t tell how many helpful items the aged man would have within the central building during a fight.

Psh… pshift. Bam, whoosh, whoosh. Heian Ciemnosc’s Claws Out punctured inwards a little more. The aged man’s left arm was about to be torn off his body. But at that moment, the target’s Power Energy condensed well enough at the palms. From them, an outburst of Power Energy exploded and slammed onto his chest!

Heian Ciemnosc flew backwards really quick. Even though the Power Energy slamming into his chest was enough. He simply didn’t want to slam into a wall and halt his or change his plans. As he did his best to float without the aged man’s attention, the power of that blow left him senseless for a split second before the painful torment of it invading his body through his chest arrived. His lungs were already quaking, and from his lips, a few blood trails met the world before his eyes.

He could only hold his collarbone, without any remaining clothing to protect his body from the eye, and even Spirit Sense as the aged man chased after him, profusely bleeding from the left arm and abdomen somewhat.

Tap, tap. Heian Ciemnosc burst with some dark Power Energy as he saw the aged man float out of the central building and into the entrance corridor a couple meters. He forced his body to a halt and glided down to land his feet on the rotten wooden floor. On the other hand, the target also slowed down to land his feet on the ground just 2 meters before Heian Ciemnosc to observe his assassin.

‘Ashes Soul realm, 4th stage…’ Heian Ciemnosc thought as he tried his best to keep himself standing. His body was swiftly dissipating the remaining enemy Power Energy within. But there was too much, and it was much more resistant than Heian Ciemnosc had ever faced. The aged man, on the other hand, was ecstatic and incredulous as he also read Heian Ciemnosc’s cultivation base.

“Hahaha! Are you just in the Ashes Apperception realm? A kid? Ahahaha, you must’ve really thought you could kill me in one go, putrid imbecile! Ingrate!!” The aged man turned furious by the end of his words, then observed Heian Ciemnosc’s body more at ease and scrutinizingly. “Your skin and body… mmm, a great item for my project. Wait after I kill you, you’ll join the others below and form a family together… before becoming my pet!”

“Huh?? What was that… !!” The aged man was just taking a step forward. Heian Ciemnosc could see the whole aura within and outside the former’s body with his eyes open as they began to condense outwards and inwards, respectively, and his Power Energy prepared for more. But then, the target halted, his head cocked to the left as if seemingly realizing something or being notified. Heian Ciemnosc wasn’t new to mental messages, and he also saw the tiniest of fluctuations suddenly coming towards them before entering deep into the aged man’s brain.

“What have you… arrgh! Dammit!” The aged man thoroughly ignored Heian Ciemnosc and turned around, just a soft child in the Ashes Apperception realm. But the moment he did, Heian Ciemnosc’s Vocón Link rang a noiseless, tenebrous sound, making the target instinctively shake as if a breeze of pure ice col had tried seeping into the deepest of his self.

‘What is- AUUUH?!!!’ The aged man frowned and slowly halted his steps. He felt something approaching but couldn’t tell why. And he felt some kind of threat, but he couldn’t figure out from where! Right then, the Vocón Link no longer slid on the rotten wood, for it had jolted upwards and aimed at the target’s lower back!

The aged man began writhing in pain as he inadvertently impulsed his body into the air with a slight jump, but one that brought him half a meter forward and almost escaping Heian Ciemnosc’s tool’s range with the angle the target impulsed himself to. Thus, Heian Ciemnosc pulled the Vocón Link, bringing the aged man closer as the latter half-spun and faced the floor with the top of his head while facing Heian Ciemnosc.

Thud. Heian Ciemnosc pulled again, and the aged man met the floor head first as his legs sprawled on the ground, but only for a moment before he struggled to stand up with his back facing Heian Ciemnosc and slowly turning around.

Heian Ciemnosc used his right hand to take out the small disk the mission leader gave him before starting to send some Spirit Sense into it after recording the desired area and was about to throw it behind the aged man. But the latter had finished turning around now. Heian Ciemnosc’s eyes widened as he could feel his Vocón Link slowly neutralized with the pressing Spirit Sense and Power Enery from the enemy trying to push it out of his body!

“You have… got… some special kid… Your Power Energy is different, too… Has the Academy recruited ‘someone’ else, huh? Very good, then… I will enjoy ea- cough, cough coug-!” The aged man tried to speak to intimidate and seed fear in Heian Ciemnosc’s heart. But all the pale teenager felt was the incredible superiority someone 2 realms above his own had over everything he had to offer.

Heian Ciemnosc had already employed his best cards, yet all the aged man went through was getting hurt and feeling tremendous pain. Even then, the enemy’s Power Energy was enough to keep him going and about to launch more attacks against him!

Suddenly coughing blood, the aged man gave Heian Ciemnosc enough time to send the tool flying. With just a wisp of Power Energy, Heian Ciemnosc felt the enemy Power Energy dissipating from within his body as he launched the tool. The disk flew just as the aged man thought to send a burst of his mighty and unbeatable Power Energy to slam Heian Ciemnosc’s body away, and again and again and again!

But upon seeing something shiny flying with an ever so tiny contrail of dark Power Energy, he halted out of instinct and felt threatened again. The aged man was being careful, and that was bad only for Heian Ciemnosc, but just when the former realized there was nothing to be fearful of, but also not even knowing he felt that threat only because of Heian Ciemnosc’s dark Power Energy left on the tool. The target saw the shiny silver of the tool… and became speechless.

On it reflected Heian Ciemnosc’s eyes, which in turn didn’t brood any light, and even as there was a terrifying sensation crippling down the aged man’s spine, head, and heart, there was absolutely no light in them as if lifeless. It was too late when the target looked back at the tool and wanted to send Power Energy to destroy it. When he looked back, it was already separating into several thin, mirror-like shards as they all flew in a large rectangle formation… and created an area of light green.

“... Trapping me? Haheuh… trapping… me?!!” The aged man looked around before becoming dumbstruck as he realized what this was for. He pointed at Heian Ciemnosc while the Vocón Link was still tormenting his body with what seemed to be pain all over his body, Power Energy, and Spirit Sense. “All of this, my organization being struck by the Academy’s students… and yet a measly, meager Ashes Apperception realm is to stop me? Hahahaha!”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“...” Heian Ciemnosc kept looking at the target with lifeless, darkest eyes. His body relaxed a little. The Vocón Link was slowly pulled back, feigning a vulnerability of sorts… weakness. Those eyes instilled fear into the enemy’s body, enraging him a little. “Huh? What’s that? Can’t talk? Won’t or can’t? Are you too afraid to speak out your mind? I promise I won’t curse you, I’m not a ghost, not yet, bwahahahaha!”

Heian Ciemnosc slowly brought his Claws Out in front of his face, proportionating no dialect by mouth or body to the aged man, who was cracking himself up and having a good time. His darkest eyes and Claws Out remained still while his pitchest blackest hair swayed and fluctuated on his face. The target closed his mouth slowly after seeing this and began reuniting Power Energy.

“Petulant child! Try to die with a full corpse. You must have to be really tasty!” The aged man lifted both hands as he looked at the Vocón Link projected from Heian Ciemnosc’s left palm, still in this world and on the floor as if it was no longer alive. Putting disdain in his eyes to mask the fear, he said a few words before sending 2 attacks of Power Energy.

Pshift, pshift- bom bum…

“Y-you…!” Heian Ciemnosc’s eyes shrunk on his own volition. He sidestepped 4 times, dodging the first burst of Power Energy coming to his left chest as it passed over his left shoulder. But the attack was still so powerful it burnt off some thin layer of skin beside his jacket and uniform’s fabric. The second was dodged at the 4th sidestep, aimed at his right chest as it passed through his armpit, once again burning his skin and destroying a bit more of his jacket and uniform.

The aged man became so incensed upon seeing the pale teenager dodge these 2 regular attacks of his. They were his Power Energy! Nobody in his own realm should be able to evade them voluntarily! But his eyes widened in realization, and though he didn’t want to admit it at the moment, he also felt recognition for the teenager. In his head, he thought. ‘Did this kid… read the fluctuations of Power Energy within my body?!’.

Pshift, pshift, pshift, pshift, pshift…

“!” Heian Ciemnosc’s thoughts were suddenly met with reality just as he was about to frown when he noticed the sudden stop of accumulating Power Energy within the enemy’s body. His eyes widened in surprise as he immediately impulsed his body to the corner of the rectangular trapping array formation. Meanwhile, the aged man’s fingers suddenly opened as his hands bent down. From them, several more miniature attacks of Power Energy but as powerful as before were sent to bombard Heian Ciemnosc into shreds!

“!” Heian Ciemnosc could only penetrate a millimeter of the array formation’s barrier and no more, but that was enough to keep his body high up and evade most of the Power Energy attacks sent at him. From a distance, it could only be seen as a humanoid figure suddenly illuminated the area of the rectangular light green barrier and surroundings with a whitish glow.

As the illumination happened, balls the size of one’s fist were shot from the humanoid figure to the other rectangle’s side, encapsulating the entire corridor entrance. These weren’t simply shooting forwards without aim. It wasn’t a bullet or an artillery shell that Heian Ciemnosc saw in the Sinvonnia Kingdom. These were Power Energy as they curved upwards and sought to impact against his body!

Most of the Power Energy attacks landed on the floor or the light green barrier’s upper side after failing to follow Heian Ciemnosc’s movement. Only a few of them managed to hit Heian Ciemnosc on the back, shins, and even on his nape while he stuck his Claws Out to the array formation’s ceiling.

As several ‘bams’ and ‘boms’ went out, Heian Ciemnosc could feel his body impulsed and forced against the light green ceiling with each bombing Power Energy attack hitting him. Only when the aged man started breathing heavily did it stop. Heian Ciemnosc could finally let his Claws Out come off the barrier. But as soon as he did, he felt powerless, and his body limply fell with his back first against the broken, rotten wooden floor and dirty gray ground.

Thud- plankkk. Heian Ciemnosc’s arms lay powerlessly to his sides. His head trembled, his nape and back bloodied as if slapped with a piece of raw meat recently cut off a living being’s corpse. Falling on the ground and broken floor, Heian Ciemnosc felt some fearsome splinters drill into his skin and open wounds. He could tell he had destroyed yet another set of clothes.

“... Haa- kuff. Huff- aaaaah!” The aged man walked towards Heian Ciemnosc, knowing the pale teenager was more than okay. His ragged breathing revealed his age and the state his body was in, probably since some time from today. “You kid, your bunch… I will kill them, too. Tsk, they must have been too short of kids to sacrifice and chose you, the weakest, to buy some time. It’s not new. Several of these groups like you do the same shit. Hoping to steal treasure and weaken other organizations before coming back with more… But not for me!”

“I’ve worked too hard. I’ve spilled my blood too much. There’s still a long time before I can finally rule over this Sub-Division! And when I do…” The aged man had a silly smile on his face, which didn’t fit this situation of him killing a young teenage boy, which Heian Ciemnosc could scan with his Spirit Sense. And as the man continued to blabber around, Heian Ciemnosc took one last noiseless breath with his nostrils before letting it go through his lips. ‘He really talks too much.’

BPRrrack- crreeshhk.

“!” Suddenly, from below, the Vocón Link was like a snake as it broke from the ground and the still unbroken floor. The aged man’s eyes went from looking at Heian Ciemnosc’s body with his palms facing the ground to below his feet in an instant, only to see the familiar dark whip lunge at his body… specifically his crotch.

“AAAAAH!” The aged man’s body was perforated, his genitals directly showing and bursting to bits as soon as the Vocón Link’s 32,000 kg of bodily strength. Even without any sharpness, that brutal strength was more than enough for any person within the First Step to be destroyed without any defenses to be flatly destroyed… or even higher than that…

Vocón Link wasn’t stopped just then. It continued to travel through the middle front of the aged man’s body after bursting his genitals into thrashed bits of flesh and liquid. Some piss even began spilling out his wide-open crotch with a bloody trail left by the passing Vocón Link. His abdomen was next in succession. The aged man clutched and bent his body in fear, remembering the sensations this thing had given him just a few minutes ago.

But as Vocón Link continued drilling upwards, the aged man made it stop right before his solar plexus. His Power Energy was at its maximum, but by then, Heian Ciemnosc had already stood up with his back facing him, turned around, and pulled!

Whoosh- pum. But instead of pulling the aged man towards him, Heian Ciemnosc jumped right before jerking his left arm, pulling himself towards his enemy, who was too busy resisting the powerful might behind the Vocón Link. His thoughts were in disarray! ‘What is this thing?! How can it hold so much power? That- this can’t be-... what?!!’.

The aged man felt a disturbance in the air the moment he felt the dark whip in his body stiffening, only to look up and watch helplessly as Heian Ciemnosc’s left fist clutching tightly to the base of the dark whip just a meter before his eyes. Heian Ciemnosc and the aged man, young and old, eyes looked at each other like time stopped for a moment for the world but an eternity for them.

“... !” The aged man’s eyes widened to an unbelievable as time seemed to return to normal but at an insufferably slow speed. His mouth began opening in an ‘0’ as strangely as possible. Heian Ciemnosc’s body slowly fell faster, but his Vocón Link still exerted all his bodily strength and continued, trying to deal up into his enemy’s body.

Heian Ciemnosc’s face slowly became stern, his pitchest black eyebrows sunk a tad on occassion while the aged man’s throat seemed to gurgle endlessly. Power Energy suddenly shot towards the man’s throat from his Dantian region. Then, a bubble of black substance showed at the back of his throat to Heian Ciemnosc’s eyes… and at that moment, it shot straight towards Heian Ciemnosc.

Pshift- boooaam, whoosh whoosh- thud plank.

Heian Ciemnosc’s left fist was planted at the aged man’s collarbone. Some bone-breaking noises could be heard, but only for a little. As Heian Ciemnosc became aware of such a sneak attack, he suddenly extended his neck, becoming more vulnerable to the increasingly savage eyes of his enemy. But before the aged man could feel content at being able to kill Heian Ciemnosc due to his own stupidity, he felt Heian Ciemnosc’s punch… and could see no more as he was blasted backwards, his upper spine protruding from the back and leading his trajectory.

On the other hand, the aged man’s black sneak attack fell on Heian Ciemnosc’s sternum, which blew him into the sky only to be crushed by the light barrier, which didn’t even ripple as he instantly crashed against its ceiling and then fell on the broken floor and ground once again.

The aged man’s body also crashed against the other extreme of the rectangular light green barrier before falling on the rotten wooden floor without breaking it because all the force that had sent him flying backwards vanished the moment he crashed against the light green barrier.

For a good while, both teenager and aged persons remained down, limbs sprawled on the ground. The pale teenager faced down, his cheek getting some dit in and his lips as wabbly as possible as he could barely move. Blood wet the ground, and what little hints of grass showed from the gray, infertile ground flooding and drowning them in his dark blood.

“... ?” The aged man had been facing up, his mouth wide open and jaw dislocated, seemingly incapable of moving, and his eyes were unfocused. But then, Heian Ciemnosc felt movements with his Spirit Sense. And as he lifted his head, he saw his enemy begin channeling Power Energy into the space between his hands. Both his arms were bent and forming a sphere with his fingers spread. A massive vortex of darkness started forming at the aged man’s hip level, whose face turned increasingly sinister as he watched Heian Ciemnosc wake up and start standing up.

“Heh, heh heh heh heh…”

…