His body appeared in front of Haniard in less than three seconds, his silver-scaled fist heading straight for the man’s pelvis, however, he dodged and Kai sent himself flying forward.

Oh? Haniard thought in surprise upon noticing the interaction So he doesn’t know how to fight yet, but that strength! He licked his lips as he waited for Kai to steady himself, before giving him a provocative look. I want to see how far this Dragonyc Form can go…

Kai scoffed as he faced him once again, this time imitating a fighting stance he saw in his previous life. His legs and shoulders stood apart and his arms were raised up to his chin, protecting his vitals.

Haniard’s eyes widened in surprise, but he only smiled faintly as he waited for Kai to attack, which didn’t take long as he immediately lunged at the man. He sent a multitude of loose punches toward Haniard, which he casually dodged as he looked at the bizarre fighting technique.

He has some sort of style but it’s messy, uncoordinated, imprecise… he’s worse than a beginner…

He sent out a punch toward Kai, taking advantage of his many openings, and sent him flying backward a few meters before regaining his footing. He frowned, looking at Haniard with a perplexed expression. Is he toying with me?!

Inhaling deeply, he dashed toward Haniard, sending out a fake right hook, causing him to dodge backward, where Kai’s feet would wait for him. He kicked him up into the air, taking him by surprise, and before he could even land, Kai jumped toward him, sending him flying onto the ground.

The ground shuddered as Haniard dug a small hole into it, and Kai landed on his body before he even got a chance to get up, deepening the hole he found himself in.

Kai lifted him up by the collar, preparing to strike again, but before he could do that a sharp pain spread from his wrist. He let go of Haniard, and noticed that his hand had been rotated the other way around, not only that, his fingers were a jumbled mess of flesh and bone, and even his feet were barely recognizable.

He let out a light scoff, ignoring the pain as he inhaled deeply. A wave of warmth spread throughout his body as his wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Haniard observed these changes and he took a mental note as he pulled out his sword. He barely has any power behind those fists, and when he does hit he ends up doing more damage to himself than to me… what an idiot…

Kai ignored the pain as he rushed toward him, subconsciously imbuing his claws with the corrosive power of darkness as he aimed at his neck. The sound of metal clashing with metal rang in the battlefield as Haniard blocked the strike, causing Kai’s claws to break.

He lost and regenerated claws endlessly as he struck faster and faster, gradually gaining an understanding of his new form, and increasing his control over it.

Haniard’s focus increased as he noticed Kai hitting harder, faster, and more precise.

He blocked Kai with his sword each time he would aim for his vitals and would dodge the strike whenever possible as his sword slowly lost its luster. As time passed, and Kai understood his powers better, Haniard was forced to block with his sword more and more often, wincing in pain each time he saw a small piece of it get chipped off.

Kai’s fists suddenly opened into a hand, and a small wisp of fire appeared within it, rapidly becoming a fireball, making Haniard take a step back, then hit him with a Windshot.

Haniard stepped back slightly, in a place where Kai had raised the ground a bit, causing him to lose his balance. Kai’s fists descended upon Haniard like a barrage, in response to which Haniard cast a few barriers, and let out a strong discharge of mana.

“Break!” he yelled furiously.

Kai stepped back, losing his footing as Haniard imbued his sword with darkness magic, his sword casting a purple trail as it shot toward Kai’s claws.

He scoffed at the straight, and he extended his hand as he cast several small barriers around in the shape of his hand around his palm, and his arm trembled as he caught the sword with his bare hands.

Haniard’s eyes widened as he hastily tried to remove his sword from Kai’s grasp, however, he found that no matter how much he wanted, he couldn’t actually pull it back. How is this possible?!

He suddenly let go of the sword as Kai reached toward his neck, and retreated as he cast several minor spatial barriers between him and Kai. He panted heavily as he analyzed the situation.

Kai also took the time to observe the changes in his body, ignoring the physical changes, he contemplated on how to best use his strength. If I concentrate most of my strength in a single part of my body when striking, the damage I deal would be greater, however… He sighed as he looked at the ground littered with claws, flesh, and blood, most of it belonging to him.

I can’t control it perfectly, I won’t last long at this rate…

He clenched his fist as memories of his parents flashed in his mind, and his eyes snapped to Haniard, gritting his teeth as a thick killing aura emanated from within his body.

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Glaring at Haniard, he let out a primordial scream that came from the depths of his soul, the sound caused the air to shudder, and all animals in a small radius looked toward Kai’s direction with a look of reverence and fear.

He stepped forward, ignoring all the spatial barriers, he appeared in front of Haniard in an instant, and the air split in two as his punch shot toward his enemy.

Haniard’s pupils constricted as he instantly cast several mana shields as he deflected Kai’s punch with his metallic arm. The fist fell toward the ground, and the ground shuddered as they made contact, a shockwave spreading out from the impact.

Kai wiggled his arm in an attempt to escape his hand, but it was firmly planted in the dried soil. Haniard immediately pulled out another sword from his spatial ring, slashing toward Kai’s neck.

Almost instinctively, he dodged in a weird manner, barely able to make the blade miss his vitals.

Agh!

He grunted in pain as a deep cut appeared on his shoulder, and blood spurt out everywhere as the darkness-imbued sword ate away at his flesh the moment it healed.

How had Dad managed to endure this?

Finally pulling out his fists, he retreated more than five dozen meters and he applied pressure on his wound as he glared at Haniard, and a wave of anxiety and fear washed over him as a thought popped up in his mind.

Even when he looks shocked he’s confident, although I seem to have the advantage over him… how come I don’t feel like that at all? Could it be… He gulped as his heart skipped a beat, and his pupils trembled as he looked at Haniard. Could it be that he was testing me?

A shiver ran down his spine as realization hit him, and his pupils constricted as he clenched his fists. You want to see how strong I am… so be it!

He cast a speed-enhancing spell, and his claws turned darker as two small tornadoes rotated around his fists, pulling everything before him backward.

He imbued them with the power of darkness, and his eyes lit up with a witty glint as he shot the two pitch-black tornadoes which shot with great speed toward Haniard.

Haniard cast several protection barriers in front of him in an attempt to slow them down, and he ran toward the purple sword Kai had left on the ground as he covered himself with layers of protection.

Kai pulled his wand and smiled sinisterly at him, disappearing from sight once again as he stopped a few meters behind Haniard, who just managed to grab his sword.

His head snapped back as he felt a sudden threat of death loom over him, and his eyes widened as he saw Kai point a wand at his head, mouthing only one word before all sound disappeared.

“You know - in my world gods aren't the only ones that know how to wield a heavenly tribulation.”

A large, violent explosion that seemed out of this world appeared in a small area around them. Haniard raised his sword, instantly casting several dozen layers of protection as he attempted to retreat, however… he couldn’t!

The two black tornadoes were still blocking his path, which gave him no choice but to endure silently. His body flashed as he chanted several protection spells, however, it was far too late.

A deafening sound reverberated through the air as the explosion gradually spread outward, and the ground cracked under the heat as the air became heavier.

What kind of spell is this?! Haniard panted as he anxiously looked around, and a shiver ran down his spine as he felt the change of mana in the area. It’s… it’s disappearing!?

He glanced upward, his skin burning hot as he tried to make sense of the situation, and he could vaguely see the shape of the explosion.

From afar, it looked like a huge mushroom cloud that pierced through the heavens.

The sound of shattering glass echoed in the area as Haniard’s barriers shattered in quick succession, and he finally felt the brunt of the pressure as it reached its peak.

He flew wildly about as the huge mushroom-shaped cloud revealed a horrific scene as it gradually faded away.

A huge, scorched hole replaced the patch of ground that once existed in the area, and somewhere in it lay a person, coughing and spitting blood as he struggled to get up.

Haniard’s metallic arm was nowhere to be seen, and most of his hair had been burnt off, as well as most of his clothes. He wore a twisted, horrible expression on his face and his eyes widened in shock as he inspected the ruined battlefield.

This area is devoid of any mana! And that brat… where is he?! A doubt arose in his heart as he pondered over the matter, however, he quickly let off that thought. There are traces of teleportation left… he must have escaped!

His teeth let out a scraping sound as they ground against each other, fury overwhelming his body. He coughed out blood, realizing that there was nothing he could do anymore.

The little amount of mana he had left almost flowed backward in his veins, and his muscles trembled under his weight as he slowly moved out of the death zone. He sighed as he looked toward the morning sky, and he crushed a small stone before disappearing.

…

Somewhere in the huge forest around the kingdom, the rustling of leaves and crackling of branches broke the silence of the quiet wonderland. The birds stopped their morning song as they quickly fled in panic, the flapping of their wings accompanied by a heavy thud.

At the base of a tree lay a boy, his silver hair reflecting the stray rays of the twilight sun, and his water-crimson eyes trembled as his chest heaved heavily.

Silver scales fell off his body, revealing a set of dark red and torn clothes. He grunted in pain as he tried to lift his head, his entire body shivering as tears slid down his cheeks, hiccuping lightly as he tried to calm his breathing.

Sighing, he leaned against the tree to support himself, and his unfocused gaze stared at a piece of old and torn paper. He clutched it tightly as he brought it to his face, his gaze shifting toward the necklace hanging by his neck.

Tears streamed down like a waterfall, gradually flooding his face as he pressed the necklace to his chest, a sharp, cold pain spread from his chest throughout his whole body. Mom… dad… *hic* mom… *hic* dad…

His consciousness slowly faded away, and his breathing calmed down as the rhythmic drops of chilling rain landed on his body.

Hurried, dragged footsteps slowly approached his location, and a small shadow cast over him as the tired figure of a person stopped before him.