The winds of Jotunheim howled violently, all attention fixed on a monstrous figure standing amidst piles of dismembered Atlas Centipede corpses.
Its eyes burned bright red filled with rage,
the dragon meat he had struggled so hard to obtain was now gone.
"Damn bugs…" Kafka muttered, wiping his face with fingers that were completely shattered, the bones broken from smashing against the hardened shell of the Atlas Centipede.
"I'm starving…"
His fingers regenerated at an unthinkable speed.
Not far from him,
Eldric stepped backward toward Kafka, his gaze drifting to the roof and floor of his house, both torn apart from the earlier assault of the Atlas Centipede.
"Well… there goes my house again," Eldric said casually as he lit a cigarette.
He turned toward Kafka.
"You hungry?"
He held out the last piece of roasted dragon meat toward him, exhaling a cloud of cigar smoke.
Kafka's eyes lit up.
"Finally, I can eat! Thank-"
BAM!
Before Kafka's hand could reach the meat, Eldric kicked him.
Kafka was sent flying several meters before landing in a miserable heap.
"What the hell!?" Kafka groaned, clutching his stomach as he glared at Eldric.
"You were wide open. It's training time."
Eldric calmly placed the meat on the table, sealing it with a dense layer of blood energy.
Even monsters like the Atlas Centipede wouldn't be able to break through it.
"Come on, I haven't eaten anything…" Kafka stood up, his body clearly exhausted.
Eldric walked closer.
"You think your enemies will wait until you're ready?" He said, taking a drag from his cigarette.
Half a meter before reaching Kafka.
Kafka burst forward at high speed, leaping with his body coiled for a punch.
"Got you!"
His fist shot forward,
Easily dodged by Eldric.
"Nice application," Eldric smiled.
"But still not fast enough."
Tch… what kind of speed is that…?
Kafka never got used to it.
He continued his attack mid-air before his feet even touched the ground.
Using mana, he forcibly twisted his body,
Two full rotation,
The momentum alone shattered his own spine.
720° Spinning Taekwondo Kick.
"Eat this!"
His kick landed squarely on Eldric's face.
Yet,
Eldric remained completely unharmed.
"Didn't I tell you…" Eldric's expression darkened slightly.
Fuck… I'm dead.
Kafka, his spine still not fully regenerated, could only accept his fate.
BOOM!
Eldric's fist slammed him into the ground, obliterating the terrain and splitting Kafka's body in half.
"You keep relying on your regeneration," Eldric said, lighting another cigarette after the previous one had been knocked away by previous kick.
"That suits the Vaelorian style."
He exhaled slowly.
"But you'll never beat me by copying my fundamentals, idiot."
***
Not long after,
Kafka's vision returned.
The smell of iron.
That was the first thing he noticed.
Not earth.
Not flesh.
But…
Blood.
Thick. Warm. Clinging to his skin like a second layer.
He opened his eyes.
The crimson sky of Jotunheim greeted him.
It pulsed faintly,
Like something alive that had no intention of saving anyone.
"Wake up, little prince."
That voice.
Casual, light, annoying.
Kafka hadn't even turned yet,
CRACK!
His leg snapped.
It's sure is hurt.
But he showed no reaction.
His pain tolerance had long gone after dead by dead, again and again.
"Die, Lavaratis Spear!"
Kafka roared, throwing a Crimson Blood spear infused with inner energy and mana, even as his body was collapsing.
Eldric simply shifted slightly.
The attack missed.
Kafka fell,
But before he touched the ground.
A hand pierced through his chest from behind,
Gripping something.
His heart.
Eldric stood there.
"Your reaction is slow," he said lightly.
"You died again."
His heart was crushed.
***
"HAAAH!"
Kafka rose again.
His breathing was unstable.
His body restored,
But the pain never left.
"How many times…" he muttered.
"Forty-one," Eldric replied lazily, sitting on a rock lightning his cigar. "Not bad."
Kafka clenched his teeth.
"This isn't training…"
Eldric turned.
A faint smile appeared.
"…this is slaughter?"
Kafka fell silent.
Eldric stood up.
"Good. You're starting to understand the context."
He stepped forward.
The aura around him changed.
Heavier.
Alive.
"Attack me. Use all that 'modern martial arts' you keep bragging about."
Mocking tone.
Kafka frowned.
"Why don't you use your regeneration too? You said a Vaelorian should fight like a Vaelorian. Meanwhile you're using those weird techniques!"
Eldric smirked.
"I'm adapting to you."
That line pissed Kafka off.
Am I still that weak…?
Kafka moved.
Fast.
Instinct-driven.
Stable stance.
JAB!
A straight punch shot toward Eldric's face,
Eldric tilted his head his cigarette fell.
Kafka missed.
"Ah, this again," he said casually.
"Straight, efficient, fast. What was it called? Jab?"
He lit another cigarette.
Kafka didn't stop.
Hook. Low kick. Spinning sword attack. Elbow. High kick.
A full combination.
Fast.
Precise.
Lethal.
But,
Nothing landed.
Not because they missed.
But because,
Eldric was never there.
"Good for killing ordinary humans," he yawned.
Suddenly-
SWOOSH!
His hand grabbed Kafka's face.
"…but unfortunately…"
BOOM!
Kafka's head slammed into the ground.
"…you're not fighting a human."
Eldric stepped on his chest.
Slowly.
Pressing down.
Kafka's bones began to crack.
"Listen carefully."
Pressure increased.
"Everything you're using…"
CRACK.
"…are killing techniques…"
CRUNCH.
"…without foundation."
He leaned closer.
"…mine…"
Cold eyes.
"…begin from the foundation."
CRACK!
Kafka's chest shattered...
***
He rose again.
This time,
He didn't attack immediately.
He observed.
Eldric's body.
The flow of mana.
The rhythm of his inner energy.
"…finally seeing it," Eldric muttered.
"Good. Let's begin."
SWOOSH!
They vanished.
Their fists collided mid-air,
BOOM!
Kafka continued his attack,
BAM!
Eldric didn't dodge.
The punch landed.
Directly.
But,
It felt like hitting a mountain.
"…what the?" Kafka muttered.
His hand trembled.
Eldric didn't move.
"Let me show you little prince, the Heavenly Demonic Blood Martial Art."
He tapped his chest.
A metallic sound echoed.
"this is the first foundation. Ossuary of the Black Dirge." Eldric walk slowly towards Kafka.
"You already know," Eldric said, "my regeneration slows against you. You carry the King's mana."
Ignoring his chatter, Kafka burst forward thrusting with his blood sword.
One counterpunch,
BAM!
Kafka was sent flying.
"I make this foundation…"
Eldric walked forward.
"…Specialized to kill the king."
SWOOSH!
He vanished.
He stepped on Kafka's shoulder.
Bones cracked again.
"Your body is still human."
Kafka got up quickly avoiding more fatal injuries.
Eldric smiled and attacked,
But this time.
Kafka didn't resist.
He touched Eldric's arm.
Disarming Eldric's Crimson Dagger.
AIKIDO.
He redirected the flow,
But before Eldric hit the ground,
He smiled.
The flow shifted.
"Wha-"
BAM!
Mid-air, Eldric reversed it and slammed Kafka down.
"The second Foundation, Lamenting Vein." He said while stepping his foot on Kafka's body.
"Attacks aren't meant to be resisted…"
He tore off Kafka's arm.
"…they're meant to flow."
Kafka regenerated.
Eldric walk slowly,
Gone.
Too fast.
Almost nonexistent.
Kafka turned,
Too late.
CRACK!
His neck snapped.
"Your movement is too honest," Eldric's voice echoed behind him.
"The third foundation, Stride of Hollow Skies."
***
Kafka rose again.
Gasping.
But his eyes,
Sharper now.
Eldric approached.
Placed a hand on his chest.
Lightly.
"This is the last."
The next second,
Kafka's heart stopped.
Internal pressure from mana and inner energy crushed him from within.
He was thrown back,
Struggling to stabilize.
"Crimson Sovereign Pulse."
Blood gathered around Eldric.
At the last moment,
Kafka formed a blood blade to hold himself upright.
"I already taught you the twelve forms of the Heavenly Demonic Blood Sword Arts, didn't I?"
Blood weapons formed,
Spears, blades, halberds, whips,
"I don't need to explain those again."
Eldric smiled.
"But this…"
Kafka stood again.
Breathing heavily.
"…you're feeling it for the first time."
Kafka steadied himself.
"You mean… that technique?"
Eldric's smile widened.
"Now witness the result of the four foundations of the Heavenly Demonic Blood Martial Arts."
Blood surged around him,
Forming armor.
Aura condensed.
"Crimson Vengeance - 10%."
Kafka swallowed.
Taking his stance.
"Shit..."
~To Be Continued~