"In this world, strength is not a gift… it is the price one pays to stay alive."
"The Kara is the vital energy that flows through all things. Some shape it to create, others to destroy… but all depend on it to survive."
"When the breath of Kara fades, the heart stops beating, and the soul disappears into the eternal shadow."
(The scene opens on the heavy silence of the alley. Duck and Johan face each other, one below, the other on the roof. Just behind Duck, Danky is frozen, fists clenched, his face twisted by a powerless hatred. The memory of the massacre is still fresh in his mind.)
The evening wind made the festival lanterns dance, casting shifting shadows that seemed to hesitate to approach the two fighters. The tension was so palpable it became a sound, a low hum that drowned out the noise of the distant party.
Johan, from his perch, initially ignored Duck. His masked gaze fell directly on Danky, scanning him with unconcealed contempt.
Johan: (his voice descending from the roof, falsely thoughtful) "Well, well... The little rabid dog. I'm surprised to see you standing. Last time, you were under a pile of scrap metal, crying like a child. Tell me, how does it feel to know your friend died for nothing, while you were unable to move?"
Every word was a poisoned blade.
Danky's rage exploded. A reddish aura began to pulse around him, making the ground vibrate.
Danky: (screaming, his voice broken with fury) "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
He was about to lunge, to unleash everything, but a hand landed on his shoulder. Firm. Unshakeable. It was Duck's hand.
Duck Bum Darly: (without taking his eyes off Johan, his voice an icy breath) "Calm down."
The order was simple, but charged with an absolute authority that cut Danky's momentum short. The apprentice's rage was still there, boiling, but it was now contained, like a caged beast.
Seeing his provocation on Danky succeed but be interrupted, Johan turned his attention to the real obstacle. His mocking gaze fixed on Duck's mask.
Johan: (his voice resuming its biting irony) "Oh, the great Zenith comes to protect his chick. How touching. Tell me... that mask. Did a penguin make it for you, or did you just lose a stupid bet?"
Below, Duck didn't move. But Danky, just behind him, felt the pressure of his master's Kara increase a notch. An invisible heatwave swept through the alley. Duck was angry. Yet, his posture remained relaxed.
Slowly, he raised his head, his twin blades shining with a cold glint.
Duck Bum Darly: (his voice, still composed, but charged with a glacial contempt) "I find you weak."
Johan's smile froze.
Duck Bum Darly: "I've analyzed the reports. I've seen the echoes of your fight. And honestly, I don't understand how an Astroforge like Ashley could lose to such a pathetic loser."
The counter-attack was more violent than any punch. Johan felt a spike of fury rise within him. His black aura intensified, crackling around him.
Johan: (his voice losing its irony for a cold anger) "I forbid you to underestimate me. You have before you the number 5 of the elite Blood Burn ranking. I am much stronger than your miserable Astroforges."
He stood up on the roof, his silhouette dominating the alley, his dark aura spreading like an oil slick.
Johan: "I think we should go somewhere else, so we won't be disturbed."
Below, Duck let out a small laugh, a dry, joyless sound.
Then, without a word, he bent his knees slightly.
FWOOSH.
With a lightning-fast impulse, he leaped into the air, rising far above the roof where Johan stood. He hung for a moment in the twilight sky, now looking down on him, his own silhouette outlined against the rising moon.
Duck Bum Darly: "Yeah. You know, I don't mind you choosing the place where you'll die."
He tilted his head slightly, his duck mask seeming to judge him from the heavens.
Duck Bum Darly: "But... I don't like being looked down on. Is that clear?"
Johan burst out with a dry, almost animalistic laugh.
His body disintegrated into a trail of burning black smoke, which flew away with a sinister hiss. In an instant, he disappeared, leaving behind wisps of soot and a smell of iron.
Duck hung for a moment in the air, watching the dark trail streak toward the horizon. Then, slowly, he let his body fall back onto the roof, with a dull thud of crushed gravel. Danky looked up at him, panting.
Duck Bum Darly:
— My dear Danky… this is your first training.
He didn't even turn his head.
His eyes, glowing red under the mask, were already fixed in Johan's direction.
Duck Bum Darly:
— … It simply consists of finding us. Use your celestial kara as a radar and detect the black kara.
A wave of heat distorted the air around him—as if the world itself was trembling.
In a breath, he disappeared.
Far from Goma.
A forgotten hill, swept by the wind.
The ruins of an ancient temple, a relic of a bygone era. The sky was darkening, heavy with a storm.
A fissure of black smoke opened in the air. Johan materialized, straightening up gracefully. His eyes scanned the broken stones, his breath short but proud.
Johan:
— There, this place is perfect to slaughter him.
A calm voice cut through the air, icy and mocking:
Duck Bum Darly:
— You really thought you could slaughter me? Such confidence, I'm almost jealous.
Johan froze.
The Duck was already there.
Leaning against a ruined pillar, hands in his pockets.
Johan:
— Impressive, Duck. I didn't think you...
BOOM!!
Before he could even finish his sentence, Duck was already in front of him.
A dry, brutal, precise fist slammed against his cheek. The world seemed to bend under the impact.
Johan was thrown backward, but Duck caught him by the arm in the same impulse—a movement so fast that only its wake was visible.
Duck pulled sharply, bringing Johan back toward him before lifting him by the chest.
The latter's body spun in the air, before being violently smashed against the stone.
BOOOOOOM!
The ground tore apart.
Shockwaves spread, pulverizing the surrounding columns.
The dust settled slowly, like ash.
Duck took a step forward.
Each step made the earth groan.
Duck Bum Darly:
— Get up, kid. You know... you're so insignificant that I won't even bother taking both my hands out of my pockets.
Johan, his face bloodied, shot a sheet of black smoke from his back. He propelled himself sideways, narrowly dodging a kick from the Duck.
CRACK!
The ground exploded into a perfect crater, blowing a cloud of debris and dust. The sound echoed throughout the valley.
Johan straightened up behind a broken pillar. A crack glowed on his mask, and a drop of blood slid down to his chin.
He gave a twisted smile, between pain and amusement.
Johan:
— "He already managed to crack my mask," he thought.
– Not bad, Duck… but is that all you can do??
One step.
Then two.
Duck stood, hands in his pockets, in front of the column he had been leaning against. The red aura of smoke was fading around him.
Duck Bum Darly:
— You talk way too much, kid.
He cracked his neck. Then the rest of him.
— It's crazy... how the weak believe a title gives them value. Come on! Get over here. Let me teach you about real life.
Johan gets up. He wiped the blood dripping from his mask. His smile had frozen, replaced by an expression of contained fury.
Johan: "You've got a hell of a punch, Duck. But speed is just an illusion..."
The ground cracked.
Johan disappeared in a black puff. He reappeared in front of Duck, his right fist launched at full speed.
Duck tilted his head to the side: the blow passed inches away. The Duck's mask brushed against the black smoke coiling around Johan's arm.
Duck: "Too slow."
He grabbed Johan's forearm and pulled him toward him with a sharp tug. Johan tried to counter-attack, pivoting on one leg, but Duck drove a knee into his stomach.
BOOM!
End of Chapter 25