Chapter 33: Sharp Deduction.
Boom!!!
The air blast blew straight into the interwoven chains surrounding the three.
The Wyvern did not stop; it maintained the blast continuously. Airi stood inside. She thrust both hands forward, straining to resist the attack. Her face contorted. She gnashed her teeth.
"Damn it..."
The Old Wolf looked down from above, frowning.
"Blood Chains? First time I've seen that."
As soon as the Wyvern stopped, the deadly heat extinguished. Kazuka and Takeshi immediately split to both sides and closed in on the Wyvern again.
Kazuka slashed twice. Energy blades tore through the hot air lingering in the cave like un-scattered spirits. Two consecutive slashes aimed at its head.
Firing two consecutive slashes is impossible unless using two swords. One must gain momentum, slash, then immediately reset posture and swing again. By the time the second swing is made, the first slash would have flown far away.
The Wyvern lowered its head fast. It pressed the air down, creating a small gust that blew dust below.
Whoosh!!!
The two slashes flew over the Wyvern's head. A small breeze grazed its scalp.
Boom!!!
Boom!!!
The slashes slammed into the cave ceiling. Two explosions. Rubble fell like a hailstorm hitting the Wyvern. It did not care.
Seizing the chance, Takeshi rushed and leaped. He gritted his teeth, straining. His pupils and facial muscles tightened. He slammed an energy-filled punch into its back.
The punch collided with the hard scales.
It was struck unexpectedly. It let out a loud cry. Painful for its old, weak body.
It gnashed its teeth. Its large jaw made a "creak creak" sound. It turned instantly in rage. Its eyes locked onto him.
The tail whipped like a giant lash. It shattered the air, punishing the arrogant young colts.
Hovering in mid-air, Takeshi could not react. He could only turn and watch the giant tail approach his vision at high speed.
Takeshi was hit.
The blow sent Takeshi flying. Red blood sprayed from his mouth. Pupils dilated. Expression of agony. The small energy layer surrounding him could not hold. Like thin armor trying to resist a sharp spear in vain.
He lost consciousness. His body flew and slammed into the stone wall.
Boom!!
The rough stone wall shattered. Large and small rocks scattered. Dust mixed into the air. He lay there, motionless.
Airi and Kazuka panicked. Both turned toward the shattered wall and the billowing dust. Takeshi was nowhere to be seen. Anxiety was clear.
Both shouted in unison:
"TAKESHI!"
Kazuka was enraged. He gnashed his teeth and charged. His energy-coated legs snapped like springs, cracking the ground.
The Wyvern, still looking at Takeshi, sensed Kazuka's energy erupting elsewhere. It turned immediately.
Kazuka closed in on the Wyvern's leg. He swung a slash at it.
Clang!
The slash did not wound it, despite the energy reinforcement.
The sword in his hand hit those tough scales and bounced back. Like high-elasticity rubber, a part gifted by nature.
He stepped back. Eyes filled with bewilderment as he failed to wound it.
Suddenly, Airi's Blood Chains zipped past. They looped behind the Wyvern and coiled around its neck. It struggled, shaking violently to resist.
The pink flame was burning it. It roared in pain. Rage echoed everywhere. It resisted continuously.
Airi, from a distance, endured. Her hands were held out front, clenched tight. She struggled to maintain the chains.
Its feet stomped everywhere. Its body swayed.
Airi gritted her teeth, calling Kazuka:
"Kazuka, one more strike!"
Kazuka heard. He radiated more energy outward.
Kazuka gained momentum and leaped into the air. He faced the Wyvern, which was swaying like an uncontrolled beast.
Hovering, he gripped the sword with both hands, pointing up. Energy poured out. He brought the sword down with all his might. To retaliate for the blow it dealt Takeshi.
But before he could slash, the Wyvern's mouth bit into Airi's chains. Even in pain, as the pink fire burned inside its mouth.
It lunged. Its head slammed hard into Kazuka in mid-air. He did not expect this move.
Its head was hard as an ancient stone, un-eroded by time or its killing intent.
He was in pain. Pupils dilated. Mouth agape.
Thud!
He flew and slammed onto the ground. He rolled several times, dust coating his clothes.
Its mouth still gripped Airi's chains. It spat them out. Its hind and front legs coordinated rhythmically. It lunged at her.
Airi was still dazed from seeing Kazuka blown away. She didn't think it could lunge while being chained.
The Blood Chains immediately wove together. She wanted to create a shield. The metallic clinking of the chains barely started.
The Wyvern was right in front of her. It raised a front leg and grabbed the red chains trying to weave. It used overwhelming power and swiped the chains down.
Airi stood frozen as its claws swiped down her "perfect" chains.
The chains tried to re-weave, but it was too late.
It opened its mouth wide, lunged through the gap in the chains, and bit Airi.
Hit instantly, she lost focus. The Blood Chains vanished.
During that time, Kazuka rolled on the ground. He spat blood. He crawled up and saw Airi lying face down. One arm was gone. Blood stained the Wyvern's mouth. His pupils dilated. Terror gripped him.
The Wyvern wanted to eat Airi. It slowly opened its mouth. Savoring. Mocking the weaklings challenging it. Letting the others witness it enjoy a high-quality meal.
But a loud scream woke Kazuka. He looked over. It was Takeshi. Tears flowed non-stop. He roared. Eyes full of rage and hatred.
His body radiated immense energy. Rage clouded Takeshi's mind.
Takeshi lowered his body. He slammed one hand onto the stone ground. He lifted a massive rock with just one hand. The "crack crack" of separating stone rang out. Pebbles fell. He hurled it at the Wyvern.
Such a large slab of rock flew at the Wyvern. It only had time to turn when it felt the massive energy.
Boom!!
The Wyvern could not react. It was crushed by the large rock. It growled repeatedly.
The Old Wolf above frowned. Surprised. He stroked his small beard and nodded.
"Quite a harvest."
Takeshi bolted. He lunged straight at the Wyvern in a mindless rage. His only thought: kill the Wyvern. No clear thinking.
The Wyvern's body was pinned below. Its head was pinned, but it turned toward Takeshi. Its large body kept its head from being fully crushed. It could still open its mouth.
It opened its mouth and strained. Its belly gurgled. It spat a terrifying blast of heat toward Takeshi, who was shrouded in thick orange energy.
The extreme heat blew Takeshi back. Kazuka was also in range. Kazuka crashed into Takeshi.
The heat eroded their energy layers. Both flew and hit the wall. Bodies burning. Skin showed signs of scorching, turning red. Takeshi and Kazuka did not scream. They gritted their teeth against the blast about to cook them.
Dust flew everywhere. The hot air rose to where the Old Wolf stood at the edge of the pit.
The Old Wolf pulled the chain. Hidden mechanisms tightened the chain. The Wyvern noticed.
Its body was pulled away, sliding out from under the rock. The Wyvern was pulled inside, toward Kazuka and Takeshi.
They lay unconscious on the ground near the Wyvern's cage. The growling remained to threaten the brats.
The Old Wolf leaped down and sighed.
"These brats are useless. Beaten too fast. I wasn't even done watching."
A few days later, Kazuka and Takeshi lay together on a bed at home. Bodies wrapped in white bandages. Both opened their eyes wide and bolted up. As if from a nightmare. Bewilderment in their eyes.
Understanding each other, they shouted and ran outside.
"AIRI!"
Airi stood outside, gathering firewood. She piled them up. Kazuka and Takeshi rushed out. Tears and snot flowed. Their anxiety vanished seeing Airi unharmed.
"Airi, are you okay?"
"Airi!"
Airi picked up a stick and whacked both their heads.
"Ouch..."
"Are you guys crazy? I'm fine. Why are you crying?"
Both eyes shifted to Airi's arm. Takeshi ran over and grabbed her hand, confused.
"Your arm? It's normal? Was it a dream?"
Airi blushed and punched Takeshi.
"Pervert?... I'm fine."
The Old Wolf approached. Voice calm.
"The girl is fine."
Kazuka peeked over, surprised.
"Old Wolf."
"She's a vampire. Cut an arm, cut a leg, she recovers normally. Don't worry."
Both were slightly enlightened in their empty, dark brains.
Kazuka: "Really?"
The Old Wolf stood before the group and pointed at Airi's hand.
"Really. Look at her hand. It's fine. So be quiet. Too noisy."
Kazuka let out an "oh."
He wanted to be sure.
"So vampires have recovery abilities?"
The Old Wolf nodded slightly. Explained patiently.
"Of course. She's a vampire princess. She recovers fast. She lay there partly from pain, partly needing to focus to stop the bleeding and regrow the arm. It's not easy."
Kazuka and Takeshi sighed in relief.
"I thought you died."
"Yeah, lucky."
The Old Wolf pointed at the fire. The group looked.
"Alright, sit here."
The three sat with him. The Old Wolf coughed.
"One more thing. While Takeshi was angry, he awakened his power."
Takeshi was surprised. Pointed at himself. Eyes darting around.
"Me?"
The Old Wolf nodded.
"You."
Takeshi looked at his palm, pensive.
"Ah, now I remember."
"I don't know. I used it unconsciously. Remembering now is quite a surprise."
Kazuka, face full of surprise, bolted up. Eyes sparkled with interest.
"Really? What did you awaken?"
The Old Wolf gestured for Kazuka to sit.
"Seems brat Takeshi can use the Earth element."
Kazuka "oh-ed" again.
"So, controlling earth?"
The Old Wolf nodded.
"Right. This fight was a harvest for brat Takeshi. But I'm not an element user. Hard to teach you. Try the library."
Takeshi asked back: "There's a library here?"
Old Wolf: "Of course. People learn everywhere. Not a fancy library, but it has the necessary knowledge. Go there, read and borrow books."
Takeshi nodded.
"Alright, I'll try tomorrow."
Kazuka looked gloomy. Eyes sad. The Old Wolf noticed.
"Why are you sad, Kazuka?"
Kazuka's voice was low.
"Everyone has special abilities. I have nothing."
The Old Wolf sighed.
"Sigh. If you fought brat Takeshi, you'd definitely win. You're still strong."
"But I have nothing special."
Takeshi looked over. Cheerful voice.
"Don't be sad, Kazuka. You'll still get stronger."
The Old Wolf's voice changed. Deeper. Eyes looking far away.
"Who knows when you'll discover your special power. You should know, special abilities depend on the person. Some are not good things. You should be proud to be normal."
Special abilities are usually innate, but sometimes not discovering them is good.
Kazuka calmed himself. Looked up at the Old Wolf.
"Do you think I'll have one?"
The Old Wolf shook his head.
"I don't know. Depends on the person."
"There are two types of people. One has nothing and must try their best to catch others without any special ability. Fighting normally, doing everything with energy normally. Then, at a certain level—a very strong level—they look back. They see: having nothing is the special ability."
"Enjoying one's past with a long journey. I haven't reached the 'strong' level of humanity yet. But the diaries of those before say so."
"The second type are those born with special talent. And they try..."
"Having talent doesn't mean laziness. Their starting point is just different."
The Old Wolf looked at Takeshi and pointed.
"Like brat Takeshi. He has Earth element. Luckier than a thousand people out there. Instead of just focusing on fighting and energy control..."
"Now, he must do both and train his Earth control."
The Old Wolf coughed and continued:
"I mean, a special ability is a big advantage. But like those with nothing, you still have to try."
"To visualize: imagine a kid who can control fire. He uses it to bully village children. Years later, he's still dangerous with his power. But the village kids with no power train fast, because they have nothing special and no distractions."
The three sat silent. Expressionless. Looking at the Old Wolf.
The Old Wolf finished and glanced at them. Bored eyes.
"What? Is there a problem?"
Kazuka, sarcastic:
"We understood the first part. No need for more. Your story is too bland."
The Old Wolf's eyes twitched in irritation. He turned and leaped away.
"I went through the trouble of telling it, and you complain. Damn brats."
"I'm leaving. Goodbye."
"Like me. I'm not sure. But I feel everything I do is never the 'best'. If not for some schemes, I'd have nothing to stand above all."
"My ability is knowing everything... but just a little of each. It leads nowhere."
Walking a distance. The Old Wolf was pensive. Hesitation in his eyes. He slowed down.
"Damn it, should I tell the brat to try absorbing black energy? If he does, his life won't be normal. But what if one day he finds out he's not human? The mortal enemy of humans—who would accept that? Damn it."
"I'm still suspicious. Demons have many seals or barriers. Maybe Kazuka is also hindered by something to slow his growth. Maybe they did it so no one would suspect their child."
"Very possible. When they were caught, the child disappeared. They erased their own memories of the newborn. The demon tribe couldn't find info on the baby."
"So my deduction is likely correct."
The Old Wolf smirked.
"Interesting. So Hiroshi's eye is the link. He should have died in battle but was spared for a promise. The baby was sent to Hiroshi. He raised the brat."
"Having such a disciple will be interesting. The most interesting recruitment of my life."
The Old Wolf shook his head violently to return to the serious issue.
"But the current problem is whether to let him try absorbing black energy. If it works, my deduction is right. But who doesn't recognize demon energy? The brat's journey would end before it starts."
"But if we don't try, he can't prepare. If he finds out later and isn't accepted here, it's not good. He'll have an internal battle."
The Old Wolf gnashed his teeth.
"Damn it, what a shitty situation. You have it hard, Kazuka. But I think we should leave it to fate. When you find out, those two won't abandon you. That answer is certainly correct."
"Hmph. I wasn't the most dangerous strategist the royal family ever produced for nothing."
Then his face fell. Voice uncertain of his own praise.
"Or maybe I was."
He brushed the past aside and thought more.
"Thinking back, a seven-horned demon—the strongest—leaving a survivor is suspicious. My suspicion back then wasn't wrong."