Chapter 34 – Conqueror worm

Blowing out air from his mouth, Kai took front stance (Zenkutsu dachi) clenching his left fist stretched at Chisaka and the right arm clenched near his chest. 

Chisaka spread his arms open and spun both inward. The shattered ground from both Kai and Draven's rampage and the space torn by Draven, disappeared. 

"Setting the stage for a fight?" Asked Kai, with a grin on his face. 

"Son'na kanji."

Both dashed towards each other. Chisaka weapon hauled a katana as he dashed and Kai clenched his right arm, his right arm emitted smoke. Chisaka slashed his sword aiming at kai's torso, Kai dodged it by falling onto the ground. He performed a kip-up to get back on his feet and leapt for a back kick aiming at Chisaka's back. Chisaka parried the kick with his sword by bringing his sword above his shoulders. Both took couple of steps back as a recoil. 

"You're weaponless kid.... Sore wa daijōbudesuka?" Asked Chisaka, with a worrying look on his face. 

"Daijōbu, buki wa tokui janai."

Kai took back his front stance but left his palms open rather than clenching it. Chisaka let out a light chuckle as he took 'Waki no kame' stance. Kai dashed towards Chisaka. Chisaka looked at the ground with his eyes half open, calmness on his face. As kai stepped into the range he was hoping for, Chisaka cut kai's head clean off. Chisaka loosened himself and stood up straight as if the bout was over.

Just as Kai's head was about to hit the floor, 'blink', Kai pierced a hole in Chisaka chest through Chisaka's back using his hand. Chisaka turned back and opened his eyes fully to get a good look at Kai, whose clean cut head was attached as if nothing happened. It was as if he was just now beginning to recognize Kai as a threat. 

"Hmmm….. That monkey was right….. Un-killable type are really a problem."

Kai leapt a couple of steps away from Chisaka and the hole in Chisaka's chest covered up. Blood of Chisaka on kai's hand spilled onto the ground as he shook his hand to get rid of it. 

"Hmm…. There is no blood in my sword."

Chisaka analyzed something was off about Kai's healing by looking at his sword with no blood on it. 

Kai and Chisaka dashed at one other once again. Kai threw a hook at Chisaka's face and he evaded it by ducking. Chisaka aimed a horizontal cut at Kai's abdomen. Kai blocked it by stepping on Chisaka's forearm cutting off the movement mid-way. Chisaka pushed Kai with forearm making him take couple of steps back. Chisaka went for a vertical cut from upward to downward. Kai evaded it by using the walls behind him as a spring for a dive roll. Kai leapt on the column next to Chisaka and used it as spring for a front flip kick. Chisaka parried it with an upward slash. 

"Your way of fighting…. It is a mess."

"What can I do? I never learnt under guidance."

Kai back flipped and did a handstand to spin kick at Chisaka. Chisaka parried it with his other hand that was free. Kai leapt up for a spin and went for two consecutive knee kicks aiming at his face. Chisaka evaded it by moving two steps back. 

"Shit what is it? How is he able to read my moves?"

"This kid….. Can he also read mind? Matter not."

Both began to analyze each other's potential, a single second they stopped fighting. Ignoring it they both went at it again. Kai threw barrage of punches and kick at Chisaka and Chisaka parried it all. When Chisaka went for cuts and slashes Kai dodged it all. 

"He can read my moves!" 

"Forget about defense and let's go all out." 

Both thought the same thing as they dueled and choose to ignore the defense completely. Chisaka choose to stop reading his move and Kai ignored his pre-vison. 

Kai punched Chisaka on his face with a right hook, which tore off his face completely letting his skull expose. Chisaka cut right through Kai's lower body in half. Both healed in an instant. Kai lift up his knee to land a kick on his jaws, Chisaka stabbed right through his heart. Both kept trading blows, receiving them and healing.

Chisaka let go of his weapon haul and grabbed Kai and threw him overhead, Kai used his leg to land a kick at his head at the same time. Chisaka weapon hauled a katana through Kai's neck, Kai landed an upper knee kick at the arm that stabbed his neck. Chisaka grabbed Kai from his face and set him up on flame. 

Kai took a couple of step back and crouched to gaze at Chisaka as his face literally melted. 

"Special: Dance of Vulcan."

Kai leapt as his upper half was nothing more than that of a Skelton on fire and threw a punch coursing downward at Chisaka. Chisaka blocked it with a cross arm, but Chisaka's arm disintegrated and the waves sent out from the move lit up the dojo on fire. Kai stood facing Chisaka once again as whole.

"Ah~ he is healed? Even his clothes that was on fire?" 

Chisaka's arms grew back and he swung his left arm upward. The entire flames on the Dojo gathered on his palm as ball size of a coin. He crushed the coin with his palm and opened it for petals of sunflower to fly out of his hands. 

"What is that? Fire turned to petals?"

"He can possibly read mind and change the structure of dojo at his will…. What is his potential?"

Thinking back the powers Chisaka used, he ran towards Chisaka. Chisaka took the stance of 'Jodan no kamae'. And following the stance he brought the sword down at Kai's head as he reached him. The fast and refined sword movement slowed as it was about to touch Kai's head. Kai tilted his head as he stood straight to see Chisaka staying still. The entire atmosphere slowed as if the time was stopped. He slowed a single second by 24hours. Kai disappeared from the point he was standing and appeared as four. One staying in a resting position as he ran his arm through Chisaka's chest. Two punching the gut out of Chisaka's abdomen from either sides. The last one punching Chisaka on his head from above. As he played back time all four attacks landed on Chisaka at the same time drenching him and the floor in blood. 

He healed and stood back up and swung his sword to take a stance. Chisaka took the stance of 'Kasumi no kamae'. 

"He healed when cut in half, burned or stabbed. Even with his clothes unscathed, it's as if he is undoing the actions done…. And attacking that fast…. It's as if his potential is...."

"Healing, Manipulating the construct of this dojo and the complex space this dojo was built on. Setting fire was ok, but doing that weird stuff with the fire….. And worse, mind reading….. It's as if his potential is..."

"…..Time!"

"…..Reality!"

Chisaka Katsuro (Guds Vilje)

  Sonzai no yūrei

·  Manipulation and monarchy over reality. 

The End.