Ch 14 – Inspiration

'What?!' Kaleido was taken aback and couldn't react to the swift strike the now-transformed tribe leader dealt.

Boom!

A swing of the shadow lion's claw and he was flung far away into the distance. His body crashed against trees and foliage, tumbling and rolling on the ground like a ragdoll.

But while that happened, Kaleido instead thought to himself while flying in the air: 'Killer move? Did I hear that right? Killer. Move???'

Kaleido felt intrigued by the bizarre name… technique?

'What even was that? He transformed himself into a Shadow Lion? Let's see, from what I gathered from the rat guy, different Gu gave them the beast-like traits they have. A Lion Head itself is something like a Lion Head Gu, and a lion tail is given by Lion Tail Gu. So if that's the case, he should have used a multitude of different Gu to fully transform himself into a shadow lion.'

In just a few moments, Kaleido deduced the principle behind the lion beastmen tribe leader's killer move.

'So if that is a killer move, then killer moves should be the culmination and combination of different Gu? The fusion between the usage of different Gu…,' Kaleido's eyes started to shine brightly as countless ideas started to pop in and out of his mind, like a flood of inspiration and enlightenment bathed his bare brain.

'This?!' Kaleido felt surprised by this surge of inspiration and thought: 'It's the same feeling whenever that "scene" appears in my mind.'

What was the scene he was talking about? He was mentioning the moment before he was fully sucked into the rupture in space-time and entered another universe. He was referring to the strange place between the two universes, the unimaginable and incomprehensible area that his two eyes saw clearly and was ingrained into the very essence of his mind and soul.

Even if he wanted to, he would never be able to forget that vivid scene for the rest of his life. He would only need a thought and a crystal clear image of that scene would appear in his mind again.

'At random times, I would start thinking and seeing that image again and again in my mind. Whenever that image appears, a strange sensation akin to receiving wordless guidance or inspiration about the mysteries of space, and weirdly time, starts to appear in my head. Every time that happens, my proficiency in handling and using space path Gu Worms gets explosively better. That was the reason I was even able to use formless barrier as telekinesis with the limited amount of time I used in training with it.'

Just as he was thinking rapidly, the flood of inspiration further gushed with fervor when that "image" once again appeared in his mind. Countless shapes and colors warped and moved, forming a scenery he himself can't describe with words. It was as if his mind can't even begin to comprehend what he was seeing and only saw… things.

But that image instantly gave a huge boost of inspiration to Kaleido as ideas upon ideas pervaded his mind; insights and enlightenment that answered his current questions about Gu and space path started to appear without stopping.

"I see, so Gu can be used like this, huh?" Kaleido muttered while standing up with a grin. All around him, broken trees and rubble covered his vision. From high above, the sole moon shone lightly and envelop the surroundings with a veil of soft moonlight.

"DIE!" Just as Kaleido was enjoying the burst of inspiration, the lion beastmen who transformed into a shadow lion once again appeared in front of him, bursting forth from the shadows with extended claws.

Flash.

Kaleido disappeared from where he was standing, surprising the shadow lion who, without stopping, entered into the shadows again. High in the air, Kaleido stared at the ground with joyful eyes and grinned widely.

"Gu really is amazing! To think Gu can be used with one another to theoretically bring out countless effects!" Kaleido stared at the fleeting shadow in the distance with a snarky grin and pointed his void black space knife at it.

"What should I name this killer move? I know!" Kaleido's eyes gleamed with brilliance and he activated another Gu in his aperture.

"A combination between Space Knife Gu and Space Step Gu! A slash that can cut anything within a ten thousand steps range!" Kaleido's swung his knife, warping the space around it and it shone brightly with void black light.

"Killer Move—Displaced Slash!"

From the distance, Kaleido saw space itself seemed to have been cut into two as a void black line appeared in the middle of the air into the ground. On the ground, the void black line directly cut into the moving shadow, causing a shadowy figure to jump out of the shadow.

"Kuwak!" the shadow lion exploded with dark purple light. As the light receded, the appearance of the wounded lion beastmen appeared, along with a long bloody gash running from his chest to his legs.

"Bingo!" Kaleido grinned and waved his knife once again.

This time, a void black line appeared around the lion beastmen's head and neck. Like a cut that came from nowhere, the lion-like head of the beastmen slid to the ground with shocked eyes, and a fountain of blood erupted from the beheaded body of the lion beastmen.

With a step, he appeared right beside the corpse of the beastmen and stared down at it coldly. "It was that easy, huh?"

Kaleido couldn't help but feel estranged and alienated by the situation. He killed a being at the peak of the mortal realm so easily. It only took a single slash and the lion beastmen died just like that. It wasn't even a hard fight, in fact, he dominated that entire fight!

"Am I really that strong?" Kaleido questioned himself while crouching down. With a pop, a void black bubble appeared right beside him. Manipulating the bubble, it absorbed the lion beastmen's body into it.

"There's no way this is possible, right? A Rank 1 Gu Master killing a Rank 5? Even with my ignorance, I know for sure that this is something only a monster would be capable of doing," Kaleido stared at his hand in a daze. "There's no way I am this lucky and have such an absurd ability? I don't even know the full extent of what I'm capable of doing! Is this really reality? Or am I dreaming?"

Kaleido's breath started to become shallow and hasty. He felt boggled and dumbfounded, but more than anything else, exhilarated. If he was so strong as a mere Rank 1, then imagine how strong he would be as a Rank 5 who has access to Rank 5 Gu?!

"Perhaps at Rank 5, I'd already be unparalleled in the entire world!" Kaleido muttered under his breath.

He calmed himself down after a short while of inhaling and exhaling deeply. He cleared his mind and thought with clarity: 'Okay, let's be calm here and deal with all the loose ends for now.'

With a step, his body disappeared and he appeared high in the air above the beastmen tribe's headquarters. As to how he was able to fly, he was manipulating Formless Barrier Gu to create a platform of space below his feet, giving him the ability to show the illusion of flying.

'With my new killer move, Displaced Slash, it maximizes the cutting power of Space Knife and focuses it all into a single displaced line that can appear anywhere within a radius of ten thousand steps around me. But for doing mass destruction…,' Kaleido grinned and summoned another void black knife in his hand. 'Space Knife Gu is more than enough when it comes to that.'

Wablam!

A loud booming explosion erupted from the air around him as space ruptured like a wave. The sheer wind pressure alone caused the clouds above him to warp, and as the chaotic space and destructive wind pressure rained down on the tribe grounds, destruction ensued.

"Defend! Defend with all your might!"

"I-Is a Gu Immortal attacking our tribe?!"

"No way! Our tribe has never offended a Gu Immortal before!"

Like a relentless barrage of cataclysmic explosions, wind pressure and warped space caused mass destruction to the beast tribe. One by one, many of them were smashed into meat paste as if God themselves were bringing divine judgement.

'This is getting boring.' Kaleido yawned while continuously waving his arm. While he was indeed bringing mass destruction, it was inefficient as the power was diffused in a wide area. Unlike his newfound killer move with high killing power and control that uses space knife as its main Gu, Space Knife itself only has high raw power but low control.

'Hmm…,' as Kaleido was continuously swinging his arm to kill all of the loose ends, he started to deepen his understanding of Space Knife Gu and thought: 'Space Knife Gu first creates a sort of foundation where space would fill and condense to form the shape of this knife. If I can somehow expand that foundation, or even control it with other Gu, then perhaps my idea might just work!'

Inspiration started to appear once again in his mind, and a combination of effects between his current Gu appeared: 'Formless Barrier Gu can influence that foundation of Space Knife Gu, if I then add Space Bubble Gu's suction power that allows it to store objects without me having to put it inside it, then maybe this would work!'

Without waiting, he started to put his idea to the test the next moment. He raised his knife high into the air and poured primeval essence into his other Gu inside his aperture. As his nigh-endless primeval essence was used, space started to resonate and warp around his raised knife, and a scene that can only be described as despairing and godlike to the beastmen appeared.

From the raised knife, it started to rapidly expand as space coalesce and gathered to form a ginormous knife, nay, it can't even be called a knife anymore at its ginormous size. Compared to Kaleido, the blade of void darkness was hundreds of times larger. Its immensely powerful aura warped space and light around it, bringing a cataclysmic aura to the beastmen and humans below who can only stare in awe.

"Killer Move—Void Slash!"

A single swing and destruction was brought forth by the Rank 1 Gu Master—Kaleido Mora.

Like a bootleg Getsuga Tenshou, a beam of void darkness swallowed the entire tribe and everything around it for hundreds of meters! Everything around the gaping darkness was swallowed into it like it was a hungry beast, and inside Kaleido's consciousness, he can see dirt, trees, and everything else swallowed by his Void Slash appear inside his space bubble's pocket space.

Void Slash, an attack that maximized Space Knife's destructive power and multiplied it by a hundred, along with adding in Formless Barrier's meticulous control and Space Bubble's absorbing capabilities. In a way, it truly was a void slash that absorbs everything in its path.

As the void black darkness receded, he stares at the abyss formed by his one swing that severed the ground into two for hundreds of meters in sight. Like a cataclysmic strike brought by a godly being, an exhilarating feeling overwhelmed Kaleido and he laughed madly after a short pause.

"AHAHAHAHA! I'M SO FUCKING COOL!" Kaleido boomed with maddening laughter and he descended to the ground.

As his two feet landed on the destroyed ground where no signs of life were left, he walked toward the destroyed tribe with a small grin.

He then stopped and stared at a young boy who was somehow alive. He barely breathed and was ravaged with wounds, but he was still alive and conscious.

"Aren't you a feisty one? Still alive after all of that," Kaleido smiled and approached the boy. He stretched out his hand, patting the young child's head with a warm smile. "Sadly for you, you kind of now know who I am and what I did, so yeah… you're gonna die."

Squash. The boy's head exploded like a watermelon smashed by a hammer. Blood, bone, and gray brain matter splashed everywhere and Kaleido stood up as if nothing happened.

He continued to walk and finally appeared at a certain area brimming with barely alive Gu Worms.

"The only flaw of Void Slash is that it can't absorb Gu Worms, but I can make sure to not kill them. Hehehe, so many Gu Worms ripe for the taking!" Kaleido rapidly jumped down into the crater and looked at the numerous Gu around him with a greedy smile.

Just as he was about to start grabbing them all and storing them in his Space Bubble Gu where time was stopped, meaning he doesn't have to feed those Gu, he suddenly saw a Gu in the distance that grabbed his full attention.

"A time path Gu?!"

AN: This chapter has 2169 words.

My stockpile is now only 10 chapters... Yep, I'm gonna go on a short hiatus after my stockpile reaches 5 chapters so I can increased it back to 20+

As to why I haven't been able to write for so long: School.

Sigh, being a high school student and a writer at the same time isn't easy, but I make do with a crapton of preparation and planning.

So for the love of this nameless wretch, give me power stones.

(December 26, 2022 – 396th day of writing)