All Out! - The infallible Instincts

AN: Today's break has been canceled. Tomorrow's chapter should give you guys some kind of closure. Then a break on sunday. Though, I am not sure if I will publish on monday, or next week. Let's see.

*********

The wood under his metallic boots exploded as Kai's new armor fired bursts of energy, firing him toward the incoming army.

There was a madness about Kai's eyes; a zeal like never. An obsession.

He would kill them all. He would slaughter the entire world before losing his Power; the Power that belonged to him.

The power of Iron Man Suit's repulsors was such that with one lunge, it brought him into the thick of the shadow army. The Shadow Creatures, copies of none but Contestants, attacked Kai from all around with Skills, Items, and an Ability here and there, hacking at him.

The world went silent for Kai.

Selfless Breathing!

The Blood Flames roared, and Kai's swords blurred. Wherever they passed, heads flew as if they didn't like their bodies anymore. It didn't even feel like Kai was looking at where he was slashing.

It was just an… Instinct!

Murasame hacked to his right. No one was there.

But just as it felt like Kai had gone mad, hacking at nothing but air, a Shadow Creature landed in Murasame's path as if he had just decided to put his neck against the blade.

The head separated.

"He is…" Behind Kai, Moraine's mouth hung open, her entire body shaking as a taut string flicked vigorously.

Still, she was a Protector, a mid-level 6th-floor Contestant, ranked 67 in the Tournament of Worth with Survival Theme.

Moraine's hand flicked, taking out several capsules. She threw them in her mouth.

"Haaaa!" A powerful shout thundered from her throat, Wings of Grim Butterfly sprouting from her back.

"I… am…" The world turned gray as she brandished the Claymore in her hands, every flutter of her Wings shattering space and Yokai around her. "… Moraine… the Elegant!"

Kai suddenly turned to the left, slithering with his eyes wide. From his right, Moraine walked out. It looked like she was strolling through a park.

Wherever Moraine passed by, the world shattered.

It was then a helmet appeared on her head. It had the colors of bronze, and there was an ancientness about it.

For the first time, Kai's eyes trembled as he sensed an absurdly powerful Item around him. Even Red Sun, who had already sensed the puny existence, glimpsed at the Helmet, a shiver running down his spine.

Red Sun snapped his head back, looked at the scene outside the dome's boundaries, and his eyes narrowed so thin that they looked like needles.

Out of the Inheritance Land, there was a ship. Interceptor.

On that ship, heads were piled up together. There was Ensui user's head… Shinken Blue's head… Blade Singer's head…

… the Supreme-Protector's head.

This?!

Just what happened after Contestant Nexus had mumbled out that Kai was the Five-Crowned Prince?

Air, Water, Earth, and Fire roared around Moraine as she hacked at the Shadow Creatures, separating their limbs from their bodies.

Kai's repulsors fired along with her, dancing at the same rhythm. With every next shot, he slithered faster, hacked faster, and advanced faster.

Not fast enough! Kai's mind shook.

The 3 unassigned Attribute Points added to his Agility, then, bringing it to a whopping 32 with the help of Iron Man Armor's Effect.

32!

It wasn't just a number. It was the speed in itself.

The moment those 3 points entered his Agility, Kai felt like the entire world had slowed down for him.

"Haha!" a laugh escaped his throat.

The blood flames soared even higher, squeezing out as much power as possible, enhancing his Strength and Agility even more.

From above, one could see a speck of blood point, slithering through the blackness with such a speed that eyes teared up. Wherever this blood point passed, the blackness melted, becoming gray and white.

A hammer appeared in Kai's vision, coming from his blind spot.

And then a hammer did come, the very air folding under its might.

Moraine's eyes widened. The Helmet of Fate on her head shone gold, and the earth shuddered under her feet.

Too late.

The hammer was just too fast, the power of Shadow Creature wielding it already surpassing that of a top-level 6th-floor Contestant.

Earth spikes shot out of the ground, piercing the Creature's vast chest. But the hammer landed on Kai's head as well, and…

… passed through it.

It was just an afterimage.

Kai appeared above the creature, the soles of his feet bursting with power. With a monstrous spin, Afro's Tachi beheaded the monster, its head tumbling down, falling on the shadow hammer.

Then the Mana churned even more.

The repulsors of Iron Man's suit burst out with a continuous charge, sending Kai flying into the air.

All the Shadow Creature sprouted bat-like wings and chased him, some even appearing in front of him in an instant.

Moraine still had to come out of the shock of Kai's surviving that blow. Her pupils contracted and then she lunged toward Kai, the Helmet of Fate letting her fly.

Kai slithered midair, passing through the creatures like wind through the water.

Suddenly, a dwarf Shadow Creature appeared in front of Kai, its dark, hollow eyes blurring in and out of existence. The shadow copy of Contestant Aloof.

These Shadow Creatures weren't as strong as Black Wasp, but they still had entered the boundary of the 7th-floor Contestants.

"Ahhh!" Kai shouted and rushed at the dwarf creature.

Alas! Some gaps weren't that easy to be closed up using Items alone.

Boom!

Kai's blurry figure got sent back with twice the monstrous speed he had flown. With a bang, he struck the ground, rubble and dust flying everywhere.

"Cough!" Kai coughed out a mouthful of blood, his entire body feeling the power of a telekinetic blow.

Murasame hummed to Kai's side, asking to let herself loose.

Kai threw himself into the air once again. No other Shadow Creature approached him anymore as if the dwarf creature was enough to hold him back.

"Don't…" Kai mumbled, throwing 3 MP capsules in his mouth. "… underestimate me."

Kai outstretched his right hand, put his feet at an odd angle, and all the repulsors got fired at the same time.

Kai became a red, silver, and blue disc, spinning furiously as he neared the dwarf creature. The Shadow Creature's eyes again shone, ready to inflict another more powerful blow.

It was then that the long blue tail, the mass of muscles, gave out a binding silver light.

Iron Tail!

It didn't end in silver, though. The color kept becoming denser and denser until it glowed black.

The Disc of Destruction!

The telekinetic blow came, got hacked by the disc of destruction, and then the black arc landed on the dwarf.

The creature shattered at the mere touch.

Kai's disc of destruction seemed to have no limit, the continuous charge of repulsors increasing his spinning rate with every second.

No matter who came in front of him got hacked in two. Some Shadow Creatures even tried to approach him from above, but the moment they moved, it was as if Kai already knew their intentions.

The Disc of Destruction felt like it had a mind of its own.

For 10 seconds… it raged the skies, pieces of Shadow Creatures falling like black rain.

It was just that this Skill consumed Kai's HP.

Kai returned to look like a decent living being and flew toward Shadow Lord.

Suddenly, three more creatures appeared in front of him. One had exaggeratedly long limbs, the shadow copy of Blade Singer. The other had armor just like his, and in his hands was a Claymore. Its entire body was giving out a seven-colored glow. It was the shadow copy of Moraine.

The last one was a twisted shadow that seemed to wear a high-collared black coat.

Black Wasp, the top-level 7th-floor Contestant!

It was no Shadow Creature. Black Wasp's genuine body had been transformed by Shadow Lord using Alchemy.

Kai's expression was dead.

Blade Singer's copy and Moraine's copy lunged at Kai from the right and left. Black Wasp's body glowed yellow, and he blurred, coming at Kai from the front.

Kai threw himself to Moraine's copy, dodging the Claymore, and slammed into the Creature's chest. Both Afro's Tachi and Murasame stabbed themselves into its body, going deeper than ever.

Blade Singer's copy screamed shrilly, its long limbs almost hacking at Kai's defenseless back.

Selene shot out of Kai's back like a silver phantom. She was powerless against these Creatures that had no soul, but there were still many things she could do.

Her third eye shot open, a blood drop dripping off its corner.

Blade Singer's copy stiffened as if a higher power had frozen it in midair. Selene slithered herself around its neck and started blathering in its ears, making it tremble.

Lunatic Corruption!

Both Blade Singer's copy and Moraine's copy exploded simultaneously, becoming black raindrops.

All this took only two moments to happen. But all this had been done with Kai not caring about Black Wasp. It was as if he had given up on his fate; the fatal threat of a top-level 7th-floor Contestant. No. Black Wasp felt even stronger than before.

The yellow shadowy figure had already come near Kai, its Agility surpassing the count of 32 Kai had come to know recently.

Suddenly, a figure appeared between Kai and Black Wasp.

In Moraine's right hand, the Claymore's two edges were fluctuating as sharp air circulated it. In her left hand, there was a round earthen shield, shining bronze. On her body, there was an armor of fire, with a layer of water underneath it.

On her back, the Wings of the Grim Butterfly were larger than ever.

The repulsor on Kai's soles fired, and he flew around Moraine and Black Wasp without giving her a fleeting look.

Behind Kai, a massive boom rang out, a defying scream, and an earth-shattering burst of power.

Nothing could make him look back.

It was then a creature appeared in front of Kai whose power he couldn't even measure.