Chapter 213
Instead of only two jet-like wings, two more pairs formed beneath the first pair, making him have a total of three wings, each one with varying lengths. Expanding from his rear was a very long tail over twice his height.
With his new form, his power peaked. It was time for the second round. This time, Atid would give it his all.
"[ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND!]"
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|DxD|
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The announcement of "ascend" from the Boosted Gear astounded many. It was the first time in history that a different phrase was used for when a wielder doubled their power. However, none dared to think too much for fear of missing any crucial details. This was history in the making and they were witnesses.
Down below, Atid didn't grow complacent despite this new well of power coursing through him. He could feel it. Not just his power, but his speed had increased dramatically.
"[ASCEND!]"
He clenched his fists. This time, he was not going to repeat the same mistake as before. This time…
[I'll end this in an instant.]
"[ASCEND!]"
He bided his time and waited for Igor. The least he could do was wait for his brother to evolve. It was also his penance for letting anger cloud him before.
SU SU SU SU SU SU SU SU SU SU
On the opposite side, the dense aura of crimson surrounding Igor rapidly grew in intensity as he reached his new peak. The fluctuations were sporadic, the wisps of energy kicking up dust as the earth rumbled at the pressure he exerted.
"HaaaAAAAA!"
GRUUUU!
As he reached his peak, an all-powerful shockwave spread out, unleashing a hurricane that would've blown anyone else off their feet. Yet, Atid remained steadfast, his gaze unyielding as he faced his opponent.
In front of Igor's manic smile, he remained calm, his mind no longer turbulent like before. He would not give Igor the chance to best him again.
"[ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND!]"
Psshhhhh…
He would no longer hesitate. Right here and right now, he would put Igor down and claim victory.
Pshuuuaaaa!
With all six thrusters bursting behind him, he charged at speeds that eclipsed Igor's perception by miles.
Gu!
Landing a powerful punch, Atid dared not linger longer and circled around to land a knee on Igor's spine.
Gu!
"[ASCEND!]"
It was guerilla warfare. Already knowing how Igor's sense of pain had dulled, Atid would strike a vital spot before vanishing, much to Igor's immense annoyance.
"Stop being a coward and FIGHT!"
GRUUU!
Exploding in power, he released a super explosive barrier that absolutely destroyed everything around him.
BOOOOM!
Far on the wayside, Atid stood crouched. Having instantly placed a hundred kilometres of distance between them, he readied himself to charge forward once more.
"[ASCEND! ASCEND!]"
His thrusters were primed, his body coiled like a spring. As soon as that giant crimson dome vanished, he would rush forward without hesitation.
SUUUuuuuu…
Gradually, the dome vanished. But Atid could sense another surge of energy rising.
"..."
Igor was preparing another attack. He wouldn't let him complete it.
Psshuuaaa!
Dashing forward, he reached Igor so quickly that the redhead didn't even have the time to completely charge his energy wave attack.
Su!
Crouching low, Atid avoided the crimson orb on Igor's stretched-out hand and clenched his fist. With complete precision, he let loose a punch that struck Igor squarely on his stomach.
BOOOM!
Fist met gut. The damage was critical. The strike was so impactful that it sounded like an explosion.
Suuuuu…
Without delay, Igor was sent flying. His eyes widened as spit involuntarily flew out of his mouth. But without the accompanying pain to distract his thoughts, his senses immediately spread out to perceive Ati-
Gu! …BOOOM!
Without fanfare, Atid struck him once more with an overhead kick, instantly burying him dozens of metres into the ground.
"[ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND!]"
His thrusters burst to life once more before he descended like a missile.
"[ASCEND! ASCEND!]"
BOOOOOOOOOM!
A giant plume of dust rose from the crater as if hundreds upon hundreds of dynamite sticks had been set off. The view of the scene was completely obscured with a dense brown curtain of sand and rubble, but the rapid increase in power was very clear to everyone's senses…
…along with a very jubilant laugh.
"HAHAHAHA! GOT YOU!"
SU!
From the dust cloud, Igor emerged with his hand firmly clasped around Atid's throat. His grip was so tight that Atid's armour visibly fractured around his neck. He had a bloody smile on his face, all while the cracking sound of his bones fixing themselves rang out.
Atid had struck true on his chest, but Igor was just that durable. Maintaining a firm grasp on his neck, Igor flew up before he rapidly descended towards the ground and slammed Atid head first into the hardened earth.
Boom!
As the dust cloud, it revealed Igor to be mounted on top of Atid, his right hand balled into a fist.
"Paybaaaack. Hahahahaha!"
Gu! Gu! Gu! Gu!
Without mercy, he proceeded to pummel Atid right in the face. Each punch sounded like an explosive and Atid was helpless to resist. His left hand remained firmly clenched around Atid's neck, his right hand raining blow after blow on his face.
Gu! Gu! Gu!
Soon, Atid had enough. With his armour cracking, he knew it would be over if he lost consciousness here. Fueled by anger-induced clarity, he brought his hands in front of him and unleashed a green energy blast. But Igor already had the same thoughts as he released a mouth blast.
"Get off!"
"Raaa!"
Boooom!
Fortunately, the hastily charged blasts weren't powerful so the explosion wasn't too big. Still, as the loser of the exchange, Igor was flung several metres away.
Krrrr…
Skidding on the ground, Igor didn't dare let someone as slippery as Atid escape his grasp for long.
Tswii!
With a quick application of Instant Vanish, he appeared in front of Atid and grabbed his leg.
"?!"
It was heavily unfortunate for Atid since unlike Igor, the concussive force of the blast had temporarily immobilised him.
"Come! We're not done yet!"
Maintaining a firm hold on Atid, Igor swung him around like a club, slamming him on the ground multiple times.
Boom! …Boom! …Boom!
Finally, he threw him up into the air and quickly charged up an attack.
"RAAAA!"
A powerful red energy wave came out of his mouth like a laser, instantly hitting Atid.
BOOOM!
Atid was sent flying further into the air…
Tswii!
…and Igor was there to bring him back down.
Gu!
Bringing a double axe-handle right on Atid's stomach, he sent him crashing into the ground below.
Suuuu…Booom!
Atid was really feeling the damage now. All the power he gained through ascending had completely drained and Igor wasn't allowing him any time to ascen-
"HELLOOOOOO!"
"?!"
Before he could react, Igor had already grabbed his face and pinned him to the ground.
Doof!
"Hehehehehe…HAHAHAHA!"
With a maniacal laugh, Igor treated him like a hoe and ran him through the ground…literally.
Grrrrrrrrrrr…
Maintaining a firm grasp on his head, Igor ran full speed ahead, all while using Atid's head as a tool to till the soil. A trench kilometres long stretched as Igor pressed Atid's face further and further into the ground.
Once Atid's face was nearly submerged under a sea of earth, he finally stopped…
"Hehehe…"
And pulled him out.
"Hehehehehe…"
Having Atid hang lifelessly as he grabbed his face, Igor was filled with pride at having bested his query. Slowly, he reached out with his left hand and placed it near Atid's heart.
"Time for nighty nigh-"
"[ASCEND!]"
"!"
Bursting with newfound power, Atid reacted quickly and kicked Igor right in the armpit. Igor might not feel pain, but his arm would go numb. With Igor involuntarily letting go, Atid let himself fall into the ground.
Plop
Upon landing, he crouched down to avoid Igor's remaining hand that reached out to grab him. Twisting his body, Atid raised his leg and struck Igor right in the ear. This served to make the redhead stumble, albeit temporarily.
"[ASCEND!]"
Using his hands to push himself off the ground, Atid rushed forward and tackled Igor. It was a somewhat stupid move, but he had enough. Charging forward, he kept a firm hold around Igor's waist and ran.
He had very few moments to act before Igor would grab him once more, something he didn't want.
"Haa!"
Having built up enough momentum, he threw Igor far off into the distance.
"[ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND!]"
Tswii!
This time, Atid's perception was more than enough to see Igor appear in front of him.
[...]
Calmly, he crouched and using Igor's momentum, he flung him over his shoulders into the ground.
Booom!
Quickly stretching out his hand, Atid fired a quick green blast right into Igor's face, temporarily disorienting him.
Doof!
"[ASCEND!]"
Picking up the redhead, Atid threw him away before ascending once more.
"[ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND!]"
He had already ascended eleven times. But because of Igor's constant interruption, he kept losing valuable time to build up the power needed to permanently end the redhead.
"[ASCEND! ASCEND!]"
Just one more ascension and he would be able to use explosio-
Su!
"..."
Reacting quickly, Atid prepared to attack…behind him!
Tswii!
Just as Igor once more tried to be slick and use Instant Vanish, he was met with Atid's elbow to his nose just as soon as he appeared.
"Argh!"
Repaying the previous pleasantries, Atid placed his hand on Igor's stomach and unleashed a powerful energy wave attack.
"[DRAGON BLASTER!]"
Ka…DRUUU!
Using some of his built-up power for the blast, Atid released the attack with such fervour that Igor was constantly pushed by the attack far off into the distance. He didn't stop. He needed to place as much ground between him and Igor for this to work.
It wasn't until several hundred kilometres of distance opened up between them that Atid finally cancelled the attack.
"[ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND!]"
There was no time to waste. An attack of that level wouldn't put down Igor, but the next one would.
"[ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND!]"
Finally, his power reached its peak.
"[EXPLOSION!]"
Su!
It was too late. Even as Igor appeared once more, Atid casually dodged his outstretched hand.
[I am one with the world.]
Once again, the colour faded from the world. This time, three more phantom versions of Atid appeared around Igor, each of them in varying states of executing an attack.
And so it begun.
Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!
What appeared like hundreds of hands completely enveloped Igor. Fist upon fist struck his body with complete wild abandon. All his vitals were hit a multitude of times and Atid made sure to be thorough this time.
Using all of his power in his arsenal, Atid did not hold back in the slightest. With the time limit on his Zone technique coming to an end, he struck as hard as he could with ruthless efficiency.
Suuuuu…
Soon, all the numerous fists retreated to each of the four Atid's as they got ready to launch the final blow. The original reeled back his fist, his aim set on Igor's head. One phantom got ready to launch a kick that would land on Igor's jaw. Another phantom readied a fist that would target the liver and the last readied a palm strike towards Igor's back.
As the time limit reached zero, all of them struck.
Gu! Gu! Gu! Gu!
The damage was critical. Each vital area was struck with absolute accuracy.
*SHATTER!*
As the colour of the world bled in once more, all of Atid's phantom versions disappeared. This time and without ceremony, Igor fell face-first into the ground, a pool of blood forming underneath him. The damage he suffered was so much that even with his massively increased defence and stamina, he could not withstand so many undefended attacks, especially to his vital points.
"..."
"[RESET!]"
As the power of [Explosion] ran out, Atid lost his armour as well as his power increase after the announcement. Exhausted, the brunnette fell on his rear next to Igor.
"Haaa…haaa…haaa…"
He did not come out of this exchange without damage either. A small trickle of blood had made its way past his lips, but his pain was minor compared to Igor.
"Haaa…hahaha. I…won…"
Atid was so happy, so absorbed in his victory that he did not notice one crucial detail.
Igor's hair was still red.
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AN
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All the symptoms of battle lust Igor trained himself to remove have manifested themselves in this form. Realistically, he could've won this fight if he didn't gloat.