Blood Demon and Moraine the Elegant

Kai had become Jack Sparrow's temporary Protector, so he must take him out of the Inheritance Land now.

It was especially so when he didn't know what the Backlash of the two Systems meant. But it didn't need one to be a genius to know that it meant nothing of the good sort.

Then there was the matter of Cersei, wearing the Book in her left ear as an earring. Selene was with her, yes. But Kai had sensed that these Shadow Creatures neither had a soul nor a real body.

Not much the Ghost Basilisk could do to them in that case.

For now, Kai had only one plan he needed to carry out in the least time possible.

Find Cersei and Selene, using the inherent bond they all shared, and then Commandeer a ship, taking Jack Sparrow out of the Inheritance Land.

Flying in Dementor-Kai form, carrying a major Character, seemed extremely stupid to Kai. It was especially so when the Shadow Lord would deliberately target Jack Sparrow, and a 9th-floor Contestant would instantly recognize a Dementor and Kai's oddity.

This wasn't the time for him to remain alone and do things stealthily. If Kai wanted to survive, then he needed to involve as many Contestants in this mess while not letting them sense anything wrong about himself.

Once out of the area mentioned by the Systems, Kai could instantly teleport back to the Harry Potter World, running away from this mess. If he could obtain a part of the Inheritance meanwhile, then he wouldn't say no to that, either.

But things rarely went according to plans.

A bang rang out as Kai was heading to the docks, where he had sensed Selene and Cersei were, and a figure slammed into the rocky grounds just dozens of meters away from him.

A beastly growl followed the echoes of this impact.

Kai's eyes narrowed as he saw a 20 ft large armored Shadow Creature holding a Claymore of almost the same size, charging toward him. From the soles of the Shadow Creature, shadowy energy beams were firing out as the one Kai had only seen or heard about coming from Iron Man's armor.

The most terrifying fact was that there was a seven-colored hue shining around the Shadow Creature, which even made Kai's heart pound with anxiety and a touch of powerlessness.

It was apparent that this Creature had stepped into the boundary of a 7th-floor Contestant at a glance.

It was then that a figure flew out of the rubble.

Clad in Iron Man Mark V armor, wielding Claymore, Moraine the Elegant flew out of the pit with a powerful jump.

She was a mess.

The red and silver armor on her left had vanished to the elbow, and the broken part was sparking, sending out electrical bursts. All over her body, Kai could see several dents on the armor. Even more in numbers were the razor-sharp dark slashes, almost cutting the armor and body part underneath.

The moment Kai saw her, Moraine also saw him.

A tremendous shock shook Moraine's heart as she saw Kai, and Jack Sparrow hanging over his right shoulder.

"What sort o' device is this, mate?" the pirate Captain jested. "Can yeh do all sorts o' things wearin' it?"

"How is this possible?!" Moraine shouted, shocked. "Why do you have him? Where is the Prime-Protector? Wait! Why aren't you being pursued by a Shadow…"

Before Kai could answer, the Shadow Creature had already arrived. Despite its vast size, it possessed great speed using the shadow boosters of its armor. It raised the dark Claymore and hacked at Moraine, both swords becoming a blur at the impact.

Kai's eyes flashed with a cunning thought suddenly.

The moment he saw Moraine using the impact to create distance between her and the Shadow Creature, he hacked at the back of Jack Sparrow's neck, making him lose consciousness. Then, with a boom, he charged toward Moraine.

Moraine was parrying the powerful blows of the Creature when her eyes widened because of a horrifying scene. She saw Kai rushing toward her. "No!" she screamed, her voice mechanical as it rang out of the helmet. "Don't come closer!"

Even though she was a mid-level 6th-floor Contestant, and could survive an onslaught of top-level Contestants using her Wings, Moraine didn't think for a second she could vie for an Inheritance of C+ Difficulty. It was beyond her capabilities, to begin with.

So, when she saw Kai coming at her, Moraine instantly figured out what he was trying to achieve with such actions. If she was in her place, then she would have done the same.

At any other time, Jack Sparrow would have been the greatest treasure box. But now, he was nothing short of a fatal disaster.

"Blood Demon!" Moraine screamed out of her lungs, seeing Kai coming nearer every second. "I will…"

Grr!

The Shadow Creature growled, its every blow heavier than the last.

Too late.

Moraine had just fired the energy blast on her shoes, hoping to create distance between her and Kai, when something weird happened.

Kai's Instincts roared, and he almost felt as if he could see Moraine going in a direction that would let her put the Shadow Creature between her and him. The moment energy blasted out of her shoes, a hiss escaped Kai's mouth, bringing out blood flames along with it.

Selfless Breathing Art!

Kai's speed enhanced instantly, and with an exploding kick, he landed near Moraine; the distance between Jack and her was less than a meter. It was also the moment the Shadow Creature hacked.

Murasame and Afro's Tachi flashed and struck the shadowy Claymore, making both Kai and Moraine fly in the opposite direction with a boom.

Covered in blood flames, Kai held Jack Sparrow and grinned at Moraine. "We meet again," he said, his hazel pupils brimming with cunningness. "Running away like that? Not so elegant, eh? I will be in your care for some time. Haha!"

"You!!!"

*

*

Kai and Moraine ran toward the docks, the Shadow Creature hot on their heels.

Blood Flames flickered around Kai, crackling, and roaring like burning wood. On his right, Moraine was dashing in her Iron Man Mark V armor, firing short bursts from her repulsors. She dared not go up in the air, for the Shadow Creature was faster than her.

Two-headed dog-like Shadow Creatures were also running along with them, snarling at their sight.

No matter where Kai looked, every inch of the ground seemed to have been covered by shadows and the hideous beings sprouting from them.

A two-headed dog lunged at Kai, aiming at the back of his neck. Murasame flickered, blurred, and returned, hovering a few inches over his head.

The dog lost its head and melted back into the ground like water.

Behind them, the armored Shadow Creature, Moraine's exaggerated copy, hacked Claymore from afar mercilessly. The world kept trying to become gray, but failed every time; a clear sign of the shadow creature failing to use an Ability.

"Brute copies!" Moraine spat, her voice mechanical. "They seemed to have gained an image of Contestants, and they have great power, at least belonging to low to mid-level 7th-floor Contestants. But they lack intelligence and can't use Abilities. Animals!"

Kai didn't need to turn his face to know that Moraine was eying him murderously right now.

After forcing her to become a temporary Protector of Jack Sparrow, Kai and Moraine instantly decided to head for the docks to commandeer HMS Interceptor, and then use the ship to take the main Character out of the Inheritance Land.

Kai hadn't told her that the prime reason for him to go for the docks was that Selene and Cersei were there, too. He would not, could not, and dared not leave them behind.

Not once Kai and Moraine thought about rescuing Commodore Norrington and Governor Weatherby Swann. They would have thrown Jack Sparrow already if they could. Too late to do something like that now.

Boom!

'Fuck! It's using that again!' Kai cursed and kicked the ground ferociously.

Behind him, the Shadow Creature had just used the repulsors on the sole of its shoes to fire a short burst of shadowy energy. With a powerful lunge, it almost arrived near Kai and Moraine, towering over them like a wrathful deity.

This wasn't the first time it had used such a method to catch up to them, either. But with its low intelligence, unless Kai and Moraine weren't about to lose it, the Shadow Creature didn't use those energy bursts.

"I will leave it to you," Kai offhandedly said, putting the 6th-floor Contestant between him and the Creature.

Moraine gnashed her teeth at Kai's shamelessness, the metallic pieces of her armor grinding furiously over each other.

Shuuu!

A gigantic Claymore hacked at them, cutting the air with a sound that felt like scalding hot steam rushing out of a geyser. The repulsors at Moraine's shoes and a right hand shot out energy bursts, and she spun at her axis. In her left hand was her Claymore, looking quite unimpressive against its incoming brethren.

Bang!

A bang rang out as metal kissed the shadowy substance, sending Moraine flying back.

"Cough!" the lady coughed out a mouthful of blood, which seeped out from the slit-like opening in front of her mouth.

The moment Moraine got sent flying, the shadow Claymore of the Creature also trembled in response, despite the gap in strength, creating a rare opening in its wielder's guard.

Kai's eyes flashed as he saw this happening, as he had predicted. He lunged back, stepped over Moraine's metallic head, and hacked at the Shadow Creature with Afro's Tachi, Murasame blurring along with its sister with the matchless bloodthirst of her own.

Afro's Tachi landed on the Creature's right wrist, almost hacking it off. Meanwhile, Murasame stabbed itself into the Creature's neck, slicing an enormous chunk off it like butter.

With a puff, dense and dark shadowy fog escaped from the two wounds, making the Creature howl in pain.

"Aghhhrrr!" It was a beastly growl but belonged not to the living.

Kai wasn't feeling any better, either. The power he had used to injure the Creature got rebounded at him with double the force, sending him flying. He clenched his teeth, burying the welling-up blood in his throat, and landed on his feet near Moraine.

"Thank you for the opening, my lady," Kai mocked, grinning through his bloody teeth. "That was truly elegant of you."

"Blood Demon!" Moraine roared, pushing herself up and continuing the run. "You anger me to death!"

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A Break Tomorrow.