Chapter 11: Bloodbath (2)

"What kind of will could it require to keep such a man alive," murmured Daiki, his words easily heard by Hiro in the silent room where only the duelists' breathing could be heard.

A smirk appears on Hiro's face. "True, though I can't even begin to imagine how many times he has been cut down in his life. And don't forget, the myth says he has been living even before Akatsuki's ancestors were born."

Akihiko burst with speed once again, covering the distance between him and Hakuryoku within the blink of an eye. Wielding his sword with just his right hand, he moved his sword from his right to left, delivering a horizontal strike. The air seemed to part with his motion, but to everyone's surprise, there was no noise created as if nothing was there.

But this time, just before the sword reached Hakuryoku's skin, it was parried by Hakuryoku, who still seemed to be in a trance or perhaps it was just because of his ethereal eyes. No one knew for sure.

Both of their swords met, creating a sound. The strike and parry were both equally strong. When Akihiko's sword met with Hakuryoku's, he thought, 'His strength hasn't lowered one bit. I think I should stop holding back.'

"Ethereal Tempest," said Akihiko in a low voice his pupils turning cyan colord.

He started delivering more strikes, but this time neither his strikes were seen nor he himself, but all strikes perfectly landed on Hakuryoku.

The first one landed on the upper left side of his head, throwing most of his left brain matter out with a mix of shattered skull pieces. The second strike landed on his right rib cage, shattering all of his right ribs, with his lung peeking from within. The third strike was a thrust, piercing his sword from Hakuryoku's lower right, passing through his liver to his left shoulder, and then performing a downward slash, making Hakuryoku, who stood still until then, stagger a bit.

But his entire right skeleton was a mess, every bone and organ in his body a bloody mess after that downward slash.

"Again!!!," said Haku in a dominant tone, with indifference on his face, as if it was not him who had been cut down.

Although Hakuryoku was moving his sword to deflect, his opponent's movements were just too fast to be seen through naked eyes.

Through Swords Hiro and Daiki's eyes, it seemed like the air itself was cutting Hakuryoku while he was trying to defend against it.

"So this is the power of a supreme," Hiro mumbled under his breath in awe of the might of their clan leader and the resilience of his opponent. 'Truly worthy of conquering Six Trails,' he thought with a relatable fear.

Hakuryoku was still unmoved. A moment later, Akihiko was spotted levitating in the air behind Hakuryoku. It seemed like he jumped from the floor, but the former movement was just invisible for the two swords. Before he landed on the ground, he once again delivered four strikes mid-air, maneuvering his sword. Although his sword was just too far to hit Haku, the sheer force created by his strikes was enough to create projectiles from the wind. Every wind projectile he shot at Haku recoiled him even higher above where he performed the strike.

The first one landed on the back of Haku's head to his temples, slicing through his forehead and upper half of his head like slicing butter. However, this time it didn't take long before Haku healed; the moment the projectile went through, the blood stopped mid-air and was sucked back into its original place even before the second strike landed. The second strike was right behind the first one, slicing his right forearm, which was the hand Haku was holding his given sword with. The same thing happened again: his sliced hand splattered blood, which was then sucked in like a magnet.

"Is he even human?" Daiki wondered aloud, his brow furrowed in confusion.

Hiro shook his head, his expression grim. "I'm not sure," he replied, his voice tinged with uncertainty. "But whatever he is, he's unlike anything I've ever seen before."

Haku tried to turn back; he wanted to face Akihiko, so he did. But the moment he turned, the third strike landed on him, slicing through the back of his feet to the front, completely severing his sole and shattering his toes, making him stumble. However, Haku's healing ability was fastening in all of the process of him recovering from injuries. The last strike was aimed at Haku's neck, threatening to sever his head from his lower body, but this time something different happened. As the horizontal projectile came, he ducked, dodging just in time from the deadly blow, yet it seemed calculated and precise.

It was a strange fight. Throughout the entire encounter, Akihiko was the one striking, while Hakuryoku was only passively taking the beating. Yet, it looked like Hakuryoku was the one in control of their fight.

Just after delivering the last fourth strike, he disappeared, blending into the wind for five seconds. It was his Divine Ascension ability after all, an ability earned after the sixth trial. It is a perk of being at the peak of humanity.

When Akihiko had completed five seconds, he had to stop using Ethereal Tempest. Though he could instantly activate his ability again, in combat, every instance mattered. Nonetheless, he had already put quite a gap between him and Haku. Wanting to use his ability again, this time Haku took the initiative to launch an attack, charging towards his opponent. Even though not as fast as Akihiko, Haku was just a couple of milliseconds slower.

He was still holding his katana in his right hand when he was close enough to land a hit. He maneuvered his sword from downward right to upward left, delivering a diagonal slash. Because he was running just a moment before, friction made his slash even more powerful. Not to say his entire body weight was used as a weapon to deliver the strike.

Akihiko, who saw all of this happening just after he finished using Ethereal Tempest, didn't panic. Instead, he gritted his teeth, which made his jawline appear even sharper, and tried to parry Haku's attack.

Both of their swords met, creating sparks of fire.

Because Akihiko was parrying rather than deflecting, all of Hakuryoku's attack force landed on him. Both of their eyes met; because Hakuryoku was shorter than Akihiko, he had to look up to him. Akihiko was also looking into Hakuryoku's eyes, his image reflecting back at him. His hands were shaking because of the sheer force behind Hakuryoku's strike, but both of them were skilled enough to prevent their swords from chipping.

Suddenly, a chill ran down Akihiko's spine as if cold water had been poured down his heart upon seeing his own reflection in Hakuryoku's eyes.

Akihiko tried to retreat backwards, only to find Hakuryoku leaping at him. Now it was Akihiko's turn to look up at Hakuryoku, who had already raised his sword above his head.