Chapter 119: The Twister

The boy was on his own for the first time since he was banished into to Academy. This time, however, his solitude was chosen. He wanted to challenge himself and for his partner to grow, and to do that, they had to spend some time alone.

"Ok, let's do this. I hope I don't regret this later." He said as he took off his mask. This wasn't going to be him running around and hunting as part of the Hunters, no this time it was Ciaran Clades, that was going to be hunted.

He had learned how to shape shift his clothes a little bit. The leather bodysuit still held a similar form, but the details changed a little. It also changed colors. From white with dark green elements it became gold and blue, similar to his Academy uniform.

He wanted everyone to recognize him so that he would have the biggest challenge possible. Now all that was left was to make his grand entrance. He was planning to hunt down a beast, maybe about Rank Three, and let a few Hunters see him. Alas, his plan wasn't to be as a few people saw him when he was roaming about.

" Is that?" One of them recognized the boy. He had grown up, and he had changed, so it wasn't instant, but his facial features stayed largely the same.

"It's Ciaran Clades and he's alone. Get him." One of them reaffirmed and they all jumped to action.

With a party of three, and everyone at Rank Two, they thought they hit the lottery. Ciaran had a bounty worth almost as much as a Rank Six beast. It was more than just a little enticing for everyone Rank Four and below.

Ciaran instinctively wanted to end them with a spell, but that would be too easy, and he had to preserve his trump cards for when he truly needed them. He opted out of using his weapons either. As great as they were, they were a trademark of the Hunter White, and for now, he wanted to have that identity hidden, so he chose to take them on with his martial arts alone.

The boy felt the storm changing not only his soul but also his body, and this was a good opportunity to test out its new strength.

The hunters all used sword-like weapons. They were in their forties and were at the bottom of the barrel for the most part of this campaign, but they thought they could easily handle a little kid.

They weren't even on guard. They could feel he was the same rank as them, but the fight was still three-on-one. The biggest one of them charged first, eager to get it over with, before someone came and took their prey away.

Ciaran wanted to employ the fluidity of Water to strike him multiple times in the joints, but he felt his body resist him. That was no longer his fighting style, not exactly. He decided to listen to his Storm and let it take control of his body.

The boy charged and met the big man head-on. The big Hunter swiped with his sword but before the blade made contact, Ciaran's Storm ate the kinetic energy the man had applied and added it to the boy. With his momentum halted and the boy sped up he was powerless and took a devastating knee to the face.

The boy had much more power now that he was Rank Two, and he had added about eighty percent of the victim's power in his attack too. The result was a caved-in skull and an almost dead Hunter, but sadly for him, he had attacked someone truly bloodthirsty.

Unlike Water, which was moody, and Wind which was passionate, the Storm was much more complicated. But one thing it did was that it enhanced the boy's thirst for violence. When the big man flew back, the boy went after him. He landed on his chest and started pummeling the man in the head.

The other two came to save him and they both tried to stab and slice at the boy. He jumped off with a mad laugh. They looked at their partner and saw half his head gone, crumbling in on itself.

They felt a chill. They had seen people kill in cold blood, but the boy wasn't even smiling, he was laughing, having the time of his life. They now understood that what stood in front of them was a psychopath, who was more than happy to run into a small group like theirs.

Little did they know that Ciaran was happy because he finally felt in his own skin. When his body was Water, he felt a connection, but it was more like he was using something borrowed. Now it felt natural, it felt good, and the feeling of ending a life with it was simply intoxicating.

With Diana gone, he was off his leash, and to add fuel to the fire he had a lot of frustration to get out of his system.

"Come on lads! You want a nice easy payday, right? Come and get it, he was just too dumb to use your advantage. Fight me two versus one, and you will even get half the reward when you kill me now." He said, the smile never leaving his face.

They were wary of the boy now, but greed was a powerful stimulus. They surrounded him, one from the front and the other one from behind. Then they put on Earth's armor, not wanting to be killed instantly.

Ciaran rejoiced by this. Earth was perhaps the worst element for him. It was strong and sturdy, with a big emphasis on defense. It countered his abilities, and as such, it was good he got to practice on these advanced sandbags.

He had never done it before, but he decided to put the Storm in his body. It didn't work, the thing just circled around him and never enchanted him. The two seemed confused so they charged.

Without his element boosting his body, he was at an even bigger disadvantage, so he decided to charge as well. He would end it in one exchange with the guy in front, lest he be stuck in a prolonged fight.

He once again looked for answers in the voice of his Storm, but this time all he got was ' fast twister' as a response.

The element gave him a clue but refused to merge with him or take control of his body. It had shown him, how its powers worked, now it wanted the boy to figure it out himself.

'Oh fuck off with this shit. Can't things be simple for one goddamn time?' He thought, not realizing the Storm was starting to affect his mind as well.

He had no time to curse at his element as he was right in front of his opponent, ready to clash. He employed the same tactic as it did, stealing a part of the kinetic energy of the rock man. Unlike his element, however, the kid only stole around thirty percent, enough for a slight boost, but not enough for an instant kill.

Whit the added bonus the man was in full rock armor, the kid decided to use grappling rather than striking or kicking him. He twisted his body and found out he was still as flexible as when he had a Water body. He coiled around the man like a snake and caught him in a chokehold.

Ciaran didn't have the strength to keep him in it, nor the time as the other man was almost upon him, so he remembered the advice of his element and twisted. A small cyclone had emerged on the rock man's neck, before the boy rotated it, along with his hands, and the man saw the world at a seven hundred and twenty-degree angle for a second.

The other Hunter swiped at the boy, and his sleeve, not even leaving a mark on it, while the boy jumped to safety.

"Are you ok Mark, the brat got you good?" The man laughed at his friend who stood still, still looking at where the boy pointed his head last.

"Mark?"

The hunter looked at his friend, and then the head that stood in place spun. Two spins and it was back to its original position. The man fell to the ground and never moved again.

The surviving member of the three looked at the two corpses, took a long breath, and ran for it.

Ciaran didn't chase him and ran north towards the deeper regions of the Tundra. There he would be only one of the small animals struggling to survive, but at least no one was going to specifically target him.

He wanted to challenge himself, but if he stayed in the Hunters' zone, it was more like an assisted suicide. Plus he also wanted some time alone so he could figure out why his element never merged with his body.

"So far, the life of a bachelor is not as fun as advertised." He said as he laughed at his own dumb joke.