Anger

Khan inspected the Kred and tried to get a read of his actual power. The glowing plants around him hindered his senses, but the alien was standing right in front of him. Something eventually reached his mind.

The alien was a dense mass of mana. His entire body featured shining lumps of energy that empowered his already incredible innate features. There were empty spots, but they didn't create any weakness in that massive array of muscles.

Khan's eyes fell on the alien's foot. He had delivered a complete technique on that spot, but he had failed to inflict significant damage. However, a second inspection revealed that the body part had swelled. It was clearly bigger than the other foot.

'I can damage him,' Khan concluded in his mind.

His attunement with mana was pretty high, but it had yet to reach the fifty percent mark and allow him to claim the status of a first-level warrior. Still, he appeared close to that level since his blows could affect the Kred.

'I might be able to defeat him once the others arrive,' Khan thought as a few images flashed in his mind.

The Kred's reaction time was incredible, but Khan had managed to get past his defense and land a blow. The nature of the Lightning-demon style gave him a slim hope to avoid ending up in the alien's grasp again. In theory, Khan could slowly exhaust his opponent with a hit and run tactic since he was faster.

'I can't allow him to grab me again,' Khan sighed as pain continued to spread from his ankles and tried to seep past the mental barrier.

His plan could work only if the alien didn't catch him again. Khan knew that his body couldn't endure another beating since his insides already hurt. Moreover, the Kred had a high chance to damage his legs again since Khan's offensive relied on those limbs, and suffering severe injuries there would put an end to the battle.

Khan needed to go past perfection to handle the Kred. Simple speed wasn't enough. He had to perform feints and predict his opponent's reactions to always stay a few steps ahead in the battle.

Success in that approach wouldn't even ensure his victory. The Kred were innately more resilient than humans, and his opponent's body even had more mana. Khan was on the losing side when it came to sheer strength, endurance, and probably battle experience. He could only rely on his speed and companions in that situation.

'I don't have many choices,' Khan cursed before bending his body forward.

The alien's smile widened at that sight, and he raised his arms to prepare for the imminent attack. He pointed his palms toward Khan, and his sharp claws became ready to pierce the boy's skin.

Khan removed everything useless from his senses. The noises caused by the battles of his companions didn't reach his ears anymore. The various cells and prisoners became mere shadows in his eyes. The Kred's features also vanished and transformed him into a mere training dummy in his mind.

Khan shot ahead once his concentration reached its peak. Mana flowed freely through his body and accompanied his movements. A kick quickly flew toward the Kred's head, and the alien raised his arms to block that blow, but Khan's leg suddenly curved as his blurry figure crossed his opponent.

The Kred sensed his feet leaving the ground when Khan's shin hit his abdomen. The boy had relied on a feint again, and the power behind his blows seemed to have increased. The alien couldn't help but feel some discomfort on his belly, but his arms still swung after his opponent.

Khan saw sharp claws flying toward him and aiming for his face. He had stepped behind the Kred to complete the attack, but his opponent didn't lose track of him.

Khan jumped backward and distanced himself from the Kred. A claw managed to touch his cheek and open a small cut, but he barely felt that.

The Kred landed on the ground and gave voice to an arrogant grunt. He appeared completely unaffected by the recent attack, but Khan expected as much.

Khan shot ahead as soon as the Kred tried to restore his guard. His leg quickly rose and aimed for the alien's head again, but he performed a feint as soon as he saw the huge furry arms appearing on his path.

His heel fell on the already injured foot, but Khan didn't flow into another technique. He put power into his legs and jumped backward before the alien could launch his arms forward.

The Kred gave voice to an angry roar when he saw his opponent escaping his range again. Khan was slippery and hard to follow even with an enhanced body, but his blows felt like mosquito bites in the alien's mind.

Still, the Kred inevitably grew angry about that situation. He was stronger than Khan, but his power would be useless as long as he failed to catch him.

Moreover, it felt strange to fight against Khan. Warriors would show some reaction during a battle. Their species didn't affect that feature. Pain, anger, and other sensations were inevitable when exchanging blows powered by mana.

Yet, Khan's face appeared empty. It didn't show anything at all. The Kred could barely explain how he felt against that opponent. Staring in Khan's dead eyes made his spine tremble.

"You are a strange human pup," The Kred couldn't help but exclaim, but his words didn't reach Khan.

Khan shot ahead as soon as the Kred closed his mouth. His leg went for the alien's head again, and its shape grew blurry as soon as furry arms appeared on its path.

The Kred didn't fall for that tactic again. He swung his arm toward the base of Khan's leg to interrupt every feint and technique. After all, Khan had to slow down his offensive to chain two attacks in a row and trick his opponent. The alien wanted to use that window to take care of his threatening speed.

Yet, the plant of Khan's foot suddenly hit his nose while his claws were converging toward the leg's base. The Kred didn't manage to maintain his composure due to the surprise that filled his mind, and his body inevitably bent backward.

Khan had faked his feint. He had pretended to flow into another technique, but his leg had only imitated his previous movements, which didn't make him waste much time.

The Kred's calculations ended up being off. He would have been able to reach Khan's leg if he feinted, but he fell short of a small instant since Khan's kick had continued to fly forward.

Tears accumulated in the alien's eyes. It didn't matter how powerful his body was. Every living being had vulnerable spots that mana could only cover partially.

The Kred roared in anger again as he wiped his eyes and tried to clear his nose, but a kick hit the lower part of his mouth and made some of his teeth crack. Khan didn't stop there, and multiple attacks fell on the alien's abdomen and injured foot while the latter remained in his confused state.

The alien eventually regained his vision and swung his claws forward, and Khan felt forced to jump backward. Two long horizontal cuts opened on his chest and divided his azure scar, but those injuries were too superficial to affect him.

"Enough jumping around!" The Kred shouted while spreading his arms and shooting forward. "Come here!"

Khan couldn't help but rejoice at that scene. The alien had finally lost his cool and had decided to launch a reckless assault.

The Kred closed his arms on Khan when he reached his position, but his figure vanished when those furry limbs touched his skin. Khan ducked at the last second, and his body rotated on his feet to cross the alien and deliver a kick on his back.

The alien bent forward, but he managed to preserve his balance and turn while swinging his arm. Khan jumped to dodge the attack, and his airborne figure spun to slam his heel on the Kred's head.

The Kred wanted to use his other arm to grab Khan now that he lacked footholds, but the latter pointed his free leg on the alien's chest and pushed himself away.

Khan performed a backflip and returned to his feet, but the alien didn't give him any time to breathe. The Kred immediately charged ahead and forced Khan to slide under his figure to dodge the incoming claws.

The alien wanted to turn, but a sharp pain suddenly spread from his groin and forced him to halt his movements. Khan had punched the alien's manhood while sliding between his legs, and he even followed the attack with a double kick performed by pointing his hands on the ground.

The Kred ended up losing his balance after the attack hit his back. He slammed on the wall at the end of the hall before slowly turning to face his opponent. Immense anger filled his eyes at that point, but Khan only took note of the various spots that had swollen.

Khan had landed blows on his opponent multiple times by then, but the latter didn't slow down at all. The Kred had suffered injuries on his foot, head, back, and abdomen, but nothing seemed able to affect him. The fast offensive had only managed to increase his anger.