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C456 Hunter

"Princess, I-," Khan tried to say.

"My kidnappers are getting away," Princess Edna interrupted.

Khan instinctively glanced in the direction of the ships. Three of them had almost reached the other side of the canyon, but the damaged one was struggling to fly straight. Smoke also came from the cabin as the vehicle lost height.

"Did I misjudge you?" Princess Edna wondered, noticing the hesitation on Khan's face. "Odd. I thought you would be mad because of Monica."

The Princess didn't need to add anything else to convey her idea. Khan had almost been ready to fight Jack for Monica, and that was just to keep his relationship a secret. The kidnappers had done far worse to her, so the Princess believed that Khan wouldn't hesitate to go after them.

Khan was obviously livid. His mana alone echoed angry screams whenever Monica or George's suffering faces appeared in his vision. Yet, there was a difference between protecting someone and going after people who hurt his loved ones.

In theory, Khan had saved the Princess. He had no reason to pursue the kidnappers, and revenge wasn't part of his character. Still, the Princess' words stirred his already intense emotions, fueling his dark sides. If the Princess wanted to see the monster, Khan wouldn't hide.

"Princess, do you have defensive techniques?" Khan questioned as his tone lost every trace of emotion.

"Yes," Princess Edna casually answered.

"Use them," Khan ordered.

Princess Edna showed a knowing smile and joined her hands before summoning her mana. Energy flowed out of her palms and expanded to cover her body. That was another non-elemental technique, but even Khan had to acknowledge its power.

Khan let himself fall while the Princess completed her technique. His speed increased and made him aware of his many injuries. He was far from good, but his mana fused with his desires and forced words inside his mind.

'Flow,' Khan heard in his own voice. 'Fly. Freedom.'

Khan's falling speed increased while he remained immersed in his thoughts. The canyon drew him inside its depths, but worry couldn't appear in his mind. After all, gravity didn't exist anymore.

A slow stomp flung Khan toward the departing ships, and another put him at his top speed. Something told him he could go faster, so mana leaked out of his body as he stepped harder into the air. His technique had every right to fail, but Khan accelerated anyway.

Questions managed to resound among Khan's messy emotions. He didn't know why or how he had succeeded in flying. He underwent no revolutionary change during the chase but still accomplished a long-desired feat.

Khan's transformation, general experience, or dangerous situation could explain that breakthrough. Probably all of them and more were to blame for his sudden improvement. A singular answer didn't exist. Khan had simply understood that the air had become a suitable platform.

The reasons were unknown, but that didn't apply to the result. Khan knew exactly what had happened. He had stepped into the advanced proficiency level for the Lightning-demon style.

"Enlightenment," Khan whispered as confidence built up inside him and put more power into his moves.

Each step was better than the previous one. Khan wasn't new to that ability, but he still had a lot to learn, and the chase allowed him to test his limits. Some eagerness also appeared as he saw the damaged ship drawing closer to the ground. Another battle was about to unfold, and Khan couldn't wait to put his new proficiency level to use.

The ships had reached the other side of the canyon, but it was clear that one of them couldn't fly anymore. The damaged vehicle crash-landed on the ground, sliding for a while and creating a mess of sand and smoke before finally stopping.

Seven figures came out of the crashed ship. The soldiers that Khan had fought, a pilot, and a wounded woman landed and regrouped while another vehicle descended toward their position. Ropes fell from the open doors, and the team worked together to bring everyone to safety.

The symphony kept Khan updated on the kidnappers' situation. The wounded woman was slowing them down, giving him enough time to catch up. Yet, they still had a ship, which was a problem he had to handle right away.

The Princess shouted a few complaints when Khan reached the canyon's edge and threw her on the ground. She probably wanted to join the battle, but he didn't care. The incoming battlefield was his training ground.

Getting rid of the Princess allowed Khan to push his speed even more. He soon entered the ship's range, causing shouts to come from its open doors. The kidnappers were warning their companions about his arrival, but their visors didn't help when they didn't know where to look.

Khan ran higher and higher until he arrived above the ship's cabin. A bright sword grew out of his left hand as he let Nippe 2's gravity do its work. His figure ended up upside down, and he stomped his feet to generate a violent acceleration.

The kidnappers were on the verge of bringing everyone on the intact ship when the pilot's cabin made a loud noise. The vehicle didn't budge, but the woman at the steering wheel had to close her eyes due to the falling glass shards.

Khan entered the cabin through the hole dug during his landing and planted his bright sword on the pilot's chest. His arm pierced her torso and reached the ship's floor, where cracks immediately appeared and expanded.

Various explosions resounded after a few seconds. The chaos claws unleashed their effects, destroying anything in their range and inflicting critical damage to the ship. Pillars of smoke flew in every direction as the vehicle lost height, and everyone jumped out once the crash became inevitable.

More shouts resounded and mixed with the explosions coming out of the ships. The kidnappers did their best to regroup and create a battle formation, but their visors seemed useless. They looked left and right but only noticed the Princess in the distance.

The second ship had three soldiers, with a single third-level warrior among them. The landing had even forced them to forsake the wounded woman, leaving only nine figures on the sand. That was no weak force, and weapons also increased their battle prowess.

Still, before the kidnappers could create a circle, a figure crashed on the third-level warrior with the damaged gear. Khan used his insane momentum to deliver a descending kick on the soldier's head, which remained intact even when it landed on the ground.

The sandstorm generated by Khan's landing didn't hide his figure. His offensive revealed his position, making the remaining eight kidnappers turn toward him. Weapons moved in his direction, and mana started to accumulate. Attacks were bound to arrive in the next seconds, but he still stomped his right foot to deliver a killing blow on the third-level warrior.

Khan had calculated that the kidnappers wouldn't have the time to fire, but the remaining third-level warrior surprised him. The latter released a beam-like spell from her right eye, and its speed forced Khan to resort to the [Blood Shield].

The spell crashed on Khan's left shoulder, burning his skin and dispersing the sand. The attack didn't carry much power, but it still hurt and made smoke come out of the charred flesh.

The scene stunned the kidnappers. Their visors gave them a perfect view of Khan, and pure terror inevitably leaked into the symphony.

The upper part of Khan's uniform fell off, revealing an array of clotted blood vessels. He had one foot inside the gory remains of the third-level warrior's head, smoke came out of his back, and his eyes almost shone when they looked at his enemies.

The visors' green filter worsened the mental blow the scene caused. Khan's current state was barely human. He resembled an alien beast sent to hunt them down.

"Monster," One of the kidnappers muttered before breaking the circular formation to retreat toward the crashed ship. The other soldiers did the same, but none dared show their backs.

The retreat forced the second-level warriors to adjust their aim, but their stronger companion didn't need that. She seemed ready to unleash another beam, and Khan couldn't waste time defending, especially in his injured state.

"Help my legs," Khan whispered while turning toward the kidnappers and sending some mana into the environment.

The third-level warrior didn't lose track of Khan for even a second. Her spell didn't hurt her visor, so the sand didn't hinder her. Her mana moved quickly, accumulating in her right eye to launch a beam aimed at Khan's head, but darkness abruptly filled her vision.

The second-level warriors almost missed the event due to how quickly it had unfolded, but their position made that outcome impossible. They were behind their stronger companion, so they saw a figure teleporting on top of her. They even noticed Khan's knee replacing her head.

Khan felt on fire. The sudden acceleration generated by Maban's technique made his injured skin scream in pain, but his mana continued to be louder and only allowed the arrival of warnings.

The second-level warriors' fear quickened their reactions. Multiple rifles moved in Khan's direction, ready to fire whenever he touched the ground or jumped again. However, Khan had long since stopped playing by those rules. His movements weren't something those kidnappers could predict or keep track of.

Some bullets flew toward Khan's position, but he stomped his feet in the air to disappear far above the battlefield. The kidnappers tried to search for him, but he ricocheted left, down, and right to deliver a spinning kick on one of them.

Cracking noises joined the sand as the kick shattered the armor and broke the kidnapper's neck, leaving Khan in mid-air. In the past, he would have used his opponent as a foothold to jump or push himself onto the ground. Yet, the air offered countless better options, and Khan didn't hesitate to seize them.

Khan went all-out, letting his raging emotions and the symphony in his senses dictate his moves. He jumped everywhere and delivered kicks without ever touching the ground. The Lightning-demon style transformed into an aerial art, and those second-level warriors couldn't do anything against it.

One of the kidnappers gave up when his last companion died in front of his eyes. He dropped his rifle and fell to the ground, almost waiting for death to arrive.

Khan noticed the lack of danger from his last opponent and decided to land. He stopped before him and took a single step forward to plant his foot on his chest. A mere pressure from Khan would kill that kidnapper, but the arrival of a familiar presence made him stop.

"Wait, Captain," Princess Edna called while reaching Khan. "I want to hear what he has to say."

Khan kept his foot on the kidnapper as the Princess reached his side. His emotions finally began to quiet down to open the way for curiosity. He wanted to know more about the force that dared to attack a noble.

"So, you are Captain Khan," The kidnapper scoffed while laying his head on the sand. "You sure accepted the Princess' leash quickly."

"Talk," Khan threatened while applying pressure on the kidnapper's chest. "Who are you? How did you know about this trip? How did you plan to escape?"

"What a disappointment," The kidnapper mocked as resolve replaced his fear. "We kept track of you, you know? You are even better than we thought!"

"Who is we?" Khan continued.

"Well, there is time," The kidnapper laughed. "You'll eventually join us. Don't worry. We won't make it too hard on you."

"Who are you?" Khan shouted, performing a stomp that pushed the kidnapper deeper into the sand. The attack was far from deadly, but the second-level warrior felt it.

The kidnapper coughed, but his smile returned as soon as he managed to speak again. "We are the Hive, and we are everywhere."

Khan suppressed a frown. The name didn't mean anything to him, but intense mana flared inside the kidnapper and brought his attention back to him. Something moved inside the man's head, but everything ended before Khan could react.

"A restriction," Princess Edna commented. "Boring."

The mana inside the kidnapper told Khan what had happened. An explosion had unfolded inside his brain, killing him on the spot.

To be continued