"KAI VS CHIKO"

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Should have seen it coming. I lost control… again.

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Faster than anyone could see, almost as if he warped through space, Kai dashed and delivered a double slash through the abdomen of Chiko. Kai gained footing and stared towards Chiko as blood gushed through his body. Chiko coughed up blood as he was heavily injured by the sudden speed blitz. This attracted the attention of other Daemons from other classes. They joined the class as they roared in chorus excitement.

"What did I just see?" the amazed commentator reacted. "More like what did I not see? With one clean attack, Kai absolutely takes over this match. Is it over?"

The crowd was in shock. Chiko suddenly began to cackle and the crowd thought that he had gone insane. Chiko held his abdomen and coughed some more blood while laughing. Suddenly, he healed completely from the attack.

"What? Did he just heal?" the commentator exclaimed. "Shujin-sensei, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"Hmm…" Shujin observed as he was both surprised and pleased.

"It's gonna take more than a scratch to take me down. Let's give it our all, shall we?" he advised, cackling.

"With pleasure," Kai insisted, pleased.

Before Kai could move, Chiko created a massive shockwave from within his body that blasted his opponent away and simultaneously caused him to bleed profusely. He landed on one knee.

"So this is the power of the Core of Sound…" Kai commented, coughing up blood. "Show me more," he insisted, smiling sinisterly.

Chiko scoffed at the sight.

Chiko quickly placed his right arm on the ground and shattered it with a shockwave creating an earthquake-like effect and the impact spread until it reached Kai. In an unbelievable display of speed, he dashed once more and completely zoomed through the shattered ground.

'There he goes again,' Chiko thought. 'But this time, I can see him. Has he gone slower? Or is he preserving his strength? This time though, he's gonna get it good. Eat this!' he analyzed, smirking.

Before Kai could get within the reach of Chiko, he raised his left arm towards him. This caused him to be completely held in place.

Kai soon realized that this is as a result of Sono-Telekinesis, thus, he desperately struggled to be free from his clutches, But with his right hand, Chiko generated a massive shock-blast that rapidly destroyed Kai inside out, blasting him far away.

To make a statement, Chiko kicked the earth, generating a fixed earth rumble that was targeted right at Kai.

Kai was seen enjoying the damage being dealt to him to the confusion of the crowd.

In response to the incoming danger, Kai, as soon as he gained somewhat of a balance, raised his right hand up in an upwards slash motion.

The resultant effect of the defense shocked the audience and most especially shocked the master, Shujin, himself as a faded blue dragon arose from the ground to raise Kai high up in the air, protecting him from the attack.

Chiko, also shocked, didn't give Kai a second to regroup as he punched the air with his right arm, creating a concentrated shockwave. Once again, Kai defended the attack by spinning rapidly on air like a tornado to deflect the shockwaves, though he got minorly injured in some places. To add salt to the wounded pride, Kai, immediately after defending from the attack, bolted with great speed and succeeded in landing a combo attack on Chiko.

"Now would you look at that!" the commentator excitedly observed. "He lands another hit! Just where did you find this kid, Shujin-sensei? Oh but look! He heals again!"

"I told you it's gonna take a lot more than paper cuts to…"

Before Chiko could complete his sentence, he got blitzed again. Kai, with the eyes of a killer, proceeded to go in for a super slash, but just as he got close, Chiko unleashed a Sonic scream that stopped Kai in his tracks. The audience also suffered from this attack.

Chiko began to pick up the pace and charged head on to engage in combat with Kai. The latter scouted him and performed an upwards slash that produced four bear-like strikes which simultaneously caused the ground to tear into four straight line patterns. Chiko managed to come in between two slashes to avoid any more injuries. Before he could think of a plan, Kai immediately slashed the air with a double side slash which created eight claw-like slashes around the atmosphere.

"Kai ain't gonna give Chiko any breathing space no more. This is awesome!" the commentator commented.

<<In the background>>

"Oh no," a worried Shujin exclaimed.

This brought the attention of Kota, as he walked towards Shujin with his arms on his abs.

"What do you mean, 'Oh no?' He's snapping. You were right. He can handle himself even without an awakened ability," Kota rightfully said.

"That's not it," Shujin confirmed. "He's outta control again."

"What do you mean, 'again?'"

Chiko managed to dodge all of the aerial attacks but did not leave without a few scratches.

"He got him again! This time, he ain't regenerating!" the commentator yelled.

"What's the matter?" Kai asked mockingly, feeling on top of the world. "Hope you're not dying on me, Chiko?"

'Who the hell is he?' Chiko thought, visibly pissed off by his presence.

Chiko clapped and simultaneously created thunder like claps with amped frequency. As the attacks launched forward, he didn't see Kai anymore as he was already behind him.

"Let's finish this, shall we?" Kai said, confidently.

Kai grabbed the clothing of Chiko and smashed him to the ground, breaking the earth beneath them. He bled more than before but mustered up energy to solidify the sound waves he created to trap him into it.

"What's this?" the commentator asked, puzzled. "Did he just trap the noob in an empty space? But wait… he's slashing the open space!"

Kai continued to slash continuously. He got enraged and began to create energy surges within the trapped space. While he surged, Chiko accumulated sound waves and readied for a single concentrated blast. The surge was enough to break through the space but he ate a focused shockwave blast backed up with core energy. He was blasted away till he hit the ground hard.

"I believe the surge of energy he created aided him to avoid a fatal blow, but is he down?" questioned the worried commentator.

After three seconds, Kai got up once again, panting. He became enraged once more like a beast and began to fill his body with more core energy.

"What is he doing?" the commentator asked, confused.

<<In the Crowd>>

"This is what I mean," Shujin proved.

"I don't think that's going out of control," Kota clarified. "I think it's just him doing everything it takes to not lose."

'He doesn't understand,' he thought. 'Just like our last battle... No, worse than our last battle. He's not himself anymore. What's going on with him?'

Kai growled as more core energy accumulated around him so much that he began to be suspended on air.

"Is this how you want it?" Chiko yelled. "Fine!"

Chiko proceeded to also suspend himself on air, creating a soundwave accumulation five times exponentially greater than before. The energy on Kai's end began to form lightning-like bolts of high current as it struck all round the arena. The two built up their power until it formed a large orb of energy stationed in front of them.

"Oh no," the commentator gasped. "This ain't gonna end pretty. Everyone take cover!"

The two released their attacks at the same time. The output of their blast clashed in a battle of which was stronger. Kai roared louder and increased the energy output, to the detriment of him becoming unstable.

The effect of the blast completely eviscerated the whole field as everyone was forcibly blasted away.

"Is there a winner?" the commentator announced, coughing, as he tried to gain back composure.

In the ruckus, two figures were seen on the floor lying unconscious.

"Could it be... Another tie?" questioned the excited commentator.

He looked closer to see the true results.

"Wait a second… Wait a damn second… I can't believe my eyes. Do I see one damn Daemon moving? Who could it be? Someone clear this dust away!"

The dust began to clear away gradually, at least enough for the Third Year to see the one who struggled to get up.

It turned out to be Chiko! Kai, on the other hand, was far gone deep into an unconscious state. He was finally up to his knees.

"I can't believe it," the commentator exclaimed, his voice transitioning tones. "After an impressive showdown between these two powerhouses, of a battle of wills and strength, one is still conscious. Your winner by knockout, your Core of Sound, Chiko!"

The crowd instantly cheered in excitement. Kai and Chiko were taken to Shujin for treatment.

"You guys really outdid yourselves this time around… one more than the other," Shujin commended, looking towards the unconscious Kai.

"I have to admit," Chiko resented. "I haven't seen or faced anyone like him. He's truly one of a kind," he concluded, coughing repeatedly due to exhaustion.

"You have to get some rest, you know? This was a tiring battle," Shujin advised.

"Well, the show must go on," the commentator continued. "I don't think any match is gonna top this. Up next we've got…"

In Kai's unconscious state, Kai was let into the dimension of the mysterious man and conversed with him once again.

"And who's to blame now?" the Figure mocked, chuckling.

"Yeah, yeah," Kai said, feeling guilty. "Don't be so full of yourself," he continued, sighing.

"I lost control. It's my fault this time. I don't know what came over me." He continued.

"I'll tell you what happened. You let your emotions get the better of you. The stronger the emotion, the more Core Energy flows. You bit more than you could chew," the Figure explained.

"I've got to stop letting my emotions get the better of me— Chiko took me to my limits," Kai resented.

"Oh, Kai. You've got a long way to go... until we meet again."

The void enveloped the two whole.

••• ∅ •••

I lost control again. How could I let it happen?

At this stage, how will I be able to find the answers I so desperately seek? God! I've got to learn to be in control.

I've made mistakes, sure, but that's not enough to bring me down.

Until I breathe my last, I just have to keep moving on.

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