Haru - Part 2
Haru - Part 2
BOOM! The ground shook as hundreds of mana-bullets slammed into the barrier. Explosive energies snaked out in every direction, demolishing the city street. The outermost metallic layer was completely stripped away, but the light barrier underneath was mostly unharmed.
"Hooo." Haru released a deep breath. He hadn't been sure whether his barrier was equally as powerful as the Great Khan's, but it seemed he had worried for nothing. With this, he fearlessly glared at the Great Khan. "What will you do now? Your only trick is already useless."
"Humph." The Great Khan snorted while returning the glare with complete disdain. "You underestimate me. Do you think I could rise to my position by only using others?" He confidently leaned down and placed his hand on the ground, causing it to tremble. Tiny rocks and pebbles danced across the surface, quickly gathering towards him. Upon reaching his fist, the rocks simply vanished. The surrounding street quickly disappeared as he absorbed more and more rock.
'What is this?' Haru frowned as he cautiously watched his opponent. The Great Khan was too far away to attack immediately, and Haru also had to maintain his barrier in fear of the mana-bullet volleys. He was forced to watch, but nothing seemed to change regardless of how much rock the Great Khan absorbed.
"That should be enough." The Great Khan stood straight and grinned as he took a step forward. BOOM! The earth shook as his foot sunk into the earth. Cracks spread around the newly created hole as he took his next step. BOOM! The ground trembled once again. Each step he took caused a mini earthquake, and it was clear the ground could barely support his weight.
'Some kind of mass or weight enhancement?' Haru guessed. 'Does it increase his strength and defensive abilities? Well...' He stared apathetically at the Great Khan. 'His movement is so slow... I was faster than that even when I first awoke my powers and used my rigid body...' A grin crept up on Haru's face as he continued to watch. 'This is too perfect!' His enemy was challenging him in close combat, which just so happened to be Haru's specialty as well! Additionally, the riflemen would be unable to fire on them if they both fought together in close combat, and he also had extreme healing capabilities. The fight seemed to hold only advantages for him!
A yellow glow covered Haru's body, slowing his movement significantly while increasing his defense and strength dramatically. Ice sprouted under his feet and pushed him forward, increasing his speed back to a normal pace.
The Great Khan laughed as he saw the boy moving closer. "You're approaching me? You've got guts, brat!" He wielded the green longsword defensively while creating a more compact version of his light barrier right above his skin.
Haru narrowed his eyes and created an identical light barrier. It would be weaker than the previous one, but it would be comparable to the Great Khan's barrier. He couldn't allow his enemy to break it, otherwise, a volley of mana-ammunition would likely end his life.
"DIE!" Haru shouted as he slammed his foot into the ground. The earth quickly transformed into a pool of black corrosive sludge, sinking him and the Great Khan to their knees.
"HA, you still underestimate me!" The Great Khan activated his own path of earth, restoring the black sludge to ordinary earth and then transforming it into hot lava.
'Has he mastered all of the paths of earth as well?' Haru wondered. The lava didn't hurt him, as it was incapable of breaching his barrier. Even if it broke through, as a fellow master of the path of red earth, he would suffer minimal damage from an enemy attack utilizing it. 'Let's try water then.' He struck his fist forward, shooting out a stream of high-pressure green water towards the Great Khan's head.
"Humph." The Great Khan snorted as he swung his green longsword upwards, slicing the jet of water directly in two. "Enough horseplay." He grunted. "You came for the sword, right?" He tossed it forward into the mud, taunting Haru to come closer. "Let's end this like men. Two fists and no tricks!" He punched his right fist into his left palm while cracking his neck. A savage grin appeared on his face as he prepared to beat his enemy to death.
"Sure." Haru nodded in agreement as he closed the distance. As he got just a meter away, a rock of earth shot from his foot, springing him forward. He slammed his fist down hard towards his opponent's head, hoping to finish the fight in one blow.
Caught slightly off guard, the Great Khan took the hit. He stumbled several steps back as he regained his balance. However, his barrier had protected him, resulting in no damage being done. "Not bad! Not bad!" He laughed as he slowly ran forward and returned a fist towards Haru.
Bang! Haru met the fist with his own, causing cracks to snake out on each of their light barriers. The damage healed as quickly as it appeared, and they immediately moved onto releasing their next blows.
Haru threw a strong left kick into the Great Khan's rib cage, and the Great Khan slammed his elbow down hard on Haru's shoulder. The sound of shattering glass echoed as each of their barriers broke in the respective areas, but they quickly utilized their mana to heal the damage. New blows were thrown as quickly as the previous damage had healed.
Bang!
Thwack!
Wham!
One kick, fist, and elbow after another was exchanged with no real damage being done. The fight dragged on for nearly a quarter of an hour as neither made any real progress, and the Khan-controlled Mongolians and Chinese nationals waited patiently with their rifles aimed.
"Huff! Huff!" Haru breathed heavily from exhaustion as sweat covered his body. His mana was running low, and he knew he would soon run out. It didn't matter how heaven-defying his talent or body was once he was out of mana, as that would be the end. Without mana, not even his body would be capable of healing as rapidly as usual. On the other hand, the Great Khan seemed to be doing much better. He was slightly weary, but it was clear he held far more mana than Haru. Of course, both had mastered all of their meridians, so for the Great Khan to hold more mana, he was either born with a larger capacity or had slowly worked to increase it over many years. It wasn't something Haru could forcefully catch up to in a short amount of time.
'Damn!' Haru bit his lip in frustration. 'I'm going to have to resort to that again...' He could still use his secret technique of mixing yin and yang to drastically increase his speed and strength for a brief period of time, and the effects would be even greater than in the past due to his mastering of various paths. However, using it would exhaust the last of his mana, and even worse, it would shred his body to pieces. He would likely be left completely vulnerable for days until his chimera powers managed to heal the damage, and it was equally likely the Mongolians or Chinese nationals would kill him during that time.
"All out of steam, brat?" The Great Khan taunted while moving towards the green longsword. "I suppose I'll end this then."
Haru's eyes suddenly widened in realization. 'I don't have to fight alone! Hina's here!' The yellow glow covering his body quickly transitioned to blue, drastically decreasing his defense while significantly improving his speed. He appeared as little more than a flash as he zipped past the Great Khan and took hold of the green longsword.
"Hina, it's me!" He shouted as he aimed the sword towards the Great Khan. "Help me kill this bastard that separated us!" His mana poured into the sword, causing a green glow to light up over their surroundings. Flowers began to bloom atop the rocky ground, creating a field of beautiful flowers of yellow, blue, and white colors. Purple mist began to spring from the flowers, obscuring the riflemen's view while corroding the Great Khan's barrier.
The Great Khan's eyes widened in shock. "What is this?!" He shouted as he took several steps back. "Shoot! Shoot him!" He yelled in panic. He had known the sword was special, but this was beyond his expectations. He had even seen the sword being used during the war with the Purple Origin Sect, but the effects had never been so dramatic. 'Can the sword cultivate?!' He suddenly wondered. Perhaps the sword had silently been biding its time over all these years, awaiting its chance for revenge against him.
The riflemen hesitated, opting not to shoot. With the purple mist obscuring their view, they didn't know where to aim. Even worse, their connection to the Great Khan was quickly growing fuzzy. The interference allowed them to question their orders, and some even regained their freedom and began firing upon their enemies.
'Now's my chance!' Haru's eyes sharpened as a yellow and blue glow covered his body. The opposing colors fought each other, and in doing so, they dramatically increased his strength and speed. 'I should be fine if I only use it for a second!' He pushed off the ground, rushing forward faster than ever before. The wind buzzed in his eyes as he positioned the green longsword in front of himself, aiming for the Great Khan's heart.
Clink! Haru's sword stabbed straight through the Great Khan's barrier, digging deep into his flesh. 'Missed!' Haru clenched his teeth in frustration. He had missed the heart by only an inch, but that was enough to give his enemy a chance to change the course of the battle.
Suddenly, the green glow covering Haru's longsword grew greater. The Great Khan's eyes trembled in fear as the sword slowly transitioned from green to blood-red in color. The sword was absorbing his flesh and blood! "STOP!" He panicky shouted as he forcefully grabbed the longsword with his right hand. Unfortunately for him, his hand was easily cut by the blade, and the sword only worked to absorb his blood even faster.
"DIE!" Haru shouted in a hoarse voice as he twisted the sword, brutally cutting into the Great Khan's heart.
"Pfft!" The Great Khan coughed up a stream of blood as he fell forward onto the sword. His arms lifelessly hung down, swinging back-and-forth. His heavy body had collapsed atop the sword, and he had taken his last breath.
"It's finished." Haru sighed in relief as he released his powers, only maintaining a light barrier for protection. He lovingly looked down at the green longsword, though mixed emotions appeared in his eyes. 'Hina... I didn't know what I had until you were gone.' His eyes narrowed with determination. 'I'll definitely find a way to revive you!'
Suddenly, the Great Khan's body shrunk up like a mummy, and the blood-red sword returned to green. It hummed, seemingly attempting to calm Haru's turbulent emotions. At the same time, a small stream of golden faith energy poured out from the Great Khan and into Haru's soul.
Haru moaned as he felt the golden energy wave and roll over his flesh. He could feel it improving both his soul and flesh, though it also felt utterly exhausting to absorb. Fortunately, Mongolia had originally been a country with a relatively small population, so the Great Khan had few truly faithful followers. Otherwise, Haru may have risked suffering a soul shattering identical to what his sensei had once gone through.
The field of flowers and accompanying purple mist slowly faded away, revealing an ongoing battle between the Chinese nationals and the Mongolians. However, it was obvious with just a glance that the Chinese were going to win. Without the Great Khan, the Mongolians stood no chance unless World Hunter Association forces arrived to provide support. Unfortunately for them, no such allied forces would make it in time, nor would they know what happened until the capital had already been razed to the ground.
'Time to leave.' Haru turned his back on the battle, not bothering to get involved. Neither China nor Mongolia were his homeland, and he had no wish to get mixed up with either any further. He had already gotten his revenge and recovered Hina. His next top priority was finding a cure for Hina, followed by his desire to take revenge against those that he felt had corrupted his homeland of Japan.