Kodak felt the crimson blade plunge deep into his body. The pain was so agonizing, that it felt like his whole body pulsed in pain. Just like a heart, only filled with the suffering he was feeling at this very moment.
"SHIT!" Kodak thought to himself. "MY BODY FEELS LIKE IT'S GONNA BURST AT MOMENT!"
The woman then strongly reeled the red blade back, causing even more pain to Kodak.
"GUEH!"
But to his opponent's surprise Kodak wasn't bleeding too profusely.
Instead his wound was covered by a glowing aura of blue. His body stood tall, and strong.
Ren's eyes widened in shock. "How the hell is he still standing?!" He thought.
But suddenly, Kodak moved swiftly a few seconds after the blade was reeled from his wound.
[Skill: Echo State has been activated!]
Marks then etched all across Kodak's body, causing a pattern of various scars to scatter from his arms, and even legs.
Ren immediately moved in to attack with a barrage of conjured weapons from his innate technique, along with his own physical attacks.
But Kodak's speed was just fast enough to dodge. Just enough.
[Innate Skill: Tenfold Impact!]
Kodak's right foot slammed down into the floor, causing a sudden burst of a kinetic energy to rupture through the house. Ren was knocked back harshly into the backyard.
He then looked to his right, seeing the white-haired woman knocked out right next to him. "KURENAI!" He yelled in worried tone, while scurrying over to her instantly.
But as he held her in his arms, a loud crash then erupted through the house. Debris went flying as Ren tried to gain some space between him and the onslaught of rubble.
He jumped high into the air, still carrying Kurenai. His face then twisted into anger as his momentum carried him into a nearby neighbor's backyard.
"Rest now, my love." Ren's voice was uneasy, and deeply angered. He then jumped back into the house that he was blasted through from Kodak.
"How dare you." He muttered angrily. "HOW DARE YOU HURT HER!"
[Skill: Echo State has activated furiously!]
Kodak's head then rang loudly. Almost like a warning.
[Skill: Combat Sensory is detecting a potent amount of bloodlust nearby!]
He then out of instinct, dodged a blackened fist as it tore through the ground. Kodak immediately struck back with another burst of kinetic energy surging throughout his body.
[Innate Skill: Tenfold Impact activated strongly!]
Ren tumbled across the ground violently. His arms and legs scrapped as more pain seeped into his body.
"How is he so strong?!" He thought to himself. "Ryoko told us that this boy, was nothing more than a weakling. But that's not the case. He's strong, fast, skillful, and most of all his control over revenant is so precise!"
Ren then looked at the house next to him. He saw Kurenai's unconscious body that he had place earlier. "I have to win. FOR KURENAI!"
Kodak rushed forward, his body radiating with a large amount of kinetic energy.
[Kinetic Energy has reached maximum capacity!]
Kodak ran directly into Ren, strike his foot deep into his stomach. "GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOME!"
[Innate Skill: Tenfold Impact activated violently!]
Kodak's leg then lit up with blue glow of energy. His foot then dug deeper, and deeper as he dragged Ren throughout the land. Dirt and grass flew in every direction as the ground around the two of them was torn through.
Ren's body tensed immensely in pain, but his eyes only looked at Kodak's angry eyes with the same amount of hate.
Ren then grabbed Kodak's leg, causing to trip him onto the ground.
[Innate Skill: Solidification activated!]
The black aura of revenant surrounding Ren's body then sharpened and hardened. Transforming his aura into a blackened kind of armor. It was sharp, dense, and most of all unyielding. But as his fist moved in to strike, something blocked it.
[Innate Skill: Kinetic Artifact activated!]
A wide circular shield blocked the strike from Ren. His hand didn't hurt, but the shield wasn't even fazed by his attack.
But after he struck the shield, a fist from Kodak punched him across the jaw. Ren was sent flying through the air, and landed harshly on his back as he hit the asphalt.
Kodak then soared through the sky as he grabbed the shield he conjured momentarily. [Skill: Wingless Flight activated!]
He soared quickly through the sky, trying to find Ren. But as he passed the 3rd house he saw a black silhouette of Ren disappeared instantly.
Kodak flew towards the ground, the streets of the neighborhood fell silent as he tried to listen for Ren as his opponent hid away amidst the shadows
"Where'd he go?" Kodak's eyes looked around the torn up streets of the neighborhood.
The streets fell silent as he frantically panicked trying to find Ren, but as he turned around once more. A darkened blade then formed in the air, but it wasn't a lone blade.
Kodak's eyes then widened as he looked above him, sensing a large amount of revenant forming above him. There it was, hundreds and hundreds of darkened blades forming above him.
Ren smirked at Kodak, watching his body frozen in front of the hundreds of blades. Overconfidence then overcame him immensely.
"Well, I guess that's checkmate for you."
Kodak's head snapped around, seeing Ren appearing seemingly out of thin air. A nervous smile washed over his face as he faced him.
"So, what's the trick?" He asked Ren. "That invisibility trick must take a lot of energy out of you."
Ren shook his head at Kodak, unimpressed and unbothered. "I'm not telling you my tricks you idiot. After all, I still have this above you."
He then pointed into the sky, showing off the blades spread across the night sky. Blackened swords, daggers, knives, spears and even axes that matched almost perfectly with the midnight's illumination.
"Face it, you lose." Ren said with a confident expression.
Kodak then rushed at him, immediately landing an unsuspecting strike. Kinetic energy rippled through his fist, creating a shockwave as his knuckles crashed into Ren violently.
[Innate Skill: Shockwave Burst activated swiftly!]
Ren flew through the air, and tumbled harshly into the ground. His arms smashed, and scrapped the asphalt as he flew. Ren then felt a final surge of pain as he crashed into a nearby building. His head ached so damn much as he felt it crash through that brick wall
But Ren didn't give up. Not for a single second. A blackened aura then erupted around him, and he ran straight out of the building.
"FINE THEN," He yelled angrily. "DIE YOU BASTARD!"
Ren then flicked his hand down, causing the blades to pulse with a dark aura. They shifted and turned through the air, almost like they looked at Kodak for a moment. The pointed edges of their blades locking onto their enemy.
[Innate Skill: Pulsing Aura activated strongly!]
Kodak felt his body reinforce itself with a large portion of kinetic energy. It was different though.
[Innate Skill: Searing Applications activated strongly!]
Options of the applications flew into Kodak's mind. "There are endless possibilities, but each one uses more and more of my energy. So I choose what I do best!"
[Flaming Might was selected!]
The blackened swords then toppled all over Kodak, trying their best to stab, pierce, and even kill him. Ren smirked as he saw the raining weapons pour onto Kodak.
"Overconfidence is both a blessing, and a curse." He said while walking over the piling mess of dark weapons.
Ren then felt a strange sensation. It was getting warm around the area, despite it being night. "Guess even a young guy can sweat this badly. That's what I get for dragging this fight on for too long."
Ren began to walk away, but as he did it got hotter and hotter. And it continued to do so. The heat was unbearable.
His head became light as the heat grew worse, and worse. "What the hell?!" He exclaimed as his eyes looked at where the heat was coming from.
The black pile of weapons then began to melt. Dark liquids filled the ground as Kodak emerged with his slightly purple hair started to glow even more, showing off even more of a vibrant purple.
His aura was no longer a linear, and constant like before. It was a blue flame that was burning ever so brightly. His eyes burned the same color, becoming a burning determination that emanated through the area.
Ren's jaw tightened as he saw Kodak's burning aura. "WHY DON'T YOU JUST FALL ALREADY?!"
Kodak then fell to ground suddenly.
[Kinetic force has reached it's limit!]
Kodak felt as the kinetic energy seemingly left his entire body. But he wasn't out of revenant. Sure he could forge the two energies at an amazing level of revenant manipulation, But even he had limits, especially after Kurenai stabbed him and used that dangerous technique on his body. Even if it was for a very brief period.
The shield then lost it's color just like Kodak. The shield and the aura around him turned from a vibrant blue, to a light gray. His streaks of purple then faded to black like the rest of his hair.
Kodak then felt Ren's armored fist strike him violently, sending him tumbling down the streets. His body rolled, and bashed violently against the ground, until he crashed into a dark grey house with the front door saying, "Welcome!"
Kodak's face was bloody and bruised from the attack. It felt like his whole body quivered as he tried to get up. Footsteps then ran through the house. Kodak's eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"You gonna fucking kidding me."
He braced himself, waiting for the onslaught coming his way. But instead, Kodak was met by the horrified look of Fumiko Haruka.
Her lavender eyes gazed vividly at Kodak. A look of fear not for herself, but the person she loved ever so deeply.
"KODAK!"
Fumiko immediately rushed into his arms, her hand then felt his bloody wound. The same that was leaking through the dense revenant aura he was using to prevent any further bleeding.
"Hey, don't worry. I'm feeling a million bucks." But Kodak's joke was immediately shattered as he felt the wound becoming more painful, causing him to let out a yelp of pain.
"GEUGH!"
Kodak's right hand snatched right onto it, clutching it tightly.
Fumiko then turned around, calling out to someone. "AKARI!"
Fiery blonde hair then appeared as Fumiko cried out. The girl's eyes were a bright, and vibrant red. She wore orange sweatpants, and a light grey tank top.
Kodak's vision then began to fade. His black eyes fluttered in and out of consciousness. His body rocked from left to right. But as he fell back he felt Fumiko grab him gently.
Akari then looked at Kodak's wounds, seeing the bruises, internal bleeding, and even the big stab wound he was still unconsciously keeping sealed off.
"How long has he been using revenant?" Akari thought out of curiosity.
[Skill: Informative Gaze!]
Information swelled into her mind, trying to show her the bigger picture.
[Name: Kodak Kawanari
Title: Amateur Revenant User
Physique: S
Input: B-
Output: B-
Energy Pool: B
Innate Skills: Searing Applications, Tenfold Burst, Siphoning Charge, Pulsing Aura, and Kinetic Artifact
Revenant Skills: Wingless Flight, Combat Sensory, and Echo State
Potential: Destructive
Rank: B-]
But as she gazed at Kodak. A black storm of shadows swarmed the entire house, trapping the three of them inside.
Akari immediately stood up, emitting a golden glow with her hand extended outwards.
Ren then peeks through the blinding light, seeing that a new enemy had joined in Kodak's aid. He saw not just Akari, but Fumiko as well.
[Innate Skill: Scorching Damnation!]
Akari
Age: 17
Title: Experienced Revenant User
Rank: A
Innate Technique: Telekinetic Might
Akari's palm then lights up a golden glow of energy. It was like golden flame was being held from her hand.
"Fire?!" Kodak said with his eyes wide with surprise.
Fumiko smirked. "Akari doesn't use flames. This innate skill from her technique produces telekinetic flames. However, those who dare to touch her flames will be forced to repent."
"Repent?" Kodak asked in a surprised tone. "And you make it sound like she's capable of so much more."
"Bingo." Fumiko said while snapping her fingers at Kodak. "Akari was born with telekinetic powers ever since birth. This is just of the many things she can do. But the downside is that her powers are harsh on her mind. So she can only use two types of abilities that she has created before once per day. But to be fair she's pretty damn creative."
Kodak watched in awe as his eyes were drawn towards the golden energy. "She might have a chance."
The flames then wrapped around Ren almost instantly. The clutches from these flames were strong, but not impossible to fend off.
"Is that all you got!" He screamed as he torn off the golden flames. "I will darken your light, and tear you apart!"
Ren then jumped forward, causing the ground to be destroyed beneath his launching point.
But Akari didn't even dodge. It didn't even seem like she needed to. And what happened next was just a vicious glare from her eyes.
A flash of those golden flames then erupted from her eyes, and Ren stopped right in his tracks. He then heard a voice or rather a horrible cry.
He turned around, seeing Kurenai was being literally torn apart by her own technique. Blood, organs, and bones scattered across the ground as he gripped his head very tightly.
"NO. STOP IT." He groaned as he looked at the mangled body of his lover. The screams of agony coming from Kurenai only got louder and louder. Immediately intensifying Ren's anguish.
"I SAID STOP IT!!!"
A surge of darkness then erupted from his body. Ren then watched as the large dark tendrils from his shadow then swiped around, only for the vision of Kurenai to slowly dissipate.
His eyes then widened and sharpened with a violent anger. "HOW DARE YOU TOY WITH MY MEMORIES!" The tendrils started to twitch and move irrationally. Acting like extensions of his rage.
Akari's face showed a slight sign of surprise. "He broke through Scorching Damnation?!"
Ren then swiped his hands through the air, unleashing a barrage of tendrils at different speeds and timing. Along with their strength, size, and even patterns. It was a completely different way of how he was fighting. Or at least that's what Kodak thought to himself.
Akari sidestepped the first tendril, and instantly shattered it with a burst of golden flames, but didn't stop as the endless amount of tendrils made their appearance.
Punch after punch. Kick after kick. And as the tendrils were starting to lose their exceptional numbers, Ren fell to his knees. His eyes hazy, and his face was covered in a faded black pattern across his skin.
Akari stood strong as she destroyed tendril after tendril. A smirk of over confidence then overcame her face as she looked down upon Ren. "Is that the best you can do?" She asked in a mocking tone. "I have fought so many others with roughly the same power, and yet you still lack conviction. It's like you never even fought for yourself, like ever."
Ren then smirked as Akari walked up closer. "Seep into me with power."
Akari looked at him in confusion. "What?"
Kodak's eyes then widened as he saw the shoulder of Ren starting to pulse a red glowing tattoo. It looked like a red serpent was tightly grasping around the shoulder.
Kodak immediately shouted out for Akari, after quickly realizing what Ren was planning. "AKARI, DON'T GET HIT BY HIM!"