Of course. This chapter is an absolute whirlwind of high-speed combat, showcasing the massive gap in power and skill between Duck and Johan, and ending on a cliffhanger that hints at a deeper trauma. A title should reflect the brutal, one-sided nature of this fight.
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### **Title Suggestions**
1. **CHAPTER 26: The Warm-Up is Over** (This title uses Duck's own words to frame the entire, brutal fight as nothing more than a preliminary exercise, emphasizing his overwhelming power).
2. **CHAPTER 26: Blind Step** (This highlights the specific, game-changing technique Duck uses to turn the tables, symbolizing his ability to move in ways his opponent can't even comprehend).
3. **CHAPTER 26: A Lesson in Speed** (This title focuses on the core theme of the fight: Johan's speed, which he thinks is his advantage, is nothing compared to Duck's effortless, predictive movements).
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### **English Translation**
A gust of air exploded around them. Johan spat blood, but Duck didn't stop. He pivoted his body, his left arm extended—elbow strike to the temple. Then another. And another. Each strike cracked like an explosion.
Johan staggered, his feet slipping on the ground, but he caught himself with a fluid movement. He leaped back, panting, a twisted smile on his face, despite the blood.
Johan: "Hahaha… I have to admit, you've got some serious hits. But you haven't seen what I, Johan Traken, can do when I spread my wings."
Johan's Black Kara exploded. He no longer tried to fight hand-to-hand. He raised his hands, and all the accumulated energy in his body transformed into a surging wave.
Johan: Black Kara! – "Wave of Retribution!"
A mass of dark, thick, roaring Kara rushed toward Duck. The black wave was so dense it seemed to bend the light around it.
Duck didn't move. He didn't even take his hands out of his pockets.
When the wave was just a meter away from him, he made a minimalist, almost lazy gesture with one of his twin swords.
Duck Bum Darly: Celestial Kara! "Spatial Cut."
The sound was that of a piece of paper being torn, but the effect was cataclysmic. A visible line, absolutely sharp, appeared in front of him. It didn't slice the Kara wave; it sliced the space around the wave. Johan's attack, though massive and concentrated, was instantly cut into two perfect halves.
The two halves of the Wave of Retribution passed on either side of Duck, without even grazing his suit. They continued their mad rush, shredding the ruins behind him and crashing against the hill.
Duck remained motionless, in the center of the void created by his gesture. He looked at Johan, looking disillusioned.
Duck Bum Darly: "A technique that only captures and returns energy is useless against someone who uses... nothing at all."
Then suddenly...
Thunder rumbled in the distance. The black smoke spread around Johan, forming two giant wings behind his back. Feathers of ash fell slowly.
Duck Bum Darly: "Finally, a bit of a show."
He smiled behind his mask.
"Good thing, my warm-up has just ended."
Johan didn't answer. His face, through the crack in his mask, was a grimace of pure hatred. He drew his sword, a long, dark blade, and lunged.
The wings of black smoke propelled him at a terrifying speed, far beyond what he had shown before. He was an arrow of hate.
Johan's sword cut through the air, aiming for Duck's head. Duck took a step to the side, but the Kara wake left by the sword hit his shoulder. CRACK! The force was enough to make him slide several meters into the crater.
Before Duck could even stabilize, Johan was already there. He kicked, a low, vicious blow. Duck raised his arm to block, but the impact forced him back.
Johan followed up with monstrous speed, using his momentum to spin his sword. The blade, charged with Kara, traced a deadly arc toward Duck's side. SPLAT! Duck could only partially dodge. The tip of the sword tore his suit and left a superficial but visible gash on his ribs.
Johan: "You're just a miserable target!"
Johan's Kara screamed in triumph. He had succeeded. He had hit the Stellar Zenith.
Johan armed his arm for the next blow, the sword pointed straight at Duck's heart. It was a very fast, highly concentrated attack.
Duck, his body bent, his mask slightly askew, finally seemed to be in trouble.
But just as the sword was about to strike, the world tore apart.
Duck Bum Darly: Celestial Kara! "Blind Step."
Duck disappeared.
Johan's sword struck empty air. He turned, breathless.
Duck had reappeared right behind him, at the exact spot where the broken column had been. He wasn't even looking at him. His hands were still in his pockets.
BOOM!
The hilt of Johan's sword, sticking out from his back, was struck by a sharp kick from Duck. The sword was propelled forward, and its hilt embedded itself in the column.
Johan found himself frozen, his sword stuck in the stone, his body twisted in surprise and pain.
Duck straightened up, adjusted his mask, and looked at the little show-off.
Duck Bum Darly: "If that's all you're worth, then I'd rather end your miserable existence," with a smile.
"The two elites stared at each other, their Kara rumbling in the air. The Celestial Kara and the Black Kara were already clashing—and the real fight was just beginning."
Next scene...
In a dark alley leading directly to the ruins, Danky was running, his eyes closed.
He had learned to trust his Celestial Kara, to let it act as a sixth sense, a radar.
Danky (whispering, focused):
"I'm not far now. I can feel a strong presence of Black Kara."
He opened his eyes and accelerated, his heart pounding.
He was about to witness the victory he hoped for from his mentor, the Stellar Zenith, the one who would avenge Ashley.
The moment he entered the ruins, the ground trembled.
The shockwave from Duck's Kara caused a massive column, several meters high, to collapse right in front of him.
The pillar fell.
CRACK!
The pillar stopped dead, inches from his face, frozen in mid-air. Thanks to his telekinetic elemental kara.
Danky (thought, admiringly):
That was close… Even the shockwaves of his Kara are so powerful!
He didn't have time to marvel.
He channeled his rage and his will.
Danky: "Push!"
The column was thrown toward the interior of the ruins.
Duck Bum Darly: (a sigh)
"Hey, kid. You managed to find us, that's..."
Danky: "Watch out behind you!"
Johan charged, his fist covered in Black Kara.
Johan: "I forbid you to ignore me, you wretch!"
Duck leaped back, laughing, as the column behind him disintegrated into a shower of rubble.
He draws his sword.
SHING.
The air splits, a wave cuts through the ground.
BOOM!
Johan barely blocks, his arms burning.
Duck advances.
One strike, two, three.
Each blow releases a cutting wave.
The ruins explode, stones fly.
Danky (stunned):
– These guys are incredible!
But Johan doesn't stop and charges forward.
His black wings unfold, he leaps.
The two blades cross—
KLANG!
A spark. Then a hundred more.
Their speed becomes a blur.
Duck: "Too slow."
Johan retreats, but Duck's sword tears into him. The hand.
Despite the pain, he screams in rage and counters with a wave of Black Kara.
Duck pivots, cutting the air: "Broken Wave."
The two attacks collide.
Explosion. Smoke. Silence.
Two silhouettes. Two heavy breaths.
Danky (whispering, trembling):
"...They're beyond anything I imagined. Even their breaths are fighting."
Johan (smiling, panting):
"Not bad... Duck."
Duck (coldly):
"It's not over. Stay focused."
A blink of an eye.
Then... CRACK.
The world froze.
Duck was already there.
His fist struck Johan's temple.
A clean impact.
Bones cracked. The ground vibrated.
Before Johan even hit the ground, Duck spun around—an upward heel kick.
Johan's jaw bent, his mask came off. Blood spurted.
He fell back, but Duck was already behind him.
Danky (clenching his fists, exhilarated):
– Every move is perfectly calculated. It's like he's predicting the future.
Duck: "Still too slow."
Duck's knee struck his back.
BAM!
Johan's spine arched, a sharp crack echoed through the silence.
Then he disappeared, reappearing further away.
The mental camera follows:
Duck dodges a hook, fist slips under the armpit—uppercut to the liver.
Johan doubles over, vomits blood.
Duck pivots, elbow to the jaw.
Johan spins, disoriented.
Duck grabs his head, slams him to the ground.
BOOOOOOM!
A crater opens under the impact.
Johan's body trembles, his hand claws at the dust.
Danky (shouting, shaken):
"Incredible… Duck! He destroyed his mask!"
Johan (screaming, disoriented):
"No… my mask!!"
His cry tears through the silence.
The breath of Black Kara coils around him, wild, uncontrollable.
For a moment, his shadow seems to swallow the light.
Flashback –
End of Chapter 26