Chapter 77: Blood Pact

"This isn't that bad," Barabin took a swig of the canteen he'd gotten from Korlen and wiped off a trail of dark blood from the side of his mouth. "You said this is the blood of an Authoritarian that's mixed in with rare herbs? Where did you learn how to make this?"

"I met another Horned along time ago." Korlen had a soft spot for Horned compared to most Authoritarians because he met a kind man named Brajol well before he found his first wife. "He said he was trying to make a formula for one of his students, and found mixing Authoritarian's blood with Grey Night Root caused a good reaction in himself. Since he also could drink blood, he figured it would work for his little protege."

"Heh, I should thank that old man if I ever meet him," Barabin took a deep breath, gently patting Howard on the back as he stretched, and got ready to burst with maximum speed towards the Zarkales main base. "Regardless, Howard is more important right now. He has the entire world on his shoulders."

"One, Two, Three!" Howard stretched his arms, his hamstrings, and his entire torso. It reminded him of his gym class back in Montgomery before he had horns. Back then, the entire world had been like his oyster, he never got bullied, and his mother cooked for him every night.

His mother had been 1.7 meters tall and brunette with some of the prettiest brown eyes in the world, and she had even run her own exercise business before she died. Howard had stretched with her a few times a week with his friends, finding comfort in her voice when she counted through the routine.

"Anyways, Howard, enough stretching," Barabin gently patted him on the shoulder, trying to fill him with strength before he ran straight into the dangerous zone of the mountains. "Your safety is your priority. Worst case scenario, we can make a pathway close to them and return at a later point."

"I'm going to succeed," Howard said with a smile, "Zack told me he's with Monica. I'm going to tear her apart when I see her again!" Howard slammed his foot into the ground, a fire surging around his body, before he looked into Barabin's eyes.

"Now, all I got to do, right, is destroy their Ki Pathway. You're going to be the ones in true danger."

"You're right. Now go. You're a lot slower than this old man," Barabin gently patted Howard on the shoulder, turning around only to feel dust touching against his back. He didn't even bother to watch Howard begin his 150 kilometer sprint.

He took another swig of the canteen and jumped on top of the mountain. Bersax, Korlen, and their partner looked like they'd come to peace with their deaths, resting next to the pitiful torn apart bones of their Authoritarian meal.

"We're roughly 10 times faster than Howard even when he uses King Fire Sprint." Bersax tossed Barabin a small stone and pointed at a log. "However, we Authoritarians have something we do every time we work together. We act like little kids and pass around a rock, hahaha! Just give your finger a little prick, drop some blood on it, and then pass the rock to Korlen. It's called a blood bond! For the next twenty-four hours, we promise not to kill each other!"

"You alway do this?" Barabin gently drew blood from his hand with a gentle swipe against the rock. He tossed it over to Korlen and shook his head. "Why? Isn't words enough?"

"We all come from similar ancestors." Korlen said, shaking his head. "By revealing our blood to one another, we can sense the Ki of our ancestors are the same. It makes it easier to work in unison. Even though all of us look so damn different!"

"Heh, then why am I participating?" Barabin looked over, feeling Howard getting closer and closer to the Jarkales territory. "Is it just so you realize how different I am from you all?"

"You have horns too. Though you aren't like Howard, and you might have no Authoritarian blood," Korlen picked up the blood filled rock, and gently tossed it against the ground. "You're still made of blood. You still can die today. The least we can do is not kill you for at least 12 hours."

"Hahahahaha! My thoughts exactly!" Braxin's muscles began to tremble from his excitement. "Anyways, the kid has a good enough head start. You ready to annoy the hell out of the Jarkales?"

"Let's do it." Barabin looked down at the blood dripping against the floor, somewhat feeling the primitive energy they'd all discussed. It felt like thousands of ancestors had surrounded them, wishing them well. The feeling was almost intoxicating. "Everyone behind me." Barabin stepped off his back foot, activating the Earth Ki around him, causing the mountain to tremble and the bones to begin to break on the Authoritarian corpse to break apart. "The Jarkales will regret trying to reach the other side of the Furnace. Let's give them hell."

###

Howard sprinted at his fastest speed, using King Fire Sprint to the maximum. Every few moments, he seemed to travel 100 meters. He had to be going at least 120 kilometers an hour.

He jumped over bushes, and felt the wind smacking against his white jacket and blue pants. With a flip, he leaped over a hill and slid down the declination before an explosion sounded behind him.

To his right, ten beams seemed to coalesce in the air and glimmer brighter than the sun before it fired forward and struck somewhere in the distance.

Boom!

The cracked ground underneath Howard began to splinter apart and dozens of small Authoritarians rushed towards him with panicked expressions. A second later, another explosion soared over Howard's head, cutting off the top of a mountain top, and causing shrapnel to shoot towards him.

Swoosh!

Howard activated King Fire Sprint to the maximum and rushed towards the dangerous flickering lights in the horizon. He had been told by Barabin where to go, and he could see the clifface of the mountain that he had to enter.

Boom!

Another explosion followed before Howard finally noticed ten figures jumping in the air. Their bodies seemed to turn completely opaque and white, their capes flickering rampantly in the wind, before their bodies seemed to morph together and give rise to a powerful blast. It almost looked like the Eight Zarkales used the power of the sun, and acted like lenses to bring out its destructive might. Except, Howard could feel their Ki hitting against him in the air. His body felt an intense revulsion to it. Their Ki seemed full of the contamination of death. Even Necrolith hadn't hadn't evoked such a powerful hatred in him.

'They-they need me to hurry!'

Howard jumped into the air, instantly crossing a valley that was over 80 meters long. He slid against the ground, turned down a road, before he finally saw the large mountain he had to reach.

Boom!

Another explosion cut a mountain in half, and divided the horizon with sparks and debris. Finally seeing the entryway to the cave, Howard rushed inside, finding two teenagers in black suits and a single old man laying on the floor. And behind the old man, a single white glimmer of light twinkled and shimmered.

'That's the pathway!' Howard instantly activated King Fire Sprint to the maximum, rushing towards the teenagers as they tried to get to their feet. Pushing his hand against the top of a rock, Howard spun in the air, sending out two streams of fire that sent the teeangers shooting forward!

Boom!

Their bodies collapsed into a cloud of dust, disappearing into the dark shadows, before the old man sighed and stood up to his feet. Instantly, a strange, ominous Ki began to appear around him, causing the entire space to glow white.

"Well, I see we aren't welcome on the other side of the Furnace," The man held out his hand, causing a gigantic ax made of terrifying white light to appear in his hand. "Do you have a name, young one? Before I reap what you sowed."

"You-you're in the way." Howard gently tapped the floor, causing a powerful surge of Fire Ki to travel up his legs. "Move, or I'll kill you. You're in the way of me protecting my family."

Howard could sense an even more ominous Ki from this man then he could from the ten outside, floating in the air. It felt like he'd participated in mass slaughter, laying waste to thousands with the weapon in his hand. He seemed to possess an air of nobility that mixed in with those strange, regal feelings. His shirt had dozens of intricate patterns, one that Howard would expect to see on a king.

"Heh, you know? I'm pretty strong, little brat." the old man cracked his neck, causing a second ax to appear in his other hand. "I trained the ten men outside when your mother still had her finger in her mouth! I'll give you ten seconds to kill yourself, or I'll help you along."

"I've died plenty of times," Howard had died at least 200 times now after training with Barabus. "You're going to suffer my true wrath!" Howard's horns began to grow above his head, his body glowing white, while the flames in his legs only grew stronger. "For everyone I love, I'll make you move!"