Chapter 97: Nightmare Ki

Alrok's body burst into a mountain with such force that he could hardly feel his back. A monster of energy had shot into his torso when he turned the corner.

He had turned and swung as hard as he could with his right fist and hit one of the Aresoul in the face. However, rather than the person going flying like he imagined, he stayed completely still.

Not only that, Howard's attack had gone off course and crashed into the water, causing all his plans to backfire. However, what really scared him was that one of the Aresoul appeared to be using an A level skill!

Magicians with 8 doors had one that appeared in their body that greatly increased their strength and speed! This single door, called the Door of Manifestation, when opened, caused a magician to truly become an A rank practitioner!

'No way. Not good," Arlok coughed out blood while watching Howard rush towards Nellon - the same man that had sent Arlok flying into the moauntain side. "Ugh, STOP HOWARD. He's too strong!"

"Too late!" Nellon's body glowed with a white light before he instantly appeared in front of Howard. Using the door of Manifestation, his body glowed white and caused the dock he stepped onto crack. Planks flew in every direction while a powerful force neared Howard's face.

It was so fast, that Arlok imagined Howard getting sent flying into the distance. However, instead of that, a large red figure appeared, taking the full brunt of the attack!

Boom!

Howard slid back, his arms crossed like an 'X', while sweat dripped down his head. However, he knew he couldn't relax. Dozens of Fire serpents began to appear around his body, spinning in the air as his opponent stared at his fist.

"You-you blocked my attack. You were supposed to die quickly," Nellon jumped up and down and shook off the pain in his hand. "Ow, what the hell was that? Some type of special talisman?"

"It's a sign that I'm going to win," Howard smiled and saw three more Aresoul appear behind Nellon. "However, why don't you let me fight those three first! Heh, I can tell you're the main course!"

###

"You three. Do what I said and go deal with Reece," Nellon walked gently towards Howard with three doorways appearing next to his hands, arms, and feet. "Howard, I don't like my teammates dying."

"Heh, well, then I'll only KILL YOU!" Howards body suddenly ignited with a black flame, his strength rapidly surging. "You think ANYONE WITH YOU WILL LIVE! You shall all be reaped by the flames in my hands!"

"Well, that's Dark Ki isn't it?" Nellon sighed, opening two more doors behind his back. "I guess I'll have to kill you quickly. I don't want you going crazy and killing your own peers. That girl running against the ice is reserved from my friend. Look at her struggling, hahahaha!"

"Die!" Howard shot forward, activating King Fire Sprint to the maximum before a black halberd of flames appeared in his hands. Slashing forward, all his hatred seemed to ignite in his fury. A large gust of wind appeared behind him before he turned the blade in the air.

Swoosh!

The massive attack hit directly into Nellon's raised gauntlet, the armor on his hands shimmering brightly, before he merely flexed his hands, causing 6 beams of light to shoot outwards.

Bang!

Howard crashed into what remained of the nearby dock, his body crashing into the ice before he skidded out into the distance. A large cloud of dust grew out from where he'd landed, his arms twitching from the pain he felt.

Nellon could barely believe his eyes, seeing Howard stand up again after receiving such a powerful attack. He sighed, looking down at his hands in disbelief.

"You-you used that technique again. The one made of flames," Nellon couldn't believe his eyes. "That-that's not a normal technique. Can you teach that to others, kid?" Nellon slowly walked onto the ice, his presence causing it to crack from the immense power of Ki circulating around him.

Nellon was different than a normal magician. He could slightly channel into his body to strengthen it like a Mocralin. Such men were exceptionally rare, one in a few hundred million, but they had appeared in history. Still, the strength they have could not be underestimated!

"Howard, you're not answering me," Nellon watched Howard's body get pushed back into its socket. "You-you're forgetting I don't want to just kill you. I want to make all Horned become extinct. However, I promise if you tell me about that skill, I won't let Orel mess with that girlfriend of yours."

"I'm not done," Howard smiled, the black flames around him growing more sinister. "I WILL DEFEAT YOU! I WILL BECOME DEATH! THE SCYTHE OF DARKNESS!"

"This-this is what happens when you try and challenge someone too much stronger than you," Nellon scoffed at Howard's confident smile. "You think you see light at the end of the tunnel, but it's really just a sign you're about to die. Howard, this isn't a video game."

"Ha, you're right." Howard began to pour the maximum amount of strength into his feet. "However, I can use strategies. I'm coming, hahahaha!" Howard stepped off his back foot and held out his hand, causing a massive cloud of smoke to appear in front of him before he seemed to split in three directions.

Using three bursts of Ki, it seemed like Howard went in dozens of directions. Disappearing before Nellon's eyes while he gently closed them. In response, he slowly lifted his hands, causing 7 doors to appear behind him glimmering with a terrifying white light.

"Not bad, but you're body is full of Ki. I can sense you, Howard," Nellon's hand ignited the air, causing a massive burst of white light to shoot out and decimate the cloud of smoke. A large hole appeared inside of it, crashing into a moving blur and sending it flying into the distance.

"Hah, see. I told you," Nellon stepped off his back foot, shooting through the smoke and landing by Howard's side.

Howard trembled, forcing himself to try and stand. However, he could feel a bone sticking into his abdomen. Even the simplest movements seemed to bring pain!

"Well, your biggest mistake was thinking I was close to your level. I'm 28 years old, Howard. Maybe in 10 years you could have hurt me."

"Hahahaha! You think I lost," Howard rose to his feet, marks beginning to appear on his body, as his strength once again increased. He activated Yindred's Dream Ki once again, causing his power to temporarily near the A rank!

His bones in his body instantly healed, sliding back into place, while he seemed to float up to a stand. He had yet to fully use all his tricks! There was no way he could lose.

"I prepared for that," Nellon opened his hand, and caused a dark light to shoot out of his body. It flashed only for a second, but Howard look like he saw something worse than death in its twinkling light. "That's nightmare energy. It disrupts Dream Ki. Geez, you expected I'd be unprepared?"

Nellon had always been the type to dot every i and cross every t. His father had been in the military, and trained him from a young age to strengthen his body doing even the most ordinary of tasks. When he did the dishes, he wore weights on his arms and legs. When he went to school, he regularly bullied seniors and stole their lunch money! He completely immersed himself in growing stronger until he found the door to becoming a magician!

He had no way of losing! When it came to combat, not even a Mocralin could beat him!

"Howard, are you alright?" Monica rushed over to his side, a dark fire spinning around her body. "Howard, what happened? What did that light do?"

"I'm sorry," Howard said, clutching at his throat. "I'm sorry Monica! I'm sorry you died!"

"He's in a nightmare," Nellon said, sighing and crossing his arms in an 'X' across his chest. "However, where's Orel? He should be dragging you to a cavern right now."

"He's dead," Monica grinned and created an ice spear in her hand. "You'll join him soon. However, first tell me how to fix Howard?"

"He'll be like that for thirty seconds. Plenty of time for me to kill him," Nellon laughed and clapped his hands, causing the ice to crack from the sheer joy he gave off. "Heh, Dream Ki is powerful, but if you mess with the frequency it puts the user in a nightmare! Heh, that's why Varlen use dream beasts and not themselves! Dream Beasts aren't affected by this little trick, however, you're boyfriend is, hahaha! Look at him suffer, calling your name! He's probably seeing what's about to happen to you."

"YOU FORGOT ABOUT ME!" Arlok's hand twisted in the air, his body moving almost 1000 kilometers an hour, before he slashed into Nellon's cheek with maximum force.

Boom!

Nellon could barely turn and look before his body shot into the distance, crashing through three docked boats before he burst into a mountain.

"That man isn't normal, Monica," Arlok picked up Howard in his arms. "Go help Reece! Now! I'll protect Howard until he wakes up. What? Stop looking at me and go."

"You're bleeding," Monica said, seeing a large cut across his chest. "What did you do? How did you increase your strength so much?"

"I'm playing a dangerous game," Alrok seemed like he didn't want to talk. "I'm just circulating my energy quickly through my body. It's called Second Level of Awakening. Heh, if I go to third, I'll die, but the second level I can handle for a few minutes," Alrok saw Reece getting cornered by the three Aresoul, her flames barely blocking their countless attacks, and finally couldn't hold it in.

"Monica, do what I said now! I'll protect Howard until you three are able to help me! Now go! Your boyfriend is safe."

"You're not a thief, you��re an idiot," Monica let go of Howard's hand. "However, your wife is lucky. Make sure she sees you again, okay?"

Monica rushed over to Una's side and caused hundreds of ice spears to appear around her that shot towards the three Aresoul students.

One of them just so happened to be three inches from Una's face, his hand stabbing towards her heart with such force unless a miracle happened she might very well die!