Chapter 176: Evil Howard, Part 1

Howard sat down in on a small mat in the center of a strange cavern.

The walls were covered with what seemed to be arrays, and every inch of it seemed contaminated with a strange force. 

'Is this some kind of sealing grounds? Why would Harkel make me train in here?' Howard knew very little about arrays, but recognzed one of the array symbols. It meant seal, and it was what he used to turn off Fire King's Last Stand. 

An Array had many elements that allowed it to produce varying levels of power, and also could be labeled from F rank Arrays to S rank arrays. Yet the complexity of this array seemed to go even beyond what Howard imagined was possible. There had to be 5000 different array symbols stacked on top of each other in a strange intricate pattern.

Howard instantly realized what Harkel did with his time. In the corner, there were a few books on arrays and dozens of books with various drawings. He sighed and decided to not to read into the array's too much. There could many another time in the future when he learned how to create arrays. Now, the most important thing, was coming to terms with what he had inside of himself.

'Okay, just focus on it Howard. There is nothing to be afraid of.'

Howard's eyes fluttered closed before a gentle wave of Dark Ki surrounded his body while his mind immediately turned its attention to the Silver Ki Heart. Whenever he focused on it in the last 20 days, it almost immediately felt like a switch went off.

His teeth and horns immediately started to grow while his brow trembled. It really could be described as one of the most terrifying feelings he'd ever encountered. However, it also seemed to lead to some type of strange transformation that he'd yet to be able to accept. It felt like if he let this transformation happen, he might really turn into a monster that would no longer be able to differentiate good from evil.

Though he knew this, for some reason being inside of the strange cavern calmed his mind. He smiled and opened his eyes, turning only to find Harkel with his hand on the wall.

"I take it you're here to make sure I don't turn into a monster?"

"I'm here just incase you lose control," Harkel laughed with a smile. His amber's eyes flickering with every utterance. "I've been around for over 1000 years. I noticed the first time when we met that you had a new type of Ki. Every once in a while, a new type of Ki Cell is created that give birth to a new type of power. Haha, the Demon King Earl had a similar silver flame, but even from him I didn't feel such terror and uncertainty."

"Hmmm, I guess Jenny would know a lot more about what you're saying then me, haha. However, this transformation, if it is evil… What should I do about it?"

"The concepts of evil and good are bullshit," Harkel pointed over at a small drawing on the wall. "Most people think what's evil are their adversaries, however, they are really just concepts to motivate others do to things. However, what I'm worried about is that Silver Ki Heart will make you insane. Worst case scenario, I'll just seal you into the array until you come back to normal."

"I'm ready," Howard nodded his head. "However, after Aremcolith is dead, could you teach me how to make arrays? I-I don't want to only be good at fighting! I want to be the ultimate strategist! I-I want to be able to make arrays that will protect everyone I love!"

"What I want is you to do is shut up and focus! You have 77 days until your great grandfather dies! Use that to control that new transformation! Use all the love you have for Jenny, Monica, Harley, and even Reslan to fuel that silver flame! I know you can do it! Hahaha! Otherwise, I'd have killed you already."

"Hmmm, well then, I'll start now. Just watch me okay?" Howard closed his eyes and focused completely on the Silver Ki Heart once more. "I'm going to do this!"

###

Boom!

The cavern started to tremble while a large silver flame appeared around Howard's body. It felt like a thousand little hands were beginning to grow out of his body. However, the strangest thing was his mind felt completely clear. He could see a small dot on Oclen's shirt over 2 kilometers away. Every single part of him felt absolutely fantastic!

'Should I kill him?' Howard held out his hand while a small silver flame began to appear in his hands. 'Hehe, what a weakling. In one second, he could vanish from the Furnace forever haha! No more worries about the future! Ha! Hmmm, I know, I'll just chop off his head!'

Howard's body had been completely covered with a silver flame while his black hair floated over his head. His eyes, normally blue, had turned to a completely clear silver while his pupils had seemed to shrink and turn into two small black dots floating in the center of his gaze. Yet the strangest thing had to be his body. His normally soft and supple skin had transformed into an almost impenetrable surface.

Just by touching his finger against the matt beneath him, a hole appeared. It was like an unbelievable power had appeared in his body! There was nothing that he couldn't do!

"Hahaha! It's time for him to die! Harkel, don't you agree Oclen should die? Geez, why was I so nice before? He threatened my girlfriend, killed four of my teachers, and even tried to help me! Hahaha! Do you agree his head would look better underground?!"

"Control it Howard," Harkel summoned two black swords in his hands while his Ghost Domain began to sprout thousands of arms to block Howard's path. "You-you need to at least make peace with that transformation if you want to ever get stronger. However, if you give into it right now and kill Oclen, you can forget ruling your own life! You'll turn insane! Just like the Demon King did!"

"Insane? I call this clarity, don't you?" Howard's fist gently moved before 100 Ghost Arms from the domain shuttered and broke to pieces. "Hahaha! I feel so good! So terribly good?"

'Did he just shatter my Ghost Ki? What the hell is that silver ki?' Harkel sighed and held out his hand. Suddenly, thousands of small scythes began to float around him while his cape fluttered in the wind. His amber eyes focused completely on Howard. His muscles seemed to be getting sharper by the minute! This thing couldn't be allowed to leave this cavern! It gave him almost as much of a feeling of dread as that G ranked bastard in the other mountain!

"Howard, do you know what Jenny told me?" Harkel laughed while Howard's hand's kept blurring and destroying his ghost domain's arms. "She told me that when you were a child, you used to play cops and robbers together. And for some reason, you always wanted to be the cop."

"You're a pain in the ass," Howard pointed his finger at Harkel's head. "Just stop! I don't want to kill you yet, but keep it up and you're disappearing!"

"Hmph, it looks like we have to fight until I put you in your place!" Harkel stepped off his back foot and instantly appeared in front of Howard. "Take this! Dark Reapers Slash!"