Chapter 194: Fire King's Last Stand, Eighth Level

Howard woke a day later inside of the East Branch.

Everything in his memory was a blur, but he vaguely remembered seeing Harley shoot into the air with a metal rod lodged into her arm. Instantly, he screamed, "Monica", while he pulled the blanket off his body! This was terrible! He instantly moved to wipe sweat off his head before he jumped to his feet. 

Finally, his vision cleared and he looked over only to find Monica crying in the corner. Howard instantly felt a terrifying feeling enter into his gut! Something terrible must have happened!"

"Monica, what happened? Where's Harley?"

"You-you shouldn't have fallen asleep," Monica's depressed voice entered in Howard's ears. "I-I can't sense Annibell or Reslan anymore! What-what are you doing?! Hurry up and go find them!"

"Don't blame him!" Harley walked into the room with a large bandage over her shoulder. "Ugh, Howard, we have bad news. Can you sit down for a minute?"

"Bad news? What-what happened to Annibell and Reslan?" Howard's voice seemed suffused with sadness, he instantly fell back onto the bed. He was in the hospital wing in the East Branch, and could see the welcoming blue sky out the window, but something felt wrong? What could have happened?

"We-we believe that Founder Arista has been kidnapped, and that the Arthraku used her to blow up Nellon in order to get the Aresoul to start a war with us. Well, it worked, and Reslan and Annibell stayed behind! They stayed behind so we could get here safely!"

"Nonsense! I can still sense their energy!" Howard shook his head. "I still feel Annibell's Ki!"

"You do?" Monica said, "Then-then what the hell are you doing?! Go save them right now! Hurry up! Founder Carter will be here in a day, so don't worry about us! Go and get them!"

Howard nodded his head and looked at his three girls before he tossed aside his nightgown and changed into a pair of jeans and a black shirt. He quickly grabbed some water in a brown canteen and wrapped it around his body before he put his black hair into a small bun.

He'd forgotten to cut it when he was training with Harkel, but now was not the time to worry about his appearance. Waving to Monica, he nodded his head and jumped out the window. He-he had to save them!

Swoosh!

Howard took off at his maximum speed after activating Fire King Sprint. 

He'd never felt so certain that if he didn't run his maximum speed, the people he loved the most would die. He could sense Annibell's Ki, but not Reslan! What the hell had happened? How could she still be alive and not him!

"I-I'll make them all pay! I'll wipe every single Aresoul out of existence!" Howard's body turned into a series of blurs before he disappeared into the distance. 

'Now hurry up Howard! Get there before that Ki fades! You can do it!'

3##

In a sea of blood, in the middle of the desert, Annibell watched a tear from her eye fall down onto the floor. She-she had never been so badly defeated in her life. Looking down at Reslan's body covered with blood, she wanted to tear herself to pieces.

She didn't want to get up, yet the hundreds of Aresoul soldiers had surrounded her and made it nearly impossible for her to stay in one place. Yet, the most terrifying thing, had to be no matter how hard she tried, Reslan didn't seem to be moving. He was just sitting there, like an unwavering mountain. She tried her hardest to get him to move, but-he-he really just stayed frozen in place.

'Hmph, you're lucky I'm alive,' Kreal said, walking towards Annibell, "If not, you'd both be dead, and Reslan wouldn't be the only one lying in his blood."

"Now tell me! Tell me what happened?! Tell me why you decided to betray me! Why you decided to kill the one light I had in my life!"

"Even with these handcuffs on, I can still tear you to pieces! You-you what? Knew that boy for 100 years? This is my husband! You piece of shit! I'm going to kill you ,if you don't kill me first!"

"Knock her out!" Kreal patted his general on the shoulder while he wiped a tear from his eye. "Hmph, one of the Four Gaurdians is finally dead, or almost dead. I guess, his neck isn't fully been severed yet. That means he can still come back, right?"

"Guys, remove his head!" Kreal said, pointing at Reslan's completely pale corpse! "He destroyed all his Ki Hearts! Nothing is keeping him alive now! Cut his throat, and take the woman away! Tomorrow, we will start our campaign against the Horn! Tomorrow, we will get vengeance!"

"We-we called for one of the Originals!" Annibell said! "Don't go naer him! Touch im and you're dead!"

Annibell bashed away a Aresoul solder, even with Ki Handcuffs on her wrists, and jumped down onto Reslan's torso.

A few minutes ago, he'd gone all out to stop the Aresoul from killing her, but in exchange ignited his Ki Hearts in order to rapidly increase his power. However, like most things that came with risks, the consequences were dire. 

All 50 of his Ki Hearts, plus his own heart, shattered and all that remained was an empty vessel on teh floor. Luckily, because of the Ki in his body, he was still somewhat alive. Though with his blank stare, no one could tell!

It would take him over a year to possibly recover, and longer if someone like Founder Arista didn't intervene. Yet, Annibell, she-she still saw her beautiful husband saying those comforting words to her an hour ago. His beautiful eyes looking at hers while he stood in front of her moving his lips for the last time before he collapsed.

"Annibell, You're everything to me. Who needs good words, when I have you! Heh, I may be have been a bad husband and abandoned you, but ever since I came back I realized you're so worth it! Every day with you, has been a blessing! Even the days without you! If I could, I'd undo time and go back to meet you again just so I could hear you laugh with that beautiful smile! You made me come true as a person! You made who I wanted to be come true!"

"Don't you dare!" A voice shot through the distance while a small blur crossed the desert. Howard, shooting at his maximum speed, instantly appeared like a missile blasting through the horizon.

The dozens of mountains behind him seemed to disappear into a cloud of dust while Annibell tried her hardest to scream for Howard to stop. They wouldn't have lost if it was only the Aresoul! One of their strongest had come here to intervene! Yet, she also wanted Howard to come! She wanted Howard to save Reslan!

"Is that him?" A man with a hood said. He had white hair and a grizzled chin with an extremely muscular body. "He-he doesn't seem so tough? Is he the reason Gravanal unleashed that attack."

"Yes, Former King," Kreal said, bowing. "However, I want to ask how you're alive? I thought-I thought Aresoul died after 300 years."

"In the SSS rank, everything chances," The man smiled and pointed at Reslan, "However, it's only fair that man dies. Kill him in revenge for Nellon. I'll deal with the boy."

"NO YOU DON'T!" Howards Ki skyrocketed. Instantly, 'Evil Howard��s Silver Ki energy suffused with his body. "I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU! I'LL RIP YOU ALL TO SHREDS IF YOU TOUCH HIM! IT WAS ALL A MISTAKE! THEY DIDNT MEAN TO KILL NELLON! IT WAS ALL A TERRIBLE MISTAKE!'

"Hoh, he's near the SS rank in strength? Do I sense 60 Ki Hearts?" The white haired man, Kasten, took off his head and instantly summoned over a hundred small doors behind him. "He-he's very impressive. I don't think it be equal we killed him and Reslan too. Shall we leave him behind, in the dust, to wail in misery?"

"You're just as calculating as I remember as a child," Kreal nodded his head, looking at the former leader of the Aresoul. "However, it be better if he died. I'm pretty sure no one can sense you now. Not with Gravanal and those three brothers fighting."

"It's not worth risking it," Kasten said.

Its unwise to take risks when they aren't certain, Kreal. Go collect the body parts of your student. I'll kill Relsan, and then we can reconnect? I suppose a good dinner is in order."

"I'm too depressed to care," Kreal walked over to Nellon's head while tears fell down from his eyes. "I-I loved this boy. He-he was like a son to me."

"YOU-You bastard! Get out of my way!" Howard activated Fire King's Last Stand to the sixth level and instantly shot at Kasten.

He'd been injured gravely in his training with Harkel, so even if he wanted to previously he was unable to use his full power against the Night Lords. Yet, now, even with just two days rest, it felt like every part of him was working in unison! Who cares if this man was strong in front of him! He-he had to kill him now!

"Wow, your strength just jumped to the peak of the SS rank." Kasten tossed away his robe. "300 years ago, you would've slaughtered me."

Kasten had been called a prodigy by the Aresoul, and when he was in his prime, Carter and Arista fought many battles with him. Though it was along time ago, he still remembered the glorious days of fighting the Horned to a standstill. 

Back in those days, Founder Arista and Carter and him had been evenly matched. Together, he could hold back the two of them, but he also couldn't best them. Yet, at that time, he was only in the S rank. This boy, even though he seemed to be in the S rank himself, was no older than 15. He also seemed to have insights from even the SSS rank. Looking into Howard's eyes, suddenly something inside him changed.

"I changed my mind. They won't mind if I kill him," Kasten summoned 500 small doors behind him before they began to rotate behind him. "Leave Reslan alive. I'll take this life any day, or that weakling."

"I-I'm the leader of the Aresoul!" Kreal said, "You-you can't tell me not to kill him! Not after he killed my student! My beautiful student in front of me! He-he was like flesh and blood!"

Howard arrived in front of Kasten's face and instantly punched out with all his might. He didn't care what they were taking about. With the Silver Ki Flame burning around him, he looked like a vehicle of death shooting through the air.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of Ki spheres appeared behind him before they instantly shot at Kasten, who barely flinched upon his arrival! He-he had to kill this man or nothing else mattered! His teachers would perish!

Boom!

A large cloud of dust shot high into the sky, over a mile up, while dozen of young Aresoul warriors got sent flying into the air.

Kreal, who had been nonchalantly walking, looked back in horror at Howard's power. As the smoke cleared, however, Kasten simply had his hand out. He smiled, and looked at his hand, covered with small abrasions, before he nodded his head at Howard.

"Wow, you pack a punch," Kasten smiled, "Shall we trim you apart, slowly?"

"I-I'm going to save my teachers! Get out of my way!" Howard activated the 7th level of Fire King's Last Stand before a large explosion of Ki shot out of his flesh. "Now move! Move before I rip you to shreds! I-I'm not done yet! I'm still holding back strength."

"And now… Now I can kill you without worrying." Kasten laughed. "Wow, you just reached the threshold to enter the SSS rank in terms of overall power. Though it's not enough to hurt me, you're a true king at the age of 15! How does it know because of your foolishness you'll die?!"

"I'm not losing anyone I love again! Eighth stage of Fire King's Last Stand!" Howard exploded with strength before his shirt got eviscerated by his energy. "You-you're moving now or you're dead!" Howard's eyes turned completely silver before he instantly burst forward.

The next moment, even Kasten was shocked. He could barely dodge Howard's fist as it bulleted towards his face.