Chapter 204: Alternate Ki

Harkel looked at Howard and didn't dare wait an extra second.

He knew that Howard would most likely do something stupid right now. After all, he was only sixteen years old. When he was sixteen, well over a thousand years ago, the last thing he would've said about himself at the time was that he made smart decisions!

Even though Howard had matured greatly, this was not a decision he could let Howard make! If he sacrificed himself for Jenny, he had a high chance of dying. The reason for this was that they had no idea what 'Oclen's new abilities could be. 

If he had some type of spatial ability, if Howard got too close it could mean his death. If he was an expert at arrays, he could trap Howard in an array 10,00 times worse than anything Gorgolith could have ever imagined! But the worst possibility was that he killed Howard! Howard had just learned a domain, and if he died, even if he revived, it would have a lasting impact on his ability to activate the domain!

When a Horned learned a new skill, their Ki Cells also acquired knowledge. In many ways, both his body and his mind were needed ot activate the array, and if his body had to spend all its energy on regenerating him to full health, it would most likely mean he'd never once again be able to use the domain!

Of course, this type of scenario hardly ever came up. Most people trained in private, and went to gain new skills in special places like Demon King Earl's Castle, or even in the West Branch's Gaurdian Sanctuary. Yet, obviously, because of the current situation, the one thing most tried to avoid was right in front of them!

If Howard let himself get 'killed' in a way where he could revive, it would still ruin him for his entire life!

'I'm sorry Howard,' Harkel dropped his head before he activated his domain. His Shadow Ki exploded at the same time before he shot forward towards Oclen.

Oclen, who seemed to be expecting Harkel to interfere, smiled widely before he squeezed Jenny's neck and then tossed her away. 

The next moment, Howard looked on in horror while Jenny bounced against a nearby rock. Her beautiful blue eyes, normally full of the most magnificent light, completely lost their purity while she landed on the dirt.

Her blue jumper, now completely red, was now complete with her head tilted to the side. Though her head was still on her neck, her spine had been fractured. In the hundreds of times he'd been killed, his spine had never been so severely damaged! The one thing he learned, from instinct, was to always protect his neck. Yet now, one of the girls he loved was lying with her head to the side.

The next moment, he turned his head and saw that Oclen had disappeared. A second later, he seemed to appear behind Monica, Priscila, and Harley. It wasn't like he moved quickly, but another version of him seemed to appear at the same time the other one disapepared.

This was an ability that only someone with Alternate Ki could use! Someone that could change what a version of them was doing at a moment wiht another version of himself! Howard could only look on in shock as Monica, Harley, and Priscilla all turned and attacked Oclen with all thier might.

'Please-please stop!' Howards horns instnatly shot 3 meters out of his head and spiraled several times in an instant. "Stop right now! Stop it or I'll crush you!"

"What the hell? How naive can you be?" Oclen watched Harkel charging towards him before his body changed into the Eighteen Eyed Juggernaut. "I'm already-I'm already being nice! Jenny can still live if you come here, but the next one I kill! This Monica of yours! Hahaha! I promise, if you don't kill yourself now, she'll die!"

"Don't Howard!" Harkel screamed and turned back and looked into Howards eyes.

Why the hell was this guy so clever? 

He knew a few of the Last Great Kings subjects had alternate Ki, but many of them went completely insane from trying to use it. Alternate Ki was a type of Ki that was able to let you go into different dimensions where many alternate things happened. This included watching loved ones die, and sometimes seeing alternate versions of the future you'd never expect!

It wsa a terrifying type of Ki, but this man seemed completely logical and intensely focused on getting Howard to die! Harkel finally made it within a foot of Monica while their attacks soared to him.

However, rather than attacking Monica, Oclne once again shifted and landed right above Jenny's skull. With his body in the Eighteen Eyed Juggernaut form, he placed his claws against Jenny's neck and began to push down.

"I-I get what you want to do/" Howard began to turn completely silver, "However, I know I won't make the right decision. That's why I want you to meet my friend. The other Howard?"

"What are you talking about? The other Howard?" Oclen said while Jenny's neck slowly started to burst with blood. She looked so pretty, even with the blood on her face, that Oclen felt a tiny cringe of guilt killing her. "Come on. You're just you."

"But… I don't want to be me right now. This can't be real. The Oclen I kno wouldn't do this," Howard said, dropping his head before he held out his hand. The entire world starting to turn silver around him while he activated his Emperor's Domain. "I-I want to be someone else! I want to want to kill yuo at all costs hahahaha! Take this Oclen! NO matter where you are you're about to die! How does it feel to know you're surrounded in every reality! Don't think I figured it out!"

'What the hell? Is he nuts?' Oclen sighed and picked up his arm before he slashed it as quick as he could towards Jenny's neck. His flesh arm, nearly five times the size of a normal human, bulleted towards Jenny's neck while he frowned with disdain. "Well, I decided a long time ago, the person I wanted to die almost as bad as Howard was Jenny. She, after all, is the brains of the operations."

"She's the reason Howard is even okay right now. However, Howard would've been such a better prize! Such a waste!"

Boom!

Oclen's fist sliced right through Jenny's neck before her head floated into the air. He spun his black hair to look at her, and sighed before his body began to shift through space.

He expected to end up behind Howard and attack him with all his might, but instead, something strange happened. 

A set of chains seemed to appear in the space he was in. It didn't make sense, he was using his Alternate Ki to transfer his will into another version of himself! No one should be able to get in here! Not a single soul should be able to cross the lines and enter into his alternate realities!

Of course, this perplexed him greatly, but also worried him. If someone had the ability to find him in alternate space, then didn't it mean he couldn't escape?

He looked forward in disbelief while five different versions of him got covered with chains glowing with a silver light. He-he wanted to understand what was happening, but he didnt' have time to figure it out! He did all he could to use all his power to swing his fist to break the chain!

With Oclen's body, plus the strength of his soul, he should easily be able to shatter the chains! Yet, he still felt dread! Dread that something terrible was going to happen to him! Should he try and abandon Oclen's body, and see if that works? But-but then what about all the work he did to get here?

'Hmph, it's just a chian from Howard's new domain. Should be simple enough to break. I-I'm guessing he'll be so surprised after I break the chain that I'll be able to shift away instantly!'

'Then all I have to do is wait until he goes to fight Armecolith, and I can easily kill Harkel. Hahahaa! This is great! There are so many futures out there! So many things waiting for me!"

Boom!

Oclen's fist bashed into the silver chains and instantly caused them to bend and shoot back in the other direction. He smiled and instantly activated his Alternate Ki before he appeared on top of the mountain.

He smiled and looked down, expecting to see Jenny's head on the floor, but that's not what happened. A white light appeared around her body, and the head that had been shooting into the air, reattached itself. 

Oclen's jaw instantly trembled before he noticed hundreds of crowns from Howard's domain beginning to surround him! He couldn't believe it! Did he really just get tricked by Howard's Dream Ki? How could he be so stupid!

"I-I'll be back to kill them and you, hahaha! You're lovely girlfriends. You precious teachers! They'll all die in a few days! Don't sleep well, Howard! See you in your nightmares!"

"You-you have no chance against me, hahahaha!" Howard gently placed Jenny down on the floor before hundreds of Ghost Blades made of his emperor's Ki shot towards Oclen. "You-you're so weak! I can sense your fear from here! Well, don't leave then! Hahaha! In fact, why don't you try!"

Oclen scoffed and then activated his Alternate Ki before hundreds of roots appeared before him. He smiled when he noticed a pervious version of him had already escaped.

He waved to Howard before his body blinked and the next moment he arrived outside of Jarlon Valley. Looking ot his right, he expected to see nothing but open space, but instead, a large sword was right there, coming towards his head.

"You got to be kidding me," Oclen stepped to the side to dodge before his right arm shot off his body. The next moment, six lines of light shot throuhg him before all his appendages fell on the floor. His arms, legs, and feet all got detached by ghost swords from Howard's domain before he did his best to activate his remaining Alternate Ki to travel to another dimension.

Boom!

Oclen's stomach got stabbed right before he disappeared.

At this moment, Howard could only slam his hand into the ground in anger. The bastard. The bastard had gotten away!

"You-you want me to heal her?" Harkel walked over to Howard and gently touched Jenny's skull. "She-she will take nearly all of my remaining energy to heal. If I do this, I'll be in the B rank for the next 2 years."

"I-I-I might have a way," Hoawrd deactivated his Silver Ki and wiped a set of tears from his eyes. "You-you just need to stay the hell away from me! Get out of here before I kill you myself!"