Chapter 71 - Hellish Smile

"What has gotten into you, Yin Sohaya?"

Kai chuckled.

Yin pushed away Kai's hand and dashed towards him, not saying anything at all.

Kai blocked every single punch and kick that Yin threw his way.

The intensity of each one was getting stronger and stronger.

"I do not know what kind of abilities and powers you possess to be able to do this and have those snowy white eyes and that stylish masquerade, but were you just hiding that strength all this time? If you had told me that you were this strong, I would have gone straight for you, Yin!"

Still no response from Yin.

Oliver was not even going near Yin.

Was it sensing that he was not the same Yin Sohaya as before? 

Yin revved up a punch while closing the distance between the two of them, Kai prepared to block the anticipated trajectory of where it would have hit, but Yin, rather, The Creator, planned this all along.

Yin pulled back his punch and instead threw a broad kick which Kai failed to anticipate himself.

The S Rank Slayer was sent flying, until he finally hit a tree.

Kai Xin got up and dusted off his clothes.

"Aw, look how dirty I got!" 

He then removed his white fur coat and hanged it slowly on the tree that he hit against.

Yin was still standing, his back arched and his head tilted down. Kai did not know that Yin was not the one in control of his body.

As Kai was about to open his mouth and blurt more words, he noticed something was wrong.

His nose.

It was bleeding.

Kai gently nudged his nose with his hand.

He looked at his hand and nodded.

"Alright, Yin. Alright. I have no idea how you knew my moniker earlier, but that does not matter. I will show you why I am called 'The Dragon of The Inferno Garden.'"

Kai said as he wiped his nose off slowly.

"My turn."

Their fight went on for an hour at most.

The Creator never spoke, not even once.

He also did not use any System powers, afraid that he might end up killing this person.

But with just a pure physical fight alone, it was clear that Yin's body was at a disadvantage, even if the Creator was the one using it.

All this time, Yin's Nix Eyes were up and running.

It was starting to take a toll on his body.

Kai Xin was panting.

His red undershirt tattered and damaged, his face equally bloodied and bruised.

Yin's body was not without its sustained damage, though.

His face was equally bruised up and was obviously beaten.

As both of them panted, trying to catch their breaths, a serene calmness was there.

Oliver was hitting Suna with his bamboo shoot, attempting to heal her.

Zachary was still propped up on the ground, grimoire in hand.

While the two Slayers left standing were staring at each other.

"You are not Yin, aren't you?"

Kai Xin broke the silence with a question, his grin accompanying his words.

Yin, once more, did not speak.

Instead of words, he reciprocated the Fire Slayer's grin with a smile of his own.

An equally wide grin yet a thousand times more sinister.

Kai Xin could sense the bloodlust emanating from Yin. He knew that what he was seeing was not of this world. It was that of a sleeping monster in of itself. This was not Yin Sohaya, it was something else…

Kai prepared for the inevitable first strike by this thing or person controlling Yin, but it never came.

Instead, Yin fell to the ground and was knocked unconscious. The S Rank Fire Slayer breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank the heavens that was finally over." He said as he turned around to look at Yin's body on the ground. "This should be fascinating."

It was approaching sunset now. Kai looked up to the sky above and contemplated a lot of things as he waited for them to come to their senses and finally wake up.

He saw Oliver and shot him a nod.

To which the baby panda rolled its eyes and ignored him.

Kai scratched his head and laughed.

It was nighttime now.

Yin had awoken first.

He looked around and checked on Suna and Zachary, seeing if they sustained any fatal wounds.

Yin was relieved and continued to lay on the ground.

Just as he was about to close his eyes, a familiar voice broke his plans for a shut eye.

"So, what's your deal, Yin? Who was that earlier? Who was I fighting?"

Kai Xin's voice asked nonchalantly, as if nothing ever happened.

"T-That was me!"

Yin was in a state of shock. "How did Kai know that The Creator was using my body back then? Did The Creator himself tell him willingly? No, he has nothing to gain from that. Maybe he does, I do not even know."

Kai laughed.

He then proceeded to ask about various details about the fight, including the most obvious, like who did what move and whatnot.

Yin stuttered and stammered on his words, failing to answer truthfully and was just airballing each question so far.

"It is alright, Yin. This is not the first time I have sensed something like that in a person during a fight, trust me."

Kai assured him.

"You do not have to tell me anything at all, I respect that. Just be careful not to misuse your powers like you did earlier, if I had not been me, someone who could not think quick on his or her feet, you would have killed that person, withered him or her away into nothingness."

Yin was about raise his voice and scold Kai back for even coming here in the first place just looking for a fight, but Kai Xin cut him off.

"Relax, I know I sound like a hypocrite for telling you that while I trespassed your hideout and all that. Sorry for that, I was only following Ignis' orders."

"What did your leader even want to accomplish here today? Even back then during the start of the fight, I knew you were holding back, you were just toying with us. If you had been serious, I am sure you would have cut us down where we stood in an instant."

Yin said.

"Look at you, using your brain and stuff." Kai chuckled. "Just kidding, Yin."

"You at least owe us an answer. You sabotaged our hideout and knock us out on the ground for what, really?"

"Well, Ignis' instructions were to 'gauge' how strong the Six Blades' new members were."

Kai hesitated while saying that.

"Do not tell Ignis or anyone else I told you that, alright?"

Yin nodded.

"Anyway, Ignis has always been fixated on people and organizations that he thinks will pose a threat to the Inferno Garden. And at this moment, he sees Gavin Khalil and Luken Regalia as his 'rivals' do you get it?"

"Rivals?"

Yin asked.

"Yeah, you heard me. After that whole fiasco with Adam Rosa defecting to the Angel's side, Ignis, who was desperately attempting to catch up to him, was left empty handed. He felt like his life had no direction, he knew he could not climb the top rank and outrank either Artorias Khalil or Adam Rosa, so he wanted to beat them in the organizational rankings."

"Is that not sort of petty?"

Yin said.

"I am not in a position to disobey orders. I could easily disobey and not do what he told me, but I respect Ignis enough to do what he tells me to, that is about it."

Kai wiped the blood from his bruises.

"S-Sorry about that…"

Yin apologized to Kai Xin.

"No need to apologize, Yin. I gave you your own fair share of damage as well."

Kai laughed.

Yin was far too amped up with the adrenaline from the fight from earlier to even notice it.

He huffed and pressed on his ribs.

"D-Did you seriously break them?!"

"Hey, you should take that as a compliment, you know. The Dragon himself deemed you as a worthy opponent in a fight. Worthy enough to be taken seriously by me!"

Kai continued laughing.

He stopped for a brief moment.

"By the way, how did you know my nickname? I have truly been curious all this time. It is not like I told you guys during our first encounter hours ago, right? I am not even able to remember, that is just how often I run my mouth."

Yin cracked a slight laugh himself.

"I would prefer if I did not tell you." He got up and took a hard glance at the stars up above. 

"Very well, I respect that. I am not going to pester you with more questions about your powers, just be careful, alright?"

Yin nodded.

Oliver crawled towards Yin and brushed his head at him.

"No smacking people with your stick, alright, Oliver? At this rate, that would be more painful rather than heal us."

Oliver bobbed his head up and down in agreement.

"Can you help me with something, Kai?"

Yin asked him.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Let's carry them back to the hideout, it is going to get cold out here in the night."

"Very well, perhaps that would ease their anger towards me if I did that."

"Perhaps."