"In this world, strength is not a gift… it is the price one pays to stay alive."
"Kara is the life energy that flows through all things. Some shape it to create, others to destroy… but all depend on it to survive."
"When the breath of Kara fades, the heart stops beating, and the soul vanishes into the eternal shadow."
(The scene opens on the heavy silence of the alley. Duck and Johan face each other, one below, the other on the roof. Just behind Duck, Danky is frozen, fists clenched, his face twisted in a powerless hatred. The memory of the massacre is still fresh in his mind.)
The evening wind made the festival lanterns dance, casting shifting shadows that seemed to hesitate to approach the two fighters. The tension was so palpable it became a sound, a low hum that drowned out the noise of the distant celebration.
Johan, from his perch, initially ignored Duck. His masked gaze fell directly on Danky, scanning him with unconcealed contempt.
Johan: (his voice descending from the roof, falsely thoughtful) "Well, well… The little rabid dog. I'm surprised to see you on your feet. Last time, you were under a pile of scrap metal, crying like a child. Tell me, how does it feel to know your friend died for nothing, while you were unable to move?"
Every word was a poisoned blade.
Danky's rage exploded. A reddish aura began to pulse around him, making the ground vibrate.
Danky: (screaming, his voice broken with fury) "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
He was about to charge, to unleash everything, but a hand landed on his shoulder. Firm. Unshakable. It was Duck's hand.
Duck Bum Darly: (without taking his eyes off Johan, his voice an icy whisper) "Calm down."
The order was simple, but laden with an absolute authority that cut Danky's momentum short. The apprentice's rage was still there, boiling, but it was now contained, like a caged beast.
Seeing his provocation of Danky succeed but be interrupted, Johan turned his attention to the real obstacle. His mocking gaze fixed on Duck's mask.
Johan: (his voice resuming its biting irony) "Oh, the great Zenith comes to protect his little chick. How touching. Tell me… that mask. Did a penguin make it for you, or did you just lose a stupid bet?"
Below, Duck didn't move. But Danky, just behind him, felt the pressure of his master's Kara increase by a notch. An invisible wave of heat swept through the alley. Duck was angry. Yet, his posture remained relaxed.
Slowly, he raised his head, his twin blades shining with a cold gleam.
Duck Bum Darly: (his voice, still composed, but charged with a glacial contempt) "I find you weak."
Johan's smile froze.
Duck Bum Darly: "I've analyzed the reports. I've seen the echoes of your fight. And honestly, I don't understand how an Astroforge like Ashley could lose to a pathetic loser like you."
The counter-attack was more violent than any punch. Johan felt a spike of fury rise within him. His black aura intensified, crackling around him.
Johan: (his voice losing its irony for a cold anger) "I forbid you to underestimate me. You are facing the number 5 of the elite Burning Blood ranking. I am far stronger than your miserable Astroforges."
He stood up on the roof, his silhouette dominating the alley, his dark aura spreading like an oil slick.
Johan: "I think we should go somewhere else, so we won't be disturbed."
Below, Duck let out a small laugh, a dry, joyless sound.
Then, without a word, he bent his knees slightly.
FWOOSH.
With a lightning-fast impulse, he leaped into the air, rising far above the roof where Johan stood. He hung for a moment in the twilight sky, now looking down on him, his own silhouette outlined against the rising moon.
Duck Bum Darly: "Yeah. You know, I don't mind you choosing the place where you'll die."
He tilted his head slightly, his duck mask seeming to judge him from the heavens.
Duck Bum Darly: "But… I don't like being looked down on. Is that clear?"
Johan burst out with a dry, almost animalistic laugh.
His body disintegrated into a trail of burning black smoke, which flew away with a sinister hiss. In an instant, he disappeared, leaving behind wisps of soot and a metallic smell.
Duck remained suspended in the air for a moment, watching the dark trail streak toward the horizon. Then, slowly, he let his body fall back onto the roof, with a dull thud of crushed gravel. Danky looked up at him, panting.
Duck Bum Darly:
— My dear Danky… this is your first training.
He didn't even turn his head.
His eyes, glowing red under the mask, were already fixed in Johan's direction.
Duck Bum Darly:
— … It simply consists of finding us. Use your Celestial Kara as a radar and detect the Black Kara.
A wave of heat distorted the air around him—as if the world itself was trembling.
In a breath, he vanished.
---
Far from Goma.
A forgotten hill, swept by the wind.
The ruins of an ancient temple, a relic of an extinct era. The sky was darkening, heavy with an impending storm.
A fissure of black smoke opened in the air. Johan materialized, straightening up smoothly. His eyes scanned the broken stones, his breath short but proud.
Johan:
— There, this place is perfect to slaughter him.
A calm voice cut through the air, icy and mocking:
Duck Bum Darly:
— You really thought you could slaughter me? Such confidence. I'm almost jealous.
Johan froze.
The Duck was already there.
Leaning against a ruined pillar, hands in his pockets.
Johan:
— Impressive, Duck. I didn't think you would—
BOOM!!
Before he could even finish his sentence, Duck was in front of him.
A dry, brutal, precise fist slammed into his cheek. The world seemed to bend under the impact.
Johan was thrown backward, but Duck grabbed him by the arm in the same motion—a movement so fast only its afterimage was visible.
Duck yanked hard, pulling Johan back toward him before lifting him by the torso.
The latter's body spun in the air before being violently smashed against the stone.
BOOOOOOM!
The ground tore apart.
Shockwaves spread out, pulverizing the surrounding columns.
The dust settled slowly, like ash.
Duck took a step forward.
Each step made the earth groan.
Duck Bum Darly:
— Get up, kid. You know… you're so insignificant that I'm not even bothering to take both my hands out of my pockets.
Johan, his face bloodied, shot a sheet of black smoke from his back. He propelled himself sideways, narrowly dodging a kick from the Duck.
CRACK!
The ground exploded into a perfect crater, blowing a cloud of debris and dust. The sound echoed throughout the valley.
Johan straightened up behind a broken pillar. A crack glowed on his mask, and a drop of blood slid down to his chin.
He gave a twisted smile, somewhere between pain and amusement.
Johan:
— "He already managed to crack my mask," he thought.
— Not bad, Duck… but is that all you can do??
One step.
Then two.
Duck stood, hands in his pockets, in front of the column he had been leaning on. The red aura of smoke faded around him.
Duck Bum Darly:
— You talk way too much, kid.
He cracked his neck. Then the rest of him.
— It's crazy... how weak people believe that a title gives them value. Come on! Come here. Let me teach you about real life.
Johan gets up. He wiped the blood dripping from his mask. His smile had frozen, replaced by an expression of contained fury.
Johan: "You've got a hell of a punch, Duck. But speed is just an illusion…"
The ground cracked.
Johan disappeared in a black puff. He reappeared in front of Duck, his right fist launched at full speed.
Duck tilted his head to the side: the blow missed by inches. The Duck's mask brushed against the black smoke coiling around Johan's arm.
Duck: "Too slow."
He grabbed Johan's forearm and pulled him forward with a sharp tug. Johan tried to counter, pivoting on one leg, but Duck drove a knee into his stomach.
BOOM!
A blast of air erupted around them. Johan spat blood, but Duck didn't stop. He pivoted his body, his left arm extended—Elbow strike to the temple. Then another. And another. Each strike cracked like an explosion.
Johan staggered, his feet sliding on the ground, but he recovered with a fluid motion. He leaped back, panting, a twisted smile on his face, despite the blood.
Johan: "Hahaha… I have to admit, you've got some serious moves. But you haven't seen what I, Johan Traken, can do when I open my wings."
Johan's Black Kara exploded. He no longer tried to fight hand-to-hand. He raised his hands, and all the energy accumulated in his body transformed into a crashing wave.
Johan: Black Kara! – "Wave of Retribution!"
A mass of dark Kara, thick and roaring, rushed toward Duck. The black wave was so dense it seemed to bend the light around it.
Duck didn't move. He didn't even take his hands out of his pockets.
As the wave was just a meter away from him, he made a minimalist, almost lazy gesture with one of his two swords.
Duck Bum Darly: Celestial Kara! "Spatial Cut."
The sound was that of a piece of paper being torn, but the effect was cataclysmic. A visible line, absolutely sharp, appeared in front of him. It didn't slice the Kara wave; it sliced the space *around* the wave. Johan's attack, though massive and concentrated, was instantly cut into two perfect halves.
The two halves of the Wave of Retribution passed on either side of Duck, without even touching his suit. They continued their mad dash, shredding the ruins behind him and crashing into the hill.
Duck remained motionless, in the center of the void created by his gesture. He looked at Johan, looking disillusioned.
Duck Bum Darly: "A technique that only captures and returns energy is useless against someone who uses… nothing at all."
Then suddenly…
Thunder rumbled in the distance. The black smoke spread around Johan, forming two giant wings behind his back. Feathers of ash fell slowly.
Duck Bum Darly: "Finally, a bit of a show."
He smiled behind the mask.
"Good timing. My warm-up has just ended."
Johan didn't answer. His face, through the crack in his mask, was a grimace of pure hatred. He drew his sword, a long, dark blade, and lunged.
The wings of black smoke propelled him at a terrifying speed, far beyond what he had shown before. He was an arrow of hate.
Johan's sword cut through the air, aiming for Duck's head. Duck took a step to the side, but the trail of Kara left by the sword struck his shoulder. *CRACK!* The force was enough to make him slide several meters across the crater.
Before Duck could even stabilize, Johan was already there. He kicked out, a low and vicious blow. Duck raised his arm to block, but the impact forced him back.
Johan followed up with monstrous speed, using his momentum to spin his sword. The blade, charged with Kara, traced a deadly arc toward Duck's side. *SPLAT!* Duck could only partially dodge. The tip of the sword tore his suit and left a superficial but visible gash on his ribs.
Johan: "You're just a miserable target!"
Johan's Kara screamed in triumph. He had done it. He had hit the Stellar Zenith.
Johan readied his arm for the next blow, the sword pointed straight at Duck's heart. It was a very fast, highly concentrated attack.
Duck, his body bent, his mask slightly askew, finally seemed to be in trouble.
But just as the sword was about to strike, the world tore apart.
Duck Bum Darly: Celestial Kara! "Blind Step."
Duck disappeared.
Johan's sword struck empty air. He turned, breathless.
Duck had reappeared right behind him, at the exact spot where the broken pillar stood. He wasn't even looking at him. His hands were still in his pockets.
BOOM!
The hilt of Johan's sword, which protruded from his back, was struck by a sharp kick from Duck. The sword was propelled forward, and its hilt embedded itself in the pillar.
Johan was frozen, his sword stuck in the stone, his body twisted in surprise and pain.
Duck straightened up, adjusted his mask, and looked at the little show-off.
Duck Bum Darly: (with a smile) "If this is all you're worth, then I'd rather put an end to your miserable existence."
"The two elites stared at each other, their Karas rumbling in the air. The Celestial Kara and the Black Kara were already clashing—and the real fight was just beginning."
END OF CHAPTER 16
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