The Black Pawn
In the green meadow where the grass swayed like waves, and the breeze caressed the warm sunlight and the blue sky adorned with white clouds, it was the familiar sight Kaname had seen in recent days.
Kaname sat resting after strenuous training. He knew it was time to refine what he had worked on for the past three days. A slight sense of fear and anxiety lingered within him, but he was ready.
Mai looked at him. "Here, I'm not sure why you're asking for this now, but take your black mask. It's featureless, just as you wanted, and I made it so you can see clearly through it without obstruction. It won't hinder you." Kaname put on the mask. It was a black mask without expressions, devoid of eyeholes, just a hollow face carved from ebony. This was the final piece to complete his armor.
Mai spoke wearily, "Listen, Kaname, I've also created two things to help us now! First, put on this cloak. It will conceal your identity and fighting style. Your enemy will never recognize you. Second, this button—put it on. It will allow us to communicate and let me observe you. This means you must put on a spectacular show for me. Make me proud, Kaname."
"Furthermore, Kaname, I've devised a clear strategy. If you can call it a plan, lure your opponent into an open area to avoid excessive destruction and gain more control of the battlefield. I have very little energy left. I've truly exhausted myself just maintaining that range, and holding it for even a few minutes is a struggle for anyone—imagine three whole days? I can't participate in your fight even if I wanted to. If you perish, you perish."
Mai patted him lightly on the shoulder. "You're up to it. You simply won't die."
Everything fell silent for a moment. Kaname finds himself in the store's restroom once again. The rain outside continues to pour. The storm intensifies. Kaname secures the store, facing whatever fate may befall him, determined to prove that he will never be broken by the torment, bearing all the pain he has endured. It will all end as it began.
In a small room on the upper floor of that old building, we hear the rain lapping against the windowpane, and lightning illuminates the gloomy sky with a dark, ominous image. The room's classic elegance, the faded wallpaper, the antique bedroom—everything is shrouded in mystery. In the center, a young man sits in a chair, one leg crossed over the other, his head resting on his arm, waiting for the opportune moment to embrace his enemy in a long-awaited reunion.
The young man in the chair wears a black robe that reveals only his black mask and legs. The smooth black armor, made of a mysterious obsidian ore, absorbs every ray of light, rendering his limbs almost imperceptible. Kaname waits. Unsure if he's there or just trembling. This is his true opening battle. He expects nothing less, nothing more than a violent clash. On the threshold of no return.
Kaname waits. It's six in the morning. The time the visitor arrives. In an instant, time freezes as it did before. Everything stops again. The rhythm of the rain fades into silence.
"Hello, Hunter," Kaname says quietly. "I hope you appreciate my hospitality. Come closer before I smash you in the mirror." The hunter emerged from the mirror listlessly and declared, "Well, that's exactly what I expected from Mai's pawn. Prepare for execution, you black pawn. My master will be pleased with your death. You need to understand the consequences of challenging the savage hunters. Boy, your luck is running out. Every member of my clan longs to kill you and Mai. Our clan rules the Forgotten Land with our supposed might, and you dare to defy us, you black pawn. Prepare for trial, and remember this name: Yoshiki, who will bring you a premeditated death."
Kaname calmly replied, "Am I to be killed by a weakling like you? Come on, I expected a formidable savage hunter, not a clown."
Yoshiki was a dignified figure, with long, disheveled hair, wearing tall armor stained with ancient blood. His face was pale, and he held a war axe in his right hand. Kaname drew his weapon. The hunter tilted his head. "Come on, Black Pawn. I hope you'll entertain me, Black Pawn. Make it worthwhile." He laughed maniacally. Alone in the darkness of the room, Kaname coated the blade of his kuan spear with an element—a humble trick Mai had taught him some time ago to handle situations like this. The next moment, the hunter was stunned by the trick. He prepared to block the attack, but Kaname didn't aim. He cut through the air. His blade pierced the fissure in the field, shattering it with a deafening crash. Everything returned to normal. The rain resumed its roar against the windows. Kaname had destroyed the hunter's territory.
The hunter's eyes widened in awe, and he shouted, "Black Pawn, you've exceeded my expectations in strength. Only the strongest enemies I've fought could achieve this. I'll fight hard now."
Kaname and the hunter advanced, vying to land the first blow. Kaname now held the advantage.
The Quan-Dua grants the ability to reach the target and engage directly, but the Hunter conceals his tricks. He strikes Kaname first, pushing the Hunter backward. The clang of metal echoes, and the house shakes with the force of the impact. He pushes the Hunter further and further back. "I'm beginning to admire you, Black Pawn," he says in a frenzied tone. "Even the most savage Hunters were afraid to face me."
Kaname doesn't retaliate. He attacks again. Kaname grabs the Quan-Dua and aims the Hunter's axe. The Hunter blocks the blow, but Kaname seizes his hand and hurls him through the window to secure a higher ground. The Hunter slumps to the ground and crashes into the wall. He appears unharmed or affected by the previous blow, but it has thrown him off balance.
Outside, rain and lightning lash the sky. Angry clouds blanket the sky. The Hunter struggles to regain his composure before another attack from the fervent Quan-Dua. He hesitated a little in his evasive maneuver and sustained a minor cut under his eye. The hunter burst into maniacal laughter again, then asserted, "You're only pretending to be tough, you black pawn. Know this: if you seek to kill another, expect to be killed in return. Conflicts always end with one life. I've fought countless battles in my life and..."
"I came out victorious in all of them."
The Hunter rose, gripping his battle axe, and declared, "The trial." He launched his attack, hurling the axe at Kaname's skull, hoping to shatter it. Kaname refused the Quan-Dua, saluting the axe. Kaname caught the axe in his hands. Then, he channeled the element to increase its power and returned the axe to his master with double the force.
The Hunter didn't move. Before the axe could strike his face, it stopped in mid-air. The Hunter caught it and prepared to attack, saying, "Don't think, you black pawn, that my trick will work on me."
Kaname summoned the Quan-Dua and assumed a defensive stance, ready for the next blow. The Hunter lunged at Kaname, using his battle axe to deliver a powerful strike, but the axe lodged in the air again. The Hunter then used his bare fist to land a direct blow to Kaname's chest in an unexpected way.
"Hey, don't underestimate me for this!" the Hunter exclaimed joyfully. The match. "I want to enjoy it." Kaname leaped backward, dodging the axe with difficulty after resuming his attack. He tried to understand what had happened twice, what was so strange about the axe or the hunter's ability. Kaname had to look closely to understand, to learn more, because the ultimate punishment was to defeat the hunter with his own strength, his own style, his own reflection.
Kaname regained the initiative, attacking both the axe and the hunter simultaneously. The surrounding area began to take a heavy toll. Kaname now sought to force the hunter to exert his full power. Since the beginning of the skirmish, Kaname had used his power three times, but now the competition was fierce.
The hunter also unleashed his power and skill. This plunged them both into a frenzy: fear, selfishness, pride, excitement—all these emotions surged through them.
Reconstructing himself, Kaname amplified his strength and speed. He began to glide like a ghost, barely visible, but his time was limited. His body could not withstand more than five minutes, and he would succumb to his own power. On the contrary, the hunter embodies this predicament. Both unleash their true power to annihilate the other.
They face each other in silence, each ready to attack or defend. The hunter begins by slicing two stone slabs, dangling them in the air, and hurling them at Kaname. He manages to split one, but behind the other, the hunter hides, tears it apart, and delivers a powerful kick to Kaname's chest, sending him flying onto the bridge. "Bingo."
Kaname lies on the bridge, blood trickling from beneath his mask. He quickly tries to regain his composure, dodging the stone slabs, leaping over them, and then kicking the hunter in the stomach, sending him flying across the bridge to the railway station.
Before Kaname can pursue the hunter, the platform shatters into fragments hurtling toward him. Kaname dashes forward, dodging the projectiles and smashing some of them. He takes cover behind a wall, searching for any assistance to get close to the hunter again. The hunter advances toward Kaname's hiding place, pounding the ground violently and shattering it. A new barrage. Kaname seized a pickup truck and hurled it at the hunter. The hunter stopped the vehicle in mid-air. This gave Kaname a few moments to close in and stab the hunter in the chest, slitting his kuan-dua through it. He then pulled the kuan-dua out, severed the hunter's right arm—the one he was using to grip the axe—and kicked him against the wall.
"You did it, Kaname! You did it!" Mai cried from her hiding place, watching the fight.
Kanami approached the hunter, pinned against the wall, bleeding profusely. He had little time left.
Kanami and Mai, who had joined him, approached him to get some answers.
"I'm sure you enjoyed being beaten to death," Kaname declared. "Did you think I didn't realize your power over inanimate objects, your ability to stop and resume throwing them, and your inability to block my attack or even stop your body when you fell?" "Your elemental power is useless against me, for I will always emerge victorious." The hunter coughed up his blood. "I will never forget those words. It was the greatest battle of my life." Mai asked coldly, "Tell me, Yoshiki, why did your leader send you against us?" The hunter replied, "My leader lost his mind the moment he allied himself with the Wyvern Kingdom. From the day he began serving that king, the savage hunters have become mere rabble, slaughtering and murdering anyone who defies the king's decree." "He seeks your end because, Mai, you're the last one who can resist them." He coughed even more violently. "I wish I could give you both the gift of my life." Then, suddenly, the Hunter's form began to swell like a time bomb. Kaname was completely exhausted, barely able to move. He had multiple fractures in his chest and leg. He lacked the speed to escape. He grabbed Mai, cradled her in his arms, and leaped, but it was too late to escape the explosion.
Kaname opened his eyes. Nothing had happened. He examined his limbs and torso. He didn't notice anything wrong. His form remained intact. He looked down and saw that Mai was also unharmed, but he realized that he was no longer in his city , his planet, his world. He had been transported to another world.