Space itself distorted for a brief instant before a massive cross slowly materialised from nothingness, nearly twice my own height. Both ends of the crossbeam carried enormous weighing plates suspended in perfect balance.
The atmosphere inside the building immediately became heavier, not because of any pressure exerted upon the surroundings, but simply because Hanyu instinctively halted her advance.
"...A Domain?" Her eyes widened in disbelief.
A newly awakened modern-day sorcerer she might be, but even she, after surviving in the Tokyo Colony for over 10 days, knew what a domain was.
She might have never seen one in person, only heard about how dangerous domains are, but that doesn't mean she couldn't tell one apart if she saw one in person.
Her eyes darted around the hallway.
There was no barrier. No walls closing in around them, nor was there a separate space forming inside the enclosed area.
Only the gigantic cross stood silently behind me. And the only reason she even thought this was a domain was because she knew it required a hand sign, and the boy actually called out "domain" itself.
I could almost see the confusion written across her face. The tense muscles and the guarded position she was in.
But just as time passed, the tenseness fled away and her guarded expression eased.
"So... that's it?" she asked after several seconds. "That's your Domain Expansion?"
I simply watched her. It was hard to figure out that she had no experience when it came to a domain.
She couldn't tell one apart from another technique.
And that exactly was what she was thinking. While still guarded, she had two thoughts. Either the guy in front of her utterly botched the domain or was pretending. Or that the technique itself, Domain Expansion, was hype for no apparent reason.
"No..." I shook my head.
"But since this is my first time ever using it in a real fight, I don't mind explaining..."
Hanyu frowned.
"The cross you see behind me, it's a part of my domain. However, I haven't expanded my domain entirely. It's just one extension which I brought here to activate an aspect of my domain without actually deploying it."
Her expression became even more brash at that. With the basics unclear, anything built on top of that, anything advanced, felt like gibberish to her.
"I thought Domains were supposed to be unbeatable."
"I can assure you they are not." Yami at that almost chuckled. If that was the case, then he might as well be the king of the world by now.
She clicked her tongue.
"What a disappointment."
The engines behind her flared violently.
"I was expecting something scary!"
She launched herself straight toward me like a missile.
The narrow hallway amplified the sound until it became deafening, plaster exploding from the walls as she accelerated with frightening speed. There was no room to sidestep.
'Sigh... I was in the middle of explaining my technique...' I grumbled.
[Self Trade - Increase lower body weight compared to upper body, increase weight altogether in exchange for mobility.]
Just before she reached me, I bent backward into a deep bridge, allowing her body to pass inches above my face while my hands shot upward and grabbed her around the waist.
The shift in body weight ratio helped me pull off the insane arc in the fight.
Her eyes widened.
"Wha—"
Using every ounce of her own momentum, I twisted my hips and completed the throw in one smooth motion.
Instead of continuing forward, her trajectory folded downward.
Like a Sitting Back Throw in Judo.
Her entire body slammed into the concrete floor in a perfectly executed sacrifice throw, the impact detonating the tiles beneath her as cracks raced outward in every direction. The force of her own propulsion multiplied the collision several times over, creating a crater where her head and shoulders struck first.
The building shook violently.
Dust poured from the ceiling.
The roaring engines vanished.
I was flat on my back for a brief moment before releasing my grip and standing.
Hanyu lay motionless inside the shattered concrete, unconscious before she had even realized what had happened.
"...Next time, if a sorcerer is explaining his technique to you, listen carefully. Yes, the other guy gets a boost, but you get something even more important.
Intel.
That could be a tipping point in the battle." I advised no one, seeing she was already passed out. And as for the next time I mentioned. There won't be any.
Just as I removed the Self Trades and moved forward, a loud crash echoed from somewhere above.
'Now what?'
The stairwell exploded apart suddenly and Aiko descended through the collapsing concrete with the blades of his hair spinning furiously, his eyes immediately locking onto Hanyu's unconscious form before snapping toward me.
"You...!"
His face twisted with anger.
"You killed her!"
"Knocked her out, actually." I helplessly shrugged my shoulders; the guy almost said it in a way that made me sound like the villain here.
"Good, then before she wakes up, I'm gonna cut you open and offer your head as a gift to her." He shot toward me like a man possessed.
'How uncivilized...' I internally snorted but got on my guard.
Unlike Hanyu's hair rocket, his spinning blades were compact enough to function perfectly indoors. He was more dangerous than the woman.
The hallway instantly became a death trap as the rotating edges tore through support columns, carved deep trenches into the walls, and shredded every piece of furniture unfortunate enough to stand in his path.
The confined space worked against me this time.
Running away was the only option, but what would stop him then from taking the woman and simply leaving?
Concrete exploded beside me as I ducked beneath one swing before vaulting over a collapsed desk. The spinning blades sliced through it effortlessly, sending splintered wood flying across the corridor.
"Nowhere left to run! Hahahaha... just die, you bastard." He shouted.
'I guess there is no simply dodging this one, is there?'
Sigh...
I exhaled slowly and a small smirk plastered itself on my face.
"...Then come, let's see what you got."
I shifted my stance.
[Self Trade - In exchange for sacrificing my mobility and reinforcement, I poured everything into weight and output.]
The floor beneath my feet cracked from the pressure at the sudden jolt in my output.
Aiko didn't seem to notice the change. He accelerated toward me even faster; everything in his path was turning into mincemeat.
The spinning blades screamed louder than ever as they rushed straight toward my head.
I stepped forward, my movement slower due to the restriction on mobility, but not enough to completely lock me up.
And then I threw the punch with everything I had.
My fist crashed directly into the center of the rotating blades, which also happened to be his head, with a thunderous impact that echoed throughout the building.
Agony instantly erupted through my arm as bone cracked beneath the overwhelming force, with my reinforcement weakened, but the blow succeeded in stopping his momentum completely.
The helicopter blades buckled.
Aiko's head snapped backward and then he was thrown back like me, but unlike my two steps, thanks to the improved weight, his was more like a Poké Ball, hitting two surfaces, from the ceiling to the side wall before finally meeting the ground with a disappointing thud.
Blood ran down the side of his face. I almost thought that did it, but my earlier observation about their Cursed Technique was right; their upper body, especially the head, was more reinforced due to their technique than their lower body.
He wiggled around for a second or two in pain, but after that he got up, struggling, but he did get up nonetheless.
"...You're insane..." he panted, blood still oozing out of his cracked head.
"So I've been told." I looked down at my own arm, which hung at an unnatural angle.
Blood dripped from it, and it couldn't be more broken at this point.
'I really envy physical bodies like Yuji and Maki... Sigh.'
Aiko wiped the blood from his forehead before grinning despite his injuries.
"You're finished now. One arm's useless."
He charged once more. His hair-copters were broken, hair blades all twisted, but he still rushed at me like he was certain he would win.
What can I even say to that?
"Nah... I'll win."
I said with a big, cheeky grin on my face.
We exchanged blows throughout the ruined hallway. My right hand was botched, completely. But here is the interesting part, even with that pain, I felt like this was nothing.
I honestly have experienced so much pain between my very memorable Shibuya Night and Maki's self-defense classes. I doubt I'll be complaining about pain ever again.
'This world is turning me into a masochist.' I cursed internally.
He punched, I dodged, he kicked, I defended, he tried to body tackle me, I just got out of the way. Seeing him fighting like a gorilla, and then comparing that to facing someone like Maki, she seemed like some sort of goddess of war descended on Earth itself.
Needless to say, I was overqualified at this point for something like this.
Between exchanges, I couldn't help asking, "Why? Why spend your strength slaughtering civilians who can't even defend themselves?"
Same question as I asked the woman.
He shrugged while attacking again.
"Because we can."
And that was almost the same answer as hers as well.
I caught his wrist and twisted it with irritation building in. How the hell did these people see that as the most natural thing?
It wasn't some ancient lawless era. It's been only 10 days since this horrid game started. How come they are so used to this that they consider it the norm?
He writhed in pain before twisting his body and freeing himself somehow.
"They're weak. The strong do whatever they want."
"...That's your answer?"
"What else do I need?"
'Sigh...'
"Fine... I did ask, right? That was my responsibility. If you don't wish to live, then that's not my concern...
...People like you," I said quietly, "I have no problem killing them."
He laughed.
"So, you're the same kind of person as us. Then for what reason are you looking down on us, you bastard?" He laughed and threw another punch at me.
However, I had enough with this guy.
I wasn't like him. I kill, yes, but never the innocent.
Never.
For reasons unknown, that made me a bit angrier.
A warm feeling enveloped my right hand as Reverse Cursed Energy surged through my broken limb.
The pain disappeared almost instantly as fractured bones knitted themselves back together beneath my skin, all that midway through me lifting my completely ruined hand against him.
Aiko's eyes widened seeing the unexpected move. It completely caught him off guard.
"What the...
Before he could react further, my restored fist buried itself squarely into his face.
"I'm nothing like you, f*cker."
Space itself seemed to ripple out at the point of contact, and then darkness flashed once again in front of me.
I didn't even need my eyes to see what happened. The feeling was very familiar. It was the black sparks that erupted around my arm.
For one perfect instant, Cursed Energy and physical impact became one.
Black Flash.
The force carried straight through him, driving his entire body into the nearby wall before the concrete exploded outward in a deafening crash.
Dust and broken masonry filled the corridor as the impact tore a massive hole through the structure, leaving sunlight pouring into the ruined hallway.
When the debris finally settled, Aiko slowly slid down the fractured wall before collapsing onto the floor.
My mind was still in the zone, and that was when I felt it.
I lowered my fist and released a long breath.
"As for why I had that cross summoned, it's because I still planned on farming powers, domain or no domain."
Pop~
"You have earned 5 points for a kill." Kogane appeared out of nowhere and announced.
The rays of the rising sun fell onto me from the large hole I had just created, casting a longer shadow behind me.
"Guess it's morning already."
.
.
.
11th of December, 2018.
Time - 5:51 AM
xXx
A/N : What ya think, cool ?
Would appreciate stones if you can spare any. Thank you.
If you want to read up to 10+ Chapters in advance, check my Patreon on
Patreon.com/Kamidemond