Nothing moved for a few seconds.
Around 30 armed men on their flying boards, Jason with his hand half raised, Balton with his smile that had just changed shape, all of them stood still staring at the figure standing in the middle of that circle of boulders.
Ash's skin was pale white like ash, and across its entire surface, from the back of his hands to his neck to his jaw, elongated cracks radiated red-orange light like embers forced out from beneath the earth.
His mouth was pulled back in a snarl, sharp fangs visible, both eyebrows drawn together toward the center with eyes that blazed with fierce anger, glowing red.
Among the dark trees at the edge of the boulders, Shiva who had already half entered the forest stopped walking. Her eyes opened wide, her breath caught.
Ash moved.
Not running, more like his body relocated, one step and he had already shot into the middle of the first group standing closest to him.
His sharpened elongated claws tore through the first man's tactical clothing from shoulder to waist, his body was instantly split apart and fell scattered with blood flooding the surroundings.
The second man tried to retreat but Ash had already turned around, one swing of his hand struck that man's chest and his body folded backward, thrown far and shattered when it hit the boulders.
"Up! Everyone up right now!" Jason shouted, his voice cutting through the stillness in the air.
The flying boards lit up simultaneously, the wind from those small engines roared together and the boulders below them trembled faintly. Within seconds everyone had already lifted off the ground, rising to a height of 5 to 6 meters, leaving Ash alone below.
"Fire! Electric pulse, all at once!" Jason turned his board to face downward, his hand pointing.
Ten rifles aimed downward nearly simultaneously. Ten blue-glowing bullets shot down, 6 striking Ash's shoulders and chest, the remaining 4 hitting his right arm.
The bullets deflected slightly several centimeters before finally Ash's body tensed hard, his feet rooted to the ground, and a long growl came from his throat like something very angry but unable to move.
The electric shock released from those bullets was enough to hold Ash temporarily. The cracks on his skin glowed brighter.
"Net! Fire the net now!" Jason called out.
Two men on the left and right sides fired the launchers in their hands, two rolls of iron net shot downward and expanded in the air before enveloping Ash's entire body.
The weight of the net pulled him to his knees, and Ash fell with one knee pressing into the ground, his hands gripping those nets and pulling but the cold metal did not break.
"Maintain electric fire! Take turns, don't stop!" Jason flew in circles above Ash's position, his eyes never leaving the movement below. "Two squads left, two squads right, keep distance and aim in rotation."
Ash raged beneath that net, his body rolling and rising halfway, but each time an electric bullet struck him his movement stopped again. The sound of metal being pulled and torn apart filled the air together with growls that grew longer.
Balton flew forward several meters, observing from a closer distance. His hand rested casually on his board's handle, his eyes moving from Ash to Jason to the people circling above, like someone watching something interesting but not yet at the best part.
In the tree, Shiva shifted her position to a higher branch, her eyes narrowing toward the figure writhing in the iron net.
Something in her chest was uneasy, not pity, but more like the feeling that something was wrong with what she was seeing. Behind all that red light and all that unreasonable strength, she sensed something different.
"Ash is dying," she murmured quietly, more to herself. "His body is burning itself from the inside."
The effect of the electric bullets began to weaken. Ash's movement that had been stopped began to return, slowly then quickly, and in one hard pull both his hands tore the iron net apart from the middle, thin pieces of metal scattered in every direction like snapped threads.
Ash stood upright, the cracks on his skin glowing brighter than before, and two red points where his eyes should be stared upward.
Then Ash leaped.
His body shot vertically at an unnatural speed, surpassing the height of those flying boards, and at the peak of his jump both his hands struck two flying boards that were closest.
Two men at once were thrown from their boards, their bodies fell spinning and slammed into the boulders below with a heavy sound, those empty boards bounced and fell farther away.
"Scatter! Don't stay at one point!" Jason shouted while sharply banking his board to the left. "Keep moving, don't give him a target he can attack!"
Everyone immediately spread out in every direction, their neat formation breaking apart into dozens of points moving irregularly. Ash landed below, his head turning to follow their movements above, then 3 electric bullets shot from three different directions and struck him again.
Ash moved.
Not standing still and taking it like before, but stepping quickly to the side, then advancing two steps, then retreating, his body kept moving without stopping, and the following shots hit empty ground or rocks behind him.
"He learns fast it seems," said Balton quietly, not to anyone in particular.
Balton reached for something standing upright at the side of his board's handle, one thick metal rod as large as an adult's arm with a flat and heavy end. His hand lifted the 30-kilogram iron bat like picking up an ordinary wooden stick, then placed it on his shoulder. "Move aside a moment, Jason."
"Commander, what are you planning, he cannot be faced with–"
"You heard me." Balton turned his board's handle and that support rod folded downward, locked in a new position so the entire upper surface of the board opened freely without obstruction.
***