Chapter Ashborn 353: Retribution

When Vir stepped onto the stage, it was not with the crippling fear over Shan’s health he’d felt prior to his trip into the Ash. Nor did he feel hot anger towards Annas for hurting his cherished friend—anger that had nearly blinded him before. To be sure, those feelings were still present, though now, they burned steadily, like a bed of coals at the back of his mind.

Mostly, what Vir felt as he faced off against Shan’s would-be assassin was determination, and the understanding that the opponent before him was but a stepping stone along the path to victory.

“Not often that two katar wielders face off against one another,” Annas said, raising his dual katars. “I’d like to say this will be a good fight, but against one so green, I have to wonder…”

His eyes traveled from Vir’s head to his boots before shaking his head in disappointment.

Vir ignored the Chitran.

Ashani’s return had instilled fresh perspective into his mind—where he had once fretted over the results of this duel, it was clear now that this was just one of the many trials that lay before him. Nor was it the hardest. The realization might’ve disheartened others, but to Vir, it brought a sense of calmness.

Even with two hands tied behind his back, Vir knew he had what it took to win.

“Cocky, aren’t we?” the kothi snarled from across the stage. “Smug looks like that are reserved for the victor, and I’m sorry to say I’m the only one who’ll be winning today.”

“Is that right?” Vir replied in an even tone. “What makes you say that?”

Annas looked at Shan, who stumbled and flopped onto his belly.

“Ignoring the sheer difference in skill between us? Your friend over there doesn’t look well. Cruel of you to make him fight in such a pitiable state. Have you had him checked out?”

Vir gave Annas a puzzled look. “The Panav healers insist there’s nothing wrong. He’s just a bit sleepy. He’ll be fine.”

Annas’ lips crept upward. “Is that right? I apologize. I must have been mistaken. For a moment, I feared he’d been poisoned by that Panav girl.”

The commentators continued to rile up the crowd, but both Vir and Annas ignored their banter.

“I appreciate the concern,” Vir replied, bowing his head lightly. “But Tara would never taint her honor with such cowardly tactics.”

Annas pursed his lips. “What do Ash Beasts care for honor? Wouldn’t you say such things are as hindrance?”

Vir looked up at the thousands of demons who cheered and booed in equal amounts. He found Cirayus sitting next to Thaman in the Bairan section. And he found a certain hooded black-haired, red-eyed goddess, seated among them. His goddess of victory. His friend.

Vir met his opponent’s—his enemy’s—stare and smiled. “I can’t say I would.”

If Annas had a reply, Vir didn’t hear it. The commentators called for the start of the match, and Vir blurred out of sight as both Haste and Blink activated.

Shan followed suit, and before Annas could react, he had not one, but two opponents bearing down on him, including an opponent he thought was out of the fight for good.

Vir had contemplated holding Shan in reserve, but decided it was too risky.

Unlike before, Vir no longer had to hide his strength. He no longer had to win by the skin of his teeth, and so, he’d chosen to utterly destroy Annas.

Shan sank his fangs into Annas’ left bicep, drawing blood. Unlike the Baira, kothis had no body strengthening magic beyond what their ape-like bodies granted them. While stronger than a normal demon, Annas was no match for an Ashfire wolf at full power.

Black prana surged out of the Shan as he chomped down.

Annas roared in pain and shock, though to his credit, maintained his stance well enough to defend against Vir’s katar with one of his own.

Yet, while his actions might have kept him in the fight, that didn’t mean Annas emerged unscathed. With Shan hanging off of his left side, he couldn’t avoid Vir’s blow entirely.

A twist of his torso sent the blow grazing his rib cage, breaking several as it passed.

Annas grunted in pain and moved to reposition, but Vir didn’t let him.

Landing on one foot, Vir sent a surge of prana into his ankle. If his prana control had been only slightly off, he’d have broken his foot.

As it was, the surgical application of prana canceled his momentum and launched him sideways—back at Annas—who clearly wasn’t expecting the blow.

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Worse, the kothi had been busy trying to pry Shan off his arm.

Sensing Vir’s attack, Shan let go at the perfect moment to throw off Annas’ balance.

Vir’s katar, augmented by Empower, Haste, and the full might of Prana Current, drove ruthlessly into the kothi’s gut.

There was just one thing that saved him.

Warlord’s Domain rippled out from the kothi’s body. At such close range, Prana Armor took the full brunt of the spell, leaving it severely depleted.

Had that been all, Vir’s attack wouldn’t even have slowed.

Annas, however, had not made it to the semifinals through luck and sabotage alone. At that exact moment, the kothi activated another Bloodline Art, and this time, Vir was powerless to avoid or block the Warlord’s Battlecry that rang out.

The art blew a hole in Prana Armor, and while the prana in the surrounding areas of the shield rushed in to close the gap, it was too late; Vir was hit with the full impact of the mental ability.

Expecting this, he had already opened the Foundation Chakra. While it did little against the prana-based Warlord’s Battlecry, it did thwart the Life Chakra attack the kothi had intermixed with the bloodline art.

He’s good, Vir thought as he felt his body weaken and falter under the spell.

Unlike Life Chakra attacks, which targeted the conscious part of the mind, Chitran mental bloodline arts seemed to attack the flesh that supported it.

As such, the body’s response to it was physiological in nature—impossible to counteract if not defended by something like Prana Armor.

Vir felt his attack’s power fade and his body go rigid, as if he’d been paralyzed with fear.

Indeed, had he been less experienced in combat, the loss of control might have sent him panicking, but he recognized the attack for what it was. It would pass in just a moment.

Unfortunately, a moment was all Annas needed to regain his balance and attack.

Vir saw the kothi’s strike in slow motion through Haste. Yet seeing an attack and being able to react to it were entirely different things. Vir saw Shan, rushing to intercept. He wouldn’t make it.

Calmly, Vir ran through his options. Blocking Annas’ strike would be foolhardy. Even with armor and a prana-strengthened body, Vir saw the coating of Earth prana on the kothi’s blade, fueled by an Aspect tattoo.

He couldn’t risk taking the strike, but he couldn’t block it either—his body was out of position to mount an effective defense.

As for dodging… The simple answer was, of course, Dance of the Shadow Demon, but to use it now, in the full view of the stadium…

It would mean kissing his chances of winning the Tournament goodbye.

Vir couldn’t risk that. Not yet.

As the tip of Annas’ blade approached, so did an idea.

Having fought with katars through the Ash, Vir was intimately familiar with the weapon’s strengths and weaknesses. The foremost of which was range.

To attack, a katar wielder had to draw close to his foe. In return for that close proximity, one was rewarded with an attack that could drive more piercing force than nearly any other weapon.

But this attack will make him vulnerable. It’ll put him close.

Vir didn’t hurl himself to the side, or move to block.

Instead, he fell.

His legs gave out, and his body collapsed to the ground… And out of the way of the incoming weapon.

Vir saw Annas’ expression of determination morph into confusion in slow motion, and as Vir rolled onto his back and kicked his legs up, he couldn’t help but smirk.

Got him.

Vir’s legs shot directly up into the kothi’s broken rib cage. The momentum from Annas’ strike forced him forward, and Vir’s prana-empowered kick shot the monkey-man off his legs and sent him sprawling through the air.

Fluidly turning his kick into a reverse somersault, Vir got to his feet and Blinked at Annas, but he was too slow.

Shan had beaten him to the punch.

The wolf rammed the falling demon—again in the chest—sending him bouncing back towards Vir like a play ball.

Shan opened his mouth, and Vir's heart nearly skipped a beat. For deep within his maw, Vir spotted the crimson-yellow of prana-fire.

Aspect of the Inferno!?

The prana built rapidly before surging out... Only to hiss and pop, dying into a few wisps of smoke that.

So close.

Vir nodded to Shan. Good effort.

Shan looked away, as if embarrassed.

The wolf was almost there. He'd no doubt Shan would master the ability soon. And then the already-terrifying wolf would become an absolute monster.

Vir couldn't wait for the day. He turned his eyes to his fallen foe.

It would be so easy to kill him now, Vir thought. A single strike of his katar would sever the kothi’s spine, ending his life instantly.

It would also get Vir disqualified, and attempted murder or not, Vir would not take the life of this Chitran.

At least, not today.

Vir made a fist with his left hand, and Empowering it with as much prana as he could, he Blinked again, closing the distance and punching the kothi’s back.

Vir could swear he heard a crack as his fist crumpled the plate metal armor that protected his opponent’s back.

Annas was thrown forward yet again, slumping to his knees.

The katars fell from his hands, and his face hit the stage.

The arena was silent.

Vir approached the demon slowly, refusing to let his guard down. Against a foe who used poison, no amount of caution was enough.

Placing a foot on Annas’ back, Vir brought his katar to his neck.

There was no admission of loss. No pained whimpers of defeat.

Annas had fallen unconscious.

The commentator was the first to break the silence.

“Winnnnerrrrrrr! Vaaaaak of the Aaaash!”

The arena erupted in noise, and for the first time in his fights, the applause drowned out the booing, but Vir didn’t yet address them.

Instead, he kneeled next to Annas’ ear.

“What’s this!? Is Vaak paying respects to his opponent! What a stunning display of sportsmanship! Truly a gracious winner, Nakin.”

“Absolutely, Samik. It’s rare to see anything like this in the tournament. Let alone from a newcomer.”

Vir’s lips drew taut. It was a good thing no one would hear his next words, because he was about to let them down.

“The next time we meet,” Vir whispered, “it will be on a battlefield where no poison or trickery can save you. So pray that we do not soon meet again. For when we do, I swear to Adinat himself, I will end you.”

Vir didn’t know if the Chitran heard him, and he didn’t rightly care. He stepped off his vanquished foe and raised his katar to the crowd.

“The victor greets the crowwwwwd!” A commentator said. “And what’s this? The Ravager is rising from his seat! Does the legendary champion recognize this young upstart?”

“Well, Samik, we know these two have quite a close relationship. Nobody knows for sure what that is, but I’d bet good coin that the Ravager has groomed Vaak personally.”

The cheering redoubled, but Vir didn’t care about that. His eyes found a certain four-armed giant, who stared back with his undivided attention, blazing with the full might of his Crown Chakra aura. For the first time, Cirayus regarded Vir not as a doting godfather, or as a mentor, but as the Ravager. As an opponent.

The greatest challenge of Vir’s life was about to begin. The fight that would alter the future of the demon realm was upon him.

Vir smiled up at the Ravager. The Ravager smiled back, as they shared the same thought.

This is going to be fun.