Chapter 16: The Balekon

Declan stood in front of the door that led to the Headmaster's office, it is in there that his target Lord Arsenon Regnum was currently having a courtesy call from the Headmaster himself.

Declan despised assassination jobs, he believed that it is a cowardly way of disposing ones enemies. He preferred fighting face to face, as to show respect to your opponents.

He closed his eyes and smiled inwardly, anticipating the battle that was about to happen, he just hoped that this man would live up to the reputation he had heard. Finally, the angel issued his challenge.

"LORD ARSENON REGNUM, COME OUT! YOUR DEATH IS AT HAND!"

Declan raised his right knee towards his chest, then with a snap, thrust his right foot forward while shifting his weight on his hips for added power, hitting the door with a resounding crash.

The heavy wooden door, banded with steel, was completely destroyed by the force of his kick. When the dust settled, Declan finally saw his target, still inside the office but already on his guard.

"Looks like you are a big one… I sure hope you would provide me with more entertainment that that orc I killed…" the angel smugly declared.

Lord Ars Regnum did not reply to the taunting of the angel, instead, he began to assess his bat-winged foe, a being he had never seen before.

The gold eyes suggest an angel, but the bat wings don't make any sense at all, confusing the large man.

He was facing a very dangerous opponent, he was very sure of that. Even without the skill of sense, he can definitely feel the malice creeping up and giving him a cold chill on his spine.

But it takes more than that to intimidate a man like Arsenon Regnum, they don't call him the Red Lightning for nothing.

A huge man, standing at six foot four inches tall, and weighing two hundred sixty pounds of pure muscle, he was indeed a behemoth of a man, with long reddish brown hair framing his well chiseled face and sporting a mustache that connects into mutton chop sideburns.

"I don't know who you are, friend… I do not even recall if I had ever slighted you. Why would you want to kill someone who has done you no wrong?" Lord Regnum reasoned to the angel, avoiding trouble if he could.

"It doesn't matter, I was tasked by the master to get rid of you, so I will... but nothing personal though, only business"

Faster than anything that Lord Regnum had ever seen in his life, the angel was already in front of him before he even realized it moved, a sharp roundhouse kick flying towards his face. Superb reflexes were the only thing that saved Ars' life that time, as he was able to quickly duck the angel's blow by a hair's breadth.

He used this opportunity to rise, tackle and drag Declan forward with a powerful force before throwing him off, causing the angel to backtrack outside the Headmaster's office.

Lord Regnum then calmly followed the angel outside, in his mind, he was thinking that an open field seemed more advantageous to him, since he controled many powerful lightning spells.

"You… Surely I heard you say that your target is me, right?" The mighty Lord asked the angel.

"Yes only you" Declan replied

Then Lord Regnum calmly took off his heavy black coat and tossed it aside. He then folded the sleeves of his shirt.

"Then you wouldn't mind letting these people behind me go, since they have nothing to do with me right?" Ars pointed his finger towards the Headmaster and the faculty of the school who were standing still, unable to move due to fear.

"Of course they can go. I have no business with them." The angel nodded in agreement. "This fight doesn't concern others. This is between the hunter and the prey."

The Headmaster and the faculty took this chance to run as far away from the conflict as possible. Miss Anne and the other teachers then proceeded to go to the school buildings to get their students to safety, not knowing the danger that awaits them in the form of a green slime.

"Now that there are no longer innocent people near us, Lord Regnum, you no longer have to hold yourself back." Declan stated with confidence.

Ars Regnum well knows that this was a fight to the death, he will go all out like there is no tomorrow, knowing that if he loses this fight, his son would be all alone, and that is unacceptable.

He took a small round cord from his pocket, then used it to tie his hair in a ponytail keeping all of it away from his eyes, so as to not hinder his vision.

With speed as quick as lightning, Ars started his assault, closing the distance between him and the angel in a split second, he then formed a ball of red lightning in the palm of his right hand and activated the spell.

"Lightning control MAGIC; Spark Blood Disaster!"

He slammed it down on the angel's side. The ball of red lightning enveloped the angel's whole body and electrocuted him with a thousand volts, enough to melt even the largest Rock Ogre.

Delcan may be an angel and angels are far above Rock Ogres but the pain he felt was not something to just power through, and Deck finally understood why his master gave him the slime as back up.

"That was no ordinary spell… the level of control can only be possible if you are... a Balekon… So am I right?" Declan, who is still grimacing from the pain, asked.

"I see that you know about my rank… But it is unfair that you know everything about me, but I hardly know anything about you." Lord Ars replied.

"Very well… I guess it is just proper to introduce myself to you." Declan tried to hide the pain as he started to straighten up. He immediately felt a stabbing pain shooting up from the side of his body. He fought hard to keep his composure steady and tried to show his opponent that his attack earlier did not hurt him one bit.

"I am Declan, The Black Death, I am an angel sent to kill you." He finished with a bow.

"Now that our pleasantries are over, shall we start to get serious then?" Declan said with a growing smile on his face.

"Oh, absolutely!" Ars replied as he cracked his knuckles to loosen the joints.

The two warriors then launched themselves at each other; speed versus speed. Declan threw a heavy hook, which Ars successfully blocked.

Ars countered with a right hook while his large fist is coated with red lightning.

The angel quickly parried the punch with his hand by using Ars' own momentum to make the attack miss.

The Balekon, missing his target as his punch landed on the hard ground just next to Declan. But instead of pulling back his hand, he drove his fist deeper to the ground, surprising the angel.

"Lighting control MAGIC; Thunder Clap!"

The ground then erupted into a small earthquake that was laced with electricity, electrocuting and this time disorienting the angel.

Ars saw the huge opening in his opponents defenses, he quickly took advantage by pressing his attack, throwing a left hook at the angel's face and grabbing the neck of the angel's tunic with his right. With a fist covered with bolts of reddish electricity, he released a series of blows right at Declan's face.

A resounding crack was heard a few moments later, causing blood to splatter all over the ground as Ars continuously pummeled Declan's face causing the Balekon's own fist to be covered with angelic blood.

Declan finally got his bearings back and with all his strength, he pried himself free from the Balekon's vice-like grip.

The angel leaped away from the Balekon to regroup his thoughts. His face was a bloody mess... not only did his body take a serious beating but his ego got fractured as well. Gritting his teeth with rage, the angel decided to go all out at one hundred percent. His claws started to grow and his eyes glowed in a pale golden color.

Declan moved faster this time. At full power, the angel's motions were like a blur of light. Heading towards Ars with the intent of ripping his still-beating heart out. He dragged his claw to those massive pectorals of his enemy, but the Balekon, intercepted his claw, slapping it to the outside. Declan then used the momentum to complete a one hundred eighty degree turn and winded up his other claw preparing for an upper.

He slashed with his claws in an upward direction, Ars side-stepped, completely avoiding the attack. Declan's claw wasn't even finished reaching its arc when he quickly pivoted and delivered a spinning side kick to Ars' direction.

Ars ducked underneath the kick, then created a condensed ball of electrical energy and threw it towards the angel, activating the spell.

"Lightning control Magic; Thunder Discharge!"

*BOOM!!!*

The explosion from the spell caused a small shockwave.

The attack however missed Declan, and the angel used this unexpected opening to throw another spinning side kick.

The Balekon anticipated the counter and activated his defense spell.

"Lightning control MAGIC; Static Shield"

The Angel's foot connected to the barrier, unable to reach its intended target. The setback however didn't faze Declan, instead, he increased the ferocity of his attack, he slashed and punched at the shield with such force and power, that small cracks slowly started to form on the static shield.

A smile formed on the angel's lips as he felt that his attacks would soon destroy the annoying barrier. In a surprising move, Lord Regnum suddenly dispelled his shield just as Declan was winding up his right arm for a haymaker.

Ars Regnum had been waiting for that move all along, he observed that the angel always winds up before attacking at full strength, and is very open for a counter... seeing the opening, Ars made his move.

Declan had already shifted his weight on his left hip, ready to deliver a right haymaker, when suddenly, out of nowhere, his arm was caught by the mighty Balekon. Ars then, with his other hand, grabbed the angel's other arm in a tight grip.

The helpless angel could only look at Ars confused, as the Balekon tilted his head backwards then delivered a devastating headbutt to the angel's face.

A sickening CRUNCH was heard as Ars' forehead slammed with such ferocity into the angel's nose which just healed from the previous fight with the orc shaman, breaking it once again.

Declan slumped to the ground kneeling... his arms limply hanging at his sides as Ars finally released his vice-like grip.

Standing straight and tall, electricity cracking and dancing all over his body, making him glow in a soft reddish light, Lord Ars Regnum looked down on his fallen foe.

"Is that all you got? How disappointing…"

The angel had finally tasted the strength of a Balekon, he hadn't even landed a single blow.

"Defeat really tastes like shit…" a bloody Declan weakly muttered.

……………………………

A katana appeared in Chitose's right hand, wisps of white smoke swirling around the curved blade like ghosts. Claire's eyes widened in astonishment at the spectacle. Chitose was beaming, she was clearly very proud and excited to show off her new abilities.

Turning to the slime's direction, she then called her panicking classmates

"Quickly everyone! Claire has created a bridge by the window. Hurry and escape through there!"

Her classmates then rushed to the window, desperate to escape this green gob of death.

The slime started to grow larger after digesting Bong, its constitution also started to change into the element it was born from. Sharp spikes started to appear all over its body, then from its sides, appendages started to grow.

Before the slime got a chance to further evolve, Chitose started to move, she ran towards the slime with the intent of slashing it with her sword, when she noticed that she was moving way too fast, overshooting her target.

She instead slashed the corridor walls, pulverizing it.

"Whoa!" A stunned Chitose gasped, surprised at how fast and strong she suddenly became. She then remembered what Hunai was babbling earlier.

"Maybe she was telling me what my skills are…"

*POP*

"Right you are, big sis!" Hunai confirmed, appearing suddenly.

"B-big sis?!" A confused Chitose asked in shock.

Hunai just smiled sweetly, then she pointed towards Chitose's back. Chitose turned around and saw the slime had shot its sharp appendages towards her, intent to impale her.

Chitose then dived to the side, avoiding the spiked appendages by an inch or two. She then planted her foot firmly to the floor and leaped over the appendages and twisted her body upside down in mid-air as she slashed the appendages, cutting them off the body of the green slime.

Just at that moment, Tusk arrived and was shocked by the chaos that greeted him. He was at the first floor when the slime started attacking the students, seeing that there were no teachers in sight, he took the initiative to organise the younger students to evacuate the building into safety.

It was the first time that he saw Chitose since the accident, he has heard the rumours, but seeing her in the flesh was truly something different entirely. She was already quite quick when she was still fat, but now, she seems to almost glide.

Tusk was stunned once again, but this time he was mesmerized instead of horrified.

After cutting down the green slime's appendages, Chitose rushed towards the slime itself, she could feel the rush of air pass her face, as she moved with speed a hundred times faster than what she was capable of.

She felt the strength of her arms as it gripped the katana comfortably like it had always belonged to her, the sword suddenly glowed much brighter, as the light it emitted started to pulse with life.

Her mind suddenly went blank, and like a cascading waterfall, the knowledge of weilding a sword from her ancestor Sinante Bluewing flowed through her… one final gift from the High Balekon.

She closed her eyes and positioned the katana at her side in an iaido stance...

Her mana expansion skill gave her a better vision… a more vivid picture of her surroundings than her own two eyes ever could... locking her target with pinpoint accuracy. Chitose launched herself forward to the direction of the slime. Then as she glided nearer within slashing range, she drew her katana quicker than the eyes could see.

"KIRI TSUKE!"

She shouted, cutting the green slime diagonally into two halves, destroying the core within it that acted as its heart.

A green essence slowly rose from the destroyed core of the slime floating up in the air. Chitose felt a sudden hunger emanating from her sword, it started to glow once more, but this time the light had a greenish hue, the green orb from the vanquished slime was being sucked into the katana.

Hunai once again with a blank stare started to talk to Chitose

Light Katana Level Two:

A weapon from the native land of the original mana bearer, extremely sharp and durable.

Bonus skill:
Heat absorption, heat recoil.
Corrosion

Chitose then looked at the katana more closely, observing it. It now has a faint greenish hue mixed with the white wisps swirling around.

Lyn and Claire came running, then joined her after they ushered the last of their classmates (Bret) out of the window and into safety. They were relieved that Chitose wasn't harmed in any way.

Even Claire... her anger from earlier was completely forgotten for now, and hugged her friend in relief.

*BOOM!!!*

The friends were suddenly alarmed by the loud explosion coming from the school quadrangle. They quickly looked at the window facing the area.

Tusk saw that his father was fighting someone with bat-like wings... worried, he started to go down the stairs towards his father.

"Tusk wait! It's too dangerous!" Lyn shouted as she tried to grab Tusk's hands to stop him from running, but she failed to catch him.

Chitose tried to run after him, but she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her right ankle. It looked like she must have twisted and sprained it when she dodged the slime's appendages earlier.

Claire caught her friend before she fell to the floor, and supported Chitose by letting her put her arms around her shoulders.

"Are you okay Chi? Does it hurt much?" Claire inquired with genuine concern.

Chitose just nodded, grimacing in pain.

Running as fast as he could, Tusk started to cross the distance between him and his father.
…………………………

Lord Ars Regnum was about to finish Declan off, when his eyes strayed past the back of the kneeling angel and saw his son Tusk running towards him in great haste.

The angel who sensed the hesitation of his enemy, quickly made his move.

He grabbed a fistfull of dust from the ground and threw it at the distracted Balekon's eyes, temporarily blinding him. It was just a split second, but that was enough time for Declan.

With great force, he launched himself high up in the air and made his exit as quickly as possible, escaping certain doom.

The angel vowed that he will be coming back for another round with the Balekon.

Wiping the dust from his eyes, Lord Regnum missed his chance to destroy his opponent. He wasn't very worried about it though... What is important right now is that his son seems to be safe and unhurt, and that is the only thing that mattered to a father.

…………………………….

Outside the gate of Triplance, the local guards were happily welcoming two beautiful ladies as they entered the town.

Tara and Silma have finally reached Triplance.

"Let's head that way baby girl!" Tara told Silma pointing to the direction of Holden Estate.




© BugiAvila