The result? He could in theory…finally pursue far higher levels of the Kaioken or perhaps control the rampaging energy in his berserk state. The only thing holding back at this point in time was his proficiency in the technique.
[This is good enough. I'll keep practici---?!?!]
"RISE AND SHINE!!!"
"[BOOST!]"
BOOOOM!
.
|DxD|
.
Atid and Nandi were in the middle of the lake where Igor was. Atid stood on the surface with his arms crossed while Nandi hovered above. A small illusory barrier covered Igor unknowingly.
"He's been meditating like this for the past three days. I have set up a small barrier around him which isolates him from the outside world. We can perceive him, but as far as he's concerned, he's alone."
Nandi calmly observed Igor's changes whilst explaining what was happening to Atid.
"This is a technique he's practicing and would complement his Kaioken very well. I'm sure with your keen senses, you can understand what I mean, yes?"
"I do…"
Atid was transfixed at the sight of the red aura surrounding Igor. The flow of energy was smooth…unnaturally smooth. This was close to, if not comparable to Ddraig helping him channel the energy from boosting.
[I can't sense the influence of Trihexa, partner. This is all his own doing.]
"..."
This was something he'd never seen before. It almost made him feel a bit envious.
"Hehe. This monster…"
"Monstrous indeed. But this result was not without effort, young Atid."
Nandi gave him a sideways glance.
"I trust this little sight won't cloud you."
Atid shook his head.
"No need to worry about me. I've grown from that incident."
That humiliating defeat, one that immensely lowered his standing with his father's army was something he could not and would never forget. He was beaten thoroughly and took his loss so pathetically that most elders lost their faith in him.
Losing was a part of life, but refusing to acknowledge a loss was something worthy of disdain.
"Hohoho~. My mistake. You have indeed grown since then. Please accept my humblest apologies for my forward assumptions."
Nandi's slight bow unnerved Atid a bit. He couldn't sense the man's strength, but he knew he was strong. It took some effort on his part to maintain his composure.
"There's no need to apologize. I understand your worries."
"Splendid then! Young Dimori should be done very soon so I'd like for you to spar with him. My conservative estimate is he's using the thirtieth multiplier. Please adjust your strength around that level and adapt as needed."
Shiiing~
The Boosted Gear Gauntlet spread across Atid's entire left arm.
"[BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]"
For the first time since appearing, a small but very malicious smile formed on his face.
"Don't worry, Nandi. I'll make sure to complete this task successfully."
"Wonderful~."
Nandi tapped his staff on the ground and a giant translucent barrier covered the lake.
"Then I leave everything at your discretion. Feel free to start at any moment."
Nandi maintained a small smile throughout this whole moment. What was going through his head, nobody could tell.
[Try to survive, young Dimori. Atid's strength has soared to surprisingly high margins.]
.
|DxD|
.
War and training---for the past three years, those two things had become a staple of his life. Atid had grown up as the only son and heir of Indra. He was this generation's Red Dragon Emperor and was part of the Hindu, one of the strongest Pantheons in the supernatural world.
Since birth, only the best was available to him, which had slowly made him complacent. He was stronger than most at a very young age. No one in the younger generation could rival him…until Sun Wukong brought in some blonde with a rotten mouth.
The years after that forced him to play catch-up. He'd always make excuses for his weakness, always quoting how Igor had a time chamber and he didn't.
It was convenient. He had a reason to not give his best…until Igor's strength reached concerning levels---the power that shook the world…and brought him to rock-bottom.
Atid would never forget that golden gaze looking down upon him in disappointment. He would never forget the silence at his defeat nor his father's dissatisfied look.
War and training---to regain the honour he so callously lost that day, he finally took his title as heir with the utmost seriousness and fulfilled his obligations as required.
He trained himself to the brink of death, healed, and repeated the process again. He actively sought guidance from all his elders and submitted himself to learning and mastering as much as he could. Techniques he deemed useless were studied with renewed focus and skills he neglected were retrained once more.
Three years of hard work have pushed him beyond High-God Class and finally cemented him into the realm of Low-Supreme Class. He'd formally become part of the strongest individuals in the world at less than twenty years of age---and that is where the crux of the matter was.
Atid was a teenager with a deep-seated rivalry with a certain blonde. He did not possess centuries of life experience like his peers in strength. As such…
Su!
…he did not possess the capability to let go of the past.
"RISE AND SHINE!!!"
"[BOOST!]"
BOOOM!
.
|DxD|
.
Atid did not consider himself to be a sadist. He was no stranger to killing and sometimes, circumstances forced him to be rather brutal. But, he would admit with absolute glee at how he satisfied he was…
*Crunch!*
…when he heard the sound of Igor's ribs being shattered by his fist.
SUUUUUuuuuuu…Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!
Igor was sent skidding across the lake's surface like a pebble. Spittles of blood trailed behind him and littered the waters. The punch and the resulting inertia was so much that for a moment, he was sent into unconsciousness…but that was for a moment.
*Opens Eyes!*
Igor ignored the pain in his chest and backflipped so as to hit the waters with his feet instead of his back.
KUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuu…
A great parting of the waters occurred the moment he skidded across the surface. His figure was hidden by the rising walls of waves and vapour.
Atid didn't give chase. To be accurate, he couldn't anymore. Igor's counter-attack came too suddenly. A multitude of red ki blasts swiftly burst through the mist towards him. There were only a few dozen, but not only were they fast, they also had a lot of power behind them.
"[BOOST!]"
"Absorb."
He didn't panic. A large golden magic circle formed in front of his stretched hand and all the ki blasts disappeared harmlessly into this circle. It was a shame he couldn't absorb Igor's ki. It was just too incompatible with his body.
"Glad to see you haven't lost your awareness, brother."
His words were spoken softly and more-so to himself, but Nandi heard them.
"Just like you, he didn't neglect his training, Young Atid."
"..."
Indeed, he didn't. As the lake calmed, Igor's blurry figure was slowly revealed. His strength had skyrocketed, but his aura remained calm…ominously so. In fact, his energy signature seemed to be weaker.
[Nature energy, huh? Let's show him the results of our training, Ddraig.]
[On it, partner!]
"[CRIMSON THUNDER DRIVE!]"
.
|DxD|
.
A fierce battle between two proven titans occurred. It was one of perception versus speed. The combination of the Kaioken and nature energy gave Igor a 300x boost in strength, one Atid quickly matched.
"[ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND!]"
Atid was fast. The sleek form of his current state allowed him to use his maximum speed and blitz around his rival. The six jet-like wings on his back were equipped with powerful thrusters that allowed instantaneous movement. His tail allowed him to twist and turn on a dime, giving him unparalleled agility.
Tswii!
What allowed Igor to combat such a speedy opponent were his reaction speed and perception. He could preemptively block an attack before it fully formed. His perception alone could almost be equated to future prediction.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Instant Transmission was something Igor rigorously improved upon. Previously, it was predictable and in a combat situation, took too long to utilise. Now, his senses were so good he no longer needed to lock-on to the person and it could almost be activated with the same speed as the Instant Vanishing technique.
"[ASCEND!]"
Tswii!
These boys had such perfect counters and adaptions to the other's combat capabilities and techniques that it made for an interesting match. Atid wielded two daggers and utilised his speed to slice apart the blonde.
Igor didn't fear the bladed edges, but that didn't mean he was blind. He could smell the poison on those daggers and that forced him into a somewhat passive position. He continuously dodged Atid's blows while waiting for an opportunity to strike back.
WHUUUUU!
The waters split into towering walls. The force from their fight made it impossible for the lake to calm. The two boys skated the surface, sometimes even fighting below the surface.
Igor's eyes were always calm in the face of Atid's relentless attacks. He rarely sought to use the Instant Transmission…because he was studying his rival. No matter how good a fighter is, their core tendencies would always show.
Atid had trained himself to be ambidextrous, a master of both hands, but he still favoured his left hand more in strikes. The optimal amount of stacked boosts he could hold at a time are three for two seconds. Any more and the duration not only decreases, but more energy from each boost is lost to thin air.
It was an unavoidable consequence. The stronger he got, the less number of boosts he could stack efficiently. This worked in Igor's favour. He was more stable than an old dog.
Gu!
A perfectly timed descending elbow to the top of the head sent Atid falling from the skies to the lake below. He'd left himself wide open with a slash, allowing Igor to take an advantage.
SUUUUuuu
His limp form shot downwards, but Atid quickly recovered and activated his thrusters.
Pshhhuuaaaa!
He flew back just in time to avoid an aura blade that would've pierced his stomach. The aura blade penetrated deep into the water, causing a minor explosion to ensue.
"[ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND!]"
The daggers in his hand were swapped for a sword and shield. He charged towards Igor in a zigzag pattern, avoiding and blocking the ki blasts sent his way.
Igor remained calm in midair. He didn't overly rely on predicting Atid's trajectory, but monitored the energy in his body. The boosts were still going strong so he needed to maintain some distance while harassing him with long-range tactics.
Tswii!
In the past, Igor would consider doing something like this tedious. His absurd regenerative capabilities allowed him to charge head on and trade blow for blow, but Atid's willingness to use poison made him cautious.
Close, mid, and long-range---he needed to test Atid's response on all fronts. He needed a weakness to exploit, one blow to finish all things. He had no problem trading injury for injury as long as he won.
[Chance!]
Tswii!
Perhaps it was because Atid was a bit too energetic, but Igor quickly capitalised on the moment his rival showed signs of losing focus. This test of patience---he'd won it--
"?!?!"
Something completely unexpected just happened. Igor was fully ready to execute a falling heel kick until suddenly, a clone of his friend formed above with a warhammer mid-swing.
There were only two choices. Abandon his attack or press on and trade injury for injury. For Igor, the choice was obvious.
BOOOOM!
.
|DxD|
.
*Cough!* *Cough!* *Cough*
Igor knelt on the water's surface. He coughed out blood and stained the lake's surface. His body was in a miserable condition, but his aura was still strong.
On the other side, Atid was struggling to get up. The kick to his head smashed his neck in and completely broke the bones within. A normal person would die from such an attack, but his tenacious vitality kept him alive long enough to slowly heal himself.
The seconds trickled by as each boy sought to recover. Kilometres separated them, but it was no different from a metre to warriors of their calibre. The one who could recover first would have the advantage.
*Crunch*…*Crack*…*Crack*
Igor slowly stood up straight whilst his body healed from the bone-crushing blow. His chest, caved in from the clone's hammer slowly straightened out.
"Tch. The blow was harder than anticipated."
Before being hit, he observed how Atid's energy was drained immensely during the creation of that clone. At least 80% of it was taken away. While some of it returned, it could be estimated such a move could only be used as a last resort.
*Cough!*
He wiped the blood from his lips and at the same time, slowly absorbed more nature energy into his body. Going into his Demigod State or even increasing his Kaioken multiplier was impossible for his current proficiency of the meditation technique. It required significant effort just keeping his current level active.*
"Continue?"
Igor spoke softly, but he knew his friend heard him. Atid sported a bloody grin as he also stood up.
"Of course."
"[ASCEND!]"
"..."
Veins bulged across Igor's arms. The aura around him slowly began to surge and caused the waters beneath him to churn.
"Fine then."
He suddenly lifted both his arms and instantly, two large fast-spinning crimson discs of energy formed atop his palms.
Zuzuzuzuzuzuzuzuzuzuzuzuzuzuzu!
"Huhp!"
He jumped up in a feat of acrobatics and flung them forward.
SUUUUUU!
The twin discs quickly expanded from the size of a plate to an entire dinner table. Their speed left a trail of parted waves and instantly reached Atid.
[When did this idiot bootleg the Destructo Disk?]
[Now's not the time for jokes, partner! DODGE!]
[Way ahead of you.]
Atid never thought of blocking them, never mind absorb them. The edges of those discs would cut apart his magic circle before the energy could be absorbed.
Su!
Dodging those two was easy, but he had bigger trouble to face. All of a sudden, a large amount of miniature discs were coming his way.
[Get ready, partner!]
"Don't need to tell me twice!"
"[ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND!]"
Psshhhhuuuuu!
The six thrusters on his back flamed to life. Atid used the greatly enhanced speed and maneuverability of his form to dodge.
On the other side of the lake, Igor continued to release multiple energy discs in a continuous barrage. He was forcing him into a completely passive position.
He no longer dared to easily engage Atid head-on. His ability to summon a clone, no matter how energy draining it might be was troublesome. His rival demonstrated his close-combat superiority and Igor could respect that. On the other hand, Atid was weak when it came to long-range attacks so restraining him from afar was the most optimal choice in the current narrative.
[Opportunity!]
Instantaneous Transmission, a core technique Igor worked hard to master. His sensory capabilities, especially when enhanced with nature energy, allowed him to instantly anchor himself to anything large enough that has energy.
After three years of training, that scope expanded to something as small as a drop of water.
Tswii!
This seemingly insignificant benefit got rid of one glaring weakness in the technique's combat capability---he no longer needed to use the opponent as an anchor point.
Zuuuuuuu!
Igor appeared above Atid with a crimson aura blade extending from his hand. It was wishful thinking to believe he could defeat his friend from afar. Only a decisive blow could seal his victory. His goal was simple---bisect Atid in half.
SHIIING!
.
|DxD|
.
A few moments earlier…
.
Atid couldn't believe this. Conjuring multiple energy discs and fine-tuning their cutting power was not something that could be done in an instant. It's one thing to crush a ball of clay into a ball, but making it into a disc thinner than a sheet of paper was something different.
[Even ludicrous ki-control can't achieve this instantly.]
A completely unexpected miniature disc slowed him down enough that he was forced to block the rest with his summoned shield, but he knew he was no different from a sitting duck at this point. His current form was configured for speed, not defence.
Atid had fought Igor way too many times to know his rival loved attacking from the ba---
[Above you, partner!]
Vwong!
A golden magic circle flashed above him before it solidified into a large bronze shield. It was a defence he could use to buy time for his ultimate technique.
CLANG!
Igor's blade collided with the shield. Atid took advantage of this delay to boost himself.
[ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND! ASCEND!]
[I am one with the world.]
WHUUuuuuuuu…
The world ground to a halt. The colours faded and numerous little matrix lines littered the horizon. The multitude of energy discs halted in their tracks and the aura blade that nearly broke through his shield stoppe--
"What?!"
This…this was impossible. In this unique space where time is halted, everything else would appear non-moving. Even particles of light would appear frozen. Yet Igor's blade…continued to descend. It moved slower than a snail's pace, but it was moving.
What was more shocking however, was Igor's imperceptible smile.
{Surprised?}
.
AN
.
[1] He wiped the blood from his lips and at the same time, slowly absorbed more nature energy into his body. Going into his Demigod State or even increasing his Kaioken multiplier was impossible for his current proficiency of the meditation technique. It required significant effort just keeping his current level active.*
Explanation: This confused me but I understand it like this. This technique was compared to telekinetic control. So I'm assuming Igor only has enough "telekinetic powers" or proficiency to use the 30x Kaioken with the technique. Anymore and he wouldn't be able to control his ki, potentially causing the technique to backfire.
Thanks for reading and until the next chapter.