Chapter 865: Kid
Khan felt killing intent rising inside his mind. He could sense Lieutenant Dyester's good intentions, but that didn't change how he experienced his actions. Attacking Khan was a major crime, especially when his mental state was awful.
"Master Carl!" Abraham called, but it was already too late. Khan gently pushed Monica forward, freeing his legs and standing up. A bottle was safe in his hand, and he lifted it to his mouth before his figure disappeared.
Lieutenant Dyester became unable to breathe. The world in his eyes spun, transforming multiple times in the span of a second. Suddenly, everything stabilized, and his nostrils resumed inhaling air, allowing him to notice his new surroundings.
Lieutenant Dyester found himself outside the cave, facing its entrance. He was still standing, but the action soon demanded his full attention. His balance was completely off, and his mind needed a few seconds to restore it.
The cave's entrance wasn't the only detail in Lieutenant Dyester's vision. Khan stood before him, calmly sipping his booze. He looked utterly calm, almost bored, but his presence was as intense as ever.
"For the record," Khan announced while lowering the bottle. "I could have killed you."
Lieutenant Dyester didn't try to question that statement. Actually, his brain barely recorded it since terrifying thoughts filled it. He understood that Khan had dragged him outside the cave but couldn't comprehend how. Lieutenant Dyester didn't even know if he had been pushed or pulled and from where.
Also, being the target of Khan's aura gave birth to another reevaluation. Lieutenant Dyester believed he had become used to Khan's heavy presence, but that idea fell apart now. Things hit way differently when Khan pointed his intensity at him.
Lieutenant Dyester was an experienced warrior. Some would even call him a war hero. He had faced fellow soldiers, monsters, and beast-like species like the Kred. He could evaluate fighters better than most specialists, and what he saw in Khan made his most primitive instincts scream in fear.
Khan was no human. He wasn't even a beast or a monster. The very world shook and creaked under his pressure, putting him closer to a force of nature. Khan was a terrifying natural phenomenon, a walking catastrophe ready to blow up.
Nevertheless, Lieutenant Dyester steeled his resolve. His sense of duty was stronger than his instinctive fear, and he would gladly forsake his life to fulfill it. That was his role and responsibility.
"We haven't done this in a while," Lieutenant Dyester exclaimed, feigning confidence. "Do you think you can handle your old Master?"
Khan didn't reply. He saw through Lieutenant Dyester's pretense but also noticed his resolve. The man was ready to give his everything, which wasn't much in his eyes. A fourth-level warrior wasn't a threat Khan could take seriously.
Lieutenant Dyester understood Khan's reasoning and lifted his arms, joining his hands above his head. Scarlet flames promptly enveloped them, releasing a torrent of fiery bullets.
The bullets flew everywhere before curving mid-air, adjusting their trajectory to converge on Khan. Flames surrounded him, only leaving the path behind him as an escape route. Yet, Khan had no intention of dodging.
A purple-red halo overwhelmed the scarlet light. Waves of violent mana flowed around Khan, clearing his surroundings and expanding. His energy devoured the incoming attacks, leaving deep marks on the ground.
Once the violent mana dispersed, Khan checked his surroundings, studying colors only he could see. The spell had been decent but nothing noteworthy to him.
"I guess we are doing this," Khan sighed, lifting the bottle to his mouth again while removing the red cape and throwing it aside. He didn't believe Lieutenant Dyester could hurt him, but ruining the Thilku garment would only add another annoying task to his already packed schedule.
As good as Lieutenant Dyester's intentions were, Khan's blatant disrespect started getting to his head. The man lowered his arms, his hands still joined as he stretched two fingers to release a fireball.
The fiery sphere expanded and accelerated while flying toward Khan. Flares even escaped its unstable surface until the crash happened. Small flames shot everywhere, but Lieutenant Dyester only saw a replica of the previous exchange.
The flames' dispersion revealed Khan's stretched arm. Black blood vessels retreated in his open palm, showing the complete absence of injuries. The attack didn't even burn him, but he added insult to injury.
Khan didn't lower the bottle during the exchange, and Lieutenant Dyester could only watch as he emptied it. Khan threw it away, lowering his arm before focusing on his old Master. He was untouched and wanted Lieutenant Dyester to know it.
"Is this the best that the Butcher of Istrone can do?" Khan asked. "Did I waste my resources on you?"
"Brat," Lieutenant Dyester muttered, a smirk forming on his face.
By then, Abraham and Monica had reached the cave's entrance. They saw the stand-off, and Abraham almost called Lieutenant Dyester, planning to make him reconsider that approach. However, Monica stopped him by grabbing his arm.
"Let them do this," Monica requested. "They both need it."
Lieutenant Dyester didn't care about the newcomers. He waved his arms, sending two tongues of flames forward. The attack adhered to the ground, burning it and rising, creating two fiery walls that converged on Khan.
Khan lifted his arm, releasing the conical version of the Wave spell. His mana devoured the flames, clearing the area and revealing a second attack. Lieutenant Dyester had joined his hands above his head again, unleashing the fiery rain.
Violent waves of mana enveloped Khan, protecting him from the falling bullets, but his offensive didn't stop there. Whilst his energy devoured the flames, tens of needles formed above the battlefield before falling toward Lieutenant Dyester.
Lieutenant Dyester shouted, releasing a spherical heat wave that crashed on the falling spells. The needles pierced the attack, but the kinetic energy it carried destabilized their fabric, detonating them in mid-air.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Dyester stretched his arm, his hands pretending to be guns that he fired at Khan. Multiple bullets shot forward faster than anything previously released. Their individual power wasn't threatening, but the man never stopped shooting.
The bullets crashed on Khan, unleashing fiery explosions that expanded as more of them reached their target. Soon, Khan's figure disappeared, engulfed into an uneven mass of raging
flames.
The flames dispersed on their own, revealing a fuming humanoid shape. Khan's bone armor and pelts had charred holes, and pieces of both fell from him. However, the skin underneath remained untouched.
"Did you catch that?" Lieutenant Dyester laughed, pointing at the sky. "You can conjure all the spells you want. They'll be useless if they can't reach their target."
Lieutenant Dyester had a point. That was the first time someone had countered Khan's ability to surround his enemies with spells like that. He had exploited the chaos element's innate instability to force its preemptive detonation.
Of course, that had been possible only because Khan had given Lieutenant Dyester enough room to unleash that countermeasure, and the latter knew it. Lieutenant Dyester had noticed that Khan wasn't using his speed. Actually, he had yet to leave his initial spot. "You think of yourself all high and mighty," Lieutenant Dyester continued, "But I know the truth. Deep down, you are just a kid too scared of crossing the line."
Lieutenant Dyester knew his words had hit the mark when the air around him grew colder, seemingly freezing. He had pushed Khan's buttons, triggering what only his worst enemies
had seen.
"Me?" Khan asked, his bright eyes wide. "Afraid of crossing the line?"
Khan took one step forward, and cracks opened around his foot. A slight tremor also invaded the area, hinting at underground movement. Something had collapsed, but the surface seemed able to handle it for now.
"You couldn't handle killing a few Kred," Khan announced, advancing. "I buried innocents alive with my own hands. I slaughtered ignorant workers for the sole sin of being connected to my potential enemies. I killed mutated children and sanctioned the genocide of a species
afflicted by my same curse."
The tremors intensified as Khan got closer to Lieutenant Dyester, and that trend continued even after he stopped. He didn't quite reach him, but that shorter distance was enough to
prove his point.
"You must be blind to still see the kid from back then," Khan declared. "That person died
many times, often at his own hands."
Lieutenant Dyester did his best to hide it, but nothing escaped Khan's eyes. The sadness in his mana was as evident as his pretense, but that wasn't enough to stop Khan now.
"Don't worry," Khan continued. "I'll open your eyes."
The cracks under Khan widened, expanding everywhere. Some even reached the cave's
entrance, but neither Abraham nor Monica moved.
"Why do you think this ground stands?" Khan asked, sending a wave of invisible mana
downward.
More cracks opened on the rocky surface, ultimately shattering it. The ground caved in, creating a vast hole that stretched from Lieutenant Dyester to the cave's entrance. Strangely enough, both locations remained safe from the destruction.
"It stands because I allow it to stand," Khan stated, hovering in his previous position, uncaring that the ground under him had disappeared.
Lieutenant Dyester held back a gulp. That twisted psychology was mental but frightening,
especially when Khan wielded it since he had the power to enforce it. Still, Lieutenant Dyester
found a scarier detail. He couldn't claim that Khan was wrong.
"Now," Khan exclaimed. "Shall I ask you why you breathe?"