CHAPTER 48: THE HEAVENLY BEINGS ARE HAPPY TO SEE YOU DIE

"Are you seeking death, or do you want to get your veins green like your mother?" the man said, grinning heavily, then kicked the raised sand onto Kai.

Kai threw his right arm over his eyes, covering them, but the moment the sand touched his elbow a sharp pain gushed through his waist, and when he tilted his head slightly he saw the man pulling back his left leg.

Without hesitation, Kai moved, ducking under the man and sliding the sharp edge of the dagger on the man’s leg, which ignited sparks after the blade screeched on the metal outfit covering the man’s leg. The moment he saw the man’s back uncovered he moved, sliding and skipping on the ground, but when he neared the man, the man raised a leg, used the foot and slammed it on Kai’s head, pinning him to the dirt and pressing hard on it.

Little drops of rain began falling from the sky as Kai struggled to pull himself away from the man’s leg. One after another the rain fell, landing and blasting tiny dust into the air, and shortly after five drops fell, heavy rain began falling, followed by streams of lightning and thunder.

"The heavenly beings are even happy to see you die," the man said, removing his leg from the boy’s head and stepping back. Then he bent down, tore the metal cloth wrapped around his legs and threw it, letting it fly and crash on the now-wet ground, which instantly erupted evaporated air from the ground.

"You’re no match for me, not even when I’m completely naked," he said, removing his white mask and the hood from his head, then threw them on the metal cloth and laughed.

Lightning flashed like a snake splitting the sky as Kai pushed himself up while the mud streaked across his hair and cheek, soaking the straps of his cloth and letting them cling to his skin like cold veins. The daggers, which he held tightly, trembled as his hands shook profusely.

The man, who was now without any hood, shook his hair, letting it sprinkle droplets of rain on the now-wet ground, then flicked the fan open with a snap, letting each steel sing through the rain. Evaporated air gushed out of the fan as it cut through the air with a low hum, while water streamed off its sharp edges.

Kai’s heart thudded, yet he moved, lunging forward and splashing his feet through the shallow puddles, slashing the dagger in his left arm upward, cutting droplets in half. Then he moved the right, letting them cross in a desperate "X" symbol.

When both daggers reached an inch above the man’s waist, he lifted the fan, catching the blades with a hard clang and igniting sparks which hissed before dying in the rain.

Still Kai pushed forward, clenched his teeth, yet the fan didn’t give him a chance.

The man smiled through the rain, twisted the fan sideways, knocked Kai’s daggers, then slammed the side of the fan into Kai’s chest, sending him flying back and sliding across the mud, coughing as the water splashed up around him.

Kai staggered up, wobbling, yet rushed in swinging the daggers wildly, slashing left, missing, right, blocked, as the man rotated the fan, letting each edge cut and slide aside as if he were part of the rain itself. Then he smashed the fan’s spine against Kai’s knuckles.

Pain exploded in Kai, letting him drop the daggers in the mud, and he clutched his numb hand, panting as rain kept dripping off his chin. Still he lunged again, shouting and pulling the daggers and swung them down.

The man stepped aside, hooked the fan under Kai’s wrist and twisted it, ripping the cloth off.

The rain pounded on the ground harder and louder like drums announcing doom, followed by countless streams of thunder and lightning.

Kai stared at his small trembling fist, and when he tilted his gaze upward he saw one of the shadows he’d been seeing standing beside the man, smiling. Then after a minute of panting he closed his eyes, letting himself register the rain’s movement, but felt a strange movement within him and around him. And when he cracked his eyes open, he saw three of the shadows leaping out of him and moving toward the man.

There, at his reflection in the mud, he saw his eye glowing wildly and flaring in hot blue and red heat, which made the drop of rain falling on his head evaporate. Then he moved his right foot back, pulled the cloth tied to the daggers, letting them fly and spin in the air before landing in his palms.

Red lightning cracked the sky, splitting it in two as the rain fell on Kai’s shoulders and slipped down, hitting the mud with a thud.

Kai moved his right foot, drew an arch and timed the rain, watching the man’s shoulders instead of the fan. Then, as the man stepped forward and swung the fan, Kai ducked, letting the fan slice over his head and cut through the rain with a hard whistle. Then he pushed himself up, drove his shoulder into the man’s stomach, and wrapped an arm around his waist trying to throw him off balance.

For a split second it did, but the man’s knee rose fast and hammered into Kai’s right rib. Kai grunted, clamped his jaw, and unconsciously slipped and lost grip on the man and staggered back.

Then he pivoted, sliding one foot on the mud, and jabbed twice at the man’s throat, but the man blocked both kicks easily with his forearm then smashed the fan forward like a hammer.

Kai raised both arms to guard himself but ended up being hit on his forearm and forehead by the steel, which knocked him off balance but managed to drop to only one knee.

The man moved in, the fan raised enough to crush the poor boy completely, but Kai moved, rolled sideways, letting his palm scrape through the mud. The fan slammed the spot where he’d been just a second ago, splashing the mixture of mud and water.

Blood kept dripping from Kai, yet he moved and drove a punch into the side of the man’s knee, slightly breaking it and letting the man shift weight. Then Kai threw a palm strike under the man’s ribs, pushing it upward to break his posture entirely. For a moment it worked, adjusting the man’s stance.

But when Kai tried to hook his ankle behind the man’s foot, he missed.

"You’re making this painful for yourself," the man said, stretching himself and tightening the grip on the fan in his arms. But Kai didn’t answer; he simply frowned and wiped the blood snaking around his lips off, and swung his finger, letting the blood splash in the mud.

...

"Did you hear that? Isn’t that the voice of the man who ordered us to stand and keep watch on these two?" one of the two men keeping watch over the two men chained by the wrists said, tapping the other’s shoulder and pointing to the direction the metal crashing sound erupted from.

"Man, do you want to stay in this rain? We better hurry; either we kill these men without his approval or stand under the raised cover at the gate, and return when the rain cools down," the other said, tilting his head in the direction he was directed to and began moving to the building’s entrance.

"I’m taking the lead, you can decide, but I’ll wait for him."

"Then let’s all go there and wait for Marcus’s twin brother."

They rushed from the rain, leaving the two young men to be beaten entirely by the rain, and stopped under the raised ceiling of the building, clutching their arms at their chests, shivering.

...

Meanwhile, evaporated air flew as the man turned the fan and lunged himself forward, moving the fan in a horizontal manner, hoping to chop off Kai’s head.