Tarrlok had made one mistake, and it was not trying to finish Akashi from the first moment he interfered.

As Akashi clapped his hands, a strong wave left his palms, followed by a loud sound. The smoke was blown away in a single clap, and the air seemed to ripple. The clap sound, however, was different from the usual one as it had a higher and softer pitch.

In the middle of the smoke stood Tarrlok, crossing his arms over his face to take the shockwave.

His skin got goosebumps.

And from his mouth, a liquid slipped.

"Tsk," Akashi clicked his tongue.

He had reached a level where he learned how to manipulate sound, change the frequency.

Yet, he had yet to learn the right frequency to achieve an instant kill.

Tarrlok's cheeks puffed, and he put his hand in front of his mouth, as if stopping himself from vomiting.

He moved his hand up and down, seeming to bend his own blood, before stabilizing.

The whites of his eyes turned red, and as he looked up for Akashi, the latter vanished.

This was a boulevard, and trees were everywhere.

"You're still the same coward," Tarrlok said, "Never man enough to face his rival face to face."

And from nowhere, an air blade flew toward Tarrlok.

The latter harrumphed.

An officer who was lying down, unconscious, suddenly floated in the air.

Akashi opened his eyes wide, and he moved his hand to change the direction.

The blade grazed the officer, cutting a part of his arm.

That was close.

He almost died.

"Talking about a man-to-man fight, yet you use human shields," Akashi said, "You're very pathetic."

"What humans?" Tarrlok asked. "I'm simply bending the water I have around me."

"You're so pathetic," Akashi provoked.

"If you are so manly, why don't you come and face me face to face? I promise that I won't use a human shield," said Tarrlok with a sneer.

Akashi pondered for a second.

There was no problem.

He had trained for this.

He had predicted this. And he had made a countermeasure.

He reached his inner pocket, and he grabbed a bunch of lighters.

What was inside the lighters was a colorless and odorless gas that he could bend easily.

And so, he released the gas, slowly heading to Tarrlok, and trapped it inside by making the air around him denser.

But for Tarrlok to think that he could provoke Akashi… Well… if there's something Akashi knew about Tarrlok, it was that he had adopted aristocratic values. He'd rather die than have his image shattered. That's why he had provoked him with the pegging part in the past.

Tarrlok smirked as he found Akashi walking from one tree and standing in front of him.

"Tarrlok, what language are we speaking?" said Akashi.

"English," Tarrlok replied calmly, raising his hands.

"Whoever moves first is gay," said Akashi.

"So pathetic and childish," Tarrlok said, but he didn't move his lips.

Akashi stood still as well.

Childish… yes, it was.

But it was worth trying.

"You know, you can move first," Akashi said. But he didn't move. He simply moved his vocal cords. The words came out hazy and messy, but they were understandable.

Tarrlok didn't reply. He had so much to say, but… soon, he felt as if his health started plummeting, and he took a step backward. A severe headache took over him.

"Gay," commented Akashi.

Tarrlok glared at him with a very hateful glare. He extended his hand toward the airbender, and took control over his body, tightening his grip on him.

Tarrlok seemed to have gone all out.

Akashi tried to resist and open his mouth.

But that proved to be so difficult.

[Strength +3 points]

[Strength 6 → 9]

And then, he tried to move.

But even then, it didn't get any easier.

[Vitality 10 → 13]

Okay.

Now, it felt slightly easier.

One of the reasons why Akashi didn't use his attribute points despite leveling up was to know what would be the most useful stat against a bloodbender.

And so, he had poisoned Tarrlok now, and deliberately let himself fall under his spell, so that he could know what the most useful stat of them all was.

"I should have expected poisonous gas from a bastard monster like you," said Tarrlok. "Gosh, I wish I could be there to watch when the Earth Queen pegs you."

Upon hearing that, Akashi had no time to consider how many points he had to put.

Being pegged by the Earth Queen?

That's literally karma coming after him.

He wasn't the type of person to believe in that shit, but since he'd transmigrated, there might be some credibility to it.

[Vitality 13 → 20]

[A perk has been unlocked]

[Perk: Thick Blood]

[Bleeding effects last shorter, deal less damage]

[HP 1000/1000]

Not only did moving get easier, a new perk got unlocked, and it felt possible to resist.

Tarrlok opened his eyes wide as he looked at Akashi, ignoring the headache he was getting.

The sergeant's veins bulged through his body, and he was moving slightly, even though he was in control.

'Such tremendous willpower,' Tarrlok thought, increasing his grip.

"Wanna know why I'm a monster?" Akashi declared with a strong glare at his foe.

Before Tarrlok could reply, Akashi opened his mouth and screamed.

The scream didn't come out as a human sound.

More like a supersonic wave that could be translated through the radio.

Tarrlok felt the blood in his body moving, and his inner organs shaking, and he fell on his knees, blood coming out of his nose and mouth.

He put his hand on his chest, bending his own blood to negate the damage and heal his organs.

He looked at Akashi, who stood above him, saying, "Do you know who my brother is? He's way more powerful than me."

"Do you know who the girl who's lately flirting with me is?" Akashi asked as well.

Tarrlok looked at him, dumbfounded.

"Just kill me," said Tarrlok, ready to accept his death.

[+2 levels]

Akashi looked at him with a sharp glare.

Now, he was left with two choices.

Kill Tarrlok, or kidnap Tarrlok.

Killing him wouldn't give him more experience now that he had defeated him. It would serve to provoke Amon, a far stronger bloodbender, and a whole army of equalists who had robots and weapons. And unlike Tarrlok, Amon was way smarter and unpredictable.

There was another choice. Kidnap him and use him. Maybe, in case he needed to negotiate with Amon, use him to break their alliance with the Queen. Korra could get herself kidnapped, and Tarrlok could be useful.

Or better yet, lure the final boss into a trap.

"Hope you love living in a cage… a cell I mean" said Akashi, kicking Tarrlok in the face, knocking him unconscious.