“No…”
Drip…Drip…
She didn’t want to think such things.
“He’ll return, Aurelia.”
She could only hope that he came back.
“He’ll definitely return.”
Standing quietly next to the sphere, her heart tightened.
“He…he has to.”
Besides the sphere fizzling out, she didn’t want to think of the more grievous scenarios.
“Please…”
.
|DxD|
.
Tswii!
“...”
Appearing in the dimension of mish-mashing colours, Igor didn’t have his eyes wonder like an idiot. Having seen this place a multitude of times, he was already somewhat used to its irregular appearance.
However, just as he thought, his clones were there.
*Glance* *Glance* *Glance* *Glance* *Glance* *Glance*
Feeling hundreds of eyes on him, he didn’t immediately attack. Rather, he first verified that he could still feel the link he had established back in the time chamber.
[Good. It’s stable.]
With his worries vanishing, the aura around him began fluctuating.
“Round two. Let’s go!”
Su!
Charging ahead, the clones also rushed to meet him. Despite over 9000 clones having been annihilated in that one attack, the remaining few hundred still possessed some capability.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM
Without that slight tug of gravity slowing them down, all of them were faster…much faster.
Su! Su! Su! Su!
Faced with attacks from multiple directions, Igor didn’t let himself get easily encircled. With the chaotic space of the dimensional gap, conventional senses were useless. Normal ears would never pick it up, but there was a constant humming sound in the Dimensional Gap.
This sound made it that Igor couldn’t even hear the muscles of his clones twitching. While the Dimensional Gap certainly lacked air, it was filled with magic molecules, which could be substituted for air…to a certain extent.
Without his auditory senses, he had to rely more on “feeling” when an attack was about to reach him. By feeling the displacement of the molecules, he could gauge how close an attack was and how powerful it would be judging by the rate of displacement.
But that wasn’t always enough.
Ka…DRUUU
With everyone having the same ki signature, it was very, very difficult for Igor to focus on how they all manipulated their ki. And with how fast ki blast techniques travelled, even if he felt the displacement in the “air”, reacting in time would be nigh impossible.
“GAH!”
With it hitting him cleanly in the back, the redhead was sent flying into the void. Immediately after, the clone that fired the ki blast chased after him like a hound after a rabbit. Raising its leg, it appeared right where he would fly by.
Gu!
With a front-flip axekick, the strike landed accurately on his head, sending Igor down into the void below. The other clones were not idle either. With an opportunity given, some gave chase…
Su! Su! Su! Su! Su! Su!
…while others released a few guided ki blasts.
Dru! Dru! Dru! Dru! Dru!
The only fortunate factor Igor had was that his speed of descent was temporarily faster than the clones. It would only be for a moment, but that was all he would need to regain his bearings.
*Opens Eyes!*
“Damnit!”
Tucking in his body, a surge of ki built up within him.
“RAAAA!”
Letting out a fierce shout, he released a powerful explosive barrier.
BOOOOM!
The red barrier expanded rapidly, instantly engulfing the clones who were too close. Unfortunately, not many were dispelled with that attack since the majority were able to react and retreat in time. But, Igor’s aim wasn’t to get them all with this one measly attack. His aim was to create distance.
With just a few dozen metres of space between him and his clones, he didn’t dawdle. With golden spheres condensing within his palms, he began throwing out consecutive ki blasts in the direction of the clones.
“Da! Da! Da! Da! Da! Da! Da! Da! Da!”
Doof! Doof! Doof! Doof! Doof! Doof! Doof!
Some of them missed, and most were blocked. He expected that to happen. What he wanted to do however, was make the ki blasts that missed, return and attack the clones from behind. With a multitude of ki blasts continuing their paths after having missed, Igor was about to make them return when…
Tswii!
A clone appeared at his side via Instant Vanish.
[Tch.]
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
He felt a bit frustrated that he couldn’t sense it coming until it had gotten too close. Decisively abandoning his move, he fluidly diverted the straight punch to his head with his left forearm.
With his right palm stretched out, he grabbed the clone by the face…
“Die!”
And let out a powerful ki blast right on its face.
Doof!
Immediately, the clone dispelled…
Zuu
…but he didn’t have time to celebrate minor victories.
Tswii!
With another clone appearing behind him, the redhead crouched low to avoid the high kick aimed to the back of his head. With his left elbow primed, he aimed for the vital spot all men feared.
He didn’t care that this was his clone. Right now, he wanted to destroy them all.
Crack!
It was a critical hit. And…was that emotion on the clone’s face? Whether crushing its storage containers gave it consciousness or not, he didn’t care a single bit.
“Hhop!”
Grabbing the clone by the leg, he used the Instant Vanish to disappear along with it…
Tswii!
…just as four more clones appeared where he was. Appearing above, Igor threw down the clone in his hand like how one would swing an axe towards the four other clones. Whether it was due to clone comradery or their programming, the other clones caught their wayward brother and helped him stabilise.
But that action gave Igor more than enough time to attack. With his arms raised above, the blonde quickly formed a rather large sphere the size of a small room above his head and threw it down.
“Ha!”
With how fast it was barreling towards them, the clones tried to block it, but it was meaningless.
BOOOM!
Zuu Zuu Zuu Zuu Zuu
With all five of them dispelling, Igor unhesitantly kicked back with his leg, striking the gut of another clone that had just appeared behind him…again.
“Annoying little…”
Seeing that it did not dispel, he once again prepared himself for its advance.
Tswii!
The clone tried using the Instant Vanish to attack with a double axehandle, this type of attack was too simple for him to block. Raising his hands, Igor grabbed both of its wrists, effectively stopping what seemed to be a powerful attack in its tracks.
Tucking in his knees, Igor unleashed a front dropkick to the clone’s chest.
Gu!
Sending it flying, he wouldn’t let it end there. Seeing that some of the other clones were already en route to intercept their injured brother, he gave chase.
Gruu…Su!
With a bright red aura covering him, he chased down the clone he sent flying while also concentrating ki into his fist. Seeing the astounding number of clones in front of him in a lineup by the dozens, he didn’t despair, but smiled.
[Hmph.]
Catching up to the clone, he reeled his fist back before delivering a powerful gut punch.
BANG!
.
.
.
Like the sound of a mortar shell, it was indeed powerful, but it did not end there.
“HAAAAA!”
Releasing the ki built up in his fist, a powerful energy flare pierced through the clone before spreading to the other clones.
DRUUUUU!
Like a carpet sweep, the red aura flare was wide enough to accommodate most of the clones into its destructive confines. Not only was the attack powerful, it also very bright.
DRUUUUUuuuuuu…
Cutting off the flow of ki, Igor quickly calculated their positions for his next attack. Although he managed to get a few dozen clones in that one attack, more than three-hundred still remained.
With his eyes closed, he could still feel their stationary presence around him.
[Now!]
Knowing that all of them were blinded, it was his chance to get rid of a huge chunk of them before they could recover.
Tswii!
Utilising his Instant Vanish, he rapidly began dispatching one clone after another.
Tswii! Tswii! Tswii! Tswii! Tswii!
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
With super powerful punches, Igor vanished from one clone to another as swiftly as possible. He only had a few moments before the clones would be unaffected by blindness. While he could release one giant attack that would kill them all, the clones were only blind, not desensitized to spikes in energy signatures.
Even if he did concentrate his power, the clones were too scattered for him to launch an effective attack to the point that even an explosive barrier wouldn’t work, at least not effectively.
So…
Tswii! Tswii! Tswii! Tswii!
He moved fast and struck hard. Some clones tried to evade, but with him having suppressed his energy fluctuations below theirs, he was hard to sense and avoid. Delivering full-powered strikes, he was able to decimate almost all of his targets in one attack.
Gu! Gu! Gu! Gu!
Having dispelled over a hundred, Igor was still going strong. But, some clones were already showing signs of recovery.
However…
[I’ve got you now.]
With all of the clones in one direction having been decimated, there was only one cluster left. And it just so happened that this cluster was densely packed together.
Turning around to face them, the blonde decisively raised his hand above his head and formed a small energy sphere in his palm. Seemingly grasping something, he lowered his right hand to his left side in preparation for what almost seemed like a backhand slap.
With just over a hundred metres of distance between himself and the remaining cluster of clones, Igor swung his hand. In that moment, a massive crimson sword flashed into existence.
Zuuuuuuu…
In slow motion, Igor swung his blade horizontally.
Silence…
.
.
.
SLASH!
Zuu! Zuu! Zuu! Zuu! Zuu! Zuu! Zuu! Zuu! Zuu!
Like tofu, the clones were bisected immediately, the sharp edge of the blade cleaving through them without resistance. They were dispelled immediately without any pleasantries or chances to retaliate.
With one swing completed, the true fun began.
Shiing! Shiing! Shiing! Shiing! Shiing!
With impressive speed, he swung the blade in multiple directions, leaving the clones no room to escape. Blocking was useless. The blade was too sharp. Charging forward was useless. The distance between them was too wide. They would get cut up before they could even evade.
Even retreating backwards was pointless. The blade itself was over half-a-kilometre long. Instant Vanish couldn’t even cover a fifth of that distance in one burst. Whether it was blocking, evading, or dodging, it was all pointless.
They could only be obediently sliced apart-
“?!”
Just now, Igor felt a pair of eyes stare at him. But it wasn’t the eyes that were the problem, but the dangerous presence behind them. The power he felt evoked his danger instinct, making him unconsciously power up to his maximum.
He completely ignored the clones and searched for that dangerous presence he felt. But the clones wouldn’t be so kind as to let him.
Su! Su! Su! Su!
As they rushed forward to take advantage, the blonde glared at them with years of killing intent in his gaze.
“PISS OFF!”
Ka…DRUUUUUUU!
Using his left hand, he unleashed a powerful one-handed Sunset Flash. Being completely unrestrained in his execution of the technique, the blast of orange covered a very wide diameter, completely sweeping the clones who had recklessly charged forward.
The radius of the blast was unlike any other he pulled. Just its size made him seem puny in comparison. But, releasing such powerful blast of extremely dense demi-ki was not without its drawbacks.
Lowering his arm, Igor knew that for atleast the next couple of seconds, he wouldn’t be able to release powerful techniques through his left arm. Yet, compared to that dangerous presence he felt, drawing out his fight with the clones was not something he could afford.
Having vanquished the last of them in a resounding victory, Igor was not in the mood to celebrate.
[That presence just now…who was it?]
Looking around vigilantly, he couldn’t find it anymore, almost as if it had hidden itself. But he would never forget the feeling he felt, the feeling of complete danger, the feeling of overwhelming power.
[I must train harder.]
The strength that he had grown so proud to earn was nothing in front of this existence.
[I must get stronger.]
That power he felt completely eclipsed his understanding. No matter how he thought about it, there was absolutely no way he would win if he clashed against that monstrous power level.
Placing two fingers to his forehead, he focused his senses on the energy signature he had come to familiarise himself with over the decade. Detecting Aurelia’s energy signature, he latched onto it and vanished. *
Tswii!
.
.
.
Silence…
“...”
Manifesting out of nothingness, a little girl in gothic clothing appeared. With an expressionless face, her eyes surveyed the remaining traces of ki that had yet to dissipate during the exchange.
“Strong…”
She would remember that boy, and they would meet again.
.
AN
.
<ol>
<li>Placing two fingers to his forehead, he focused his senses on the energy signature he had come to familiarise himself with over the decade. Detecting Aurelia’s energy signature, he latched onto it and vanished.</li>
</ol>
Explanation: This is not a mistake. Yes, he did leave an orb, but like he said before, it was a backup. To specifically quote him: “If this backup measure is here, it should give me a strong enough signal that will allow me to return here.”
If you’re interested in reading ahead, here’s the link: <u>[email protected]/HolyGambler</u></a>