Chaos Heir

Chapter 1266: Counters

The event was scientifically impossible. The sea couldn’t suffer wounds, let alone bleed.

However, Muhsin’s reptilian eyes and scanners weren’t lying to him. Something in the depths of the sea had hurt those not-waters, tearing their very anatomical structure apart to create those bleeding-like rising trails of shimmering drops and energy.

The sea surface also shook even more until a chunk of it vanished, opening a half-spherical cavity that remained stable despite the raging waves at its edges. A blue light shone at that hole’s center, and a wild, terrifying aura rose into the sky, filling it with its violence.

Khan ran his hands over his head, pulling back his wet hair. Meanwhile, his red tattoos burned, disappearing in no time. Even what remained of his clothes mostly fell apart, leaving him bare-chested, with nothing more than torn trousers over his legs.

The removal of Liiza’s marks exposed Khan’s presence in all its might, and the world suffered as a result. The area’s symphony also echoed the violent excitement in his mind, and the very air seemed to tremble and shatter because of it. More of the sea even broke, highlighting how unbearable his sole existence was.

Except for a faint red patch above the blue scar, Khan was completely unharmed. Yet, that mark soon vanished, too. New skin formed under the injury, replacing the damaged flesh and shedding it away. The process took less than a second, but Muhsin captured every detail.

“It seems you won’t die so easily,” Khan announced, thunder accompanying his voice as it echoed through the sky, conveying his destructive influence. “That’s reassuring.”

Khan slowly rose through the sky, but the new distance from the sea didn’t spare it from his destructive influence. The not-waters kept breaking apart, leaking their energy into the air.

The scene captivated Muhsin. More of his chair split apart to create additional scanners, but the practice didn’t yield the expected results. The holographic screen before the alien flickered while providing more data, but those numbers didn’t make much sense.

Khan was a complicated being. Evolved warriors existed beyond their physical boundaries, but Khan went even further. The mana in the area seemed to listen to his very essence, echoing his desires and becoming an extension of his body.

Moreover, Khan’s body was nowhere near ordinary. The instant healing had hinted at something, but Muhsin’s scanners saw much more. The might contained inside his flesh looked unfathomable, especially when paired with his destructive element.

Actually, that wasn’t a mere pairing. Khan’s body and mana didn’t add their respective strength to create something stronger. They fused, giving birth to a superior type of energy that felt more powerful than their sum.

Nevertheless, despite the unclear data, Muhsin reached an unmistakable conclusion. The entire universe had been wrong about Khan. His sole existence was a calamity for anything that lived or tried to remain intact, and that evaluation didn’t even account for his actual actions.

A tremor ran through Muhsin’s machines, and another followed. The alien ultimately had to adjust the energy inside his technology three times to turn it into something that could endure Khan’s passive influence.

Still, that was only the first mandatory step. Muhsin didn’t forget that his round was over and that it was Khan’s turn to attack now.

“Muhsin,” Khan called, thunder crying through the sky. “May I be so bold as to request your permission to move for my next attack?”

Muhsin’s reptilian yellow eyes went on Khan before returning to his holographic screen. His actions looked out of character, but an explanation quickly arrived.

“Prince Khan, may I be so bold as to request we change the rules?” Muhsin asked. “The Kros want to witness a real battle, and I share that desire for selfish reasons.”

“You find me in agreement,” Khan instantly accepted. “However, I must warn you. Even I don’t know what I’m capable of.”

“If it’s of any reassurance,” Muhsin said, “I plan on prioritizing defending.”

“It does reassure me,” Khan commented, red light shining on his hands while a humming noise joined the thundering environment. “Well, I am coming.”

Muhsin didn’t dismantle the scanners, but they all split apart when his holographic screen sent a warning. That reaction was instinctive as if the machines themselves acted to protect their owner from the sudden threat that had appeared to his left.

Khan materialized right past the hovering machines and swung his right arm, sending a scarlet slash flying through an unguarded spot in the Kros’ defenses. Yet, metal flew at high speed toward it, clashing with the attack before it could cross a single meter.

The slash cut through the debris, and cracks expanded from the initial damage. However, that metal rearranged itself, splitting even further until it became dust enveloped in a blue light.

The Divine Reaper kept cutting through the light and metallic dust, fueled by its bottomless bloodlust, but the blue energy underwent a fundamental change.

The radiance dimmed and darkened, making the slash lose track of its surroundings and waste valuable energy in spreading wanton destruction. Most of its sharp power failed to damage the cloud, which eventually trembled and dispersed the scarlet mana.

Simultaneously, Khan reappeared on Muhsin’s right side, his brain capturing the events inside the cloud while focusing on something else. He kicked at the alien, his leg seemingly slowing down during the last moments of its stretching motion.

Muhsin’s holographic screen sent another warning, and some of the metal under his control shot toward Khan’s leg, only to freeze under the pressure it had released.

Yet, the Kros promptly altered the energy inside his metal, forcing it to move and transform while the condensed entropy advanced. Cracks appeared on the debris while they fused and turned partially liquid, absorbing that destructive but invisible force without losing much of their fabric.

Of course, Khan had already moved by then. While the two clashes were still unfolding, he appeared above the Kros, waving his left arm. Another scarlet slash flew at Muhsin, but the back of his metal chair moved, turning into a cloud of black and blue dust that countered it.