Kairo ran.
Branches whipped against his shoulders as he pushed deeper into the Dead Forest. Every step sent pain shooting through his injured leg, but he forced himself onward.
Faster.
Farther.
Only when the sounds behind him had completely disappeared did he finally slow to a stop.
"...Hah..."
He bent forward, planting both hands on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath.
His chest rose and fell violently.
Sweat dripped from his forehead onto the forest floor.
"...I think..."
"...that's far enough."
He slowly straightened.
Silence.
The forest stretched endlessly around him.
Towering, black-barked trees swayed gently beneath an unseen breeze.
Then...
The wind changed.
It grew stronger.
Leaves spiraled through the air.
Branches creaked.
Kairo frowned.
"...?"
Something...
Something was coming.
His eyes swept across the surrounding woods.
Left.
Right.
Behind him.
Nothing.
Instinctively, he took a cautious step backward.
His hand brushed against the back pocket of his trousers.
"...!"
His eyes widened slightly.
The knife.
Tera's throwing knife.
He quickly pulled the small blade free and settled into a defensive stance.
The wind continued to howl around him.
Stronger.
Stronger.
His head turned repeatedly, trying to locate the source.
Then—
"What are you looking for?"
The calm voice came from directly behind him.
Kairo's heart froze.
His body became perfectly still.
Slowly...
He turned around.
There, resting casually upon a thick tree branch...
Sat the brown-haired boy.
His back leaned lazily against the trunk.
One leg hung freely over the branch while both hands remained tucked inside his pockets.
His expression was unreadable.
Cold.
Almost bored.
Kairo's eyes widened.
...He caught up already?
The boy slowly stood.
His gaze drifted toward the small knife in Kairo's hand.
"...You're really going to attack me with that?"
There wasn't mockery in his voice.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Only disappointment.
Kairo tightened his grip.
"...What do you want?"
The boy looked at him without emotion.
"What I want..."
"...or don't want..."
"...is none of your concern."
He stepped lightly along the branch.
"I'm simply following orders."
A faint smile appeared on Kairo's face.
"...Harumachi."
The moment the name left his mouth—
A pulse erupted around the boy.
WHOOSH!
The surrounding wind exploded into motion.
Gradient streams of crimson and emerald spread beneath the veins of both arms, intertwining like living currents.
Kairo's eyes widened.
"...Seikon Flow..."
Shock crossed his face.
He had seen several Seikon users before.
Golden.
Green.
But...
Red and green flowing together?
Never.
The boy looked down at him calmly.
"...Whatever happens here..."
"...it's nothing personal."
The wind surrounding him suddenly condensed.
It twisted violently.
Compressed.
Sharpened.
The swirling currents slowly transformed into dozens of gleaming wind-forged knives suspended around his body.
Kairo's heartbeat quickened.
...This is bad.
Without hesitation—
He threw himself toward the nearest tree.
"Too slow."
The boy flicked a finger downward.
WHOOSH!!
The wind blades rained toward the ground.
BOOM!!
The forest floor erupted.
Tree roots exploded apart.
Dust and shattered earth filled the air as dozens of blades buried themselves into the ground where Kairo had been standing only moments before.
The brown-haired boy watched silently.
"...Missed."
The dust slowly drifted away.
His eyes searched the forest.
Where...
A sudden instinct surged through him.
Behind.
He turned.
CLANG!!
Steel crashed against condensed wind.
Kairo's knife slammed into the wind-forged sword that had instinctively formed in the boy's hand.
The impact echoed through the forest.
"...!"
The force surprised him.
His sword bent backward under the unexpected collision.
The boy immediately leapt away, landing gracefully atop another branch.
Several meters away...
Kairo landed opposite him.
The two boys stood facing one another among the trees.
For several seconds...
Neither moved.
Then...
A small smile appeared across the boy's face.
"...That was a nice surprise attack."
Kairo remained calm.
"...Thank you."
His eyes never left the swirling currents surrounding his opponent.
"...You manipulate the wind..."
"...then compress it into weapons."
The boy smiled a little wider.
"...Smart."
"You figured it out."
Kairo shook his head.
"...Not really."
"You demonstrated it right in front of me."
Silence.
The smile slowly disappeared from the boy's face.
He inhaled deeply.
"...Then..."
"...I'll stop holding back."
The atmosphere changed instantly.
The wind surrounding him became violent.
It spiraled faster.
Faster.
The currents merged together into an enormous rotating vortex.
Then—
He slowly raised both hands.
The vortex compressed.
One blade.
Ten.
Twenty.
Fifty.
A hundred.
Hundreds of razor-sharp wind knives floated motionless around him like a deadly halo.
Kairo's eyes widened.
...Too many!
He immediately jumped from the branch.
"...Too late."
The boy pointed with one finger.
The entire right side of the floating blades shot forward simultaneously.
WHOOSH!!
The air screamed.
Kairo twisted desperately in midair.
There wasn't enough space.
Not enough time.
The blades struck.
"AGH!!"
The impact hurled him violently through the trees.
His body smashed into dense bushes before crashing across the forest floor.
Leaves scattered everywhere.
The boy looked down calmly.
"...You figured out my ability..."
"...but not its limits."
The wind gathered beneath his feet.
It gently lowered him to the ground.
He landed without making a sound.
Step.
Step.
Step.
He walked toward the bushes.
There...
Kairo lay on the ground.
Blood seeped through his shirt.
His left hand instinctively clutched his ribs where several wind blades had torn across his side.
Dark crimson spread across the forest floor beneath him.
The boy sighed quietly.
"...Looks like I overdid it."
"I almost forgot..."
"...I'm supposed to bring you back alive."
He continued walking.
Kairo groaned weakly.
"...Ngh..."
Only a few steps remained.
Then—
WHAM!!
Kairo's right fist exploded upward.
A brutal uppercut connected squarely beneath the boy's chin.
"...!"
His eyes widened.
The unexpected blow launched him backward.
He crashed into the trunk of a massive tree with a heavy impact.
CRACK!!
Pieces of bark scattered through the air.
Kairo slowly forced himself upright.
Blood trickled from a cut along his forehead, running down the side of his face.
His breathing was ragged.
His left hand remained pressed tightly against his bleeding ribs.
Blood also soaked through the bandages around his injured calf once again.
He glared toward the fallen boy.
"...That..."
He breathed heavily.
"...really hurt."
The brown-haired boy slowly lifted his head.
His expression had changed.
The calmness was gone.
Only irritation remained.
Without warning—
BANG!
A compressed bullet of wind shot through the forest.
Kairo's instincts screamed.
He dove behind a nearby tree.
The projectile blasted straight through the trunk.
BOOM!
Splinters exploded everywhere.
Another shot.
BANG!
Then another.
BANG!!
The forest echoed with rapid impacts as compressed wind bullets tore through bark and shattered branches.
Kairo remained hidden behind the thick trunk, breathing hard.
His eyes widened.
...He can make guns too?
Not just knives...
The barrage suddenly stopped.
Silence.
Then footsteps.
Crunch.
Crunch.
The boy slowly emerged from the bushes.
His eyes burned with quiet anger.
"...How dare you."
He took another step.
"...How dare you..."
"...lay your filthy hands on me."
Kairo carefully leaned around the tree to locate him.
BANG!!
A wind bullet ripped past his face.
He instantly pulled back.
The projectile exploded against the trunk.
"...You're trying to kill me!"
Kairo shouted from behind cover.
"I thought your orders were to bring me back alive!"
Silence.
The footsteps stopped.
The boy hesitated.
"..."
He slowly brushed his brown hair away from his forehead.
"...Right."
"I almost forgot."
He exhaled once.
His expression returned to its usual calm.
Then...
He spread both arms wide.
"...Come out."
His voice echoed through the trees.
"Fight me."
"I won't attack."
For several seconds... Nothing happened.
Then—
Kairo burst from behind the tree.
He charged straight toward him.
Anger burned in his eyes.
The brown-haired boy smiled.
His arms remained open.
As though welcoming him.
The distance vanished.
One step.
Two.
Three.
Then—
The two boys collided.
Hand to hand.
The forest erupted once more.
...............