"What's the matter, son? Getting tired?" he chuckled as we continued to clash with our blades. Despite using both of my weapons, he doesn't seem to have any issue in blocking and parrying both of them with his normal-looking blade.
We had clashed a couple of times, but it was mostly to determine each other's strengths and weaknesses. Like testing water before officially jumping in. I hate to admit it, but he's faster than me even in his base form. If he starts using his Light Guild spells, I won't be able to match his speed. Damn it, I really wish Rose was here to back me up. And here I thought that I'm the fastest human alive after Kirin upgraded my body.
"He said that your father's primary stats were mostly agility, which was the reason as to why he was deemed the fastest. His other stats were not as good, so take note of that," spoke Byakko.
It would seem that he had taken over in communicating with me to avoid my father from listening in on my conversation with Kirin. Think of each beast having its own frequency that only selected people can listen in on after the beast has allowed them in, like a walkie-talkie.
Agility is his only primary stat? That's good to know, but that doesn't change the fact that he's still faster than me. If I can't touch him, my other stats are pretty much useless. Even my passive ability to slow things down doesn't seem to affect him that much either. And the fact that he can heal himself is not going to bode well for me. He will win in a battle of attrition with me.
He rushed in and started his flurry of attacks. Despite only using one weapon, he's able to block, parry, and attack me even though I was using two. His reaction and attack speed are faster than mine, and I'm going to need something to even the odds. Is night going to come soon? Will Daisy be able to come and help me, I wonder?
"Hey, hey. Pay attention, or you're going to get hurt," he smirked as he continued his assault, eventually managing to deal a small cut on my left arm.
"Your left arm moves more slowly than your right. Did anyone tell you that before?" he said.
"Man, just shut the hell up," I sighed and attacked him, leaping from roof to roof. None of us had used any State of Mind yet, so things aren't that hectic yet. We clashed yet again, but this time, he decided to use his skills. He started off with a quad-stab followed by a powerful precision stab that broke through my guard and graced my right cheek. His proficiency in using his weapon is similar to Rose's. No wonder he was called a genius during his time. Even after using my weapons all this time, I'm still nowhere as proficient as him.
"Not doing well there, boy. Is this really the best you can do? Can't believe my son is actually this pitiful in combat," he shook his head, as though he was genuinely disappointed, like all Asian parents.
I scrounged my hip pouch for my healing gel and applied it to my relatively minor wounds and allowed them to heal. He made a whistle tune as he saw my wounds healing in front of him, although there's no reason for him to know that it won't work with serious wounds.
I stabbed both of my weapons into the roof tiles I was standing on and snapped both my fingers to summon my trusty gauntlets, the Hand of Lightning God. I glared at him as I took out a string, hid my gauntlets behind my back, tied it to the hilt of my dagger and onto my right gauntlet. I'll be kicking things up a notch. Since his fighting style is similar to Rose, it'll be the perfect opportunity for me to test all of the techniques that I've thought of before that might be effective against her without having the need to hold back.
I performed my breathing routine since I will need to be serious if I were to perform these techniques. I start by tossing my dagger at him, which I'm sure he thought was some joke. Nevertheless, he dodged it casually with the least amount of effort; but what he's not expecting was that I appeared in front of him before the dagger even reached him. He must have been too focused on my other two weapons that I had left behind on the roof tiles as bait.
I gave him a quick left jab, which he avoided with ease despite my sudden appearance. I retracted my left arm and immediately went for a right, which he also avoided by dodging to his left. A fatal mistake for him, as by swinging my right arm forward, the dagger attached to my gauntlet was propelled forward faster from the momentum, which certainly caught him off guard.
He had to dodge to his right to avoid the incoming dagger while I was already performing a mid-pirouette after re-summoning my weapons with a snap. I swung both of my weapons at him, but he managed to block it with his blade, sending him flying backwards from the force of the impact. My dagger, which was still connected to my gauntlet, swung towards him sideways from the momentum of my pirouette and sliced across his stomach before he flew away from the range of my dagger.
His expression changed as he gripped onto his wound, where red blood was flowing. Strange, I thought, he didn't care about his wounds at all when he can heal them. What makes this one special? He glared at me as his wound slowly healed, much slower than the wound on his thigh earlier. His stomach is his weak point? Rather odd, innit?
He continued to glare at me as he panted. Is my strange fighting style giving him difficulty? I sure hope so. I didn't figure out this fighting style overnight and had been observing the way Rose fought. I knew deep down that it was wrong to find a way to counter her, but what if, what if… she turned to the dark side one day? She'll be the strongest enemy that I'll have to face. I'm not in denial that the White Angel's name holds more fame over the Four Great Powers currently, and I'm certain the Gods are itching to get a hold of her. It started as a precaution, but turns out I'll be needing to use this against my father. Who could have thought?
"Rather strange fighting style you have there, boy. Where did you figure out how to fight like that?" he asked.
"Got no reason to answer that when there's a more pressing question to address. Why are you aiding the enemy? You were a hero in the Demon War, so why are you helping demons now?!" I spat.
"Ahh… Demons, humans, who's to say which is the right side, eh?" he shrugged.
"You literally fought and sealed the Demon King. You of all people should know better. Were you brainwashed or forced into their servitude? Talk, I demand answers! You left me alone in this world to fend for myself while my mother was killed by the Demon Queen! Yet you're serving them now!" I gritted my teeth.
"All this talk about the past when all that matters is the future. How boring," he yawned.
"Do you—even love my mum? Do you even care about me? Did you fake your death just so you can serve demons? Answer me!" I shouted at him.
"Shhhh… no reason to be so loud. Your mum had served her purpose and so did you. So, why don't you just roll over and die? This world doesn't need two Hawthorns," he chuckled.
"He seems to be having doubts that this is your father. Something isn't right with him; he had never acted this way before," spoke Byakko telepathically.
I don't give a flying fuck even if he is. This fight will end with one of us dead; I wouldn't have it any other way.
Something snapped in me when he disregarded Mother in such a manner. Mum sacrificed herself to protect his legacy from being stained, but he doesn't even give a damn about what happened to her. Either he's brainwashed, serving the enemy, or showing his true colours now. I won't forgive him no matter what his explanation is.
"I have one last question. In Mum's diary, she said she lost both of us after the war. What did she mean by that?" I forced myself to ask this last question rather than attempting to decapitate his head.
"Hmm? No idea what she meant by that. She wasn't always right in the head ever since I met her," he shrugged.
Fine, there's no point in talking any further. I demand his death right now. I activated Imperfect Concentration and we clashed once again, with his stupid smirking face while I'm pissed out of my mind attempting to kill him with every swing.
***
"Accelerate!" he casted.
My father was starting to get used to my strange fighting style and was now starting to counter them, but he had not used his Focused State of Mind yet. All this time I thought I had the advantage in speed and technique, but he was carefully studying them. And he didn't need to care about his wounds since he could heal them easily. Now that he's starting to use his spells, I no longer have the advantage over him when he Accelerate is going to make him faster than me even when I'm using Concentration. Damn it.
"And Light Blessings," he smirked as he continued with his chanting and casted his spells.
Fuck, he can use dual casting too?! I'm literally fighting a clone of Rose right now who excels in nothing but agility. He's definitely faster now, but nothing I can't handle as of yet. I just need to duke it out with him until his spell duration ends.
"I really like the way you fight, son. Never had I seen such an unpredictable way of fighting before. And you dual-wield too. That's rather unusual," he said as he realised I had kept my dagger. When things get hectic, it's rather hard for me to use my dagger with strings since it won't be fast enough since we're moving faster than anything being swung or thrown.
"What's the matter? Does it bother you that I'm not following Ojii-san's teachings? I'm pretty sure he was the one who taught you how to use a blade. He had passed, by the way, not that you asked or cared about him either. Tortured and kept as a prisoner by the previous Fourth Great Power until death finally took him," I told him, hoping to hit a nerve or some form of sympathy if he even had any.
"Ojii-san? Ahh… I see father had taught you. Don't recall much about him anyway. Good to know that he's finally dead now," he started chuckling.
"What—the fuck is wrong with you? Have you sold your entire humanity to serve the demons?! Don't you care about mother, about grandfather… or even about me?" I raised my voice at him.
"Zen… Zen, now's not the time for talking. Move your muscles, your legs. There's no reason to cling to the past any more than there is to face me in combat. Give me your best shot, c'mon," he beckoned me to come by curling his finger a few times.
"Boy… calm yourself. Your emotions are all over the place," warned Kirin as he felt he needed to step in.
Kirin, you stay out of this. Byakko, you take point. If I lose control, feel free to go nuts on my father. I want him dead and I give a damn about the consequences. It's impossible for me to stay calm now, so I might as well utilise it. I'll be using Bloodlust to kill him; it's his problem if he doesn't want to use any State of Mind when I use it.
"I'll be here for you, but do remember what we had talked about. Your Bloodlust is different from your mother's, and we had not figured out your full potential unlike with Focused Meditation," he reminded me.
I reached into my hip pouch and took out my agility potion. I am angry, but I want to push him over the edge without using Bloodlust first. His spell's duration shouldn't last much longer now, and I want him to repent and fear me before sending him to the afterlife. To think I actually strive to be like him when he turns out to be some shitty dirtbag that doesn't give a fuck about family. Vin Diesel would have been angry too.
"A potion? Are you really expecting some measly ass potion to give you some edge against your father? Don't make me laugh. Sigh, I grew tired of this fight. Say your prayers, I'll be going after White Angel next and fully claim this city in his name," he spoke.
"And who would that be? The Demon King? Or the God Of Disorder? Who exactly are you serving? Let me warn you, you won't even be able to touch a single strand of her hair as you'll be meeting with your maker soon," I spat.
"Well, well, not bad. You seemed to be knowledgeable about some Cosmic Beings. But enough talk, let's dance," he beckoned me once again as I drank my agility potion.
I began hopping a little to ensure that I was feeling lighter from the effects of my potion. To think my father is this fast without having the need to use any State of Mind or even potions. No wonder he was admired for his speed; they weren't joking at all, well deserving of his nickname.
"Come now, how long are you going to make me wai—," he went silent the moment I disappeared from his vision, instantly turning around to protect his back. But it was just a mind trick; instead of attacking him from the rear, I actually faced him head-on.
He turned himself once again and blocked my incoming attack at the last moment. Not bad, but it was just a feint. What he blocked was just Tengu-kaze, which I threw at him, giving me the chance to sneak behind his back with Inazuma, waiting for the right opportunity to strike at him.
He swung his blade behind him but missed me as I crouched extremely low, ready to pierce through his stomach, which I suspect to be his weak point. He was slowing down as his spell's duration was ending, and I took the opportunity to strike for his tardiness. I pushed Inazuma forward with all my might; he dodged to the side, but my blade managed to grace his sides, dealing only minimal damage despite the surprise edge that I had. He started smirking that he had dodged the worst of my attacks, but little did he know that I had used Inazuma with my left hand instead, while my right I was already performing a mid-swing with my dagger clutched tightly in my right hand. I felt resistance as I swung my dagger as fast as I could, once again drawing blood from his stomach, but this time, the wound was much deeper.
I readied myself for his immediate counterattack, but he strangely just stood still, seemingly not responsive for a couple of seconds, which gave me ample time to see what was moving inside his wound. I thought I was seeing things until both Byakko and Kirin assured me that I was not. It was a short glimpse, but something was wriggling inside his stomach. What—the fuck was that? Both red and green blood was flowing from his stomach wound now. Is he some sort of hybrid creation between a human and a demon or something?
"What—are you? What have you done with my father?" I uttered those words, knowing I wouldn't get a straight answer.
"Guess the cat is out of the bag, huh? Well, I didn't do much really; he just happened to be the perfect host for me," he smirked as a dark aura began to gather around him. His wound had fully healed now, but a scar remained on his stomach. He roared loudly as the dark aura started swirling around him, only to reveal his glowing eyes and a different form of blade.
I know that form full well, and I need to proceed with caution now. Even in his base form, he was already giving me more trouble than I hate to admit. Now that he's using Concentration, who knows what he's capable of?