Chapter 42 – The Asuras
The night bled into dawn like a wounded sky — bruised crimson clouds hanging above the fractured docks of Skyhaven.
Smoke rose in pillars, the metallic tang of ozone biting through the air. The airship's wreckage still hissed and groaned, half-buried into the cliffside.
And then —
it opened.
The metal hull, molten and cracked, split like a serpent shedding skin. From the luminous fissure stepped tall humanoid beings — their skin a deep bronze-brown that shimmered faintly under the glow of runic veins. Their eyes were pits of molten ruby, glowing like twin suns set in cold voids.
The moment they set foot on ground, the Qi itself shivered.
A crushing pressure swept across the battlefield.
Human soldiers collapsed instantly — gasping, clutching their throats as invisible weight pinned them to their knees. Even the most battle-hardened cultivators staggered backward, blood spilling from their lips.
The Asuras and Humans are the descendants of the Cristarions — the living crystal beings who once molded the early galaxies.
To humans, they were myths.
To the Asuras… humans were unfinished experiments.
The leader of the Asuras, a towering figure with crimson sigils carved into his chest, looked down upon the trembling humans with silent disdain.
His voice echoed through layered frequencies, each syllable resonating like grinding stone.
> "You carry our blood yet remain primitive… fragile… diluted."
The air warped around him as his energy surged — molten gold threads coiling in his palms.
Nanao stepped forward.
Her lavender eyes turned silver, the air around her folding like glass under pressure.
> "Shin, Vaibhav, Alicia — form behind me. I'll hold them."
Space rippled.
Dozens of thin geometric sigils spun around her wrists, locking into formation. Each line pulsed with gravitational hum, creating a shimmering half-dome barrier.
But Shin shook his head, eyes narrowing beneath his messy black hair. He cracked his neck, sliding his wristwatch open — two sleek daggers unfolding from within like fangs of steel.
> "Not happening." He smirked faintly. "I'm not strong enough to beat them…
but I won't let my woman fight alone."
Nanao shot him a sidelong glare — equal parts exasperation and warmth.
Vaibhav exhaled sharply. His aura flared — sharp, disciplined, and dangerously calm.
> "Then let's make this short."
The Asuras charged — no words, no sound. Only motion.
One blink —
and the air exploded.
The first Asura swung its arm, a blur of molten energy that shattered the ground. Nanao's barrier screamed under impact, fracturing like glass, but she shifted instantly — bending space just enough to deflect the brunt.
Shin darted through the shockwave, his daggers humming with magnetic charge.
He spun low, slicing at the Asura's thigh — sparks erupting as his blades met metallic skin.
> Shin (gritting teeth): "Damn, it's like cutting a star!"
Alicia leaped beside him, forming water sigils midair.
Streams of azure light spiraled around her wrists, coalescing into a dense spear of liquid pressure. She thrust it forward — the jet punctured the Asura's shoulder, spraying steam as molten ichor hissed out.
The creature didn't scream. It simply turned — eyes burning hotter.
A pulse of energy radiated outward.
Alicia was thrown backward, crashing through debris.
> Vaibhav: "Alicia!"
He vanished — reappearing in front of her like a shadow cut from light.
His foot snapped upward — Phantom Severance.
The air cracked; the Asura's jaw twisted sideways from the invisible kick.
He followed through — Lethal Kick Barrage.
A dozen strikes in a heartbeat, each one layered with internal Qi compression, detonating on impact.
The Asura's body finally gave way, hurling backward into the shattered hull.
The dust settled for only a second.
Then five more emerged from the ship.
> Nanao (coldly): "They're not individuals. They're soldiers."
Shin: "Yeah? Then we just need to make sure the army doesn't leave."
The newcomers moved differently — faster, coordinated, almost elegant in their destruction.
Two conjured plasma-like lances, one unleashed vibrating waves that sliced through space itself.
Nanao countered —
The air folded.
A portion of the battlefield flickered, as though existence had skipped a frame.
An Asura's arm reappeared behind its back, sliced cleanly by dimensional shear.
But the strain showed.
Blood trickled down her lip — spatial distortion wasn't meant to be sustained this long.
Shin caught her as she staggered, keeping one hand raised. His gauntlet crackled with magnetism — hundreds of metallic fragments from the battlefield began orbiting him like an iron storm.
> Shin: "You take five seconds to breathe. I'll buy you ten."
He clenched his fist.
The debris turned into a storm of railgun bolts.
They tore through the air, sonic booms painting streaks of silver and red. The Asuras staggered under the barrage, skin denting, regenerating instantly — but the constant kinetic overload kept them from advancing.
Alicia rejoined, her hair plastered to her forehead, eyes burning blue.
She slammed her palms together — creating a dome of swirling mist infused with crystallized water particles.
The dome collapsed outward, impaling two Asuras with spears of condensed frost.
> Alicia: "Vaibhav, now!"
Vaibhav was already there.
His body blurred — Shadow Step.
The technique Lin Xuan left behind manifested briefly; his shadow extended unnaturally, moving with sentient rhythm.
It wasn't Vaibhav's power.
It was Lin Xuan's will — dormant within the shadow.
The Asuras froze mid-strike, their movements faltering as black tendrils coiled around their feet like serpents.
From the ground, two eyes opened within the darkness — cold, white, emotionless.
> The Shadow (faint echo): "Do not touch, Our Young Lord."
A split-second later, the tendrils erupted, dragging the Asuras into the void below the ground — gone, erased, not slain but consumed.
The battlefield fell silent except for the crackling ruins and the sound of Shin's labored breathing.
> Shin: "Well… that happened."
Vaibhav (flatly): "Don't ever say that again."
But it wasn't over.
The ground shook.
A low, humming vibration filled the air — like a chorus of voices chanting in a forgotten tongue.
From the wrecked Asura ship, a cannon-like weapon unfolded — its tip glowing crimson with an energy so dense it warped the horizon. The barrel aligned directly at Nanao, still recovering, her defenses unstable.
> Shin shouted, "NANAO!"
A beam of annihilation fired — straight at her.
The world turned white.
And then—
it stopped.
A sound like shattering glass.
Reality split.
Two silhouettes tore through the beam, cleaving it in half with a single motion.
The residual energy burst behind them, disintegrating half the ship — yet neither of their coats even fluttered.
When the light faded, the figures stood between the group and the wreckage.
One carried a long sword slung lazily across his shoulder, golden dragon motifs etched along its length. His grin was reckless, his eyes pure confidence.
The other held dual katanas, his posture rigid, aura refined and cold as midnight steel.
> "Zhao Kenjiro — Dragonfang Consortium."
"Arun Nakamura — Yamato-Khalsa Clan."
They spoke at the same time — then turned toward each other.
> Zhao: "I said it first."
Arun: "You interrupted me."
Zhao: "Because I'm the strongest human on Earth."
Arun: "Wrong. That title belongs to me, peasant."
Zhao: "Pea— what did you just call me?!"
Their auras collided like storms, the ground fracturing under invisible pressure while Shin just muttered,
> "We're saved… but at what cost?"
The Asuras that remained tried to retreat to their ship.
Zhao didn't move — he simply looked at them.
The air bent.
Their bodies fragmented into ash, scattered by the wind.
Arun sighed, sliding his katanas back into their sheathes.
> "Overkill as usual."
Zhao: "Efficient."
The ship's remnants trembled — then exploded, falling into the sea below in a cascade of molten debris.
When silence returned, Zhao turned toward the younger group. His tone softened — slightly.
> "So, you're Lin Xuan's disciples. Explains the mess."
Shin gave a wry half-smile.
> "That's… a compliment, right?"
Zhao smirked but didn't answer. He tossed Vaibhav a glowing crystal — faint holograms flickering within.
> "Take it. This wasn't random. The Asuras are testing Skyhaven's defenses.
Next time, they won't send soldiers."
A heavy pause lingered.
Alicia shivered, staring at the horizon where the sun met the blood-red ocean.
> "Then what will they send?"
Neither Zhao nor Arun answered.
They simply turned — vanishing in twin flashes of gold and silver, leaving behind only the scent of ozone and the faint tremor of their power.
Shin looked down at the still-glowing crystal in Vaibhav's hand.
> "Testing defenses, huh? Guess we passed."
Nanao frowned.
> "Barely."
Vaibhav stared at the horizon, his eyes reflecting the sea of molten light below.
> "If that was a test…" he murmured,
"…then what's coming next won't be a war."
He looked up, eyes cold.
> "It'll be extinction."