Chapter 1396 (1/2)
Kaan Swacc kept his eyes locked on the Nether spy in front of him as the sinister human regarded the two harmonies floating above his head with grim determination equal to what Kaan himself was feeling. Based on his expression and the way that the Ghosthound had acted thus far in their fight, it was clear that he had a basic understanding of Kaan’s image. That was… unfortunate.
Hmph, the Nether information network is more fearsome than I imagined… but so what? You’ve barely been able to hold out against one harmony… even if you alternate the source of your Skills, I will eventually catch you. And then you can only submit and reveal your methods to me.
Kaan’s gaze flicked sideways to the active Nether Suppression Cell around them. His mouth twitched as he suppressed a grin. We have so much time to get to know each other, don’t we? No need to rush.
As a counterpoint to that thought, that horrible image of destruction that the Ghosthound had unleashed on him sizzled uncomfortably. Kaan had been able to wall it off somewhat, but even he was disturbed by the potency of this image. Without his full attention, Kaan wouldn’t be able to rid himself of the lingering rot of the image.
Almost at the same time, both individuals blurred into motion. Kaan had to give the Nether spy this: his sense of timing and battle sense were impeccable. It was something of a tragedy that such a talented recruit had been corrupted by Nether. But who was to say that his talent had been this impressive to begin with? Perhaps this was all just the result of some sort of diabolical deal with a Nether King.
Kaan Swacc’s only choice, as a proud member of the Nexus, was to end this threat before it could develop into a legitimate threat.
The suddenness of the movement sent a spike of pain from the wound on his chest. Kaan’s eyes flashed as he thrust out his left palm. Despite the fact that the Xyrt Brigade so blithely tossed me to the side… my resolve isn’t shaken. When they see my results, my struggle will be vindicated…!
But even if this Ghosthound was able to utilize Aether, Kaan could see the way that the animalistic instincts of Nether eroded his intelligence. The Ghosthound met Kaan’s palm directly, despite the fact that he now had two harmonies empowering his body. The clash between his palm and the Ghosthound’s left arm sent a surprising jolt through Kaan’s body, but the Ghosthound lost and was forced several meters backward.
The winner was clear.
With a wave of resonance accelerating his movements further, Kaan surged forward. Twisting around, Kaan brought one of his legs whipping upward at the Ghosthound’s temple. The two harmonies floating above his head were shining, and the other four began to spin around, prepared to strike directly as soon as the Ghosthound moved to dodge.
As expected, the Ghosthound ducked down under the kick. But what Kaan hadn’t expected was for the spy to surge forward, his body somehow rippling to just barely avoid the harmonies as they spiked down and broken the solid ground rather than the spy’s body.
His physical speed is truly monstrous...
But Kaan had seen the aggressive tendencies one too many times; his hands were already moving to seize the Ghosthound as he approached. Of course, as though he had expected this, the Ghosthound stopped on a dime right outside Kaan’s reach and made a grasping gesture with both hands. Kaan felt the air behind him ripple and two ghastly claws made of bone ripped out of the ground.
They moved more quickly than even Kaan could anticipate once they manifested, surging forward and smashing into Kaan’s back. The impact made him grunt, but he just swayed; the power wasn’t enough to force him to take a step forward. This spy wasn’t even using his image to empower his Skills. From the narrowing of the Ghosthound’s eyes, it was clear that he hadn’t anticipated that the lone Skill would be so ineffective.
Fool. Do you think your Skills without an image can match me…? You might have broken through the physical limit of the System, but how much Aether have you stored in your body? When you run dry… I’ll be waiting. Kaan’s eyes gleamed.
Again, the Ghosthound responded to the unexpected with aggression. Rather than backing off after his ploy failed, the Ghosthound simply accelerated forward again, flesh and metal limbs raised to strike. Kaan’s hands moved, but he didn’t leap forward. After being tricked a few times by this foe, Kaan played it safe. The two harmonies above his head began to glow more brightly and the four that hadn’t yet been activated surged toward the Ghosthound’s exposed back.
As Kaan had expected, there was a moment when the Ghosthound blurred. Because he had nothing else, he relied on his speed. They spy traveled beyond the physical limits of the System, twisting, hopping up, and kicking off Kaan’s chest before he could be grabbed and pulled into a wrestling match. In addition, this sent another wave of pain from the stubborn wound on Kaan’s chest.
Seeing that motion, Kaan reevaluated. Although Kaan was confident in his strength, it was the speed of this spy that was the most intimidating. He didn’t just break the limit of the System; he went well beyond it.
The Ghosthound’s slightly steaming body practically vanished from right in front of Kaan and appeared ten meters away. Those harmonies that had been about to smash the Ghosthound’s spine were now ripping toward Kaan’s chest without anything between them.
Kaan smiled. Exactly as planned.
Generally, Kaan didn’t use his harmonies in this way in order to keep the attack a surprise. But considering the fact that Nether had informed the Ghosthound of Kaan’s other attack and defense patterns, he was willing to risk the reveal of this attack in order to accelerate the demise of this foe.
Kaan reached out and pressed his palm against the first of his harmonies to shoot toward him. The three harmonies behind it paused in the air, instantly dispersing their inertia and beginning to resonate with each other. The singular harmony that continued to shoot forward, the gold harmony, impacted his palm and ricocheted backward. It passed through the resonating trio and accelerated toward the Ghosthound at a speed that was impossible to follow with the eye.