Kai Lane: Beginning

"We have to take this more seriously."

HUUUFFF....

Before he could react, the fist was in front of his face. He could see the veins on it. He could feel the wind from it on his skin. As he stared at the fist growing in front of him, a sword passed through the middle of Afro's arm, severing the veins. The sword didn't block the punch completely, but it weakened it. When the punch hit Kevin's face, he took two steps back. Immediately, he put one foot forward, grabbed Afro's wrist with his other hand, and squeezed. Afro had a strange look on his face. Kevin smiled savagely as blood ran down his forehead and over his eyes. Suddenly, his sword, Skana, which he had thrust into Afro's arm, disappeared into the shadows and headed for Afro's neck as gray smoke. Afro could see that the gray smoke was a shadow. He thought, amazed.

'So it really was the King of Shadows.'

It was clear to those with the same development how powerful someone with Divine Potential could be.

Even Jack, whose Jade Eye had evolved, could barely match his strength.

Afro leapt back and threw a silver curtain from his wrists, blocking the Shadow's sword. He certainly hadn't forgotten Jack. As Jack's Point Slash came at him, Afro dodged the attack with complicated movements. No matter how hard he tried to hide it, Jack and Kevin could tell something was wrong.

Jack frowned.

Normally, their equal developmental base would have made their strength and other attributes equal. It was their skills that made them stronger than each other: Jack had the Jade Eye, and Kevin had the Divine Potential. Afro, on the other hand, relied on his 300 years of mental strength and mechanical powers—the things he made.

Knowing the source of your opponent's power could give you an advantage. The problem was that Afro seemed to be using his own power. He shouldn't have advanced to Step 2. Nevertheless, his development was almost as strong as if he had been at Step 2.

Kai, who had remained calm since the beginning, frowned and glanced at the chains in his hands.

"You... Are you using my Development Base?"

Afro became angry when he heard this and shouted, pointing his finger at Kai. At the same time, purple and yellow lightning bolts appeared in his eyes.

"I don't understand! Why do you only have two emotions? One of them is an emotion I have! Shit! I should have all six emotions!"

Usually, the development bases provided the same amount of power. However, Kai's growth base did not fall into this category. He had a growth base with six emotions. It was more powerful than the others. If Afro had received the Six-Sense growth base, Kevin and Jack wouldn't have stood a chance against him. After all, unlike Kai's Yellow Lightning, Afro also had Purple Lightning. This gave Afro incredible power even now.

Kevin and Jack frowned when they realized this. Although Kai only had two emotions, it made Afro much stronger. His only weakness, his physical attributes, was gone.

"I can't let you use my power."

Of course, Kai could not allow his growth base to be used by others. As soon as he withdrew his hand, the chains rattled loudly. Afro laughed, and Kai's eyebrows sank even deeper.

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"Those chains are stronger than you think. Anyone on Half Step 2 can't break them—"

ZZZAAAAAAAAARRRRR!!!!!!

The sound of the chains rang in Afro's ears like thunder, interrupting him. Although the chains didn't break, Afro shivered, realizing how powerful Kai was. Kai had bound the souls of all the hunters to create those chains. How many hunters could that act alone have killed? Not even an ordinary person on Step 2 could have been that strong. This was a chain ready to hold them all!

"You monster! I'll finish this right now!"

However, it was impossible for Kai to break the chains. Afro had bound his own soul to it. In a normal fight, Kai would have crushed Afro like a bug. However, attacking Afro indirectly was ineffective.

That was Afro's gift.

With the substances he found on the island, it was impossible to break the chains unless you were at Step 3. Even with Kai's six million past lives, it would have been difficult.

From the beginning, it's important to remember that Afro was sent here as the leader of the hunters. He was chosen without debate for a reason. Power was not just in the wrist.

When Kai realized this, a wave of regret swept through him. He should have prevented these chains from happening in the first place.

'There's nothing I can do now. Kevin, Jack. This fight is entirely up to you.'

Kai stretched his legs and sat on the floor. Since there was nothing he could do, he didn't need to stand. He didn't say anything, but when Kevin and Jack looked into his eyes, they could see his faith in them.

' Don't worry Kai... '

' We won't let you down!'

Afro clenched his fists and gritted his teeth in anger.

"You rats! I'll take it out on you!"

The moment Afro took his first step, the world changed. The world of colors disappeared completely, giving way to black darkness. Countless gray rays were visible in the darkness, but they were difficult to follow. Afro realized what they were.

"Shadow Domain..."

Suddenly, a gray beam shot out of the ground toward Afro. He twisted at the waist, and the attack reached into the air and fell back into the Shadow Domain. Then came another shadow, and then another, and then another. One after another, shadows came at Afro. He was able to dodge them with quick movements, but he could neither get rid of them nor see the owner of the Shadow Domain. Only Jack..... had to be there.

But he wasn't there either.

Before Afro could react, a haze fell before his eyes. A sword licked his face. He managed to escape, but the sword left a bloody scar on his face and took away some of his energy. The wound on his face healed thanks to Kai's sense of love, but his energy did not return.

The Shadows and Jack attacked one after the other, but despite this, Afro was still able to react. The Shadows could wound him, but Jack could not. Jack could only sometimes draw energy and get faster.

This frustrated Jack, who bounced around in the air. Even though he was getting faster, Afro could dodge his attacks as if he could anticipate them. Afro had no sense of wonder. Neither did Kai. This was very difficult for Jack to understand.

But it was just a technique Afro had developed over his 300 years of life. So it was normal for Jack not to understand.

'This time I'm going to get you!'

As Jack approached once more, Afro sensed his presence and swung his hand in Jack's direction, preventing him from escaping. A small knife emerged from his forearm, aimed directly at Jack's heart.

By the time Jack realized the danger, it was too late. Even if he had managed to block the small blade with his sword, he still would have taken a nasty fall. Given Afro's ability to ignore the ambush, it was clear how dangerous the situation would be. His death would be at Afro's hands!

"Fuck!"

FIYUUUU...!!!!

PENG....!!!

Out of the shadows, Skana emerged, cloaked in darkness, and blocked the small blade aimed at Jack's heart. But Afro certainly didn't miss this opportunity. He seized the opportunity and, despite Skana's efforts to resist, plunged the sword into the center of the Shadow Domain. The moment the sword entered the Shadow Domain, countless cracks appeared on the Black Domain.

The gray shadows slowly disappeared, some exploding at Kevin's last orders. Some were violent enough to damage Afro. Jack was able to dodge the explosions with his Jade Eye. As he swung his sword, strings appeared in front of his eyes.

"Point Slash Level 2..."

The ropes became clear and tightened. Jack's sword followed the ropes' trail with incredible speed. Afro couldn't move. At that moment, Jack and Afro were facing each other.

But Afro was not worried.

"Explode!!!"

BOOOOOOMMM!!!