July 24, 4021 08:00 [Manzhouli- Matriarch 04 Sun Rock]
Indra stared, eyes transfixed as he strained his vision to follow Tengri’s movements. The man weaved his lean frame effortlessly through hordes of bloodthirsty Homunculi, his cloak flowing elegantly behind him. It was as if the wind created by his attackers’ movements only served to carry him further. He wasted no breath on retaliation, simply redirecting attacks from one individual to another with surgical precision. As the Homunculi were routed into one another, a number lit up above their heads, projected by their Nerve Cords. Static red [20]s and [30]s emerged above many of the defeated Homunculi, with a scant few [40]s peppered into the group.
Not a single hit landed on the instructor as he deftly avoided every attempt to harm his person. It seemed like inflicting any amount of damage upon the Hyena would prove to be a Herculean task. Many tried closing the gap between themselves and Tengri, though none managed a successful maneuver. Amidst the chaos, however, a single Homunculus charged onto the battlefield with the speed of a locomotive, breaking through the ranks like a bullet train. He sent them flying and leapt towards Tengri, using the momentum he had built up to throw a single punch, causing the instructor’s eyes to widen momentarily before he quickly brought up his guard. The air ruptured as the impact of their clash created shockwaves that erupted around them, eroding the very ground they stood on, and pushing the surrounding Homunculi several meters away from the two. The attacking Homunculus grinned wildly, his auburn hair flying back, revealing a large scar running across his left eye and down his cheek.
“WOAHHH!” Indra cheered alongside the other excited newcomers watching the fight.
Tengri’s eyes locked onto his attacker, deftly swiping his extended arm in a crescent-shaped arc, colliding with the Homunculus’ ribs.
“Half-moon,” he said calmly.
The attack rippled with energy as the Homunculus flew past Indra into the wall behind him, breaking through the stone.
Tengri scoffed. “More damage to my arena. I’ll be charging Kǔ Shén extra for this.”
A [56] was projected in static yellow from the unconscious Homunculus’ Nerve Cord; the highest score so far. Prasanna and Emil walked past Indra towards the center of the field, stretching nonchalantly.
“Guess we should try and score some points too, right Emil?” Prasanna grinned, cracking her knuckles, her eyes glowing a brilliant sapphire. The blue flecks on her hair started to shimmer as she made her way closer to the fighting. Emil nodded, smiling, as his own emerald eyes started to glow. The pair’s Conduits lit up to match the intensity of their eyes, brimming with energy.
As Tengri dispatched the last of the initial assault, Homunculi from the newest batch approached the instructor. As he examined the next round of attackers, his eyes twitched. He let out an exasperated sigh.
“Oh dear, this group looks like trouble,” he said as he shifted his stance, extending his folded arm.
Among the attackers, a few caught Indra’s eye. A silver-haired man angrily gnashed his teeth just like Akula, bending down low like a runner preparing for an all-out sprint. A woman with plumed hair stood further back, her sharp eyes following Tengri closely. To their right stood a jittery-looking individual who clasped his hands together, muttering some sort of prayer under his breath, his eyes darting back and forth between his peers. Near the jittery individual stood a stern-looking Homunculus, unmoving as his body began to dissipate into thin air. The last Homunculus that Indra took note of had a calm demeanor like Tengri himself, locks of purple shrouding his pale face, making it difficult to see his expression. Indra imagined a serene look of confidence on the man, whose skin began to emit a sludge-like gas.
The silver-haired man suddenly lunged, running on all fours. His face morphed into a snout, his arms and legs sprouting fur, and his hands and feet regressing into paws as his body finished its transition into that of a behemoth grey wolf. The wolf snarled, baring its fangs as it leapt at Tengri. Tengri crouched low pulling his arms close to his ribs. Just as the wolf prepared to bite into the instructor’s flesh, he slammed both palms into the beast’s solar plexus. The wolf flew into the air yelping, a [45] appearing above its head.
Indra bit his nails as he watched the battle unfold. How was he supposed to stand a chance against someone like that? Prasanna and Emil seemed unperturbed, as did the other Homunculi. As he stood there worrying about himself, a powerful gust of wind knocked Indra to the ground. A large creature barreled past him forcefully. He collected himself gasping for air, noticing a feather falling beside him. A feather? A shriek came from above. He quickly turned to the sky just in time to see an enormous black bird catch the wolf in midair, grabbing its hide with deadly talons. It remained airborne, just out of Tengri’s reach.
The bird extended its wings behind it momentarily before swiftly pulling them forward, sending a highly compressed blast of air at Tengri. The instructor instinctively brought his arms up to block the attack. In an instant, the remaining Homunculi charged at Tengri, taking advantage of his shift in focus. Prasanna and Emil continued to observe the fight, their expression one of boredom. Thick smog enveloped Tengri as the calm-looking man emerged from the vapors, wrapping his arms around the Hyena’s neck. The stern-faced individual reappeared below him, grappling his leg. A flash of color rippled in front of the instructor as the jittery-looking Homunculus threw a flurry of punches at speeds undetectable to the naked eye. Indra could still hear the impact of each punch, methodically thrown to what sounded like the liver and spleen. Tengri furrowed his brow; a vein bulged from his forehead.
He swiped at the three restraining him. A series of cracks resounded through the air as Tengri landed skull-fracturing blows to their heads. The three Homunculi crumpled to the ground, a bright yellow [60] appearing from their Nerve Cords. He turned to the giant bird, cocking his arm like a gun. A stream of air manifested around his pointer finger, gyrating with immense force. The feathered creature, sensing the impending danger, moved to escape the attack, swooping low to drop the wolf safely before soaring high into the sky. Tengri didn’t bat an eye, calmly following the bird with his finger, compressing a small ball of air. Tengri’s cyan eyes flashed as the air around his finger surged forward, splitting into various streams, beaming towards the bird.
The bird peeled off to one side to avoid the onslaught sent her way, but the compressed air streams arched back to follow their target. Each one hit its mark, sending the feathered Homunculus spiraling towards the ground. Tengri stepped forward, appearing underneath the falling Homunculus. He caught the giant bird as if it were a feather. A green [75] blinked above her as she morphed back into humanoid form once more. Indra turned to the grey wolf to see if he had also changed back, but the beast was wide awake, limping on all fours as it slowly made its way to the plume-haired woman.
“Are you two done staring? It’s your turn,” Tengri growled, turning to face the duo standing behind him, his cyan hair glowing even brighter than before.
Prasanna grinned at Emil, both nodding in unison before turning to face Tengri, positioning themselves into fighting stances. Prasanna crouched low, the feverish-looking grin never leaving her face; she was itching for this fight. Emil looked calm, his cool emerald eyes lighting up with determination. Indra backed away from the fight, pressing his back against the far wall, trying his best to stay away from the suffocating atmosphere enveloping the other three. It was like watching wild animals stake their claim to a territory.
Indra reminded himself to breathe, closely watching as none of the fighters moved an inch, muscles taught, ready to spring into action at any given moment. Prasanna broke the stalemate, placing her palm on the ground and pushing downwards with a force strong enough to break the earth underneath them. She flew through the air, weightless, before careening towards the ground with an excessive amount of speed, delivering a mid-air axe kick that Tengri blocked with his forearm. The ground underneath him shattered from the force of the impact.
Something slithered along the cracks in the earth. Thick tree roots erupted from the debris, coiling themselves around Tengri’s limbs. Indra looked for the source of the roots, spotting Emil standing in a horse-riding stance with both hands clasped together in the symbol of a snake. A loud crack! echoed throughout the arena as Prasanna delivered blow after blow to Tengri’s sternum, a haunting glow emanating from her eyes, her brilliant sapphire Conduits shining brighter than before. The amused grin never left her face; she was thoroughly enjoying herself, assaulting the instructor. Tengri didn’t make a sound as the Homunculus tried to cave his chest in. Then, his shoulders dropped.
Prasanna flinched, attempting to evade what was coming. Tengri flicked his wrist; in an instant, the roots that Emil was controlling were torn to shreds. He lunged at Prasanna grabbing her by the throat as she writhed around trying to pry herself from his steel grip. He stepped forward, throwing her at Emil who instinctively caught her. It was over in the blink of an eye. The Hyena barrelled towards the two, executing a dropkick that drove them through the wall of the arena. Both Homunculi were instantly knocked out, a flashing green [90] displayed over their heads.
Tengri scratched the back of his head before cracking his neck nonchalantly. The instructor let out an indignant grumble, muttering, “I thought you two would give me a challenge… Shouldn’t have expected too much, I guess…”
As the instructor vocalized his disappointment to himself, Indra slowly slid along the wall towards the exit door, hoping the cyan warrior hadn’t taken notice of him. Unfortunately for him, the warrior did in fact notice; his head swiveled around so fast that he may have given himself whiplash. Without even a moment's hesitation, Tengri crossed the field, reaching Indra and driving a punch through his solar plexus, boredly stating, “You’re the last one.”
The instructor’s eyes suddenly widened. Indra could feel his ribcage snap as the Hyena caved his chest in. He could see the surprise in Tengri's eyes, although the Homunculus himself was not surprised, given that he was, for all intents and purposes, still physically human. He did not possess the durability of his cohorts yet. As such, he was unsurprised to find himself unable to breathe as he choked on his own blood, one of his lungs punctured by shattered bone. A bright red [0] flashed above Indra’s head as he crumpled to the ground, staring at the instructor's darkening face. Was his face darkening? No, that can’t be it. Indra pondered for a moment as the edges of his vision became blurry. Oh, right, I’m dying. He chuckled to himself, sputtering as searing hot pain enveloped his chest, his vision fading to black…
“You called quicker than I thought, insect.”
Indra’s eyes fluttered open, a blood-curdling scream splitting his eardrums. It took him a few seconds to realize that the sound had escaped from his own mouth. His head erupted in agony as memories flooded his brain, forcing their way through his skull like sharpened knives. The night of the infiltration in Filoc Valley, the Siren, the Contract, it all came rushing back to him. He knew what was to come, what he had called upon, what he had unleashed. Usha had awakened and Indra could do nothing to stop him as he slipped into the darkness…
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