+----+ Chapter 15: All Attacks Useless?! Jason Henderson, of the Counter Fist Style +----+
Before anyone else could even think to speak, Kiyou had leapt into the arena, his hand on the hilt of his broadsword.
"Hmph. I see you've chosen the flame demon Kiyou to fight. Bad move, if I do say so myself. Allow me to introduce.... Jason Henderson, master of Kaeshiken-ryuu."
From the opposite end of the arena, a scruffy-looking young man walked out into the light. Blue hair hung messily down his face, and his clothes were in tatters. He looked as though he'd just come straight from a barroom brawl, to be honest. But the look in his eyes showed that he was more than just your typical street fighter....
"Heh. A fire demon, eh? I've always wanted to fight one.... Let's get started, pal!!"
In a blur, both fighters vanished. With such speed, even the accomplished fighters watching on the sidelines had difficulty seeing them. Kiyou delivered blow after blow on Jason, but the other warrior didn't seem to be feeling anything at all.... he wasn't even attempting to counterattack. Suddenly, Kiyou's eyes sprang open, and he leapt backwards, panting hard after such an assault. Jason was unphased, and had a grin on his face.
"Ki power.... a bit less than 2,000," said Jason. "Not bad, I must admit. Your latent energy's impressive too. Pity it'll only help me, and hurt you.... Heh-heh-heh...."
With a grunt of effort, Kiyou formed a large ball of fire in both hands, and hurled it at Jason.... who simply took it head-on. An explosion rocked the arena, and when the smoke cleared, Jason was still unhurt. Kiyou stared blankly, in shock that nothing he was doing could make a dent in this guy.
"Haven't you figured it out yet? Hmph.... seems I overestimated you. Fine, then. Meet your death - at the hands of your very own technique!!"
Raising one hand to the sky, Jason began to glow a bright yellow, his aura flowing into his open palm. A large ball of flame, looking exactly as Kiyou's did, sprang from his palm, and he leapt towards Kiyou before throwing it. In shock at seeing his own skill copied to perfectly and effortlessly, Kiyou was stunned long enough for the fireball to hit him directly, sending him flying through the wall of the stadium and into a nearby mountain range.
The spectators were in absolute awe at Jason's skills. "Kaeshiken-ryuu.... the Counter Fist Style," commented Taisho, "is an all but unstoppable fighting technique that absorbs the impulse of an opponent's attacks by concentrating Ki at the point of impact to neutralize the strike, and then absorbing the power of the attack by using even more Ki. It takes a significant amount of energy to use, but it can easily defeat foes dozens of times stronger than the user.... But this guy seems to have improved even on this style - copying an opponent's Ki fluctuations to mimic his attacks and throw him offguard. Amazing.... Kiyou only has one chance at winning this, but it'll be a longshot."
Emerging from the mountain, bruised and battered, Kiyou turned his head and spat out a bit of blood before glaring over at Jason. His eyes narrowed dangerously, and bright red flames crackled around his clenched fist before blood started to drip slowly out from it. Jason's eyebrow lifted slightly, and he chuckled, "Oh, come on. The angrier you get, the more power you give me.... W-What?!"
The flames surrounding Kiyou's fist spread to his entire body, and, in a dead voice, he said, "My own attack.... my own power.... Never has it been used against me. Heh.... you fool!!!" With that, the flames more than tripled in size, blazing through the mountain entirely - as well as everything in the area - burning it to little more than dust. Jason stepped back in fear. "I-Impossible.... Ki power.... over 30,000.... W-What happened?!!"
This time, it was Kiyou's turn to chuckle. "I'm a fire demon, you idiot. Fire only enhances my strength.... and you put too much of your energy into that attack. Now I'm even stronger, and you're even weaker." Paralyzed in terror, Jason could only let out a faint whimper. A wide, fanged smile crossed Kiyou's face as he spoke.
"Die."
Kiyou held out his hand, and opened his fist to a flat palm. Fire crackled around his hand, and slowly began to form into a sphere. Taisho recognized Kiyou's attack posture and screamed out, "What.... are you doing, dammit!?! You'll kill us all!!" Turning his head only slightly to look at Taisho, Kiyou called out, "Stay out of this, human! This.... insect.... has made a mockery of me. He'll not live to regret that decision!!"
Returning his focus to his attack, Kiyou sent a surge of power through his arm, doubling the size of of the sphere, and then doubling it again.... and again.... Jason was sweating by now, frozen in place by fear. In just a few more seconds, the sphere was just as big as Kiyou, and he grinned wickedly.
"You made a mistake when you pissed me off.... a mistake that has always proven fatal. Now.... I'll see you in Hell, fool!!! Final attack! Ensatsu Jigoku no Makai!!!!!"
And he shot the sphere directly at Jason, tearing up the ground as it passed through the air. It looked as though Jason would die.... until suddenly a shadow appeared in front of Jason - Shinrai, one hand gripping the other.
Kiyou was stunned, crying out, "W-What?! You idiot!! Get out of there!!!"
Taisho could only grin, and say, "The match is over...."
"Rei Gun.... Zero Type!!!!"
All eyes turned to the conflict - the gigantic sphere of fire, against Shinrai and Jason. With a flash of light, the flaming ball dissipated, and a huge blast of blue light burst through it, heading straight for Kiyou. The demon managed to dodge just in time, as the blast flew towards the horizon.... and an explosion rocked all of Hanging-Neck Island. Blinding light shone from the source of the explosion, forcing everyone to cover their eyes. As the smoke and light cleared, Shinrai stood solemnly, hands at his sides, breathing softly.
"W-What.... the hell did you do that for, fool!! That blast could've easily incinerated you!"
Shinrai just chuckled, "The blast would've done that anyway, Kiyou. That attack had enough power to destroy this entire island - and all of us - if the technique succeeded. So, I had to step in and take care of things."
In awe, Taisho could only mutter something faint under his breath....
"That.... wasn't just a Rei Gun.... It was the.... the succession technique.... But how in the hell did he.... ?"
Before anyone else could even think to speak, Kiyou had leapt into the arena, his hand on the hilt of his broadsword.
"Hmph. I see you've chosen the flame demon Kiyou to fight. Bad move, if I do say so myself. Allow me to introduce.... Jason Henderson, master of Kaeshiken-ryuu."
From the opposite end of the arena, a scruffy-looking young man walked out into the light. Blue hair hung messily down his face, and his clothes were in tatters. He looked as though he'd just come straight from a barroom brawl, to be honest. But the look in his eyes showed that he was more than just your typical street fighter....
"Heh. A fire demon, eh? I've always wanted to fight one.... Let's get started, pal!!"
In a blur, both fighters vanished. With such speed, even the accomplished fighters watching on the sidelines had difficulty seeing them. Kiyou delivered blow after blow on Jason, but the other warrior didn't seem to be feeling anything at all.... he wasn't even attempting to counterattack. Suddenly, Kiyou's eyes sprang open, and he leapt backwards, panting hard after such an assault. Jason was unphased, and had a grin on his face.
"Ki power.... a bit less than 2,000," said Jason. "Not bad, I must admit. Your latent energy's impressive too. Pity it'll only help me, and hurt you.... Heh-heh-heh...."
With a grunt of effort, Kiyou formed a large ball of fire in both hands, and hurled it at Jason.... who simply took it head-on. An explosion rocked the arena, and when the smoke cleared, Jason was still unhurt. Kiyou stared blankly, in shock that nothing he was doing could make a dent in this guy.
"Haven't you figured it out yet? Hmph.... seems I overestimated you. Fine, then. Meet your death - at the hands of your very own technique!!"
Raising one hand to the sky, Jason began to glow a bright yellow, his aura flowing into his open palm. A large ball of flame, looking exactly as Kiyou's did, sprang from his palm, and he leapt towards Kiyou before throwing it. In shock at seeing his own skill copied to perfectly and effortlessly, Kiyou was stunned long enough for the fireball to hit him directly, sending him flying through the wall of the stadium and into a nearby mountain range.
The spectators were in absolute awe at Jason's skills. "Kaeshiken-ryuu.... the Counter Fist Style," commented Taisho, "is an all but unstoppable fighting technique that absorbs the impulse of an opponent's attacks by concentrating Ki at the point of impact to neutralize the strike, and then absorbing the power of the attack by using even more Ki. It takes a significant amount of energy to use, but it can easily defeat foes dozens of times stronger than the user.... But this guy seems to have improved even on this style - copying an opponent's Ki fluctuations to mimic his attacks and throw him offguard. Amazing.... Kiyou only has one chance at winning this, but it'll be a longshot."
Emerging from the mountain, bruised and battered, Kiyou turned his head and spat out a bit of blood before glaring over at Jason. His eyes narrowed dangerously, and bright red flames crackled around his clenched fist before blood started to drip slowly out from it. Jason's eyebrow lifted slightly, and he chuckled, "Oh, come on. The angrier you get, the more power you give me.... W-What?!"
The flames surrounding Kiyou's fist spread to his entire body, and, in a dead voice, he said, "My own attack.... my own power.... Never has it been used against me. Heh.... you fool!!!" With that, the flames more than tripled in size, blazing through the mountain entirely - as well as everything in the area - burning it to little more than dust. Jason stepped back in fear. "I-Impossible.... Ki power.... over 30,000.... W-What happened?!!"
This time, it was Kiyou's turn to chuckle. "I'm a fire demon, you idiot. Fire only enhances my strength.... and you put too much of your energy into that attack. Now I'm even stronger, and you're even weaker." Paralyzed in terror, Jason could only let out a faint whimper. A wide, fanged smile crossed Kiyou's face as he spoke.
"Die."
Kiyou held out his hand, and opened his fist to a flat palm. Fire crackled around his hand, and slowly began to form into a sphere. Taisho recognized Kiyou's attack posture and screamed out, "What.... are you doing, dammit!?! You'll kill us all!!" Turning his head only slightly to look at Taisho, Kiyou called out, "Stay out of this, human! This.... insect.... has made a mockery of me. He'll not live to regret that decision!!"
Returning his focus to his attack, Kiyou sent a surge of power through his arm, doubling the size of of the sphere, and then doubling it again.... and again.... Jason was sweating by now, frozen in place by fear. In just a few more seconds, the sphere was just as big as Kiyou, and he grinned wickedly.
"You made a mistake when you pissed me off.... a mistake that has always proven fatal. Now.... I'll see you in Hell, fool!!! Final attack! Ensatsu Jigoku no Makai!!!!!"
And he shot the sphere directly at Jason, tearing up the ground as it passed through the air. It looked as though Jason would die.... until suddenly a shadow appeared in front of Jason - Shinrai, one hand gripping the other.
Kiyou was stunned, crying out, "W-What?! You idiot!! Get out of there!!!"
Taisho could only grin, and say, "The match is over...."
"Rei Gun.... Zero Type!!!!"
All eyes turned to the conflict - the gigantic sphere of fire, against Shinrai and Jason. With a flash of light, the flaming ball dissipated, and a huge blast of blue light burst through it, heading straight for Kiyou. The demon managed to dodge just in time, as the blast flew towards the horizon.... and an explosion rocked all of Hanging-Neck Island. Blinding light shone from the source of the explosion, forcing everyone to cover their eyes. As the smoke and light cleared, Shinrai stood solemnly, hands at his sides, breathing softly.
"W-What.... the hell did you do that for, fool!! That blast could've easily incinerated you!"
Shinrai just chuckled, "The blast would've done that anyway, Kiyou. That attack had enough power to destroy this entire island - and all of us - if the technique succeeded. So, I had to step in and take care of things."
In awe, Taisho could only mutter something faint under his breath....
"That.... wasn't just a Rei Gun.... It was the.... the succession technique.... But how in the hell did he.... ?"