The Shades moved. Faster than before.
A streak of corrupted motion cut left—too fast for the eye to track. Kai caught the glint of claws and pivoted, dragging his blade up in a desperate arc.
CLANG!
Sparks erupted as steel clashed with corrupted claws. The impact jolted his bones, rattling down to his very soul. The other came from behind. He twisted but too slow. The claws slashed across his back. Not deep. But enough.
Blood splattered in a crimson arc across the stone.
Kai grunted, stumbling forward—but he didn't fall. He refused to fall. He spun on his heel, katana sweeping a wide arc laced in fire. The heat warped the air, leaving a shimmering trail behind the blade.
One Shade ducked. The other leapt over it.
Damn it—
They landed, synchronized, one on either side of him. A pincer.
Kai leapt straight upward by instinct. Claws scraped together beneath him. He flipped in the air, twisting mid-flight, flames surging from his boots like afterburn. His katana slashed downward.
WHOOSH!
A diagonal strike carved the space between the two Shades. One was nicked—just a scratch. The other twisted and retaliated. Too close.
Kai raised his arm to guard, and the claw raked across his forearm. Blood welled up. He dropped to a knee. Chest heaving. A bead of sweat slid down his temple, mingling with blood.
Still… he rose. Again. And again.
His vision blurred, but his will sharpened.
He could see Belle from the corner of his eye—still weak, still recovering, silver hair clinging to her sweat-drenched skin. She was watching him. Every moment. Every motion.
He couldn't lose here.
Not when she was behind him. Not when she had always stood ahead.
The Shades circled.
One Shade lunged low, a blur of limbs and claws.
Kai stepped forward into the strike, his katana cleaving downward in a perfect arc. It connected—steel slicing through corrupted flesh and plating.
A static-laced shriek echoed. The creature staggered, stumbling into a roll. But the second was already there—flanking, faster.
Kai turned just in time.
CLASH.
A furious series of blows followed. Steel against claws. Flame against darkness.
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
Each strike was more vicious than the last.
He blocked. Deflected. Dodged. But the pressure was relentless. It was like holding back a collapsing mountain. His knees buckled under a heavy swipe. The ground cracked beneath his boots. A blaze of flame burst around his heels to stabilize him.
His body screamed. Muscles burning. Lungs aching. The fire on his blade began to flicker.
He pushed forward—recklessly. He caught the Shade mid-sprint with a low slash across its legs, knocking it into a spin. But its twin was right behind—descending from above like a missile.
BOOM.
The impact landed squarely on Kai's raised blade. The floor exploded, fragments of stone launching outward in a storm. Kai grunted, nearly collapsing under the pressure, blade trembling in his grip.
They pressed the assault.
A claw sliced for his side—he twisted again, too slow this time. Blood sprayed. A shallow cut, but deep enough to hurt.
The attacks were too fast. Too relentless.
He couldn't keep this up. But behind him—he sensed her movement.
Belle.
Pushing herself upright. One arm trembling. Her eyes wide, silver strands falling across her face.
"No." His voice cracked with force, despite the pain. "Stay down."
She froze. Surprised. Not by the command—but by the tone.
There was something in it. Something she'd never heard before.
Kai stood tall, chest heaving. His side bled freely, yet he didn't waver. The fire on his blade dimmed—but still burned.
"I've got this," he said.
No hesitation. No doubt. Just fire.
The Shades regrouped—circling him like wolves.
He inhaled deeply. Then, a whisper—meant only for her. Like a confession.
"…You've always been the strong one."
One Shade lunged. He sidestepped, slicing across its chest—a shallow wound. He flowed into a second strike, parrying the other's claws.
"I've always admired that about you. That calm… that strength… the way you never break."
He ducked low, spinning. Fire surged around him in a spiral as he slashed upward.
"No matter how bad it gets. I always enjoy fighting with you."
Blocked. Parried. Slashed. A dance of fire and steel.
"And me…?" His tone dipped.
"I just... keep getting in the way. I'm the guy who rushes in. The guy you always have to save. I feel like I'm a deadweight to you."
His eyes narrowed.
"Of course I know my own limits, and you are always the one that is doing the heavy lifting. I'm not gonna complain about that."
The flames on his katana pulsed—brighter.
"But not this time."
He planted his feet. Eyes locked on the nearest Shade.
"I've never said it… but sometimes… when I watch you fight… I wonder…"
He leapt forward—shoulder-first into the Shade, knocking it off balance.
"...if one day… you'll leave me behind."
The words spilled like blood—honest and raw.
A claw shot past him—not at him—at her.
Belle.
"NO!"
FWOOM.
A wall of fire erupted from Kai as he shot forward, closing the distance in an instant.
Not magic. Just raw willpower made of flame.
He crashed into the Shade mid-sprint. His katana ignited—molten red, the steel glowing white-hot. They clashed, claw against steel, sparks flying like stars. He held the Shade back with both arms, muscles screaming.
"…That's why I'm done just tagging along!"
He roared, fury and pain mixing into one.
"I'm done waiting to be carried!"
He threw the Shade back, dragging a trail of heat through the air.
He raised his katana high. The flames twisted—no, spiraled—around him like a dragon's breath, forming a vortex of crimson light.
And with a scream that split the cavern—he struck. The katana crashed down. A pillar of flame erupted from the point of impact—scorching, blinding, divine.
The Shade blocked. But it wasn't enough. The force hurled it backward—slamming it into the cavern wall with a thunderous shockwave. Stone cracked. Metal shattered. Sparks scattered like fireflies in a hurricane.
Kai stood. Panting. Bloodied. Unmoving. But unbroken.
Behind him—Belle didn't rise.
She knelt there. Silent. Staring. Her eyes wide—not with fear. Not with worry. But with something deeper.
Trust. Pride.
"…You idiot," she whispered.
And then, she smiled.
Kai didn't hear her. He couldn't. His focus was at the front. The battle wasn't over.
The Shades were regrouping—eyes brighter, bodies twitching.
The Shades hissed—joints clicking, corrupted metal twitching with eerie precision. Their arms stretched into grotesque blades, serrated and shifting, dragging along the cavern floor with a high-pitched screech like nails across glass.
A tremor passed through the stone beneath them.
They were evolving again.
Their outlines flickered—blending with the shadows, warping like corrupted holograms. Even the faint glow of the crystal-lit cavern seemed to recoil from their presence.
But amidst that darkness—Kai stood.
His katana hung loosely at his side, tip grazing the ground. Fire still coiled around the blade, low and steady, like a beast crouched—waiting.
He didn't glance back at Belle this time. He didn't need to. She was still behind him and she wouldn't go anywhere anytime soon.
He could feel it. Her gaze. Her trust.
"…Come on," he whispered, his voice low and calm.
He brought his katana up, the blade catching a faint shimmer of light as he turned the hilt, letting the fire slither across its edge.
"Give me everything you've got."
The Shades moved. But not recklessly.
They circled. Faster than before.
The sound of their movement was like metal gliding over stone, echoing unnaturally, as though they were warping reality itself with every step. One disappeared from sight for a full second before reappearing above him in a silent arc.
Kai reacted on instinct. He pivoted—blade rising in a parry that met the descending claws with a thunderous CLANG. The shock rattled up his arms, steel crying out in protest. Sparks exploded in all directions like a dying firework.
He twisted his body, letting the force carry him into a counter-strike—only for the second Shade to intercept mid-swing, claws intercepting his motion with surgical timing.
They were moving as one now. No gaps. No hesitation.
A flurry of attacks rained down. Steel against claw. Claw against flesh. Motion blurred—too fast to track with the eye.
Kai deflected the first. Dodged the second. Blocked the third. The fourth got through—ripping a shallow gash across his thigh.
He staggered, his foot skidding back.
"Gh—damn… still not enough—!"
A voice rang out. Clear and steady.
"Kai!"
Even through the whirlwind of noise, he heard her.
He glanced back—just a flicker.
She was still down on one knee, hand pressed to the stone, but her gaze—focused, bright alive.
"I'm going to teach you something," she said, not shouting, but the weight in her voice pierced the chaos. "You need to listen. Now."
"Belle—kinda got my hands full!"
"You have to trust me."
A Shade lunged—Kai turned mid-air, barely rolling aside as its claws scraped a trail into the stone behind him.
Belle's voice reached him again.
"Listen, everyone has an aura. It's part of your life force—the essence that makes you you. That's how I detect things using Aura Sense. It's not just mana. It's deeper. Denser."
Kai grimaced, blocking another strike.
"I don't… I don't get what that means!"
"You don't have to understand it. You need to feel it!" she urged. "Start with your mana—focus on it. Trace it through your body!"
"I am focused—!" he shouted, blocking two strikes in quick succession, his blade shaking under the pressure.
"No," she said. "You're focusing on the fight. I need you to focus on yourself."
The world seemed to slow.
He backed up a step—just enough breathing room to listen. He inhaled—sharply. Sweat poured down his face. Blood trickled freely from half a dozen cuts.
And yet—he searched. Inside.
He'd always known how his mana felt. It burned like wildfire when he fought. A roaring engine in his chest.
"Good," Belle said. "Now listen carefully."
"Within that mana… there's something else. Another presence."
"A presence?"
"It's subtle. Deeper than your nerves. A weight… a hum… like your will given form. Look for it."
Kai concentrated, sweat rolling down his temple. But now he searched beyond that. Deeper. Beneath the flame.
And found—a hum.
Faint. Subtle. Like a distant drumbeat beneath the skin.
"What is this…?"
"Your aura," Belle said. "It's the part of you that doesn't waver."
But the moment he felt it—another Shade pounced.
He reacted too slow—caught a claw across the shoulder.
"Ghh—!"
Blood sprayed. He staggered.
"Damn it—I almost had it—!"
Belle's voice rose again. Calm. But firm.
"You're getting close! Stop thinking so much!"
Kai dropped into a low guard, blade ready.
"Easy for you to say—you're used to this freaky aura stuff!"
"I wasn't. Not at first. My world was different. But you have it too, Kai. Everyone does. You just need to acknowledge it."
He swallowed thickly.
"Acknowledge it…"
The Shades charged again.
He dodged one. Parried the second.
But even as they attacked, he dug deeper. He searched within the mana—not the heat, not the flow. But that faint hum beneath it. That steady beat that wasn't his heart. Something heavier. Primal.
And suddenly—he felt it. A tremor in his chest. Not pain. Not magic.
Will.
"Wait—"
His eyes snapped open.
"—there it is—"
He reached it. Held onto that sensation.
The moment he did—a faint glow sparked from his body. Flickering like a dying ember. It wasn't bright. It wasn't stable. But it was there.
"Belle—!"
She smiled faintly. "I can't believe you did it that fast."
"Now isolate it. Separate it from your mana. It's like tuning a string… shift the frequency. Let it become your weapon."
He gritted his teeth, focusing everything he had.
Alright Kai, you've seen this before. You've seen hundreds of times how Belle did it.
His mana flared—resisting at first, unstable—but then bent, twisted, merged. The ember became a stream. Flowing. Alive.
FWOOOM.
His blade burst into a new flame.
But this fire didn't just burn. It distorted. The air around the katana shimmered like glass on the verge of shattering. Tiny sparks floated off, twisting mid-air like embers caught in reverse gravity.
The Shades paused.
For the first time, they hesitated.
Kai lifted the blade.
His expression—clear. His stance—perfectly grounded. His aura—whispering power.
"I'm not faster than Belle," he murmured. "Not stronger than her…"
He narrowed his eyes.
"But now—I can see you."
End of Chapter 65