-Vol 5: A New Life-

-Removing the Kiddy gloves-

As if gaining a new lease on life, Kenshin’s face brightened as a smirk appeared on his face. Finally, after suffering under her insistent beating for quite a while, he finally managed to deal some damage to her. She was suppressing her damage, and Kenshin knew it, although he couldn’t see any of her stats, HP was finally visible after he dealt some to her. Narrowing his eyes, he stood on guard holding his sword tightly.

“This must be a hidden skill of yours,” Lily muttered, she could no longer afford to smile as the damage she was dealt with was not light. She was completely unprepared for the rebound that happened, shocking her internal organs. Injuries to internal organs were one of the harder problems to deal with. One can endure external wounds, but enduring internal was dangerous on so many levels. It might lead to lasting consequences if not treated right away. Even the smallest of the wounds were serious.

“You have taken some injuries, its better you go and treat them…delaying them isn’t good for your health.” Kenshin couldn’t help but advise. Her HP was rapidly decreasing as if she was receiving DoT due to some skill. Kenshin told them not out of worry but to take this chance and ditch her.

“No can’t do! I have a job to do…until I accomplish that, I can’t move from here. Besides, it's just a superficial wound. It wouldn’t hinder my abilities.” Lily stubbornly replied and again conjured two golden chains before merging them into one. This time, she didn’t recklessly make them charge at him, she made them gently flow around her before pointing her right hand at Kenshin. She realized that she was too naïve to think she could deal with Kenshin using her Intents alone. Granted he was powerful, but she didn’t think he was powerful to this margin. This time she decided to not hold back at all. Going all out was the only option to see the full might of Kenshin’s Intent. If it were what she thought it was, then it would be the most favorable outcome for her.

Golden colored light condensed on her palm before transforming into a transparent golden flame. Looking at it, she took a deep breath before grabbing the flame tightly in her palm. With a spark the flame went out, then suddenly her whole right arm started to burn the same color as the flame she just grabbed. Three red etherial rings in the form of concentric circle conjured themselves and floated behind her. Each ring was revolving in the opposite direction to the last.

The appearance gave Kenshin a huge pressure. He was sure this was one of the skills Lily possessed and judging from the pressure, it wasn’t a low-level skill either. This skill might have touched upon a certain threshold already. Seeing this, Kenshin decided to be careful. It was around this time Kenshin suddenly realized something, they were definitely fighting in the middle of the alley, how come no one alerted yet after they made so much noise? But he had no time to open maps and see what's happening.

Lily made her move.

One of the three floating rings, the smallest and innermost ring suddenly vanished from its spot. Before Kenshin could realize what happened, a cut appeared on his left hand before extending into a large gash as blood flowed out from it.

[-700]

A huge amount of damage value floated above his head, with just a gash, he had lost more than 500 health. This indicated how ridiculously high level this skill had reached. And it was just a casual strike, like that of a warning. But then again, 700 was nothing to him. In just a few minutes he could restore half of it. Even so, a daring light flashed upon Kenshin’s eyes.

Using his System, he targeted one of the ??? skills whose name he couldn’t read and started using Replication on it.

[Ding* Replication failed. +1245 EXP]

[-20 STA]

[Ding* Replication failed. +1245 EXP]

[-20 STA]

[Ding* Replication failed. +1245 EXP]

[-20 STA]

[Ding* Replication failed. +1245 EXP]

[-20 STA]

He started to use it repeatedly as he continued to battle her. The gash on his left hand had stopped bleeding as the [Passive Regenerataion] kicked in full force.

[Ding* Passive Regeneration gained +52 EXP]

[Ding* Passive Regeneration gained +52 EXP]

[Ding* Passive Regeneration gained +52 EXP]

Every second such notification was popping on the side of his eye. Although he was doing all this calmly, he wasn’t actually very calm in the inside. The attack was so sudden that he couldn’t even feel it coming, let alone avoid or dodge it. Or it might be the property of that thing. Looking at the rotating disc, Kenshin wondered. He didn’t dare to blink, afraid that he would be attacked again.

While he was busy with the disc, suddenly the whip appeared out of nowhere, aiming at this stomach. With quick thinking, he coated his sword in a red aura and parried the whip, followed by a back step. Just before he landed, the disk appeared again, this time it was pretty slow that last. Kenshin could see its trajectory, it's moving for his right hand that’s holding the sword.

“Tch!!!” clicking his tongue in anger, he rolled down and moved to left. Before the roll was completed, he stood up and jumped back, creating some distance. Coating his sword in Destructive Energy, he sends it in the form of [Flame Slash] towards her legs. From his earlier encounter, he had already realized that directly attacking her would yield no result, it would only waste his MP.

By destroying the ground she stands on, he was planning to mess her balance, thereby giving him a chance to counter-attack. Fighting for so long, Kenshin already realized that she didn’t intend to cause any harm or killing at him, she simply wants to find something by forcing him to his limit. His earlier impression of her being a simple level 150 hunter was also destroyed this instant. She seems to be stronger than level 150 to him. A person below and above that level had a hell and haven difference in their abilities after all.

Just before the purple flames could touch her, with just a casual wave of her hand, a long pillar of golden transparent flame appeared, forming a wall in front of her. When the purple flames collided with the flame wall, the flame wall suddenly flooded and formed into a spherical ball, covering the attack entirely within. Then the ball shrank into small size before entering into her burning right hand again. Kenshin observed that his attack was suspended inside the transparent ball as if the very time itself had seized from moving.

‘Strong! She is way too strong! What the hell!!?’ Kenshin cursed inside his heart as his eyes narrowed into slits.

There was another thing Kenshin realized as this fight continued, Yuki’s status wasn’t as simple as he had thought after all. For her to have a bodyguard like that…it was no simple matter. He was sure even the prime minister of current Japan didn’t enjoy such a privilege. If such a powerful bodyguard was guarding her, how did she kidnapped last time? Were the kidnappers just got lucky, or there was something else was involved here? Questions after questions popped into his head making his head spin from frustration. Things were really becoming messy, and he didn’t like messy stuff, especially when it concerned with his loved ones.

‘This Lily might answer to all my questions…I must make her talk somehow!’ Narrowing his eyes, he grabbed the sword tighter and took his left foot out front and settled down on an aggressive formation. Using his [Highspeed Movements] to their limit, he vanished from the spot and appeared several metes above Lily with his sword aiming for her head. The red aura on it exploded like a flame above a dry wood coated in petrol.

Both parties had opened their kiddy gloves.