The Path Of A True King.
Chapter 46: Kai Vs Lura (2)

Chapter 46: Kai Vs Lura (2)

Chapter 85

BOOM

A deafening shockwave tore through the night.

Two crescent arcs—one silver, one blazing red—crashed mid-air, colliding in a brilliant flash that painted the scorched battlefield in harsh, flickering light.

The ground trembled under the clash, and at its center, energy rippled like heatwaves, distorting the air itself.

Five meters apart, two figures stood in the aftermath.

Kai’s body swayed, barely upright.

His entire left side was a charred mess of blistered flesh and torn muscle, the scent of burnt skin clinging to him like a curse.

The clean, chiseled lines of his face were marred—his once-handsome features broken under the fury of fire.

His clothes was ruined, clinging to him in scraps, fused with his flesh in places where the flames had melted clothe and skin together.

But he did not flinch.

He did not scream.

Pain pulsed through him, sharp and unrelenting, but Kai’s expression remained unreadable.

A quiet storm brewed behind his tired, dark eyes as his breath came in rough, shallow gulps.

Across from him stood Lura.

Her black hair was wild, strands sticking to her face slick with sweat.

Her eyes, once a deep, shadowy black, now burned orange—alive with flame.

Her elegant figure, sculpted through countless battles, was marred with cuts and bruises, her clothes torn in places where her own fire had kissed her skin.

Even now, embers danced around her like an aura of wrath.

But her fire was fading.

Using her elemental power drained Ki far faster than she could afford, and at the Intermediate Knight level, her reserves were dangerously low.

Every breath was a battle.

Her chest heaved.

Her legs shook.

She looked like she’d been fighting for hours... but it had only been fifteen minutes.

Kai’s lips moved.

"I now understand," he said, voice steady—eerily calm, like a man not on the edge of death, but enlightenment.

Lura narrowed her eyes. Her instincts told her to keep her distance, to not let him speak. But the opportunity to recover even a sliver of her Ki while her flames dimmed was too valuable to ignore.

So she answered, voice rasping, "What do you mean?"

Kai closed his eyes, just for a moment.

Then he opened them, and spoke

"The same way mages use elements," he said slowly, "we who walk the path of the Knight... can do the same."

Lura’s brow furrowed, her flames shrinking back just slightly.

Kai continued.

"Every person is born with an elemental affinity. Sometimes it comes from the place of their birth—where one element saturates the air. Sometimes it comes from blood—from the parents. But the key is: it’s already within us. A part of our being from the start."

He coughed—blood trickling down his lips—but his voice never wavered.

"Mages... they have the ability to draw on mana, both inside and from the atmosphere. They can channel it into spells, enhance themselves, or cast devastating long-range attacks. Their bodies may grow strong, but they can never match a Knight in physical might at the same stage."

He looked at her then—into the fire in her eyes.

"Knights... we fight differently. Our energy—Ki—comes from life itself. It is personal. Intimate. We can coat our weapons with it, strike harder, move faster... but our so-called ’long-range’ attacks are merely extensions of our weapons. We throw arcs, not spells. Our reach ends where our steel does."

He took a breath, each word costing him more than the last.

"But there is balance," he said. "As there always is."

"Mages gain power through intellect, control, manipulation of the world around them. But Knights... we command our own essence. And while we cannot wield mana, anyone—anyone who lives—can awaken Ki."

His gaze sharpened.

"You’re using fire to enhance your body. I can feel it. Like I’m fighting two of you at once."

He took one step forward, ignoring the pain, the skin that tore with the motion.

"And so a question comes to mind..."

He stared into her orange eyes.

"How do you unlock your element?"

Lura exhaled slowly, steadying herself.

She could feel her strength returning, the pressure in her chest easing just enough. The fire within her flared to life once more, embers dancing across her skin. She smiled—not with joy, but with cruel satisfaction—as she looked at the man standing before her.

Now was the time.

"I’ve recovered enough to end you," she said with a smirk. "So tell me, Kai... how do you unlock it?"

Kai didn’t flinch. Instead, he lifted his chin slightly, straightening his posture with surprising ease, considering the damage he’d taken.

"Well," he began, his voice calm—almost amused—"you need to gather your Elemental Ki inside your body. Let it condense... until it forms a core."

He looked her in the eyes, his own still glowing faintly from the effort of their earlier clash.

"It’s the same thing I did when I broke through to the Intermediate Knight stage. The hardest part isn’t forming the core—it’s sensing your elemental Ki in the first place. For some, that part takes years. For others..."

He shrugged, a smirk forming on his lips.

"It’s easy."

Lura’s eyes narrowed.

Something was off.

Her instincts screamed at her—an edge in the tone of his voice, a shift in the air around him.

She didn’t wait.

Flames erupted along her arms and legs, and in an instant, her body vanished into a blur.

Fire trailed behind her as she closed the ten-meter gap in a single, explosive leap, her katana igniting as she swung it toward Kai’s exposed neck with lethal precision.

But just before her blade met flesh—she heard him.

Clearer than ever.

Closer than he should’ve been.

"Thank you for the lesson," Kai said, his voice deep, composed—certain. "I learned a lot."

A pulse of dark energy surged out from him.

The ground cracked beneath his feet.

A twisted aura of black and violet engulfed his entire form, and his once-blue eyes bled into a deep, vibrant purple.

The Ki around him didn’t just shift—it devoured the light, warping the very air with unnatural pressure.

Lura’s eyes widened in disbelief.

What...?

And then—he moved.

Faster than she could react, faster than logic could allow.

In that moment, his speed rivaled Xiniz himself, one of the fastest in their gang she’d ever seen.

Kai sidestepped her blade like it was moving in slow motion, leaping upward and flipping over her effortlessly.

Before she could even turn—

He was behind her.

Lura froze, her breath caught in her throat. Her thoughts raced, heart pounding as her instincts screamed in warning.

How...? she thought. It’s impossible to gather Elemental Ki in the middle of a fight. You need stillness. Focus. Time.

But Kai had done it.

Kai—already a terrifyingly gifted had learned just by watching her. Just by studying her movements.

Her aura.

Her technique.

This wasn’t a copy.

It was evolution.

He even learned how to throw a Moon Arc—a skill that takes intense concentration and countless hours to master. And now...

Her thoughts were cut off.

Kai’s voice came once more, devoid of warmth. His purple eyes gleamed with something unrecognizable—power detached from emotion.

"Dark Slashes."

He moved.

His twin daggers carved through the air in a flurry of motion so fast it blurred reality.

In just two seconds, it was done.

The battlefield was painted in arcs of shadow and steel—half-moons of darkness slashing through space itself.

Lura didn’t even have time to scream.

Her body was torn apart—sliced into dozens of pieces by the relentless assault.

Blood erupted in sprays, staining the scorched earth as limbs and remnants scattered across the ground.

Each arc of darkness left a gash in the dirt, craters glowing faintly with lingering dark KI.

Kai landed softly, his daggers dripping with blood.

The aura around him pulsed once, then settled.

The darkness did not fade—it embraced him.

His burned skin, once raw and broken, began to heal rapidly, the dark Ki wrapping around him like armor.

His wounds closed.

His muscles tightened.

Even the fatigue that had haunted his limbs vanished.

He stood renewed.

Reborn.

As if death itself had passed him by.

Above, the moon cast its silver light upon him, painting his figure in eerie brilliance as shadows danced around his feet.

And Kai—covered in darkness, surrounded by silence—breathed in deeply.