Chapter 14
Ash stepped forward, the air shimmering faintly around him as his mana coursed through every fiber of his being. His muscles tensed beneath his clothes, enhanced to superhuman levels, his shell wrapped tightly around him like an unseen armor—dense, bulletproof, and reinforcing his every movement. The cavern vibrated softly beneath his feet, dust trickling from overhead support beams as the unstable energy in the air seemed to respond to the presence of two titans preparing to clash. The ancient skeleton of the dragon loomed in the background, ribs shattered and carved out, leaking a slow pulse of mana into the stone and steel tunnel. The lights flickered, casting long, trembling shadows against the jagged rock.
Madam Gao raised her cane with a calm, deliberate motion, her gaze still and unreadable, and then without warning, she struck. Her cane moved faster than the eye could track, aiming straight for Ash's temple with the grace of someone who had fought for centuries. Ash ducked low in an instant, his reflexes enhanced, his movement a blur of speed and control as her cane missed by a breath. He twisted around her, pivoting on the ball of his foot, and delivered a devastating blow to her ribs, the impact sending a deep echo through the tunnel. Gao flew back, smashing against one of the wooden support beams, which cracked from the force, raining splinters across the tunnel floor—but she landed perfectly on her feet, not a single breath out of rhythm.
Ash charged again, footsteps pounding against the metal-lined stone floor. Gao met him halfway, her hand glowing briefly as she slammed her palm forward, sending a focused blast of chi. Ash threw his arms up, letting the impact slam into his shell. The chi blast flared against the hardened mana barrier and forced him back a step, his boots scraping a trail along the floor, but he remained standing. Gao was already moving, sweeping low with her cane, trying to unbalance him. Ash jumped, tucking his legs in mid-air before landing behind her, twisting his torso as he delivered a spinning elbow that cracked the air. Gao bent back, the move graceful and unnatural, like her spine was liquid. The strike missed by inches, brushing past the edge of her white hair.
They exchanged another flurry of strikes. Gao ducked, spun, and struck at Ash's knees; he twisted and blocked, retaliating with a high kick that caught her cane mid-swing, launching it clattering across the floor. Her palms ignited again with chi as she drove both hands into his chest. The cavern groaned—the lights above flickering violently—as Ash was blasted back into the rock wall, shattering chunks of stone and cracking the edges of his shell with sharp, spiderweb fractures. Dust plumed into the air, obscuring the tunnel momentarily, but he walked out of it, glowing faintly, breath steady, eyes locked on her. His shell had held—but it was weakening.
Ash closed the distance with a sudden burst of speed, his feet pounding against the floor, sending small quakes through the structure. Gao met him with her own rapid strikes, her palms glowing and arms fluid as she redirected his punches, redirecting the force into the ground with perfect redirection technique. One strike grazed his cheek; another slammed into his ribs and sent him staggering sideways into a support beam, which snapped clean in half and caused a small cave-in near the tunnel entrance. Rocks tumbled, dust choked the air, and the mana cyclone behind the dragon bones swirled faster—pulling loose debris upward like reverse rainfall.
Ash caught her wrist mid-strike, twisted, and shoved her against the wall, stone cracking under the impact. She retaliated by gripping his forearm and slamming her knee into his stomach—once, twice—then used his own grip against him to flip over his shoulder with incredible speed. He crashed onto the tunnel floor, rolling before springing back up, his hand dragging across the dirt and leaving a mana trail that briefly shimmered like blue fire. They faced each other again, both breathing evenly, both watching. Then, they moved again. A blur of movement, the ground cracking under their feet, lights blinking as metal beams groaned overhead. Each attack, dodge, and counter shattered the quiet and bent the space around them as if reality itself strained to hold their power.
Ash slid back, boots carving twin trenches through the dirt-lined stone as Gao pressed forward with relentless precision. His arms ached from parries, his shell now etched with hairline fractures that pulsed faintly from within. The light above them sparked and shattered as Gao's palm barely missed him, the released chi blast tearing through the ceiling and sending stone chunks crashing down. Ash twisted under a falling slab, rolling as dust enveloped him. Gao emerged through the haze without slowing, her movements precise, efficient, every motion born from centuries of combat experience.
He swung wide with a heavy right, the blow laced with raw strength, and Gao leaned back just enough for the strike to graze her shoulder. She spun under his arm and sent three rapid strikes into his ribs—one, two, three—each one rattling his core as his shell struggled to disperse the damage. He staggered, coughing, but his breath remained steady. Controlled. He was still using the breathing technique Goldie had taught him. Mana flowed into him with each exhale, sharper and more vibrant with every inhale as the Phenomenon behind him pulsed violently, releasing more and more energy into the already unstable cavern.
Gao slowed slightly—not in speed, but in aura. Her hands no longer crackled with chi. The last blast had singed a groove into the wall, but no new light followed. Ash's eyes narrowed. She was conserving. She was draining. Unlike him, she couldn't refill her reservoir. His own was now being fed by the Phenomenon itself, each heartbeat syncing with the swirl of raw mana behind him. But Gao didn't falter. She stepped in, driving a palm toward his face. Ash tilted sideways just in time, her strike missing his jaw by a breath and blowing a crack across the nearby wall instead. Rock splintered, the tunnel groaning louder with each blow they exchanged.
Ash tried to press the advantage, his blows coming faster, heavier, every swing reinforced by mana. She ducked one punch, pivoted under the next, and jabbed her elbow into his gut again, forcing the air from his lungs. But as she moved, she was sweating now. Her breathing was heavier. Her steps more calculated, no longer wasteful but cautious. Ash grinned through bloodied lips. He stayed close, weathering her strikes with his cracked shell, absorbing blows that would've staggered him minutes ago, because he knew now—this was a battle of attrition. He could last. She couldn't.
The ground beneath them split slightly as a quake ran through the chamber, small mana fractures glowing underfoot. The Phenomenon swirled faster now, tendrils of glowing energy reaching the ceiling, where cracks had started to spiderweb across the rock. Ash kept moving, exchanging blows, feeling strength return to his limbs faster than she could wear it down. She struck with flawless rhythm, but the weight behind each hit was beginning to falter.
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A/N now that we are close to the end of the first volume, what do you guys think of the story so far.