บท 72: “True” Doragonken
As far as Raijah could tell, apart from him, three others were standing: Val, Cora, and Teo. He wasn't entirely sure the three of them could handle Warui, especially considering that Warui was said to be the greatest Doragonken practitioner, only second to Saku—The Dragoness.
Admittedly, Raijah knew they'd fare much better with Aziel at their side. And while Aziel was conscious and actively resisting Warui's Prana, he was still wounded, and without his arms, he'd be unable to wield his scythe.
It was up to them to defeat Warui or, at least, stall long enough for Aziel to recover. But that was no easy task. The other Shi were pinned to the ground, their bodies littered across the plateau.
What unnerved Raijah most, though, was how levelheaded Warui was. He didn't seem to care that four competent fighters were standing against him.
As soon as Raijah finished that thought, Warui leaped into action. Luckily Raijah was one step ahead: without wasting a single moment, he jumped forward—conveniently placing himself in front of Cora.
He moved on a whim. Considering that Warui was only interested in Val and her artifacts, Raijah predicted that he'd attempt to eliminate the others first. Unfortunately for Cora, she just happened to be closest to Val.
His quick decision and reaction saved Cora's life, as Warui's fist emerged a fraction of a second later. Raijah did what he could to minimize the impact, but due to Warui's overwhelming speed, he only managed to turn halfway, making matters worse.
Winding up with his lead foot, Warui threw a direct punch at Raijah, sinking his fist into Raijah's back and pulverizing a large majority of Raijah's bones. The ground sunk in, creating a cylindrical hole around Warui's feet, where he braced himself for the excess impact.
Raijah crashed into Cora at incredible speed. Had Aziel not created a mirror to transport them to his side, they would've likely been sent into orbit.
"Un-unbelievable," Raijah stammered.
Having received his fair share of punches, Raijah was convinced that Warui's fist was among the most powerful.
Cora rushed to Raijah's side, but he was too dazed to react. Instead, having become accustomed to the pain, he just began rising to his feet.
At the plateau's center, Warui peered into the chasm. Dusting the debris off his clothes, he turned his attention back to his opponents. This time he waited for them to attack as if mocking their ability to do so.
Raijah could sense Teo and Val manipulating Prana into their respective blades, but neither had enough energy to inflict fatal damage.
Consequently, Aziel began getting to his feet. He was holding the snath of his scythe in his mouth, and although his arms were broken, he was willing to fight.
Raijah extended his arm to stop Aziel from advancing. "Let me go first. There's a new principle I'd like to implement into my Doragonken. If it doesn't work, and I lose, it should at least give you an advantage when you face him."
Over the last few years, Aziel learned that Raijah's greatest strength as a fighter was not his Divine Prana or martial arts. Although he was skilled with both, his greatest strength was his ability to adapt. Thus, Aziel nodded, fully trusting Raijah's judgment and deduction.
Raijah looked over to Teo and pointed to the sky.
Without any exchange of words, Teo understood what Raijah was saying. He manipulated what little Prana he had left, and Teiden began to expand. Within seconds, it grew to thousands upon thousands of times its initial size, forming a horizontal shield above the entirety of the Shi Mountains. Now standing atop Teiden, Raijah no longer had to worry about the safety of the other members of the Shi family. It was only him, Val, and Warui.
Val was confused by the circumstances. Raising a brow, she asked, "What's your plan?"
"It's more of a gamble than an actual plan," Raijah answered. "I learned a new skill while fighting Tensai. I'm going to apply it and use my strongest non-Prana based attack. The collateral damage will be devastating, so I need you to seal it before it spreads."
Val was dumbfounded at the news. How could he make such demands so suddenly? Doubting her own abilities, she was about to shut down his requests, but he dashed at Warui before she could even accept his terms.
Warui was shocked by Raijah's confidence. But once Raijah closed in, Warui realized that he was no amateur. His footwork resembled the Blue Dragon's kick, a technique only available to Doragonken masters.
In addition, an individual with Raijah's wounds would be completely unable to use Doragonken unless they had mastered the concept of "True."
Doragonken is an art that depends heavily on one's kicking ability. To perform and release the strongest possible kick, one must build tension to support themselves. Your arms, along with the rest of your body, act as counterweights to support the act of kicking. Thus, half of the energy is exerted on the kick, while the other half is for balance.
"True" bypasses such logic. As a subconcept of Doragonken, one that is only available to those absolutely flawless in the art, True allows the user to perform kicks without any prior setup. As long as the user's legs are intact, they can use Doragonken kicks no matter how damaged the rest of their body is.
Essentially, applying True to kicks removes all unnecessary movements, resulting in all energy generated for an attack being transferred instantly. This process exponentially increases power and speed.
Up till now, Warui thought True was a level of Doragonken only he and Saku had reached. Every fiber of his being urged him to stop the incoming attack, and in acknowledgment of Raijah's mastery, Warui prepared to do just that.
Raijah pivoted on the balls of his feet. Turning his back to Warui, he lifted his back leg and hooked his foot toward Warui's head.
Warui did the same as Raijah but spun in the opposite direction, allowing him to use his off-leg to halt Raijah's kick.
"Doragonken: True Blue Dragon's Kick!"
"Doragonken: True Reverse Blue Dragon's Kick!"
Val had to shield her eyes from the resulting explosion. Such an impact would've vaporized the Shi Mountains and its surrounding oceans had Teiden not been there.
She lifted her head slightly to see a cylindrical beam of light erupting into the sky. She could see it shoot up and pierce the atmosphere of the planet as it ascended further out into space.
Raijah had clearly done his part. Now it was up to Val to seal away all the impending damage. She knew Teo couldn't sustain Teiden's size much longer, so she had to think quickly.
But what could she do? She didn't have a single seal in her arsenal large enough to nullify an interplanetary blast. Sure, she could activate Ririsu and use Shōkyo, but that would only work if she could get close enough to touch it with her blade.
Any closer, and she felt she would turn to dust.
As if things couldn't get any worse, Teiden quaked, and she nearly lost her balance. She had just a few seconds to seal the explosion, or Teiden would shrink, and the blast would annihilate all her loved ones.
Realizing she was running out of time, Val manipulated Prana as fast as possible. She figured she could at least weaken the blast. No, that wouldn't be enough. She had to stop it altogether.
Val clasped her hands together. Channeling all her Prana out, she could feel her knees becoming jelly, but she didn't stop. She didn't care what happened to her body as long as she could get this seal to work.
She amassed all her available Prana, but it wasn't enough to cover such a large area. Deep down, she knew the task Raijah left her with was impossible to complete at her current strength.
Her Signature Prana worked best as a supplement for her attacks because the effectiveness of her seals depended on several factors, such as how much Prana she had at her disposal and in relation to her target. Thus, it consumed far too much Prana to be the driving force of Val's fighting style.
An immense throb shivered into her head with a shroud of darkness. It made her feel dizzy and light. Val's vision began to narrow. The pain spiked across her entire body, and a black ring of unconsciousness shrunk her field of view.
A blink of thought flashed before her eyes as the world around her turned black.
***
Val was still standing. She had only lost consciousness for a fraction of a second, but now she felt strange. The feeling was akin to the sensation she experienced when she awakened her first Ririsu ability and received Ame-no-Ohabari.
She was well aware that a new Ririsu ability can awaken when a Saint is forced into situations where they undergo extreme physical or mental stress.
Considering this knowledge, Val said the only words that came naturally:
"Ririsu Prana: Immuration!"
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