Doku and Khan didn't have the time to exchange words. They nodded at each other before the rage of the battlefield fell on them and forced that small group to separate.
Khan sprinted among the group of Niqols and rare humans while swinging his blade and kicking whenever he found a good opportunity. The chaos of the battlefield still ruined every plan that tried to form in his mind and forced him to improvise, but his speed and deadliness gave him an advantage that most didn't share.
Khan had a specific role in that battle, but it was impossible to keep it in mind in that situation. He could barely think at all with the pressure that the mana around him applied to his senses. Khan soon lost himself among the cycle of sprints, dodges, and attacks that his body performed. He emptied himself of every useless feeling and sensation to blend with the battlefield and become nothing more than an expression of his expertise.
Interrupting the flow of his thoughts and regressing to a mere mass of instincts seemed the only valid option in an area that lacked order. Planning something would only lead to hesitation, which usually brought death, and Khan couldn't die there. He didn't allow himself to commit mistakes after surviving through twelve years of nightmares. He couldn't be sloppy now that he had found someone who could grant him peace.
Khan didn't have the time to appreciate how easy it had been for him to blend with the battlefield. It felt almost natural to adapt his movements and flow among the waves of mana that reached his senses.
His reactions quickened, his attacks became more precise, and his movements grew smoother. Khan experienced his strongest state yet, but he couldn't appreciate it. His thoughts were elsewhere, hidden by a dense and seemingly empty layer that forced his mind to remain immersed in the mana around him.
The head of a young rebel exploded when Khan kicked it, but he quickly bent backward to dodge an ethereal spear flying in his direction. Another young rebel tried to attack him while he was in that odd position, but he performed a back handspring to get out of that situation.
The rebel tried to chase after Khan, but the latter threw a kick at his opponent's head. The attack shattered the girls' teeth before breaking her neck and flinging her backward.
Khan shot to his right. He had instinctively chosen the annoying spear-thrower as his next target, but it had taken him a while to identify the Niqols responsible for those spells. However, he had eventually explored the messy battlefield enough to notice a tall woman conjuring those yellow ethereal weapons out of thin air.
His last sprints had brought him closer to his target. Still, the woman seemed to have realized that he was coming for her since she retreated whenever he got too close. She even had a group of young Niqols around her that opened a path and fought to protect her.
Each step forward that Khan took led him in another battle, but he didn't complain nor hesitate. It felt almost good to be lost in that mess. Khan felt as if every move he performed was better than the previous. He was striving toward the perfection that his current level could touch, and a tinge of ecstasy inevitably seeped inside his seemingly empty mind.
Khan began to welcome battles. He rejoiced whenever his target retreated and gave him the chance to fight a bit more before reaching her.
A fireball flew across the battlefield, and Khan risked getting in its trajectory. The spell carried an immense amount of mana, so he sensed it before it was too late. He could stop and let the attack pass, but his body continued to move forward.
Khan jumped to fall to his knees and started sliding on the ground. His back bent backward as he almost lay down and continued to glide. He kept his eyes open as the fiery projectile crossed his position. The scarlet flames shone in his vision, but that scene lasted for less than a second. The fireball soon continued its flight and exploded as soon as it landed on someone.
The fireball had made many take a step back, so Khan could take his opponents by surprise when he jumped back to his feet. The two young Niqols on his path only saw a shadow before both of them found a horizontal cut splitting their foreheads into two parts.
Khan was too immersed in the battlefield to rely on moves that could reduce the issue caused by failed executions of the Divine Reaper. He slashed and lunged freely without worrying about the success of his techniques. He danced according to the rhythm of the mana around him, and his approach led to evident benefit.
His smoother moves and quicker reflexes weren't the only aspects affected by his strange mental state. His martial arts also benefited from the absence of thoughts, especially when it came to the Divine Reaper. Khan couldn't remember the last time he had failed to execute his techniques correctly, which led to a sharp improvement of his battle prowess.
Khan didn't limit the Divine Reaper to lunges or slashes aimed at vital spots. He didn't fear eventual failures, and the success of his executions allowed him to kill in ways that he had been too scared to attempt.
The knife glowed as Khan approached a male Niqols who appeared as strong as a second-level warrior. The alien wasn't paying attention to him, but he turned when he sensed the mana behind him gaining sharp properties.
The Niqols quickly stepped forward to push his opponent away and turn to face the new enemy. Khan had his knife near his chest, ready to thrust it as soon as his opponent entered his range, but the alien managed to attack before that could happen.
The man joined his palms before making one of them slide toward Khan through a sharp movement. The gesture released a curved azure line that flew forward at high speed.
The line's mana carried the same nature as the energy around the knife, and Khan didn't miss that detail. His first instinct was to dodge, but the Niqols quickly released a second attack that joined the first and transformed them into a sharp cross.
Khan would have to slide to his sides to dodge the azure cross, and his body even started to crouch to proceed with that plan. However, everything changed when a cruel smirk appeared on the Niqols' face. The man kept his palms ready to attack again as soon as Khan picked a direction.
Khan continued to crouch, but his movement soon transformed into an abrupt leap that made him fly in the top-right opening of the cross. The sudden event surprised the Niqols since he had prepared an attack aimed toward the ground. He couldn't move his palms in time to adjust the trajectory of his technique, so he abandoned his initial plan and raised his arms to protect his face.
Khan stretched his knife forward and turned his wrist so that the blade would end up in the path of the Niqols' forearms. The latter barely managed to protect his face before his arrival, but his eyes widened when he saw the glowing weapon cutting his left wrist and approaching his face.
The alien began to dodge to his right, but he was one second too late. The knife reached his nose and started digging his flesh while he continued his evasive maneuver. The Niqols ended up completing his move, but blood suddenly spurted out of his face. The weapon had managed to cut half of his nape during the attack.
Khan began to roll on himself while still airborne and continued the movement once he landed on the ground. He went back to his feet in an instant without wasting time checking the opponent behind him. His senses had already told him that the man had fallen.
Similar scenes happened while Khan continued to move forward. He didn't always kill, especially when his opponents were stronger than him, but his deadliness remained far above average. Many of those who appeared on his path died or suffered severe injuries that significantly affected their battle.
Khan also had to change direction many times. Everything was fine when he met young rebels or adults at his level, but he couldn't jump among those with the power of second-level warriors recklessly. He had killed some of them, but he had always needed to exploit the surprise effect or similar tricks in the feat.
His chase of the spear-thrower led him to the other side of the battlefield, but he always made sure never to get near its center. The area had strong warriors everywhere, but the real leaders were fighting in the middle of that mess, and no one could disturb them.
Khan never tried to inspect the center of the battlefield, mostly because he felt that the waves of mana there had enough power to sweep him away. Yet, he saw spells and people flying from that location at times, so he could keep track of the trend of the overall fight.
His side was winning. Khan didn't know how or why, but he could see the ranks of rebels thinning as the battle continued to unfold. The fight among the leaders would probably play an important role in the assault's outcome, but that wasn't his problem. Performing well among that mess helped more than enough.
Another spear flew in his direction, but he dodged it with a single sidestep. Niqols jumped toward Khan, but he slashed, kicked, lunged, and sprinted depending on the nature of the situation. He even ran away when necessary, but his target remained in sight, and he eventually reached her.
The woman was only a first-level warrior, but her spell was annoying and deadly. Her spear barely had any weight, so she could throw them across the entire battlefield. Her aim was even incredible, but the chaotic nature of the area made her hit rebels at times.
Khan's relentless chase had led the woman and her team to the edges of the battlefield. They could still retreat into the empty areas at the side of the castle, but that would only open the path for her opponents. The rebels had to stop the enemy army from reaching the structure, so leaving the mess wasn't an option.
The woman could only continue to escape Khan by reaching the part of the battlefield on the opposite side of the castle. The two armies had blended by then, so that area had the same number of allies and enemies. Yet, it also featured the rear team.
Khan had reached the point when no battles stood between him and the spear thrower. The weaker Niqols around her couldn't help but shake in fear when they saw that fast opponent sprinting toward them. They had kept track of Khan's feats during their retreat, so they knew that their numerical advantage might fail to lead to a victory.
The tall woman among them threw a spear aimed at Khan. The spell appeared even faster at that distance, but the same went for him. The previous battles had perfected his moves in ways that even he struggled to believe.
Khan jumped forward, and his opponents opened their mouths in surprise when they saw him stepping on the yellow spear. The ethereal fabric of the weapon felt strange under his foot, but it was dense enough to act as a foothold.
The spear shattered into a cloud of light that dispersed in no time when Khan leaped again. The weaker Niqols lost him until he landed on the heads of two of them.
The landing was so soft that the Niqols almost failed to notice his arrival, but what followed carried opposite properties. Khan raised his glowing knife as part of his mana rushed downward and instantly increased his weight.
Khan slammed on the ground, carrying the two Niqols with him. The two aliens fell, and their heads ended up in the holes dug by Khan's feet. The event attracted the attention of their companion, who focused on the blood flowing out of the cavities, but another surprising event soon entered their vision.
Half of the spear thrower's head fell among the Niqols and filled their minds with utter fear, but only a few had the time to move. Khan didn't hesitate to throw kicks around him, crushing the skulls or rib cages of anyone who dared to be too slow to leave his range.
Khan chased the escaping Niqols, but ice suddenly grew from the ground under them and pierced their legs before transforming them into frozen statues. The latter quickly shattered into countless shards and revealed the rear team at some distance from the main battle.
Liiza lowered her hand and revealed a warm smile when she saw that Khan was safe. The latter couldn't break his concentration, but he still nodded at his girlfriend. She didn't add to avoid distracting him, and the two soon focused on other parts of the battlefield.
Khan felt refreshed after that short interaction. He was ready to follow the waves of mana again, but a scene made that faint happiness end up with the rest of his thoughts. He saw Azni carrying Asyat on her shoulders. A river of blood had replaced the latter's right leg.
