The purpose of the mission was evident even if Piran didn't explain its details. The Nele wanted to send a message to the whole dock to strengthen the fear and respect the other species needed to have toward them, and Khan was free to join.
"[We leave in five hours]," Piran continued while keeping his eyes on Khan. "[Be in the first square if you decide to join the mission. You can remain in the district until then]."
Piran left without adding more words. He had a lot to plan before the mission, and time was short, but the district was already on the move. Nele ran left and right to prepare and get their tasks done.
Small spaceships also reached the district and unloaded a few second-level warriors who immediately ran toward specific buildings. The overall mood grew tense as the news of the hunting season spread, and general coldness took control of the symphony of mana.
Faint sounds ran through the symphony and captured Khan's attention. He had seen Jenna's previous technique, so he could recognize the tens of messages that flew through the district. He didn't understand most of them, but the topic they discussed was quite obvious.
Jenna had remained strangely silent after learning about the hunting season. She didn't even take advantage of Khan's interest in the various changes that enveloped the district. Her mind was elsewhere, and she eventually left Khan's shoulder to fix her pensive eyes on him.
Khan could feel Jenna's emotions since she didn't try to make the synthetic mana around her act normally. Her silence forced Khan to turn toward her, but she didn't speak even at that point.
Jenna took Khan's left hand. His fingers were clean, but small spots of blood had landed on his wrist. His palm even showed faint calluses that she knew far too well.
That was the hand of a warrior, but Jenna knew the affection it could express. She had grown used to Khan's tender caresses and careful touch, but her species was now asking him to go to battle. That wasn't self-defense. The hunting season was a part of Milia 222 that Khan didn't need to experience.
"[What is it]?" Khan whispered when a tremor ran through Jenna's grasp.
"[You don't need to come]," Jenna stated.
"[I can take care of myself]," Khan reassured, grasping Jenna's hand in the hope of quelling her worries.
"[That's not it]," Jenna sighed. "[Most people inside our target probably had no intention to hurt us. There might be many innocents. You don't need their blood on your hands]."
"[But you do]?" Khan asked.
"[Ensuring our survival comes at a price]," Jenna revealed while lowering her gaze. "[Our pheromones make us unsuited for this cohabitation, so we must resort to reprehensible actions]."
"[I want to help you and your species]," Khan responded.
"[Khan]," Jenna exclaimed while raising her gaze, "[I don't want you to feel like a monster because of me]."
Khan couldn't help but show a warm smile. He understood Jenna's worries, and it felt nice to see them. The Nele could only benefit from an outsider fighting on the frontlines since it would probably lower the number of casualties on their side, but Jenna was willing to give up on that to preserve Khan's mental state.
"[I've fought and killed many times]," Khan uttered as his smile grew sad, "[Really many times. Sometimes, I did that to survive, but I more than often simply executed orders]."
Khan pulled Jenna closer. She wanted to fight back a bit, but her body didn't allow that. She let Khan pull her between his legs and wrap his arms around her waist so that she could rest comfortably on his chest.
"[I rarely have the chance to fight and kill for something I care about]," Khan continued, and his tone grew even sadder as Nitis' memories flowed through his vision. "[This is one of them]."
"[Do you need to fight at all]?" Jenna asked even if she knew the answer to that question.
"[It's my nature]," Khan replied as a bit of hesitation seeped into his voice. "[I do enjoy it. It lets me express all of myself]."
"[Your curse never ceases to amaze me]," Jenna sighed again. "[If only I could-]."
"[You are doing more than you realize]," Khan interrupted while resting his head on Jenna's shoulder. "[Without you, I'd be merely following someone else's orders. I can fight for what I want now]."
"[You make it so hard for me]," Jenna complained before lifting her hand to caress the back of Khan's head.
"[I'll rest for a few hours]," Khan whispered.
"[I'll be here when you wake up]," Jenna said.
Khan completely relaxed as memories and feelings from the synthetic mana around him assaulted his senses. Scenes he had left in the dark corners of his mind surfaced and reminded him of everything he had gone through.
Past conversations with Lieutenant Dyester became clearer than ever. Khan recalled his teachings and knew that they were right. Killing had truly become easy for him, but he still valued life, even if not in a way that the Global Army would appreciate.
‘Even monsters can love,' Khan thought as he let his faint exhaustion take control of him. He would typically skip sleeping, especially for such a short time, but Jenna would join the incoming battle. He needed to be at his peak.
Hours went by quickly while Khan was immersed in his nightmare. The soup completed its work and fixed his injuries while he was asleep. The Nele also became ready for the imminent attack, and a warm sensation eventually interrupted Khan's rest.
Khan woke up only to find Jenna's lips leaving his forehead. She revealed a playful smile when she saw Khan's open eyes, and he limited himself to a happy expression. Many would kill to have what he had, but it had become the norm for him.
"[Is everyone ready]?" Khan asked while letting go of Jenna to rub his eyes.
"[Judge for yourself]," Jenna giggled.
Khan didn't see much when he lifted his head. A warm bowl stood on the floor at his side, but everything else was silent. The streets were empty, without a single Nele in sight.
However, the symphony of mana revealed a far different truth. Khan sensed a series of heavy tremors coming in the direction of the gathering point. He could almost feel the number of Nele amassed there.
"[Nessa brought you breakfast]," Jenna explained. "[I bet she will accept you soon]."
"[Don't sound too excited]," Khan laughed as he picked up the bowl and drank from it.
"[I wonder how I'll be once jealousy steps in]," Jenna wondered.
"[You have already covered her arrival]," Khan pointed out. He would have sensed someone approaching him during his sleep, but nothing similar happened, and Jenna was obviously to blame for that.
"[I only wanted to let you rest peacefully]," Jenna pouted.
Khan could only chuckle and focus on the bowl. Nothing about his sleep was peaceful, but he would let Jenna win. It was funnier that way.
Jenna and Khan stood up once the meal was over and walked toward the district's outskirts to reach the appointed square. The power and composition of the team for the mission soon became clear, and Khan could only feel satisfied at its sight.
Ten second-level warriors stood in the square, and Piran was among them. The battle was imminent, but none of them caused any ripple in the synthetic mana in the area. They were perfectly calm and in control of their surroundings, which told Khan how experienced they were.
"[Will this be enough]?" Khan asked as soon as he reached the group.
"[The club we have to attack is quite small]," Piran explained. "[Also, no one knows about this plan. We can expect little to no defenses]."
The other nine second-level warriors inevitably inspected Khan. He recognized some of them from the platoons inside the spaceships, but the general vibe remained cold.
Khan didn't blame the Nele for that. Allowing strangers inside an experienced team wasn't ideal, especially if the latter already had successfully tested battle tactics. Khan was a variable that could disrupt their strategy, but he planned to stay out of their way. No one could reach him anyway.
The team confirmed some details that Khan had noticed since reaching the dock. The Nele usually resorted to baggy clothes only in the privacy of their homes and opted for smarter and more elegant outfits in the presence of other species.
Yet, the dock seemed to be an exception to that rule. The Nele dropped their haughty appearance to rely on something more functional. That baggy outfit wasn't only comfortable. It also allowed them to hide more weapons and items.
The Nele did their best to control their influence on the synthetic mana, but Khan could still sense some masses of energy hidden under those loose clothes. They didn't feel like anything spectacular, but Khan couldn't underestimate them. After all, he had seen what a single root could do.
"[I can't share our tactic with you]," Piran said to Khan once he felt that the exchange of gazes had lasted long enough.
"[I know]," Khan exclaimed before Jenna could voice her complaints. "[It might be better for me to act on my own anyway]."
"[You can support us]," Piran suggested.
"[No]," Khan stated. "[I'll open a path. I believe no one will complain about that]."
The announcement surprised the Nele, but Khan was right. No one dared to complain in front of a free decoy. Even Jenna remained silent since she had guessed that Khan would do something like that.
"[Let's hurry then]," Piran announced, and the entire team began its march.
Khan didn't know where the club was, so he remained in the middle of the group while Piran set the pace of the march. Jenna walked at Khan's side, and her mood quickly reverted to the same coldness she had worn on the first asteroid.
The time for intimacy and affection would come, but the hunting season had the priority now, especially after Khan claimed that he would fight on his own. Jenna already knew the Nele's tactics, so she focused on the incoming battle and forced herself to ignore everything else.
Something magical happened during the march. Khan couldn't miss it since his thoughts had gone silent to leave room for the symphony of mana.
The Nele didn't speak or make gestures, but the synthetic mana around them condensed while gaining the same properties of their shared mindset. Khan could almost hear his companions' intentions when listening to that energy. That was a proper technique that went beyond messages, but Khan couldn't understand all its functions.
Nevertheless, the situation, Khan's basic knowledge of the Nele's arts, and the intentions carried by the synthetic mana allowed him to come up with valid hypotheses. The technique seemed meant to enhance the group's teamwork in ways that Khan couldn't fully identify.
The event showed Khan that he had barely scratched the surface of the Nele's arts, but he expected that. He also knew that he wouldn't be able to implement all of that to his set of abilities, but that was more than fine. His path probably was too unique for that anyway.
The dock had just started to come to life. Workers from different species left their habitations or districts to begin their planned shifts. The elevators never stopped going up and down, and spaceships flew far above the streets to move platoons or items in various areas.
The crews stationed in the landing areas under the streets were already working at the best of their capabilities. Orders resounded left and right, but everyone stopped focusing on their tasks whenever the group of Nele appeared in their sight.
For the first time in a while, Khan felt invisible in the eyes of the bystanders. The Nele around him attracted far more attention. It almost seemed that the various crews could smell the incoming trouble, and they all hoped it didn't involve them.
Piran accelerated as more eyes fell on the group. The audience quickly understood that something was up, and many left their position to avoid getting caught in whatever the Nele were planning. Still, after reaching safe areas, those aliens resumed their inspection to keep track of the event.
The group slowed down after reaching a relatively large two-story building. The structure had a big flashing sign on its front that explained the immoral purpose of the club, but Khan didn't waste time studying every detail since the entrance suddenly moved.
The entrance only half-opened to allow the passage of a first-level warrior. The weak Orlats didn't leave the building but remained between the two metal doors where she performed a flashy bow.
"[We are preparing the place for your needs]," The Orlats announced in the Nele's language, but a tremor ran through the denser mana around the group at that time.
The tremor came from Piran and spread through the affected synthetic mana in an instant. All the Nele and Khan could immediately understand the order it conveyed. However, Piran turned out to be one step behind Khan.
The partial opening of the entrance had revealed that the Orlats suspected something. That made sense considering how resourceful that species was, so Khan acted accordingly.
A heavier tremor followed Piran's order, creating intense waves in the synthetic mana. The ethereal technique highlighted the source of that disturbance and even told the Nele that they wouldn't have the time to study it.
Khan accelerated before performing a long leap. His body rotated mid-air and turned his stretched left leg into a hammer that fell at the center of the Orlats' head. The alien couldn't withstand that attack, but Khan had another issue to solve.
The Orlats were smaller than the humans. The passage was a bit too narrow for Khan, let alone the entire group. The door had to go, so Khan moved his mana toward his hands while his left foot dug through the alien's head.
Two purple-red short swords grew from Khan's hands. The length of the chaos claws didn't match his usual standards because he didn't dare to push his limits in that situation, but the spell completed its task anyway.
Khan was still falling, and the Orlats' weak body couldn't stop his momentum. Stabbing his hands into the entrance would only push him away from it, so he neared the two short swords to the dark-grey metal without applying any unnecessary strength.
The chaos claws spell wasn't as sharp as the Divine Reaper, but it provided incessant destruction. The door's surface caved in once it entered the short swords' range, and cracks soon opened, allowing Khan to push his hand forward again.
The Orlats' head almost exploded, and the same went for her neck. Khan's foot stopped digging through her body only when it reached her upper chest, but that still didn't stop his momentum.
Khan pushed the now-corpse to the floor while his spell continued to ravage the entrance. His hands never touched the metal surface, but the mana around them still dug through it.
By the time Khan landed, the two damaged spots had become proper holes that allowed the passage of his hands. The short swords could express their true power at that point, and the door witnessed it.
Even larger cracks spread inside the door while Khan kept his spell active. Large shards and chunks of metal fell from the entrance until some of its parts directly exploded. The narrow passage was turning into a path as large as two grown men, but Khan didn't stop until he could stretch his arms freely.
Multiple sounds, images, and feelings reached Khan's senses during his landing. The club's insides were free for him to see now, but he had to disregard many details to focus on the most problematic features.
The club resembled the [Loophole] in many ways. A dancing hall unfolded past its entrance, and balcony-like paths stretched above it. The short ceiling hid the second floor, and there seemed to be additional rooms in the back.
Faint red and yellow lights alternated themselves in fending off the building's darkness, but no music accompanied them. Couches, chairs, and tables also occupied specific areas of the dancing hall and streets, but Khan only noticed the Orlats behind them.
A series of first and second-level warriors had taken cover behind the furniture. Khan could count more than fifteen of them from his position and also noticed the mana contained in the weapons they wielded.
The Orlats kept their rifles and guns pointed at the entrance, and they fired some bullets once they noticed Khan's actions. Azure masses of mana flew through the artificial illumination and converged toward Khan, but he touched the floor before they could get too close.
Khan remained in his position as long as possible before sprinting forward. The corpse under him retained most of its shape when he stepped out of it, but the bullets that fell on that spot transformed everything into a gory puddle that welcomed the crumbling metal shards.
‘Staircase,' That single clear thought resounded in Khan's mind as he dived into the dancing hall. Most of the Orlats were on the streets above him, and jumping directly there would leave him exposed.
The Orlats were far from incompetent. The first-level warriors couldn't follow Khan's movements, but the second-level warriors tilted their guns and fired more bullets, with some of them even aiming to block his path.
Khan could only cover a quarter of the room before the bullets closed the path ahead. He could summon the [Blood Shied] to brute-force his way through that attack, but his sensitivity to mana revealed a less tiresome approach.
A leap followed by light steps allowed Khan to jump on the bullets and use them as footholds. He rose through the first floor before getting high enough to perform a jump that flung him directly on a wall above the streets.
Khan's back touched the ceiling, but his feet were firm on the wall. The alternating illumination disturbed his vision, but he didn't need to rely on his eyes. He already knew where he had to go.
The previous leap had put Khan behind the makeshift trenches used by the Orlats, and the latter didn't have the time to jump on the other side. A clanging noise resounded under Khan's feet when he pushed himself toward the nearest couch, and his knee rose during the flight.
Khan's target was a second-level warrior who had failed to adapt to his incredible movement. The alien instinctively raised its arms to cross them above its face, but cracking noises came out of them when the knee landed.
The Orlats lost its balance and crashed on the couch, which broke in half. Its arms had bent in an odd way, and its hands were unresponsive, so it couldn't do anything when a purple-red light flashed in its vision.
Khan didn't even look at the Orlats. Once he completed his slash, he pushed himself away to run toward his next target. As for the alien, it saw a cut opening in the broken couch and expanding toward its face. Everything went dark afterward.
Khan's improvements involved far more than his body. His mindset had changed when it came to his movements. He knew that sticking to gravity was only an option for him, and he could express that lack of limits to its fullest now that he had grown confident in his new power.
A first-level warrior had been fast enough to change position while Khan was busy with its companion. The alien jumped on the other side of its chair and pointed its gun at Khan, but its hands froze before the agility its enemy displayed.
Khan had the wall on his right, a flimsy guardrail on his left, the ceiling above him, and the street under him. Those four surfaces were nothing more than parts of the club for the Orlats, but they became footholds in the hands of Khan's agility.
The Orlats saw Khan running on the floor only to perform a short leap toward the guardrail that almost teleported him to the ceiling. Khan was upside-down in that location, but gravity couldn't take control of his movements when his feet touched that firm surface.
Khan seemed to ricochet to the wall and floor in a single sprint that pushed his speed beyond his normal limits. The acceleration made him reach the chair in no time, and a bright membrane promptly covered his knife.
The first-level warrior died before seeing the chair's back splitting into two halves. Its brain simply stopped registering information when Khan severed it from the rest of its body.
Bullets flew in Khan's direction, but none came close to hitting him. He was basically running behind the enemy lines, and his speed was unfathomable. Adding his free movements to the equation only created a target that the Orlats couldn't hope to catch like that.
Khan would normally rejoice at his newfound freedom, but his mind was too immersed in the symphony of mana to make him care about that. His thoughts only featured the next target and the best path to reach it. Almost everything else was useless.
The chaos created by Khan allowed the Nele to enter the building without facing any bullets. Surprised faces inevitably appeared among them after seeing the scenes on the intermediate floor. Khan had turned the entire platoon of Orlats against him, but he still had the upper hand.
Piran didn't let Khan handle everything on his own. His intentions seeped into the synthetic mana, and all his companions sensed them. An order spread, and the group split to target different areas of the club.
Khan sensed the arrival of the Nele but continued to ricochet among the various surfaces as he approached enemy after enemy. His second-grade knife never failed to flash with his iconic mana, and death followed his every gesture.
The Nele cleared the dancing hall quickly since the few Orlats there didn't turn in time to dodge their piercing roots. Piran and the others opened a path toward the staircases in the back of the area in no time, and Khan saw that as the best moment to change location.
The dancing hall only had staircases, but the streets above it featured one passage that led deeper into the building. Khan side-stepped a bullet before shooting toward that corridor, and it didn't take him long to reach a small theatre-like area similar to what he had seen in the [Loophole].
The streets on the intermediate floor were empty, but the stage had Orlats busy moving boxes and other unclear items. Those aliens clearly had tasks that didn't involve the current battle, but letting them go away probably wasn't in line with the hunting season.
Khan didn't want to waste time chasing after the Orlats below him, so he stored his knife and joined his palms. The chaos spear formed when he separated his hands, and his interest in the stage vanished when he tossed the spell downstairs.
An explosion reached Khan's ears while he searched for a path toward the second floor. The streets shook due to the violence unleashed by his spell, but the walls remained relatively stable, especially when it came to the back of the area.
Khan followed the absence of tremors and soon found himself in front of a narrow passage connected to a circular staircase. The structure was quite small and hidden, and Khan stepped on its handrail to climb it since it saved him time.
The circular staircase ended in front of a small door. The ceiling was even lower there, but Khan didn't know if the area past the entrance shared those properties. Still, he had every intention to find out.
Mana covered Khan's right hand while he drew the knife again. The chaos claws spell was perfect to open paths in that metal, but he didn't get the chance to use it since the entire wall at the end of the staircase suddenly bent toward him.
The properties of the metal prevented Khan from sensing what was happening on the other side, but he knew that bending that metal was no easy task, especially when the process involved the entire wall. Something powerful had stepped forward, and he wouldn't remain there to endure its full might.
Khan jumped past the handrail to fall toward the bottom of the staircase, but an explosion resounded above him while he was mid-air. Blue flames pierced the thick metal, melting and shattering it as they expanded past the wall and enveloped the entire passage in their scorching power.
The staircase melted and crumbled as soon as it touched the blue flames, and Khan promptly used that to push himself faster to the floor. A sprint immediately followed his landing and tried to bring him out of that hidden passage before the attack could reach him, but a scorching force hit his back when the theatre area unfolded in his vision.
Khan summoned the [Blood Shield] while the flames pushed him deeper into the theatre area. His skin melted under their heat, but the dense mana they contained allowed him to stomp on them to fling himself away.
The longest leap Khan was capable of followed his landing on the street. The flames chased him, but he used the wall to push himself farther away. The attack eventually exhausted its power and began to retreat, but the problems didn't end.
Khan landed on the street only to see it falling apart. The flames had melted what kept it attached to the wall, so a big chunk of the structure crumbled, forcing Khan to perform a leap that brought him to the first floor.
Pieces of the street followed Khan in his landing, but he pushed himself to the floor and began to roll on himself while releasing formless waves of mana from his back. He had deactivated the [Blood Shield], but flames still burnt on his clothes, and the energy they contained kept them alive.
Khan's mana eventually put an end to the flames, but his jumper fell as soon as he stood up since it had lost most of its back part. His trousers were no better, but they seemed to hold on.
Khan didn't care about his appearance, especially since his whole back hurt terribly. He had been slightly late in the activation of the [Blood Shield] since the targeted area had been vast, and the smell coming from behind him didn't hint at anything good.
The powerful presence that joined the symphony of mana further distracted Khan from his appearance and condition. He had already guessed the power behind the previous attack, but the arrival of that new aura eliminated any doubt.
An Orlats slightly taller than average stood at the edge of the hidden passage. The street that stretched from that opening had crumbled, but the alien didn't seem to care as he kept his angry gaze on Khan.
Smoke came out of the six piercings above the alien's eyes. Those jewels were bright red due to their high temperature, but the Orlats didn't seem to mind, and Khan surely didn't have the time to think about it. He couldn't waste any thought in front of a third-level warrior.
