Khan kept his eyes on Wayne, but his mind worked at full speed. He had breathed that air and sensed that symphony. He knew where he was without needing additional clarifications.
'Lauter,' Khan realized. 'It makes sense.'
The bomb probably was part of a terrorist ploy, and Lauter was a perfect target due to its connection to the ships' fuel. The weapon would inflict a lot of damage to the Harbor if it exploded there.
Moreover, Lauter was mostly automated. It had many outposts with teams of soldiers and scientists, but the population density was relatively low. The casualties would be minimal, even with such a powerful bomb.
Traces of synthetic mana stretched in the distance and leaked out of the underground passage behind Wayne. Khan could confirm the presence of outposts or similar human settlements. He could also conclude that the bomb must have landed nearby. Yet, a problem remained.
"Where are my companions?" Khan questioned. He was alone, and too little had passed from the teleport. His friends' auras had yet to affect the symphony, and their location might even delay that event.
'If I had to guess,' Khan thought, 'They ended up underground. I would have sensed something otherwise.'
A teleport, especially one so scuffed, had to leave traces, but Khan couldn't find anything. He sensed the tremors caused by his arrival, but that was it.
"Oh, you weren't alone," Wayne exclaimed. "Of course. Captain Khan has companions willing to follow him into danger."
Wayne sounded happy about Khan, but something darker had joined his mana. That detail was faint but seemed to carry enough energy to grow stronger.
'He doesn't know,' Khan realized, ignoring Wayne's mana for the time being. Other priorities required his attention, preventing him from dealing with that unexpected reunion.
"Wayne, your organization teleported a bomb here," Khan announced. "We must evacuate immediately."
"I'm aware of that," Wayne declared. "My job is to defend its location until its detonation."
"Wayne," Khan frowned, "You'll die if you stay here."
"I know," Wayne laughed. "I guess my cover is impossible to restore, so they chose to dispose of me here."
"Who are they?" Khan questioned.
"Beat me, and I'll tell you," Wayne challenged. "I'll tell you everything I know if you do."
"I can't waste time with you," Khan snorted, "And I know you can't promise that."
"This is my last mission," Wayne explained. "I'll be free afterward, whether I fail or succeed."
"Free to let a bomb kill you," Khan pointed out.
"That's my place," Wayne declared, "Just like yours is to bathe in the light of fame."
The darkness inside Wayne grew stronger, but Khan's priorities remained. He was curious, but death was looming above him and his companions. He couldn't afford to waste time.
The lack of signs of the teleport forced Khan to consider underground options, and the passage behind Wayne was the closest target. He could start exploring from there and fly elsewhere if his search went nowhere.
"Thinking about leaving already?" Wayne laughed.
Khan ignored the comment. He was far faster than Wayne, so the latter would never catch up with him. His current location was the only issue, but he was confident that a spell would force the man to move.
"That's it!" Wayne exclaimed as soon as Khan's face grew colder. "That's the spirit. Come here and show me why you are better."
Khan ignored the comment again, gathering mana into his hand before snapping it forward. Two needles materialized and flew in a straight line toward Wayne, but a tremor suddenly ran through the area, making them explode before they could reach their target.
Wayne's smile broadened, and the darkness inside him intensified. Khan also felt surprised. That was the first time he had managed to sense the effects of Wayne's element, but they had been too short and random to draw any conclusions.
"I'll fight you," Khan opted for a different approach to save time, "But only after bringing my companions to safety."
"My life will end in five minutes, Captain," Wayne announced. "I can't wait that long."
"Why five minutes?" Khan asked, dreading the ominous feeling that those words carried.
"Because that's the bomb's timer," Wayne laughed.
Khan's mind went blank. His thoughts disappeared as he shot upward, taking position ten meters above the rocky surface and joining his palms to summon his mana.
The symphony almost talked to Khan due to how quickly his senses worked. He instantly became aware of the place's size. The island under him was big, placing it near the center of the Global Army's territory and giving him an idea of his current location. He had studied Lauter thoroughly for Lucian's mission, so he knew that quadrant mostly stretched underground.
That realization could be wrong, but Khan didn't have time to linger in doubt. He didn't even care about how much he had to destroy to achieve his goals. He separated his palms, giving birth to a chaos spear he instantly threw toward Wayne.
Pure excitement invaded Wayne as his darkness grew. A deeper tremor expanded from his figure, stretching through the symphony around him and altering its functions. Khan saw shades changing in his eyes, and his spear suffered in that environment.
The spear only managed to cross half the distance between Khan and Wayne before exploding. The wild pillar it generated forced Khan to fly to his left, but the mana under his feet suddenly ignored his requests, making him lose his foothold.
Khan found himself freefalling diagonally, getting farther away from the underground passage. He tried to reestablish a connection with the surrounding mana, but that energy actively ignored him, preventing his ability to fly.
Wayne didn't stay still. His eyes lit up at the sight of Khan's free fall, and he charged ahead to intercept him. His speed couldn't match Khan's, but his body generated a scary momentum that peaked when he leaped.
Khan couldn't avoid the imminent impact. Wayne was flying toward him, ready to unleash the entirety of his momentum in a reckless attack. Nothing could stop that exchange, so Khan sent mana to his knife to prepare a similar offensive.
Wayne joined his hands and lifted his arms above his head. Meanwhile, Khan slashed his glowing knife forward. The two attacks happened simultaneously. Wayne was taller, but Khan's weapon granted him superior range. Still, that wasn't enough to select a winner.
The knife's tip pierced Wayne's right side, digging into his rib cage and rising across his chest to aim at his neck. Meanwhile, Wayne lowered his arms, threatening to slam his joint fists on Khan's head.
Khan tilted his head to his right without interrupting the slash. He was ready to endure the blow to kill his opponent. However, Wayne's muscles suddenly thickened, and the mana around the knife faltered, slowing Khan's attack.
Wayne's fists landed at the base of Khan's neck as soon as the knife reached his throat. The impact sent Khan flying downward, removing the weapon from Wayne's flesh and putting an end to that exchange.
Cracking noises reached Khan's ears, and pain tried to enter his mind. However, a clicking growl filled his thoughts and kept those distractions away, allowing him to focus on his landing.
Khan sent mana in every direction, creating platforms that even Wayne couldn't affect. Yet, he was going too fast, and the single stomp he managed to perform only slowed down his inevitable landing.
The rocky surface held strong when Khan slammed into it. The violent impact forced him to bend his knees to endure the remaining momentum, and his muscles bulged as he forced himself to remain on his feet.
Only a second had to pass for Khan to understand his condition. His left shoulder was unresponsive. Wayne had broken it with his blow, but the situation was in Khan's favor now.
Wayne's attack had been too strong, stopping him mid-air while instantly sending Khan to the ground. Khan could exploit that window to deliver a deadly blow to Wayne, but time was against him, and that opportunity would be hard to come by again.
Khan sprinted forward, accelerating as much as possible while seizing the knife with his right hand. Wayne was still above him, leaving the path toward the underground passage open, and he couldn't miss that chance.
"Yes, yes!" Wayne shouted, almost uncaring that Khan was ignoring him. "That's how it should have always been!"
The symphony reacted to the shouts, sending unclear tremors toward the ground. Khan planned to outrun them but ended up mistiming a step, slipping on a smooth rock, and stopping to regain his balance.
Khan didn't blame himself for even a second. He didn't make those mistakes. It was simply impossible with his experience. That event had been Wayne's doing, but his window had yet to close.
"Help my legs!" Khan shouted, sending as much mana as possible into the environment while leaping forward. He had no confidence in his alien technique, but everything would work as long as Wayne's strange skills targeted it over his sprint.
However, Wayne didn't stay still either. He had begun to fall, and the entirety of his mana suddenly descended toward his left foot, adding power to his momentum and generating a sprint that could almost match Khan's speed.
Calculations happened in Khan's mind and led to annoying conclusions. He took a step forward before stopping to swing his knife upward. Wayne fell before him, and the weapon dug into his crossed arms, halting its advance when it touched his firm bones.
Wayne's violent landing made the surface tremble. Rocks shattered all around him, creating cracks that reached Khan's feet. Khan was ready to run around Wayne, but the symphony shook, telling him his sprint would fail.
Khan opted to retreat, jumping backward to return to stable ground. Wayne also stopped moving, limiting himself to lowering his arms. His left forearm had a deep cut that reached his bone, and his chest carried an oblique injury that connected his side to his throat. Yet, blood had already stopped leaking from them.
"Do you understand what you are doing?" Khan cursed. "We will both die at this pace."
"That's fine, isn't it?" Wayne laughed. "The great Captain Khan always comes out on top of these situations. People praised you even when you slaughtered simple workers."
"I'm not to blame for your situation," Khan declared.
"I know," Wayne stated as a tinge of craziness joined his expression. "However, here we are, two extremes of the same environment struggling toward our own goals."
"You have orders," Khan pointed out, "Not goals."
"Why do I feel like this, then?" Wayne laughed. "The experiments couldn't make me experience this. Killing didn't either, but I'm already feeling more alive after a few months with you. I need more, brother."
Khan's mind didn't allow thoughts, but realizations arrived anyway. He only needed one look at Wayne to know that avoiding the battle was impossible. Wayne was ready to throw his life away for the sake of that confrontation.
