Suffocating Anger

Chapter 31

Suffocating Anger

He drowned out all the sounds around him, focusing on his breathing, he listened to every beat of his heart. entering a meditative state, he nullified Keyon’s essence corruption. The shaking in his legs vanished, and Onyx reinforced his sword stance. He stared, not answering Keyon’s question and instead switched his stance to another one he knew Keyon remembered. Keyon, closed in ever so slightly, watching Onyx’s every move, watching as he mirrored the assailant step for step. Growing impatient with Onyx and his antics, Keyon made the first move closing the distance between himself and the obstacle before him. Onyx remained calm, parrying all of Keyon’s attacks in an expert display of swordsmanship. With one final parry Onyx created the opening he was looking for. The soldier thrusted the butt of his sword into the side of Keyon’s helmet. Cracking the visor and sending glass shards flying toward the ground. He stumbled back a few steps before recovering. Turning his head slowly Keyon gazed at Onyx, his burgundy eyes, empty and void of emotion.

For a moment the two stood there silently, staring down one another, neither man holding a defensive posture. Light particles engulfed Keyon’s head and soon his helmet disappeared giving Onyx a good look at the vengeful youth. He had grown a lot since the last time he saw him; he wasn’t that little brat anymore. Keyon smiled, resting his blade over his shoulder and entered a different stance, a stance he knew the soldier had no knowledge of. Harnessing his essence Keyon increased his speed and rushed Onyx once again. He lashed out at Onyx with a low angled slash, forcing Onyx to jump back to avoid the attack.

Raising his free hand Keyon manifested a set of knives and fired a barrage of projectiles at the soldier. He had to think fast, manifesting a shield on his forearm deflecting a large majority of them. One slipped past his defenses, plunging deep in Onyx’s thigh. Keyon didn’t even give him time to pull the blade out before he slashed at him again. Onyx backflipped onto a car to avoid the attack, pulling the knife out of his thigh, he launched it at Keyon. The blade ricocheted off Keyon’s sword as he blocked it but couldn’t react in time to counter Onyx’s kick that struck Keyon in his face. The force of the attack sent Keyon crashing into the railing of the bridge knocking the wind out of him.

Onyx jumped off the car and casually walked closer toward Keyon watching the youth gather himself. Keyon rose to his feet, his anger intensifying, his essence bubbling. Onyx stopped in his tracks, feeling Keyon’s essence corruption resurfacing. He couldn’t play around anymore; Keyon’s essence output was becoming too much for him to withstand by normal means. He had to reinforce his spirit; he had to use essence. Keyon’s eyes widened as he witnessed with his own eyes an Aurorean channel and hardened their spirit against his essence corruption.
Keyon removed his other katana from its sheath, raising his two blades he waited, calculating his next move.

“Just exactly who are you?”

“That’s not important anymore Kezonto.”

***

She squeezed in between people rushing in the opposite direction of the distressed mob, the smell of iron heavy in the air. Alongside her Locke navigated the battlefield, the two of them coming to a stop after reaching the Aerostation blockade. Shima had no words for what she was witnessing, Locke too looked on in horror at the massacre before them. The two of them stepped closer toward a group of three men that stood in front of the carnage

“They were cut down, every last one of them.”

Salamance looked over his shoulder and watched as Shima and Locke approached from behind. Gamma and Solis were fixated on the scene before them, sickened by the thought of Keyon doing something so horrifying. Bodies were sprawled about, missing limbs; some were decapitated while others had their frame slashed in half. Not all of them had expired, as the sounds of whimpering and cries of pure terror could be heard amongst the group.

“He is just beyond the blockade, even I can feel him from here.”

Even if he wanted to, Salamance and the others couldn’t advance any further, the essence corruption alone significantly inhibited their ability to combat Keyon, let alone capture him. He turned to face Locke and Shima, taking a good look at the two of them. They looked like they had been through their own hell.

“We’ve already cut off the entrance to the Den; you guys are going to have to find another way out of Busaya. As far as I’m concerned you and Kezonto died here today. There is no place in Rosa for people like you and him.”

He paused for a moment shifting his gaze toward Locke, his facial features easing up.
“Locke, I hope you and Ki get home safe, I’m leaving Kezonto and the sacred ink to you. I hope you do the right thing.”

He had nothing else to say, there was nothing more he wanted to say. He placed his hand on Locke’s shoulder and walked past him and Shima. Signaling for Solis and Gamma to follow behind. Shima lowered her head. Salamance’s words were weighing heavy on her, he was right, she enabled this to happen. But there was no turning back now, and she didn’t want to because she knew, she knew the real Kezonto. Under all the hurt, anger and despair was a warmth unmatched.

Shima closed her eyes, and channeling her essence, she enveloped both her and Locke’s spirit.

“FREEZE, DON’T MOVE.”

Obsidian and his squad of soldiers he picked up along the way ambushed Locke and Shima.
They looked at each other, slowly raising their hands. They didn’t resist. Following orders, Locke took stock of the soldiers surrounding the two of them. He watched their facial features shift and become uneasy. The bodies that littered the blockade and the residuals of Keyon’s essence affecting them. Two of the soldiers walked closer, their guards high. One of the soldiers grabbed at Locke’s wrist, throwing his arms behind his back and handcuffing him. Locke kept focus on Obsidian, studying him and his fixation with Shima. He had his rifle exclusively pointed at her watching as she was fitted with restraints and her hands secured behind her back.

Shima looked beyond Obsidian and the rifle he had pointed at her. Emerging from the alleyway, the sight of steel shining in the moonlight caught her attention. She looked at Locke, who only nodded, his focus still trained on Obsidian and the other soldiers surrounded them. Looking forward, Shima watched as Lorenzo stepped out of the alleyway, cigarette in one hand and a gun in another. Firing off three shots, Lorenzo caught Obsidian and his squad off guard. Managing to take out two of the soldiers with headshots, but with all eyes on him now his last shot meant to take out Obsidian instead clipped his shoulder. With Obsidian and the others distracted by Lorenzo, Locke and Shima freed themselves from their restraints, assaulting the closest combatant to them.

Obsidian stumbled forward from the bullet impact. His battle armor absorbed much of the damage from the surprise attack. Turning around he aimed his rifle at Lorenzo and pulled back on the trigger. Rushing for cover Lorenzo fired off two more shots at Obsidian as he dove behind the cover of a nearby car. Obsidian couldn’t pursue Lorenzo any longer as Shima jumped into the fight. Kicking Obsidian’s rifle out of his hand, she planted her fist into his mid-section and landed a left cross to his face knocking the soldier off balance. He reached for his sidearm, but Shima was relentless and didn’t allow Obsidian the time. He gave up reaching for his weapon and started to engage Shima in combat. He darted to the left avoiding a punch from Shima that went crashing through a car window. Kneeing Shima in the side, he grabbed a handful of her hair and slammed her head against the roof of the car before letting go.

Obsidian’s counterattack was interrupted when Locke delivered a devastating sidekick to Obsidian’s ribs. The power of the kick was felt by Obsidian even through the defenses of his battle armor, sending the young soldier crashing into the side of the car. He crashed to the ground, grabbing at his side, he looked up at Locke who was helping Shima get to her feet. He started to rise to his feet, glass shards crushing underneath his weight. He went to reach for his gun once again, only for Locke and Shima to both land punches that took the stubborn Obsidian out.

The two of them watched his body fall to the ground, Shima was prepared to deliver the final blow, but Locke stopped her. Grabbing her by the collar of her jacket, Locke yanked Shima back, giving her a stern look that settled Shima down. Feeling it was safe Lorenzo stood up from the safety of his cover. Picking up his cigarette from the ground, he walked slowly toward Locke and Shima. Carefully he stepped over pools of blood and dead bodies, careful not to mess up his shoes. He looked around at the blockade and shook his head, readjusting his jacket lapels so they were even. Lorenzo took another pull from his cigarette.

“Looks like Keyon’s handy work, I take it he is in a bad mood again.”

“Thanks for the assistance back there Lorenzo, but what are you doing here?”
“ I was making my exit, when I ran into your robed friends, then one thing led to another and here I am. Saving…”

“Lorenzo there isn’t much time, I need your help with something. We have a group of friends stranded at the Northern Garden station with no way to escape. Can you get them out of Busaya? Me and Locke must get to Keyon then we will meet up with you guys.”

Lorenzo smoked his cigarette listening to Shima’s requests, a little annoyed that she cut him off mid monologue. He looked over toward Locke, a new face to him, his fashion sense humoring Lorenzo.

“That’s a tall ask ninja lady, you’re going to have to repay the favor one day, no questions asked, agreed?”

“Thanks Lorenzo.”

“Who am I looking for?”

“A man with a long ponytail, his name is Ki, he will lead you to the rest, tell him that Locke sent you, he will understand.”

Locke answered the question for Shima; Lorenzo looked over to Locke and nodded his head.

“Consider it done, I hold you in high regards Shima, I hope your word is as solid as you are.

Lorenzo tossed his cigarette to the ground right next to Obsidian’s unconscious body. Buttoning the top button on his jacket Lorenzo continued to his original destination, this time with a new purpose. Shima and Locke looked on as Lorenzo made his departure from the blockade before running off toward the bridge deeper into Keyon’s essence corruption.

“Once we reach Keyon the rest is up to you Locke, I’m going to be pretty much useless to you while I keep up our spirit reinforcement.”

“Got it, just stay behind me, that’s an interesting fellow back there, how do you know him?”

“He was our guide to get here, some kind of organization member, Snake organization if my assumption is correct.”

Shima and Locke gazed over the scattered bodies on the bridge, observing their wounds.

“Kezonto didn’t kill these ones, they have been shot.”

He looked at Shima quickly, noticing a faint look of relief in her facial expression. Seemingly happy Keyon hadn’t added anymore people to his murderous tally. An expression that changed the closer they got to the battle on the bridge. She couldn’t fathom who Keyon could possibly be fighting. What type of tech could they have to possibly withstand this amount of essence corruption and how.

***

Keyon’s back slammed against the side of a car, rolling to the side he avoided a slash from Onyx’s sword that cut the car clean in half. He planted his foot, adjusting the grip on his hilt, Keyon swung his sword at Onyx. He turned to the side, avoiding Keyon’s wild strike, elbowing the youth in his mid-section. Grabbing Keyon by his ponytail, Onyx took control of Keyon and sent him flying across the ground of the bridge. Coming to a stop once he collided with another deserted vehicle, stabbing his sword into the ground Keyon slowly rose to his feet. This man, whoever he was, was becoming a problem for Keyon. Everything he was throwing at this man he could see it coming. He knew his fighting style, the strikes he was going to use. If he was going to win this fight, he would need to switch up his thinking, the way he moved. This man may be able to use essence, but Keyon knew that he didn’t have the vast well to draw from like he did, no one did. He knew the man wouldn’t be able to divert his essence to anything other than spirit reinforcement if he continued to intensify his essence corruption. But even that had its limit, there was only so far that he could push it. Keyon smirked sinisterly, looking up at Onyx as he thought of his next executed plan of attack.

Increasing his essence output even further, Keyon also reduced the area of effect to a seven-foot radius surrounding him. Instantly Onyx began feeling the crippling density of Keyon’s corruption, stopping the expert swordsman in his tracks. Onyx grit his teeth and the shaking in his legs came back as he attempted to muster the strength to move forward. He watched as Keyon menacingly came closer to him; his sinister smirk still plastered on his face. He had no choice; he had to max out his spirit reinforcement just to be able to move. But he had years of experience on the vengeful young man, he had that to his advantage. He would just have to move smartly and wait for his openings. He gripped his sword tight and defended himself once Keyon continued his assault. He was fast, almost too fast and his reflexes left little room for error. He never faltered, maintaining his composure, he kept up his defenses, never once allowing Keyon to press and corner him.

The further Onyx distanced himself from Keyon the lighter he felt, the faster his mind processed information. Putting two and two together he realized that whatever Keyon was using to affect his fighting capabilities had a radius. Blocking two consecutive strikes from Keyon, Onyx took his opening, piercing Keyon through the shoulder and had the killing blow but hesitated in the execution. Onyx pulled his sword back, watching Keyon take a few steps back, barely phased by Onyx’s well-placed strike. Even with his new strategy in place Keyon was still making no progress, it was time for Keyon to stop playing around and end this. Onyx dashed back, escaping Keyon’s essence corruption and buying himself sometime to breathe while he waited for Keyon’s next move.

Onyx watched carefully as the upper portion of Keyon’s battle armor dissipated in a congregation of light particles. Onyx took stock of the Giant claw marks that ran the length of the young man’s torso. But that wasn’t all that he noticed, as the head of a jet-black serpent slithered over his shoulder. Slowly the serpent rose out of Keyon’s skin and extended outward into the night air.
Onyx was in shock at what he was witnessing, he couldn’t make sense of it. The snake coiled up and propelled itself toward Onyx, sinking its fangs through his battle armor and into his shoulder. Onyx could feel the fangs growing, extending deeper into his flesh. He slashed at the black monstrosity, separating himself from it. Onyx observed as the black mass that remained implanted in his shoulder returned to its host. He watched in shock as the serpent’s head reformed and then split into two and attacked once again. This time Keyon didn’t stand idly by and advanced forward in preparation for an opening to presenting itself.

The black serpents, a byproduct of the sacred ink, a special substance that has properties that allow it to be manipulated by essence, gave Keyon the edge he needed in his battle with Onyx. While Onyx defended against Keyon, the serpents were able to bite at him faster than he could react to them. His mid-section received a gashing wound, as perfect timing allowed Keyon to take out a chunk of Onyx’s battle armor and flesh. The cut was clean, Onyx hardly felt anything as he evaded the more devastating part of Keyon’s attack, buying Onyx just a little more time. Clutching his side, Onyx started to bleed profusely from the fresh wound. Breathing heavily, physically and emotionally drained, Onyx looked up.

He watched as Keyon slowly closed in, he didn’t care anymore, he was at his limit. He got a good look at what he could have become, had he not had the guidance of Keyon’s late father. His emerald eyes fixated on Keyon, never once blinking. The pain, the sorrow, everything, he could see it all through Keyon’s hardened demeanor. All the misguided emotions that he was receiving the blunt end of. This was the end of him; he knew that the moment he came to the realization of Keyon’s identity. His blood-stained lips creased across his face, he strained to focus his vision, his spirit reinforcement weakening with every step of Keyon’s approach.

“You still haven’t figured it out yet, huh? You still haven’t figured out who I am.”