Chapter 22:
Breaking The Ring.
DARK HIERARCHY
Everyone glued their eyes to the large, airborne stone frame. Muttering and whining at each other, casually disputing the current situation as though they were watching a sports match.
Dark stood amongst the crowd. Even within the clustered first years, his presence had managed to create his own space of some sort, a space Tiger refused to stay out of.
"Having second thoughts about your vice?" Tiger's words came like a non-ending disturbance, words Dark already expected to hear.
But that didn't mean he couldn't ignore him.
"I mean it is true that Shade always laid waste to Deckra when they were younger, but Deckra has had a noticeable number of breakthroughs in his strengths and abilities after involving himself with Ds. I doubt this will be just another regular one-sided battle." Tiger waved his hand around, grinning as he further disturbed Dark's peace.
Still Dark didn't utter a word, he just tilted his head backwards, observing the ongoing battle.
Tiger totally ignored the little hints Dark threw around, sliding in closer, he patted Dark on the shoulder while dishing out a warm smile.
"Don't worry. Even though Shade and I haven't fought against each other before, I've seen his strength when he's a bit serious in battle. He's barely playing around right now."
Dark brought down his head, finally fed up.
"Can you back off? You're creeping me out."
"Hmm?" Tiger still retained his smile even after Dark's nasty words.
Eventually, the disturbing elite finally settled down, turning towards the large frame too, while he retreated his palms into his pockets.
"Deckra hasn't used his popular trump card since the last time he fought Shade, which was three years ago. I have a feeling he wouldn't be so laid-back this time around."
His smirk hinted at the fact that he had more to say, but Dark just didn't care, he just wanted him to fucking stop talking.
"Even still, I'm almost sure Shade would come out on top... but—"
His smirk morphed into a slight innocent smile.
"— When it's a two-to-one, now that's a different case."
Dark rolled only his eyeballs to Tiger, what a nasty look he delivered.
"Even a single gold card clone could easily increase his chances. Why hold back?" Tiger scoffed.
↑→↓←↑→
The clearing which resided within Professor Hungman's Ultra Space was as quiet as a graveyard, with both present parties just glaring at each other.
Shade placed one foot forward confidently, pointing a finger at Deckra.
"Damn Lowlife, where's that smile I hated so much, don't tell me you erased it for someone like him?!" He shot deadly glares at Deckra, a vein stretched at his neck, expanding like an unbelievably fast-growing tree branch.
Deckra sighed, no emotion written in his little movements.
"You talk too much now, seems we both changed parts of us, damn— I'm already losing my respect for you by the second. I'm also having second thoughts about not letting one of my golden cards deal with you." He rumbled on, lamenting like a spoiled brat while taking off his school jacket.
Shade tilted his head slightly, raising a brow.
"Tch, confident brat." Shade too started taking off the school jacket.
Deckra squatted, so low and straight, his amber eyes completely contrasting with his emotions at the moment.
They both held their school jackets in their hand, Deckra's eyes focused greatly, observing Shade with precision while Shade still looked unfocused and ignorant as ever.
Both exhaled, then vanished, leaving their jackets behind as they fell to the ground without anyone to stop them.
Inches from the grass, both jackets were launched back into the air by a powerful gust of wind, pushing them further away until they rested on bushes just beyond the clearing.
In the middle of the clearing, Shade and Deckra stood like models for an exhibition, their bodies somewhat crossed, both with launched fists.
Shade's neck was bent sideways, totally avoiding Deckra's launched fist, while Deckra himself shifted his body to the right, also dodging Shade's punch.
Shade smirked,
The natural disaster happened again, all the tall trees beyond the clearing and opposite to Shade were completely destroyed, broken apart, piece by piece. The leaves were in a frenzy once more, subtly gliding towards the scorched earth.
The two legends didn't move an inch.
"Good thing your face didn't get caught up in that, how else would you show me that blood-boiling smile of yours?" Shade locked his gum.
Deckra just stared forward, he didn't spare Shade a glance but kept his placid expression.
He immediately took a gigantic leap backwards, re-establishing the distance between them. His lips were still in a flat line.
"I knew it, even a silver card can't replicate your kind of strength." He sighed.
Deckra dug his left hand into his right arm's sleeve, dragging out a plain, silver card.
Dark turned 180°, not minding the fact that he was in a heated battle with the enemy disturbingly within range.
Upon his findings, his smirk faded.
The earth behind him was deeply blown away, all in a perfect, escalating wide line. The eyesore led up to the edge of the clearing, growing thinner until its effects stopped just before the end of the clearing.
The silver card Deckra possessed, quickly disintegrated.
Dark stood amongst the crowd. Even within the clustered first years, his presence had managed to create his own space of some sort, a space Tiger refused to stay out of.
"Having second thoughts about your vice?" Tiger's words came like a non-ending disturbance, words Dark already expected to hear.
But that didn't mean he couldn't ignore him.
"I mean it is true that Shade always laid waste to Deckra when they were younger, but Deckra has had a noticeable number of breakthroughs in his strengths and abilities after involving himself with Ds. I doubt this will be just another regular one-sided battle." Tiger waved his hand around, grinning as he further disturbed Dark's peace.
Still Dark didn't utter a word, he just tilted his head backwards, observing the ongoing battle.
Tiger totally ignored the little hints Dark threw around, sliding in closer, he patted Dark on the shoulder while dishing out a warm smile.
"Don't worry. Even though Shade and I haven't fought against each other before, I've seen his strength when he's a bit serious in battle. He's barely playing around right now."
Dark brought down his head, finally fed up.
"Can you back off? You're creeping me out."
"Hmm?" Tiger still retained his smile even after Dark's nasty words.
Eventually, the disturbing elite finally settled down, turning towards the large frame too, while he retreated his palms into his pockets.
"Deckra hasn't used his popular trump card since the last time he fought Shade, which was three years ago. I have a feeling he wouldn't be so laid-back this time around."
His smirk hinted at the fact that he had more to say, but Dark just didn't care, he just wanted him to fucking stop talking.
"Even still, I'm almost sure Shade would come out on top... but—"
His smirk morphed into a slight innocent smile.
"— When it's a two-to-one, now that's a different case."
Dark rolled only his eyeballs to Tiger, what a nasty look he delivered.
"Even a single gold card clone could easily increase his chances. Why hold back?" Tiger scoffed.
↑→↓←↑→
The clearing which resided within Professor Hungman's Ultra Space was as quiet as a graveyard, with both present parties just glaring at each other.
Shade placed one foot forward confidently, pointing a finger at Deckra.
"Damn Lowlife, where's that smile I hated so much, don't tell me you erased it for someone like him?!" He shot deadly glares at Deckra, a vein stretched at his neck, expanding like an unbelievably fast-growing tree branch.
Deckra sighed, no emotion written in his little movements.
"You talk too much now, seems we both changed parts of us, damn— I'm already losing my respect for you by the second. I'm also having second thoughts about not letting one of my golden cards deal with you." He rumbled on, lamenting like a spoiled brat while taking off his school jacket.
Shade tilted his head slightly, raising a brow.
"Tch, confident brat." Shade too started taking off the school jacket.
Deckra squatted, so low and straight, his amber eyes completely contrasting with his emotions at the moment.
They both held their school jackets in their hand, Deckra's eyes focused greatly, observing Shade with precision while Shade still looked unfocused and ignorant as ever.
Both exhaled, then vanished, leaving their jackets behind as they fell to the ground without anyone to stop them.
Inches from the grass, both jackets were launched back into the air by a powerful gust of wind, pushing them further away until they rested on bushes just beyond the clearing.
In the middle of the clearing, Shade and Deckra stood like models for an exhibition, their bodies somewhat crossed, both with launched fists.
Shade's neck was bent sideways, totally avoiding Deckra's launched fist, while Deckra himself shifted his body to the right, also dodging Shade's punch.
Shade smirked,
The natural disaster happened again, all the tall trees beyond the clearing and opposite to Shade were completely destroyed, broken apart, piece by piece. The leaves were in a frenzy once more, subtly gliding towards the scorched earth.
The two legends didn't move an inch.
"Good thing your face didn't get caught up in that, how else would you show me that blood-boiling smile of yours?" Shade locked his gum.
Deckra just stared forward, he didn't spare Shade a glance but kept his placid expression.
He immediately took a gigantic leap backwards, re-establishing the distance between them. His lips were still in a flat line.
"I knew it, even a silver card can't replicate your kind of strength." He sighed.
Deckra dug his left hand into his right arm's sleeve, dragging out a plain, silver card.
Dark turned 180°, not minding the fact that he was in a heated battle with the enemy disturbingly within range.
Upon his findings, his smirk faded.
The earth behind him was deeply blown away, all in a perfect, escalating wide line. The eyesore led up to the edge of the clearing, growing thinner until its effects stopped just before the end of the clearing.
The silver card Deckra possessed, quickly disintegrated.
"Try incorporating the full power of your cards into a particular part of your body. And if you can, learn to subconsciously switch the power to another part of your body quickly in the heat of battle— then you might actually have a halfway decent combat performance." Deckra mumbled clearly enough for Shade to hear.
A plain golden card materialized right into his palm, and he briskly tucked it into his right sleeve.
"You told me that, remember?" Deckra looked up at Shade's back, fondly folding his right fist, as if checking the readiness of a well-oiled machine.
Shade stood still while Deckra materialized a fresh silver card and placed it on his left thigh, the card faded into it. He crouched down again, going so low this time that his thighs touched the back of his lower legs.
Shade didn't seem to care about the building momentum he obviously sensed behind him, he was still taking in the astounding effects Deckra had administered through his very own idea.
The wind had already died off, it was rather sunny now, more like a sunset as it highlighted the topography in great cinema lighting.
Taking a deep breath, Deckra sprang into motion. With just a few strides, he had covered the gap between them. He swung his arm back, ready to deliver a heavy blow.
Just inches away, his arm thrusted forward with full force, the only problem was — where the hell was his target?!
Inches from being hit, Shade had fritzed out, his specialty. Again no trace or lingering presence was even left behind.
Still stuck in the moment, Deckra reflexively furrowed his brows as his assault was still in motion, then he felt a weight pressing his head down.
There and then, he felt Shade's demonic aura explode; it was back and it was above him.
Shade's right arm was placed on Deckra's head, positioned upside down, his entire weight transferred to Deckra. His legs were parted, reaching for the sky.
"You should've used a gold card for speed if you ever planned on keeping up with me!" Shade's lips expanded into a wild smile as his eyes burned with desire and thrill.
Deckra's head started on its way towards the ground, he was about to be buried again by this monster. With his upper body now bent to a ninety-degree angle, the outcome seemed to be decided; no one has enough abdominal strength to support themselves at such an angle.
Still in the rush of the moment, Shade retreated his smile. "Lowli-"...
Deckra wittingly grabbed Shade's wrist with his right hand, his left leg marched forward, supporting his upper body and Shade's weight, consequently halting the downward motion.
Grabbing the arm Shade pushed him down with, he twisted it, till he successfully pushed it off. With his support gone, Shade started crashing down, his legs were all the way above, so they couldn't come down in time.
But the monster wasn't done,
With his lips curling back into a wild smile, Shade reinforced his left arm, launching another punch at Deckra from the side, not minding the fact that he was throbbing towards the dirt.
With his fist about to make contact with Deckra's skull, Deckra abruptly fell at an alarming rate, one too fast to have been done through will, it was just gravity.
"Hmm?"...
Shade rolled his eyes as his punch met empty space. He saw a fading shimmer of light, like a dwindling life source. In that split second, he knew Deckra had transferred the silver card somewhere else.
Deckra plunged his left palm into the ground, supporting himself just paces above the ground as he quickly turned his body, facing the falling monster.
He clenched his right fist, launching it at Shade's grinning face. To Deckra, everything slowed down.
I've worked harder than anyone else. I'm breaking the ring of my failure with you!
"Ahhh!" Deckra yelled, fully engrossed in intense emotions, he was finally letting his true feelings, the ones he had tried so hard to hide, run free.
Deckra's fist finally collided with the demon's face, smashing into it like a runaway train. Shade's nose folded in, almost levelling with the rest of his face.
The slow-motion bonding was over, and the punch was connected.
Shade flew so far away in such a short time that one would think he was as light as a feather but as aerodynamic as a flat stone, heavy enough to go a mile.
He crashed into the ground, stacking up the earth like a champion stacked up trophies.
"Ah..ah..ah" Deckra took deep and heavy breaths, his stance growing weary with fatigue. Crackling sounds surfaced as a few thick-barked trees fell over, perfectly in line with Deckra's punch.
He took his time getting back up, but nevertheless, after some seconds, he was up. And Shade wasn't.He had finally broken a ring of failure that originated so many years ago.
Deckra limped slightly, shifting his weight as much as possible to his right leg; his left leg was almost out of commission. It was a small price to pay for the feat he had just realized.
His heavy breathing soon started showing signs of calmness, or at least steadiness. Two cards emerged from his right arm, one golden and the other silver, then they slowly disintegrated.
"Countdown till verified takedown, ten seconds." Deckra's watch bellowed.
Deckra stared back at the pile of dirt in the distance, but still spotted no movements.
"Seven"...
Deckra observed harder, his cards had fully disintegrated by now.
"Four"...
He couldn't believe it, even after all his hard work, he still couldn't believe he won.
"Three"...
His knees met the warm sand, he was completely exhausted.
"I see,"...
Deckra's eyes peeled open, he couldn't believe it, no he didn't want to.
The dirt pile crumbled down, as Shade slowly dragged himself up. Deckra quickly dragged himself up too, but received enough sharp pains to know it was the wrong idea.
Shade's head was bent, fully facing the earth; his figure was like a let-down kid who just got his heart broken over a promise.
"I've seen how much stronger you've gotten, and I believe dealing with you as I am would be a real hassle, the result might actually be unpredictable. But I want a second so bad," Shade lamented in a very low voice, no one beyond the ultra space could hear him; the sound receptors couldn't pick it up.
Deckra gulped hard, his breathing was finally steady, but his body was a trainwreck. Without making too many eye-catching movements, a silver card materialized in between his fingers. He could feel it, the atmosphere becoming thicker, something was coming, something horrible.
↑→↓←↑→
In a split second, a gust of wind soared out with Shade as the origin point.
From the tip of his fingers, a red fiery coating slowly engulfed Shade, running around his body outline. It ran around his frame till it collided with the starting point, immediately releasing an uncontrollable rage of fire around Shade, which he quickly detained. It grew lighter till only the red line around him remained.
Shade turned his gaze to Deckra who felt like he was bathing in the sun at the moment, sweat ran down his skin.
"I'm bored of this." Shade relayed with a hollow voice.
Deckra stared at the hot mess, not moving an inch.
"Just his once—" Shade faced the earth,
"—I'll use my aura."
Deckra let out a quick cackle as hard as it was to believe, he ran his hand through his hair whether out of frustration or something else. His lips curled up, expressing a perfect drowning smile.
We're insufferable, let's go again!
A plain golden card materialized right into his palm, and he briskly tucked it into his right sleeve.
"You told me that, remember?" Deckra looked up at Shade's back, fondly folding his right fist, as if checking the readiness of a well-oiled machine.
Shade stood still while Deckra materialized a fresh silver card and placed it on his left thigh, the card faded into it. He crouched down again, going so low this time that his thighs touched the back of his lower legs.
Shade didn't seem to care about the building momentum he obviously sensed behind him, he was still taking in the astounding effects Deckra had administered through his very own idea.
The wind had already died off, it was rather sunny now, more like a sunset as it highlighted the topography in great cinema lighting.
Taking a deep breath, Deckra sprang into motion. With just a few strides, he had covered the gap between them. He swung his arm back, ready to deliver a heavy blow.
Just inches away, his arm thrusted forward with full force, the only problem was — where the hell was his target?!
Inches from being hit, Shade had fritzed out, his specialty. Again no trace or lingering presence was even left behind.
Still stuck in the moment, Deckra reflexively furrowed his brows as his assault was still in motion, then he felt a weight pressing his head down.
There and then, he felt Shade's demonic aura explode; it was back and it was above him.
Shade's right arm was placed on Deckra's head, positioned upside down, his entire weight transferred to Deckra. His legs were parted, reaching for the sky.
"You should've used a gold card for speed if you ever planned on keeping up with me!" Shade's lips expanded into a wild smile as his eyes burned with desire and thrill.
Deckra's head started on its way towards the ground, he was about to be buried again by this monster. With his upper body now bent to a ninety-degree angle, the outcome seemed to be decided; no one has enough abdominal strength to support themselves at such an angle.
Still in the rush of the moment, Shade retreated his smile. "Lowli-"...
Deckra wittingly grabbed Shade's wrist with his right hand, his left leg marched forward, supporting his upper body and Shade's weight, consequently halting the downward motion.
Grabbing the arm Shade pushed him down with, he twisted it, till he successfully pushed it off. With his support gone, Shade started crashing down, his legs were all the way above, so they couldn't come down in time.
But the monster wasn't done,
With his lips curling back into a wild smile, Shade reinforced his left arm, launching another punch at Deckra from the side, not minding the fact that he was throbbing towards the dirt.
With his fist about to make contact with Deckra's skull, Deckra abruptly fell at an alarming rate, one too fast to have been done through will, it was just gravity.
"Hmm?"...
Shade rolled his eyes as his punch met empty space. He saw a fading shimmer of light, like a dwindling life source. In that split second, he knew Deckra had transferred the silver card somewhere else.
Deckra plunged his left palm into the ground, supporting himself just paces above the ground as he quickly turned his body, facing the falling monster.
He clenched his right fist, launching it at Shade's grinning face. To Deckra, everything slowed down.
I've worked harder than anyone else. I'm breaking the ring of my failure with you!
"Ahhh!" Deckra yelled, fully engrossed in intense emotions, he was finally letting his true feelings, the ones he had tried so hard to hide, run free.
Deckra's fist finally collided with the demon's face, smashing into it like a runaway train. Shade's nose folded in, almost levelling with the rest of his face.
The slow-motion bonding was over, and the punch was connected.
Shade flew so far away in such a short time that one would think he was as light as a feather but as aerodynamic as a flat stone, heavy enough to go a mile.
He crashed into the ground, stacking up the earth like a champion stacked up trophies.
"Ah..ah..ah" Deckra took deep and heavy breaths, his stance growing weary with fatigue. Crackling sounds surfaced as a few thick-barked trees fell over, perfectly in line with Deckra's punch.
He took his time getting back up, but nevertheless, after some seconds, he was up. And Shade wasn't.He had finally broken a ring of failure that originated so many years ago.
Deckra limped slightly, shifting his weight as much as possible to his right leg; his left leg was almost out of commission. It was a small price to pay for the feat he had just realized.
His heavy breathing soon started showing signs of calmness, or at least steadiness. Two cards emerged from his right arm, one golden and the other silver, then they slowly disintegrated.
"Countdown till verified takedown, ten seconds." Deckra's watch bellowed.
Deckra stared back at the pile of dirt in the distance, but still spotted no movements.
"Seven"...
Deckra observed harder, his cards had fully disintegrated by now.
"Four"...
He couldn't believe it, even after all his hard work, he still couldn't believe he won.
"Three"...
His knees met the warm sand, he was completely exhausted.
"I see,"...
Deckra's eyes peeled open, he couldn't believe it, no he didn't want to.
The dirt pile crumbled down, as Shade slowly dragged himself up. Deckra quickly dragged himself up too, but received enough sharp pains to know it was the wrong idea.
Shade's head was bent, fully facing the earth; his figure was like a let-down kid who just got his heart broken over a promise.
"I've seen how much stronger you've gotten, and I believe dealing with you as I am would be a real hassle, the result might actually be unpredictable. But I want a second so bad," Shade lamented in a very low voice, no one beyond the ultra space could hear him; the sound receptors couldn't pick it up.
Deckra gulped hard, his breathing was finally steady, but his body was a trainwreck. Without making too many eye-catching movements, a silver card materialized in between his fingers. He could feel it, the atmosphere becoming thicker, something was coming, something horrible.
↑→↓←↑→
In a split second, a gust of wind soared out with Shade as the origin point.
From the tip of his fingers, a red fiery coating slowly engulfed Shade, running around his body outline. It ran around his frame till it collided with the starting point, immediately releasing an uncontrollable rage of fire around Shade, which he quickly detained. It grew lighter till only the red line around him remained.
Shade turned his gaze to Deckra who felt like he was bathing in the sun at the moment, sweat ran down his skin.
"I'm bored of this." Shade relayed with a hollow voice.
Deckra stared at the hot mess, not moving an inch.
"Just his once—" Shade faced the earth,
"—I'll use my aura."
Deckra let out a quick cackle as hard as it was to believe, he ran his hand through his hair whether out of frustration or something else. His lips curled up, expressing a perfect drowning smile.
We're insufferable, let's go again!
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