CHAPTER 580: RAVAAK

The strings slowly fell off in clumps.

The Ashura in front of Liam was nothing like his own Ashura Form. It resembled a male, but since the species’ reproductive organs had been more or less erased, it

He was huge and heavily, heavily armored. Spikey white hair. Skin pulsing with veins of chaos beneath regal, ornate metal shapes studded on his body. All six of his arms resembled gauntlets shaped into a bestial roar. Like a sleeve of power, leaving his bare, knuckled fist uncovered.

Covered by a pattered, raggedy hakama, his feet were bare, human-like if not for the overgrown black nails which almost scratched against the ground beneath him.

His face was barely human-like in appearance. His angry eyes were glowing like two red orbs. A scrunched up, thick nose and square chin. He resembled the incarnation of violence.

His armored body was scarred. It was as though it was refurbished and repaired of any significant damage, but the exterior still showed very faint signs of damage.

Liam made no sudden attacks despite the openings, unlike his previous bout. If he wanted the Ashura’s cooperation, beating him wouldn’t assure it at all.

The Ashura was barely conscious, as though he had awoken from a long, restless slumber with dreams of anguish and wrath.

His glowing eyes flickered open and close, until he staggered back and almost fell over. He lowered his head, then raised it, leveling his eyes with Liam’s.

"Hello."

Liam tried a friendly smile.

The Ashura’s face, which had been relatively human and normal at first, twisted gruesomely into an ugly mask. Only then could one attribute them as a demonic race.

Liam raised his hands but in the next moment, he was knee deep into the wall.

BOOM!

Groaning, Liam peeled himself off the concrete. He sent an eye to the Ashura, who’d immediately looked away after the strike thinking he’d killed Liam.

The Ashura was looking around, examining his surroundings with the same look of repugnant disgust on his face. Chaos swirled around his six fists like a nervous bubble of energy. It was much more controlled than Liam’s version of it, despite looking much more powerful.

’So it can think,’ Liam thought. ’Though not in the way I’d hoped it would.’

What path would work best, here?

Diplomacy? He doubted that.

Tyranny? Maybe, if you could somehow oppress that thing.

How about honesty? Well. It was worth a shot.

Liam let the Ashura finish its breakout project. If not to see its power, to see if he actually succeeded.

All six fists converged into a singular point in the walls. The impact violently shook the whole room and, judging by the intensity, the whole Tomb.

Dust blew in the air and settled. Not a scratch on the walls.

The Ashura roared in the air in frustration. It sounded awful. Like a jaguar’s screech with the decibels of a jet taking off.

Liam promptly disabled his hearing until he was done, then enabled it when he was. He fixed himself a serious look when the Ashura finally noticed him still alive, standing idly.

"Do you understand me?" Liam asked. He repeated the question in every language he knew. Granted, he didn’t know the tongue Ashuras spoke, because Raast didn’t give him a linguistics class last he inhibited him.

Sensing an imminent attack, Liam frowned. ’It would be faster to show him.’

Chaos swirled through and around him. In a moment, Liam bloomed with six arms, shrouded in glorious armor.

The Ashura’s eyes widened, anger dissipating like spit on a hot skillet. His mouth fell with sharp, palisade teeth. He took a step closer, like he was drawn to Liam. Like he wanted to confirm his existence.

With a deep, commanding voice layered with a gentle interior, the Ashura spoke.

But Liam did not understand.

If he had to guess, he might have thought it to be something like, "Are you real?", or "Who are you?" from the length of his sentence.

Going off that implication, Liam spoke:

"Raast." And Liam pointed to himself.

The Ashura’s eyes widened further. "Raast," he repeated.

And Liam nodded.

Then, there was silence. The giant creature of massive proportions took the information, but what would he do with it?

Liam said nothing, waiting for the Ashura to come to his own conclusions.

Then, abruptly, the Ashura started looking around in distrust in paranoia. His movements grew jittery, like he’d been stung by a mosquito and had the urge to crush it between his palms.

The Ashura said something else. This time, in a tone brimming with anger but yet to spill.

Liam frowned. "Raast!" He pointed to himself again. "King!"

The Ashura’s demonic face twisted. He pointed to himself and said in a tone spilling with bloodlust and ending with a roar:

"Ravaak!"

Liam clenched his teeth in frustration, but knew the Ashura was right to be skeptical. He wakes up after a thousand year war in the middle of nowhere, and the first thing he sees is a human who turned into an Ashura claiming to be his king. Even if the first thing the Ashura saw was one of his own.

Veins of chaos throbbed across Ravaak’s body, flowing into his fists. Little rivers of red that gave his gauntlets a vibrating quality.

Liam thought about shifting back to his normal Form. The Ashura Form was not his strongest ability, not anymore. He’d sacrificed strength and durability for a myriad of flexible powers merged into one.

But he didn’t.

He hadn’t fought in this form in a while. His only notable fight with it was with his former battle prowess teacher, and a few more times after that not requiring much effort from his side.

’I’ll humble him in his own damn form!’ Liam thought with pride.

Perhaps the violent edge that came with the Ashura Form had tainted his judgement. But there was no room for doubt.

Liam readied all six arms. Cocked them backwards like a gun preparing to shoot. Ravaak lurched at him, and Liam pulled the trigger.

BOOOM!