CHAPTER 32: SEAL

Chapter 31

Kaizen didn’t reply.

Instead, the veins on his arms glowed again. His nails darkened, his bones cracked. His body trembled like it was adjusting to something far too powerful for it to hold.

"You look like you’re being eaten from the inside out," she said.

Still no reply.

Kaizen’s fingers twitched, then he was gone again. In a flash, he appeared behind her, and before she could react, he drove his fist into her ribs, sending her flying across the realm like a bullet. She smashed through a massive pillar, tumbled through two other pillars and finally crashed onto the marbled floor, the floor cracking from the impact.

Velmaria stood slowly, hand on her ribs as she coughed. She was bleeding.

For the first time in years, she actually bled.

Her eyes lit with fury. "Fine. You want to fight? Then I’ll show you what a real monster looks like." She hadn’t a fight like this in centuries, one that actually made her wanna go all out.

She raised both hands. The ground cracked and the clouds moved as she summoned energy. Pure red mana erupted around her like fire.

But Kaizen didn’t wait for her attack to take effect, he lunged at her again, faster than before.

His punch collided with hers in mid-air, and a violent shockwave tore through the realm, ripping pillars from the ground and destroying the marbled floor beyond recognition.

They clashed again and again and again.

Velmaria’s eyes widened each time. He was adapting. His moves were becoming faster and stronger. His hits became harder. He wasn’t learning like a normal person, he was evolving right in front of her.

"What the hell are you?" she shouted, throwing a barrage of fire spikes at him.

But Kaizen didn’t dodge, instead he walked through it.

The flames burned holes into his skin, but he didn’t seem to care. His skin healed instantly, tendrils of shadow licking the wounds and closing them as if the damage never happened.

Velmaria saw that she was no match for whatever that thing in him was, She had to think of anything, anyway to stop him. He was clearly going berserk, he was blinded by rage and couldn’t reason right now.

She backed away as he came closer, her mind running with several thoughts of what she could say that’ll make him snap out of it. Then finally,

"I didn’t kill your mom." She yelled loudly, making sure her voice got to him, but that didn’t make him stop.

"It was just hallucination, I played a trick on your mind. I swear I didn’t hurt your mom, She’s safe." She yelled again, but still he didn’t stop nor respond.

He got to where she stood, and just when he raised his hand to attack, he paused....and instantly, the black shadow covering his eyes cleared, disappearing instantly.

Kaizen blinked, snapping back to reality. Velmaria who had closed her eyes shut as she waited for his strike to land slowly opened her eyes when she noticed he wasn’t attacking anymore.

Right at that moment, Kaizen collapsed on one knew, breathing heavily. "So my mom is alive?" He asked with a shaky breath.

Velmaria was quiet for a moment, her brows furrowed as she observed kaizen. "So you heard me when I said that?"

"Yeah."

"Were you conscious during this whole fight?"

"Yes." He answered flatly.

"That power, what the hell was that?"

"I don’t fucking know either, and what the hell did you do that for? Do you have any idea what that memory did to me?"

He didn’t know how it happened or when it happened, but something had taken over him, and even with that, he was conscious of everything. His body moved on its own, in ways he never thought possible, but somehow...he still had the will, and his body listened to him when he wanted.

"Do you know exactly what you are? I thought you were the five element wielder but i see I was wrong."

"You’re not the first person I’m hearing that from. Is that actually a real thing? Five elements?" Kaizen asked, standing up slowly. His strength was gradually coming back, moments ago, he felt like he might pass out from exhaustion, but somehow...he managed to stay conscious.

"Yes it is, and...I actually met the very first five element wielder. His name was iroh."

"I heard he was a tyrant, he caused so much massacre."

"No he never did that. He was framed, he was set up." Velmaria replied, her fist clenching as her face twisted in rage.

"I’m hearing a different story from you now. I don’t know who or what to believe at this point. But lemme ask you this, what made you think i was the five element wielder?"

"Your hair, and I kinda sensed it from you too. You’re the reason i baited your team to come here."

Kaizen’s expression turned cold, why? Why was she so cruel? She killed so many people for no good reason. Just for what? Because she thought he was the one she was looking for?

"What’s the reason you kill? What’s your ambition?" He asked, his eyes scanning her expression for any sign of remorse or guilt.

Velmaria just turned to him and smiled devilishly, "For revenge. For what they did to him." She replied coldly, her eyes holding a murderous intent.

Goosebumps spread through his body from the blood lust he felt from her aura, her expression was filled with hatred. Just what in the world happened?

"You mean Iroh?"

Velmaria nodded in approval. "I have lived for centuries, searching for his successor, but they always killed him before I could find him. Hunters, all those damn hunters, I hate them all."

So she hates hunters. Now it makes sense.

"Is there a way you can confirm if I’m the one you’re looking for? I saw something a few days ago, someone who told me I had that power, and he was the seal holding them back."

Since that day, Kaizen hadn’t told a soul about what he had seen or experienced. Princess Alira had help him cover up which was why his parents hadn’t suspected anything of such happened.

He had decided to forget about it since then. But right now, he knew he had to speak up. Was that power real? Was it really inside of him? He badly wanted to find out.

And what the hell happened just now, he had been killed, but somehow, he resurrected with some powers he couldn’t even summon at will, because right now, every trace of that power was gone from him. He had a whole bunch of questions he didn’t even know how to ask.

"You mean to tell me, there’s a seal holding your powers back?" Velmaria asked, her eyes wide with shock.