The Divine Core

"FRESHMAN VS SOPHOMORE(3): KAI VS HAKU(2)"

••• ∅ •••

"For almost a minute the two of us were locked in a battle of wills that had no possible winner."

••• ∅ •••

Without a second to doubt, Kai and Haku already began exchanging blows. Each collision of their fists distorted the atmosphere due to the immense pressure exerted.

Kai tightened the grip on his fists, raising his core energy output to new heights. Haku noticed this, responding almost instantly by modifying his body to absorb the impacts.

Roaring, Kai escalated his punching speed, and Haku matched his rhythm. The venue suffered as their collisions brought destruction to the surrounding areas.

Haku smartly aimed a punch to Kai’s ribs, but Kai swiftly caught his arm and sent him hurtling 200 meters away.

In a swift succession, Kai slightly squatted and launched himself towards Haku, performing an amazingly executed Superman Punch.

Haku zoomed out of the way and Kai landed a devastating earth-shattering punch to the ground.

Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Haku aimed a nastily executed drop kick at Kai’s head in an attempt to end the battle. However, Kai promptly thwarted the maneuver by grabbing Haku’s legs and shattering them with the powerful grip of his right arm.

Holding Haku aloft, Kai dealt a rib crushing punch to his gut before propelling him higher. A barrage of kicks followed: a triple 540° kick to his midsection and an improvised tornado kick to his chest.

Culminating the combo, Kai leaped almost into orbit, spinning rapidly, and with incredible speed, hurtled toward Haku. The final colossal kick hammered into Haku’s midsection, propelling him fifteen feet downward into the ground.

Through the dust, the mesmerized crowd marveled in awe at the amazing battle they were witnessing.

"I cannot believe it! Is Haku down? Is it over? Do we have a winner?" Satoru’s voice rang out.

Nakamura smirked anew.

As the dust cleared away, a battered and bruised Haku lay helpless, deep into the ground. Kai stood tall, the victor’s aura in his gaze.

"You really are worth the hype," Haku admitted, coughing repeatedly from the incredible amount of damage he had endured.

"But if you think I'm ready to lose to a freshman," he reassured, body healing, rising once more. "Then you must be sadly mistaken," he smirked. "Technique Development…"

His body transitioned once more, adopting a form greater and larger than before.

"Hmm…" he mused, staring him down with fixed dead eyes. "Core Infusion."

Kai concentrated and conjured up more energy, reinforcing his body with stacked core energy.

"It's about time this match comes to an end. Give me everything you've got… lover boy," he taunted, grinning mockingly.

Enraged by his imposed mocking, Haku roared and leapt out of the deep hole and charged straight at Kai with great speed.

He immediately delivered a forearm to his face but the punch took no effect on his face as it was reinforced with stacked core energy.

Now cut off guard, he attempted to deliver a fury of punch combos, but his fists were stopped by the arms of a raging beast.

Haku decided to transcend and obtain a body visibly stronger than the reinforced build of Kai and proceeded to attack with speed that could not be processed by anyone in the surrounding area.

Kai was at the mercy of his hands as he was severely brutalized by his combos. A final punch was delivered to his face. This sends him flying far across the field.

"This is one heck of a match!" Satoru announced. "Truly main event material. I guess that's what to expect when the Chosen One clashes with the Beast."

Now brought to his knees, Kai groaned on the floor, his blood splattered around. He held his chest in desperate need to shrug off the pain.

"I won't lose," he muttered through clenched teeth. "There's no way in hell I'm gonna lose. There's…" he began to fade. "No way… No way in… hell."

In an instant, he succumbed to unconsciousness. The crowd was in shock as loud gasps swept through the arena.

In his unconscious state, Kai's spirit found itself in an empty void:

"Is this it? Is this the end? Maybe he truly was right. Maybe I am pathetic," Kai’ self doubt echoed.

"Don't you ever say that again, Kai."

"Would you look at that? My best bud couldn't possibly have become this weak since we parted ways."

"Maybe the pressure has gotten to him. How sad."

Kai turned around to see Yua, Akira and Ash. Tears welled as he sprinted to embrace his best friends.

"I can't believe it... How is this possible?" Kai choked out.

"Nothing's impossible, Kai." Yua reassured him.

"After all, we made a pact to never leave each other's side." Akira told Kai, chuckling.

"Even though we aren't physically by your side any more, we will forever remain in your heart." Ash assured him.

"We will always be there to be your strength. We would be your light in your darkest times. Never forget that, bro." Akira affirmed.

"Now, what's it going to be? Are you gonna give in to your body's limits?" Yua questioned.

"Or are you gonna let them know who you truly are?" Akira concluded.

Kai, while wiping away his tears, absorbed the words of encouragement his friends had given him.

They disappear from the void.

"Who I truly am, huh? But, who am I?"

Suddenly, the void began to rapidly display visions in the form of blurry flashbacks. He managed to pick up echoing words from the vision.

"Kai..." "Kai..."

" Kai…" "Kai..."

"You are the one." "The one."

"You are..." "You are..."

"You are the key." "The key."

"The Chosen!" "Chosen!"

Almost as if he received a spark of electricity within his veins, he surged back to reality as he oozed powerful waves of energy that filled the arena and beyond. This created a dense atmosphere that made it hard to breathe.

Amidst the air, basking in his glory, stood none other Kai.

"I am the Chosen! I am the One! If I fall, you're coming with me."

In a climatic surge, he released all the energy emanating from within him, generating a blinding burst of light that tore through half of the 3000-meter field.

The blast completely knocked out all those that were caught within its grasp. The audience were protected by elite Daemons who could create force fields to negate the attack.

>

"Do we have a winner?" Satoru announced, coughing a lot as he inhaled dust.

In the dust, the bodies of Kai and Haku were seen on the ground with no sign of seen consciousness.

"This is amazing," he said, surprised. "In the first bout between Freshman and Sophomore in this year's tournament, we have us a tie!"

The crowd roared in the rollercoaster ride of excitement and thrill experienced in one fight between the two behemoths.

In the aftermath of the battle, the two were put on their individual stretchers and were taken to the healing center. Shujin came out of his seat and kindly excused himself to see Kai and Haku.

At the healing center, Kota and Chiko, together with two unknown Second Years, were by the sides of their fellow classmates. Shujin stormed into the room looking anxious.

"Sensei!" Kota called out, alarmed. "Shouldn't you be commentating?"

"The match doesn't start in about twenty minutes. The Daemons in charge still have to clean up the mess caused in the first bout."

"Where's your Sensei?" Chiko asked one of the Daemons.

"Doubt he'd come." the Daemon replied.

"I came in his place. You were once my students as well," Shujin reminded. "So, what are the stats?"

"Haku seems to be alright. He just got knocked unconscious due to the blast," the male Daemon informed.

"Kai, on the other hand, sustained a lot of injuries in the fight," Kota informed. "This dude must have some insane resilience to have kept on fighting."

Shujin held Kai's right arm and breathed. This caused his body to glow white.

"He'll be fine. Some rest is all he needs."

"I see…" Chiko said, disturbed.

"Hey, aren't you next?" Kota asked Chiko.

"Oh… You're right, I am. Better get going."

"Don't worry, I'll watch over him. Good luck though," Kota wished.

"I'll be fine. After all, someone needs to look after Kai when you'll eventually get exhausted, he smiled as they shook hands. "Take care of him while I'm gone, okay?"

"You bet!"

"You're pretty confident. Don't underestimate your opponent, baby boy," a female Daemon warned.

"You're getting it all wrong. I'm not looking down on anyone. I just know I'll be fine," Chiko clarified. "As you may know… I'm not a fan of defeat," he smirked.

"Now if you'll excuse me…" he concluded, walking out of the room.

"Hmph. I better get going. The tournament continues in about ten minutes," Shujin noted.

Kota nodded in approval.

Shujin also left the room.

The scenery opened back into the battlefield as the audience were all excited for the next battle.

"Oh boy! We're in for a treat for we are about to witness greatness before our very eyes as confidence meets dominance. It's Aeon vs Aeon. Freshman vs Sophomore Round Two. It's the Core of Sound vs the Core of Malevolence. Chiko vs Akuma's up next," Satoru announced.

The crowd cheered as they walked up to the battleground.

>

At the healing center, Kai seemed to be stuttering partially.

"Kai! Kai! What's wrong, buddy? Is everything alright?" a worried Kota asked the unconscious Kai.

Suddenly, a hand holds Kota's shoulders gently.

"Kota, always looking after your friends. I guess you'll never change, will you?" a Daemon commended, smiling whole fully.

Kota turned back as he lit up a smile to the familiar face.