There were tis when Kai had wrongly judged a situation, facing the consequences of his erred judgnt.
Amplify the graveness of those consequences tens of tis and one could find an ashad version of Kai, almost blushing.
The first mistake he had made was to think that the Inferi Knights' strengths would increase linearly.
The second mistake he had made was to think that the creator of the Tomb of the Thirteen, rlin, hadn't thought of the obvious flaw of many people just storming into the circles, taking down the Inferi easily.
Well... No.
No one was that stupid.
Much less needed to be said about soone like Herpo the Foul.
So when they t the next Inferi, carrying a burning sword and radiating pulsating heat, they t the first surprise this place had to give them.
Surprise, because this knight had the strength equivalent to a Top-level 6th floor Contestant.
Surprise, because this knight wasn't alone like the knight from the previous circle.
Two Inferi knights walked toward them, side by side, looking the sa.
Their armor was glowing red hot, their swords burning with scorching fires, and their dead throats letting out murderous, raging growls.
"Arggggghhhh!!!"
The two Inferi let out heated growls, their voices echoing off the rotten walls of the ancient ruin.
The corridor had widened, the floor had sunken, and the roof had arched up. But it only helped the Inferi more, turning the entire corridor into a makeshift furnace.
"I can handle them," Spawn said, already walking toward the marching enemies. "I can..."
"Cersei will go with you," Kai decided.
Cersei laughed enchantingly, shadows howling out of the black, diamond-like mark on her forehead, becoming a skin-tight suit. Two stun-guns appeared in her hands and a pair of bat-like wings burst out of her back.
Spawn and Cersei looked at each other and then vanished.
One knight swirled his sword in a wide, horizontal swing, preventing Spawn from approaching it. The other knight hacked toward Cersei, shooting a massive pillar of fire.
"They are learning from previous Circles," g said, eying the obvious tactic.
Cersei saw the attack coming from miles away, flew down, and then spun around the fire pillar.
With one flutter of her wings, she reached on top of the Inferi, pointed her stun-guns at its head, and fired.
Bang-Bang!!
The stunners hit the knight's head, buckling its knees.
On the other side, Spawn's red shroud slithered on the floor, and suddenly thrust itself toward the knight attacking her.
Before the shroud reached the knight, it beca harder than steel.
With a muffled boom, the scalding hot Inferi got sent flying into the distance.
Cersei chased it midair.
Spawn popped out of sight and appeared 3 feet away from the Inferi hit by Cersei's stunners just seconds ago.
She crouched, taking a stance.
The Inferi masterfully spun, attacking her with the flaming sword.
Too late.
One thing that wasn't known even by the whisperers was Spawn's background.
Sure, her Hellspawn Blessing, even though it was half-a-blessing, could let her tower over other Contestants. But there were others with Blessing as well.
The thing that made Spawn special, for Kai to even consider turning her Slave, was her ancestry.
An ancestry which one of her Abilities reflected like a beacon of light in the storming ocean.
Gentle Fist!
"Two palms!" With it, the Inferi lifted into the air.
"Four palms!" Two more hands protruded out of her waist and struck it again, carrying the Inferi up even more.
"Eight Palms!" The four hands and four chains landed on the Inferi, cracking its armor.
The burning sword slipped out of its grip. Her attacks were so fast that the Inferi couldn't even put up a magic shield.
Eight more long, unnatural hands ca out of her.
"Sixteen palms!"
Crack!
Spawn's red shroud beca a platform midair, giving her ample surface to put her weight on.
Her thigh muscles bulged, her tendons pulsed, and her entire body wriggled as if she were concentrating all her strength on the next strikes.
"Eight Trigram Thirty-two palms!"
Boommmmmmmmm!!
The Inferi got blasted into the roof, creating a hole that seed to go up and up.
In the distance, Cersei danced around the Inferi as if she was playing with a child.
The Inferi was a master swordsman, its magical ability mighty.
Moreover, Cersei didn't possess the firepower to deal with it.
However, it didn't an the Inferi could touch her.
It hacked and hacked as the Shadow Queen effortlessly shifted her weight, dodging everything by the width of a hair.
It didn't even feel like she was consciously avoiding the attacks.
Those who were watching this scene could only conclude that the knight just didn't want to hit her.
And every ti she struck, a force of High-level 6th-floor exploded from her limbs, booming into the surroundings.
Behind Kai, not only Moraine and Red Sun but even g gaped.
They had heard of it from Kai, still...
"But how's this possible?" g blurted, her mouth open. "How's she using... Observation Haki? Isn't she..."
Red Sun was even more perplexed.
If he thought that it was because of Ti alone, then he had also spent nearly 800 years in his Tournant of Worth. Then why didn't he have such a power?
No. It wasn't because of Ti alone.
Red Sun looked at Kai... and decided to cling tighter to this girl... monster.
Kai looked over his shoulder at Red Sun and smiled.
Red Sun's lips twitched.
Kai said nothing, however. Using the ntal connection he shared with Spawn, he nudged her to finish Cersei's quarry, too.
Of course, Cersei didn't like when Spawn went to her. She didn't chase her away, though.
The Inferi attacked Spawn. Cersei fired at its back, its armor creaking under the barrage of her blasts.
Before the Inferi could attack Cersei, Spawn pumled it into the earth, sucking out the magic that was keeping it alive.
This is it, Kai thought, as he saw the two ladies taking broken breaths. This is their limit. Cersei can last against a Top-level 6th floor, but she can't win.
Spawn can finish one off easily of its level, but she has yet to explore the true nature of powers, limiting her potential. Hmm. Good enough for now.
They arrived in the circular hall and found the gravestone in the middle of it.
"Sir Kay." Kai read the na of the knight and the gravestone split apart, revealing a black marble.
Suddenly, the woodcut Portkey in Kai's hand glowed and another material appeared on it.
Unicorn's Blood.
"This will be troubleso," Spawn said.
"Never mind," Kai said. "Let's keep going."
...
The 4th Circle, the Circle of Valiance, also had two knights.
But the congested and rotting ruins had vanished.
Kai and others arrived on open grounds, surrounded by tall walls and vast grasslands.
The Inferi were carrying dual swords, with two enormous wings on their backs.
Their armors were red, yellow, and green, with one arm longer than the other, and both had the strength of Low-level 7th floor Contestants.
They flew at them with a shocking speed, hundreds of two-headed birds appearing around them.
Cry!
Spawn took a step, and Cersei's wings fluttered, hoping to et the enemies in midair.
"Get back," Kai told them. "g...
"... It's your turn."
***************
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