Chapter 19: "Super Atmospheric Drop Kick — Jin style."
Jin's smile cut through the roaring winds.
"Oh wow… you sure can fly fast. I wonder how fast you would fall."
Her words struck IK harder than any blade. Panic twisted his flight into erratic spirals, wings thrashing as he tried to shake her off.
"Get off my back! If you do, I'll pretend nothing happened here today. I'll leave immediately!" His voice cracked, almost pleading, as the clouds loomed above.
Jin's reply was sharp, carried through distorted air pressure.
"Do you think this is your personal playpen, where you cause havoc and leave as you wish?"
Before his answer could form, her left hand gripped his mana wing. The sound of tearing flesh and energy ripped through the sky. Blood sprayed downward, raining into the village below, converging with the crimson trail already spilled.
IK screamed, agony breaking his arrogance. "Argh! Please stop! Can't you see we'll both fall to death if you rip my wings off?"
Jin held the torn wing in her hand, watching it harden into stone. Her laughter was cruel.
"Oh? Are you scared to die? I don't fear the fall. And the way you acted earlier, I could swear you weren't either."
They broke through the clouds, speed shattering the sound barrier. IK's panic deepened.
"Please! I failed to recognise a true warrior of the Spatial Fortress. If you let me go, I swear — my young master and I will never bother Ana and Taka again!"
But Jin's eyes gleamed with delight.
"Naw… it's way past time for you to take the regret pill. Collect bicycle kick."
Her foot tapped off his back, flipping gracefully as IK tumbled horizontally into the clouds.
She vanished, reappearing before him mid‑fall. Her kicks rained down on his chest, playful and merciless, like juggling a ball.
"Argh! Please stop! I've repented!" IK's screams tore through the sky, but Jin's laughter drowned them out.
"Super Atmospheric Drop Kick — Jin style."
She disappeared from his front, reappearing above him, standing vertically on his back. Both feet slammed down with crushing force. The impact cracked bone and mana alike. IK plummeted, wings burned away, clothes igniting as fire consumed him. His body spiraled downward, blood scattering, speed stripping him of control.
The ground erupted in a sonic boom. A crater split the earth where he struck.
Above it, Jin hovered, fiery fairy wings glowing deep red. Her voice dripped with mockery.
"Don't tell me you're dead with just this, Mr. Perv. Come out… let's play some more."
Her bloodlust did not diminish.
On the Border of the Village
Tor stood on the fence, eyes scanning the forest. The true mages and the Lightning Delights battled beasts at the edges, but he dismissed them as small fry. His gaze fixed deeper.
"So much blood… these people must be very dangerous."
Within the forest, a bloodbeast swelled grotesquely, absorbing mana and blood from the village. Three auras pulsed in formation, binding the beast while feeding its growth.
"So this is the blood beast sacrifice?" Tor murmured, disgust curling his lip. He leapt from the walls, crossing into the forest. His intent was clear — destroy the beast and everyone who dared weave such filth.
Deep in the forest, one of the men controlling the formation stiffened.
"Something has happened to young master IK."
Another laughed, dismissive. "Hahaha, let it be. The young master is better off without trash like him anyway."
The third, aura heavy and dangerous, snapped. "You two — go look for young master IK. If that fool dies, the clan will be furious."
The bloodbeast roared, swelling larger, devouring blood by the gallon.
"But senior elder… if we leave, the formation weakens. The beast may break free. At that time, elder may not—"
"Shut up!" The elder's voice cut like a whip. "Who do you think I am? A little rat dares to advise me? Do as I said, before I report your insubordination to the clan."
His arrogance was palpable, his aura oppressive. The forest trembled with the beast's growls, blood and mana thickening the air.