Diana:
Ashley... look.
Ashley followed her gaze. Her body tensed. The aura emanating from the figure was cold, predatory. Before she could scream, the young Burned Blood jumped. His movement was one of feline precision, and he landed with deadly grace on the edge of the pool.
Diana let out a cry of fear. Instinctively, Ashley threw herself in front of her, her naked body forming a protective barrier.
Ashley:
WHO ARE YOU???
The shout alerted the boys.
Raizen:
That was Ashley's voice!
They surged out of the water and rushed toward the source of the noise. When they arrived, the scene was frozen. The young Burned Blood, his sword drawn and the lower half of his face masked, stared at them.
Young Burned Blood:
Finally… I've found you. I was starting to get bored.
Raizen and Danky immediately took a combat stance. The ordinary day was over. The hunt had just begun.
Raizen and Danky leaped at the same time, towels flying around them, muscles tensed. Danky charged straight at the Burned Blood, his eyes blazing with contained anger.
Danky:
You shall not pass!
He struck with a force full of rage, each movement loaded with his hatred for the Burned Bloods. Raizen followed him with a rapid chain of strikes, seeking to disarm the opponent or at least disrupt him.
The Burned Blood smiled, almost amused, and retaliated with calculated violence. He dodged, blocked, and returned precise strikes, hitting the boys' arms and legs with blows that burned with pain but broke nothing. Danky felt his ribs hit the stone, his breath short, but he straightened up, fists clenched, ready to strike again.
Danky (gritting his teeth):
No… way… I'm not… giving up!
Raizen took a hook that sent him falling onto a ledge, pain shooting through his muscles. But he immediately leaped back up, resuming his guard with determination. The two boys exchanged blows, blocking and dodging, each impact making their bodies flinch, but without opening any serious wounds.
Young Burned Blood:
Enough. I'm not here to kill you, I just want to talk.
Danky panted, his hatred burning beneath the surface, but he maintained his control, fists clenched.
Danky:
I'm going to kill him. He muttered.
Raizen got up, watching the Burned Blood's blade, every fiber of his body tense, ready to pounce again. Ashley, behind Diana, clutched her towel, ready to intervene if necessary.
Ashley (grabbing a towel and tucking it around her waist with a sharp movement):
We don't talk with a drawn sword. Put your weapon down, and then you can talk. Now.
The Burned Blood gave a slight smile, seeing the determination mixed with the boys' anger, and he lowered his blade slightly, but the air around them still vibrated with tension. Every breath seemed heavy with contained hatred and the promise of violence to come.
The silence grew even heavier, as if the steam itself was holding its breath. Ashley did not remain passive for long. With a sharp movement, she pushed away the cold water clinging to her skin and stood up, her towel still tight around her waist. Her eyes, at first calm, hardened.
A glow began to seep from her skin—not a decorative light, but the living pulse of Kara: a dense, silvery energy that made the air around her vibrate. The steam seemed to twist as she passed. Ashley inhaled, and Kara erupted like solid smoke, coiling around her hands to transform into incandescent chains, heavy and clinking, imbued with her energy.
Ashley:
If you came here to cause trouble, you've come to the wrong place.
The chains slammed onto the ground, wrapped around her like armor, then rose up as barriers ready to descend on the intruder. Their metal seemed to drink the faint light of the lanterns, becoming denser, more dangerously real.
The young Burned Blood let out a small laugh—a laugh without warmth, which echoed like metal. He showed neither surprise nor fear; on the contrary, he took a step back to better size her up.
Young Burned Blood (amused smirk):
Hm. Judging by your power, I'd say you're not a pure Zenith Star… more like an intermediate rank. Am I wrong?
Ashley tightened her fists, the chains vibrating slightly with the pulse of her Kara.
Ashley:
No. I'm an Astroforge. And if you try anything, I'll make you regret being born.
The young Burned Blood stared at her, a slow, murderous, and confident smile forming under his mask.
Young Burned Blood (cold smile):
Interesting. I am… a full-blooded Burned Blood, pure rank. And I don't beat around the bush: tell me where the Zenith Star hideout is. Maybe I'll let you live, maybe not.
Around them, Raizen and Danky straightened up, rage and defiance mixed with caution. Diana, pale, squeezed Ashley's hand. Ashley's chains chimed softly, ready to strike like verdicts. The boy's threat hung in the air like a thrown gauntlet—and his smile was no empty promise.
Ashley (icy voice):
You can die wanting, but you won't set foot on our paths as long as I'm standing. We don't talk about a place that protects its own. Ever.
The Burned Blood tilted his head, appreciating the resistance as much as the threat. His gaze burned with a cruel desire: to get what he wanted, by word or by force.
Young Burned Blood (wider smile):
Then start by telling me how you wish to end your days on this earth.
Awakening his black, powerful, and imposing Kara.
The hot steam from the destroyed baths filled the air, making it hard to breathe. Broken planks creaked underfoot. The heat, the wet wood, the smell of blood and sweat: everything signaled that things were about to go wrong.
Ashley, her luminous chains floating around her, stepped forward with a determined stride. Her hair stuck to her sweaty forehead, and her eyes shone with a cold anger.
Ashley:
Raizen, Diana, Danky... stay back.
She cracked her chains like whips, making the air vibrate. Johan, motionless in the mist, raised his head slightly. His mask seemed to mock her.
Ashley (thoughtful):
I must not let this fight drag on...
Celestial Kara: Chain of the Silver Serpent!
The first chain shot through the steam. Johan did not move.
Ashley's attack seemed to hit an invisible wall a few inches from its target. Then, the unthinkable happened. The chain's energy folded back on itself and exploded outward. A blast of pure Celestial Kara, Ashley's own energy but doubled in power.
The pool shattered, boiling water spreading everywhere, and the heat became unbearable. Pieces of wood flew and embedded themselves in the walls. One of them grazed Raizen's skin, who gritted his teeth in pain.
Thrown back by the blast of her own attack, Ashley landed heavily, breathless. The chaos was total. Outside, cries of panic began to rise.
Ashley (in a low voice):
It's... it's impossible… he countered me.
Johan's deep laugh was heard, a menacing sound in the fog.
Johan:
Your Celestial Kara has no strength against me... poor Zenith Star.
Danky yelled and charged. His fist, which he did not charge with Kara out of pure, instinctive rage, struck the ground where Johan had been a second earlier. Johan had dodged it with a simple side step. His knee hit Danky's stomach, who spat blood, before he grabbed him by the neck.
With a brutal gesture, Johan lifted him up and smashed him onto the stone floor, cracking it. A cold blade was placed against his throat.
Johan (coldly):
There are starting to be a lot of people here... so if you don't want more victims, I suggest you follow me.
Ashley felt her heart tighten. Her chains trembled with helplessness. Raizen and Diana, tense, stopped dead, their breath caught.
Johan forced them to leave the destroyed baths. They ran through the dark alleys of Kazemori, their feet slapping on the wet cobblestones, the air burning their lungs. Every step brought them closer to a deadly trap.
The abandoned warehouse appeared. Inside, there was only silence, dust, and a smell of rusted metal. The floor was covered with broken crates, and the damp air clung to the skin.
Johan threw Danky to the ground like an old toy.
Johan:
Very well... before I kill you all, I'll repeat my question... Where is your hideout?
Ashley clenched her fists. With a firm gaze, she chose another approach, a physical one. Without a word, she leaped forward, using her chains only to propel herself and change direction. She managed to hit him! Her foot struck Johan's masked jaw.
Raizen felt a glimmer of hope.
Raizen (breathless):
She hit him!
Ashley did not wait. She immediately followed up with a series of three quick kicks. The first aimed for the chest, the second for the legs. Johan parried them effortlessly with his forearms. The third, a spinning kick, grazed his face, but Johan dodged it by simply leaning back.
Taking advantage of this opening, Raizen and Danky got up and charged, without Kara, using only their strength and agility. Raizen threw a direct punch while Danky aimed for the legs.
Johan sighed, annoyed. He parried Raizen's punch with his forearm and sent a roundhouse kick that broke Danky's ribs.
CRACK!
End of Chapter 12