Kalpas stood amidst the wreckage, his cold gaze sweeping over the few Honkai beasts foolish enough to still be creeping closer.
He let out a soft, disdainful snort, a flash of fire seeming to ignite in his eyes for an instant.
If someone could have peered into Kalpas's eyes at that moment, they would have seen flames that seemed to well up from the very depths of hell, with countless twisted shadows madly writhing within them.
Beyond that lay a towering wall of iron, studded with spikes and nails, now glowing red-hot from the heat.
Yet, who could have imagined that beyond this terrifying surface layer of an iron-walled hell, there lay a vast, boundless ocean, unnaturally, eerily calm?
Upon that placid sea's surface was reflected the events that had unfolded not long ago.
…
It was still early morning, the first rays of sunlight just beginning to spill through the window onto Kalpas.
He sat up slowly in bed, his hand instinctively reaching up to find the wooden mask still securely in place on his face.
His eyes fell upon the workbench beside him, where an unfinished wood carving sat.
Remembering yesterday's events, Kalpas couldn't help but curse inwardly.
'That woman was definitely messing with me.'
It had happened like this: Aponia, seeing all the carvings he'd made for the children, had suddenly asked if he could make one for her too.
Kalpas hadn't responded.
'Why should I make one for her?'
Though that's what he thought, he'd ended up starting one anyway, only completing half.
Now, however, Kalpas was in no mood to continue carving.
He reached out, grabbed the small wooden stool he'd made, pushed open the door of his cottage, and sat down outside.
He knew that before long, he would see Aponia leading the children out for their morning prayers.
Every time he witnessed this scene, Kalpas couldn't help but scoff in disdain.
'What's the point of Aponia dragging these brats through all that nonsense?' he thought.
It seemed today would be just like any other…
Yet, for some reason, the air around him felt strangely charged with a restless, scorching anxiety.
Even his own heart seemed to flutter with an uncontrollable, faint palpitation.
A vague premonition prickled at him… as if something was about to happen…
…
Sure enough, disaster descended as if premeditated, arriving without the slightest warning.
With a deafening BOOM, several Chariot-class Honkai beasts smashed straight through the sanitarium's courtyard wall and charged inside.
Instantly, the peaceful sanctuary plunged into chaos.
The children panicked, crying out in fear.
Fortunately, they were used to listening to Aponia and quickly huddled close around her.
But this only made them a more concentrated target.
Just then, an Templar-class Honkai beast also crashed its way in.
Suddenly!
The closest Honkai beast seemed to get hit by a cannonball.
It was flattened against the ground in an instant.
That was Kalpas!
He immediately roared towards Aponia and the group, "Stop being a hindrance here! Get lost, take them and go!"
"Kalpas…"
Aponia shot him a worried glance.
But Kalpas was already charging towards another Honkai beast without a second thought, completely ignoring her.
Aponia looked at the terrified children around her and ultimately decided their safety had to come first.
She understood the situation; the only course was to find a safe place for the children to hide.
She was deeply grateful that Kalpas was willing to step forward and protect them, but a thread of worry also coiled within her.
It wasn't that she doubted Kalpas's strength. On the contrary, he was too powerful, so powerful it frightened her.
The hellish landscape within Kalpas's heart was something Aponia had never seen the likes of in her life.
…
'Now that the hindrance is gone.'
Kalpas glanced back. The sanitarium was already transformed beyond recognition from the place he remembered.
This 'home' he had finally found again… now lay in ruins.
'Damn it…'
His gaze returned to the Honkai beasts before him. One, two… In Kalpas's eyes, they were nothing but ants.
He snorted coldly, a nameless fury rising within him. In a blur of motion, he shot towards the beasts.
Each punch carried the force of a thousand hammers. Honkai beasts that ordinary missiles couldn't easily destroy were flattened under Kalpas's blows, turned into squashed patties of flesh and chitin.
Before long, Kalpas stood atop a small 'mountain' of Honkai beast corpses.
The sunlight fell upon him, casting a tall, imposing, and faintly domineering shadow.
The very air around him seemed to warp and waver from the oppressive aura he emanated. The carcasses beneath his feet served as silent testament to his might.
Kalpas's heart beat steadily, thump… thump… thump…
The sound seemed to herald the arrival of a far more formidable enemy than these petty foot soldiers.
Right on cue, fierce flames erupted from nowhere, the Honkai energy in the air acting as perfect kindling, causing the fire to spread in an instant.
Kalpas's head tilted slightly. Though his eyes were hidden behind the mask, his entire body instantly radiated a bone-chilling ferocity.
He kicked off the ground with both feet and vanished from the spot, moving so fast not even an afterimage was left.
In the next second, Kalpas had shot into the heart of the inferno like a bolt of lightning.
Before the flames could even lick at his skin, Kalpas's fist was already shooting forward without hesitation.
A deep, muffled THUMP echoed from within the flames. Kalpas's punch had landed solidly on something.
By now, the fire had begun to spread across Kalpas's own body, but he seemed utterly indifferent to it.
The flames roiled violently as a colossal entity was literally pummeled out of the fire by Kalpas's fists!
Kalpas leaped out after it. And the massive creature's form was finally revealed.
It was an enormous six-clawed Honkai beast, its body wreathed in raging flames. Clearly, it was the source of the surrounding fire.
Kalpas's clothes were singed black in places, his white hair slightly curled by the heat, but he paid it no mind.
After a brief moment of gathering himself, he charged forward again like a tiger descending a mountain, closing the distance to the beast instantly.
Sensing the threat, the Honkai beast blocked Kalpas's fist with two of its massive claws, while two other blazing claws came slashing down hard towards Kalpas's body.
CRACK — the claws struck home.
But Kalpas acted as if he felt no pain, instead using the momentum to grab hold of those two striking claws.
The muscles in his arms corded, veins bulging. With a surge of strength, he actually lifted the entire massive beast off the ground and slammed it down with tremendous force.
BOOM — the earth trembled from the impact. The Honkai beast lay on its back, all six claws splayed helplessly in the air, a picture of utter defeat.
For a moment, it truly felt like the mountains were shaking and the earth was moving.
Kalpas gave it no chance to recover. One hand formed into a claw, and with speed faster than thunder, he plunged it into the beast's body. A fierce twist, a brutal tear—a sickening RIIIP echoed as a large chunk of the Honkai beast's flesh was ripped away…
"ROARR!!"
The beast let out a furious, agonized roar that made the very air vibrate.
But it did nothing to stop Kalpas's assault.
Kalpas gave another mighty pull, the force so great he tore off one of the creature's claws clean off, then casually tossed it aside. The motion was practiced, almost casual, like a chef preparing ingredients.
And so, the manual disassembly began.
Another claw… Kalpas mercilessly tore off all of its limbs.
Then, he slowly stood upon the beast's main body. Without a trace of pity in his eyes, he struck the final blow, ending its life.
His lips moved, muttering quietly, "'Asura'…?"
"Hmph. Trash."
For some reason, he could understand the beast's roars. But so what?
It had been a nearly one-sided slaughter.
Kalpas surveyed the surroundings.
His 'home' was devastated like this. The fury in his heart felt like it would blast through the heavens.
His wooden mask was still smoking. He reached up, pulled it off, revealing his gaunt face.
The rage inside him was like a burst dam, uncontrollable. The flames within his iron-walled hell seemed to burn even fiercer, fed by his anger.
Suddenly, Kalpas's sharp senses picked up on a strange aura approaching rapidly.
He snapped his head around, his gaze instantly locking onto a pink-haired woman with a sword in the distance.
The two stood staring at each other in silence, the air between them growing taut with tension.
The unresolved fury in Kalpas's heart immediately fixated on this uninvited guest. In the next instant, both Kalpas and the pink-haired figure vanished…
(A/N: I do love writing Kalpas's fight scenes.)
…
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