The instant Fen shattered the Vital core, an explosion of energy surged into the surrounding area but the energy was only allowed to travel a few meters being greedily sucked in by Fen's body. The shockwave was the only force that managed to escape his body's greed but even that small force was enough to blow Hondo away and shatter any remaining trees and greenery of the forest in the area.
Green leaves withered and browned while the life energy in them was torn away from their cells while the trees that owned the leaves received an even worse treatment from Fen's ravaging energy. The now golden energy violently uprooted every living thing nearby and cleaved the Vitality from them- uncaring if all of nature died from its actions.
In order to take control over Kara's Vitality which was clawing its way out of his body, Fen's natural instincts took over and started absorbing the simple Vital energy hidden inside the forest around him in order to gain every last bit of energy he could before trying to suppress her energy.
But the amount of energy that his body absorbed was too much for him to assimilate even if he was at his peak state, not even mentioning the terrible condition his body was in presently. His Vital core completely gave up on trying to filter the energy his body absorbed and just focused on controlling, throwing it at Kara's Vitality just to slow down it's corruption of his body.
But even that small amount of resistance against it didn't stop the rampaging energy.
His blood vessels burst apart, muscles exploded, and his bones creaked like they would shatter into an uncountable amount of shards at any moment from the overload of Vital energy but Fen endured the pain and focused on suppressing the foreign energy invading his body. He focused his efforts on assimilating Kara's Vitality while allowing the simple Vital energy that flowed into him from the trees to fuel his efforts.
As more and more of his body was destroyed from the overflowing energy inside his body Fen could feel something inside of him unlocking, freeing itself from the restrictions that his physical body placed on it. Every time his body was destroyed, this 'thing' imbedded itself inside the Vital energy sent to regenerate the damaged tissue and gently overrode his attempts at regeneration. Instead of rebuilding his body the exact way it was, it drew in more Vitality and created new tissues that were far more powerful than the old.
As more of his body underwent this process of regeneration this 'something' inside him started awakening even more and shaking off the shackles, roaring with energy as his heart and Vital core pumped in unison to finally control Kara's energy.
The Vitality that Fen struggled to control from Kara's shattered Vital core recoiled immediately from the change within his body like a deer meeting it's natural predator before surging with even more fervor into his body to stop the changes occurring on the cellular level.
Sensing the foreign energy's reaction, Fen supported the changes made to his body and fought against the invading energy for dominance. With his new sense of control the energy immediately grew obedient, flowing its way to his Vital core for filtering and to help regenerate the rest of his damaged body.
If there were more energy left inside of Kara's Vital core than Fen would've had no choice but to accept his death because even this much was nearing the limits of his control, but thankfully the Knight didn't have much time to recover her energy. And if there was any less energy then there wouldn't be enough for Fen to recover and fight Hondo, leaving this as the perfect scenario.
Fen wobbled to his feet with shaky legs and clenched his fist, admiring the new strength inside his body. He had a suspicion, no, an instinctive feeling about what the awoken thing inside him was; It could only be his Vitul nature.
The changes his body were undergoing as he slowly transformed into a Vitul by assimilating Vitality was supposed to be a slow process but there was a precedent where the changes occurred at an explosive rate: After he was nearly killed by Amelia explosion spellwork and suffered terrible injuries.
The damage done to his body after that event was so terrible that even the Foundation Healers were doubtful about what they could do to heal him, but Fen managed to regenerate all on his own. Well, not really on his own... Perhaps while he was unconscious, the same thing that awoke now helped him back then and reconstructed his body using his dormant Vital energy?
"This is... a much bigger change than the last time though." Fen mumbled. Not only was the damage much worse during this event, but the changes done to his body were much more drastic than what happened before.
Even one of his cells felt like they were bathing in Vitality, steadily growing stronger from the nourishing energy. It was nothing like before where he had to coax his cells to accept the energy.
'Is it because I have a Vital core now?' Regardless of the answer to his speculations, the thing inside him was fully awake now and begging for his attention. It wasn't a consciousness or anything, but more like a part of him that had been locked away for a long time. And his senses were different, like he was seeing the world with more color than he ever did before. His Mana sense and his sense for Vitality were so enhanced that it was like he could 'see' the energies if he just focused his attention a little.
'Whatever, I'll figure out the changes later. First, I should kill this guy and get out of here.' Fen raised his eyes to look at the despairing Warrior a few hundred meters away.
Although it seemed like the whole process of assimilating Kara's energy took a long time, only a few seconds passed in reality; by focusing the entirety of his being on controlling the invading energy Fen slowed down his perception of time to a crawl just to barely take control of her Vitality.
His eyes were enhanced to the point that he could see the sparks of Aura jumping around Hondo even from this distance, so Fen very clearly saw the emotional state he was in.
Hondo's eyes were unfocused and glassy, looking at the spot where Kara's body was. The explosion of Vital energy swept away the remnants of her body and destroyed it leaving nothing but a few shards of her golden armor imbedded into the dirt around them.
"You... What have you done." Hondo rasped with shaking eyes. "Do you know how hard she- if she just ran away- no, this wasn't her fault. You did this. You just couldn't leave her alone. Why couldn't you just leave her alone? What did she do to deserve that?"
Hondo's eyes searched for an answer within Fen's apathetic expression and when he realized that he was never going to find one, he took a deep breath and calmed his raging emotions. "Well, she's gone now anyways. Fuck. I'll make sure to make you feel hell before I kill you."
There was nothing else to be said.
Fen would never apologize for his actions because he believed that everything he did was justified in order to return back to Earth. People like Kara and Hondo didn't matter in his eyes, they were just temporary obstacles that would eventually be forgotten after he make this Scenario space their final resting space.
The area around them became completely barren of all trees and nature with only a few hardy shrubs remaining after the explosion of energy and shockwave that came out from Fen shattering Kara's Vital core. Even the sky was affected by the battle happening in the Scenario space with winds and clouds accumulating over their head as if they were attracted to the energy the two Empowered produced.
Hondo surrounded himself in his Aura and kicked off the ground while Fen did the same with his strengthened body enhanced by his Vitality. There was still a difference in speed between them, but now Fen could clearly see his movements whereas before he could only react from the vibrations in the air.
'Everything feels so clear now. My will and Vitality are connected so much more than before. This body is amazing... it should be enough to take care of this guy.' Fen marveled at the changes he felt inside himself.
The changes that were supposed to happen over a few months were compressed into an instant so of course Fen would the difference was enormous. If skinny guy suddenly exploded into a 2 meter tall mass of muscles, this was probably what they would feel like; the addictive feeling that they could crush anything they wanted was almost enough to make Fen smile.
Almost.
Both of them lost their weapons from the explosion of energy so they just wrapped their fists with energy and bashed them into each other, solely relying on their combat experience and techniques to deal as much damage as possible. Although Fen assimilated most of the Vitality from the core (some remnants managed to escape during the chaos of his body completing it's transformation) it was nowhere near enough to fill him up completely and only charged him to around three-fourths of his original amount, just enough to manifest four Vital Spears and control them indefinitely from his Marks absorbing energy from the surroundings.
And although he couldn't be sure, it felt like his transformation increased his control limit. Handling four Vital Spears didn't feel as taxing as it used to be.
But now wasn't the time to test his limits; Fen poured everything he had into protecting his body and enhancing his strength.
Shockwaves exploded into the ground and shattered earth as their fists collided and blood splattered all over the barren earth. Fen controlled his energy with newfound skill and used his Vital Spears to distract and penetrate everywhere he could while his opponent focused entirely on using his Aura to bash Fen's skull in with his hardened fists.
The difference between the two of them was supposed to be unsurmountable but Fen could feel it. The Aura that seemed so powerful in the beginning was starting to flicker, like a candle just waiting for a gust of wind to extinguish it. While the energy from combining two Vital cores from Stage two Knights would accumulate into a massive sum of Vitality it still shouldn't compare to even a quarter of a Stage three Empowered's pool of energy.
The difference wasn't just in quantity but in quality as well. At Stage three, an Empowered's core becomes purified allowing more energy to be stored at a higher quality, making it so that regular Stage three combatants would never be able to lose against an opponent of a lower Stage.
Fen was just that exceptional and his opponents were just that pathetic; even at Stage one, Fen killed the Stage three Mage, Edmond, because of his overbearing arrogance.
While Hondo took the Tasks much more seriously than him, the Warrior's resolution to win still couldn't be compared Fen's struggle to become more powerful every single day. Just like Kara, Hondo trained in a safe environment and only put his life in danger when he knew he would win. The fear of death didn't exist inside him, only the fear of being average among the geniuses that he trained with in the Program.
Fen was the opposite.
Every single one of his stabs, his punches, and even his movements were motivated by the fear of death. Well, maybe it wasn't the fear of death that motivated him but rather the fear of failing to come home. Even if he had to sacrifice his body and mind, he'd do it in an instant as long as it meant he'd be able to come home. That ruthlessness and determination allowed him to do things that should never be possible even with a meagre pool of energy.
The possibility of victory existed solely because of his will.
Like a snake wrapping itself around it's prey, Fen wrapped a strand of Vital energy around Hondo's Aura-filled arm and winced at the pain of his bones straining from the immense strength in his arms. Seeing his arm being restricted, Hondo pulled his other fist back and sent a beam of energy piercing through Fen's side to free himself. The red energy crashed against Fen's Vital Skin which desperately dispersed the force behind the beam into other parts of his body before collapsing completely, and Fen felt his mind waver from pain as the energy blew a large hole into him.
In any other circumstance he'd immediately send his Vitality to regenerate the damage but if he did that, Hondo would immediately take advantage of his momentary loss of focus to free his arm and recover. So, Fen just rode through the wave of pain and increased the strength behind the bindings while willing his Vital Spears to start drilling again. Without his second limb it'd be much easier to pierce through Hondo's tough skin and begin the process of killing him.
"Not enough? Fine, take this then!" Fen's skin prickled at the amount of Aura compressing in Hondo's free hand. "You think I care if I die? I'll be happy as long as I take you with me!" A crazy laugh spilled from the Warrior's mouth.
Fen's eyes widened and he realized that he was wrong about him. Hondo wasn't determined on winning, the only thing the Warrior cared about was killing him even if it meant dying along with him. At any other time, he would've admired his will to complete his goal.
Although he didn't care about either of them he could imagine what it must feel like to lose someone you care about right in front of you. If something like that happened to his sister... There wouldn't be anything that could stop him from destroying her killer.
Resolving himself to die, Hondo's unconscious limiter of his body forcibly turned off as an insane amount of Aura was sucked out from his Aura core and pulled into his hand into sinister-looking crimson orb.
But Fen wasn't going to just sit and watch as he completed the orb. He diverted one of his Vital Spears to stab through the orb and hopefully dissipate the energy inside it but to his shock, the Vital construct dissolved into energy before it could even touch it; the energy fluctuations coming of the orb were enough disrupt any construct nearby.
His attacks struck Hondo with even more fervor than before, breaking and shattering bones in his attempt to kill him before he could finish his attack.
'If all that energy exploded, it might just be enough to kill me.' The binding that Fen wrapped Hondo's arm restrained him now that Hondo dedicated himself to his his suicide attack. 'Fuck, I can't free myself!'
The Warrior actively wrapped himself around the binding of Vitality and refused to let Fen escape, gripping onto his arm with his powerful hand.
'Okay, think. There's only two options. One, I lose the arm and run as fast as I can using both the Vital Dash and the Vital Hyper Dash to put some distance between us. Two, I focus my power on making a hole into his body to find his core, and manipulate it to absorb the energy back... Neither of those options seem appealing.' There was nothing holding Hondo in place so he could easily just chase after him with his Aura-enhanced body. As long as Fen didn't get far enough away then he'd get swept up in the explosion and die, so that option was cleanly out.
But if he chose to stay and try and use Hondo's core to absorb his Aura forcibly, well, there were problems with that too. He didn't even know if it was possible to do something like that, but it seemed like it could work.
'There's no need to make a decision between an option that won't work and one that might work.' Fen made his choice and instantly dug his feet into the ground to give him better leverage to use.
He stopped resisting Hondo and let himself get pulled in, using the Warrior's momentary surprise to free his hand and instantly send a surge of Vital energy into both arms.
Vital Hyper Dash, the technique Knights used to squeeze out as much power as possible from their bodies in the shortest possible time. Fen always used this technique for the extra speed it gave him but what would happen if he used it while pushing against something? Fen never thought about finding out until now.
Both his arms exploded and broke through Hondo's chest in a gory mess of blood and viscera.
Even before Fen's body completed it's transformation into a much stronger Vitul, his body was powerful enough to appear as a blur while using this technique, and the change only increased the power in his body until the technique could even be effectively used as a weapon.
A massive hole instantly exposed Hondo's major organs after breaking through his rib cage, including his dim red Aura core. Without any limbs to grab onto it, Fen had no choice but to use a sliver of his Vital energy to connect with it and hope for some way to make it reverse the flow of Aura away from the red orb.
His body was immediately racked with pain from the sensation of a different type of energy; his Vital core was facing the backlash of trying to control something other than Vitality. In terms of uniqueness, Aura was the most unique to the individual especially if you considered the difference between Warriors of the same species.
Hondo had long since died. The strain of handling so much Aura and the pain of feeling his body be torn apart was enough to kill most people so it was already considered amazing that he held on for so long. Still, the energy in his palm continued to condense further and further until it looked like it would implode at any second; his Aura seemed to have obeyed his last wishes and continued to condense into a bomb.
Feeling how little time he had left, Fen gave up on trying to manipulate the Aura core and just ripped it out of Hondo's body with a Vital construct and shoved it into the ball of energy, breaking past the barrier made from the energy fluctuations.
He didn't know what to expect from his actions, but he didn't expect the core to light up and greedily devour the energy like a hungry beast. However he was too late, even though the core already devoured a portion of the bomb's energy the compressed orb was already past the point of implosion.
Time seemed to freeze for a brief moment as the orb released it's material bonds and screamed out it's joy to the world from feeling true freedom. The orb finally exploded and Fen felt an immense amount of pain from the energy invading his body.
Fen had done everything he could to reduce the impact of the explosion and still had doubt in his heart about whether or not he'd survive, but that didn't mean that he'd give up. By squeezing out all the Vital energy inside himself and forcing it into the Tymine Armor, he maxed out his protection and then curled into a ball even as the explosion hit him.
Hondo's unprotected body was extraordinarily vulnerable when he had no Aura and so was ripped apart the instant the crimson orb exploded, leaving nothing but dirt and ash where he was.
****
Inside the Task room, before the end of the Task.
The female Foundation member was shaking again. No, rather than shaking it looked like her body was about to give out on her. She was sweating so much that the urge to drink something left her at the mercy of the Executioners who were kind enough to share their water with her, and even after she took multiple deep breaths she still couldn't calm down.
"There's no way he'd survive, right? It'd be impossible for a regular Stage two Knight to defeat a higher Staged Empowered, but he's done the impossible before..." She mumbled to herself. The first time she saw Fen, she didn't know what to think. If she was being honest she didn't pay much attention to him because of the relatively well-known Chosen in the room, Edmond Holding, but she did notice the strange amount of equipment he had with him.
But other than that, she didn't think he was anything extraordinary. Maybe a little handsome, but his eyes were so vicious that any onlookers were forced to look away before noticing his attractive face.
So, when she witnessed him appear back in the Task room, covered in blood, of course it was natural for her worldview to shatter in billions of pieces. How could she react otherwise? It was in that moment that she thought, 'huh, maybe the Chosen aren't that powerful', before immediately thinking back to what she had seen from all the other Chosen she'd met and coming to the realization that the boy in front of her was even more monstrous than the Chosen.
So monstrous that the Tanciens themselves had called for the entire system of Tasks to be changed in order to deal with him, an Opfer who had barely been using energy for two months.
But before she could collect her thoughts and calm down a loud alarm rang out throughout the facility, and the walls pulsed with red energy as if the alarm wasn't enough to let her know that something bad was happening.
[Warning! Warning!]
[High level Void energy accumulating nearby! Suspected horde of Void Spawn approaching! All available Executioners assemble under the Archons and await for further instruction! All capable Empowered, get ready for immediate combat!]
"Oh shit." A scared voice whispered in the now-red Task room.
It seemed that Yuki didn't have time to stress over who won in the Task.