The battle between Galen and Adrian continues as it follows. These are the recorded skills used in their fight.
From Galen, he uses [Demon Martial Techniques, Demon Fist Strike], [Hive Stinger Demonic Techniques, Forbidden Demon Sting], [Thunder Sting Strike], [Demon Martial Techniques, Demon Fist Clap], [Demon Martial Techniques, Demon Spirit Wave], [Hornet Jab Needle Kick], [Energy Penetration Technique], [Thunder's Volt, Advanced], [Aether Fist Strike], [Ki Fist Strike], [Aether & Ki Dual Fist Combo], [Three Steps Kick], and [Demonic Ki Palm Blast].
From Adrian, well he uses many of his Gifts, Gifts uncounted as he uses all of it, the Gifts he absorbed for years while Galen managed to destroy the Cores stored inside him one-by-one, thus slowly taking away many of his arsenals that his [Greed & Gluttony] absorbed.
" Say goodbye to those Gifts you stole from your victims, Waterson! " Galen says as he destroys the Absorbed Cores inside.
" Gaurghh!!! "
" You bastard! "
" You dare to destroy it! " Adrian gets angry as he then uses [Neptune Blast] and his [Ocean Control] to blast many waves of water towards Galen, thus rendering the attack enough for him to plan his counter.
" Hey bastard, you're a martial artist, aren't you!? " Adrian says to Galen while he washed him away to maintain his distance.
" Grhhh... " Adrian tries to withstand the Waters coming to him, trying his best to maintain pursuit over Adrian.
" Oh, so you've noticed! " Galen says to Adrian while using [Demonic Ki Palm Blast].
"( Wait a minute, that attack! )" Adrian sees it and inside his mind, he seems to kinda recognize the very attack Galen just did for its activation just jogged his very memory of the past.
"( Isn't that, belong to that 'woman'... )"
"( Silent Stinger, was it? )" Adrian quickly recognized its root, he quickly remembers Silent Stinger, the woman that made him go all out back then when he attacks the [Hive Stinger Clan].
Slowly recognizing it, Adrian then looks again at Galen for he stares at him while his brain is working to match and patch all of it up in that very instance.
"( His face, his hair... )"
"( It almost resembles her, almost as if... )"
"( Wait! )"
"( This can't be a joke, right!? )" Adrian says as he then blocks Galen's incoming attack.
[ Neptune Shell ]
" Grh, you still had some left to use...! " Galen spurts at him as he then uses his [Energy Penetration] to strike Adrian's inner parts.
" Grkk!!! crap! " Adrian realized as Galen inserts his Ki through his Hand Shield with the purpose to destroy the Core responsible for activating [Neptune Shell] in the first place.
Seeing it happening, Adrian begins to panic himself, seeing that he has to do something for his Gifts has nothing to prevent an inner body attack like this one. As he began to feel annoyed, Adrian then decides to do something that he never think he would do before.
"( I can't believe this, 'Me' doing 'this'! )" Adrian says as he then decides to cut his left hand off before the inserted Ki enters his vitals or whatever important inner body parts he has.
" You...! " Galen was shocked to see Adrian's decision, to think he would do such a thing.
" You cut your hands off!? " Galen asks as he wonders how an egotistical guy like Adrian finally dares to sacrifice a part of himself for victory.
"( You're sacrificing your hand Waterson, how unarrogant...? )" said the Deviant Lords inside Adrian's mind.
"( Did you just lose your arrogance in mid-danger or did your weakness had slowly decreased your ego? )"
"( Silence, old farts! )"
"( Can you please be silent while I'm doing my job!? I thought that's the deal between us, goddamn you! )"
"( Besides is it just me or do your powers simply don't have anything to destroy or prevent any Ki's inner body attacks!? )" Adrian asks as he wonders why the hell he is often getting duped by this Ki attack very often.
"( That's why we tasked you to hunt every Ki users on this earth, remember...? )"
"( You and Crow, with the Dark Brotherhood Sect, do you realize why we ordered you to wipe those kinds of humans out first...? )"
"( The reason was, is to destroy those who have the skill to explode us from within, for despite our greatness, our latent powers didn't have the capacity to act as an Inserted Energy Bomb like the Ki power does. )"
"( WHAT!? )" Adrian gets angry after hearing this, thinking that's the reason why he is so troubled when fighting both Galen and Silent Stinger back then.
"( So that's the very reason, it's because of their energy...? )"
"( Yes, because the Ki is the prime original energy cultivated inside the humans body, just like our Demonic powers. )"
"( Thus is why we and the gods tried our best to eliminate the humans from ever doing it, preventing the likes of you from ever using it again. )"
"( Dammit, so you're saying that I couldn't use it, I couldn't have it!!!? )" Adrian tells his anger over them.
"( No! besides, despite you're also half-human, your Divine side wouldn't allow the seed of Ki inside your human body to flourish, for the Ki and the Deviant power is always in constant battle, and since you're also been gifted without power then say goodbye to the chance of you to even develop one. )"
Hearing that, Adrian begins to be more ticked, to think there's something in this world he couldn't have, something so disvalued in this world dominated by gods and demons which made him could easily get it, but somehow he just can't.
Realizing this, Adrian begins to be more triggered for he can't take the idea that there is something that will always be out of his goddamn hands' reach. He will never accept such reality for he always thought with his sheer will only, everything could've been gained.
"( No no no, that is wrong... )"
"( That power, that cheap-ass power should be also mine, MINE! )"
"( I am the best from both Divine, Human, and Demon... )"
"( It can be seen from me now, look at me! )" Adrian murmurs inside his mine.
"( With that, there shouldn't be anything in this world that shouldn't be mine... )"
"( Friends, followers, armies, women, money, treasures, power, fame, gifts, food, satisfaction... )"
"( All of these are meant to be MINE! )" Adrian says as he begins to want for Galen's Ki.
[ Envy Eyes ]
[ The eyes of Envy, see every target that the User should eliminate and can see everything that the target has inside them. ]
With those eyes, Adrian begins to see Galen is rich-filled on Ki and some other power he doesn't know too.
" He's got the powers, this loser... " Adrian says as he then charges over Galen while Galen counters him and the two continue their battle, exchanging blows to each other, while Adrian increases his aggressivity.
" You Stinger Clan bastard! " Adrian calls Galen, calling him by his real last name.
" Huh!? "
" Give your power to me, it's MINE! " Adrian says as he unleashes and manifests largely [Gluttony Teeth], [Greed Hands], and [Envious Tongue].
[ Gluttony Teeth+ Greed Hands + Envious Tongue ]
[ Devouring Absorption Avarice Sin Power ]
As it was summoned, it opens its large mouth to devour Galen it opens too wide that even cover the whole sky of the Top Floor in Galen's and Adrian's Area.
" Eat that motherf*ker up! " Adrian orders it as he begins to swallow Galen.
"( Shit! )" Galen was shocked as he then had no choice but to do it.
"( I hope I can use it as you do, my dear cousin Silent. )" Galen says to his dead family member as he concentrates and meditates in front of his devouring.
"( In order to attain the 'Black Spirit Ki' you must be prepared to consume all souls around you. )" Galen remembers what Silent says back then, he remembers it all.
"( Let it go, let go of your earthly attachments... )"
"( Release the emotions, release the egos, release the sinful desires... )"
"( Embrace the death, embrace the finality, embrace the void. )" Galen says as the Ki and the Aether in his body begin to merge. The original power and energy of humanity merged with the energy that connects one to the after-living, the energy that is also able to even manipulate the dead.
"( My Ki and Aether... )"
"( I can sense it, it merged... ) " Galen feels it, wondering why this is the thing that happened, but in midst of his confusion, he remembered something.
He remembers that the Black Spirit Ki is the Ki that connects us with the spirits, the ki that could be mastered if the Ki user had once got closer to death and also receives another power that had the ability to manipulate the dead.
" There's such power that could manipulate the dead? " Galen asks his grandfather, the Hive Stinger Clan Leader back then.
" Yes, our ancient scrolls said that the power is brought by the warriors of the west, from the Europe countries. "
" I think it has something to do with magic too, I kinda forgot since the records exist in one of our ancient scrolls, I don't remember which one but it was written in one of its very sections.
" Our ancestors once learned to manifest this power, but it resulted in him killing many of his brethren. "
" As he learned it, he combined with his own Ki, merging the energy to create a new type of Ki that will be known today as 'Black Spirit Ki'. "
As Galen remembers it, he connects to what he remembers, realizing that it seems he has the answer for all of it now.
" I see... "
" So that's how... "
" Hmph, muahaha! " Galen says as he begins to feel the effects on his body.
" Thank you, Ragna... "
" Thank you O Creator for letting me meet him. "
" He is the answer to my questions for a long time. "
" Years, I've searched about the roots of the 'Black Spirit Ki', but always ended with failure. "
" I searched and steal from many related families regarding its knowledge but they have nothing to offer. "
" But now, how coincidental that a newbie I've trained will be the one who revealed the answer. "
" Ahahaha... "
" Is this a prank or this is fate...? "
" How can the hardest of questions be answered by the simplest of answers? "
" The answer even comes from who I deemed inexperienced. " Galen smirks after saying it, his hair begins to grow long, and turned white, and his eyes' sclera and pupil begin to turn pitch-black with black cracks near his eyes.
As it happens, he begins to burst his power, he begins to achieve it, the power he's been training for years.
" Let go of everything, abandon the yesterday and enter the new life. "
" Be reborn anew... " Galen chants it as he finally attained it perfectly, Adrian and Ragna could also see it.
" He finally did it, the Black Spirit... keek! " Ragna says as the [Twelve Eye] begins to show him another vision.
" Haha..., I see... "
" Let the Towerfall begin! "
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Extra:
Most of the contents of this chapter can be seen in the Ego Chapters ( Chapters 166-171 ).