Kan walked out of the huge hole that had been dug by Ayar the white dragon. As he got out of it, gazing into the distance, Kan could see eight figures lined up together. Of the eight, he recognised five of them.
Lan and Tan who were his brothers and the three older-looking women with them who were their wives. Lilith who was Lan's wife, Lima, Tan's wife and Martha who was Kan's Wife were the females he recognised.
As for the other three, Silvia, Kilga and Tan's daughter, Dija were the ones he didn't know. This was because they were all grown up from the last time he had seen them. This surprised Kan a lot because it had only been months since he last saw them but they were seemingly looking like adults in their own right.
But even standing from afar, Kan could sense that the people he had called family weren't about to embrace him and welcome him. After all, even if they were to forget the past grievances, the land they stood on and the overwhelming destruction he had caused served as a constant reminder as to why they couldn't let him off just easily.
But Kan wasn't hoping to be forgiven. Kan was passed that point already. He knew there was no redemption in sight for any of them. He had settled in his mind that the end of it all was death. Death was the only jury that could judge their case.
"Kan, we can stop this! We can be one happy family again. All you have to do is stop this madness. There is no point fighting us when it's clear you can't win!!"Martha, Kan's wife said these words.
"I see you have already chosen the side you belong on. I'm not surprised you have. You were never one to be patient enough to see things through to the end. In the same way, you couldn't wait to jump to my brother, you once again have jumped to conclusion. What makes you think I will lose this fight should I start it? If only you have an inkling of the things I am capable of," Kan said.
But right then, Kan sank into the ground as it opened wide. A rock floated above his head and while deep in the pit that had been dug from nowhere, the rock floating above him flipped sides and quickly came down to the ground with Kan being buried and sealed effectively in the ground.
This had happened in a matter of seconds out of nowhere. But just as Kan had been buried, he burst out of the ground shattering the rock into pieces and landed right back on his feet. With the force that the rock that had smashed down on him and buried him in the ground, to the surprise of whoever had perpetrated it, no harm was done to Kan. Not even while he was in his human form could such attacks hurt him.
As Kan returned from being buried, he began to chuckle at the sight he saw. Kilga, Silvia and Dija were all running towards him with swords in their hands. Three of the four swords he had gone out of his way to search for.
"The sword of the earth in action, Durendal!! Who would have known that one day, I'll be on the receiving end of an assault by the weapons I brought to ensure that these abominations are kept alive?" Kan mused.
The three had gotten in a striking range but Kilga was nearest to Kan. With his Excalibur, he performed a downward slash at Kan and instantly, multiple blue Ice spikes were released from the sword. As they flew towards Kan, they seemed to be gaining more energy, growing bigger and glowing brighter. But as these ice spikes connected, they all shattered on impact with Kan's body.
Kilga was left in shock. But in that split moment, Kan had moved from his position with immense speed and with his shoulders, Kan barged into Kilga. The force from Kan hitting Kilga was heard alongside sounds of metal cracking. Kilga tumbled over and was sent to a far distance.
Silvia followed up with her Clarent, a weapon that released dark red smoke when active. She attempted a stab at Kan but with a flick of Kan's middle finger to the sword, she was disarmed and the sword flung off from her grip. With the Clarent out of the way, Kan threw a straight punch at Silvia's head. But she managed to raise her arm just in time to block this. As Kan's hand connected with her forearms that she had raised to block his punch, the red armour she wore began to move like the back of a centipede. The armour with its scaly outward appearance began to overlap over one another, piece by piece all while maintaining an even texture.
Silvia was sent flying off by the force of Kan's punch. But as she was dealt with, her twin was right upon Kan once again. Kilga came in hot on Kan swinging his sword once more. Up and down, left and right, Kilga swung in all directions fast and precise. All strikes were aimed at Kan's neck. But Kan avoided them all. It was like Kilga was one step behind in his attack. But in truth, Kan was simply a beast.
Kilga was unwavering in his attacks. He kept pushing the attack and constantly, they were made to avoid the lava spilling away on the ground while simultaneously focused on one another. Kilga swung his Excalibur once again but this time, he had swung it facing downwards with the tip digging into the ground. As he did, an ice trail spread out from the sword and began to freeze everything in its path including the hot lava that boiled over the land. In an instant, it had caught up with Kan and frozen him as well going up to his knees. This was a strategic move by Kilga to impede Kan's mobility.
Seeing his chance, Kilga rushed towards Kan without fear of slipping up on the ice. His goal was to slay Kan and he had Kan where he wanted him. Kilga let out a loud cry and swung his blade. And at the same time, from behind, Silvia was on top of Kan as well and had swung her blade.
Kan with his unique senses heard both swords cut through the air and they all seemed to have a singular target, his neck. Kan ducked at the right moment and the two swords clashed. When this happened, the Clarent in Silvia's grip let out a red glow from its blade while the Excalibur released a blue glow and an explosion went off.
*Kaboom!!!!!*
Vapour filled the air as all the ice had melted from that singular explosion. Kan had been pushed back but regained his footing and stood in the middle of the vapour unscathed. But the twins had been thrown back by the force of their swords skidding several meters. As they stood up, their red armour again moved its parts like scales overlapping one another.
"Somehow, his direct attacks seem to nullify the shielding effect of the swords. It's a good thing they have those armours on, "Tan observed.
Silvia approached from Kan's back and hit the ground with her sword causing multiple Lava to spot out. But as they flushed out, the intended target had disappeared. Behind Silvia, Kan came with a kick sending her flying off into the distance again.
But Kilga was back in the mix again. He swung his sword at Kan with an upward slash.
The sword sliced through the air releasing a dark blue smoke. As it was near to hitting Kan, he moved the back of his palm and ever so lightly tapped the side of the sword parrying the attack. Then just as he had done with Silvia, he disarmed Kilga by flinging the sword from the latter's grip.
Kan then grabbed hold of Kilga by the neck and lifted him off the ground with a single hand. The two eyes met as Kilga's was blood red and Kan's was golden.
Kilga took a swipe at Kan's neck with his elongated nails but before it could hit, Kan had caught his arm and tightened his grip on it.
"Whatever this armour is, it's been able to stop me from outrightly crushing his arm. No matter, there are other ways to handle a fly!!"Kan thought within himself. Kan noticed that the armour would constantly shift to reinforce the area under attack. This was the same as the one Silvia wore. And it seemed durable enough to hold out against him.
Not wasting time, Kan leapt high into the air and spun his body like a drill. On descending, Kan turned his body in a way that forced Kilga to be the one below while he was on top mid-air while forcing Kilga's head to the ground. A small crater was formed as Kilga's head was used to drill a hole in the ground. But as quickly as Kilga was drilled to the ground, he got back up. Other than the armour, being a vampire meant he was tough enough to withstand certain damages. With the added durability boost from the armour, what Kan had done only left a few open wounds on Kilga's forehead that was closing up quickly. And with his Excalibur missing from his grip, he wasn't impervious to physical damages anymore.
Lan, Tan and the three women by their side watched as their children attempted to take Kan on.
Kilga charged forward at Kan once again moving faster than a human's eyes could keep up with.
As he moved, pieces of dirt were being chucked up by his feet. He charged forward with his fingers spread wide open and as he got close enough, he readied his claws which had a blue hue on them. He swung the claws with strength at Kan and as it connected, a bruise mark was left on Kan's face. For the first time, Kan's skin had been pierced.
"I let that hit me on purpose just to see what it is like for a vampire to use all they have. So you used your core energy. And to think I have even given you a fighting chance by not transforming. But unlike me, it seems you are nothing without your little equipment. At least if you are going to fight to survive, show me that you are giving it your all to not perish. Honestly, if this is all the power you possess, then I'm unimpressed!!"Kan said to Kilga.
"Unimpressed?!! How dare you speak so casually to me? I hate you for all you have done. You rejected us, father!!"Kilga lamented.
"Father? You must be as stupid as you are weak. Have you no eyes to see? I am not your father!!! Is this how he brought you up? With lies? It makes perfect sense why even with the weapon you possess, you still can't make any significant difference. Your swordsmanship is as pale as your skin. Do you really think wielding the Excalibur is about power? There is no way you can tap into the power that the sword holds with the way you are. It pains me to see how useless they have turned out to be in the hands of the ones I have gifted them to. But it's not your fault. Your father failed to tell you the truth and from the looks of things, given how green you are, he failed to teach you how to fight like a man," Kan said.
"Why would I need to fight like a man? I am stronger, faster and better than any man existing!!"Kilga replied.
"You may be all those, but you lack character. Yes, a man won't fight against a stronger foe with the intention of solely winning but rather to preserve himself and while at that, perhaps win. Do you think you are any different from a man? That's the lie you've been told. Deprived of your humanity but you don't know that. YOUR FATHER FAILED on all fronts. I'm not your father, can NEVER BE. Now you will fight for your survival, something your father failed to teach you because he was too caught up training you to kill me, "Kan said.
"You think I need this stupid armour to beat you? Do you want to see some real power? I'll show you power!!!"Kilga announced fiercely.
And at that moment, the scaly red armour began to drop off piece by piece from the neck down to his legs. Now he appeared completely naked with no other piece of clothing on. This was because Kilga's true intent was never to use the armour for a prolonged period.
"What is he planning on doing now?"Lima, Tan's wife who watched alongside the others with her asked.
"Something I cannot do. It might be shocking but even with how similar we might seem to appear, there are variations in our race. And they all come with their fair dose of surprises," Lan let out with a smile appearing on his pale white face.
As kilga stood in front of Kan, his body began to change. Kan did nothing but watch what was happening.
Dija who hadn't been involved yet stood at a safe distance and watched also.
Kilga's body began to shrink in size. He was losing fat by the second and looked to be shrinking down to his bone. His once pale white and muscular body began to change colours. Kilga's body turned from pale white to black and his skin began to harden. On closer look, it appeared to be that he was growing scales. The pattern of the scales on his body now was like a crisscross. His claws grew longer and thicker and overall, he became taller but skinnier.
When the transformation was done, Kilga stood with a body that had scales in a crisscross pattern and his arms had extended reaching below his knees and his blood-red eyes were now completely black.
"You knew he could do this?"Martha asked as she was beyond surprised.
"Yes, while we trained together to master the use of his sword. I found that Kilga possessed a different form contrary to the one we have under the sun. I don't know what to call it, but in this state, he and the devil perhaps can't be told apart, "Lan said.