A boom rang out as Kai got sent flying back, his chest caved as if a hammer had struck him.
He gulped down the blood rising in his throat and noticed the 20% drop in his HP. Despite the Fear Absorption Ability increasing his HP and MP Regeneration Rates, his HP was still slowly falling, struggling to come to an equilibrium.
What a powerful move! Kai exclaimed, coming to a stop in midair. It's not just the move, though. The beast itself is too fast, making it impossible to dodge someone with my Agility. Tch!
There was another thing that bothered Kai.
With his habit and need of fighting with much stronger opponents, his Elementary Fear Absorption had been having a hard time catching up to the massive damage dealt to him in a battle. If his HP Regeneration Rate at least didn't counter the decrement rate, then there was no point in having it, anyway. More often than not, it was these little things that contributed to the outcome of a battle.
Kai suddenly remembered absorbing his fear and took solace in that memory.
With Advance Emotions Manipulation, all he could do for now was to lock his emotions and devour hope and happiness while simultaneously spreading despair. If he could control each of his emotions individually, then he could endlessly exploit the Fear Absorption Ability.
Still, if he had to make a guess, then it wouldn't happen until he leveled up his Emotions Manipulation to Master Ability and his Fear Absorption to Advance.
Moreover, if Kai wanted to end the fight, then he could have already ended it, not giving the guard any chance to take out the Pokemon. However, that would have gone against the point, though. Kai had always learned and improved in real scenarios, not in a training ground. A fight against a Pokemon was exactly what he needed to confirm his shortcomings and their plausible solutions.
Kai noticed his HP bar rising again and took a deep breath, bringing his thoughts back to the fight. There's no winning such fights if I can't bridge the gap between my and the target's Agility… Or…
With one hit successful, the Bug Pokemon buzzed, its speed a blur. It made a roundabout in the air and flew toward the dark, foul creature with another burst of its glowing wings.
Two long katanas appeared in Kai's hands, reptilian eyes blinking on their flat sides.
Mid-level Uncommon Items - Fangs!
"Careful, Yanma!" the guard shouted, too engrossed and concerned to run away and look for help.
Yanma let out a buzz. The moment the Pokemon tilted its body and slammed its right wing again at the same spot, Dementor-Kai lifted his swords and hacked at the wing.
Bang!
Both got thrown back with almost equal force. But the Pokemon recovered faster, almost blurring out of sight with its superior speed.
"Yanma, finish it!" the guard commanded excitedly. "Use Ancient Power!"
Yanma's wings let out a blinding burst of light as it buzzed monstrously. A see-through image of another Yanma appeared in front of it before it spun on itself and became a silver-gray ball of energy. Then, with great force, the Pokemon threw it toward the dark creature.
-Haha!- Kai hissed a ghostly, rattling laugh.
White…
50 HP and 100 MP disappeared instantaneously. The two swords in Kai's swords swelled, becoming five times their size.
Under the stunned gazes of both Pokemon and the Pokemon Trainer, Kai crossed the massive Katanas and brought them up. The silver-gray ball of energy landed right between where the two swords crossed.
A muffled boom rang out as the swords rattled along with the ball of ancient power.
-Ha!- Kai let out a powerful, hissing shout and pushed the swords up, directing the ball of energy away from him. Up and up it went until it couldn't be seen against the starlit sky anymore.
Before the guard and the Pokemon could process what happened, Kai brought down the huge katanas using the momentum and hacked at Yanma.
… Serpent!!
Hisssssssssssssssss!!!
Two white Mana Serpents slithered out of the katanas and hissed their way toward the target.
"Yanma, dodge!" the guard cried.
The Pokemon blurred between the Mana Serpents as they tried to catch up, bite, and coil around it. Suddenly, feeling overwhelmed, Yanma took shelter behind a tree's branch, hoping to throw the two serpents off.
It was a mistake!
The Mana Serpents slithered right into the wood as if it didn't exist there at all. If it was before making a pact with Selene, then Yanma's strategy might have worked. Now, though, the serpents were intangible and no physical barrier could stop them.
The Pokemon buzzed, surprised, but it was already too late.
The Mana Serpents bit into the Pokemon's flesh and coiled around it, restricting it from head to tail. No matter how furiously Yanma tried to buzz its wings, they didn't move at all.
Like a rock, the Pokemon fell to the ground.
"Yanma!" the guard rushed, taking out the Pokeball to call it back.
Kai descended on the guard like a wraith. The swords in his hands had already disappeared. With one powerful kick, he knocked the Pokeball out of his hands. With another, he knocked the breath out of the guard. As the guard hunched over, Kai's rotten fingers curled around its throat and lifted him, his mouth foaming with blood.
Suddenly, Yanma, still immobile under the restriction of the Mana Serpents, buzzed furiously.
Move - Bug Buzz!
Kai's mind rattled as if someone had punched him from within. Then his eyes shook as a sudden nauseous feeling overtook him, his soul paining. Kai noticed the massive 50% drop in his SP and struggled to calm down.
In pure anger, he turned around and hissed. -You dare…-
Dementor-Kai slithered toward the Pokemon, still clutching the guard by the neck. -You just gave me another reason to test a Skill on you…-
…
[
Skill Breath Snatcher is activated
Time Limit: 30 seconds
…
Skill: Breath Snatcher
Grade: D-
Specification: The Contestant can drain the targets of their SP points and regenerate their own SP
Requirement: SP>0
Attributes: Distance between targets and the Contestant must be less than 2 meters
Effect:
1. Transfer 10% of the target's drained SP to the Contestant's SP points
2. When SP is full, turn the drained SP to increase the SP Regeneration Rate
]
…
His breath rattling, Kai hovered over the Pokemon's face.
He first drained Yanma of its hope, spreading despair to its bones. The Pokemon's brilliant, blue eyes almost became lifeless as it cowered in fear.
Kai drank the fear, his HP Regeneration Rate shooting higher than ever.
Then, like the foulest being he was, Kai brought his head down on the green mask of the Pokemon and sucked… something more than air.
Something did leave the Pokemon. Blurry, yet distinguishable. It seemed like air but water at the same time. The moment it entered Kai's gaping mouth, he saw his SP bar refueling. Longer and deeper, he sucked, emptying the Pokemon of its SP points.
When the 30-second Time Limit was over, the Pokemon didn't even look like a creature, but a husk.
Then Kai waited, hovering around to see if someone had realized the guard's absence or not. But there weren't many guards in the area where he had attacked the human.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the bushes. Kai's head snapped.
A 1 ft long, white serpent slithered out of the bushes, heading towards him.
It was Selene. From time to time, she kept raising her hood, flicking out her forked tongue to taste the air. There was a bulge around her stomach as a sign of a successful hunt. Just behind her head was a bloody wound, telling of her struggle with the Pokemon.
Kai smiled.
-How was the food?- he hissed, approaching her. Selene behaved as if the Dementor didn't affect her at all. She turned into mist and materialized around his neck under his hood.
-Delicious!- she hissed in his ears. -Tastier than the good meatballs-
Kai had pointed at Heavy Block with his saber and had proclaimed him a better diet than the one she had before. Since then, Selene always called the meatballs made out of his flesh good.
-Well, I hope you are not full.- Kai said, his rattling breath hitting her face.
After Cooldown, Dementor-Kai finally loosened his grip on the guard's throat. No. He didn't mean to kill the guard, as such an action would attract unnecessary attraction from the Order's Contestants.
What Kai was aiming for was to cause a distraction and test out his next Skill simultaneously.
A Skill that would leave the guard in a state worse than death.