Ikra sprinted across the caverns, wasting no time trying to find anything that could get him closer to Ryu. After he finally got rid of Anora, he could act however he wanted.
Come on, Where are you?
Faces of the dead children he passed by stuck in his head. The thick stench of blood only worsened as he ventured on. He could feel his heart beat faster as the thought of Ryu meeting the same fate as them filled his mind.
Then he heard a sound. Ikra chased after the source, that sound could be his only chance of finding someone, finding his son.
As he went closer, he could see that it was someone huge. Their body was the size of a bodybuilder's, as he drew closer he could see exactly who it was.
Ikra stopped to take a good look at him, "Warhound" He could see the the fur on his body was stained with blood. He was holding the head of a child that was barely clinging to life.
Warhound looked at Ikra, he slammed the kids head in the ground before heading towards him.
Guess that's where the sound came from
"Before I beat the living hell out of you, does the name Ryu ring a bell?" He could tell that Warhound wasn't in his right mind, but he had to cling onto anything he could.
To his surprise however, Warhound stopped. "Ryu?" He took a moment to think about it, "That red haired kid?"
Warhound grinned from ear to ear, "He was strong" He remembered, "Too bad even with the help of his friends, he ended up losing"
Warhound laughed, it was so loud that it shook the loose rocks. Then he looked at Ikra, "Why, ya know him?"
Ikra stood silent, his expression blank. "Ah who cares" Warhound waved him off, "No use talking to a dead man" He extended his claws and swung his hand.
Ikra caught Warhound's arm, gripping it tight. He struggled as he tried to pull out his hand. "So he lost, huh?" Ikra tried to accept the fact, he imagined the person Warhound was smashing to the ground was Ryu.
He teared up at the thought of Ryu getting constantly battered by Warhound popped up in his mind. Warhound whimpered as he forcibly pulled him closer, his face meeting Ikra's fist
The pain lingered in his face as he tried to stay standing. It didn't scare Warhound however, it only enraged him further.
He lashed back at Ikra, using his massive physique to overpower him. Then, for another time, Ikra caught his arm.
"My son lost to a dog that can't even control himself" He asked himself, his voice heavy with disappointment.
He twisted Warhound's arm, then threw his knee at his stomach. Warhound fell down from the impact. "And I thought he was in danger" Ikra sighed, his worries were met with relief.
"Now I have to deal with you" Warhound felt a chill down his spine as Ikra looked at him. He has always, in some way, relied on his strength to get through everything. But with the man in front of him it became useless. Facing him, his instincts all told him one thing.
Run
Warhound ran away from Ikra, running towards the staircase to see if anyone else who could help him was there. The cowardly act surprised Ikra, "You stray dog" Anger filled his voice.
"You think I'll let you get away after kidnapping my son, then beating him up?" A purple flame surrounded him. A flowing line of the same color started to etch itself onto his skin. A small outline of a spirit could be seen entering his body, as if taking over.
"I'll be relying on you"
He said to himself before dashing towards Warhound. It took only moments before he would catch up, managing to grab the hair from the back of Warhound's hair.
"Sit"
He pulled his hair and flipped him over, smashing his entire body on the ground. Warhound's body became battered from the constant wounds that were inflicted by Ikra. It felt like forever for Warhound until he found a chance to escape.
He managed to push Ikra away, giving him enough time to run. "See ya later!" He sprinted around the corner, this time faster than before. He was already tired from the massacre, and the bruises from Ikra didn't help. His instincts told him that if Ikra manages to catch him again, he would die.
Where the hell are the others?
Warhound always had a strong spirit from birth, he had the determination and strength of a finger. But there was one thing that prevented him from becoming a true warrior, a wall that he could never overcome.
He treated fighting like a game, having fun with the thrill and excitement. The tension and uncertainty on who would end up victorious, it was addicting.
But never in his life had he been faced with a power so strong, an opponent who had the skill to back up his attitude.
He had yet to face death in a fight.
He wasn't like this before however. He had the makings of a warrior. Determination, Vigor, and Resilience, he naturally had them. Among his peers, he was the one who would stand out as strong.
But things change.
"Doggy!" Ikra shouted, "It's time to play!" He sped across the caverns like a bullet, effectively mapping out the area along the way. For him, this wasn't a battle against Warhound but a battle against time.
Ikra's power was different. Unlike others, it wasn't exactly his. The power he had was from one of his many ancestors, known for the dangerous technique that allowed him to go way beyond speed that humans were capable of.
As he came from a lineage of martial artist practitioners, he was able to use any of the martial arts that they honed to perfection. As long as he knows of their legacy, Ikra was able to use his power to make them descend down and lend their power to him.
Although this may seem like a powerful ability, it comes with many flaws. One of them has caused him a lot of difficulty.
While others were already finding ways to utilize their power, Ikra had to continue his training. There are no shortcuts in martial arts. He had to make sure his body could handle the arts before using it. If not, the consequences would be severe.
"Found you!" Ikra went straight for the back of Warhound's head, but he managed to duck. "About time!" He smiled, but deep inside he was panicking.
How the hell is he so fast?!?
Warhound was so close to escaping too, he needed to find some way to continue stalling him. He threw a punch at Ikra, which he then grabbed with his arm. "When will you learn?" He quickly pulled Warhound to get him off balance, then placed his hand on the back of his head to smash it on the ground.
At the moment Warhound's head touched the ground, he had an idea. He knew that this was a losing fight, not only was Ikra faster but also stronger. "You think you got me cornered?"
He grabbed a fistful of dirt from the ground and threw it at Ikra's eyes. He dodged quickly, "Resorting to such dirty tricks now?" He was disappointed. As someone who trained diligently everyday, he despised trickery.
"There are no foul moves in war!" Warhound shouted out as he began running away. It irritated Ikra, the etched markings on his skin glowed brighter as a reaction to his anger.
"An odd choice for last words"
And in a second, his speed went from 0 to 100, causing him to instantly smash his face to the ground.
"What the-"
The looked down to see that his pants were pulled down. His was filled with anger "I'm going to kill you!" He shouted out as he tried to get his pants back up.
Meanwhile, Warhound laughed as he continued to run away.
Cough, cough
He instinctively held his hand out to block his mouth, noticing that blood came out. "Great" he said sarcastically, he felt like he just came from a car crash.
I've gotta get outta here, fast
Warhound quickly got himself to the staircase, running through the corpses he murdered while he was in a frenzy. He felt sorry for them, but knew that nothing could be done.
During those moments where he would lose control, all he could think of was to get rid of whatever caused him to be in that state.
In this case, it was Tom. "That bastard" his thoughts leaked out from his mouth. After all the time he spent with those kids he felt betrayed, it left a bad taste in his mouth.
"Finally!"
Warhound heard a familiar voice erupt from the walls next to him. "Come on, quickly!" Jim said as he escorted Jen and Mark out.
The sight of them angered him, "Why in such a hurry?" He exposed himself to them, "Come on its been a while, lets catch up"
The three of them back off, "How are you here?" Jim asked. Warhound approached them, putting up a front so as to not expose his condition. "Why? Expected me to still be berserk? On all fours acting like a mutt?"
He slammed his arm to the wall, preventing the group from going forward. "Now, tell me where the hell the kid that did this to me is"
Jim's gears turned inside his brain, although Warhound was still able to stay rational, the anger he's showing means otherwise.
"He's not with us currently" He tried to look strong amidst the pressure Warhound was leaking out, "You killed him a while ago"
Jen looked at Jim confused, but quickly looked elsewhere as soon as Warhound turned to her.
Damn it
Warhound thought to himself, he really wanted to have his revenge. It felt stale on how he had done it without even knowing. "Well, I need something from you guys" He tried to keep them from moving forward.
"In the end, you still knew about it and didn't tell me" his face brightened up as he thought of a way to escape. "One of you must come with me"
He held his hand out, "A sacrifice" Warhound had already figured out that he was here not just for him, but also for saving the children.
If he could at least get one of the few survivors remaining, it could give him an edge over that guy. "Now who will it be?" He grinned as wide as he could, his sharp teeth exposed.
Jim looked at the two of them. They were already worn out from narrowly escaping Jug, there was no avoiding Warhound.
"I think we should give Jen away," Mark told them. Jen quickly looked at him, scared for her life. "What the hell do you mean?" Her voice shook, "We should be talking about how to take Warhound down, not stab each other in the back!"
Jim stroked his chin, "No, we can't" He told her, "He would slice us all to pieces in one strike"
Mark nodded his head, "And between the three of us, Jen is obviously the weakest" He pointed out. "I'm sorry, but we have better odds of escaping if we sacrifice you, Jen"\
She backed off, "No, I have to escape as well" Jen was about to sprint away, but Mark grabbed her arm firmly. "We all do," Mark told her before he started dragging her to Warhound.
"Let me go!" She cried out, desperately trying everything for Mark to let go of her, but he didn't stop, not did his hand loosen its grip.
"I said let me go!" Jen began to hit him with her other hand, barely doing anything. Mark bit his lips, even thought he said he didn't care about whether they all escaped, he genuinely cared for them.
I'm sorry
He handed Jen over to Warhound. She was already scratching his arm by then, with red marks swelling up with blood.
"Your sacrifice"
Warhound smiled even wider, further scaring Jen. "Perfect!" As he reached for her hand, a voice stopped him.
"Wait!" Jim shouted out, "There may be a better option for you, Warhound"
His words perked Warhound's ears up, "What do you mean?" Jim smiled, knowing that he got Warhound's attention.