Human feet are inherently less functional and flexible than hands.
Even though Morrow could kick out a Shooting Star with his foot, its strength in every aspect paled in comparison to one released by hand.
Yet in the ever-shifting tides of battle, applying the right amount of force at the right moment could yield corresponding results.
Morrow landed steadily, his gaze fixed on Vaughn ahead.
Then he saw Vaughn dodge the two Shooting Stars he had launched before landing.
This reaction from Vaughn surprised Morrow somewhat.
Those two Shooting Stars were meant to disrupt Vaughn's offensive rhythm, more flash than substance, lacking real frontal threat.
Yet Vaughn chose to interrupt his own momentum just to avoid them.
From Morrow's perspective, Vaughn would have been better off enduring the damage rather than dodging.
Moreover, with an ability that converted damage into strength, why not attempt to absorb at least one Shooting Star?
When Morrow released those two, he had already mentally prepared to gift Vaughn one, so he hadn't poured much Nen output into them.
He hadn't expected this outcome.
After dodging both, Vaughn suddenly sensed something amiss.
What's going on...? They weren't as strong as I thought?
At close range, the Shooting Stars didn't feel threatening at all.
Had he not assumed their power was overwhelming, he might have relied on his reflexes to tank the hits and maintain his offensive rhythm, or used Hearth to absorb one.
Instead, despite his advantage, he had broken his own momentum to minimize risk.
Vaughn grew suspicious about the true nature of the Shooting Stars, but there was no time to dwell. With his rhythm disrupted, he surged forward again, charging straight at Morrow.
Seeing Vaughn renew his assault, Morrow's eyes flashed as he raised his hand and released two more Shooting Stars.
Whoosh, whoosh.
Like falling streaks of light, the two Shooting Stars shot toward the ground ahead of Vaughn.
"Huh?"
Vaughn instinctively slowed his charge.
Boom, boom.
The two Shooting Stars exploded against the ground before him.
The released energy instantly transformed into shockwaves, kicking up dust and grass.
In an instant, Vaughn was engulfed in smoke.
Within the thick haze, Vaughn was calmer than ever.
He had already pieced together part of the Shooting Stars' mechanics: the one that had killed his comrade earlier likely required a specific distance condition.
Conversely, when the distance was insufficient, their power and speed diminished noticeably.
Trying to mask your attack path with smoke...? Pointless. But it does confirm my judgment.
A psychological Limitation called wariness was now lifted within Vaughn.
His eyes swept the surroundings, intently observing the flow of the dust.
Behind!
Abruptly, Vaughn pivoted and raised his arm.
At that moment, Morrow, who had circled around, threw a punch, only for Vaughn to block it with his forearm.
Empowered by Hearth's flames, Vaughn's aura output surpassed Morrow's by a level.
Even though Morrow had struck first, the impact forced him back a step, his fist tingling from the recoil. Vaughn let out a silent sneer before suddenly stepping forward and delivering a powerful front kick.
Morrow calmly withdrew his hand and crossed his arms in front of him to block.
Boom!
Vaughn's kick struck Morrow's crossed arms like a cannonball, sending out a jellyfish-shaped shockwave that scattered the surrounding dust.
Under the force of the impact, Morrow, at a disadvantage in raw strength, staggered backward.
After retreating several paces, his heel suddenly planted firmly into the ground, dispersing the momentum as he abruptly bent his knees into a crouch.
At that very moment,
two Shooting Stars soared over Morrow's head.
They were the same two Shooting Stars Vaughn had dodged earlier!
Having reached their preset hovering duration, they now returned with Treachery.
Instantly, the swirling dust was pierced through by one ring after another as the two Shooting Stars shot straight toward Vaughn's chest.
When did he...?
Not having fully grasped the mechanism behind the Shooting Stars, Vaughn couldn't help but feel surprised.
However, by now, he had already rebuilt something called confidence.
Thus, his judgment remained unaffected by his momentary shock, and he chose not to retreat again.
With intense focus, he made the most precise response at the critical moment, deploying his aura output to reinforce his defense, using his body to withstand one of the Shooting Stars.
Simultaneously, his Hearth successfully absorbed the other.
It's over...
In that instant, feeling the flames of his Hearth surge violently, Vaughn seemed to already see the outcome of this battle.
His gaze shifted, wanting to see Morrow's reaction to having delivered this power boost right to him.
What he saw was Morrow's expression, utterly calm.
This reaction gave him an inexplicable sense of unease.
The next moment, a violent impact struck the back of his head.
Vaughn's consciousness twisted abruptly, his body lurching forward.
What... just happened?!
Confusion swirled in his mind like a tangled mess of threads.
Vaughn, caught off guard by the sudden attack, had no idea what had occurred. But Morrow, still crouched low, could clearly see the single egg-sized Deceptive Shooting Star descending diagonally from above.
It was the very first Shooting Star Vaughn had kicked away, now returning with Treachery, targeting Morrow.
Because Morrow had remained crouched, the Deceptive Shooting Star instead struck Vaughn squarely in the back of the head.
And this precise timing coincided with Vaughn diverting most of his aura to reinforce his defense and activate his Hearth ability.
Thus, even though the Shooting Star was only the size of an egg, it was still enough to deal direct damage to Vaughn, despite his temporary power boost.
But it wasn't enough.
Morrow pushed off the ground with both feet, launching himself toward Vaughn, who was still stumbling.
His hand shot out in a swift, upward rake.
Fingers coated in aura tore a chunk of flesh from Vaughn's throat.
"Hck... hck..."
Vaughn's body shuddered as jets of blood sprayed from his mangled throat.
Immediately, a suffocating sensation overwhelmed his thoughts. As blood drained from his body, so too did his warmth and strength, until he slowly collapsed to his knees.
In his fading consciousness, a memory flashed before Vaughn's eyes.
A snowy winter night. A family that had barely escaped the ravages of war, yet could no longer find shelter.
Curled in his parents' embrace, why did he only feel the cold, unyielding touch of their bodies? Why could he no longer feel the beating of their hearts? So cold... I wish I could return to that ordinary, square hearth blackened by smoke...
Vaughn slowly closed his eyes as his body thudded to the ground with a heavy thump.
—--
Ring-ring, ring-ring-ring...
An abrupt cellphone ringtone echoed through the space.
Morrow glanced at Vaughn's corpse before pulling the incessantly ringing phone from his pocket.
Probably Argo calling.
Exhausting.
Morrow panted as he sat atop Vaughn's back, answering the call.
"Hello..."
...
The other end of the line fell silent upon hearing Morrow's labored breathing.
"My generous patron... you wouldn't happen to be busy in bed right now, would you?"