"E..Exchange.."
At the word's release, the wolf-alloy shook violently, its surface rippled unnaturally. A blinding shimmer spread across it, as though it had absorbed a vast amount of vibrations. The next instant, it blasted in a booming detonation.
In the side of nightmare, Kaios floated, his body still riddled with wounds, though the pain of his had dulled.
The nightmare, sensing the shift, came out from its carefree facade and moved to strike—only for a crushing punch to crash into its ripped carapace.
The nightmare flung away, crashing into the distance.
Kaios, who had just landed the punch, stared at his hand—his fist shimmered with a silvery glow that spread up to his shoulder before fading away. The glow was same as to the moment, when the crow-alloy had absorbed the vibrations.
"Ahh… now this feels good. No stiffness, no pain."
His voice carried a faint relaxation, his swollen eye narrowed as he shifted his gaze toward the scrambled crow-alloy.
"It did a good number on me…" he muttered. "It's time for payback. But before that…"
He raised his finger once more, pointing it at the liquid alloys scattered all across the plain. Again uttered the same word as before.
"Exchange"
Kaios's body also started to shift as well. The scar on his face went back, the swelling around his eye faded, as if it had never been there. The wounds that were riddled throughout his body closed one after another, left only the thin trails of blood, which were now dried.
Deep inside of his body, the ribcage vibrated slightly, before went back to its original place, though the bones hadn't fully joined yet.
In the span of mere seconds, his broken frame returned close to its original state, though the heavier injuries still reamined, reminding of the heavy beating from the nightmare, he had endured.
"Ohh...back to original, though the internal injuries are there, still I am asking good as new." Kaios checked body, before turning to the nightmare.
The nightmare already recovered from the punch, was staring at him. Its eye filled with shock, as it saw Kaios knitting himself together.
That same expression could also be seen in another person.
Raion, who was observing the trial of Kaios, was also frozen in shock. His jaw hung wide open, half chewed popcorns sliping to the ground from it.
"Is— is that his special attribute?" The words of shock released from his mouth before he calmed himself from it.
"He said 'Exchange' before he stood up, then after the punch—" Raion tried to understand, from what he understood " his fist also shimmered like that wolf-alloy. If he did what I am thinking, then it has the massive potential in the future, if it get a better mutation."
As Raion thought, all this was the work of Kaios's special attribute, Trader of Bond.
It sure sounded simple from the name. But its ability was anything but ordinary. This special attribute allowed Kaios to exchange anything between him and the alloys bound to him.
Of course, it had its own condition and limitation. One was the exchange of anything should remain within what both sides could bear. Also another rule-the alloy could not be used unless it had remained in his touch or under his influence, for at least ten minutes.
But even with these restrictions, a special attribute that granted this much freedom, from the very beginning—without mutation or even the first evolution— was too rare, and undeniably powerful.
Kaios's first act was simple, but decisive. He exchanged all the agony and pain in his body with the wolf-alloy— while taking its vibrational store and release property.
Then he did same to the bull-alloy. With another use of exchange, he trade its memory-shaping property. That property made his body came to his former state, restoring it to its previous condition. While giving up his scar and swollen injuries.
Kaios inhaled, in his body flowed two new ability, totally unrelated to his path. The nightmare who was previously stunned, already came back from it, ready to charge.
Kaios smirked slightly, "You had your second phase, I also had mine. Now it is equal."
"Then.... let's fight." Even before the sentence below completed, both charged at each other.
Kaios and the nightmare collided, the dull thud of flesh striking against grinding metal echoed through out the metal plain, which now ruined. Their struggle was raw, each of their blow carrying more than enough force to shift the movment of continents.
The nightmare feinted a wide punch, its piked-shard knuckles cutting the air. Kaios raised his arm to block, but then came the real attack— a brutal knee strike aimed at his gut.
Kaios's instincts screamed— his both palms shot forward, blocking the knee at the last instant. A faint silver shimmer spread across his hand as he absorbed the incoming force spreading it all across his body and storing it.
The nightmare faltered for half a breath, its balance broke as the momentum scattered suddenly.
Kaios siezed this oppertunity. His hand snapped upwards, the palm clenched into fist. Then...
Baaangg....
The uppercut connected—Kaios's fist slammed into the joint just below the cage-like structure, the silver glow flaring at the moment of contact. The nightmare's body lifted clean off from ground, thrown backwards.
But Kaios wasn't finished. His fist pulsed, and the vibrations he had been storing, since the first exchange released at a time with a single shot.
"Pulse Knuckle" Kaios muttered, after delivering a punch, that channel pulse of vibration for delayed damage.
That delayed force channeled into the nightmare's torso, amplifying the already powerful physical strike, into more destructive.
The lower part of cage shattered, bars curved inside, threating poke its eye ball. The joint connecting the torso and cage cracked.
The uppercut connected—Kaios's fist slammed into the joint just below the cage-like structure, the silver glow flaring at the moment of contact. The nightmare's body lifted clean off its footing, hurled backward like a puppet with its strings cut.
The nightmare unleashed a rattled howl— not of pain, but a violent and distorted howl. Its whole body worked as amplifier, resonating untill the air shook from it.
Kaios staggered back, blood trickling from his ear. The howl left his body untouched, but his insides.... ruptured by the resonance. Thankfully the bull alloy's memory-reshaping steadied his frame, while the wolf alloy absorb most of the vibrations, before it could dealt any more damage to him.
Kaios who just absorbed the vibrations charged at the nightmare, while spouting the blood from his mouth "Take your own attack, you fucker.."
"Chorus of Rupture." He said as directed his both hand at it— then clapped.
Suddenly, a wave of force travelled at the nightmare consisting of multiple choirs. Kaios instead unleashing all the vibration at once, fractured into different choirs, each with different frequency stacked over.
As it hit the body of nightmare, its sharded body began to shudder, fracture started to gather on it.
Each layer struck it like a voice in a maddened choir, each choir doing different damages— one tore the shards, another splintered alloy. The Nightmare was caught inside this symphony of thousand Chorus.
Then before the nightmare could react, Kaios drew every available vibration into his legs. His stance sank low, the ground beneath him quaked due to the effect of concentrated vibration. His calves tightened, heels humming with resonance, ready to launch him up.
Then he jumped, the ground beneath him shattered, cracks like spider web spread, just as his feet lifted slightly above, a word echoed from his mouth..
"Exchange...."