Ability Wielders - Chapter 136 Fighting Bayrak

“This is Foriast.” A friendly-looking woman next to her explained. “The city of the Overseers. As the new hired companion of *Yal-Likoria, you will accompany her in her journey here. Including when she’s venturing outside Foriast.”

*Yal- is an honorific for females (The sex, not gender) that roughly means ‘young scion’ or ‘young mistress.’ It is used for young Forish who hasn’t undergone Tiroga and of esteemed standing. It is the short version of Yalika. The male version is Yor-, and the short version of Yoriku.

“W-what?” Eyima couldn’t understand a word that the woman was blabbering. “H-hired? Companion? What position am I filling in?”

“Come here.” Likoria turned back to them, beckoning for Eyima with her finger. “You will teach me the ways of the outside world. For now, let’s go someplace that we’ll be entertained.”

Eyima quietly shadowed Likoria. As they descended the arduously long staircase, Eyima admired the beauty of the underground city that didn’t look like an underground city at all.

…..

“Are you sure about this?” Starakt walked in front of Hayden at the corridor on the way to the Source Heart. “You’re going to reveal your identity to the Toritius? And you’re letting some of their descendants watch the fight?”

“It will be proof of my own power.” Hayden continued to walk on. Both of his hands were clenched. His nails would’ve dug deep if it wasn’t groomed. His coalesced Supreme King aura was at full blast, dwarfing the malevolent auras of the statues. “Also, it will shut those from the families up when they see how capable I am.”

“Are you that confident in beating Bayrak?” Starakt inquired. “I mean, Gaia did state that you are a secret entity. This is not necessary.”

“My existence will be better off divulged.” Hayden talked calmly in spite of his rage. “If the Toritius finds out that you’re allying with me, even if it’s in the will of Gaia, there’s that possibility that they may overthrow you. As for Bayrak, I’m not confident at all. I’m merely too irate to the point that I want to kill Bayrak. My will to kill is much higher than you think, Le-Starakt.”

“I see that you’re not always the level-headed man that you are.” Starakt remarked, wanting to see Hayden’s reaction.

“No one is able to keep an absolutely tranquil state of mind in any situation.” Hayden was focused on tearing Bayrak to shreds. Literally. “You of all people know this.”

Starakt was astounded of Hayden’s flawlessly logical answer. It was true, emotions were unavoidable for humans and wielder alike. Even with their upbringings of being trained to be apathetic at most times and to protect the Source Heart at all costs, there was no way that you wouldn’t feel pain when making a decision between two things of importance.

“I see that you use the power of emotions as a boost for your drive instead of acting upon it impetuously.” Starakt was impressed of Hayden. This was rare for a 16-year-old. “You are that level-headed man that I’ve met.”

“It’s unwise to act on your emotions without proper consideration.” Hayden robotically answered. “In a fight, if you lose your cool and make a misstep, it’s your funeral. This applies to any situation. As Gaia has described, Bayrak is an arrogant narcissistic fuck. A wielder who thinks that he has the power to bring the world down on its knees. He would never think that I will be able to beat him. And I plan to use that.”

‘He’s a scary man.’ If Starakt were at the same age as Hayden, he would never cross him. These analytical and cold, yet loyal and passionate people were the ones you never want to betray. ‘Because they’re also the type that will seek revenge in any way they can. To exacerbate this, their revenge isn’t as simple as killing you. They will turn your life into a living hell.’

Four hours unknowingly passed. Hayden’s condition can be described to have improved leaps and bounds during the past few hours. He was already well past the halfway mark and has started absorbing essence energy from Origin Crystals.

Apparently, essence energy circulation worked in such a way that it slowed a percentage of its original when reaching the halfway mark. Additionally, the rate of circulation would keep on decreasing as you progressed further.

This deceleration was circumvented by absorption of essence energies in Origin Crystals. Nevertheless, Origin Crystal consumption purely doubles the rate of essence energy circulation.

That meant that it will still progressively getting slower. And the rate of this slowing down was absurd. It’s worse when one steps into the third Level.

On another note, during this Annual Youth Pride, Hayden has really gained an immense fortune. The effects of the Reza Hixilia was showing already.

Currently, his base physique with Origin Limiter activated was 61.2 kilometers per hour, his strength at 306, and he is capable of withstanding 1,020 psi.

By the end of the week, Hayden’s physique should have reached 66 kilometers per hour, strength of 330, and withstand 1,100 psi of force.

Lastly, Hayden’s Void Sealing was partially unsealed. Irrespective of this, Gaia had no idea of what it does as there was no partly unlocked power. A perplexing Innate Gift in Gaia’s opinon.

…..

Bayrak woke up in a square room with marble black walls and a white floor. The room was huge, with dimensions of 50 meters on all sides. The ceiling was fifteen meters in height.

Groggily touching his burning cheek, Bayrak got up. Sitting up, everything came back to him. ‘Who the hell was that bitch?’

Standing up, Bayrak scrutinized his surroundings. It was barren. There was nothing else in sight. Oddly enough, the place was lit up despite of missing visible light sources.

“Psh, I can easily escape this by-” Before he can even finish his arrogant words, a booming voice permeated in every corner of where he was.

“Don’t bother.” It was Starakt. His tone was entirely minacious. “This is filled with a material you people call Voidstone. It nullifies even your Void Shift.”

Beyond the north part of the wall, at about ten meters high, there was an enormous space. Inside were the Toritius members and a couple of their descendants, including Ysa, Jin, Gafar, and Likoria.

Ysa, Jin, and Gafar were standing together. The trio whispered to each other about this fight. Jin lightly touched his lower lip. “Will Ot-Fenrir be alright?’

“I think he will be.” Ysa confidently declared. “That guy, he’s not simple. What I’m concerned for is his well-being for his reveal of his identity.”

Just then, part of the wall came down and in came Hayden in his white mask. His Space Stone rings were inside an Abyssal Gold bracelet. He had it custom made prior to coming here as he felt that the rings were getting in his way lately.

As for Rilias, she was tied around Hayden’s waist like a hoodie. Hayden’s figure was emphasized by the tightened clothes.

The menacing air that surrounded him intensified at the sight of Bayrak’s filthy face. This pierced through the thick Voidstone walls and induced terror inside the hearts of everyone in the room.

‘What is this?’ Likoria’s eyes widened. She was trembling, obviously aghast of Hayden. ‘…Intriguing. I want to fight him.’

The subject of this aura, Bayrak, had it worse. He was utterly petrified on the spot, disconcerted and unable to think straight. To make things direr, every step that Hayden took, the aura further exaggerated.

‘Who the hell is this guy?’ Bayrak quaked in his boots. His view of Hayden right now was identical to what Starakt saw, albeit spookier. ‘Shit, got to use Void Shift right away.’

Bayrak took a step back and was going to take the second step when Hayden stopped and took off his mask. Bayrak was filled with shock upon seeing Hayden.

“Bayrak!” Hayden growled, his white shirt disappearing as his skin turned crimson. “Fucking son of a bitch, come here!”

Bayrak, in his panic, wanted to take the second step immediately, but Hayden vanished and reappeared in front of him. Hayden punched him in the gut with such force that he flew backwards at nearly supersonic velocity.

Fortunately, at the last second, Bayrak was able to activate his Redwood Ariens, mitigating the damage. Mid-air, Bayrak thickened up, his skin becoming that of red bark.

He became approximately thirteen feet tall, with a face of carved wood akin to a pumpkin carving, hair of violet leaves, and a general muscular human shape. Bayrak transformed into the full-sized gigantic version.

He did this for a single reason. It was to take a step into the Void instantaneously as two seconds hasn’t passed.

“Oh no you don’t.” Hayden dashed with every bit of his power, his figure flickering as he nearly made contact with Bayrak and was going to punch him.

He was a step too late as Bayrak was transported into the Void. Hayden calmed an awful lot, sitting in a lotus position.

“He… Isn’t he Hayden?” Eyima was one of the few who recognized Hayden amongst the crowd. “That Hayden? How powerful…”

“You know of him?” Likoria turned to her. “Who is he?”

Eyima informed Likoria of every bit of information that she had on Hayden. “He is that popular in the world and is one of the hottest topics every single time.”

Everybody in the room eavesdropped on Eyima and Likoria. They naturally knew of social media and the modern world. As such, they were astounded of Hayden’s popularity in the outside world.

For a whole month, Hayden was continuously on the trending page. With a single muscle twitch, he would rise up to the ranks of number one in the trending list.

From his videos, to photos, to his interviews, and to his intellectual prowess. Hayden was a behemoth in the celebrity industry.

Meanwhile, Ysa, Gafar, and Jin affixed their eyes on Hayden. They were addressing Hayden that casually? He was too young for them! Ysa was literally three, four, or possibly even five generations apart from Hayden.

Ysa couldn’t believe her eyes. Fenrir was that handsome? In fact, most women of any age in the room found Hayden tantalizingly attractive. That seamless amalgam of a body and face would stimulate such feelings in any woman.

…..

“Holy fuck.” Inside the Void, Bayrak released his bated breath prior to coughing out blood. “Hayden… Holy shit. What in the fucking world was that?”

Bayrak suspected that Hayden was a wielder, but he didn’t anticipate that he’d be this strong. “That amount of force in that punch… If I wasn’t able to trigger my Ability, I would’ve died on the spot.”

Pain coursed all over his body from that one punch alone when he changed into his human form. He stared at the silhouette of Hayden.

In his hands, a bottle containing black liquid materialized. “Should I use this item?”

Bayrak stared hard at the black liquid. He shook his head whilst storing the bottle back in his Space Ring. “No, this will be last resort. Let’s recuperate with this.”

A red potion of some sort actualized in his right hand. If Hayden was here, he’d confuse this as a health potion that came straight from an RPG. Well, he wouldn’t be mistaken.

Popping open the cork on the bottle, Bayrak downed the red liquid. Bayrak closed his eyes due to the vivifying warmth that circulated in his veins. He was enlivened.

In a blink of an eye, Bayrak was back at tiptop condition. He walked ten meters away from Hayden. Shifting into his Redwood Ariens, Bayrak ran… Well, ran wouldn’t have been the proper verb. It was more of a slow-mo jog.

In the midst of this, he couldn’t hear that Hayden was releasing his dragon’s breath. He was too focused on ‘running.’

A painful five minutes passed before Bayrak could arrive in front of Hayden. He exited the Void, his movements accelerating back to regular speed.

‘Yes, it’s going to land!’ Bayrak thought. He was celebrating in joy until his fist was repulsed as if hit by a truck.

Although it didn’t propel him, his fist was shattered into smithereens. Every bone in his right arm, if it was considered bones, were broken by this power.

Bayrak, regardless of his immunity to pain, wailed out. There was no precedent for him in undergoing through this kind of cruelty. After all, his Redwood Ariens is a powerful variant of the Greenwood Ariens. This resulted in him never having to fear any attack from his opponent as long as they were at Level 2. Even mid-Level 3s were not fearsome for him.

Bayrak’s thoughts became fuzzy from the ‘pain.’ ‘How the hell did he predict it?’

The way Void Shift works is that, though his movements were excruciatingly slow inside the Void, he remains to have normal velocity. Consequently, when Bayrak exits the Void, his punch speeds back up to its regular speed, carrying the exact amount of force it would have if it was thrown outside the Void.

He couldn’t possibly guess what happened…

A few minutes before, whilst Hayden was sitting in a lotus position, he activated Heavenly Sense. He was met with a pleasant surprise, perceiving the hulking outline of Bayrak in his Redwood Ariens.

‘I can… bypass dimensional boundaries with Heavenly Sense?’ Hayden was nonplussed of this, quelling off some of his rage. ‘To what extent can it ignore boundaries?’

Observing the giant Bayrak comically running towards him in slow-motion, Hayden desired to find the limits of his Divine Perception. He attempted to penetrate through the Voidstone wall behind him. Seeing that this Voidstone was at least five meters thick, there was no way he can penetrate through.

He has been enlightened that this Voidstone had Ability cancelling effects. If used as a wall, it can block all kinds of Ability effects, excluding physical prowess. If utilized as a weapon, it can disregard the toughest defenses.

Paradoxically, if exerted enough force, it can be fragile. If an uncharged piece of Voidstone was picked up by a gloved human, they will be able to break it. Yet, this same piece of Voidstone is practically unbreakable to any wielder if they endeavor to destroy it without any protection.

‘It was a wise choice getting that knife forged.’ Hayden focused on his breathing technique and the hilarious ‘running’ outline of Bayrak in the Void. ‘I may be able to kill a Level 5 if a situation met the most specific conditions.’

Five minutes passed. The moment that Hayden picked up Bayrak leaving the Void, he stopped his perception of time. In that small moment, Hayden calculated the maximum amount of strength that Bayrak can dish out.

As Bayrak was technically not a human being, Hayden can only estimate. He took into account his size, the thickness of his arm, the speed of the fist, and the durability of that fist through the way that Bayrak withstood his earlier attack.

‘He cannot endure this.’ Standing up, Hayden twisted and gave Bayrak’s gigantic fist a kick in the middle. It shattered every fiber of Bayrak’s bones in the arm, if that’s what you will call it. Hayden thought, ‘This Empyrean Power comes in handy.’

Presently, Hayden was at the summit of his condition, with 100% augmentation coming from Empyrean Power. He can beat even the strongest Level 3 wielders in this state, much less a puny Level 2 dual wielder.

“Too bad you crossed me.” Hayden walked and stopped a meter away from Bayrak, staring at his… Eye holes? “If we had met under different circumstances, and if you didn’t insult three of the people I hold dear…. We would’ve been great allies.”

“Fucker!” Bayrak was at the edge of his nerves. In front of the face of death, it seems that Bayrak wanted to put up a last fight, rising and winding up his remaining good arm to throw a punch at Hayden.

Hayden simply raised his right forearm in defense and held his ground. The forearm and the wooden fist collided, producing a gush of wind that sent air flying in the opposite direction of the punch.

Bayrak was astounded that Hayden was able to hold his ground against a full-powered attack from him. He yelled, “I’m not done, you arrogant fuck!”

Bayrak raised his left hand, shifting it into a blade. Bayrak wanted to slice the blade towards Hayden, but Hayden wouldn’t let him do that.

Hayden jumped up and kicked Bayrak down. Without delay, once Hayden landed, he moved to the sword arm of Bayrak, pierced it with both of his claws, and smashed it to the ground.

“Nice usage of your shapeshifting.” Hayden was impressed by Bayrak’s versatility. While panicked, Bayrak acknowledged that he couldn’t break Hayden’s defenses and shifted his arm into a relatively dull sword, alike that of a longsword’s. It was ingenious. “Unfortunately, it wouldn’t work on me.”

Bayrak disregarded Hayden’s compliment, trying his best to get his arm up. Hayden didn’t let him by forcing it down with his claws. “You are tough, right? Let’s test if you can go against the full might of my attack, shall we?”

Utilizing his Breathing Technique, Hayden sliced Bayrak’s arm apart. This was an easy application of Essence Manipulation Arts, Enhancement. This was achieved by strengthening the bonds between his own person’s atomic molecules and filling in the gaps of his body.

It was a technique that Hayden was fond of as he can further his own power through this. The flaw to this is that he cannot enhance every bit of his body as that would take too much life force. It’s the first time Hayden had to use it on someone.

Bayrak lifted his missing left arm, his eyes stuck on it. He was brimming with trepidation. He has never been subjected to a loss or anything else in his life. He was popular. He was powerful. He was born in a rich family. One must imagine how much ‘suffering’ he’s going through in this moment.

His mental state plummeted to rock bottom when Hayden climbed up to his neck and pummeled it without remorse. “This is for throwing my family on the ground. This is for calling ‘her’ a beddable whore. This is for offending me.”

“You’ve done it!” Bayrak didn’t give up. Bayrak raised his right arm, flicked Hayden away, and made the flask containing black liquid pop up above his open mouth. The container fell inside Bayrak’s mouth. “Hehe, Hayden Emperador. This will be your death!”

‘That bottle…’ Hayden’s eyes narrowed. His Danger Sense gave him every reason he needed to tactically retreat for the meantime. ‘He used something… What is that?’

Hayden pushed down his frenzy for the time being. He didn’t want to use up his second life in this a vie for revenge. It wasn’t worth it.

‘Let’s observe first.’ Hayden thought.

“Hayden, you should retreat!” A panicked voice came from where the spectators are. “What he drank is a dangerous potion from the Turkish World of Wielders!”