The battle changed pace after Khan covered both his hands with sharp membranes. Mezmac immediately cracked her tail forward to fire a bullet, but Khan dodged it by sprinting to his left.

Mezmac launched more attacks and even tried to predict his movements. Her offensive forced Khan to change the direction of his sprint often. He had to stop, turn, duck, and jump many times under the constant assault of the bullets, but his red-purple membranes never wavered during the process.

Khan had confirmed that his version of the Divine Reaper could cut the projectiles. The Blood Shield also allowed him to endure the damage caused by his martial art, but that approach had a limit.

The Blood Shield was too heavy for his body. Khan had to make each attack count, but he needed to find an opening in his opponent's offensive first. Mezmac clearly had vast battle experience and confidence in her abilities. She even knew most of his techniques now, so eventual tricks had a high chance of failing.

Mezmac was beyond smart. She knew that Khan would only dodge her bullets if she aimed them at his current position, so she tried to predict his movements. Khan had to turn left and right while remaining at the ring's edges to keep avoiding that relentless offensive. He appeared cornered, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

Khan had sharpened his senses and sensitivity to mana to their limits to find a pattern. Every warrior had habits that only years of training and battles could remove. He was the same. He instinctively prioritized his left side when it came to attacks and dodges, so Mezmac probably had a similar flaw.

The flaw didn't have to be big or important. Khan only needed the chance to gain the upper hand in the battle and interrupt that relentless offensive. He would carve his path to victory with his own hands at that point.

Khan danced among the bullets until he noticed something. Mezmac always fired her attacks at the same distance from his current position. Their side depended on where he was facing. In theory, he could understand exactly where the following projectile would arrive.

Khan dodged the incoming attacks a few more times to test his theory, and everything matched his findings. His behavior didn't betray anything, so Mezmac remained clueless about his plan.

Mezmac began to launch another projectile. Her mana started to leave her tail when Khan abruptly turned toward her and shot forward. She couldn't interrupt the attack, so her bullet ended up missing her opponent.

Mezmac didn't panic. She had enough time to launch another attack. Her tail cracked in the air and released a bullet aimed at Khan's chest. She even jumped back to put some distance and gain the time to prepare a third spell.

Khan had the chance to dodge and suffer only a slight injury or rely on the Blood Shied to block the bullet, but he opted for a different approach. He waved his left arm forward and cut through the projectile. The skin above the clotted blood vessels exploded into a gory mess, but he avoided wasting time.

Mezmac managed to launch her third attack, but Khan cut through it with his right arm. He was basically on her by then. His kicks could reach her, and only half a step separated her from his hands.

Mezmac didn't have time to launch the fourth attack, and the situation wouldn't change even if she could. Khan had reached her, but she wasn't hopeless.

Mana moved toward her hands before gathering on her fingertips. Khan began to complete the half-step, but Mezmac suddenly snapped her fingers and sent two bullets toward him.

The fingers didn't carry the same power of the tail, but their bullets still forced Khan to interrupt his movement to wave both hands forward. He cut through the projectiles, but that delay allowed Mezmac to attack with her tail again.

Mezmac had kept part of her abilities hidden, and Khan could only improvise. He cut the new bullet and tried to follow with another attack, but she snapped her fingers again. Khan used his other hand to destroy one of the projectiles, but the other slammed on his shoulder and forced him to use the Blood Shield on that spot.

The tail launched another bullet, and Khan cut it before having to face the fingers again. Mezmac continued to retreat, but it would take her a few cycles of attacks to reach the ring's edges. Khan could already feel his chest growing heavy due to his abuse of the Blood Shield, so he knew that he wouldn't last until that point.

Mezmac snapped her fingers and began to gather mana in her tail, but surprise filled her face when she saw Khan jumping forward while performing a partial rotation. One of the bullets missed him, but the other pierced his right arm and reached his side. A metallic taste immediately spread in his mouth, but he focused his everything on stretching his left arm.

His glowing hand dug deeply in Mezmac's chest. The injury made her lose her balance and fall on her back, and Khan followed her on the floor. Her tail tried to shoot at his face, but he swung his left arm toward it. His fingers cut through her flesh as they came out of her and severed the pointy limb.

Mezmac cried in pain, but Khan didn't hear her. Dizziness filled his mind, and the world in his vision began to spin. His sharp membrane broke, but he was above his opponent, so he managed to close his left hand on her face.

"Give up!

" Khan shouted as drops of blood fell out of his mouth.

His balance was all over the place. Khan had one knee on Mezmac and the other on the floor, but he felt about to fall. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, and the Ef'i noticed his poor state.

Mezmac suppressed her pain and began to raise her arms, but a red-purple glow suddenly filled her vision. Khan was pale. He breathed heavily, and he appeared about to faint, but his eyes carried a resolve that she took a while to recognize. She saw killing intent past the radiance spreading from the hand on her face.

In front of the possibility of death, Mezmac lowered her arms before crossing them above her head. Khan needed a second to notice that gesture, but his entire body relaxed at that point. His opponent had officially forfeited.

The adverse effects of the Blood Shield took control of his body after he realized that he had won. Khan fell to his left and began to cough. He lay on the floor as pain took control of his senses. Everything hurt, and his heavy chest only worsened his condition. He found it hard to breathe for a while before he regained some form of control.

The world around Khan began to reclaim its place in his senses. His vision started to focus, and his heartbeat grew fainter. Yet, his awareness of his surroundings only brought new waves of pain as he became able to sense all his injuries.

His hands were on fire, and the same went for the right side of his chest. Khan found it hard to move his right arm, and something inside him released a sharp pain. He had never felt so bad, and he fought back when he sensed a foreign touch on him.

"Calm down!

" Lieutenant Unchai's voice eventually reached Khan's ears, and he stopped struggling.

A familiar figure slowly became clear at his side. Khan recognized Lieutenant Unchai and relaxed his body. The soldier's mouth moved, but pain and tiredness overwhelmed Khan's mind. He didn't want to faint, but he found no reason to remain awake either in his messy state, so his vision quickly went dark.

The nightmare returned as clear as ever. Khan remained stuck in his memories of the Second Impact for a long time before he managed to wake up. His eyes took a while to focus on the area, but he eventually saw a scene that felt both familiar and unfamiliar.

Khan found himself in a large cave with multiple black pillars on its rocky walls and ceiling. He was alone in the room. He was lying on a large bed with a series of tubes attached to his body and machines around him.

'How did I end up in this situation again?' Khan mocked himself as he inspected his state.

His mind felt unnaturally light, but he addressed that state to one of the liquids poured inside his body through the tubes. The military uniform was nowhere to be seen, but a blanket covered his naked body. Khan could see tight bandages around his hands, right shoulder, and chest, but he felt no pain coming from those spots.

Khan closed his eyes to check his condition through his mana, and he immediately noticed injuries. His back had healed, but the skin on his hands had yet to regrow completely. His right shoulder had a hole that his mana and a foreign substance were slowly closing, and the same went for his side. Still, he felt a faint uneasiness when he studied his chest.

"You are awake,

" A female voice suddenly resounded in the room.

Khan felt surprised to see that an Ef'i had appeared in front of the entrance. He didn't hear the metal door opening, and her accent had been so perfect that he expected her to be human.

The Ef'i wore a white medical coat and walked while checking the screen in her hands. Khan could see a series of stats from his position, but his chest began to hurt when he tried to lift his head to peek at the device.

"Take it easy,

" The Ef'i ordered while approaching the bed and checking the various machines.

"Your values are good, but you are recovering from internal injuries. I'm afraid you'll need to be here a bit longer.

"

"Internal injuries?

" Khan asked in a rough voice before clearing his throat.

"Your hands were better than I expected,

" The Ef'i explained while pointing at the bandages.

"Mezmac took your shoulder, but the drugs are working, and your mana is reacting well to them. Yet, I noticed that your heart had suffered some damage during the battle. It's not serious, but you shouldn't push yourself for a few weeks.

"

'My heart?' Khan thought as the memories of the battle flowed in his mind. He couldn't find anything that involved his heart, but he eventually understood what had happened. The Blood Shield was to blame for that.

"Will I be okay?

" Khan quickly asked.

"Of course,

" The Ef'i chuckled.

"I've checked you personally. You didn't suffer any lasting injury. Though you will carry a few marks.

"

Khan heaved a sigh of relief. He didn't care about the scars, but he didn't want his journey to end due to his recklessness. He wouldn't forgive himself if he let a Niqols' technique be the cause behind such a tragic outcome.

"Since you are awake,

" The Ef'i continued,

"My congratulations for winning the tournament. I almost can't believe that you are only seventeen.

"

"Thank you,

" Khan weakly replied.

"How long have I been out?

"

"One week,

" The Ef'i revealed.

"The official celebrations have already happened, but there will be an event for you once your condition improves.

"

"Did-,

" Khan began to ask before gulping and continuing his question.

"Did Mezmac survive?

"

The Ef'i couldn't help but nod when she saw Khan's concern for Mezmac, and her explanation didn't hesitate to arrive.

"She had to go through surgery to reattach her tail and fix her chest, but she will recover. Her days as a warrior aren't over.

"

Khan heaved another sigh of relief. He was mostly worried about his career, but he wouldn't like to have killed someone over a mere tournament.

"What happens now?

" Khan asked.

"You keep resting now,

" The Ef'i ordered.

"You aren't allowed to leave the bed until your internal injury heals. I won't let your superiors enter this medical bay either, so focus on sleeping and meditating. I'll leave you alone now.

"

The Ef'i left the room quickly, and the metal door slid close behind her. Khan could finally understand why he didn't hear it before. The entrance simply made no sound.

'I guess improving the Blood Shield now is just stupid,' Khan thought as he fell into the meditative state. 'I hurt myself already. The next checkpoint might kill me.'

The dangerousness of the Niqols' old ways wasn't surprising, but Khan had been overconfident in his resilience. He would have died on Ecoruta if a similar internal injury had appeared on the battlefield. He had been lucky that the tournament had happened on friendly terms.

'My body needs to get stronger to endure the technique,' Khan sighed internally.. 'I need the Blood Vortex as soon as possible.'