Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Explosion

It was a long tunnel ahead.

Kai could tell the sound was coming from the turn at the end of the tunnel. That’s why it seemed to echo more and more. Something was nearing the turn, slowly and steadily. Kai looked back and saw the other part of the tunnel. Long! Endless!

This won’t do, Kai reflected. I can’t run with the old man on my shoulder for half as well as without him.

“Koffinggg!”

Kai cringed. “What the hell is it?” Kai gave a last look at the old man’s blurry figure and walked towards the turn. There was no other choice. I must know who I am dealing with before doing anything, Kai told himself.

As he kept walking, more voices joined the eerie sound. Kai could make sense of these voices, though.

“All Chaos’ Contestants are mad…” one said.

“No shit! Who would have thought even this can be done?” the other replied.

Contestants! Kai's eyes narrowed. But he also noticed another queer thing. These voices, though comprehensible, were muffled as if there was a thick wall between Kai and them, and they were whispering from the other side.

Suddenly, the cry that was echoing off the walls of the sewer died. The two Contestants talking to each other became silent too. I like this not, Kai contemplated, a dangerous feeling pumping through his heart. They can’t have spotted me. Hell! Even I can’t see them in this darkness.

When it seemed his heart would pound out of his chest, the cry returned.

“Koffingggg!”

Kai’s eyes widened. No! His mind screamed. He snapped his head back and saw nothing but darkness. This call had come from behind, Kai knew. But there was no sign of anyone. It hit him suddenly. The sound hadn’t come from behind. It came from…

Kai craned his neck up. There it was. Something round, balloon-shaped. Kai could see swirls of gas coming out of it from here and there. And the smell! It even forced him to gag.

“Koffing, what is it?!” one shouted.

“Grim! I think he found someone-”

One moment, they were guessing. In the next, Kai heard them dashing towards the turn. Kai didn’t care what was hovering above him. He ran back, trying to use darkness to throw them off.

“Koffing, where is he?”

“Koffing!”

Kai was still running towards the old man in the clearing. It was then he heard it.

“Sai,” the man named Grim commanded. “Light it up!”

Kai stopped. He looked back and saw the weirdest scene. One of them had lit a match, and though it was dwindling, it was enough to make him see the thing hovering above them.

It was a purple balloon with a gaping mouth. Two pointy teeth were jutting out of its upper jaw, and there was a white skull and cross-bones tattoo under its lower one. Several geyser-like protrusions had covered its body, releasing a mustard-colored gas.

What the hell is it?! Kai wondered in astonishment. But he didn’t have the time to ask them about it. There were two of them, as Kai had guessed. Both had heavy, glassy masks over their faces, and one of them had a match in his hand. From the looks of it, Kai could tell it would soon go out.

“Haha!” the taller man patted the thing over him and laughed. “Who would have thought? Didn’t I tell you, Sai? All are rats, these Chaos’ Contestants.”

The short one, named Sai, nodded in agreement.

“Where is the Hand?” Grim demanded. “Tell us, and we won’t kill you.”

“He is here, somewhere,” Kai replied, seeing no sense in telling an obvious lie. “You will never find him, though.”

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“We will,” Sai commented. “But first, I will kill you.”

“Sai, no. Wait!”

Too late.

Sai flicked the match, and Kai slipped backward. But no amount of slipping was enough, as he would find later. As the match went up, Sai made a fist and pulled his hand back, and the moment the flame lined with his fist, he punched.

This?! Kai couldn’t believe it. The tiny flame became a fireball. It became bigger as Sai kept punching at nothing but air. When it almost reached Kai, the fireball had become big enough to cover the entire tunnel. The heat hit him first, scorching his skin.

I can’t dodge it, Kai thought, the reality slapping his face. I must not dodge it. Kai was right. He couldn’t dodge the fireball. Just behind him, a few meters away, was the clearing where Jon Arryn was lying. If even a single stray tongue of the fireball was to go there, Kai could scarcely guess what would happen then.

So Kai did the next best thing. He crossed the sabers in front of him and met the fireball head-on. Foolish? No. Not when Kai knew he would survive.

BOOM!

[Damage Taken: 35 points]

[

You are subjected to Burn Damage

Burn Damage: 5 HP/minute

Time Limit: 3 minute

WARNING: HP regeneration reduced by 20%

]

[WARNING: Steel-Bone Brigandine - Quality: 62% (-4%)]

[WARNING: Black-Steel Saber - Quality: 43% (-5%)]

[WARNING: Black-Steel Saber - Quality: 42% (-6%)]

The tunnel’s walls shook around him, and Kai got thrown back. His hands, face, and legs all were on fire. But the moment he landed on the filth, he dove into it, putting it out. He could hear the fire hissing as the filthy liquid came into contact with the burned skin. He was angry. But more than that, he was in pain.

The Pain Factor! Kai suddenly recalled. I should have gone for the Pain Factor. But it wasn’t the time for blaming himself, Kai knew. He was struggling with the smell when he heard one of his assailants proclaiming out loud.

“He’s almost dead.” Sai declared. “I can’t even see his silhouette anymore.”

Grim didn’t reply. Kai saw him looking up and down, trying to see some truth in Sai’s words. The explosion had lit the tunnel for a moment, but the filth overtook it soon enough. It was becoming dark, and it would become darker. Kai was waiting for that moment. He was waiting for them to catch the bait.

Alas, Grim didn’t. To Kai’s confusion and dismay, Grim pointed at the darkening tunnel and ordered the thing hovering above him.

“Koffing… Use Poison Gas!”

And then Kai got to know what he was dealing with.

A Pokemon!

---

AN: The Pokemon "Koffing" is available on Discord (image reference). Go catch it! lol

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