Refining the Heavens 5 (炼天五)

Chapter 88: Puppeteer

What held Kairos together was the pitiful amount of life force accumulated by his Yggdrasil Seedling – the Anima Infinitus – that he had spent on Circi's teammates. Now that he is without it, even a single blow from the dwarven officer was enough to worsen his wounds.

Kairos knows that he is at risk of getting a permanent injury if he continues fighting. It will not be something he can remedy even if he returns to Gaia and has access to spirit pills and healing spells because this kind of wounds will weaken the body itself. Of course, there is an exception to everything. If he could reconstruct himself from a cell-level, it will be possible to fix even what is considered permanent, but such methods are not found in the mortal realms.

Given time to nurse his wounds, Kairos' condition should have alleviated enough in a few months to grant him access to some of the tools from Gaia. Previously because the Yggdrasil treasure was incomplete, he used everything in his array to supress his injuries, and this includes borrowing strength from his Elemental, Tempest. If he recovers enough, not only will he be able to free up the Greater Spirit, but he could also even try to use arrays and repair his Thunder God Ring. Unfortunately, such a thing now seemed to be spiralling out of his control.

The dwarven officer smiled when he saw a drop a blood fell from the unknown stranger's nose. He did not know the identity of this lad, only that the person was given permission to enter the dungeon during the lock down and he hurriedly led his team over to stop any investigations.

A cruel smile appeared on the dwarf's face as he looked at the beautiful elf, "You are resisting only because you do not know your fate should you reject us. No matter, you will come to understand. You will accept your destiny... As the herald of madness."

Kairos grimaced from hearing what this dwarf had in mind for him. A herald of madness? What made the dwarf believe he is suitable for such a role? In fact, why did the dwarf pick him and not Von Von to join their little cult?

Although he cannot physically clash with the dwarf anymore, Kairos did not appear to worry at all. His methods are not limited to close quarters combat, but he is also in no hurry to fight now that his internal wounds had reopened. If possible, he really did not want to fight, because just moving slightly throws him into a world of pain and it sapped him of both stamina and speed. Even standing here has become a chore.

Kairos looked at the dwarf like the madman he was and shook his head. There is no point in conversing with someone who had lost his mind, and Kairos did not intend to. He took one look at the dwarven guards securing the premise and without hesitation rushed towards the weakest point with Von Von in hand.

The dwarven officer instantly barked a command to stop him, but just as they moved Kairos whispered a spell under his breathe, "Heavenly Eyes."

Twin discs made of purplish magic circles appeared before his eyes and they shrunk down to cover his pupils. Everything visible are covered with labels, statistics, and indicators. In all fairness, Kairos cannot be considered a top-class fighter even though the Origin Cultivation Method will improve one's latent talent over time, because he lacked the battle instincts that the best warriors possess. Yet, these eyes allow him to have something akin.

He dashed towards the guards with a feint and immediately the dwarves attacked the spot they believed he will go towards, yet Kairos waltzed past them easily with the elf. More soldiers came over waving their weapons at him, but their attacks clashed with each other or missed completely. Each step Kairos took became a masterful move that could change the flow of battle to his liking.

If in the past, by using Soul Perception, he judged his enemies' minute changes in their blood flow and muscle movements to predict their next move and dealt with it pre-emptively. Unfortunately, Kairos' life energy is too low to sustain his Soul Perception, and he had to find an alternative method. With the Heavenly Eyes spell that taps into the images provided by his City Surveillance spell, although he cannot make accurate minute predictions since it only provides visuals, the indicators gave him something else.

The officer who had a bemused expression watching him like he is a fly trapped in a glass bowl turned into shock. The bugs he thought he can easily crush is now like a puppeteer, and his soldiers became the puppets.

The City Surveillance spell's visuals is at most useful to remove Kairos' blind spots, but it is not enough for him to tell where his opponent intends to move. Yet, when left with only spatial awareness, it made him realise the weapons he always had but never used before. In that instant, Kairos calculated the positions of every enemy and the directions they can swing their weapons and through it, he saw the future. Every step he took set up a new future that he wanted to create. Every turn, every dodge, every feint, became like strings of the puppeteer, pulling and tugging the enemy like chess pieces for him to decide.

In a fight where a single second could determine life and death over a dozen times, instantaneous action is essential. What makes a top-class is their ability to pick the most desirable action in that instance. Kairos may not have the instincts to make instantaneous decisions that lead to the most desirable outcomes, but through the information he gleaned and the indicators of his Heavenly Eyes spell, he cut out everything until his foes are left with only the choices that he wants them to make.

In a way, it can be said that he is belatedly responding to his enemies, yet because he is so many moves ahead, no one realised that they are acting according to a script he had written now. Like his Aura, the Demiurge. His title, Rakshasa. His Secret Art, World Severing Slash. The controller, the determiner, the one of absolute authority. Kairos dominates any battlefield he is on.

He moved as though he knew the future, his attacks became the gears that turn the enemies into his own strength, and battle became a play that he scripted. Dwarves started knocking into each other, slashing down their friends and helping Kairos with a path out of the inn. When Kairos attacked, no one – not those he fought nor the dwarven officer watching from far – could understand his movements until several turns later would they realise what it meant. And, by then, it will be too late.

The Heavenly Eyes spell did not give Kairos something he did not already have but enhanced it. Just like the difference between studying a textbook and studying well written notes that had easily understandable labels, statistics, and indictors. It let him analyse a fight faster, more accurately, and further, until it took him into the future. The Kairos that the dwarves see and is fighting against is but a shadow.

The officer finally snapped out of his surprise, and while everyone seemed trapped in a chaotic melee, he cut in from the side and moved to the only exit of the inn. There he awaited his prey. They are fools if they think they could escape this place. Even if that boy possessed an unnatural ability that could play them like string chords, how will he deal with an external force?

Just as the officer blocked the only exit, Kairos arrived face to face with him. The lad struck without hesitation. It was a slash that was slightly off angle. A smile appeared on the dwarf's face. That attack will cut nothing and open Kairos up to a counterattack. The dwarf had made sure that no accidents will happen, and no one can interfere. Even the closest guy is five steps away... No, wait. Why is there another guard standing here?

As Kairos attacked, that person backed into him and pushed the dwarven officer directly into the sword's path. The man only had time to raise his arm in defence, but it is better to sacrifice it than getting beheaded.

How could there be someone else? The dwarven officer does not understand why someone else would be here when he had already looked. Perhaps... no, it can't be. Did the lad predict he would force his way over and thus blocked the other dwarf out of sight? How large is the web that Kairos spun?

Right while Kairos is preparing a second attack to end the dwarf's life, an unexpected person came into sight.

"Kairos, you cannot kill him!"

"Sparrow?"

Kairos did not keep his sword but neither did he finish his attack and waited for the dwarven princess to speak. The girl gave a sigh of relief before explaining, "Kairos, this man is from my grandfather's court. If anything happens to him without going through the proper channels, the aristocrat houses will riot."

Hearing so, Kairos stayed his hand and put down his weapon. But at this time, Sparrow took the dwarven officer's mace and struck. Her aim was directly at the small of Kairos' neck and at a time where it is impossible for him to react. If it hits, the lightest consequence will be for him to be paralysed from neck down.