"Ignite."
A pale blue light flashed on the spear, patterns became visible as the blue light ran through the cracks. Goh's grip tightened. An eerie chill spread through the floor, creeping into the walls around them. Indra felt it even inside his boots, thin and brittle like early frost.
Goh didn't wait for him to analyse.
Fwoosh!
He dashed forward with the Seohae pointing at Indra and did a straight thrust. A wave of icy Shinsu exploded from the spear. The ground beneath Goh's feet cracked like glass under pressure.
The attack missed, of course. Indra would never get hit by such a basic attack.
Indra sidestepped and raised his forearm to block the follow-up swing.
BAM
The swing crashed into a feint; missing Indra cleanly as he launched a speed high kick.
POW
Goh cleanly deflected Indra's attack out of his way with a smooth reverse swing attack. Yet just as he tried to close the gap.
BANG
The kick he deflected pulled back and struck him squarely in the back of his head.
The first clean hit of the battle had finally been landed.
"Now, that's One point for me…"
DASH
Goh charged again, launching a flurry of spear swings!
The air and the earth shook as he generated more power with each swing.
"Guh!" Indra grimaced as the onslaught increased. It became twice as hard to avoid his ferocious blows. With such a high number of attacks, He couldn't handle anymore fighting without Shinsu Boost.
Bam!
He leaned into the pressure and slid his hand around the spear's shaft, trying to get inside the old man's guard. Goh twisted his hips and kicked out, forcing Indra back.
Fwoosh.
The cave shook slightly as Indra slid back, destroying the rocks on the way.
He landed in a crouch, exhaled once, and stood again.
"Fine Oldman …. It's a draw, for now.
Just by Goh's fighting style, Indra understood how ancient of an opponent he is fighting against. He didn't want to let go of this opportunity to learn a thing or two. Because of his lack of experience, Warriors and fights like these are great lessons.
Goh didn't respond, He lunged again.
Boom
The ice cracked.
Blue light surged from Seohae's tip, coating its surface with ghostly, serpentine scales that shimmered unnaturally.
Just as he closed the distance ….
"Seohae, IGNITE!"
BOOM!
A beam of icy Shinsu shot out from the Seohae's tip. An attack that was similar to a bright blue beam fell, breaking the sound barrier within the cave.
"Let's step up the game then …." Indra muttered with a smile,
"Shinsu Boost - Otsutsuki Style"
Whoom!
Purple Shinsu erupted from his body like a volcano, blasting the surrounding debris into dust. Then, in the next instant, it compressed and wrapped around him, forming a clean outline of constantly flowing Shinsu.
If there's one thing he never skipped, it was Taijutsu. No one knew how much effort it took to sort through all the different Taijutsu styles within his body and just to form something he could call his own.
The Shinsu coating around him flowed silently, lifting his hair slightly. The Rinnegan glowed like a purple torch.
The outside's frosty temperature didn't matter anymore.
Bang!
The icy beam roared toward him. Indra raised a hand and flicked at it lightly with his palm.
Boom!
The beam exploded mid-air. The walls shook. Everything nearby cracked under the force, but he remained still.
"Ugh!"
A shockwave of dust and debris blasted outward, nearing Goh.
He looked slightly shocked, nevertheless, he easily cleared the smoke with a swing of his spear.
"Unbelievable! Someone so young yet holds this much strength. You must be a High Ranker." Goh was genuinely shocked. In his time, warriors who could match the strength of the brat in front of him displayed were either by newly promoted High Rankers or Princesses of Jahad.
Indra shook his head calmly. "Nope. I'm not a High Ranker. Just a new guy in the Tower."
Goh narrowed his eyes. "You mock me?"
"Look, I know you wouldn't believe me," Indra replied instantly. "So, let's skip all that."
The old man snorted. "Then let me return the favor."
The temperature in the cave dropped again. This time, a thin layer of frost spread along the floor beneath Goh's feet, moving outward in a wide circle.
"Goh Style Shinsu Manipulation : Pale Coffin."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Jagged ice pillars rose from the ground, forming a ring around them. The Shinsu around them almost turned into frosty smoke. The entire space around Indra froze shut with multiple pillars.
"Do you want to destroy this cave, old man?" Indra looked around and asked, perplexed. He really couldn't sense outside this move. Wasn't his job to protect the Seal?
Goh spun his spear once. The blade glowed blue, then white.
"Goh Style Shinsu Manipulation : Frozen Gate of Blue Dragon."
Shinsu coiled around him like a snake. In the next moment, Goh vanished.
The old man disappeared from his sight entirely. Not even the Rinnegan was able to track his movements.
"Tsk." Indra felt like walking blindly at this moment.
"You could give Minato a run for his money with that naming sense, old man." Indra looked around with more focus, but no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find anything except the ice pillars.
"Wait… the ice pilla–"
Unfortunately, he didn't have time to finish his thoughts.
SPLAT!
Seohae came out from behind him and pierced his chest like a divine arrow. Indra barely managed to open his mouth, dragging his foot across the ground as he moved out of the spear that was lodged in the middle of his chest.
He twisted mid-air and landed a few meters back, a trail of blood following his boots.
Whoosh!
Goh came out of the pillar behind him with a wide grin.
"Too slow. This is why kids shouldn't jump into something they have no idea about," the old man said with melancholy, thrusting Seohae forward to remove the blood sticking to it.
"Unfortunately for you… once Seohae pierces someone, they will never be able to dispel the curse poison that enters their body."
"I told you," Goh's voice echoed calmly, "you shouldn't be here."
Thud!
Indra knelt with a dull thud. Blood spurted from his chest like a waterfall. "So it's like that… I was wondering what hidden skill it had. Fortunately…"
He opened his mouth wide as a dark shadow with deep red eyes flew out of him. Once it escaped, the rest of his body instantly transformed into dark crows and scattered into the cave.
CRAW. CRAW. CRAW. CRAW. CRAW. CRAW.
Like a scene out of a horror film, the entire cave was filled with crows and their wild screeches.
Goh was a warrior who had seen all kinds of weird and creepy spells. In fact, he even lived on one. But never in his life had he seen something that brought him this much terror.
He watched as all the crows began circling one of his pillars. Above it, almost hidden in the shadows, sitting calmly with one leg over the other, looking down with a faint smile and those unfazed, alien-like purple whirlpool eyes…
It brought a chill he had only felt a few times in his life. The kind of heart-stopping chill that only a few select beings could give.
He saw the thing above the pillar open its mouth and say something. Even though no sound came, Goh perfectly understood the words.
"You have an interesting weapon… Goh."