After the fight started by only 10 seconds, Ash was thrown away, deeper into the forest. The Hollowbane gave Ash such a powerful kick, forcing Ash to spit so much blood while airborne.
Ash wasn't supposed to being stopped, the kick was just too powerful for him, until he had hit a tree that unfortunately was in his way.
The impact was crushing enough to break several bones in Ash's back. Ash groaned in pain. He felt that pain before in his leg because of Reive, but in his back? The pain was much severe than he thought.
Ash was about faint, the pain was unbearable. Raising his head to spot the Hollowbane, his vision was blurry and yet he could see it... with its panel shimmering above.
[Hollowbane]
[Level: 16]
The level itself told Ash that he didn't even stand the slightest chances against that entity. Ash froze in his place, like he could move anyway.
"Khaahaa..." Ash spat more blood, still fallen on the ground, his broken back rested on the tree he had struck at a while ago.
'Ah shit! If I didn't come up with a plan now, I'm done for.' Ash evaluated the situation. He is alone against a level 16 Hollowbane, the second strongest Hollowbane he had seen after the Vilewarren.
His friends should be fighting the other Hollowbane by now, so they would never come for him unless they defeat their prey. Well, Ash wished that the Hollowbane would be the prey and not them.
For the second time since he became a traveler, Ash saw a Hollowbane walking. Like the Vilewarren when he and Aeris first saw him.
The level 16 Hollowbane walked the same slow-paced walk, installing fear inside Ash's heart even more. It's like the Hollowbane was mocking Ash for being weak and being not near its level yet.
'Shit! SHIT! What should I do?!' Ash desperately tried to think of a quick solution. 'Damn it! I will use everything I currently have!'
Ash opened his inventory instantly and saw two items only.
[Inventory: {Dark Gauntlets}, {Skin Fracture}]
'Hell nah! I can only use the gauntlets now. That shitty Skin Fracture isn't comple--' It was at this moment that Ash suddenly realized something that could shift the whole situation to his own benefit.
Ash drew a smile on his face and kept getting wider until he laughed. He laughed as if he had won even before he stood on his feet.
The Hollowbane arrived at the scene, mere meters separates it from the Fallen Mangle. Victory for the Bane is just a couple of steps away.
Or so it thought.
"Let me teach you something, Hollowbane...' Ash said with a grin so majestic on his face. "Another rule of manipulation."
Ash, still Fallen with his back rested to the tree, let out a white smoke from his mouth. The smoke kept rushing out of his mouth like a river, engulfing his entire body like a fog.
The Hollowbane twitched once he sensed that smoke's aura, something the Hollowbanes know perfectly well.
Amidst the smoke, a voice of hard breath escaped through.
"Third rule of manipulation..." Ash's voice changed as if it had hardened. "never let your guard down... Against the weak you presume."
Once Ash completed the third rule, his hand emerged from the fog he had created. His hand, although equipped with the dark gauntlets, seemed different from a human hand.
It was like the gauntlet had adjusted to that inhuman transformation. The Hollowbane took a step backward and took its usual stance of fighting.
[Skin Fracture: Activated!]
[Partial Manifestation: Hollowbane!]
[Level: 1]
[SF EXP: 0/10]
[Congratulations, Traveler Ash Verlane!]
[You have received a new title: Skin Walker!]
[Title Activated!]
Ash grinned even more, his face emerged with a majestic grin, forcing the Hollowbane to raise his guard to maximum level.
"Hehe..." Ash laughed, mocking the Hollowbane that once mocked him instead.
What appeared on Ash was out of imagination. His arms was covered in white fur of a Hollowbane, his torso was fully exposed and covered with the same fur from the sides. His core was nearly covered too.
His face showed the manifestation on its sides, along with his neck. His crimson hair glowed under the effect of the partial manifestation, and also grew longer than usual. His two eyes, a pearl of darkness and another of vermillion shone in Rhythm.
Ash didn't just stood on his feet with no effort, like his back had never broke, he also felt a huge surge of power, fully focused on agility, coursing through his entire body. He felt his body so light that he tried to dash in his place several times.
Of course he still felt pain in his back, but the effect of the transformation made the pain seem nothing to him.
His speed increased at least by three folds. The power of a Hollowbane now resides within him.
The new title he got shimmered above his head, which gave the Hollowbane another wave of fear through its heart.
[Skin Walker]
"So that's how you dash. Interesting." Ash said as he raised his transformed hand under the dark gauntlet influence and turned it into a claw. A gesture of power calculation and admiration.
Ash already had a plan in mind to take the Hollowbane down. the plan is a bit cunning.
Well, a lot.
The important question here is, how did Ash activate the Skin Fracture? It wasn't complete yet! How did he manage to pull an incomplete trump card like this?
The answer lies within... the Dark Gauntlets.
The Dark Gauntlets too were incomplete, yet he could summon them anytime he wants. If one item could pull that move, then the other would be the same.
Even Ash wasn't so sure it would work, but when he felt something strange within his body, once he willed to summon it, and the appearance of the white smoke did he realize it was really the same as the Gauntlets
"Hehehehehe. Yoo, Hollowbane. Let's carve this fight in history. The Fallen Mangle VS Level 16 Hollowbane. Don't you agree?!" Ash declared. The Hollowbane forgot his stance and stood tall and stared at Ash with pure emptiness.
Ash did the same and forgot his smile. The two foes stood in front of each other, both of them evoked such a deadly aura. Completely still, both of them didn't even flinch.
The fight where finally Ash could solo a Hollowbane came to existence. The air felt heavy, the grass didn't dare to move along the wind, and the pressure tried to withstand their presence.
The Hollowbane opened his mouth and breathed out the white smoke, Ash did the same in union.
The smoke filled the area once more. The forest is about to witness such a legendary fight.
The sun light was starting to fade slowly, not because of the night had come, but because a storm was coming.
With the first droplet of rain hitting the ground, the two foes disappeared into a blur.