Chapter 32
"Are you not going to be gallivanting into your own death?" Killmonger sneered, stepping forward. Ash smiled suddenly, activating his mana as his eyes lit up a brilliant white. He tilted his head and grinned at Killmonger, "Do you ever shut up?" Without another word, he crouched low, the stone floor beneath his feet fracturing. In the next instant, he vanished in a burst of speed, leaving only swirling dust in his place. Gasps rippled through the council as their eyes darted to the dome, where the beast was now crashing through a wall, flung by a single punch from Ash.
The cracked stone beneath Ash's feet hissed as he landed, the force of his descent splintering it further into jagged shards. Dust danced upward, stirred by the pressure wave of his fall, as the vibranium dome sealed behind him with a heavy thud, cutting out the outside wind. The creature, still crumpled against the far wall, dragged its bladed wings across the vibranium floor with a screech, talons scraping deep gashes into the metal. It shook its head, dazed, before rising—eyes glowing with rage. Ash stood in silence, his glowing mana eyes fixated on the beast before slowly dimming as he let the energy fade. "Hmm... let's try without mana first," he thought, his eyes returning to their natural shade.
The creature froze for a moment, studying Ash with bestial intelligence, nostrils flaring as its spiked tail twitched. Then, it let loose a roar, its voice deep and sharp, rattling the reinforced walls and causing faint ripples across the vibranium surface. Ash laughed, the sound oddly calm in the chaos. "Come on," he said, lowering into a loose stance, "let's fight." With an explosive bound, the beast lunged, wings flared wide like razors, and Ash surged forward to meet it. Their collision sounded like stone hitting steel. Ash ducked under a wide wing slash, the gust from the blade sending shards of the floor flying, before pivoting and slamming a straight punch into the creature's exposed side.
The blow sent a vibration through the monster's torso, making its flesh ripple. It retaliated instantly, spinning and swinging its spiked tail in a wide arc. Ash blocked it with his forearm, the mana shell around his skin flaring faintly white as sparks flew. Though it held, the sheer force sent Ash skidding backward, his heels carving two deep grooves into the floor. The monster gave him no room to breathe. It pounced again, wings swinging low—Ash twisted, rolled to the side, and sprang upward with a rising knee that struck the beast's jaw with a satisfying crack. The force launched the creature a few feet off the ground, but it caught itself mid-air with a flap, spinning and diving with a downward slam.
The impact cratered the floor where Ash had stood, Ash had flipped back just in time, landing against the wall feet-first before leaping forward, twisting mid-air and smashing a spinning heel into the creature's face. It reeled, but its massive claws grabbed Ash mid-air and slammed him into the ground hard enough to shake the dome. The mana shell flared, his body cracking the floor but remaining intact. With a growl, Ash drove his elbow into the creature's face while pinned, stunning it momentarily before rolling out from beneath its claw and springing to his feet.
From behind the safety of the observation glass, the Wakandan council watched in frozen silence. Shuri's fingers were curled into her sleeves, eyes wide, whispering, "That thing… it's fast, but he's faster." T'Challa's jaw was tight, his gaze sharp as he analyzed every movement. Okoye clenched her spear, knuckles white. "He's strong," she muttered, "no human could tank those blows." Killmonger laughed quietly, leaning forward. "Look at him... white boy's got moves, I'll give him that," he said, then narrowed his eyes. "But he's dangerous. You see the way he smiles when he gets hit? He a mad man"
Inside the dome, the creature jumped into the air, its strong muscles letting it soar toward the ceiling before dive-bombing. Ash sidestepped just as the beast's body crashed down, sending a shockwave that made the vibranium plates beneath glow bright purple and caused the ground to tremble violently. Ash slid under the creature's legs, grabbed its tail just before the spike shot out, and yanked hard, spinning the monster off-balance. But its left wing whipped out, slicing toward him—he ducked, barely avoiding the bladed edge that scraped a glowing line across the wall.
Ash answered with a brutal flurry of punches, his fists slamming into joints, ribs, and eyes with inhuman precision. Each strike made dull thuds that echoed off the dome, and blood spat from the creature's snout. Still, it fought back with ferocity, ramming him with its shoulder and throwing him halfway across the dome. He hit the wall back-first, the mana shield flashing like glass about to break. He landed hard, but rolled to his feet without hesitation. Killmonger smirked. "He enjoys this," he said, glancing at the elders who murmured in shock.
Ash cracked his neck, The creature came again, tail sweeping low. Ash jumped, landed on its back, and drove a fist into its spine, making it roar in agony. But the beast reared and flung him off violently. Ash crashed to the ground, leaving a shallow crater. Still, he stood—shell flickering but unbroken.
"Fascinating," one elder said in xhosa, barely audible. T'Challa's voice was low. "He's a weapon. A living one. But whose? Which god is he a champion of?" Ash grinned, eyes burning with excitement , lowering into another stance. The air inside the dome was thick with sweat, blood, and broken stone, all from the creature of course, because of his incredibly dense shell, ash was not harmed in the slightless, "its like i am invincible" he muttered to himself. The beast snarled again, as if hearing his mumbling, wings trembling. Ash stepped forward. The floor cracked beneath his bare heel. "Round two?" he asked, then launched forward again.
The second round began with thunder. Ash's sprint glowed the vibranium floor in a purple line behind him, a trail of glowing metal from the raw force in his legs. The beast charged at the same time, wings cutting the air with a shriek, its tail already spiked—ready to skewer. In a blur, they collided again. Ash ducked a bladed wing, planted his hand on the ground mid-slide, and kicked upward, his foot smashing into the beast's jaw. Its head snapped back as a tooth flew out, falling into the vibranium wall with a clang with before it dissolved into mana, just like all the blood it had spilled
The creature spun, rage mounting, and slammed both wings down in an X formation. Ash crossed his arms to block, his mana shell flaring like a shield, but the impact sent him rocketing into a wall. The wall glowed even brighter as more kinesthetic energy was absorbed, Ash slid down, coughing, but grinned anyway as again, no damage was delt. "Okay... that one hurt, maybe" he said, shaking his arms loose. The creature roared, wings flared wide, casting a monstrous shadow across the chamber. It lunged again, this time low, tail dragging before swinging in a wide arc.