Chapter 33
Ash backflipped once, twice—just enough to evade. The tail scraped the floor, gouging out a trench that sprayed molten sparks. Ash landed, then launched himself sideways as the creature shot its tail spikes mid-spin—dozens of glinting projectiles clanging against the dome, some burying into the walls like spears. Two embedded near Ash's ribs, grazing his shell, the sound like a bell ringing as he winced. Still upright, he bolted in low.
This time, Ash slid under the creature's legs, grabbed one ankle, and lifted with a roar. The beast, heavy as a truck, was yanked sideways and thrown. Its body smashed into the floor, bounced, then slammed against the dome with a crash that made the entire structure tremble. Vibranium plates groaned under the force, temporarily dimming the dome's lights from the power absorption.
Shuri took a sharp step back. "He threw it... That thing weighs—gods know how much." Okoye didn't respond, eyes locked on Ash. Her spear tip had lowered, not out of calm, but tension.Killmonger scoffed. T'Challa's brows were tight. "If he loses control, we'll have a second monster on our hands."
Inside, the creature shrieked. Its wings slashed out at Ash like twin blades. He deflected the first with a raised elbow, the mana shell throwing up sparks, and weaved around the second to hammer a punch into its midsection. But the creature reared suddenly and headbutted him square in the chest. The impact sent Ash flying backward again, crashing through a mound of broken debris that exploded outward.
Dust choked the chamber. Ash groaned, rising with one hand gripping his ribs. The shell shimmered around him, intact. "Alright," he muttered, brushing rubble off his shoulders, "my turn." He ran. Ash blitzed the distance, a blur of motion, and jumped. Mid-air, he twisted sideways, using the momentum to slam both knees into the creature's side. The monster howled, stumbling. Before it could react, Ash was behind it, grabbing the tail just as it swung. He planted his feet and ripped. the tail cracked unnaturally—sparks of flesh and bone splitting as it shrieked in pain. The sharp tip remained intact, but its range was off.
Ash tossed the tail aside and landed. The creature, now truly furious, entered rage mode. Its spikes fully protruded, wings spread wider, and veins glowed red across its body. Every step it took caused small tremors across the dome. Its next charge was feral—its limbs a blur. It leapt into the air, wings curling in before shooting downward like a bullet. Ash didn't dodge. He stepped into it.
Their collision shattered the floor entirely, creating a crater so deep it revealed the reinforced substructure below the dome. The dome lights flickered violently, and outside, alarms began to blink red. Shuri grabbed a control panel, yelling, "Power drain reaching critical levels!"
Inside the crater, Ash stood with his fist buried in the creature's gut, breathing heavy. Blood dripped from his knuckles, he sighed as he took several steps back and shook off the blood. "Why is there blood when it eventually turns into mana?" he groaned as he completely ignored the nearly dead beast, who swayed, wings twitching, then let out one final roar as it charged at him. It might die, but if it could ash even a little bit, then it was worth it. But Ash smiled at it, spit blood onto the ground, and said, "How cute" before he activated his mana.
His beach ball-sized core spun as his eyes glowed, but not the usual glow that signified his activation of mana. No, it was bright, like mana was being concentrated into them, which it was as he shot a laser beam from it, which was his mana of course.
The laser beam then curved the creature in half as the corpse of the monster turned into dense mana. Ash stopped channeling his mana into his eyes alone as he thought, "Fuck that hurts." It was like having paper get into his eyes; this happened because he still didn't have master control over his projections.
Before he sat to meditate, much to the shock of everyone outside who watched as Ash meditated in complete silence. "Is he?" Shuri began her sentence as T'Challa finished it,
"Meditating." They watched as Ash did this until he completely drained all of the mana in before he opened his eyes. "Ah, guess that there wasn't much of mana," he thought disappointedly. Ash spent all the mana accumulated in the dome to increase his core size, which didn't increase by a lot.
As the size of the core increases, so does its density, so with each centimeter increase, the mana required to increase the size further also increases. Meaning that it would be getting harder and harder to increase his size as more mana would be required.
"Well, I knew this was going to happen, but it's fine for now since I have more than enough strength, speed, and defenses to survive and thrive in this world." Finally, Ash was not someone the government could easily lock up in a lab or the heroes could arrest if they decided to do another civil war.
Which was a little event that happened while Ash was in Antarctica. Apparently, the Avengers split into two groups, one wanting to come under the government's supervision and one who opposed it. The government bodies were the Iron Man team, and the anti-government part of the Avengers was surprisingly led by Captain America.
It was fun to watch, but Ash ultimately didn't care for the Avengers or putting on a costume to save the world. All he wanted was to reach a higher stage; if he had to hunt monsters to do it, then so be it. Anyways, the point was, Ash was now strong enough to fend for himself, although he didn't want to be a criminal and kill the innocent, he was not going to put on a costume.
The dome hissed and groaned as its heavy metallic doors creaked open, the light inside flickering for a brief moment as it adjusted to the sudden change in pressure. Dust lifted with the movement, dancing lazily in the warm breeze that drifted in from outside.
Ash stepped through the now open doorway, his figure framed against the glowing interior, and instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes from the blinding sun that greeted him. A dry wind brushed past him, stirring the dirt near his feet and rustling the distant trees, but the silence that followed was louder than anything. Dozens of eyes were on him, wide and unblinking, until Shuri finally broke the stillness with a skeptical voice.
"If you had powers, why not use them from the very beginning?" she asked, her arms folded, a single brow raised as she squinted at him through the glare. Ash smiled, tilting his head slightly as he replied with casual confidence, "Practice makes perfect." His eyes then flicked over to her with mild curiosity. "Ah, who are you?" he asked, blinking slowly like he hadn't really cared before but now felt mildly interested.
Shuri stepped forward slightly, chin raised with regal confidence as she replied, "Shuri, Princess of Wakanda and Head of Technology." Ash's brows arched upward, impressed. "Impressive. A genius, I presume," he commented, voice light but respectful. From beside Shuri, T'Challa added in his calm, deep tone, "You presume correct, Ashborn." Ash sighed and corrected, "It's Ash." He then patted his stomach, which growled right on cue. "I am really hungry. Do you guys have a feast?" Shuri snickered quietly behind her hand.