NOVEL NEXT Episode LXXXIX: Ice Breaker
The Kori family progressed towards Chancellor Tom’s office. "You neglected to mention the skill level of those fighters," Yoji stated. He turned and pointed at Sensei Yuriko, "Your spell did not affect them." Sensei Yuriko chuckled and replied, “The spell dissipated when the platform was destroyed.” Yoji grumbled and shifted his gaze away from Chancellor Tom and Yuriko. “What's our next strategy?” Kazuhiro inquired.
“Isolate the four of them so we can eliminate them without their allies' assistance, and ensure that ghost Mitsuko is dealt with. If you fail to do so, we lose; it's as simple as that,” Chancellor Tom said while surveying the entire island through his window. All members of the Kori family bowed to Chancellor Tom before departing, leaving only Takuji behind.
���What do you need?” Chancellor Tom asked Takuji.
“Are we certain we can defeat them?” Takuji questioned.
“Yes, you are the most formidable fighters on this island; your combined strength is remarkable,” reassured Chancellor Tom.
"Anything else?" he added.
“No,” responded Takuji as he bowed once more before exiting.
“Let the hell games begin," murmured Chancellor Tom.
“I don’t understand why I’m always ending up in the medical wing,” Kiyoshi commented.
“We’re all here in the medical wing,” Jax retorted while cradling his arm cast.
“I’m fine, brother," assured Yosuke, clutching his injured leg.
“The next time I encounter that group, they're finished!" Juro declared as a white aura enveloped him. A nurse glanced over at Juro and chided him, “No powering up in the medical room.”
“My apologies," Juro muttered sheepishly.
“Who are they?" FJ asked curiously about their adversaries.
“They've been a nightmare to Jax and my family for generations," Tokido explained.
“They're that strong?” FJ asked, his eyes widening in surprise.
“Unfortunately, yes. But they should be easy to deal with; my power is unmatched compared to theirs," Tokido boasted confidently. "Once we've all recovered, we'll resume training. Plus, I have an idea of who's orchestrating all this,” he added.
“That would be Sensei Yuriko and Chancellor Tom,” Lionel interjected.
“Correct… wait, how did you know?" Tokido asked in surprise.
“It was a simple deduction because when we first arrived on the island, I sensed something amiss during the orientation. Sensei Yuriko's behavior was peculiar during class sessions; she seemed to target my team more than any other sensei," Lionel explained.
"Do you know which group she favored the most?" Tokido probed further.
“I believe it was a team called X-Fangs,” Lionel replied.
“The new group of fighters that arrived on the island? Figures. They're rumored to be Hybrid gene fighters," Tokido mused aloud.
“Wait… how do you know that?” FJ questioned suspiciously.
“I snuck into the Chancellor’s office and read a file on Sensei Yuriko; she is a Hybrid gene fighter, so naturally she would favor them," Tokido revealed.
“So what's next for us?” Kiyoshi queried anxiously.
“We need to recover before undertaking any more battles,” Lionel advised solemnly.
“Can't we just use those healing cookies?” Kiyoshi suggested hopefully.
“He’s right,” FJ agreed enthusiastically.
"Where can we find a large supply?" Lionel wondered aloud.
“I know someone who can help with that," said Tokido as he exited the room and dashed down the hallway towards the stairs before disappearing from the medical building entirely. His swift departure was so rapid that it stirred a commotion among the other fighters who heard the noise but couldn’t see him.
“Huh, what was that?” A fighter questioned.
“What are you talking about?” Another fighter responded dismissively.
“Didn't you hear that bush rustling?” The first fighter insisted.
“It seems like your last fight gave you a concussion,” his companion retorted sarcastically, prompting the frustrated fighter to instigate a sparring match with him.
Meanwhile, Tokido sprinted across the island until he spotted an abandoned dojo dorm room. He knocked on the wooden door thrice in a peculiar pattern. A person inside smiled upon hearing this familiar signal.
“It appears we have a return visitor, old friend,” they remarked.
“Yes, I need your assistance," Tokido admitted reluctantly.
“And I need your help too—by asking you not to return here anymore.” The person responded with thinly veiled irritation. Ignoring this rebuke, Tokido forcefully kicked down the door.
“You dare disrespect me!” The man seated in the middle of the room roared indignantly.
“And what are you going to do about it, friend?" Tokido taunted defiantly.
“You asked for it, ASSHOLE!” The man bellowed as he lunged at Tokido who effortlessly blocked every punch thrown his way before flipping him onto his face with a swift judo move.
“I see you sent one of your worthless goons my way; that's not going to cut it," Tokido sighed dismissively as two more fighters appeared behind him only to be swiftly dealt with by his quick reflexes and powerful kicks.
"Can you please stop sending out your subpar fighters? I'm only here for some healing cookies," Tokido requested impatiently as he advanced towards the man who laughed before discarding his cloak to reveal a Tan gi with a black belt and a Minotaur-Dragon tail logo on the back.
“It seems you're ready to play now!” Tokido declared as he studied the man: bald, muscular but not overly buff, always donning black sunglasses that concealed his true identity. An individual attempted to grab his glasses, but he quickly knocked them away before they could. When the person regained consciousness, they found themselves in an unfamiliar location.
"If you desire these cookies, you know what must be done to obtain them," the old man declared. "Fine by me, Noririo," Tokido responded, bowing respectfully. Noririo returned the gesture and both men assumed their fighting stances before charging at each other. Punches and kicks were exchanged in a flurry of movement as they ducked and dodged each other's attacks.
Noririo finally placed his hands on Tokido’s chest, sending him flying back into another room and bouncing out of the dojo. "This guy has gotten stronger since our last encounter," observed Tokido to Strix. "Indeed, I do see an increase in his power since then," agreed Strix.
Noririo dashed up to Tokido, smacking him squarely in the face. As a result, Tokido's face was buried in the ground before Noririo picked him up by the face and threw him into a tree. His body crashed through it.
Tokido retaliated with a lightning attack towards Noririo which sent him flying back into his dojo. "Clever, Tokido!" Noririo yelled out. A smirk crossed Tokido's face as he landed on his feet and charged towards Noririo again.
However, a hard sand punch struck Tokido who managed to catch it but broke guard in doing so. The hardwood floor cracked beneath them like an earthquake had torn through it while Tokido rolled back against a small table. "He hits hard," said Tokido as he spat out blood. "Yeah, he broke your guard too," added Strix.
Noririo began laughing heartily at this point saying, “I don’t think you're strong enough in your human form to beat me.”
"Oh Yeah?" retorted Tokido as his fists lit up with white electric static energy.
"I've struck a nerve,” noted Noririo with amusement.
Tokido threw two punches but Noririo blocked both and landed a hard sand kick to Tokido’s gut. The impact was too strong for Tokido to withstand, sending a ripple effect shockwave through his body that sent him flying back into a tree. But the tree stopped him from going back too far.
“Time to finish this!” declared Noririo as he charged towards Tokido. Just in time, Tokido rolled out of the way clutching his injured gut. “Are you done yet?” Noririo asked. “Never,” replied Tokido calmly, before transforming into Strix the Ghost Lightning Hippogriff.
“Finally, the real action begins!” exclaimed Noririo as he transformed into a Dragon Eyes Minotaur with a Dragon tail. Even in spirit form, Tokido still clutched his injured gut. “Time to make you realize that you are still weak compared to me,” taunted Noririo.
“Ultra-Move: Rock Sand Horns rush!” shouted Noririo as his fist turned into a hard sand-like substance. But just as he reached Tokido, Noririo ran out of breath due to the attack's high stamina demand.
"Looks like the old man ran out of steam; when he powers up into his spirit form, let me put you back in your nursing home," said Tokido as his hands began to charge up energy.
"Oh no!" gasped Noririo as he struggled to catch his breath.
"Ultimate Move: Perfect Ghost Lightning Cannon!" yelled Tokido as white static light began powering up in his palms before releasing it at Noririo's head. "Goodnight!" said Tokido confidently but found that Noririo was managing to block his ultimate move.
Tokido jumped up in the air and tried a Ghost lightning punch but out of nowhere an ice sickle flew towards him and pinned him down on the ground. Then, two red, green, and blue ice sickles flew into Tokido's body. The red ones are embedded in his right hand and arm, the green ones in his left hand and arm, and the blue ones in both legs. A black ice chain then linked all the sickles together.
Four distinct laughs echoed around as they approached Tokido's unconscious body. They glanced at Noririo's battered state before Yoji commented with a smirk, “What a surprise, a Mitsuko fighting for some reason and almost winning.”
Turning to Noririo he added mockingly, “Oops, I am sorry if I ruined your fight date.” All of them laughed at this.
“You have no honor!” yelled Noririo as he struggled to stand up.
“No Honor you say? This man has no honor. His pathetic family has no honor,” retorted Yoji with villainous laughter.
Noririo began stepping closer to them but was stopped by Kazuhiro who warned him not to get too close. "Let Tokido go," demanded Noririo but Takuji responded saying that wasn't how it worked; they had claimed Tokido for their amusement.
"I suggest you leave or end up like him," threatened Yasushi ominously but Noririo declared defiantly that he wasn't scared of them.
With the last bit of his spirit energy remaining, he transformed back into his Spirit Guardian form while the others transformed into their respective Kirin spirit guardians except for Yoji. Bowing towards them respectfully before charging past them knocking Yoji and Kazuhiro one way while Takuji and Yasushi went another way.
“Don’t let Mitsuko and that old man escape!" ordered one of them as Noririo ripped Tokido off from where he was pinned against a wall. He handed him a bag full of healing cookies instructing him simply to "RUN!"
Initially, Tokido trips and attempts to escape from all of them. "Tokido, concentrate and dash," Strix instructs. Koji looks at him curiously. "What did you give him?" he asks. "A gift!" Noririo responds cheerfully. Takuji charges towards Noririo and lands a punch on his face, sending him crashing into Kazuhiro. However, Noririo transforms into hard sand; his elbows dig into Kazuhiro who is sent flying back several yards.
Yasushi charges at Noririo with a blue ice crush punch, but Noririo deftly dodges it and sweeps Yasushi off his feet with a swift leg sweep. His hand morphs into hard sand which he uses to land a solid punch on Yasushi's gut. The impact sends Yasushi hurling backward, smashing through fifteen trees before colliding with Tokido.
Tokido leaps over Yasushi in an agile twirl, landing a ghost lightning punch that sends Yasushi crashing into the ground. Wounded from the attack, Tokido collapses again. As he struggles to get up, he mutters, "That was for driving an ice sickle into my hand."
Takuji and Kazuhiro charge at Noririo with their ultimate moves ready; Kazuhiro goes low while Takuji aims high. They manage to bring down Noririo but fail to knock him out completely. In retaliation, Noririo wraps his leg around Kazuhiro's neck and squeezes tightly as he gathers energy for his special move.
"Special Move: Version One!" He announces as his arm bulks up significantly but does not quite reach the size of his Ultimate Move before striking Takuji squarely in the chest. The force sends Takuji flying upwards before crashing down heavily onto the ground.
Suddenly, Yoji hurls a large black ice sickle at Noririo, puncturing his back and causing blood to spill. Noririo releases Kazuhiro who, clutching his neck, proceeds to attack the now-vulnerable Noririo.
"You better win this war, Mitsuko," Noririo gasps as his eyes lose their pupils. Yoji stretches casually. "He was tougher than expected," he comments. "You may run away like a coward again, but I will come for your family," he threatens with a laugh.