Solo Cultivation in The Apocalypse

His eyes left behind the fire and the men struggling to fight it. As far as he could see, he saw no sign of Tengoku. The two parts of the shield came back and joined to cover them.

All the warnings Kyo and Akira had given him came to his mind fresh as new. Hitori clenched the sofa's foam in his hands. "I can not… fine him," he muttered.

"You can not?!" Akira exclaimed. "No, you need to! Look harder."

But Hitori was convinced. He shook his head. "I… can not… he is gone," he declared.

Akira groaned and grabbed his head. "Shit, shit, damn it! How can you?"

Kyoryu stood still for a moment, then rubbed his forehead. "Why did you have to do it? Why did you have to go alone and—"

The next just faded for him. He clenched the foam with both of his hands. He lowered his head and clenched his teeth, and he remained staring at the brown sofa.

Reon was watching from the dining hall, but when Kyo continued to blame Hitori, she had to step in. Hitori had lost Tengoku, only she could imagine his anger because she was shared it with him.

When she approached the hall, Hitori raised his head and moved past the sofa. Akira stared at him as he stopped in front of the dining table that was flipped to the side.

He saw the shining shield that was ready to open and offer them a chance to clean the remaining men. "Get cover, for now, we will see what we can do."

Hitori put a hand on the table, still staring at his ruined front yard. The shining shield was a sign it was opening in a few seconds.

"Hitori, get behind the sofa," Kyo said.

The empty front yard seemed to invite him, but he rejected the idea and turned around. Not many people were left from the initial hundred men. The front-liners were mostly incapable of fighting since Tengoku just left them to die.

"We will find him, just take cover for now," Reon said as she grabbed his arm and pulled him beside her.

Hitori scoffed. "Yeah, sure." But he did not mean to say it out loud. She removed her hand from him slowly.

The shield opened, but no one fired. The fire had created a nice opening for the men who were not hurt by the fire. And they were reading with their guns for the moment anyone jumps out of their cover.

"Will we find him?" Hitori bit his lips. "That bastard got away…" he mumbled. "The old man says we will find him. Sure."

Hitori got to his feet, still bending though. No one is going to find him. They can not find him, only I can. So I have to do this. If I let him go this time, I will be ruined.

He still believed for some reason Tengoku had not teleported to the science prefecture or whatever motel he was currently staying in as an 'I came here to meet my long-lost friend' guest.

They can not. He will not. He will scold me though, and give me a good one in place of Dad. Hitori was rising, and Reon was watching. "Hitori?" she muttered. No one saw him, they were still focused on the men outside.

Tengoku, you can not get away this time, man. What do you think this is? What do you think I am? He put a hand over the sofa and lifted himself off the floor.

Reon's eyes widened and she let out a cry of terror that caught everyone's attention. Kyo's eyes widened and Akira's filled with fear. "Hitori!" he shouted as he got up.

Kyoryu grabbed his arm and pulled him down.

You can not just come to my house, reduce it to pieces, and then run away when I try to defend it. Just because I do not know where you live, does not mean you should take advantage. You are a loser, you are not a man.

Hitori did not even hear the five to seven men cock their rifles as the fire ate one or two of their mates (can we even call them mates?), but he saw it when he mounted the sofa.

He glanced down at Kyo to see if he was planning to use Levitation or Bind, or some secret spell Hitori does not know about, to bring him down.

But Kyo was not. He was staring at Hitori as if planning for his next move. So Hitori ignored him.

He stood on his feet, his thighs clasped tight with his calves, and his butt almost touching the sofa's seat. Although he was light-weighted, the sofa was titled to the back a little.

Hitori grabbed the sofa and maintained his balance, staring at the men ahead, but thinking of Tengoku: You are not a real man. You run away every time. You never stand your ground, why? Because it is not your ground? Well, is that not what I did with Onogi? Forget it. Rules do not make you a man, man.

"Reon," he said, "watch out for the sofa."

Hitori pressed himself against the sofa and when it rocked forward, Hitori rose a little (enough to push the sofa back), then applied his leg strength to kick the sofa back.

With a jerk, he launched himself off the sofa, it rolled over and Reon rolled out. With a bang, it landed on the floor; and with a click, the men started firing.

Hitori drew his wand and covered his body as he pulled his knees to his chest. He had applied enough force to roll over the dining table and rise on the other side. Then dash through the crowd.

Halfway through his jump, the shield shone and started retracting at an abnormal speed– so fast that Hitori knew it was deliberate.

But by the time it closes, Hitori will already be past it. The bullets came through the still-closing gap and struck Hitori's shield.

Reon jumped back and rolled to Hitori's room. The two sides were still an inch away when Hitori crossed them. A grin spread on his face, a grin of victory.

But before he could land, he felt a tight tug from behind. And the next moment, he made an arc in the air as Kyo pulled him.

The shield smashed close and Hitori banged on the floor– he thought he just heard a crack from his hips.