"Shall we?" Deitrick asked as he took a few steps forward.

"After you," Gustav said as he raised his right hand.

​​

"Hmm, alright," Deitrick replied before raising his finger and poking his neck, chest and belly region.

Gustav and practically everyone around was oblivious to the meaning behind his actions but in the next second red glowing lines started appearing all over his face and exposed skin.

Gustav suddenly felt the environment filled with pressure.

Fwwooossshhhh!

Wind started blowing all around Deitrick, causing his green hair to float upwards.

'He just activated gate one... I have told him not to go beyond gate three in this duel. He better listen,' Deitrick's uncle said internally as he stared at Deitrick.

'Hoo, he's pretty strong... Underestimating him would not be a sensible thing to do,' Gustav said internally as he activated Sprint.

Swwoooooosshh!

It was as if both of them were in sync as they dashed forward at the same time.

Deitrick straightened his left palm in a chop format as he swung it towards Gustav's neck.

Swweeii!

Gustav spun and dodged the swing while swinging out his own leg in response.

Bam!

Leg and arm collided, causing Deitrick to spin from the colliding force, but then, as he did a three hundred-degree turn, he stabbed his right hand towards Gustav's chest.

Gustav responded by slapping the arm away and pushing his right hand forward.

[Palm Strike has been activated]

The air was pierced through fiercely as Gustav's palm travelled towards Deitrick's chest.

Deitrick reacted quickly by raising up his left arm to block his chest.

Bam!

Gustav's palm collided with his arm causing him to be sent sliding backwards by several ten feet.

Sshhhsss!

'He's not as fast as I am, but he reacts quite well to every one of my attacks,' Gustav noticed this and stared at Deitrick, who was up ahead with a suspicious look.

'Damn, he is strong,' Deitrick said internally as he slowly lowered his trembling left arm down.

'My bone almost got fractured from that hit,' He stared at Gustav in front with an astonished gaze.

As they paused for these brief moments, Deitrick raised his right finger and poked his left arm, right and left rib cage area, as well as his abdomen.

Fwwooossshhhh!

The wind surrounding him quickly became more intense as he stared at Gustav.

'Gate two,' Deitrick's uncle said internally after noticing Deitrick perform that action.

Deitrick raised his finger once more and pointed it at Gustav.

"Air pressure... force one!" The instant he voiced that out, the air surrounding Gustav suddenly got sucked into a small circle in front of him...

Gustav felt the environment void of oxygen and dashed forward as he held his breath, but just as he took a step forward...

Booom!

The sucked-in air suddenly exploded outwards with intensity.

Krrryyyhhhhhh! Fwooooommmmmmsshhhh!

Gustav had already moved several steps forward, but he still got caught up in the wind pressure explosion, which turned the vicinity of a hundred feet into a small crater.

Bang!

The wind knocked Gustav forward, sending him flying towards Deitrick, who responded by swinging out his right arm.

Gustav raised his arms upwards for protection since he wasn't able to counter the attack fast enough.

Bang!

It was like metal hitting metal as Deitrick's hand in a chop-like format collided with Gustav's arms sending him flying backwards.

Gustav did a flip in the air and landed several hundred feet away.

'He has gotten stronger,' Gustav was able to notice this the instant both of their bodies made contact.

The back of Gustav's shirt had been torn apart due to the pressure of the wind earlier, but he was glad he already pulled his jacket off earlier and gave it to E.E to hold for him.

'How is he still uninjured? That wind explosion is capable of knocking down a twelve inches thick brick wall... My strike earlier also barely had any effect,' Deitrick noticed this.

He and Gustav dashed forward again and traded blows.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

With every hit, Gustav was able to confirm that Deitrick did get stronger after performing the actions he did earlier.

Gustav was only a tiny bit more powerful in levels of strength right now.

Deitrick used several air attacks as they battled, but Gustav was able to dodge every one of them this time since he wasn't taken unawares like before again.

'Impeccable speed, wonderful reflexes, top-notch fighting skills and unmatched strength all without even activating his bloodline,' Deitrick noted as they battled.

He was slowly getting beat back and receiving minor injuries as the battle went on, but he wasn't ready to quit yet.

-"Amazing, he's going against Gustav for this long,"

-"Yeah, I didn't even know that he would last this long,"

-"Gustav still hasn't made use of his bloodline ability, though,"

-"Yeah, wasn't it transformation..?"

The guests said amongst themselves as they watched.

Gustav bent backwards as he dodged an air Cannon firing from Deitrick and placed his hands on the ground.

He made use of his palms to lift his entire body up and push his legs forward.

Bang!

His foot slammed into Deitrick's jaw, sending him flying backwards as blood flew out of his mouth.

The ground beneath Gustav cracked open due to the hit.

Gustav had managed to successfully land hits on Deitrick earlier, but this happened to be the most powerful one.

Gustav landed back on his feet and dashed forward again.

[Combination activated]

[Sprint + Dash]

Swwoooooosshh!

Everyone was amazed by the immense acceleration as Gustav arrived in front of Deitrick's soaring body with an outstretched palm.

Deitrick's body was currently upside down as it flew across the air with his back facing Gustav.

[Palm Strike Activated]

Bam!

Gustav's palm slammed into Deitrick's back, causing a loud bone-cracking sound to ring out as a bust of wind blasted across the place.

Swweeii!

Deitrick's body catapulted forward like a rocket launch as he slammed into the barrier on the other end while coughing out blood.

Gasp!

The entire crowd was wowed after witnessing this. It was expected, but they thought Deitrick would at least make Gustav activate his bloodline, but this didn't seem to be the case.

Deitrick slid down the barrier, which was over a thousand feet from Gustav's current position and landed on his knees.

Gustav stared at him with a suspicious look, "Stay down," he voiced out.

Deitrick opened his eyes, which were blurry due to the intense hit, and stared at the ground.

He smiled as he wiped the blood from his mouth and nostrils before raising his head up to stare at Gustav.

"I'm not done yet," He muttered as he stood to his feet and raised his right finger.

He started poking different parts of his body again.

[Combination has been activated]

[Sprint + Dash]

Swwwoooosshhhhh!

"Not this time Sheldon," Gustav closed in the distance between them in almost an instant as he threw out his arched back right hand.

Bang!

His fist slammed into Deitrick's stomach, causing him to slam into the barrier again before passing out.

Krrhhkkkk!

Cracks appeared on the barrier as Deitrick's body slid down.

"This time, you are staying down," Gustav said as he turned around.

"Deitrick!"

Deitrick's uncle and other relatives that were present shouted with looks of concern as they stared at Deitrick, who had passed out on the stage.