“Do we need to be this far away from the city?” [Ryner]

“It is to prevent our duel from causing damage to the surrounding buildings.” [Argos]

When Ryner lazily asked while looking around, Argos replied gruffly with his arms crossed. The ancient monster and the head of the Catallard clan were standing five meters apart and facing each other in what would be a vast clearing in a forest. They had left Ofauvra and had gone inside the sea of woods not too far from the city.

“And why are they here?” [Ryner]

“To witness our fight.” [Argos]

“Riiight.” [Ryner]

On the side, there were spectators that followed them which were Argos’ family, Miya’s husband, Terryn, an old man who was the head of the branch family and Ryner’s former daughter, Evelyn. The huge man’s four children were staring at their exchanges tensely, completely unlike their mother who had a calm and collected expression.

The dog-eared, former Terdim and the white-haired old man were quietly standing by. Whether they looked nervous or not, everyone was carefully scrutinizing the human as if they wanted to drill holes through him.

“I thank you for accepting my challenge.” [Argos]

Argos gave his gratitude and bowed slightly to the sleepy-looking man.

That day, Ryner woke up next to Evelyn who was peacefully sleeping in her underwear. Relieved that he didn’t wake her up because of his nightmares, he silently left the room to wash himself in the bathroom and went to get breakfast. Right after he finished his omelet with sliced potatoes and a side of salad, a messenger from the Catallard clan showed up at the door. According to him, Argos Catallard requested a duel from him and Ryner, after thinking for a while, accepted.

“Don’t worry about it. I also wanted to fight you.” [Ryner]

“You did?” [Argos]

He asked as he raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. I think it’s the best way to get to know someone.” [Ryner]

Argos fell silent when he heard his reason. But, soon enough, he uncrossed his arms and spread his legs to shoulder-width and raised his hands.

“… Then, let’s begin.” [Argos]

With his short declaration, tension rose and the air around him changed. He was ready for combat. The old man present walked a few steps forward with his hands behind his back and gazed at each of the fighters. Wordlessly, he raised his right hand above his head. The sound of someone gulping among the spectators could be heard. The head of the branch family swung his hand down.

“BEGIN!” [Old man]

The loud voice that one wouldn’t expect from an elderly person resounded in the air and the first one to move was Argos. It was a simple, straight charge that didn’t hold any trick. His legs propelled him forward at a speed that was unthinkable for a man of his size. Seeing such a huge body barreling down like a truck would frighten anyone, but Ryner just stood there nonchalantly.

Argos readied his right fist and sent it flying at his face. It was a quick and powerful strike that aimed to finish the fight in one blow. However, instead of feeling the usual impact from hitting his opponent, Ryner lightly stepped to the side and grabbed his wrist. His movements were calm and simple, yet quick and precise. The next moment, Argos flipped in the air once while continuing on his path since his momentum wasn’t stopped.

Although shocked, he reacted instantly and turned his body around to land on his feet. Though slightly disoriented, he didn’t forget that he was in the midst of combat and charged at his foe to not give him time to breathe. The audience also watched agape as they saw a big, burly man get sent flying by someone of smaller build. Moreover, it looked like it was done with just one hand and very little effort. From their eyes, it was like Argos grandly tripped and shot himself in the air. Only one person was faintly smiling as if this was only to be expected and that was the blonde vampire that was raised by the monster himself.

The battle continued as Argos kept trying to get a good hit in, but the black-haired man evaded his attacks or threw him around. His punches were evaded, his kicks were parried, and when he lunged at him to pin him down, he was sent hurled away in a heartbeat. Although he kept changing his approach, the human was reading his every movement with his sleepy-looking eyes and dealt with them using the least effort.

When he tried to punch his face, he would step to the side to dodge with a paper-thin margin. When he swung his arm down on his head, he gently hit his wrist with the back of his hand and pushed it to the side to divert the blow. When he sent a roundhouse kick to his shoulder, Ryner, reading his intentions, spun around and crouched down, evading the blow and delivering a sweeping kick to the only leg supporting him which caused him to fall.

Opting to change strategies, Argos decided to exploit the man’s weakness and ran to his right side. However, he stopped in his tracks and frowned after continuously circling around him. The human’s right eye, though half-opened seemingly out of sleepiness, had him dead in its sight. He thought he was blinded on his right side because of its color, but he was wrong. The light dwelling in them wasn’t foggy. It was sharp and shined like a bird of prey.

Argos had fought many battles against strong warriors and had the scars to remember each one of them. But, he didn’t remember ever fighting someone like the human before him. It wasn’t like dealing with an impenetrable wall where he had to somehow bypass it. Rather, it felt like fighting against smoke, or the wind. Untouchable and elusive, he didn’t even feel like his fist could reach him.

“Oi, isn’t dad, er… Losing?” [Urik]

One of the twins and the youngest in the family, Urik, said aloud. He wasn’t particularly talking to anyone. The words that he didn’t want to believe just left his mouth.

“No, I’m sure he’s just testing him! Father’s the strongest among us! His fists can break bones and his kicks can dent steel armors, and that’s without magic. When that human tires out and slows down just a bit, it’ll be his win.” [Arka]

The one who answered him was the oldest of the siblings and the one who believed most in their father’s strength, Arka.

“Tire out? He’s barely moving.” [Urik]

“Yeah, and he’s throwing dad like he weights nothing. With just one hand.” [Carac]

The oldest of the twins chimed in.

“He’s not really throwing him. He’s using your father’s attack against him.” [Mother]

Their mother, who was a woman of few words, spoke up in her usual calm manner that was almost devoid of emotion. She was Supriya Catallard, the wife of Argos Catallard and a beastman with panther ears above her head. With dark blue hair cut above her shoulders and light brown eyes, she was a charming woman that possessed sharp features. Her face had slight wrinkles since she was in her late-forties, but the light dwelling in her eyes didn’t age a day. She observed the fight with a warrior’s countenance and closely scrutinized Ryner’s movements.

“Have you noticed yet?” [Mother]

“… Yeah.” [Arka]

Arka said between his clenched teeth as he reluctantly admitted. His little sister, Miya, nodded wordlessly to her mother’s question. So far, no magic had been used in this fight, which meant that the human and their father were pitting their skills as warriors against each other. With this much of a difference, it was clear for everyone to see. They were all trained in the art of combat and as such, they could tell that, in terms of skills, Ryner was stronger than Argos, the head of the Catallard clan, and stronger than them.

“Your father told me, that when he first met him, he was already wary of him. His instincts are the best there is when it comes to judging someone’s strength.” [Supriya]

Without taking her eyes off of the duel, Supriya told her children what she heard from Argos just as the human made her husband flipped in the air once again.

“Ignoring Carac and Urik for now, it is inexcusable for you two to look down on him. You aren’t young children anymore. If he became your enemy and you approached him while underestimating his strength, you would be dead already.” [Supriya]

As the audience continued to talk, the flow of the battle was changing. Argos took his distance and vigilantly watched his opponent.

“(How many battlefields did he tread on to get this strong?)” [Argos]

After all those exchanges, he had finally acknowledged that he couldn’t match him in hand-to-hand combat. Though it was frustrating, this man was on a whole other level compared to him. As such, if his abilities as a close-range combatant weren’t enough, he would rely on his skills as a magic user. Having made his decision, he activated body strengthening, attaining power beyond the limits of normal people.

Of course, to make sure that he wouldn’t kill him, he didn’t go all out and use large quantities of mana to fuel his spell. Once again, he kicked the ground and rapidly shrank the distance between them. Aiming for the shoulder instead of the face, he released his fist that could shatter all of the bones in his enemies’ body. The drastic change in his speed would catch anyone off guard, yet that man somehow reacted in time.

Ryner caught his arm with both hands and threw him over his shoulder. The increased speed made the beastman fly over a greater distance and his feet slid on the ground when he flipped around and landed.

“(As I thought, he can use magic, but… No.)” [Argos]

Standing in front of him without taking any stance, Ryner still had his bored and lazy expression. He was casually rubbing his hands together, bending his wrists and flexing his fingers to confirm their condition. Argos wasn’t sure if this human could use magic, but his intuition and the feedback from that counter told him that it wasn’t so. His opponent’s strength and speed didn’t increase at all.

“(He’s strong. Too strong.)” [Argos]

Once again, it was pure skill. Now that the element of surprise was no longer with him since Ryner would be on guard for any magic-fueled attack, Argos used mana pressure to try and intimidate him. Releasing his abundant mana in the air, the human’s instincts should sense it and make him feel like his insides were being squeezed and a weight settled on his shoulders. But, his opponent did not even blink his sleepy-looking eyes nor did he waver in the least.

“(I can’t win.)” [Argos]

With that as the final confirmation he needed, Argos accepted the truth. His body stiffened and his back was covered in sweat.

“(This won’t be a fight if I hold back.)” [Argos]

Willing the large mana pool inside him that he was gifted by his bloodline, he pumped it throughout his body and applied body strengthening, empowering himself to the limit.

“(I need to attack him, as if I want to kill him.)” [Argos]

Once again, he charged at Ryner. Not only did he kick up dirt and grass, his foot left an imprint on the ground and he became a blur. His movements were too fast for the naked eye to follow as he displayed the abilities of a magic user whose abilities reached the realm of S rank.

Even so, that man moved. He raised his left hand and blocked the right punch hurled at him head-on. A loud sound of impact as well as a strong gust of wind were born when they collided. During the split second when they stayed still, Argos’ eyes widened in surprise. His family was probably reacting the same way as him.

“(An S rank.)” [Argos]

Ryner had showed nothing but skills and experience since the start of their match. Now, he had just revealed that he could block a blow that had enough force to pulverize a person’s body into ground meat. It was the first time any of them saw the mysterious human fight and they now learned that he was on par with the head of the Catallard clan in terms of magic.

“Just now…” [Ryner]

“(Damn.)” [Argos]

Although he was feeling dread, Argos kept calm and tried to pull away from him. His instincts were telling him that he was in danger, but Ryner had a firm grip on his fist.

“You tried to kill me.” [Ryner]

Slowly, the black-haired man raised his right hand and tightly clenched it. Argos, feeling his hair standing on end, tried to knee him in his stomach. The human whose sleepy-looking eyes now contained killing intent pushed his raised left knee down with his palm to stop the blow. Then, clenching his fist again, he punched the large man in the chest and let go of his hand at the same time. At the last moment, the beastman blocked it with his left forearm and felt the illusion that his bone broke from the pain.

Argos’ body bent forward from the blow and the air was knocked out of him. His feet left the ground and he flew in a straight line like a bullet, traversing the clearing and colliding with a tree in the way. He easily crashed through the wooden trunk that was now falling down. The same thing happened a few times until he lost his momentum and bounced on the ground. His figure couldn’t be seen since he was hidden among the many trees that didn’t get destroyed by his projectile-like body.

““…”” [Audience]

The spectacular sight caused the audience to go silent with their eyes wide open, all except for one. Evelyn, expecting this outcome, faintly smiled with her arms crossed below her chest. “Of course this would happen” was what her expression was saying.

*Author* Sorry it's a bit late.

The details, interactions and buildups before a major event are taking a toll on me. Warning: this will probably be a long arc too.

By the way, the fight's not over yet.