“Miko vs Nen and Kristen vs KC…That’s an unexpected match up.”

Over the section where the top of the three clans sat, Rouge mumbled while looking at the monitors.

“It’s unexpected but will surely be an interesting one.”

Markus Saevus had a small smile on his face.

“It’s my grandsons you’re talking about, after all.”

Miko and Nen stood face to face. Demonic Vita surrounded Miko’s body. A thin purple light covered Nen’s body.

“Now this is quite something.”

Karim leaned over on a railing looking down on the field.

“Their Vita is compacted and calm. This shows that they both have great control.”

The two took fighting stances, eyeing each other.

“……..”

“…….”

They kicked off the ground and moved towards their opponent. Miko swung his leg like a whip. Nen blocked it with his forearm and took a step in. He aimed a jab at Miko’s face. Miko ducked under it and rose with an uppercut to Nen’s chin. Nen lightly jumped back while swinging his leg. Miko was kicked in the side of his head. Nen had landed the first clean blow.

“That was good.”

Christensen mumbled.

Miko’s body swayed to the side. Nen pounced at him the moment his feet touch the ground. He aimed a palm strike. Miko smirked and twisted his body out of the way. He slammed his knee in Nen’s midsection.

(He tensed his abdominals to reduce the damage.)

He moved his head to avoid Nen’s elbow. He stepped back. Nen followed his footwork and kept them close. He thrust his fingers at Miko’s neck. Miko parried his hands with his own. He countered with a body blow. Nen caught his fist and pulled it. He struck Miko’s throat with his elbow.

“Kek!”

Miko involuntarily lowered his head. Nen placed his left hand on the side of his head and his right foot at the side of his knees. With one quick motion, Miko was spun in the air. His body hit the ground in an instant. He rolled out of the way of a stomp. He got to his knees and bent his back. Nen’s foot passed over his face. He rolled back and got to his feet. Nen was less than a meter away. Miko took a deep breath and his body flickered. He cut the distance and slammed his palm in Nen’s midsection and twisted it.

*Bam!*

Nen was blasted away with an explosive sound. He twisted his body in the air and gently landed on the ground. He sunk his foot into the earth and flew towards Miko. He slid under Miko’s roundhouse kick and sprung his feet. The two spun around throwing kicks. Their legs clashed with a thundering noise. They stumbled back and sprung at their opponent again. Miko threw some quick jabs. Nen blocked them with his arms. He aimed a sweeping kick at Miko’s legs. Miko jumped over it and grabbed his head. He hit him with a knee strike to the face.

“Ugh?!”

His kneecap screamed out in pain.

(This guy…He countered my knee strike with a headbutt? Is he insane?)

The two fell on their backs and laid on the ground.

“How long have they been fighting?”

“Around 2 minutes.”

Alec answered Christensen.

“In that time, the two have clash multiple times and gave us a glimpse of their skills.”

Alec smiled at him.

“So what do you think? You taught the two of them the basics of martial arts and Vita, after all.”

“….The two of them had similar situations as children. They both couldn’t use magic like everyone else, so they turned to Vita…But there was one major difference between them. Miko had a talent for Vita, Nen didn’t. However, knowing that he could use it, unlike magic, he never let that bother him. The two trained themselves beyond their limits but this factor caused them to develop differently.”

“That’s because Miko’s limits were higher than Nen’s?”

Christensen nodded.

“Nen reached his limit pretty quickly. However, he continued to push himself. He destroyed his old limits and created new ones only to destroy those again.”

“Nen is sick in the head.”

Dario mumbled.

“The fact that he reached this stage with his meager talent is a testimony.”

Christensen nodded.

“Nen’s obsession with martial arts is unhealthy. This is why even though Krul is the stronger fighter, he can’t compare to Nen in martial arts.”

“Well, Krul is more of a brawler than a martial artist. Just like our mother.”

Slyvia added.

“If Nen had the raw power and physical prowess that Krul has, he would be able to destroy Krul.”

“That being said, Miko and Nen are the two top martial artists and Vita users in their generation.”

Christensen showed a rare smile.

“A fight between the two is bound to be entertaining.”

Meanwhile, Kristen was trying to deal with an onslaught of invisible attacks. He was chasing KC with burns and cuts all over his body. KC leaped back and fired. Kristen focused his senses and jumped to his right.

*Bam!*

His body was hit with an explosion.

“Ugh! Shit!”

He saw KC fired multiple more times.

(Focus! Focus!)

He dashed forward running in zigzag. He was blown away by another explosion.

“This kid is really trying hard.”

KC pulled his invisible bowstring.

“However, trying hard won’t defeat this bow.”

He released.

“Fuck!”

Kristen covered himself in a crimson aura and charged forward. An explosion hit him.

“Ohhh!”

He flew out of the smoke without slowing down.

“So he gave up on trying to evade and decided to force his way true?”

KC shook his head and fired.

(Here comes another one.)

Kristen crossed his arms in front of him.

“I gotta brace for impact—”

No explosion came. Instead of the sensation of being propelled with burns, his body was assaulted with the sensation of being pierced.

“……”

He halted in his steps. He slowly looked down and saw blood flowing out of his body and into the air before falling to the ground. It was as if the blood was flowing down a blade that was stabbed into him.

“Why did you assume I can only fire explosions? I thought you were smarter than that…I guess not.”

KC fired several more times. Kristen’s body swayed from side to side. Blood flowed from his body just like before.

“…….”

Kristen silently looked at his wounds.

“Heh.”

“Hm?”

KC saw a smile crawl onto Kristen’s face.

“Hahahaha!”

He burst out laughing to everyone’s surprise.

“I didn’t think that you fired more than just explosions? Of course, I did. You’re an archer after all. I just wanted you to do this.”

“….Why?”

“The same reason why my brother told me to fight you.”

He showed a savage grin.

“To sharpen my instincts.”

He started approaching KC with slow steps.

“What’s the fastest way to sharpen one’s instinct?”

The crimson aura had an explosive increase.

“It’s dancing on the borders of life and death!”

“…You know, sometimes I think Miko is a bad influence on his siblings.”

Momo sighed.

Kristen broke out in a sprint.

(This guy…He’s rushing towards his death!)

KC smiled.

“Interesting! Let’s see if you can do it or die in the process!”

He fired his bow releasing over a hundred attacks. They headed towards Kristen who could feel his chest tightened. The image of the reaper appeared before him. The reaper’s hand was inside his chest, firmly gripping his heart. It was as if the world came to a halt. Coldness invaded his very bones. His mind was blank, except for one word.

DEATH.

Suddenly, a scorching sensation was born in his stomach. It spread over his body, getting rid of all the coldness. The world resumed, and then…it accelerated.

“?!”

KC found himself jumping in the air. His body had moved before his brain could process what he was seeing. He looked down and saw a deep trench where he was before. He spun around and realized that it stretched for nearly a kilometer.

“That was incredible.”

Darwin mumbled.

“Their instincts took over to ensure their survival but in different ways. Kristen’s instincts took over and unleashed all of his strength into a single burst of speed; that allowed him to destroy all of KC’s attacks. Meanwhile. KC’s instincts took over and saved him. This is only possible because they came face to face with death so many times before.”

KC landed on the ground and turned to the end of the trench. There, Kristen stood surrounded by a crimson aura.

“I see. Looks like I can’t underestimate anyone in my generation.”

His bow became visible and was surrounded by silver light.

“Let’s try this again.”

At the same time, Miko and Nen were in the middle of their fight.

“Hahaha!”

Miko burst out laughing while measuring up his opponent.

“This is great. I can polish my martial arts and Vita fighting you.”

He slowly mellowed down.

“However, victory isn’t my only goal. If it was, I would’ve used my Five Dragon Martial Arts. But that uses magic, so I won’t.”

He spread his arms.

“Allow me to demonstrate just how far Vita can go.”

He grinned.

“I hope you reach enlightenment.”