1374 Monster in Beast Skin

A stunned sort of silence gripped the young geniuses, their eyes suddenly all focusing on the Amethyst Token vibrating in the ceiling. They had never thought that such a thing would happen, let alone in this sort of situation.

[Author's Note: Big booboo on my part. I keep saying Armand is part of the Tarius family but he's actually part of the Taur family. This is an important distinction you guys will learn about in the future. Sorry for the continuity error]

Armand's eyes narrowed, his bare torso rippling with strength. Leonel was only just over two meters tall, but he stood at two and half meters, making the difference between them more than just a single head. With the two enormous axes by his side, one to each palm, he looked to be a giant.

WHOOSH!

In that moment, a figure suddenly flickered and vanished, their speed so blindingly fast that it was almost impossible to track with the naked eye. Their body seemed to lengthen into a thin string, their body breaking the laws of physics and reaching warp speeds. Even if one tried to blink during their movement, completing the action wouldn't have been possible.

The knife appeared before Leonel's neck almost the instant after the figure moved.

The blade shot through the air, its speed whipping by Leonel.

When it finally came to a halt the figure that had wielded it had already passed Leonel, also coming to a stop. The sight of a young man drenched in black and red came into view. His body was lanky to an extreme but filled with a lean sort of explosive power. They weren't too tall, but they weren't too short either. Everything about them seemed to scream power.

However..

"You're slow."

Leonel's words drifted into his ears. The young man's gaze shifted from empty space to his blade, only to realize that there wasn't the slightest hint of blood on it. When he looked back toward Leonel, he found that the latter had moved just half a foot to the right at a completely unknown time to him, just enough to dodge the blade by what would have been nothing more than a hair's breadth.

At that moment, a strong stomp shook the earth and caused the connecting rivers and waterfalls of green to ripple outward.

Armand took another heavy stomp forward, causing a second quake to ripple outward. By the time he primed himself for a third, he was already in a charge, his tall, lumbering figure building up a deathly sort of momentum.

"I advise you stay out of my way, Rowan Cancer. This bug to squash is mine and mine alone."historical

Rowan stood in silence. He didn't seem to react to anything, whether it was shame for having launched a sneak attack, nor his miss. It was as though none of it had to do with him. But, he continued to stare at the blade without a single word.

"To insult the Taur family, will be the last thing you ever do."

Leonel didn't respond. It seemed that this man took pointing a spear toward him as an insult. But, that was fine by him. Today, he had a few points to prove.

On the outskirts of the battlefield, within a group, a young man chuckled.

"All this fighting when there are two beauty amongst beauties here. I really don't know which one to choose. Choices, choices."

The gaze of the young flickered back and forth between Aina and Simona, truly unable to decide which one to linger upon more. He had a feeling that this sort of matter would be dragged on for a very long time. And, judging by the situation, everyone was waiting for an opportunity to snag the biggest prize.

Once Amery was tired out and had gracefully defeated all of the Rapax for them, there would be a chance to snag the highest prize amidst all the chaos. As far as he was concerned, fighting now would be nothing more than a stroke of the ego. It would waste his time, his stamina, and ruin whatever timing he had. Chasing beauties, however.. That was a very different matter.

He, Jon Virg, could always make time to chase women. His mouth would never run out stamina, whether it was for talking or other things—.

BANG!

Jon looked back from getting his fill, only for his pupils to constrict.

A very familiar figure slid along the ground, their heavy body grinding to a halt at his feet.

Armand's hands trembled, flames licking at his arms that threatened to burn them to ash.

Jon looked up from Armand to lock gazes with Leonel. Even without the latter saying a word, the warning seemed to be clear: 'watch where you're looking'. Even while in the midst of battle, it seemed Leonel was well aware of his surroundings. Maybe far too aware.

Armand slowly stood from the ground, his pupils constricting as he looked at the state of his forearms. For now, these injuries were only superficial and at most skin deep, something that wasn't a problem for a warrior on his level. However, there was something about these flames that instilled a deep fear within him. If it wasn't for his own Force eventually countering it, he felt that he could have already been burnt to ash.

".. Scarlet Star Force.."

The words Armand spoke seemed to cause the atmosphere to freeze once more. Even Amery, who had yet to turn back to face even a single one of them, had a slight pause in his movements. The weight of such a Force was not small by any stretch of the imagination.

In one moment, Leonel had gone from someone they were all certain had relied on his connections and nepotism to gain an Amethyst Token, to a monster in beast skin.

The fiery light danced along Leonel's skin, making him look like a Roman God bathed in Ambrosia. A steam wafted from his spear, the temperature around him skyrocketing.

"Is that it?" He asked lightly. "If this is all my generation has to offer, don't you think it would just be better if you all follow me instead?"

Leonel grinned.