“Good. At least you’re not a coward.” Jul’Taras immediately replied and stood up silently.

“NO! I disagree! I forbid the both of you from fighting each other!” Jessica Sands cried out.

“Where?” Monkey King said as he stood up slowly as well.

“NOWHERE! You both are NOT fighting!” Jessica Sands sprang to her feet as well and glared at Jul’Taras and then at Monkey King.

“Jess, you can make it easier for the both of us by creating a Void Confinement, or you can make it difficult for us when we fight and bring down the entire Gaming Commission Estate.” Jul’Taras said without moving her eyes from Monkey King.

“Ughhh.” Jessica grouched lightly. She had known Jul’Taras since they were kids, and she knew for certain that when she’s in such a mood, she would do everything she said she would.

She was absolutely as stubborn as adamantium.

“Fine! But before that, I want you both to agree on a few points. NO BUTS!” Jessica roared and forced her will upon them.

“Fine.”

“Agreed.”

“Number two, FIVE MINUTES! No more than that!”historical

“I only need one minute, but five is good.” Jul’Taras smiled warmly at Jessica.

“Hmph. Five minutes to put such a snobbish Elf into place is definitely not enough. Not even five thousand years would be enough. But fine. Five minutes it is.” Monkey King snorted at Jul’Taras’ words.

“Last point. AFTER the fight, both of you are BEST FRIENDS.” Jessica Sands said, taking a leaf from Elliot’s treatment of Brock and Winter.

Monkey King understood the reference and laughed out loud.

“Rejected.” Jul’Taras said smoothly. “All I can promise is that I won’t hunt him down and kill him.”

“Friends. You’ll both be friends after the fight!” Jessica insisted.

“AW COME ON! It’s not like I’m asking you both to get married!” Jessica shouted in frustration when she was met with silence.

“Fine, fine. Acquaintances. That’s my final offer.” Jul’Taras sighed. She was quite afraid of the topic of marriage, and would quickly try and change the subject whenever it was broached. Although young by elven standards, she was still a few hundred years old, and her parents had not stopped nagging at her about it.

Monkey King merely shrugged.

“Okay, that’s much better. Come then, follow me!” Jessica Sands marched out of the room with both powerful beings who claimed to be able to fight way above their levels in tow.

Very soon, all three of them were standing above the Gaming Commission Estate Main Building.

However, their surroundings were glowing slightly yellow and everything beyond a 1 kilometer radius looked rather distorted.

“A two kilometer diameter Void Confinement.” Jul’Taras shook her head with a sigh. “Jess, you never cease to amaze!”

“Hee hee. This is nothing. I can make even bigger ones. But that will take too much of my energy so’| This should be good enough for a friendly match!” Jessica giggled innocently, completely unaware of the enormity of what she just said.

Jul’Taras shook her head and held back from asking just how big of a Void Confinement was Jessica’s limit.

She turned to look at Monkey King who was standing atop one of the spires of the Gaming Commission Main Building calmly.

Ever the gentleman (gentlemonkey?), Monkey King was waiting for the girls to finish talking and for Jul’Taras to be ready.

With but a thought, Jul’Taras began to float up into the sky and drew level with Monkey King.

She raised one graceful hand horizontally to her right and an exquisite white sword appeared on her hands.

“Are you ready, Monkey?” She called out with a gentle voice that was strikingly chilling in light of what was about to happen.

Monkey King merely straightened his body and grunted lightly as an ancient set of armor shimmered into existence around him.

“Here I come then.” Jul’Taras said lightly before disappearing from sight.

Monkey King’s eyes widened slightly before he too disappeared from sight!

“Wha’| What the heck is going on?” Jessica Sands sputtered as she watched both of them disappear.

Clang!

Monkey King and Jul’Taras appeared for a brief instant as Jul’Taras’ beautiful white sword clashed powerfully against an ornate maroon staff with golden spherical ends.

“FIVE MINUTES! YOU TWO BETTER STOP FIGHTING IN FIVE MINUTES!” Jessica Sands shouted from way below them.

CLASH!

CLASH!!

Their figures shimmered and collided against each other with blinding speed and ever increasing power.

In a fight, if one side was vastly more powerful than the other, it would end within seconds.

If both parties were more or less equal, it would drag on for quite some time.

However, if both parties were exactly the same, barring any desperate need to find a clear victor, the fight would end as soon as both realized that continuing on would be a complete waste of time and energy.

And for beings as powerful as Monkey King and Jul’Taras, it took them exactly thirty seconds.

B O O O O M M ! ! !

They collided one last time with mind blowing power and then separated.

Both floated in the air like deities and looked at each other with newfound respect.

“You’ve mastered Astral Steps to such a profound degree at such a young age. You’re extremely talented.” Jul’Taras was the first to voice out her praise.

“Likewise. You’ve fused your Sword Arts into your own Astral Steps very ingeniously. You’re a rare generational talent.” Monkey King was no less effusive in his praise.

“They say if you want to know a person’s true character, get into a fight with him. I’ve found nothing but integrity in your moves and your aura. I rest my case about the contracts.” Jul’Taras smiled at Monkey King and drifted slowly down to Jessica Sands.

Monkey King smiled back and approached Jessica Sands as well.

“Thank you for your kind words. Void Walker, we’re done here. Are you happy that we ended our fight so quickly?” Monkey King chuckled.

“Boo! I didn’t want to see a bloodbath, but I also didn’t want to see such a boring fight! Go back up there and continue fighting!” Jessica Sands pouted and pointed to the sky!