[< Where did master gooo? >]

[< Lizardman uncle also vanished! >]

[< Lady Celestine...! Did something happen to Axion?! >]

[[ Well... no. He's enjoying whatever he is doing. Just that you all can't see them anymore. But yes, you can see that- ]]

-Boooooom!

A loud voice created by strong clashes between a beautiful green and pink light.

[[ See. Both of them are just there. But we can't see them anymore because they are just too fast for our eyes. Master once said this happens when strong weapon users like master or very strong magicians enjoy a fight too much~. It also means they would finish their match soon~! ]]

She explained the worried small creatures and her words fascinated them~!

It was just amazing how someone can vanish from one's eyes just because they move so fast that their eyes can't follow their movements.

Even the lights from the moment ago become so quick that their eyes can't register their movements.

It was... fascinating!

Their big blue eyes widened in surprise as they watched the only thing they could see... the colorful explosions created by their clashes.

It was actually pretty~!

And the butterflies on their colorful heads were happy to see their cute reactions.

Celes, she could feel her master through their bond, and right now, she knew he was having as great fun as he had when fighting with his big sister.

She was happy because he was happy... and she absolutely did not want him to suddenly start worrying about her sister Elle, who was having a strange encounter with a weird skeleton.

A weird skeleton who can... talk?

***

He was a warrior, a champion of his tribe, and a being who had reigned as the best for decades. It wasn't even a question that he wouldn't have gained a deep knowledge of his own body and mind.

[ZONE]

It was a realm few lucky ones could experience in their lives.

But luck wasn't the only factor needed for one to experience this unique realm.

A life-threatening situation, great passion, skills, talent, and a strong opponent were also needed for one to go into this realm.

The lizardman, not many times, but certainly had experienced what it felt like to be in the state of [ZONE].

He knew what this special kind of rush felt like... as well as how it was a realm he could only stay in for a short time.

He had great physical strength, far greater than a strong human. But he didn't have a great enough mind to maintain this state.

He could only maintain it for a short time. Maybe as long as the boy, his opponent 'normally' could. Which... was a great achievement in itself.

The boy was special, but the lizardman could maintain this special state as long as him, which naturally wasn't a good thing for him.

-Clank! Clank! Clank!

It was a very small sound, but Asta was definitely damaging his scales.

His hard scales were reinforced by his skill. It wasn't something even his enchanted arrows could scratch.

But Asta was doing it right now... though very slowly.

-Boooooooom!

They were practically floating above the water as they moved so fast that not even the water was disturbed by their movements anymore.

White sparks were flashing in his ruby eyes, green sparks dominated his green reptilian eyes.

The lizardman warrior was certainly strong. Especially...

-Whip-ptttt!

His long, strong tail regularly tried to hinder his footing and endured magic spells shot at him from the unknown location in every part of the cave.

His opponent was a being who could use magic, a mystic art that only a few special creatures of nature could use. And his magic, especially, was something that fascinated him the most.

He had never seen a creature who could use magic without chanting and specifically concentrating, or from locations far away from their main body.

It was as if the magic was being cast from different parts of the cave and it was getting difficult for him to properly do any damage to the opponent.

They both had started this battle a while ago, but it was still in the ending stages.

This was something both of them were experiencing after a long time.

'A strong opponent...'

The boy was having fun even at this moment. Even after knowing that he was in a disadvantageous position. Even after not dealing any significant blows to the opponent.

He was truly smiling.

It was a deep smile that stayed the same as he avoided his special sword, tail, or punches. It stayed the same in the situation where he hurt him, or a spell finally hit him. It even stayed the same when his special spells were canceled by his sword.

It was fun for them, especially the boy. Why wouldn't it be fun when you know you will win even after the unfavorable elements?

'It's fun...'

-Clank!

-Booooooooooom!

-Clank! Clank-boooooom!

-Whip-ptttttt! Clank!

'But...'

He masterfully turned his body and changed his falling path mid-air as the previous spot he might have landed on the water was eaten by an enormous jaw. The same jaw that had previously saved the tail of the lizardman.

It was a fun play from his point of view.

Maybe he won't be able to have as much fun with the evil spirit as he had with this lizardman.

He would have loved to continue just sparring like this.

It was just too much fun to stop just with this much.

The warrior was a being that could learn things quickly. Someone who can adapt to any form of the fight as time passes. It was an ability that couldn't be found even if he went out in the public with a divine lantern. And his strength and experience were something fascinating, too.

His senses were already on par with the knight captain of their house. Someone who had devoted his all to the way of knights.

His Aura... well, he couldn't even stop admiring its beauty. Its strength was a different matter altogether.

Not only was it a rare type, but his Aura was also as strong as someone specially trained in the usage of Aura. It was advanced, but at the same time, its dual nature made its utility far greater than his own current Aura.

He could strengthen his body with the thin wind form at the same time, he could use the denser water like Aura to strengthen his weapon. If combined, he could enhance the sharpness of the blade with water and wind characteristics.

His Aura mainly focused on defense and destruction, while his opponent's Aura could defend, enhance the weapon, as well as destroy the opponent with greater force.

'Not to mention he could shoot the Aura like some attack spell...'

He wanted him more than ever now~!

He wanted him, and defeating him was the only way for that to happen.

But if he defeats him, their beautiful clash, the gorgeous explosions that the children can't take their eyes away from, would just stop...

He truly just wanted to continue this duel. The lizardman warrior had the same desire. But...

'Maybe... we can continue this fight after we get out of here?'

-Clank!

He had another strong opponent he had to kill. Yes... well, they actually had no thought of sparing that creature. He was here to support her at first, but now that he had met these amazing creatures who that fucking bastard had harmed, he had to give eternal rest to that bastard.

And for that, he needed to be in the best condition possible.

Even after considering that his stamina would recover by the time he gets there and the potions would recover his physical state, the mental stamina wasn't something that could be revoked with a simple potion.

Even with the 'red potion', his exhausted mind couldn't fully be healed.

And [ZONE] accelerated the draining of this mental stamina and concentration. So, even if he could go on for a long time, he had to end this fight.

It was sad. Really sad when considering the lizardman had just got a grasp of his archery and fencing.

'This bastard had even vaguely figured out the principle of coordinated magic activation.'

The first reveal of this chapter happened through n(0)vel(b)(j)(n).

It was a high-level casting technique and consumed more resources than normal magic spells.

Taking into account that he was saving his Solnova for the evil spirit, only using it to strengthen Asta and his body, the Mana he had consumed during this whole fight... was close to his entire Mana pool.

The only reason he could use spells even now was that he had chosen to use the enchanted arrows instead of spell arrows.

His sword was a threat throughout his fight, but there were also limitations on his sword's ability to cancel spells.

Spells did hit him every so often. And that was enough.

He was physically superior to him. But still... he was now considerably weaker than at the start of the fight.

He hadn't held back one bit, giving his all even after knowing he would lose in the end.

He was a true warrior... so he deserved an awesome end, along with his respect.

[< "Thanks warrior..." >]

He said... and pushed the lizardman back with greater strength than he had sown throughout their fight.

He backed off and stopped.

Yes... he actually stopped attacking. And as his opponent suddenly stopped, the opponent, the lizardman warrior, also had no choice but to stop.

He was pushed back with greater strength than himself, something that should have been impossible... but it was true. And it confused him.

Both of them stopped. The children and Celes on the other side, cheered with excited, admiring shouts, as they saw the two people with their special Aura surrounding their weapons.

The lizardman uncle with his dark green body and light green water-wind currents. Their master brother Axion, with his gorgeous appearance and special pink flames.

This was just too amazing and their shouts and a cute, excited voice echoed throughout the cave.

But it didn't reach either of them. They were in the [ZONE], a personal world with only the two of them after all.

For them, only the other one existed. Nothing other than the opponent. Not even the world they were actually in.

And in this state where white and green sparks were filling their eyes, this sudden stop.. seemed like an eternal stop.

As if time had stopped... maybe even worse than that.

The two of them stood there, facing each other, their guards still up against each other, and their smiles still stuck on their faces.

He looked excited. His opponent looked ferocious with that beastly smile. But still, after a moment, which was far more than a moment for the two of them, his heart was conveyed to him.

His eyes were bitter at the thought of stopping the 'spar' that was turned into some of the most fun things in their lives.

He could, and wanted to go on for a bit longer. Maybe forever, if possible. But... this was neither the right place nor the right time.

They had been performing a sacred ritual.

One would be the winner, while the other would lose and fulfill the agreed promise.

The fun was one thing, but this thing that they didn't want to end... had to end.

[< Thank you. >]

There was no regret in his eyes. He had accepted he lose halfway through their fight, anyway.

But the smile that still didn't fade away from his face was enough for him to know that this warrior won't be giving up till the end!

And he liked that better...

The lizardman strengthened his grip on his sword. His green Aura covering his body and weapon thickened.

-Oooooooooooooong!

The pink flames, his gorgeous Aura, also intensified.

But unlike the lizardman, he didn't just stop there.

-Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuung!

A ball of light started materializing before him.

-Swish. Swish. Swish.

Ten magic circles, every one of them with different colors and structures, appeared all around the cave.

-Oooooooooooomg!

And at last... he summoned a golden bow, his third favorite bow, Bion. The golden bow of life.

Their eyes were already sharp enough to cut a tree. So...

-Swish! Swish! Swish!

Ten different kinds of magic shot at him from different directions, but the lizardman, without having even a shred of fear, vanished from his position.

The blade of his sword collided with six of the spells, while he successfully avoided the rest of them.

The spells that collided with the sword were cut in half and also vanished!

-Shpiiiiiiiiiiii...!

The ball that manifested into a bigger ball of light in an instant shot a beam of light towards exact the location the lizardman was standing on after canceling the spells!

He commanded the opponent's ability to thoroughly understand his opponent. Enough to predict their next move and set the attacks.

[< But still...! >]

He roared in a loud voice that almost shook the whole cave, which was already detested by their previous clash!

The beam of light almost reached him but, just before it came before him, the special sword lizardman's hand flashed with a blue light!

He brandished his sword in a lightning-fast manner and a blue slash of light, totally different from his Aura, shot from the blade and collided with the white ray of light!

-Boooooooooom!

There was a collision that evaporated a great amount of remaining water, shook the cave, cracked the walls, almost took away all the light from the bio-luminescent organisms, and created the biggest crater in this area!

The area with the povpoi, the area protracted with a 'strong' Solnova barrier, was the only remaining thing in this previously glowing area.

The blue flames from before were still flickering, but they weren't exhausted even after the great fight that took place in this place... at least most of them.

Some of the flames had vanished after the rocks they were on were destroyed because of their fight, but many of the flames were alive and strong.

Maybe they were the only reason there was any light in this place.

Not that this light mattered after the whole cave was filled with the fog of evaporated water from the previous collision.

It blocked the sense of sight completely. Not that the warrior or the opponent needed it.

The lizardman champion had five other senses he could rely on.

[< There...! >]

And it was enough for him to tell the location of the opponent!

-Swish!

-Pachak!!

-Thud...

But alas... it was too late.

The opponent had changed his location during the explosion using the [Shadow dive]. And by the time he detected the opponent, he was ready with Asta ready on his golden bow.

He released the bowstring just on time when lizardman worrior detacted him and Asta, which was covered in not just the absorbed pink Aura but also a special golden energy.

[< "Well done warrior..." >]

Asta was as fast as light after being shot by the golden bow and the strength it contained after being fired... was so absurd that it not just penetrated the strong defense of the lizardman... it actually pierced his boy, came out from the other side, and struck a wall of the cave... and created a giant creator on the wall.

But the lizardman warrior, who had given him a great fight, had already fallen to the ground... with a hole in his 'strong' body of course.