"Alright! I finally get to fight someone good!"
"Yes, yes. Calm down, Ronan."
Two unfamiliar voices rang out close by. Soon, a blonde woman appeared. Walking towards Ares and Alex in a white dress, she was tall and slender. With her was a boy around 10 years of age. He had spiky black hair and a handsome face that was befitting a noble. He wore leather armor and his sword hung around his waist.
Ares waved and greeted them, "Hey Freya! How's it going? This is Ronan, I presume."
Freya smiled, "I'm doing well, thank you. Yes, this is him."
Ronan, bored with the pleasantries, interjected, "Who're you, old man? Am I fighting you? You better not take it easy on me. I fight to win."
Ares bent over with laughter, "Me? Hahahahaa! No, no. You're fighting him. Also, I'm Ares, God of War. Nice to meet you, you cheeky brat."
As he laughed, Ares jerked his thumb back to point at Alex who was standing behind him.
Ronan was incredulous, "I'm fighting this brat!?!"
"Yup," said Ares with a smirk. "Alex, say hello to Ronan."
"Hello. I'm Alex." Alex stretched his arm out for a handshake but Ronan smacked his arm away.
Still in disbelief, Ronan shouted, "I don't want to fight him! That's too easy! I'll only hurt him. What a joke!"
With a smirk, Ares replied,"Ah but I really do think you'd have a good fight with my son."
Freya frowned at her son's temper tantrum, "Ronan, please just humor them."
Seeing his mother was getting upset, Ronan relented, "Fine! I'm ending it in 1 move."
Ares clapped his hands, "Great! Now we just have to wait for a healer. He should've gotten here before you guys."
As soon as Ares said this, silver-haired Valk came sprinting into the yard.
Seeing him, Ares said, ""Ah speak of the devil. Let's go!"
Ares, Alex, and Ronan walked to the center of the arena. Freya conjured up two chairs and she and Valk sat in the shade of the house. Ares handed Ronan a wooden sword and told Alex to take off his gloves.
As the referee, Ares explained, "Alright, you guys. This is just a friendly match so don't try to kill each other, got that? Broken bones and the like are ok. Valk can heal you right back up. I'll call the match when one of you is unconscious or when I think there's a clear winner."
Alex bowed to Ronan and said, "Thank you for the match."
Ronan brandished his sword and replied, "Yeah, yeah whatever. This is gonna be over too quick to be called a match."
Ares smirked, "Ready? Begin!"
As soon as the match began, Ronan dashed forward as fast as he could and brought his sword up above his head. He planned to end it all with one powerful downward slash. But to Alex, he might as well have been moving in slow motion.
Ronan had closed the distance between them in almost no time. By normal standards, he was exceptional. Before this, he had already gone around to all of the dojos around Aeom and beaten grown men in duels and tests of strength. His swordsmanship was fast and sharp and he was capable of slicing mammoth sized boulders cleanly in two.
However, Alex had undergone Spartan training from the God of War himself, even if it was just for an hour. That, coupled with Alex's unbelievable status caused Ronan's movements to appear amazingly slow.
This was Alex's first fight across two lives and he was severely underwhelmed by his opponent. He still didn't understand that given his situation, he outclassed Ronan by an incredible amount.
Seeing the sword come down almost in slow motion, Alex didn't panic. With his guard up against his face, he used his left hand to easily parry the sword. Using the momentum of his left side, Alex spun on his right foot. Shifting his body weight perfectly, Alex rocketed a right hook into Ronan's jaw.
Ronan's eyes had gone wide when he saw a five year old boy push his sword away with ease. He hadn't even expected the counter punch. Like that, Ronan lost consciousness.
He woke up and saw Valk kneeling above him muttering incantations. A yellow glow was coming from his hands.
He turned his head and saw Alex bowing.
Mid-bow, Alex spoke, "Thank you for the match. I'm sorry for breaking your jaw."
Meanwhile, Ares and Freya were doing their best to hold in their laughter.
Ronan was distraught, "No. No. No. No. There's no way I lost to you. We're going again."
Alex nodded, "I see. Dad, can we go again?"
Ares scratched his head, "Umm ask Valk, I promised him he could teach you magic after the spar. He was really looking forward to it."
Alex turned to Valk and asked, "Teacher, may I please fight him again?"
Valk looked pleased for some reason and gave his consent.
A fire raged in Ronan's eyes, "You got lucky last time. That was a fluke. I'm fighting seriously this time."
Alex merely bowed, saying, "Yes, thank you for the match."
Ares led them to the arena and started them off. "Begin!"
Ronan did not replicate his mad dash from the previous fight. He took a solid stance and eyed Alex warily. Alex made no attempt of his own to attack. He just stood watching Ronan from behind his guard, balancing on the balls of his feet. After a while, Ronan realized Alex would not take the initiative to attack. Slowly, Ronan moved towards his opponent.
Ronan did his best to try to provoke Alex into attacking him while he prepped his counter-strike. "Hey, attack me already."
Alex laughed at the "genius" in front of him, "No, I'm ok."
Inching ever forward, Ronan planned on using the range advantage granted by a sword. When he got close enough to reach Alex, Ronan attacked. He feinted with an overhead swing and actually swung from the side.
It was a good effort, but Ronan was not nearly fast enough to hit Alex. Alex smoothly dodged backwards. Then, dashing forward, the distance between them was closed in the blink of an eye. Jumping, Alex rapidly rotated his body in midair. Lifting his leg while he spun, Alex landed a kick squarely on Ronan's temple. Once again, Ronan lost consciousness after one attack.
He woke up to a familiar scene. Valk was kneeling over him. Alex was bowing and apologizing. His mom and Ares were laughing. For the first time in his life, Ronan had learned the bitter taste of defeat.
However, rather than sulking, he loudly declared, "Mom! I want that Ares guy to teach me how to fight like that brat."
Freya raised her eyebrows, "Oh? What makes you think he'd teach a rude boy like you?"
"I…I..I'm sorry!" Red in the face, Ronan bowed once to Ares and once to Alex.
Alex thought Ronan was a funny guy, "Dad, can you teach him? I think I'd like a regular sparring partner."
Smirking, Ares said, "Ronan be here tomorrow at sunrise, got it? Tardiness will not be tolerated."
Ronan responded, "Sir, yes Sir!"
Ares turned to Freya, "Thank you, Freya, for bringing him."
Freya laughed, "No, Ares, thank you. And thank you very much, Alex, for teaching this son of mine some humility."
Freya flashed a brilliant smile and Alex couldn't help but blush.
"Now it's time we took our leave, Ronan let's go!"
"Yes mom!"
As the duo left the yard, Valk spoke to Alex, "It's magic time."