'He might be good-looking but I can beat him up.' Although Marcus never sought attention, he still felt a bit envious. He is of course a teenager and a prince on top of that.
On the rectangular stage, the two finalists stood a few dozen meters away from each other and looked at each other's eyes. You could see from their eyes that they were hungry for battle.
There was still a minute before the match started so Greg initiated a conversation "You are a cocky one aren't you?"
"That's because I can back my cockiness. Didn't you know? A true genius should always be confident."
Greg shook his head.
*ting*
A sound could be heard that indicated the start of the fight.
Greg circulated his mana, his eyes turned similar to that of a reptile. His hands and then his arms transformed into the color brown. His skin hardened and turned into scales as he dashed towards Dios.
The people are still not used to seeing this as they couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.
Dios wasn't standing idly by, he already conjured an ice sword and two icicles were floating beside him. He stomped his foot and a 2-meter tall ice rail went towards Greg.
Greg didn't seem to mind this. He punched his way through without any care. As he got closer he heard a sound, an object zooming towards him. He jumped back right on time as a 4-meter long icicle pierced the ice rail.
Dios didn't give Greg time to compose himself and shot a few more icicles towards him.
Greg jumped and then rushed at him again. This time an icicle was able to graze a part of his scale that he usually used as a shield. His scales had little scars on them that was enough for blood to ooze out.
"I'll show these people that I am not afraid to fight you in close range!" Dios yelled as he charged forward with his conjured ice sword in hand.
Magic weapons weren't allowed in tournaments like these. Most official tournaments don't use magic items.
Dios swung his sword at the bald man in front of him. Greg intercepted it with a punch using his right hand. He then swiped at Dios using his left. The claws that appeared were where the nails used to be.
Dios dodged but Greg anticipated it. He chained his attack once more and kicked Dios.
Dios fell down but he hurriedly covered himself in a 1 meter radius ball of ice.
Greg threw a punch and tried to destroy it but spikes suddenly appeared on the surface of the ice. The spikes that appeared aren't only for defense though.
Dios fired the spikes as it launched in different directions. Dios removed the ice ball that was covering him and dashed towards Greg who got hit a few times but only 2 managed to pierce through his scales.
Greg made his whole body turn brown. Hard smooth scales were what the ice sword of Dios hit when he swung his sword.
Greg grabbed the sword and crushed it with his hands. His reptilian eyes were intently staring at Dios.
Marcus who was in his seat was pretty disappointed. They were pretty good for recognition/warrior ranked teens but they were pretty sloppy.
Though he thought of this, he didn't say it out loud.
Marcus got a little bored in watching their fight so he looked around.
His eyes went towards the VIP box to his left. The windows were slid down so he could clearly see the person inside.
Marcus could not forget the humiliation he faced. As a Royal and as an Asura, he would never let it slide.
He was taught to be patient. When you can't do things right now, that doesn't mean you can't do it later. Learn to lay low.
Stay silent and let success make the noise.
This was what one of his uncles taught him when he was training and kept crying because he couldn't accomplish something at that time. He was also taught that this applies to other things and not just training.
Revenge is one of those.
Marcus looked at the smiling person in that VIP box who had a woman on his lap.
'Target locked' Marcus didn't mind him anymore and placed his focus back on the stage.
-----------------
While Marcus was in the arena
Eva and Nexus were inside the 'Destrucstone'.
'Learning the Shining Holy Scriptures will not only give me the ability to master the Holy arts but also will also teach me light manipulation. With holy magic, I'd be able to unleash an aura that can expel demons and creatures of the dark. With light magic, I can make my body one with the light and can teleport at distances. There are a lot more but I really should focus on learning and mastering 'Holy Flames' so that I can start learning alchemy.' Eva said to herself as she was reading the 'Shining Holy Scriptures' tome.
Eva tried a lot of times to conjure one but it'll only spark for a bit and then die out.
Though Eva was tired, she didn't want to stop. She honestly thought that alchemy was a wonderful thing. Something deep inside her wants to learn it.
She practiced a few more times. She then heard Nexus's voice saying "Take a few hours of rest and consume these."
Nexus handed her a few pills and bottles of potions.
He continued "It would be best if you are in a bathroom before taking most of these. As for the others, those are things needed to advance faster without any side effects. Lastly one of those will help you awaken something in your body. Something that'll help you in learning "
"Why do I need to go to the bathroom?" Eva curiously asked.
Nexus smiled "Just trust me. You are not gonna want to stay in front of me when taking those."
Eva nodded and didn't say anything anymore. She went to her bathroom leaving Nexus in the Alchemy room alone.
'With those, she's gonna look even more beautiful'
-------------------------
*boom*
The fight reached its climax. People were no longer sitting on their chairs. They all stood up shouting the name of who they wanted to win while others were just shouting.
"Hahaha, what happened to the genius?" Greg laughed not caring that his body was hurting every time he did. The satisfaction was worth it.
A bloody brown-haired teen that now had streaks of red was standing in front of him. Frosts were covering his wounds. The robe he wore was already a mess. He looked like a homeless man who got chased by dogs.
Greg was of course also bloody. A lot of his scales had holes in them and a few had chunks ripped off. His left eye could not see anymore as it was oozing out blood.
"Don't talk like you're not looking like a pile of bloody shit," Dios said as he moved forward. He conjured a big ice ball in the air as he raised his arms.
Greg dashed out of the area where it was going to land. He tried his best. His leg weak, his arms are heavy, blood on his mouth, it looked messy.
Dios roared as he tried to move forward, betting on this last clash.
Greg also charged towards him. His left arm fully stretched out.
Dios conjured a sword before slashing forward, he also made spikes appear on the ground.
Greg tried his best to dodge the spike, he succeeded but was hit by the ice sword. A direct blow to his shoulder. Though his reptilian skin reduced the damage, it still doesn't mean it ain't painful. It just means his arm didn't get chopped off.
He fell sidewards as Dios stabbed his ice sword forward. But Greg kicked his leg which made him off balance, missing the stab.
Dios didn't fall down from the kick. But the same couldn't be said for Greg. He didn't get to stop from falling sideways.
Greg tried his best to stand up. He managed to get to a kneeling position. He suddenly felt something cold touch his forehead.
"Do you yield? Hahaha, seeing you like this is pretty satisfying. You, kneeling in front of me. This clearly depicts the truth of how inferior you are." Dios mocked.
'Idiot' Marcus thought.
Greg's reptilian eyes glowed. He grabbed the blade of the sword with his right hand and he thrust his left arm forward. He used the last ounce of strength he had to make this attack possible.
Dios dropped the sword and managed to create a shield in the nick of time while backing away.
Greg fell down face first on the floor as he missed.
Dios looked at him for a second then to the crowd. He raised his right hand and balled it into a fist.
He was tired and felt like falling. But he won't show it in front of the crowd. He put a smile on his face and roared.
Most of the crowd cheered. The fight they saw was amazing, to say the least.
Marcus already made his way out of the arena.
'If people my age, Geniuses my age here in this country are all like that...' He just sighed at the end.
Provoking someone who was at the end of the stick. If he did that in a life and death battle he would have been minced meat.
Marcus already learned not to underestimate his opponents.
'They are no genius' Marcus thought. As he got out of the dome, he looked for a secluded place and made sure no one was looking. A second later, he disappeared.