" I've come to challenge you to a fight, Shu Hellgard!! "
The woman yelled, causing Shu's eyes to squint as a gigantic almost devilish grin of excitement grew on his face
" Hey, Shu you can't fight her! "
Arthur yelled, in an attempt to stop the conflict that would soon form
" Aww, why not? "
Shu questioned, tilting his head like a child would when their mother denied them of something
" She's bad news, back when she was in the academy, she was considered the strongest, I admit that you're stronger than me, but she's way stronger than us, so let's team up and— "
" Shut up "
The woman ordered flicking her wrist a bit as a gigantic wave of red sanctuary energy pushed Arthur away
" Do you accept my challenge Shu Hellgard!? "
The woman yelled as Shu turned to look at her, scratching the back of his face with an innocent-looking expression
" Of course "
He replied, smirking as he lowered his arms, while the red-haired simply laughed
" Trade-off! "
She examined, as a gigantic transparent red barrier surrounded both Shu and her, pushing everyone else out
" Hey what's the big deal? "
Shu questioned as he looked up, placing his hand on his forehead, examining the barrier with a small smile and an expression of curiosity
" It's my ability, it allows me to create a game as long as whatever challenge I offer is accepted. And what's more is that I can set the rules of the game, of course, after the game starts, I can't change the rules—but, when everything goes your way, is there really a need to? "
She whispered that last part, smirking with superiority as her golden armor shined with the light the barrier reflected, making Shu tilt his head and confusion
" Look, I don't really care about what your ability is, just give me a good fight "
Shu replied, looking down at his feet whilst scratching the back of his head
" And when I mean a good fight, I mean a good fight. You fuckers interrupted my daily workout, so this better be good "
He added, slowly raising his head up, glaring at the woman with menacing glowing blue eyes
" Oh, so scary~ "
She replied, shivering a little as her body was soon surrounded by a huge red aura
" But, that won't be enough for you to win "
She added, grinning, almost as if she was completely sure of her victory
" Sure whatever "
Shu whispered, leaning forward a bit with his hands inside of his pockets, before focusing sanctuary energy around his legs, proceeding to shoot himself toward her, or at least, that was what he expected to happen, but the moment he jumped he landed face down against the ground
" Feels weird doesn't it? "
The woman questioned as she slowly walked up to him, the sound of metal echoing across the barrier as she took her steps
" What are you talking about? "
Shu questioned, as he sat up with a bit of difficulty, looking up at her with a calm expression, but all of a sudden, she kicked him right in the face, sending him flying a few meters away
" What you mean what am I talking about? If my sister considers you to be so strong, then you should at least know what has happened to you "
She said, beginning to walk toward him, smirking as she did so
" You took away my sanctuary energy "
Shu replied, slowly standing up from the ground, blinking a few times, as well as opening and closing his hands, almost as if he was trying to get used to this new state he was in
" Bingo! "
She yelled, before appearing above him, placing her foot on his head, pushing her weight against it, shoving his head inside of the ground, stomping on it a few times with a small smile on his face
" Sister, you can't be serious, this is the man you thought could defeat me!? "
The woman yelled, turning to look at Alice who seemed somewhat concerned about Shu, whose face was still inside of the ground
" You really disappoint me, sister, you think so little of me? You thought I'd lose to this idiot!? "
She screamed, proceeding to kick Shu's side, making his head slip out of the ground while sending him flying across the air, crashing against the barrier which limited their space
" Hey Shu, if you say you admit defeat the game will end, so say it! "
Arthur yelled, pressing his hands against the barrier as Shu simply laid against it, and sat on the ground with a small smile, as blood covered his face
" Na "
" You don't understand who you're facing right now! No one can fight without sanctuary energy, not even you!! "
Arthur continued, as Shu simply tilted his head, slowly standing up from the ground, jumping up and down as soon as he did
" He's right Shu, I've heard of her, She's no joke! She can even defeat an elite if they're caught off guard! "
Ean added, leaning against the barrier, trying to reason with his friend, but Shu did not listen, instead, he shoved his pinky finger inside of his ear
" You guys are stupid "
Shu replied with a look of boredom, making everyone blink in surprise, they expected another response, something like he'd never give up or he'd fight till the end
" She isn't strong at all, you guys are just scared of her ability, all of you can beat her if you think about it, but of course, you guys won't believe me, so let me prove it by beating her ass with no sanctuary energy "
Shu added as he began to jump up and down a bit quicker, swaying his arms a bit as a devilish smirk grew on his face. All of a sudden he disappeared in a blur of speed
" Huh? Where'd he- "
The woman was interrupted, by a kick to the face which sent her flying across the field, making her crash against her own barrier, as Shu who was the cause of it landed on the ground, with his upper body down and his arms swinging from his shoulders
" It's been a while since I've used this stance, I've been focusing so much on sanctuary energy that I forgot all about techniques for a second "
He said as a devilish grin grew on his face. The woman could not believe her eyes, this man was capable of such a feat without any use of his Sanctuary energy
" No human should be this abnormally strong! Every human's muscles are powered by sanctuary energy, that's why we're able to rip off trees from the ground if we put our minds to it, but without it, you shouldn't be able to even break a stick! "
The woman yelled, starting to rampage, as blood slid down from her lips and nose, a gigantic bruise could be seen on her cheek as she stared at Shu with anger
" Don't know what you're talking about "
Shu replied, appearing above her, proceeding to slam his knee against her face, breaking her nose and slamming the back of her head against the barrier behind her, making her fall over as he landed on the ground, watching her stumble and lose her balance while trying to regain it
" Humans are not supposed to be this strong... "
She whispered, but as soon as she did she was met with a barrage of punches to her gut, although the armor blocked the hits, the impact still affected her muscles, making them ache while leaving bruises on her skin
" Oh I see, I shouldn't hold back then... "
She whispered to herself as she quickly regained her composure, standing tall and prideful, before appearing above Shu, with a gigantic red aura surrounding her entire body.
She would then place her right hand on Shu's face, gripping it tightly before picking him up, proceeding to hurl him toward the air, disappearing and appearing above him, punching him back down to the ground, creating a crater and a huge storm of dirt
" Oh shit, she's starting to use more of her Sanctuary Energy "
Arthur thought to himself, while trying to look through the cloud of dirt, but instead of seeing he began to hear.
There was a laugh, a low but very audible laugh, it was creepy, sinister yet somewhat childish.
The dirt dispersed, and there was Shu, standing in the middle, his entire body was now completely red, his veins pulping across his entire being.
He seemed to have bulked up, and his skin was red
" What the hell is up with his body? "
Ean questioned in disbelief, somewhat afraid of Shu's new form
" I can control every single part of my body, including my bloodstream if I focus hard enough, and by accelerating it I gain a boost of adrenaline, which in turn makes my muscles bigger and stronger, grandpa told me that if it was a normal person they'd be dead if they tried it so he forbid me from using this technique, but since I heal quickly, I thought I'd give it a try "
Shu explained as he looked down at his now red palm, opening and closing it with a smile on his face
" Heal? That shouldn't be possible without Sanctuary Energy—unless.... "
Arthur whispered, pausing mid-sentence as the thought of it sounded ridiculous even in his head
" Unless he's part of a clan or Royal family. I'm able to adapt to any temperature without the use of Sanctuary energy, and so can father. So if Shu's able to heal quicker than a normal person, it must mean he has a passive ability which is powered by his biological system instead of his energical system, like how insects heal, but that's not possible, he's a commoner after all, right? "
Arthur thought to himself as he watched Shu's new form in awe
" Even in this condition, he finds a way to fight. Shu's crazy scary "
Ean said, sweating nervously while chuckling
" So you were holding back, huh? No matter, a person with no sanctuary energy is useless anyway "
The woman said as her aura slowly began to envelop the entirety of the barrier