"You chose Blaze, and I choose Hunter. Whoever loses will give half of all the mana shards they obtain for a whole month to the winner. Deal?" Steve said, greed overwhelming his features.
"Hehehe... Sure why not? You've got yourself a deal!" Vincent agreed without hesitation.
The two shook hands on it and continued watching the fight between Blaze and Hunter.
"By the way, why do you think Blaze will win?" Steve asked curiously.
"Hm? What are you talking about?" Vincent said, a perplexed expression appearing on his face.
"Well, you surely must think he will win, right? If you don't think so, there is no way you would make such a deal with me, right?" Steve asked, his expression turning a bit confused...
"Hehehe... I don't think he'll lose." Vincent said, his perplexed expression disappearing, instantly replaced with his signature shit-eating grin.
"Oh? Care to explain?" Steve said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"A wise man once said, A closed mouth doesn't smell,"
Vincent said, his eyes seemingly focused on the fighting before him.
"I see... Hahaha!"
"What about you? What makes you so confident?" Vincent asked.
"Well, I don't see how a ' No Trigger ' will be beaten by a redhead," Steve said with a mysterious smile.
'Oh? It seems there is more to this guy than meets the eye. I should be cautious around him.'
"No trigger? What's that?" Vincent said, a look of confusion plastered on his face.
"Haha... Don't mind me. Just spouting nonsense."
With that, the conversation concluded, but the tension between the two ended up being so thick, a knife could cut through it.
***
Cain watched from a dark corner of the room as Blaze and Hunter went at each other. It was apparent, that neither of them we're using lethal force. Maybe because they were still trying to hold on to their morals, or they just weren't angry enough, but they pulled their punches. Only time would tell...
"This is enough! You guys should calm down and think things through. There is no reason to fight. We can talk this out." David said in an attempt to settle things.
"Also, you guys are going to end up burning this building up. This is the only place we have as a shelter for now. If it ends up destroyed, we'll have no other place to stay!"
"You don't understand, Mr. David. This is no ordinary matter. This is a clash of ideas and wills. He who wins would be deemed superior. I suggest we let them fight to their heart's content." Steve chipped in.
"I agree..." Vincent said.
"But... But... Ha... At least let them take it outside."
"Fine by me!" Blaze said as he had previously been holding back to avoid the exact issue David was referring to.
"Let's take it outside!"
BOOM!
Since the hole, Cain had created during his fight with the {Miasma Devil} was still there, the both of them dashed through the hole like lightning and continued their fight.
BOOM!
The pointed tip of Blaze's spear lit a flame as he charged at Hunter and his summon.
"Go!"
The gigantic wolf took a single step and was already pouncing down on Blaze. Blaze took a thrusting stance with one leg at the back, and the other in front of him. He shifted all his weight onto his back as he thrusts his spear forward.
The summoned creature extended its fiery paw and clashed with the tip of the spear.
BOOM!
Since both of their skills were of the fire attribute, most of their attacks had a hint of flame's aura within it, increasing the temperature of the surrounding air. The wolf was launched backward, its paw injured as it landed on the ground with a skid, while Blaze only took three steps backward before he was able to stabilize himself.
"Impressive, however..."
Hunter retrieved his bow from within his inventory, and without wasting any time, nocking an arrow he had taken from the quiver on his back, before dragging the bowstring into an arch.
"Don't forget I'm the one you are fighting," Hunter said coldly before releasing the arrow.
The arrow blitzed across the hall like a ball of flames. This was one of Hunter's skills, {Explosive Arrows}. If this arrow hit Blaze, it would cause severe burns if his defense wasn't high enough.
"How could I forget that?" Blaze said.
"Ha!"
With a shout, he began twirling his spear like the blades of an aircraft. The twirling reached a maximum speed in less than a second, right before the arrow made contact. Then;
BOOM!
The arrow was successfully blocked, and the flames from the explosion were absorbed by Blaze's spear, much to their surprise of Hunter.
"Not bad," Hunter said, a look of approval flashing in the depths of his eyes.
"Not bad, huh? I'll make you take that back."
Streaks of fire began appearing all over his body without burning the clothes that he wore. They traveled to the arm that held onto his spear before the flames surrounding his spear turned a shade darker. The air around him became distorted due to the intense amount of heat he exuded.
"Let's get serious! Consume!"
The flames turned into a raging inferno. The others had already come outside to continue watching the fight, and they were amazed by the amount of heat Blaze was able to produce...
'He's good. Very good. He probably has more attack power than me. He's also smart enough. He wouldn't have started a fight with Hunter if he wasn't confident in his strength.' Cain thought to himself. He was observing from within the building and still hadn't been spotted by everyone.
'He's back.' Evangeline thought. She had seen Cain come through the front door but pretended not to. To her, It wasn't her business what he did. She was still a bit curious about where he had gone too, and why he had been gone for so long...
"Well, I guess you do warrant me getting a bit serious," Hunter said in his almost emotionless voice as he
"Flame Demon Hound: Possession!"
The summoned wolf turned into a streak of fiery orange light that diffused into his body. He grew some fur, a tail, and wolf ears, completing his transformation.
"Let's get serious."
Previously, they had both held back because of various reasons, but now, they were going at it. The person who hesitated would be the one to lose.
Blaze's spear turned into a pillar of fire as he dashed forward with insane speed, the earth floor beneath his crumbling to pieces.
Hunter hadn't stored his bow yet.
He once again nocked an arrow into his bow, stretched his bowstring back, then fired.
"Blazing Arrow."
Like a mini sun, a ball of flames was launched at the charging Blaze. The heat was so intense, the grass burned were ever it passed over.
BOOM!
The ball of flames clashed with Blaze and exploded brightly. A massive pillar of flames spread out into the surroundings, and the others had to move back a bit to stay out of the impact zone.
When the flames cleared, all they could see, was smoke and a crater filled with scorched earth.
At the center of the crater, Blaze stood unharmed, his gallant figure standing with his back as straight as. a ruler, and his spear even straighter.
"Those flames are too weak to even hurt me."
He twirled his spear in place, creating a gust of wind that put out the remaining embers and smoke.
He cracked his neck; "Now it's my turn!"
CRACKLE!
The same reddish-orange flames from before appeared all over his body again.
"True Flame art: Immolation!"
The flames burned as bright as the sun in midday, lighting up the entire area.
"Scorching Spear: Tornado of Flames!"
The flames transformed into a giant twister around the spear in his hands. He took a stance again, and in a split second, disappeared from where he was standing, appearing right in Infront of Hunter the next moment.
He swung his spear horizontally at Hunter.
BANG!
There was an explosion on impact, as Hunter used his left arm to block the attack, but he was still launched away like a cannonball. He smashed into a row of trees on the other side of the forest.
Without waiting for Hunter to catch his breath, he chased after him.
Hunter hurriedly dodged to the side when he was Blaze dashing toward him.
He rolled on the ground before he activated another one of his skills.
"Pack Summon: Flame Demon Hound!"
A complex magical rune array appeared on his palms. He smashed his palms into the ground, and the same rune array appeared on the ground, only bigger this time.
From the center of the array, a pack of 6 wolves a bit smaller than his main summon pounced out at Blaze with bloodlust in their eyes. Hunter followed suit...
"Bring it on!"
The pack of wolves served as a means of distraction while Hunter attacked Blaze whenever his defense became sloppy. It was like watching a hunter poke at a mighty beast, trying all he could to bring it down.
'Blaze has high attack power, and his skills are all fire-related, so his damage must be through the roofs. He also can't be harmed by ordinary flames from the looks of things. His strength must be very high as well, but he's not as fast nor as agile as Hunter. His perception stat also seems to be low as well.'
'As for Hunter, his summon skills also make him very versatile. His fire attribute makes him fight at a disadvantage with Blaze, but he makes up for that with regular damage and martial arts alone. He's also fast... very fast. He's probably trying to wear him out.'
Cain thought as he made a detailed analysis of both combatants in his head...
Blaze clashed with Hunter and his pack of summons explosively. Hunter fought with the patience and stamina of a predator, while Blaze fought with the pride and fierceness of a soldier.
Both of them clashed again and again, determined to see whose will was stronger...
The young men already had this mindset even before the apocalypse. The fact that they could acquire power themselves just further cemented those ideals.
The one who wins is right, and the one who loses is wrong...