Drake waited, allowing Bjorn and Shigure to make the first move. His goal was to assess his newfound strength and how his new skills would allow him to deal with a situation he would have lost before.
Bjorn and Shigure did not take the bait right away. Bjorn opted to stand where he was building up his passive stats as his skills allowed his stats to grow over time.
Shigure moved closer over to Bjorn using him as a barrier between him and Drake.
"If you won't come to me, I'll just have to come to you!" Drake yelled, stepping forward, " Let's see how well your self-defense skill works against my new speed!"
In a blur, Drake moved forward reaching Bjorn and Shigure at record speed.
Bjorn may have not increased his level since their last fight, but his skills were still progressing along with obtaining new items. But he was still half a second behind reacting to Drake.
Drake threw his mana-infused fist forward passing Bjorn's claymore as it careened right for his face. Bjorn's body reacted a half-second later moving to intercept the punch, only barely managing to deflect the blow as Drake's fist passed Bjorn's cheek singing it.
"Still that fast even after my step up in stats huh? How good is that ring you got?" Drake smirked stepping to the side in an instant and throwing another punch into Bjorn's right side blindspot.
"Do not forget that I am here as well!" Shigure shouted, stepping into Drake's fist with his katana bathed in a red light.
Both Drake's tattooed fist glowing with the intense mana he infused into it, and Shigure's radiant blade covered in the red hue of his skill clashed sending sparks flying everywhere.
"Fast as well there Shigure, those accessories I gave you must have been a big help!" Drake shouted overpowering the teen.
"I'm still here bro!" Bjorn smiled as he brought his sword down on Drake's hand but to Shigure's and Bjorn's surprise. Drake's hair shifted in an instant to red and he held back Bjorn's and Shigure's blades.
Drake smirked, "No aura behind the strike means I can take it head-on!"
His eyes shifted focusing on Shigure first, "Marked."
Drake threw back Bjorn's blade his jet-black covered hand moving to grip at Shigure's throat only to be stopped by Bjorn's.
Bjorn gripped Drake's wrist roaring as he lifted him into the air and slammed him down into the ground on his backside with all his might, crushing the ground below him.
Dust kicked up from the impact as Shigure repositioned behind Bjorn his blade ready. Bjorn raised his sword again, a white aura swirling around the blade as he motioned to bring it down like a hammer.
The dust settled just before the blow, Drake unharmed, his barrier increased to a point where one blow could not break it anymore.
In slow motion, Drake saw Bjorn's bright blade come down at him. And he saw it as an opportunity to see what would win out. Drake's mana pool, or Bjorn's unique aura.
"Armament, Earth!" Drake shouted his earth arm shifting into a dense blade of earth magic at the end of his hand.
But Drake's eyes widened as Bjorn's blade passed right through the dense blade of mana like a hot knife through butter.
His new Adrenaline Skill went into overdrive as he saw the blade inch closer his sword severed at the base flying off into Narnia. With a quick shot of air to his side Drake slipped out in the opposite direction. Bjorn's blade meeting nothing but the ground below.
Drake waved the cut blade with a frown as he looked back at Bjorn, "How is that fair?" he scoffed.
"It's not," Bjorn grinned.
"So I have to hit you without being hit huh, sounds like a good test of speed," Drake chuckled, his hair turning back to black as he summoned three balls of lighting, each one with flecks of purple from his increased Magic Exposure skill.
"Heretical Endowment Lightning. Asura! Twofold!"
Before Drake could finish his sentence he was already rushing back toward Bjorn, the extra two balls of lightning attaching to his shoulder to create two more arms.
Reaching Bjorn in an instant they went into a fierce melee, moving in a blur as he threw punch after punch into his friend then moving to reposition as Bjorn's auto defense began to ramp up as time went on in the fight.
But he wasn't the only one with time-gated increases in speed as Drake began to ramp up as well. And within a few seconds, he was overtaking Bjorn.
The fight lasted only a minute before Bjorn began receiving more damage and strikes to his armor than his auto defense could account for. Singed and burn marks appearing on his armor every second that passed.
Drake had not forgotten about Shigure, keeping tabs on him with his Mark.
The teen seemed to be struggling with finding a moment to strike, his eyes straining to follow Drake and Bjorn in their brawl.
"Any time Shigure!" Bjorn shouted, sweat evaporating off his heated armor.
"First Strike, Blood Moon - Nitoryu no Ogi, Mugen Ketsu-!!" Shigure clenched his jaw as he sheathed his main blade, his hands going into a drawing motion on both katanas at his side.
Drake paused for only a second to give Shigure the moment he needed. And thankfully the teen took it, but he had fallen for Drake's trap.
"Iai!" Shigure shouted as he stepped forward and in a flash moved across the field both his blades drawn.
But instead of passing through Drake, he was stopped.
One of Drake's lighting hands had changed to ice, his hair also shimmering to a pristine white. And in its grasp, were both of Shigure's swords.
Shigure's eyes met Drake's, and the teen could imagine the smile under the mask.
"Nice try, good initiative!" Drake roared as he threw Shigure into the air, the teen screaming something obscene as he was lifted weightlessly.
But Drake's win was short-lived as a white claymore passed down cutting off the two arms and he was forced to detach them.
Jumping away Drake distanced himself from Bjorn for a moment, reassessing what he could do to beat the man.
I know I can win at this point if I just overpower him, but I don't want to kill him. I guess this is the time I start testing some theories? Drake thought.
"This is quite stupid," Natto sighed in Drake's ear.
Drake ducked, dodging a swing from the falling Shigure, then stepped to the side for the follow-up.
What do you mean? Drake thought.
"You are simply playing with them. Is it not disingenuous?"
I wouldn't say that. I am giving it my all but in a different aspect. I have to learn my own limits again, I don't want to hurt them.
"You are certainly faster than before!" Shigure roared.
"You ain't seen nothing yet!" Drake laughed, still dodging the blade swings.
Drake summoned another bolt of lighting, using it to battle with Shigure. Drake was not nearly as skilled with a blade as Shigure was, but his speed compensated for the lack of experience easily.
As they fought Drake began pumping more and more mana into the bolt of lighting, it crackling with power with every second that ticked by until he was finally satisfied with the amount.
Reverting back to simply dodging the swings Drake crushed the bolt in his hand.
"Gear, Second!"
And with that Drake moved with unprecedented speed. Shigure's mouth widened as his eyes failed to track Drake.
With his increased speed from the spell, Drake struck Shigure several times before the teen could react, once in each hand to dispatch his swords from his grip, another to the side of the head, and yet another to his solar plexus.
When time resumed Shigure was caught in a tidal wave of pain as he was thrown backward spinning to the side from the blow.
Drake grimaced, "Oh shit… I went too far…."
But he received no kill notification, which meant that he could be healed.
Drake sighed and refocused on Bjorn, who had raised an eyebrow in the direction Shigure had blown passed him.
"Little overkill bro, don't you think?" Bjorn scoffed.
"I'm still learning? It's hard to keep my will to fight down right now. It's an entirely new feeling like I need to win and display my strength…" Drake paused for a moment as he reflected on it.
The feeling was as if a pot was boiling in his gut, and every passing moment in the fight forced the temperature to rise higher and higher, the steam clouding his judgment as he only saw the next move. The next way to win.
Drake's eyes turned to Bjorn, and he pushed more mana into his tattoo, the ring screaming in protest at the influx.
Bjorn looked and smiled back at Drake, "Don't keep me waiting bro."
Drake laughed and shot forward his right hand leading the charge right for Bjorn. The giant's sword was coming down as if he had already anticipated the challenge. And Drake wasn't about to back down.
Instead of dodging, Drake's aim was to for the last part of the fight see if his resistances overtook Bjorn's Divine Curse debuff.
Drake's arm raised in a colorful swirl of yellow, blue, and red from his skills and mana. Meeting Bjorn's white-coated claymore in the middle.
The weapons clashed pushing out dust and debris from their impact point as an intense thunderous boom let out a shockwave from their position.
[Your War Tyrant's Indomability has resisted Divine Fraility]
Bjorn's eyes widened as Drake's smiled.
Drake pushed back the blade with the back of his hand as he reared it back ready to throw another punch.
Bjorn was pushed off balance slightly but dropped his sword, catching it with his other hand, using the flat of the blade to catch the punch.
Drake's hand collided with the blade pushing Bjorn back several feet, a trail in the ground from where he had dug in leading to him.
But what happened next wasn't Drake's victory. Instead, he fell to the ground screaming in pain.
Drake's head was on fire. The feeling he had was bubbling over as he felt himself battle with it.
"Drake!" Natto shouted.
"G-get out of my head!!"
"W-who?! I'm the only one here!"
Drake screamed as he threw his fists into the ground, writhing in pain. The sheer agony only compared to the feeling he had from the forced racial change. And what sounded deep in his subconscious was even worse.
Kill him. Fight with honor and defeat the greatest opponent. Defeat the Titan!
"N-No!"
You will find glorious victory in this battle! Take his life! Fight!
"Arhhhhggg! N-n…No!!!"
Drake screamed his aura and mana going wild as he heard the muffled voices of people around him.
"G-get away!" Drake shouted, his head snapping upwards as he clawed at his head.
But what came into view was Bjorn. Not the same Bjorn he was so used to seeing. No, he saw the monster he would become. He saw the titan in him.
Kill the Lonely Mountain! Bring pride and glory to your bloodline!
Drake's head felt as if it was splitting in two, his body refusing to listen to him.
The monster before him was massive, a gray mountain of insurmountable size, its eyes pure hot white fires that looked back and down at him. Massive black spikes protruding from its back to cut through the clouds in the sky like fingers through water.
And in its hands, two massive swords only matched by the monster's size. Glowing in white aura.
Before he knew it, Drake was on top of Bjorn. His hand raised. But Bjorn's face didn't hold malice, anger, or surprise in it. It looked understanding.
"It's alright bro, no hard feelings," Bjorn smiled.
"N-No! Not… N-Not like this! I won't let it happen!" Drake yelled.
Kill him! He will endanger your family! Put a stop to the Titans! Fight!
Drake gave a mana and aura-empowered scream, "I said no damn it!" then threw his fist into his own stomach. Praying that the pain would make him come to his senses, but it only battled with the pain of his splitting head.
So he reared back his hand one more time as he slid off of Bjorn, his back on the ground, throwing another punch to his stomach ripping through skin and viscera. Snapping his fingers as he caged himself in earth and ice he felt a stream of something warm leak from his mouth and body.
Drake coughed and smiled as the voice subsided, his head returning to normal.
"Fuck you. I won't be your monster..."
His last words parted from his lips, the world going dark as screams and voices failed to reach his ears.