"Mr. Kayden, everything worked out just as you said it would! Eunwoo was right again!!", Jiwoo exclaimed excitedly.
"What did I tell ya? All you gotta do to people like him who put on airs is to push the right button and wait for them to do the rest. Your brother's predictions are pretty reliable as well." Kayden laughed feeling proud.
Jurion was speechless by what he found out while the white cat pitied him for falling into Kayden's trap thinking that these lousy tricks wouldn't work on him. But unknown to him, he fell into Kayden's tricks numerous times ever since he came to Korea.
Veramonte glared at Kayden. "Kayden, so unlike you, your apprentice was a close combat style?"
"Yup!"
"Then his beginning posture was a bluffing gesture to mislead Jurion."
"Yesh! Lol!" The proud smirk never left Kayden's face. "Oh, by the way, Veramonte. Your grandson just got kicked in his ass by my apprentice, huh? Hahaha." Noticing Jurion's change in expression he continued, "What's wrong? You wanna say this is invalid and ask Jiwoo again?"
The young man took a minute to compose himself before admitting defeat. "No. I accept my defeat."
Jiwoo said stepping in, "Next time, I'll challenge you. I'd love to challenge you right here and now, to be honest... But let me do that once I bring myself up to be your fit competitor."
Jurion smiled saying, "Sounds good. I'll be looking forward to it."
Veramonte interrupted the sweet moment. "Kayden, what do you mean by that kid's prediction?" he said pointing at me.
-Huh? This wasn't supposed to happen!
"Oh, one of his abilities lets him peek into the future", Kayden proudly scoffed.
Now all surprised eyes were on me and I nervously fidgeted with my hands.
"I didn't know there was such an ability", said Veramonte with a slightly dumbfounded expression. "What else do you know, kid?"
"Nothing much, sir. I don't have full control on it so it comes and goes whenever it likes to", I gave him the same answer I gave to Kayden to avoid suspicion.
"I see", the old man said before I felt the atmosphere shift for a split second.
-Am I imagining things? It was a really powerful force that I felt a second ago...
Just then a black shadowy spike came in my direction which startled the people present in the arena. I quickly held up my shield but the blade-like thing stopped before it even touched the shield.
"Good reflexes, kiddo", Veramonte laughed taking back his shadow spike.
"Veramonte, care to explain what that was just now?", Kayden asked glaring daggers at the old man.
I reluctantly took down the shield. Mago was standing behind me with a furious Kartein. I sighed. That scared me for a second...
"I was just curious." The old man continued now looking at me, "Hey kid, you wanna have a spar with my grandson? If you can defend yourself against Jurion for just one minute, you win. What do you say?"
"Have you finally lost it? It's not even been long since his powers awakened and you want him to spar with a world ranker?", Kayden expressed in annoyance.
This persistent bastard... I took a deep breath suppressing my anger. "Fine, I'll do it." I wasn't even wearing appropriate clothes for sparring. Just a black turtle neck shirt and dark grey jeans.
"Eunwoo, you don't have to...", Jiwoo said worriedly.
-Trust me, Jiwoo. I don't want to do this either...
"Hyung, this time I have to", I said softly.
Then I walked to Kayden and placed Mago in his hands because Jiwoo's one hand was broken. The older eyed me worriedly and I assured him saying, "It's alright. I'll just do my best and I'm sure Mr. Kartein would heal me if I'm too injured."
I sighed deeply and looked at the white cat who was looking at me. I'm sure he's picnicking on the inside.
"Are you sure?", Jurion asked looking down at me.
"It's alright. I'm sure I'll learn a lot from here", I answered grinning at him.
"Why are you panicking like it's his first spar?", Veramonte asked to which Kayden huffed angrily.
"Maybe because it's his second spar."
I felt absolute terror. Jiwoo's spar didn't even last for a whole minute! I don't have to hold on for one minute... I need to hold on for 60 seconds against a world ranker. Taking another deep breath I tried to calm my nerves.
"The match will be over in one minute," Inhyuk claimed. I looked Jurion in the eyes confidently. I won't die here that's for sure. At the very most, I would lose terribly but that's understandable. So, I'll just do my best!
Beep~
Beep~
BEEP!!~
I put up my shield the very moment the match began. The golden shield was like a transparent sphere as he covered me from all directions.
Jurion walked to me while maintaining eye contact and punched the shield. My eyes widened and I felt my body jerk a bit from the impact.
His punches got faster and I doubted if I could hold on to it for 45 more seconds. His punches were so strong... He definitely deserved to be in the top 100.
40 seconds remaining.
Jurion noticed his punches weren't working so he manipulated his shadow and attacked the shield with his spears wanting to finish the spar soon for both his and his opponent's sake. The first attack made a crack in the shield which made me cough out a little blood. With a last-minute strategy, I formed two strongest chains I could, one from each hand, and wrapped them around the shield.
30 seconds remaining.
"What's that?"
"Did he just come up with that?!"
"Wait, something's different..."
Some thought out loud not noticing Kartein walk in in his human form.
I used the light manipulation element in my force control to heat the chains. They were hot enough to melt iron. But because of this, no one could see what was happening inside the shield. Jurion kept attacking the chains with his spikes but to no avail.
10 seconds remaining.
I could still feel multiple attacks on the chain but it wasn't too bad. What troubled me was the lack of energy. I felt like my insides were crushed and I was barely standing on my feet. These evolved chains took too much power but I need to hold on just a few more moments. I could feel blood dripping from my nose and ears as I coughed out more blood. My head was ringing and for a second everything felt unrealistic. Like it was all a dream. My eyes were unfocused and was about to give up but still held on with every last bit of my power.
"Time's up! EUNWOO SEO, WINS!"
That's my cue. I let go of the shield and saw the bewildered look on Jurion's face. I don't know if it was because I won or because of how I looked right now.
My keens felt weak before they buckled. Jurion was quick to hold me before I hit the ground.
"You fought well", he said gently.
I muttered a small thanks not being able to understand what was happening in the surrounding.
_____
(3rd person POV)
Jurion handed a half-conscious Eunwoo to Kayden who was checking his condition when Kartein spoke, "Let me examine him."
Without waiting for an answer the blond started examining and treating the vital injuries. After he was done, Jurion bowed to Kartein apologizing, "I'm sorry, sir. I should've stopped earlier."
"It's not your fault. Eunwoo agreed to this spar knowing well what was coming", Kartein said taking his apprentice from Kayden.
"Is his condition stable now?", asked Veramonte partly feeling a bit guilty. He was equally surprised earlier that this was the kid's second spar.
"He's fine. He just excessively overused his powers while experimenting with something", Kartein said. "However, that doesn't change the result. My apprentice still won the spar." The blond smirked feeling proud of his apprentice.
"I admit my defeat. Eunwoo, let's have a proper spar when you've gotten stronger", Jurion said to the young boy.
Eunwoo watched over everything with his half-opened eyes and nodded not having enough energy to form the right words. He felt much better now that Kartein had treated him. Jiwoo kept glancing worriedly at his younger twin not wanting to interrupt the elder awakened one's conversation.
Veramonte sighed saying, "This kid is a little monster. He surpassed my anticipations in every way. I didn't expect him to hold on for a full minute. How long have you been training him for, Kartein?"
"It's nearly two months now. I know my apprentice is exceptionally good." Kartein voiced.
Kayden joined him with a scoff saying, "His healing abilities aren't a joke either."
"He even has healing powers?", Jurion asked in astonishment.
"Thank you for accepting today's spar", Veramonte started in a kind tone looking at Eunwoo. "Don't hesitate to reach me whenever you need any help in the future."
Eunwoo lightly nodded in gratitude before Kartein turned to leave. Inhyuk offered to get both the twins checked at the hospital but the blond refused saying that he would heal them.
_____
(At home)
"Your hand was broken so I healed it. It will be fine in a couple of days of rest", said the white cat after healing Jiwoo.
" Thanks, Mr. Kartein." Jiwoo continued, "Will Eunwoo be alright? He really overworked himself earlier..."
"He'll be fine after some rest."
Jiwoo still glimpsed at his twin who looked like he was sleeping peacefully. Mago refused to leave the green-eyed boy's side and was cuddling at Eunwoo's side on the bed. Jiwoo was practicing force control as Kayden had instructed while the two cats discussed.
"Did you teach him that last move?", inquired the curious ginger cat.
Kartein responded, "I taught him how to use the force control more efficiently by using the light manipulation element in it. I didn't think he would wrap himself around the chain to use it as a barrier. It's good that he's exploring the usage of his weapons."
"That's true. He's growing really fast. To think he could come up with such an idea at that time and even form a shield of this class is truly commendable..."
"It's nothing to be surprised about. After all, he is MY apprentice", the white cat bragged. To which Kayden scoffed in reply but didn't deny the fact.
_____
Note: This is the longest chapter so far o.o
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