"Guy with the red hair… Let's fight," Rem said and that earned a momentary surprise from every instructor present including Martinez.
"You talking to me?" Cole, the crimson haired boy asked while not bothering to even shift his eyes to Rem.
"Who else is here that has Crimson hair? Of course it's you," Rem replied, "Unless you're feeling nervous,"
Riling up your opponent could tilt a battle in your advantage, Rem had experienced it from first-hand scenarios, and after all, Anger was the greatest strength in the human body as well as the greatest weakness.
Cole turned to Rem and his body let off a slight glow, something that caused Rem to raise an eyebrow.
"It's fine, you'll serve as a great warm up," Cole said and then Rem saw Cole take a step forward only for his entire body to vanish-
'His speed is high,' Rem thought as Cole appeared before his very eyes with that fiery glow present in his eyes, 'I may have made a wrong decision,'
An opponent who was far faster than him was the worst possible choice he could have taken- For Cole to have this much speed meant that he didn't have strength…
Cole thrusted his fist forward and buried it within Rem's stomach causing the Black haired boy's eyes to momentarily widen as saliva escaped from his mouth.
'I made a wrong decision,' were Rem's final thoughts as he was sent flying by the devastating power behind that blow…
Cole turned the other way and sighed.
"Just like the others, huh?" Cole muttered under his lips, none of the Cavaliers here seemed to give him a challenge anymore yet from the corner of his eyes, he noticed Rem stabilize himself mid-air and land upon the tiled Arena floor with ease.
Rem's right palm went to his stomach as he massaged the area where Cole had given him a punch…
"It was a strong attack," Rem muttered as he shrugged off the pain and took his Combat stance once again, wearing a confident smirk on his lips.
'Engaging in close combat with him is an obvious death sentence and letting him come in close range is also where his forte is,' Rem thought while digging his feet into the ground, the cold breeze hitting his face as sweat trickled down his cheek.
"Come on, I didn't even feel that!" Rem shouted out and Cole glared in his direction.
'There's about 3 meters between us- I think he has something similar to my Flash movement but his distance is slower,' Rem analyzed, 'He can only move about a meter or a little bit more or he would have already flashed in front of me and struck again,'
And true to Rem's calculation, Cole broke into a run dashing with a speed that was far much lower than when he had first attacked only for it to pick up when he was about 1.5 meters away from Rem but at this time Rem was already prepared as he had entered a crouching position and poured all his energy into his legs.
Cole appeared at where Rem had stood and prepared to land a fast strong punch which was sure to knock Rem out only for him to notice that Rem had leapt to the left moments before he had even arrived.
"Heh, seems like it's tipped into my favor now," Rem said and sprung toward Cole, pulling his right fist back and pushing it forward in a splitting motion.
Cole bent his head over a bit and dodged Rem's strike immediately before raising his whole body into the air in an attempt to kick Rem out of the air but the Black haired boy was one-step ahead, already on the ground and preparing to strike Cole in his vulnerable position.
'In the end, you weren't really that strong to begin with- mere calculation and good movement, that's what it takes to win a fight,' Rem said inwardly as he threw his fist forward only for it to hit….. Nothing?
Rem staggered forward a bit but he quickly pulled his fist back.
'This is… strange,' Rem thought.
Cole's entire body had been suspended mid-air and this was the perfect time for Rem to strike which he did without any sort of hesitation… but his fist had connected with nothing, Cole was no longer in the air.
"An afterimage," Rem muttered under his breath in realization as he quickly entered his flawed combat stance yet again while increasing his perception, he could see glimpses of Cole bouncing around him with his superior speed.
Even if Rem wanted to pull out the Heaven's crossbow or a Goblin Soldier, it would defy everything that he wanted to achieve as an Apprentice- he would be relying on the strength of his tools and minions and not on his own strength.
Cole's jumping ended shortly after as he appeared beside Rem and threw a powerful kick right toward the boy's face, Rem let out a grunt as the power packed behind that hit was not something that could be overlooked but he wasn't pushed off the ground like the first hit… instead he was pushed a little bit away from Cole but his feet were dug into the ground.
"That one actually hurt," Rem said and glared at Cole while wiping the blood that escaped from his nose, the moment Cole's eyes locked with Rem's- he could vividly see Rem's gray orbs filled with murderous intent slowly being wrapped with green aura.
And then Rem took his combat stance once again, Cole noticed this one was far better than the stances Rem had entered before but nevertheless he rushed forward and aimed to put an end to the Younger boy's misery once and for all.
Rem was prepared this time, his eyes locking on to Cole as the Apprentice's movements were slowed down a little bit. Rem was able to see Cole's right hand twitch a little as he prepared it for the strike and a grin formed on his face as Cole's fist shot forward the next moment yet it was caught by Rem's palm in quick succession.
"Game Over,"
Rem didn't know whether it was his pent-up frustration during his time at the forest or the fact that Cole annoyed him very well but he noticed his grip was a lot tighter than usual, he held Cole as if his life depended on it and the older boy couldn't break away from Rem's strong hold.
But it was not only that… as Rem clenched his right fist, he felt the bones cracking and loosening as if preparing for this single hit.
The last thing Cole saw before Rem punched was a silhouette of a green shadow standing behind Rem, in the figure of a Death Wolf's face.
-
Author's Note:
If you're enjoying the book so far, don't hesitate to add this to your library and throw in some power stones for me, and if you're feeling really generous- you can support me with a review!