This unforeseen meeting left Hoshi so infuriated that he wanted nothing but to spew the blood of the one standing in front of him.

"(Maybe this state reverts his amnesia. This may hinder my plan. No, as long as any of this doesn't slip out from me too early, it will be fine)." Once Dorian stopped pondering, he noticed the ferocity of his opponent who closed the gap between them in an instant by using his aura.

Hoshi followed up by an array of relentless swings with his semi flexed fingers which were aimed mostly towards the neck. Dorian dodged each attack quite effortlessly after infusing his body with a faint amount of purple aura which appeared much more cursed and heavy compared to the former. After a few seconds, he launched a punch of his own straight at his opponent's chest. The sheer force of the impact left a few cracks on the targeted area while pushing Hoshi back.

"Anger doesn't win a battle. Yeah it helps to break your limits but those with better wit actually are at the bigger advantage," commented Dorian.

Hoshi didn't pay any mind to these words as he again generated a red crystalline sword on his right hand after concentrating his aura there. Immediately after, he leaped at Dorian and began his assault once again.

"What did I just say?" His foe once again dodged each attack gracefully but this time when he was about to launch a similar as before counterattack, Hoshi generated yet another sword on his left hand and thrusted it towards him.

In a matter of milliseconds, Dorian generated his own scythe and parried this new attack.

"That's it, surprise your opponent! Don't let him predict your next move!" Dorian got excited and began his own series of swings that were purposely lacking his full potential.

Hoshi used his swords to block each attack but just after a few blocks, his swords shattered which gave Dorian the perfect opportunity to land a kick straight at his chest again, throwing him back.

"Unbelievable, Hoshi easily defeated the Fenikkusu in that form yet he can't lay a finger on this guy. Who the hell is he!?" questioned Xiang, perplexed.

"Those two are nothing short of the monstrosity we found so hard to kill. I doubt even demons possess such strength," stated Kazan.

Hoshi roared once he got up, this time a little amount of his unshielded chest was visible without his shell. He had no choice but to concentrate his aura and move the damage from his chest to his entire body. This sealed the wound but introduced a series of new cracks throughout his body. After this, he focused his aura on his hands and created two red fireballs that he threw at Dorian. The receiver swung his scythe and destroyed the kindled projectiles. Hoshi got frustrated and began throwing a barrage of more firewalls at his foe but to his surprise, Dorian spun his scythe which easily dispersed all the attacks. He did all of this while walking towards Hoshi.

Once he was close, he decided to land a swing from his weapon at Hoshi's shoulder but it was intercepted by an enhanced punch which shattered the scythe. The Exilirian's right arm now possessed three black rings which emitted red fire at his deltoid, elbow and distal forearm. Bringing his other arm to this same state, Hoshi threw a successful punch right at Dorian's cheek, flinching him a little. Taking advantage of this, Hoshi launched three more punches at his opponent's abdomen with tremendous speed.

Dorian only fazed slightly this time and grabbed Hoshi by the jaw and threw him far into a tree, completely decimating its bark.

"That's good, it's been a while since someone grazed me. This tells me I don't have to wait as much as I initially expected." Dorian rubbed off a minute amount of blood that escaped from his cheek.

Hoshi got up once again only to compliment his murderous gaze by generating a red bow and arrow from his aura. He wasted no time and launched an arrow at Dorian who was able to catch it midair and destroy it quite facilely.

"You are indeed much stronger than when you faced Abatu but this is the best you can do right now so no point in dragging this fight anymore."

Dorian infused a sizable amount of aura in his body and immediately closed in on Hoshi only to grab the temples of his head and emit profound purple flames from his hands which burned through his target's shell completely. Hoshi was now completely exposed as he was before. His wounds were completely healed, with his clothes burnt from his trousers up. His scarf was more resilient as it was slightly burnt from the edges but was still in one piece.

"It's over? Hoshi has been completely knocked out but at least he is still alive." Xiang rushed at Hoshi who was lying on the ground, unconscious.

"This is no time to be envious, he is still a threat," mouthed Kazan as he also followed Xiang.

"You two, make him realize he has to train hard. His biggest test will present itself three years from now," told Dorian.

"What test? What connection do you two have?" questioned Xiang.

"His immense injuries were healed as he used his cursed form. Now, he is just mentally tired. Also, give him the paper you found in that cave after he wakes up." A black portal suddenly appeared behind Dorian into which he was about to enter.

"Wait! Who even are you!? What the hell is going on here!?" Kazan bursted.

"The name's Dorain. I am the son of Xander, not only the one who will take the crown from the demon lord but the one who will change this world with his help," said Dorian while pointing at Hoshi.

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"What? Are you serious? Then why are you leaving us alive? Aren't you evil like your father?" inquired Xiang.

"Nobody's evil in reality, just people having different ambitions and motivations of all sizes. Mine are just too vast to explain." Dorian turned around and walked through the portal which closed immediately afterwards.

"What in the name of Cora? Damn my mind is done for the day." sighed Xiang.

"We can discuss this later, you take that boy's body to his mother. I'll take Hoshi to Sakura back at the guildhouse, she is practicing healing." Kazan picked up Hoshi.

"Why give me the hardest task? You know I'm not good with people," hesitated Xiang.

"Only you know where she might be as you two met her earlier. Just don't say anything, give her the body, apologize and leave," explained Kazan.

"Fine I guess. Let's go." Xiang and Kazan turned their backs towards each other as both picked their task up with haste.

Some hours later…….

Hoshi opened his eyes and found himself lying on the couch back at Kazan's office.

Xiang who was standing on his left greeted him, "So you're finally awake. Sit right there, I'll call the others."

As Xiang rushed outside, Hoshi lifted his body to a sitting position and felt the towel on his upper body which was covering him.

"(So all of that was real. Why do I remember only now?)" Hoshi wasn't given more time to think as Sakura, Chika, Kazan and Xiang entered the office and began speaking.

"See, he just needed some sleep. You can rest easy now Chika," assured Sakura.

"Oh Hoshi! Don't ever scare me like that again! You can't die before you grow up and marry me!" Chika chatted.

"What? Marry?" Hoshi was visibly confused.

"He's fine, you two can catch up with him later. Right now me, Xiang and him have some discussion to do. So please get back to your duties for now," Kazan solemnly requested.

"I see, let's go Chika."

"But I-"

"Just go." Sakura grabbed her sister in order to drag her out but before commencing, she conversed with Xiang, "I'm glad you're alright as well. Also I apologize for thinking you were just a worthless egoistic man like my father. You are welcome here in the guildhouse anytime."

"You thought of me as what? Anyways thank you, see you around then," Xiang replied.

"Not head over heels for Kazan anymore eh sis?" joked Chika.

"Look who's talking! Just get your ass back to work!" scolded Sakura on her and Chika's way out.

"So, how are you feeling?" asked Xiang once he moved closer to Hoshi as Kazan closed off the door behind him.

"My head still hurts a little but I'll live. Thank you for getting me out of there," replied Hoshi while holding his head.

"Actually it was Kazan who carried you back. I took.. well forget it." Xiang realized it wasn't appropriate to bring up his side yet.

"You must've taken that boy to his mother right? Her house must've been nearby. So, what did she say?" Hoshi wasn't fazed at all like Xiang thought he would be.

"She umm. At first she was devastated at the sight of her son's corpse and wasn't ready to listen to a word. But a little time later she stopped lamenting and thanked me," began Xiang.

"I am glad that at least I'll get to bury him with his father and weep over their graves everyday. So thank you and now please leave, I wish to be left alone."

"That's what she said. As I walked away from her house or rather shack, midway it occurred to me that I should help her dig her son's grave so I turned back."

"Sorry I know you want to be left alone but let me help you…." Xiang was disturbed as he saw the woman hanged up by a ligature made up of an old blanket.

She used a small wooden stool to gain enough elevation to tie the blanket against the vertical wooden bar designed to hold cooking pots over a small fireplace. The deceased boy was lying on a single hay bed without a mattress in a tiny room without much else in it behind the fireplace.

"She had already killed herself. She probably couldn't bear the loss of her only heir and purpose of life," Xiang finished in a low tone while looking down.

"I see." These were the only words that came out of Hoshi's mouth.

"Look, don't be upset. We both know you did everything you could, sometimes things-"

"It's fine really. I am over it. Just drop it alright?" Hoshi interjected calmly.

"Hoshi? Understood. Kazan, you're up." Xiang sat down on the other couch behind him.

"Congratulations on defeating the Ao Fenikkusu Hoshi! That ruthless fiend can no longer take any more innocent souls thanks to you," praised Kazan.

"Wait, weren't you the one who defeated it? Last time I remember I was lying against the tree with all my bones broken. Speaking of which, how are they fixed now?" alerted Hoshi.

"Honestly, I have no idea. You transformed into some kind of orange-red humanoid warrior and defeated the Fenikkusu with ease. I was actually in a pinch back there as that bastard used its powers to compress my armor. So embarrassing, me of all people underestimated it for not being able to manipulate Adamantine," conversed Kazan.

"Transformed? I don't remember anything of that sort. You must be mistaken," Hoshi dejectedly said.

"He's right, you did turn into a much more powerful being. That not only allowed you the strength to kill the Phoenix but to heal yourself completely," added Xiang.

"What are you two talking about? I don't remember anything after I blacked out," stated Hoshi.

"Then you didn't even catch what happened next, right? The whole Dorian showing up and fighting you?" questioned Kazan.

"No, not at all."

"Well basically this dude with green hair and red outfit shows up out of nowhere after you defeated that phoenix and beats the shit out of you while spewing out some nonsense from his mouth," said Xiang, casually.

"You were the one who took his name first if I remember correctly. Try to remember, did you know him at some point? Is he also from your kind?" recalled Kazan.

"Can you tell me the whole story? Maybe I'll remember something." proposed Hoshi.

"(Guess I'll play it safe for now.)"

End of chapter thirty-seven.