With a shout, Havel activated his 'Thrist for Blood', a power exclusive to the sons of Sidal that amplified their ferocity and strength in combat. A blood red aura enveloped the man and began to dissipate from the demigod, heading upwards and eventually disappearing into the air. It was as if the blood in his blood vessels was oozing outward, with the sole goal of firing every muscle fiber in his body. An extreme response to crush his opponent.

The son of the god of war laughed and charged, "I'm coming!"

With a moment of pinpoint precision, just as Havel prepared to lunge at him with axes drawn and bloodlust burning in his eyes, Shirei once again activated the technique he had developed and put into practice only the previous day.

In an instant, a whitish wave spread across the pale skin and made his figure tremble. His body seemed to fade slightly, becoming ethereal and numb to the impending attack.

Havel's blades came down hard on Shirei, but ended up passing through him and causing him no harm.

A cry of amazement arose from the crowd. Elaine and Ada glanced at each other and Marina smiled. Havel froze and looked at Shirei angrily, then charged. The demigod peppered his opponent with rapid blows, aimed at his head. Shirei stood still as all the attacks continuously passed through him. When a little more than ten seconds had passed, Cragar's son jumped back.

A small wound had opened on his cheek, with a trail of blood painting his face vertically.

The son of Cragar touched it with his fingers.

I wasn't able to avoid everything, but this is just a light wound.

Havel smiled, "This was just the beginning, get ready!"

Sidal's son attacked again, but Shirei dodged him with a spin. It wasn't enough, so much so that an ax was already headed towards him, ready to hit him in the back. Shirei whirled around and punched Havel in the arm, knocking the weapon away with no problem. Havel prepared to strike from above with his other trail, but Shirei had other plans.

Sidal's son felt an excruciating pain caused by a kick from the boy.

He backed away with a grunt and inhaled.

That guy was treating him like he was a laughing stock.

He, the leader of the elite. The strongest demigod in the Lilies Park.

He was ready to bring down all the fury he had in his body on Shirei, with all his power infused in a single final blow.

He no longer cared about not hurting him.

Someone else would have worried of putting the boy back together, maybe a deity, but that wasn't his job, he just wanted to destroy him.

His imposing figure loomed a few meters from Cragar's son.

He was a Granbish, a soldier, a son of Sidal.

He was the threat that loomed inexorably, ready to demolish any opposition on its path.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

A novice would only have to tremble and beg for mercy in his presence.

With those thoughts in his head, he went on the attack.

Shirei stood still.

His expression was calm and focused, despite his opponent's anger. Instead of responding with a direct attack, he seemed to be assessing the situation, looking for a way out that would allow him to intelligently overcome Sidal's son.

The surrounding crowd shouted, watching with anxiety and anticipation the crucial moment of the duel. The demigods began to murmur and express concern for the boy. Some were accusing him of being a pushover, but Marina knew that Shirei wasn't the type to want attention on herself.

"Look at this one," one of the demigods muttered disapprovingly. "He thinks he's smarter than Havel, but he's really just trying to be cool."

"He has become too arrogant with the fight with that son of Tefine," added another, shaking his head in disappointment. "He thinks he can do everything on his own, but he's only putting himself in danger."

The words were filled with skepticism and contempt, as they mocked the boy's behavior.

No, thought Marina, He's using this demonstration to familiarize himself with the new skill.

The demigoddess immediately turned to her interlocutor and said: "We have to stop them."

"It doesn't matter," the girl replied confidently, "As soon as Havel gets used to his rhythm, he'll still lose."

Marina shook her head, "Shirei is different."

"Is it the heart that speaks or the head?"

Both, was the first answer that came to mind, then she shook her head and said, "The head, listen to me."

Marina stood in front of the girl, "Please, you have to stop the fight."

"Don't be afraid, Havel doesn't have much self-control, but your Shirei will be fine."

"No!" The blonde replied, grabbing her arms, "Please Ada, you don't understand..."

Rutia's daughter began to tremble, Marina couldn't understand if it was from anger, "Let go of my hands immediately."

"You have to listen to me! You can see through the Interworld with your powers, look at Shirei."

Marina let her go, but the demigoddess soon froze.

Rutia's daughter's eyes darkened, taking on a midnight blue shade dotted with tiny lights. It was like looking into a starry sky on a summer night.

Ada jumped before returning to normal, "What… what the…"

Marina sprinted to get in the way, but it was already too late.

The ax blades in Havel's hands began to glow with an orange-gold hue. He felt his heart pumping blood into his arms as the muscles contracted to drive the movement. He bent his torso to the left, hiding both weapons with his body and concentrating his energy.

Cragar's son had merely dodged his attacks with that strange technique, but he would not have been able to avoid that blow. Whatever sorcery he had in mind would fail against his brute strength.

The only way to not get hurt was to face him head on, but Havel could never lose in a duel of strength.

He smiled. The victory was his.

Shirei bent his legs and lowered his center of gravity, recognizing that the unfamiliar technique might pose a problem. Cragar's son abandoned the idea of using the 'Aetheric Pulse' - he was still considering the appropriate name - and summoned the Blade of Discord from the Interworld.

He quickly darted towards his opponent, who was on the verge of swinging his weapons at him.

He had to be precise, otherwise he would have been hit.

Shirei reached Havel just as the son of Sidal extended his body in a powerful horizontal outward attack.

The purple-eyed boy dropped down and covered his back with the Blade of Discord. Havel struck, but the axes bounced off the toxic dark green blade in Cragar's son's hands, deflecting their trajectory ever so slightly upward. It was enough to keep his opponent unharmed.

In a flash of movement, Shirei pushed toward Sidal's son, who, caught off guard by the unexpected maneuver, lost his balance and staggered, his attack having missed once again and knocking him aside.

His entire abdomen was exposed, he had to make sure to protect himself.

He leaned towards that side, trying to cover himself with his arm desperately, but Shirei caught him by surprise again.

With a quick, fluid jerk, the son Cragar bent down and jumped. Havel opened his eyes wide in an attempt to pull away, but the violet-eyed demigod grabbed his face with his free hand.

Time seemed to slow for a second, then Sidal's son was smashed violently to the ground.

A momentary silence spread across the arena, broken only by the dull sound of impact. Marina watched the scene with her mouth open.

With Havel lying on the ground under his control, Shirei slowly stood up. His gaze reached the referee of the match, who nodded shakily.

Ada cleared her throat and declared, "T-the winner of the battle is Cragar's son."