"Interesting!" Sorus shouted in unison. Afterward, he instantly moved forward and threw a fire punch towards Hayden's face.
"Boomm.." The area where Hayden stood exploded as Sorus punch met Hayden's. Sparks of fire continued lingering around until it slowly dispersed and finally started to look visible again.
"Hoo, you've neutralized my attack," said Sorus flatly. For him, such a small display of power wasn't worth mentioning.
"It seems my 3-star Origin strength could contend with yours," replied Hayden mockingly. Well, he did say that, but the actual situation didn't look good for him. He was struggling quite a bit when he tried to block the punch just now.
"How amusing," replied Sorus while jumping backward. Afterward, he moved forward and punched Hayden again from the front.
"Ugh, what an impressive amount of strength. No wonder he's one of the captains in the royal guard. He's quite strong." Hayden thought while blocking another punch.
"Looks like I need to be more careful now."
The battle continued as both of them continued punching each other in front of the crystal palace. Red and purple shone brightly as it illuminated the night, and it quickly caught many people's attention who was waiting for the actual party to start.
"Go and get him, brother! HAHAHA," laughed the fat guy in joy.
"How hateful..." Fay said while gritting her teeth.
"We can't continue to stand idle and do nothing," replied Estelle.
"Of course, we need to help our prince." Izaia shouted furiously.
"I'm in," replied Lexion shortly after.
"Everyone..." Fay smiled after she heard their response.
To think that many people cared a lot about him... It made her feel really delighted.
"Nevarth, what do you think?" Fay asked as she continued watching the battle without blinking.
"As the old saying goes, even an ant could defeat an elephant," replied Nevarth shortly.
Fay glanced back and looked at him skeptically. She wanted to say something, but Nevarth interrupted her while saying, "let's just trust him. I believe that he still got some tricks upon his sleeves.
-----
"Boom..." An explosion could be heard as darkness and fire Arte collided with each other. Smokes started to appear and it instantly covered some part of the place, turning the surroundings into a horizon of white.
"You've been attacking the whole time, haven't you?" Hayden said coldly as he materialized darkness Arte into his right hand.
"Now's my turn. Take this, Shadow Dart!"
"Hehehe," smirked Sorus when he saw the dart coming over him.
As the attack was getting closer, suddenly, a loud soundwave reverberated around Sorus surroundings and it blocked the dart straight before hitting him. Afterward, he jumped forward and vanished without a trace.
"Huh, where is he?" Hayden looked around in confusion.
"Brother, watch out!!!" Fay shouted from afar as she watched Sorus appeared from above.
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"Over me!" Hayden glanced quickly towards Sorus position.
"Too late," said Sorus shortly as he leaped downward and punched Hayden's stomach.
"Ugh....." Hayden's eyes went wide as Sorus punch hit his abdomen. Afterward, Sorus pulled his punch and the heavy force knocked Hayden straight into the ground.
"Boom....." The grounds shattered, and Hayden spitted some blood as he crashed hard into the terrain.
"Huh, that's all you got?" Sorus folded his arms as he leaped away far from Hayden's place. After that, he landed slowly and stood tall while looking down at Hayden on one of the higher ground.
"Time to end this, second prince," said Sorus calmly as he waved his left hand and began to chant an incantation of words.
Arte!
Awaken, the ethereal spirit protector of the north
You, the one who guarded skyscrapers of mountains
And, the one who decides the beginning together with the end
Let the dance begin, and the joy gleaming
As your flute resounded and echoed in the entire boundary
Full of tyranny
-----
"Guardian of the Sierra, Satyr," shouted Sorus gallantly as he metamorphosed into a supernatural half-human goat.
"Mystic race who protects the mountains on the north... In this world, Arte could really be anything huh," murmured Hayden silently inside after he watched Sorus transformation.
"I need to get up now." Hayden struggled as he was trying to stand up. His movement was a bit sluggish. Also, his sight was a bit blurry because of the impact from before.
"Fuck," cursed Hayden while touching his head. Afterward, he slowly took a health potion from his ring and drank it while murmuring, "to think that he managed to punch me directly like that..."
"You will die if you got no other means," claimed Sorus calmly while looking down on Hayden from above.
"Hmph, I didn't do nothing in this last month after my reawakening," replied Hayden while unsheathing his Obsidian sword. "I'll surely accompany you till the end."
"Nonsense," shouted Sorus mockingly.
"However, there's something that I need to do before we continue our fight," smirked Hayden evilly while letting darkness Arte flow into his left hand. Afterward, he activated Dark Movement and instantly vanished from everyone's sight.
"Eh, where is he?" Sorus looked around in a dazed way. He gently held his flute while assuming a defensive position in case Hayden attacked him from any direction.
"Finish him off! Go and kill that trash prince, big brother!" The fat guy shouted madly. There was no turning back because he really hated Hayden to the core.
"Shut u-." Sorus wanted to finish his sentence. However, his eyes widened when he saw a dark silhouette appeared silently behind his brother's shadow.
"Little brother, watch out!"Sorus shouted from afar.
The fat guy wanted to reply, but it was too late. Suddenly, a cold hand penetrated his left chest from the back and grabbed his heart out from his body.
"Eh-?" He looked down as he saw his own beating heart pounding in someone's hand.
"I told you that you would die today," said a voice from behind.
The fat guy heard what the person was saying, but he couldn't speak nor move. Afterward, his sight darkened and then he fell quietly to the ground, lifeless.
"No, little brother..." Sorus screamed hysterically as he watched the fat guy corpse.
"Hayden!!!" He continued screaming in agony. "You will pay for this!"
"Hmph," said Hayden casually as he reappeared near the corpse. On his left hand, there was a beating heart-thumping nonstop on its own.
Hayden looked at it casually. And then without saying anything, he instantly squeezed it hard and destroyed it completely. Blood spilled on his left hand, but he didn't care. Eyes of darkness really made him feel much calmer, and it helped him control his own urging emotion.
Such an ability to negate a person's emotion was really dangerous... That's what Hayden currently thought.
"Now's your turn, Sorus." Hayden stated as he pointed out his Obsidian sword.
"Very good, I will kill you and tore you apart." Sorus shouted while baring his teeth.
"At last..." Hayden replied while pointing his sword towards the sky. Afterward, a myriad of purple light suddenly appeared on everyone's eyes, and it slowly turned into a large crest with an ancient symbol that hovered majestically in the sky.
As the materialization continued, suddenly, Hayden's Obsidian armor set along with its weapon shone brightly in purple lights. Furthermore, many strange patterns started to appear around it, making it look much more beautiful than ever.
"I have learned this from Nevarth. Who knows that every armor set had its own crest, and it can be activated if a person wore all of it together." Hayden smiled silently as he remembered Nevarth's words.
Afterward, Hayden slowly closed his eyes and waved his left hand while chanting an incantation of words.
Arte!
Mother of steel, embodiment of strength
Come and show them the absolute meaning of tyranny
The beauty of authority, domination, and hierarchy
That reign over as far as the eye can see
Oh, sacred minerals who dwells deep inside the mountain
Bring me the honor, bring me the glory
Towards this neverending eternity
-----
"Obsidian Crest, Dark Gehenna." Hayden shouted valiantly as he opened his eyes and finished his chant.