"Tell me how I knew you were going to be here?" Quin pivoted on his heel, fully directing his attention toward the boy.

A sinister smile curved across the knight's lips, carrying an air of menace.

"Don't be fooled, I won't make the same mistake twice." The Novice Knight outstretched his right hand and used the spatial ring adorned upon it.

Soon, a steel gladius materialized in the same hand.

"Is it fun?" With the same solemn expression, Adonis looked at the Noble.

"What're you on about?" Quin dashed towards the boy, wielding the shortsword in his grasp. With swift momentum, he executed a diagonal swing aimed at the boy's body.

"Is hurting people weaker than you fun?" Maintaining his composure, Adonis deftly sidestepped the knight's attack, countering with a precise sidekick at the knight's thigh.

"You aren't people! You're all merely commoners who leech off of the hard work of the wealthy!" Employing his dominant left hand, Quin adeptly intercepted the young boy's kick, catching Adonis' leg with apparent ease.

Having successfully thwarted the boy's assault, Quin pivoted once more to retaliate. His gladius arced through the air with controlled force, aiming to take the boy's leg off.

"Nobles, Royalty, Emperors, Commoners... Don't you ever get tired of all the discrimination?" Adonis said in a low gentle voice.

Displaying jaw-dropping agility, Adonis raised his alternate leg, employing it to execute a skilful manoeuvre. He aimed a forceful kick at the knight's gladius, successfully disarming him in the process.

"Tsk!"

"Of course, you, who know nothing of the world are the first to complain!"

Seizing the opportunity, Quin harnessed the outstretched leg of Adonis to lift the young opponent. With controlled might, he propelled the youth towards the wall, generating such force upon impact that the stone surface cracked and fractured.

"Argh!" A sharp exclamation escaped Adonis as he collided with the unyielding wall.

He instinctively turned his head to the right, his gaze falling upon the young woman who remained engulfed in tears, holding her mother's warm body in her embrace.

"Run, I'll take care of him." The boy's words entered one ear of Naomi only to swiftly exit the other, having little impact.

{Useless brat...}

Quin's right hand extended with precision, seamlessly snatching his gladius from the mid-air spin it had been executing. He aimed the weapon toward the boy, poised for another imminent attack.

Meanwhile, Adonis extended his own right hand, sparking glimmers of mana that coalesced, indicating his intention to summon his weapon from his spatial ring.

Sensing the boy's intent, Quin anticipated his next move. Recognizing a brief moment of vulnerability, he lunged forward with remarkable speed, rapidly closing the distance between them.

Capitalizing on this opening, Quin's gladius glowed with an ethereal aura as he delivered a horizontal slash aimed at the boy's head.

SHING

Responding to the sudden onslaught, Adonis crouched and felt the blade brush against the top of his head covering.

{That was close!}

Employing his left leg, Adonis cut through the air to deliver a strong leg sweep at the knight's ankles.

Quin harboured a certain level of confidence that the attack wouldn't inflict significant harm, yet he remained cautious about its potential impact.

As the skirmish continued, Quin took a measured step backwards, bracing for further engagement. In an unforeseen turn, the boy abruptly surged forward, his chokuto finally materializing from the storage realm.

However, a peculiar development halted the boy's swift momentum. Upon attempting to unsheathe the blade held in his right hand, he encountered an unexpected obstruction—

The sword was stuck...

***

5 years ago

Within the confines of an underground Hermes compound, a toddler of merely four years old clutched a diminutive tanto within his tiny grasp. His prominent, wide brown eyes radiated with a vibrant curiosity that defined his innocence.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

With short, curly hair adorning his head, the boy engaged his diminutive fingers in an attempt to free the small blade from its sheath. However, this endeavour was swiftly disrupted by the resonant, yet tender, voice of his father. The father, attired in a white kimono adorned with a delicate pink floral motif, imparted his guidance and presence in a deep and nurturing tone.

"Ozzy, What're you doing in the weapon room?"

"I'm playing! What's this one called, Papa?" Oizys said as he excitedly showed his father the sheathed dagger.

"A tanto," With a gentle smile gracing his countenance, Eurodos crouched down, his affable demeanour reflecting in his eyes. He extended his hand, enveloping his son's shoulder in a warm and reassuring grip.

"Tanto...How do I unsheathe it?" Brimming with curiosity, Oizys inquired, his expression a mixture of intrigue and determination. He wrestled with the task of unfurling the blade from its wooden sheath, his efforts a testament to his youthful perseverance.

"Unsheathe it? Who do you plan on killing?"

"K-kill? I don't want to kill anyone." A tinge of sorrow coloured Oizys' voice as he spoke, his gaze shifting toward his father.

The emotion was palpable in his eyes, hinting at a deeper sentiment that resonated within him.

"Okay then, I'll ask you this. Ozzy, why do people unsheathe their weapons?" Eurodos responded, his tone imbued with a blend of understanding and tenderness. He gently retrieved the blade from his son's diminutive hands,

"To prepare for a fight, right father?"

"Sure, you can put it that way; but that's a shallow way of looking at it. To unsheathe one's blade it means two things... They are prepared and are willing to kill and are ready to risk their lives to achieve said goal of killing."

***

'Am I prepared to kill Quin?' Amidst his ongoing struggle to free his blade from its sheath, Adonis found himself caught in a contemplative moment, battling his moral compass.

'Even after everything he's done, I can't kill him...'

{What did I expect?} Eos sighed disappointedly.

Anticipating a clash as his blade descended in a vertical arc, Quin executed his swing with a predetermined expectation.

However, the unfolding scene deviated from his anticipation. To his astonishment, the boy chose not to counter with a block using his chokuto.

Instead, with unexpected agility, the boy sidestepped deftly to the left, avoiding the impending strike. In a dynamic twist, he propelled himself into the air, aiming to deliver an axe kick targeted at the crown of Quin's head.

'Is this some kind of trick?' Quin thought, surprised by the change in rhythm.

Amid his attack, the boy seamlessly activated his spatial ring, instructing it to store the sword once more.

Anticipating the incoming leg attack, Quin promptly lifted his gladius to serve as both defence and a potential counter-offensive, aiming to strike the boy's leg while parrying the attack.

With keen awareness, Adonis observed Quin's tactical response aligning with his intentions. Harnessing his Earthly Aura, he imbued his leg with its power at the very last instant before impact. The aura caused the boy's foot to subtly expand and emit a faint blue luminescence.

DUMMMM

Upon collision, the boy's augmented foot effortlessly splintered Quin's blade, a moment that plunged Quin into a brief state of stunned disbelief.

"Aura?!"

Although Quin had already suspected that the child was capable of utilizing aura, he had refused to believe it and had written it off due to the insanely low possibility.

The phenomenon of a ten-year-old wielding Aura was an exceedingly rare occurrence, nearly unheard of. If news of this prodigious feat were to circulate, the entire Empire would undoubtedly be ablaze with celebration, heralding the revelation of such a remarkable talent.

In the time, before the knight could fully compose himself, Adonis had already manoeuvred from his position above and descended directly in front of Quin.

Without a moment's hesitation, he initiated his subsequent assault, capitalizing on the element of surprise.

In the wake of the previous engagements, the boy's exertions were evident, his breaths coming in heavy gasps. Nonetheless, he steeled himself for what he anticipated could be his final decisive attack.

'Let's end this.'

Adonis harnessed his leg's power to catapult himself from the ground, yet instead of a mere leap, he propelled himself several feet into the air. In a graceful display of agility, he executed a fluid backflip, coordinating his movement with a precise kick aimed at Quin's chin, the bridge of his foot connecting with astonishing force.

The impact of the kick outclassed all preceding attacks in terms of sheer strength and rapidity.

Quin, still grappling with disorientation and confusion, could not entirely evade the strike. However, his reflexes allowed him to mitigate the extent of the blow, tilting his chin upward to align with the direction of the assault.

The repercussion was palpable as Quin plummeted onto his back, his lips Adonis regarded the fallen knight, his countenance a mixture of hope and exhaustion.

His own laboured breaths resembled those of a panting dog, underscoring the intensity of the struggle he had just endured.

"What!?"

{Kukuku...Looks like you aren't done yet.}

Adonis regarded the fallen knight, his countenance a mixture of hope and exhaustion. His laboured breaths resembled those of a panting dog, underscoring the intensity of the struggle he had just endured.

"Give up..."

Quin groaned as he took a few moments to get back up.

"I won't lose to a mere child! Not again!" The Novice Knight got up as he exuded the full extent of his Earthly Aura.

DUMMM

{If you carry on, you'll lose. You know you can only use Aura once a day... You should've used Demonic Aura instead, to kill him in one blow. That naivety is going to cost you your life.}

Adonis looked at the knight helplessly as he summoned his wooden staff to keep himself on his feet.

'He's unarmed, it should get easier.'

Adonis' hope was immediately destroyed as he saw his opponent stretch out his dominant hand to once again summon a weapon, this time it was a long Roman spear with a sharp blade at the end.

{Kukuku... For someone so smart, you're a dumbass.} Eos chuckled as he continued to watch the fight amusedly.

{What're you going to do now, Oizys?}