Do You Really Wanna Fight? (2—Last Part)

Whoosh! Futomp! Wheezshh...!

"..." Heian Ciemnosc watched the figure stop before him. A tall, bulky man with horns sprouting from his head. This man was the Indomitable Heartspree Region's ruling organization, the Crustaceous Defense Faction's Chairman. Heian Ciemnosc was silent— as was the Chairman, but the latter didn't expect the former to remain so calm. Thus, a little 'contest' while staring at each other began, with Heian Ciemnosc's crossed arms and casual expression giving nothing, and the Chairman was not willing to just talk right now.

“... You’ve come from a long way. Did you find avoiding all the Empire’s troops and systems fun? Quite a good trinket you’ve got,” Heian Ciemnosc finally said as his left hand came under his right elbow and pointed to the Chairman’s hidden Artifact in the latter’s Covert Space bag. The Chairman looked down at his waist, where he stored the ring Artifact he used around his wrist, before slowly lifting his head to stare at the darkest eyes in the world.

“Don’t worry, I will not use it,” the Chairman commented as if he was easing Heian Ciemnosc up. Heian Ciemnosc grinned and returned his arms to being crossed before his chest. With a smug grin, he said, “Oh? So you want to fight me now?”

“... Black monster… it fits you in more than one way. I cannot sense any Darkness element within you, but there is something infinitely closer to it within you. In fact, it’s present outside your skin, and I bet it becomes more obvious after you go through that transformation.” The Chairman nudges his head towards Heian Ciemnosc, remaining a couple meters below Heian Ciemnosc and floating in tranquility.

“Your people, the Indomitable Heartspree Region, don’t have much time before being annihilated until their minds crumble, ultimately. There is no such science when you agree to have prisoners. Are you sure you have this much time to speak with me? Wouldn’t you rather set some betting conditions and get on with it?” Heian Ciemnosc said in a relaxed manner and ignored the Chairman’s commentary.

“However,” Heian Ciemnosc interrupted the Chairman after a few seconds, once the latter seemed to finish pondering before responding to him and added, “Thank you for noticing, though. Yes, I do am built differently.”

“...” The Chairman’s face fell a little as Heian Ciemnosc said those words and grinned smugly at the end of them. The Chairman sighed. And with Heian Ciemnosc’s previous mentions remaining accurate, he immediately got to the point while cracking his knuckles with just the air. The Chairman bent his fingers, and they snapped as he looked at Heian Ciemnosc before roughly saying, “Your people, those you’ve trained. I can do nothing but acknowledge their superiority over my own.”

“But we are many more than you, and our arsenal is complete. The moment those headquarters or Small Cities are attacked, their numbers will go down like a storm in the middle of this very ocean. Aren’t you in the same spot as me?” After saying that, the Chairman took a step forward in the air without going up and added as his aura increased. “It’ll be simple, you and me. We will duel wherever necessary, but without anyone’s intervention, not even Fauna.”

“Mhm, continue,” Heian Ciemnosc remained with crossed arms as he nodded. The Chairman didn’t mind getting semi-interrupted and continued. His words were slowly spoken, and his voice calm and somber. “One of us has to be defeated. If you win, I have nothing to say about the Blauw Empire’s might and that of its leaders. My people will surrender immediately. But if I win, your people will surrender, and they may return to where you come from.”

“Additionally, you must give us the northern Regions. This will be your loss, and you are the one to accept or deny it in the end.” The Chairman elevated his body a little higher, and his feet remained 1 meter below Heian Ciemnosc’s. Even then, Heian Ciemnosc’s body frame was smaller and too slender in comparison to this half-Beast and half-Titan fellow, but his pale face and dark coat backed him up on style points.

“That’s not bad. Oh. But that is not fitting. Let’s do it this way.” Heian Ciemnosc finally relaxed his arms and gestured with his hands at the ready-to-fight bulky Chairman. His voice was somewhat casual but still calm. “If I lose, you will be given 2 northern Regions of your choosing, but the sea territories will belong to the Blauw Empire. However, since you’ve decided to add extra things… If I win, the Indomitable Heartspree will become the Empire’s vassal.”

“...” The Chairman’s silence after Heian Ciemnosc’s counter ‘offer’ wasn’t a denial but showed that the Chairman was thinking about it. Heian Ciemnosc was in no hurry and seemed okay with waiting as much as necessary. But the Chairman wasn’t the same, and as he could feel his medallion heating up like crazy and see the insane flashes going off in the distance, he rapidly settled his mind and gazed at Heian Ciemnosc sharply. “Fine.”

“To be honest, I’m glad you came. While loss is necessary for knowing what strength is, at least for ‘these’ types of power, there’s nothing like saving up one’s strength. At the same time, it’s commendable that you’ve come here alone. So far, I only find ‘people in power’ running away from me and suddenly turning around to bite. It left a stinging feeling inside me last time, ugh.” Heian Ciemnosc looked at the Chairman with his arms to his sides before continuing.

“Oh well, but… Are you sure it’s a good idea? That you wanna fight me?” Heian Ciemnosc finished saying his words with an increasingly devious smile from a grin, but the Chairman remained unperturbed, at least from the outside. The Chairman took another step forward, and his feet came to level at the same time as Heian Ciemnosc’s. Then, the Chairman said, “Whilst you’ve been in the Spirit Magna realm for over a year, and I take precaution in that, I do not see the need to fear another whose battle prowess has not been proved since nearly a decade ago.”

“Mn, oh…” Heian Ciemnosc nodded, looking at the Chairman with narrowed eyes before tilting his head to the right, just out of comfort. Heian Ciemnosc opened his lips and softly responded, “I guess the same can be said from me to you. Although you’ve become a Blossoming realm 7th stage cultivator, half a step into the 8th stage, you cause me no worry. I can promise you, if you wanted to see my Claws Out, today you will not.”

“?” The Chairman slightly furrowed his eyebrows but still didn’t think about it too much and demonstrated his bravery by keeping his ground in the air. Heian Ciemnosc saw this and added, fearing he was too brash and rude with the fella. “You see, you’re good. I don’t want to damage you, so… If I do show you my Claws Out, I’m afraid I’ll accidentally kill you. I have good manipulation, but you are just… too little.”

“...?” The Chairman was a little irked by those words, but he understood what the black monster was trying to say nonetheless. After a 2 seconds pause with both parties looking at each other, Heian Ciemnosc grinned from the left corners of his mouth. “It’s just that I wouldn’t like to lose such a good seed for the future… but since you’re demanding me… what can I say? Oh?”

Pshift- click! Pshift- Click!...

. . .

Far away from the eastern sea Region, in the southern sea Region, inside the Rebirthing Phoenix Clan’s one of various central buildings. At this moment, a blonde, majestic beauty was calmly meditating in her meditation room. Her body sat cross-legged on the floor. Her slender arms extended and appeared graceful amidst the darkness.

Just then, a long, thin, verdant blue flash passed behind her from the left to the right, above her head’s height. Her closed eyes gently fluttered, and she opened slowly as her lips turned into a little smile. When that happened, another verdant blue flash crossed from behind her to her left elbow, coiled around it, and stopped to reveal a snake-draconic Fauna slithering towards her shoulder. The thing gently moved as if enjoying the beauty’s presence and inner warmth.

“Hm?” The Matriarch’s eyes became stern as she turned her head towards her meditation room’s closed door direction after playing with her pet. She stood up and walked there as the snake-like Fauna quickly entered her Covert Space bag, as if shy to meet another living being than its ‘mother’ or benefactors. Matriarch Zenevella opened the door to her meditation room and was greeted by 3 maids bowing in the entrance’s direction.

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“Greetings, Matriarch!” They loudly greeted her. The Matriarch walked past them and stepped into a vast living room before comfortably sitting on a sofa and finally asked one of the maids, who followed her. They were pretty and well-behaved, each having a cultivation base at the Dantreulity realm. The Matriarch’s voice was at ease and soft, “What is it? Has the Blauw Empire begun its assault? Is there anything wrong?”

“No, Matriarch.” The maid in question answered. She bowed deeply before continuing under the Matriarch’s calm, flaming-like eyes. “But we received reports that the Blauw Empire’s First and Fourth Fleets momentarily retreated before returning to their positions near the Indomitable Heartspree Region’s shores. Shortly after, intense Neutral Energy bouts echoed from a high altitude. This was brief as the battle moved to the land, where a few earthquakes were reported, one after another, on our way here to inform you, Matriarch.”

“...?” Matriarch Zenevella was confused, but it lasted no time, and her eyes widened like saucers as she hurriedly asked. “Quick! Tell me, who is fighting at these times above the Indomitable Heartspree Region?!”

“...Ah! It is suspected they are the Wrath Nihility Academy’s black monster and the Crustaceous Defense Faction’s Chairman. The latter was seen traveling between the Blauw Empire’s conquered territory in his ruling organization’s Region. Minutes before the Empire’s Fleets retreated.” The maid answered, but the Matriarch started sweating as she asked again, “Since when?!”

“The estimated time is 6 minutes ago. We do not know where they currently ar-” The maid became a little anxious upon seeing the Matriarch’s reaction, and she tried explaining everything one after another, but the Matriarch immediately pushed them away without hurting them and rushed outside her residence!

Whoooooosh~!!... “... Woah, this is really something important, huh?” - “Eh? Agatha? Why are you like in a trance? Are you alright?” - “Agatha?” - “T-the Matriarch, she… touched me… aaah~.” - “Aiyo, she fainted again.”

The Matriarch was too anxious and desperate to stop what she'd just heard. The thought of that Chairman fighting the black monster was something she did think of, but never really expected to happen. ‘The Blauw Empire is giving him a direct passing to fight all-out and is slowly losing, even if it means the Blauw Empire will suffer. But how can that stupid idiot go get himself killed at a time like this?! That brainless fight-crazed ape!’

The Matriarch rushed outside of the central building, took her Fighter out, piloted it outside the Phoenix‘s Cry Region’s Small City, and rushed towards the eastern sea Region. Her Fighter could be seen from every organization and settlement she overflew through, and while some were afraid the Blauw Empire was now attacking them, even if it meant with a ‘weaker’ army, they were stressed out.

. . .

15 minutes later, in the Indomitable Heartspree Region’s land. Southwest of the Region.

Whooooosh! Viuuuuum- futomp!- CRAAAAAASHHHH!! RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUBMLEEE~!

The Matriarch had just arrived where her Fighter’s radars told her a fight between mighty Second Step cultivators was taking place. She exited her Fighter and flew towards them, only to see just one person standing in the air, accommodating his left sleeve as his left dark claw receded and revealed a pale hand and wrist. On the other hand, the place ground, 20 kilometers below them just exploded, sending dirt and large boulders upwards, and breaking apart vegetation in a 5,000 meter radius.

“Assigned supervisor!” The Matriarch shouted as Heian Ciemnosc turned his head to his right and saw a distressed damsel with haggard hair and a pale, worried expression look at him imploringly. He calmly said, “Yes?”

“W- where is that ape- I mean, that Chairman? Have you…” The Matriarch’s eyes shook as she gazed intently at Heian Ciemnosc, but Heian Ciemnosc merely pointed down with his right hand, like a child who was being asked who did a bad thing that only children would accidentally do. Her trembling eyes followed that pale index fingertip’s direction and looked down, where the dust settled, and her Spirit Sense quickly caught sight of a body left in a terrible state.

The Chairman’s body was in the middle of a huge crater, whose surroundings became dried dirt and stone, cracked in irregular but rectangle-ish shapes, and with all the Fauna and flora around dying at the moment the impact occurred. Meanwhile, the Chairman looked at the sky, with his bloody torso twitching as his limbs, broken and nearly gone limp, convulsed. His mouth and nose bled while his ears were almost gone, having exploded a few impacts ago, but his eyes looked at the newcomer serenely before starting to have a tremendous seizure.

“C- can you not kill him? He has lost any capability, and he’s a Blossoming realm expert! His Soul has to be under heavy pressure and damaged to arrive at this point! He can’t even move! Assigned supervisor, please!” Matriarch Zenevella said, imploring as she knelt in the air tens of meters away from Heian Ciemnosc. Heian Ciemnosc felt funny and slightly perplexed. Instead of proving his innocence, however, and as the Chairman breakdance’d in the ground and in his pool of blood, he ‘blackmailed’ her shamelessly.

“Alright, but only if you give me a drop of your blood essence. Otherwise, you can see him die!” Heian Ciemnosc opted for a little show. The Chairman below couldn’t even circulate Neutral Energy anymore, so… anyhow. The Matriarch’s eyes widened, but she didn’t hesitate more than 1.3 seconds before biting her tongue and shooting her drop of blood essence at Heian Ciemnosc before immediately rushing down.

Whoosh! Rustle, slap slap!

Heian Ciemnosc caught the blood essence drop with his right-handed fingertips and immediately took one of his out from his left pale hand. He brought them to the air, before his face at arm’s length, and let them dance around a little as he stared at the pair having a ‘moment’ down there. The Matriarch sent her Neutral Energy into the Chairman’s body, some Soul energy to guide his Soul to stabilization, and gave him a bunch of theriac and interim pills.

She seemed short of cohesion pills for the Chairman’s Soul and mental state, seemingly expecting his physical body’s state but not anything else. After realizing the injuries within and around his body, she looked at him, muttered some words under her breath only she could hear, and slapped his chest a couple times, hard. Then, she looked up at Heian Ciemnosc, not because she didn’t believe his word, but because she was just too shocked to know the Chairman’s wound. The Chairman was the strongest in the sea Regions, after all.

“!!” When the Matriarch looked at the dark blood essence Heian Ciemnosc had drawn out, ignoring his stare down at them, her pupils constricted. She now understood where that strange ‘scent’ her little pet was nurtured with came from, and things seemed to make sense now more than ever. Her eyes returned to the Chairman, but her mind was engrossed in the knowledge of having such powerful allies.

To the Chairman, however, this was just beauty, and he became dizzy from her beauty and rapidly lost consciousness with the pills’ help. On the other hand, high above them, Heian Ciemnosc slumped his shoulders a little. He looked at the reddish-orange blood essence drop backing away, fearful of his dark blood essence drop and never merging, not even forcibly. This didn’t drop his mood, but it disappointed him nonetheless because it meant he was a little more lonely in the entire world…

Heian Ciemnosc still had the drop of blood essence he stole from the Chairman’s body beforehand, without the latter knowing, and had to still collect some from the Beast’s draconic Race that has ruled the Dragon’s Tail Region since time immemorial. However, the results wouldn’t be that good, no matter how much Heian Ciemnosc wanted answers.

“Sigh,” Heian Ciemnosc sighed and looked down again, planning to try the fellow’s blood essence drop later. He didn’t want to get frustrated. He noticed Matriarch Zenevella frowning, and he asked her. “What is it?”

“Shouldn’t the war… end now? How are the Regions supposed to surrender?”

“... It’s not my fault he fainted just now. I was still giving him the chance to know he couldn’t defeat me anymore.” Heian Ciemnosc responded. Her words left him helpless, but he then added, “I already sent word to my Generals and Admirals and his commanders. This wasn’t a secret. It’s just that you weren’t from the Indomitable Heartspree Region, so you weren’t aware. Of course, it was only spread just before I sank his body in the sea for the first time.

“...” Matriarch Zenevella’s eyes became a little vacant as she heard Heian Ciemnosc’s casual words. Did they mean so little to him? He was basically treating them just like they could treat those 1 cultivator whose realm is below their cultivation base. What was this?! Nevertheless, she was thankful their mightiest Region in the sea Regions wouldn’t perish just like that. Then, she asked, just out of curiosity, “What now?”

“Now? Wait until the war ends. Then we can talk, ally.” Heian Ciemnosc said, grinning a little from the left corner of his mouth. As he did, the Matriarch retracted her neck, confused. Heian Ciemnosc looked at her expression and chuckled slightly before commenting with a calm tone, “The Indomitable Heartspree Region’s people have been destroyed to half their original strength. But the other Regions have lost at least 70%... I have already notified everyone else about our bet’s winner… but there’s no need to be so loud about it. Right?”

“...!” The Matriarch’s eyes slowly regained vigor but now also contained traces of fear. They gradually widened as she understood Heian Ciemnosc’s words perfectly, and she looked up with a jerk while holding the Chairman’s shoulders more tightly. Heian Ciemnosc eased his expression and added, “Oh, by the way. It’s nice to finally meet you, Matriarch Zenevella. I see the little guy did like you a lot, good. He was a good ‘catch’ from the friends from below. Don’t worry, everything was consensual.”

“!!!”

…