Ignius walked a long and arduous journey. His destination was the one that was forced upon him by Genesis. Despite what most people might think, Ignius was Genesis' most loyal servant. Ignius was prone to violence but he was a man who knew what was important and right now what was important was delivering the message that his master had told him to deliver.
As Ignius was walking along a long and desolate highway, something strange occurred which forced him to turn his head to the side. From nowhere, a bar appeared. This wasn't your typical modern bar from the 21st century. On the contrary, it looked like a bar from the 1800s. The kind of bar one would expect cowboys to appear in. It had a door that was split into 2 sides that would sway open if one walks in, making a creaking noise.
Ignius sighed in resignation and knew exactly what was happening. Nevertheless, he decided to go into the bar anyway because he knew that running away from it would only delay the inevitable. When Ignius walked into the bar, he saw that it was filled with people drinking away their sorrows. One, however, drew his attention.
The man was holding a whiskey bottle and twirling it around in his hand. His eyes filled with reminiscence. The man's short beard was clearly unshaven as it was messy, filled with things that even Ignius couldn't identify. His hair was unkempt and messy as well, whilst his eyes looked lost.
As Ignius looked at the man, he knew why the man was in sorrow, thus he could understand what he was going through. Regardless, Ignius did not agree with the concept of drinking away one's sorrows and instead believed that one should face them.
Despite knowing this, Ignius did not dare to tell the man directly because the man that he was looking at was far stronger than he was. Ignius walked up to the man and sat down. He put down his spear on the table and looked towards the drunk man and said, "Why are you here? you're normally not interested in such mundane matters."
When the man looked towards Ignius, his expression of sorrow in his eyes changed to somewhat of a cheeky grin. He sighed and then said to Ignius, "Look, my friend, I have a vendetta that I need to take care of. So why don't you just tell me the message Genesis gave you so that I can deliver it myself to Solitary."
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Ignius had an ugly expression on his face the moment he heard these words. This was not a request. It seemed like a request, but Ignius knew that it was far from it. One can even go far as to say that this was a command. The drunk man did not have the right, in terms of rank, to command Ignius because they were of the same rank. Despite knowing this, Ignius still feared this man because he was known to be an insane person.
A man beyond reason, a man beyond reproach. Ignius could only curse his bad luck, look to the side and say, "I will tell you what Genesis told me to tell Solitary, but you must understand that this will fall on you and none of it should fall on me. Genesis is a kind leader and knows I am powerless in such a situation. Are you still willing to go against his orders?"
The drunk man slammed the bottle he was holding onto the table. The shards of glass pierced his hand and he bled on the table. He looked up at his hand and saw the small shards of glass piercing his skin, causing many micro-cuts, leading to small tiny rivers of blood flowing from his hand and onto the table.
Most people would grimace in pain, even those who were not injured would look at the hand and quiver at the sight of it. Yet the man himself was not affected at all. It almost seemed as if he did nothing except scratch an itch. He played around with his own blood in his hands. He started to slowly grind the shards that were underneath his palm, causing more blood to flow. Ignius knew full well that even his spear would find it difficult to pierce this man's skin. Which meant that the man had intentionally allowed himself to bleed. He sought the pain, desired it. Hoping that the physical pain would distract him from the sorrows of his heart. This subtle action made Ignius gulp.
Training one's skin to the point where it was nigh impenetrable was incredibly difficult, but making such skin temporarily regress to being as ordinary as a normal mortal's was mortifying.
'This man has already surpassed Marital Harmony, just like Genesis, what a freak.'
Ignius sighed in resignation as he realized his inferiority. He was on the cusp of achieving Martial Harmony but he was missing one last piece of the puzzle, yet the man before had finished multiple puzzles already.
Martial Harmony was when a martial artist controlled their entire body perfectly. Ambidexterity, faster reflexes, increased flexibility were only some of the boons of achieving Martial Harmony. As for the stage above that, being able to minutely control one's body at a cellular level, Ignius didn't dare think about that.
'And I thought Genesis was the only person to have achieved this. Now I have to add this freak as well. Not to mention him..'
Will had managed to apply Martial Harmony in his battle against Ignius. Although it was in a rather haphazard manner, it was still the real deal. Due to the careless manner, Will went about it Ignius wasn't sure if Will had just achieved it in their battle.
'If he did, then he is also a freak, which makes killing him much harder…'
As Ignius got lost in his thoughts, the man next to him said, "If I can do this to myself imagine what I can do to you. Don't waste my time and get to the point. I have some killing to do today."