Celis Von D'e VS Suo Diha began with a small fireball shot created from Suo's index finger. The blazing sphere, hurtling at high speed, was still dodged by Celis, though a few managed to graze or hit him.
God knows what Celis was thinking at that moment; this was an utterly absurd choice.
Although he looked calmer, Celis still couldn't predict Suo's fireball attacks.
A few minutes earlier, the moment Celis arrived, Hella froze like a statue, speaking entirely within her own mind.
"WHAT THE HECK, HE'S USING MY POWER IN FRONT OF SO MAIN PEOPLE?!"
Shintia asked Hella.
"What promise did you make to him?"
"Huh? What promise? I have no idea."
"The thing Celis just used—that was your power, right?"
"Ah... who knows? Coincidentally, when we were given our powers, we both received them from the same person back then."
Hella lied to Shintia.
"Is that so?"
Covering up her panic, Hella nodded repeatedly to reassure Shintia.
"Ohh~"
Shintia believed what Hella said and continued watching. Hella was so severely shocked by it all that she felt like fainting just from being questioned about it. She muttered internally.
"Is he stupid or just plain idiotic? I'm so mortified getting caught like this."
At this point, Celis hadn't launched a single counterattack against Suo, which was starting to disgust Suo. Celis kept dodging even though several attacks hit him, but to Suo, it was just plain boring.
Suo clenched his small fireball, and then it suddenly vanished. Suo appeared right above and in front of Celis, hovering as if winding up for a punch.
Celis was startled, but he forced himself to stay calm and avoid panicking. He pushed off the ground, leaping backward to create some distance.
Unfortunately, instead of punching, Suo unleashed a vicious side kick right at Celis's head, sending him flying backward and rolling across the ground.
Suo landed and sprinted forward again, charging at Celis. Celis dodged left and right, evading each incoming punch and kick one by one.
Celis's hand hovered over his sword hilt without drawing it, making the gesture feel somewhat peculiar.
"Are you scared, kid?"
Celis was struck in the stomach, kicked in the chest sending him flying, and pummeled repeatedly in the face. Yet, his dead-serious expression continued to disgust Suo—as if he were maintaining high concentration, even though he couldn't avoid all of Suo's attacks.
Clenching his fist with all his might, Suo twisted his body and swung his arm in an arc.
Seeing the movement, Celis swiftly slid backward and slashed from a distance of 2 meters—so fast that he seemed to merely draw and instantly resheathe the Sumitsu Blade. A gray vortex materialized around Suo, within which countless slashes battered his bones while bypassing his skin entirely.
Celis repeated this three times in a row. Suo, caught in the technique, felt as though it had no effect on him.
"Is your sword dull? Want me to sharpen it for you?"
Celis ignored his remark.
Shintia, feeling confused, turned and asked Hella.
"Hel, what on earth has Celis been doing this whole time?"
Hella shrugged and replied, "I don't know either."
Standing beside Mitha, a boy with a bowl cut looked completely in disbelief at what he had just witnessed, suddenly springing to his feet and shouting.
"Insane...!!! How is that even possible?!!"
Hella gave the guy a strange look.
"What hit?"
He turned back to look at Hella and asked, "Huh?"
Hella answered back, "What do you mean by calling it insane?"
He sat back down as he explained.
"That sword technique just now—it's a technique that requires extremely high concentration and immense speed. You guys saw it earlier, right? Countless slashes were unleashed, forming a vortex, and yet he looked like he barely pulled his sword out before sliding it right back into its scabbard."
Mitha interrupted their conversation.
"Yesterday I practiced swordsmanship with Brother Celis, and it's just like what you said, Indra. Back then, he placed several drinking bottles, each containing a fairly large stone inside. Then, with a serious gaze and total concentration, he sliced through the bottle so quickly that it created the exact same gray vortex we just saw. Even though he could cut the bottle, he couldn't cut the stone inside. Brother Celis kept trying over and over again, but still couldn't do it."
Indra asked Mitha.
"Then why is he trying it again if it already worked?!"
Shintia answered, "It looks like he wants to cut the inner core without damaging the outside."
Indra didn't understand and responded, "Huh?!"
Shintia replied, "Maybe the bottle is the skin, and the stone is the organ. Celis is targeting the internal organs while ignoring the skin."
Hella still didn't understand their statements and asked again.
"So? What kind of technique was that anyway?"
Indra answered, "He copied that technique from a game, one made by Capcom. I forgot the name of the game, but it's an iconic technique used by the game's antagonist!"
Hella blinked rapidly, then asked again in a flat tone.
"I see. So, who are you?"
Indra realized he had forgotten to introduce himself.
"Ah, right, I forgot. I'm Indra Putra, Mitha's classmate."
Returning to the fight, Suo resumed his assault with a flurry of punches and kicks, culminating in a famous and lethal karate strike known as the oi zuki chudan (middle lunge punch).
Taking a stance facing straight toward the opponent, he stepped forward broadly with his front supporting leg, then unleashed a powerful, hard, and heavy punch straight ahead, targeting Celis's solar plexus.
Struck by the blow, Celis coughed up blood and slid backward through the air, nearly losing consciousness at the same time.
Panicked at the sight, Shintia screamed.
"Celis....!!!!"
The audience applauded and cheered enthusiastically.
Celis struggled slightly to stand back up after taking that lethal blow. Suo walked over to him.
"I thought you were acting all tough yesterday? How come you've suddenly gone soft?"
Celis managed to stand up, though his hand remained gripping his sword hilt.
"Why are you still holding that stance?"
Without answering, Celis did the exact same thing: swiftly sliding backward and slashing from a 2-meter distance, repeatedly executing the Slashing Durability technique.
Suo, taking the hits, felt no effect and walked toward Celis with high confidence.
Celis did the same, continually retreating to create distance until he reached the precise 2-meter mark, repeating the Slashing Durability technique six times.
Celis dropped to his knees, exhausted after performing Slashing Durability nine times, and finally released his grip on his sword.
Celis muttered to himself in his thoughts.
"I can't use that technique anymore; it drains my stamina and energy too much. I can't keep spamming it like that.
Over the past 8 minutes, I've only used it 9 times, and with just 2 minutes left on the clock, I'm completely out of breath and beaten up all for the sake of reviewing my favorite technique. Well.... In just a moment, he's going to know what it feels like to be hit by my favorite attack."
Celis rose back to a standing posture. Panting heavily, he flashed a smirk, which slightly provoked Suo's emotions.
"You're about to lose any second now, why are you still standing?"
Celis chuckled. "Heh~, Are you sure?"
Suo lunged forward, delivering several fierce punches and heavy kicks. Celis blocked and evaded the attacks, though a few still landed.
Celis retreated to make space, then Suo took flight, hovering in the air. Lifting both hands upward, he conjured a massive green fireball that covered half of the arena.
The spectators cheered wildly in support of Suo, shouting his name, "Suo," over and over.
"Eat this fireball, you idiot!!!!"
Suo lowered his hands, and his giant green fireball began descending.
The crowd grew even more frantic, the entire stadium gasping.
"Woooooooowwwwwww.....!!!!!!!!!!"
But the chaos was short-lived. A blond-haired, brown-eyed man, dressed in a trendy street-style fashion known nowadays as skena, appeared out of nowhere.
He materialized right beneath the giant green fireball, aimed a shotgun at it, and spoke.
"Gluttony bullet."
The shotgun turned maroon-red. He pulled the trigger, and instantly—taking almost no time at all—the bullet seemed to devour the massive green fireball, making it vanish completely. Suo and Celis stared in shock.
"My fireball is gone?!"
Then he landed on the ground, standing upright to face Celis with a chilling gaze as he spoke.
"I've finally found you, Celis Von D'e."
Celis looked at the man, his eyes widening.
"Don't get in my way, Ferra."
"Is that so?"
Ferra aimed his shotgun right at Celis. Celis glared back at him with a sharp gaze, which slightly disgusted Ferra.
"What's the meaning of this?"
Ferra shot Celis right in the stomach, tearing gaping holes through his abdomen.
"Glutt lite bullet."
Unable to endure the excruciating pain, Celis dropped to his knees and passed out right in front of Ferra.
Ferra aimed his shotgun at Celis's head once more, but suddenly, a neck-cuff wreathed in lightning and lined with inner needles snapped around Ferra's neck. The tiny prick of the needles left a small scratch on his skin.
"Lucky."
Ferra then vanished abruptly without a trace.