Rematch Time!

“Oi! Satori, I’m back!” Captain Yuro cheerfully waved at me as he descended from the sunny sky.

He arrived just on time! I still had not tested the results of my training on the Tri-Carver yet. I needed to think of something to buy time for my warm-up to the mana control.

I gathered the nearby elves and whispered something to them. Yuro noticed my mouth moving, but he couldn’t hear me from a distance as I softly spoke to the citizens.

“What are you guys talking about? I want to listen!”

Before Yuro grew even more suspicious, I stopped gossiping. The citizens kept their distance from the main street, giving the captain plenty of space for our duel. The elves that I spoke to quickly spread the message around. The team and I stood our ground, keeping our composure.

“I couldn’t sleep last night because I was so excited for this rematch!” yapped Yuro. His descent from the sky took a while since he appeared above the clouds. “Are you excited as well, Satori?!”

We ignored the demon and kept our intense gaze fixed on him. Yuro flapped his wings a final time before his feet gracefully landed on the soil. He sucked his wings back into his body. Our attention turned to the demon’s feet.

The captain did not glance at where he landed since he was distracted by my presence. “I know I’m excited about this! Hopefully you can make it even more fun than last time!” Yuro happily said before closing the distance between us.

However, once he started moving toward us, he accidentally tripped over a rock that threw him off balance.

…

Thump!

“Ow, that hurt!” He landed on his backside like a falling anvil. As he rubbed his back, Yuro shut his eyes, irritated by the pain.

Everyone's face was filled with awkward blank stares when Yuro fell. Who would have thought someone as strong as him would not see that normal-sized rock in front of him?

“Hold on a sec, timeout.” The captain pleaded, wanting to recover before we fought. “Let me get up.”

The elves surrounding us approached the fallen Yuro. Once he opened his eyes, he was faced with the citizens of Dryd Village. “What are you guys do-”

They seized the opportunity to begin the fight. They counterattacked Yuro, unleashing a barrage of strikes. “Attack!”

The entire village ganged up on the downed Yuro. They were embarrassed after Yuro’s first attack. I would feel angry too if I couldn’t defend my home. So, I told the villagers to rush him when the opportunity arose, so I could learn to control my weapon. Thanks to that captain’s clumsiness, it worked in our favor.

The women cast their spells at him. The men brutally punched and kicked Yuro while the children pulled on his hair and bit his limbs.

The men and children were unfazed by the spells landing near them. Either they had some protective spells on them, or they just didn’t care about their safety!

The scenery looked quite disturbing from a bystander’s perspective. Amada had the same thought in mind. “Are we sure they’ll be okay? They’re also getting hit by the spells.”

“Naima confidently answered, “Yeah, don’t worry about them. They know what they’re doing.”

I doubted Naima’s words. There was no certainty in her voice despite her confident tone. Nothing about that looked in control! It looked like a free-for-all, with everyone targeting the strongest opponent.

The attacks shortly paused as the elves piled up on Yuro, creating a mountain. They threw some punches at him, hoping the mix of their attacks and weight could defeat him.

It was impossible to see whether the demon was taking damage. We patiently stared at the assault, waiting for a response.

After a few seconds of getting bombarded, we noticed the mountain of elves pulsating.

“Enough!”

Captain Yuro shouted from within the pile. He exerted some of his strength and, in one swift motion, he shoved all the elves away from him.

The elves flung off him in every direction like a firework exploding. Yuro turned away from us, his eyebrows narrowed. He looked unharmed by their attacks, only irritated… which was expected.

I had no faith in their attacks, but come on! Not even a little hurt?!

The angry Yuro immediately faced us and threw a powerful, long-range punch towards us.

Anojin jumped in front and deflected the strike with his shield. The shock forced him to wiggle his shield, but he held his ground.

“Guys, I just want to fight Satori!” complained Yuro as his eyes filled with sadness. “Stop interfering with our duel!”

“Sorry, Yuro, no can do!” I clarified. “I’ve decided it would be more fun for you if we added more people to the fun. Don’t you agree?”

“No, I don’t care about fighting these weaklings! I only want to fight you!”

“Well, that’s too bad,” I mumbled under my breath as I charged up my blade. I began to channel my mana into my body and condensed it into the Tri-Carver. After a few seconds, it was charged.

“Hey, stupid crusader! Get out of the way!” I advised Anojin to stay clear of the slashes.

Even though he clicked his tongue in response, he obliged and moved out of harm’s way. With clear sight of Yuro, I swung my blade in the air, chanting the name of the attack.

“Tri-Carver!”

…

Captain Yuro sensed the immense power building up in the Tri-Carver. A rush of excitement washed over him. This was the battle he had been seeking.

The condensed mana within my blade spread as three slashes emerged from the tip of the sword. This felt right! Maybe the training finally paid off… or so I thought. Reality struck hard.

The slashes weren’t as powerful as when I unleashed them the first time against King Endo. Their size was reduced to a fourth of the original, and they only extended a couple of inches before dissipating in the air.

Yuro’s excitement soon turned into disappointment after watching that poor display of an attack. Instead, he capitalized on the chance to charge at me. I was in pure shock, distracted by the results of my training.

In a split second, I was swept off my feet by the demon Yuro with his fist. Fortunately, my body instinctively responded by using the Tri-Carver to protect myself.

“What happened there, Satori?” curiously asked Yuro as he took me on a flight. “Are you not at full strength yet? Wait… don’t tell me. You did some more training today and aren’t fighting at your full power, didn’t you?”

“Sh-Shut up!”

Why was it so weak?! Did I not control it right? I wanted to sulk in my defeat for a little longer, but I didn't think I'd have the chance. It was only my first time testing it out on the Tri-Carver. I had to expect this would happen. I needed to try it again.

The demon spread his wings, sending me flying several meters before crashing into a wooden building. The foundation crumbled, sending layers of debris to crash onto me.

My team sprinted towards me to assist me. That childish captain really isolated me from my group just so that we could fight me one-on-one. I forgot that he had some intelligence.

I imagined this fight would have ended sooner… but it looked like it had only just begun.

…