Merun's eyes snapped open. The battlefield, the shouting, the pain of his injuries—all of it faded as he focused on using the only technique he knew.
His opponent turned out to be one of the few powerful nobles capable of using Divine Arsenal, and at the Squire level at that. That could explain the eerie glow of his molten saber.
Merun had no choice but to match it.
He inhaled.
A faint orange aura pulsed around him, slow at first, like embers stirred by breath. His countless cuts, battered and bleeding moments ago, sealed themselves. Not regenerating. Not healing. Simply stopping. The blood no longer fell, as if his body had decided it would not give any more than it already had.
The martial artists around him froze.
That glow—it was unmistakable.
An outsider… wielding Divine Arsenal?
Murmurs rippled, then curdled into outrage.
"Why the fuck does he know that?" someone yelled.
"Kill the treacherous bastard who stole our technique!"
Niwa and Takigawa stood stunned, eyes wide. Then, almost instinctively, they moved back, joining the outer circle and blocking others from intervening. With both fighters activating Divine Arsenal, their role was clear now. Protect the village. Protect the apprentices at the sidelines. Let the duel unfold.
Even the wolfcut girl, silent and observant, watched from the edge of the clearing. Her catlike eyes flickered between awe and unease. She did not cheer. She did not scowl. She only watched, conflicted but quiet, aware of the danger and weight bound to the outsider before her.
Noritsugu staggered. One arm had been crushed by Merun's grip, the other battered from repeated blows. He could barely keep hold of his now-molten saber.
At Squire level, their Divine Arsenal underwent a qualitative leap. Practitioners could now pour their boundless energy directly into their weapons. The heat of the energy transfer was so intense that most weapons entered a molten state. Outside of combat, this allowed the user to hammer esoteric ores and other rare materials directly into the weapon while the arsenal was active, permanently strengthening it once the technique ended.
In battle, however, the weapon neither dulled nor weakened. It behaved as though it had never melted at all—only sharper, tougher, and capable of burning anything it struck.
But even with Divine Arsenal active, The injuries he sustained from Merun's beatdown kept his overall strength multiplier low. Barely 1.2 times, far from the clean doubling it normally granted him.
He's injured too, Noritsugu reminded himself.
Still, his instincts screamed caution.
Merun was now faster. Stronger. More relentless.
Wait... his power is doubled??
His bleeding even stopped!
Merun surged forward. Every muscle, every nerve drove him on. He closed the distance, roaring without sound. Noritsugu slipped away, weaving through the air, dodging blows, retreating across trees, rocks, and fractured earth.
Merun's thoughts narrowed to a single point.
I must overwhelm him. I must suppress him. I must chase.
He lunged.
Noritsugu answered with a molten slash. The saber cut through the space before Merun's fist, forcing him to pull back. He wasn't losing a hand this early.
The duel escalated. Punches collided with slashes. Bodies cut through the canopy. Wind screamed with every exchange. The crowd leaned forward, whispers turning into shouts of disbelief and fear. Some watched with reluctant admiration. External clan members like them have never witnessed a duel between Divine Arsenal users. Such battles were usually fought behind closed doors.
But as the fight dragged on, one truth became clear.
Noritsugu was still too fast.
Any weakness he showed was immediately guarded by precise saber strikes, forcing Merun to retreat again and again. In terms of speed, Merun was outmatched.
That held true—until Noritsugu stumbled on a loose root.
Merun's eyes lit up.
His fist drove into Noritsugu's gut with crushing force. Victory seemed close as Noritsugu was launched backward, tearing through several trees. Pain exploded through his ribs. If he hadn't raised his saber to block in the final half-second, the blow would have sent him to hell.
Merun lunged after him, intent on continuing the chase. But before he could land another strike, Noritsugu's muscle memory took over. He swept his saber sideways.
A wall of bursting air erupted in front of him.
It was the same technique that had severed Merun's tail.
Wind Wall.
Merun recoiled, barely avoiding the high-pressure barrier.
Damn it… chance wasted.
Frustration boiled over. Chasing alone wasn't enough. His idea of "overwhelming suppression"—blind, relentless force—was failing. How could he overwhelm someone who simply moved faster?
He widened his perspective.
Then an idea struck.
Merun lunged again, but this time he slammed a titanic punch into the earth where Noritsugu was retreating to. The ground ruptured. Trees shook. Stone split apart. Noritsugu's panicked as his foot met nothing but empty air.
He was truly caught off guard.
Merun's next blow landed clean.
BOOOM.
Noritsugu's face twisted as his already crushed arm took even more damage. He was flung farther still, streaking through the forest like an orange falling star.
Merun followed.
At high speed, his glowing form looked like a comet chasing that fleeing light, his aura flaring brighter with every pulse of intent.
It worked!If they outspeed you, deny them the ground they use to run!
Merun understood something then.
Overwhelming suppression could also be applied to the environment.
But when he reached Noritsugu, he winced as pain lanced through his feet like a thousand needles.
He looked down.
Hundreds of sword slashes scarred the ground. Each one emitted a cutting gale, weaker than Wind Wall but constant and unrelenting.
Torrential Gates.
Noritsugu's technique.
Merun roared and charged anyway, enduring the damage. But this time, he couldn't use the terrain as Noritsugu never touched the ground again. He started using compressed air as footholds to maneuver freely through the sky.
They were back where they started as the Squire quickly negated Merun's advantage.
Only now, Torrential Gates littered the battlefield, and Noritsugu knew exactly where each one lay.
The damage accumulated. Even with his Saiyan physique and superhuman pain tolerance, Merun was nearing his limit. He needed another answer, or this would end here.
Then he tried something else.
Merun lunged again.
Noritsugu slashed at his arm, expecting the retreat. But Merun didn't pull back.
The blade carved into his forearm, flesh sizzling. Merun answered with a titanic punch from his other arm. Noritsugu barely twisted his head aside to avoid it.
WOOOSH.
The exchanges continued. Merun blocked with bare arms, fully trusting his Saiyan durability, trading damage for pressure.
What kind of fighting syle is this? Noritsugu thought. Does he not feel pain? His arm is about to be severed!
The pressure mounted on Noritsugu. Not only physically but mentally, he'd never seen someone fight this recklessly.
Fortunately for him, Merun suddenly retreated, giving him a brief moment of reprieve.
No…This isn't right.
This isn't suppression. It's foolish endurance.
The things I must sacrifice for this approach is too much.
He stared at his mangled arms. Thankfully, he could still form fists.
This means... there's one last thing.
Merun charged again, roaring without sound, his will crashing forward. He tore through the Torrential Gates, tanking the damage, preparing another heavy blow.
Noritsugu relaxed slightly. He finally looked like he felt pain. The boy's attacks became transparent again.
Merun threw a devastating blow, but it was far too slow, easily countered.
However before he could counterstrike, Merun's eyes flickered.
YOU'RE IN MY FUCKING WAY.
Pure killing intent flooded the space between them.
For the first time, Noritsugu hesitated as he stared at the boy's pitch black eyes.
His limbs were frozen in fear for just a fraction of a second.
BOOOOOM.
Merun's fist connected with his face.