Damon Versus Kesean (1)

Outside the mansion, only two men stood in a field of grass. As for the others, they were standing outside the battlefield, observing the battlefield.

All of them considered Damon dead, judging by the smirks they openly displayed. Damon foolishly knocked on hell's doors, and the doors creaked open with pleasure.

Why would they not aid him? He only needed a simple push.

"Will he die immediately? Or will he survive a few blows? We'll make a bet." A high executive spoke in a mocking voice that everyone could hear.

Under the bright sun resting in the sky, covering the entire world in its warmth, everyone seemed to be against a single man, and the odds were stacked against him.

However, Damon's smirk never disappeared. He seemed disinterested. He wasn't bothered by their blatant disregard for concealing their genuine egos or the fact that he was being underestimated. None of it mattered. Only the end result did! One could only understand another's strength once they fought, and underestimating another could drastically change the outcome.

"As you're my guest, I'll give you the first move. Show me what the young master of The Flying Falcon's Guild is made of." Kesean placed his hands behind his back and gave Damon the opportunity to attack.

It was clear that he looked down on him with his nonchalant behavior. To Kesean's surprise, for some reason, Damon didn't attack or move.

"I reject the invitation. I'd rather you make the first move." Damon responded. He wasn't going to have Kesean give him the disadvantage, as it would hinder what was to come. Only by making his move last can he conceal his strength.

It was a battle where neither side knew the skill nor strength of the other. It was a game of chess where their pieces were concealed behind a veil, and revealing one too early could easily lead to one's death. Unlike in chess, the first one to move was at a disadvantage.

Kesean received the same offer that he'd made, which made him frown. He wondered why he had refused. Did he want to die this badly? The son of a famed guild desired death this much?

His reason for death wasn't important. He was going to reciprocate his reasons and avenge his son. Fulfilling Damon's wishes was a bonus.

"Alright. I'll make the first move myself." Kesean placed his hands on his sword's handle. Kesean rushed towards Damon.

As he rushed, he unsheathed his sword partially. With his sword unsheathed, the surrounding temperature and his speed drastically increased; his speed was so fast that it even surprised Damon for a moment.

'Kesean surely lives up to his reputation as one who mastered the sword aura. Too bad he lacked the affinity for divine energy and lost the only opportunity to become a divine swordsman, but there's no doubt that he is a worthy opponent.'

Despite being confident of his victory against Kesean, he would never underestimate him, nor did he think there was anyone out there who could beat him. Gods were one such being; he could only dream of reaching them.

"Then again, for you, my strength is enough," he muttered as the wind formed into a sword and he raised it.

Within a blink of an eye, Kesean appeared before Damon, unsheathing the rest of his sword and swinging. "You asked for this. Die."

The powerful sword shrouded in scorching hot flames moved at lightning speed. Low rankers found it impossible to see the sword's blade due to their speed.

Clank~

A loud metallic sound reverberated throughout the battlefield. When Kesean's sword came into view, it surprised everyone. Kesean moved so fast that they couldn't keep track, but Damon could! He intercepted his sword before it could even reach him.

Unlike Kesean's sword movement, which no one could see, everyone could clearly see Damon's movement. It was simple and was considered the most basic movement, which was slow, even by their standards. Despite that, he managed to block Kesean's sword?

"I've underestimated you! However, you'll still die at my hands!" He tightened his grip, and the flames increased drastically.

The wind sword... It was reaching its limit. There were cracks on it now, and they were spreading at a swift pace. The sword was formed quickly through condensing air, so its durability wasn't high. The wind sword shattered like fragile glass under the intense heat of the flaming sword.

Before Damon could even react, the sword's heat intensified as it came down on him. The end grew close, and the battle was about to end.

Boom~

The sword cleaved through Damon without any obstruction. Even though he was a proclaimed "C-ranker," he couldn't rival Kesean. The outcome has already been determined. The impact of the sword revealed that his strength was enough to create a crater around him.

However, Kesean frowned. He didn't think the same. Damon wouldn't fall to his sword without a fight; he couldn't die this easily. He knew that from the first clash.

Moreover, his sword had no obstruction in its path. A little resistance was fine considering the differences between each other, but there was none. For that, one would need to be at least A-ranked with a high rank in sword mastery, and even that proved to be difficult.

Neither of them were even B-rank, yet his sword still cleanly cleaved through him. Could it be that he dodged? Even if he could, it wouldn't be easy, not when their strengths were close to being equal.

"Surprised?" A calm yet mocking voice echoed right behind him.

With his strength behind him, Damon stabbed his sword at Kesean. Even though he had the advantage of appearing in his blind spot, he didn't hesitate in using his entire strength.

Unfortunately, Kesean wasn't an ordinary hunter and could react in time; he turned around and swung his sword.

Clank~

Another metallic sound resounded throughout the battlefield; yet, the devious smirk never left Damon's face. His attack was blocked, but his expression said otherwise. Was it that he hadn't realized his attack had failed? Was he dazed?

No, he wasn't foolish enough to fall into a daze in a battle, nor was he blind enough to not realize his attack was blocked. What could it be? Why did his mocking grin not waver?

"Huh? What?"

Shocked, Kesean moved his body to avoid, only to have a wind spear stab into his chest. He was unable to avoid the spear; however, he avoided a fatal blow to the heart. Unfortunately, he still suffered a severe injury. The spear managed to scratch his lung, leaving a small but fatal gash. He could only cauterize the wound and have it heal later.

"Argh!" He coughed up blood and glared at Damon with hatred-filled eyes. "You're one of those so-called, "Divine Swordsmen," aren't you?"

"In the long scheme of things, does it matter? All you should worry about is the end result! If I'm a swordsman, a mage, or any other class. It doesn't change anything." Damon responded without emotion.

"I should apologize…" Kesean smirked. "I let my grudge with your class get to me. I'll make sure not to let it happen again."

The fire shrouding his blade intensified further, and he swung.

…

Two hours… The battle had been going on for two hours, and now neither side had succeeded in defeating the other. However, one side was clearly more injured than the other.

It wasn't that one side was stronger than the other; instead, it was that one side couldn't block the other's unpredictable attacks. On one hand, Kesean could shroud his weapon in flames to release its energy, and on the other hand, Damon could create weapons and manipulate them to do his bidding. The more divine energy he had, the more weapons he could create.

"Kesean… Why? Why are you losing to Damon, who should be weaker than you? How can his simple sword movement be equal to yours? Will you lose? Will the legendary boss, who was famed for coming out of dangerous battles due to the hands of this fool?"

After all this time, even those watching started to realize that Kesean wasn't going to win this battle. Doubt started to spread into their hearts. Were we blinded by the boss? Was he actually weak? Could Damon be better suited to be our boss?

Then again, they have doubted ever since the start of the battle. At first, it was just a small doubt that seemed impossible, but now... The doubt grew as more wounds appeared on Kesean's body. Kesean was already middle-aged, and his strength was weakening as time passed.

Some of them started to think Damon should replace him. He'd bring Durban back to its glory days as the strongest gang.

Kesean's clothes were drenched in blood. His face was slightly pale, and his body was exhausted, but the fire in his eyes didn't waver.

He was still standing on his feet, which in itself was shocking for Damon. If their positions were reversed, he knew that he would've fallen by now. He was impressed with Kesean's tenacity to win.

Kesean was bleeding, but his resolve wasn't. He wanted to win! He wanted to win at any cost to avenge his son. He couldn't afford to lose to his son's killer.

But how could he win? That was the question. He had his entire strength behind it, but he could barely land a hit. Suddenly, his mind was flooded. Either it was luck or coincidence, but he felt himself getting stronger.

A skill came with his increase in strength. A skill that could potentially change the tides of the battle.

'Sonic Combustion.'