Chapter 51: Master Vs Student

Roy and Yua are sitting on a fallen tree, taking a break from training. Roy is also healing Yua's injuries from the times he strikes her with his wooden sword many times before. Yua takes a deep breath and talks.

"Maybe you should have pulled your swings a bit. I got lots of bruises because of ya.", Yua said while being healed.

"Sorry but not sorry. At the moment, I'm your master, not your friend. It's necessary for you to feel pain. Think of it as a learning experience. Now you know what it feels like to be beaten up, and you'll strengthen your inner will to power through the pain.", Roy explained while healing Yua.

"Mind over matters, as they say.", Yua replied.

Roy keeps on healing every bruise he sees on Yua. Even though this is training, Roy still feels bad and empathizes with what Yua is going through. As well as understanding Yua's position. However, Roy doesn't let his concern show in front of Yua.

'Yua's the most excelling student I have... Reminds me of me... She may show the potential of being a great ninja but I won't let her be one. I'm just doing this so she can learn self-defense. Nothing more, nothing less.', Roy quietly thought.

Suddenly, Roy hears grasses being stepped in but he couldn't sense who it is. So Roy stops healing, grabs the handle of his Demonic Saber, then goes to a battle stance. Yua sees this and is about to speak until Roy puts his index finger on his mouth, signaling her to be quiet. Seeing this, Yua shuts her mouth.

Roy hears another grass being stepped from behind them. In an instant, Roy unsheaths the Demonic Saber and points it to whoever is sneaking behind the both of them to see that the person already revealed himself. Their neck is almost close to the blade of the Demonic Saber, so they raise both of their hands. Roy's eyes widen upon seeing the person. After that Roy sighs and sheaths the Demonic Saber.

"Seriously, were you planning to jumpscare us from behind, Prince Graysen?", Roy asked.

"That was the plan, but your survival skills ruined that. I even tried to hide my aura to give you both a scare but whatever.", Prince Graysen brushed it off.

Upon seeing Prince Graysen, Yua's eyes and mouth open wide, surprised to see him while she's supposedly doing ninja training. Yua is also confused why Roy is casually talking to the prince while wearing his ninja outfit. Along with the fact that Prince Graysen is wearing shining golden armor. Roy notices the expression that Yua is making and quickly understand why looks so lost.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Yua, Prince Graysen already knows our ninja secret. Don't worry.", Roy said.

"Oh... So wait! Does that make you a ninja as well, Prince Graysen?!", Yua asked while shouting loudly.

"Divine Knight actually... Not ninja.", Prince Graysen cleared things up.

"Oh...ok.", Yua said in response.

Yua is suddenly filled with anxiety, cringing at the fact that she talked to the prince in that tone. Yua then tries to compose herself.

"I-it's nice to meet you, Prince Graysen!", the tomato Yua said as she bowed.

"Well, it's nice to meet you as well, Yua.", Prince Graysen said as he did a gentlemanly bow towards Yua.

Seeing the way the prince did a bow to her, Yua starts trembling, fidgeting her fingers as well while looking away because the more Yua sees the prince, the redder her face will be. Roy sighs and touches Yua's face with both hands. Then Roy cools Yua's face down by literally using his ice powers to cool her down. Yua groans in relief when Roy does this. Yua's enjoying the cool sensation on her face and begins to calm down.

"So, are you here to train with us, or do you have anything else to say?", Roy asked blandly.

"How rude! You invited me yesterday to come to join you so we can teach each other new things that we still haven't learned yet. Of course, I'm not going to pass out an invitation from a friend. Not everything has to be about the Freedom Fangs. I did all of my duties this day so I can have the rest of the day to myself after all. ", Prince Graysen replied.

Prince Graysen pouts when Roy asked him rudely. Roy sighs hearing this as well as seeing the puff-up cheeked prince. Roy then pats the prince on the head, rubbing his hand on the prince's silky smooth golden hair.

"There, there. How about we spar for a bit, does that sound good?", Roy asked like an adult.

"Yesh, pwease.", Prince Graysen agreed like a child.

Yua stands on the sideline, breathing in and out intensely. Yua knows she's spectating a rare fight. A fight that happens once in a blue moon. Yua is feeling very pumped up knowing that she'll witness a battle of the century.

Roy, Yua's master that has been teaching and training her since Day 1. Prince Graysen, Yua's crush ever since he saved her from almost being killed by a truck. Who would win in this fight? It's anyone's game. Japan vs the United Kingdom. Ninja vs Knight. The Ultimate Ninja vs The Golden Knight.

Roy breathes calmly and caresses the Demonic Saber's handle, that is attached to his back. Prince Graysen holds the scabbard in one hand and the handle of Excalibur in the other, which is strapped on his waist. The 2 of them stare down at each other with such intimidation, preparing themselves for a fight they will never forget. The wind blows on them as well on the trees. A leaf is taken and separated from its branch and hovers in the air in seconds. Then it slowly falls to the ground. After a few moments, it touches the grass.

Roy and Prince Graysen charge at each other with amazing speed and unsheaths both of their weapons, clashing their swords at the center of the area. That clash creates a shockwave so strong that Yua feels something flowing in and out of her body in mere moments. Both Roy and the prince are gripping their weapons with 1 hand. Then they push each other back and create some distance from each other. A fire then envelops the Demonic Saber. Roy holds his sword with his hands and quickly raises the Demonic Saber to the air.

"Flame Style: Fiery Slash!", Roy yelled.

Roy then swings his sword downward. A Fiery Slash appears and flies towards Prince Graysen. It explodes upon impact. However, Prince Graysen defends himself on time by creating a light barrier that protects him from the Fiery Slash. It's the prince's turn. Prince Graysen raises his left hand towards the sky. A tiny magical circle appears above his hand.

"Justiciar Storm!", Prince Graysen yelled.

Suddenly, several golden angels appear in the sky above the prince, holding bows and arrows in their hands. They all prepare themselves and at the same time, aim their bows at Roy. Roy stomps on the ground to create a thick earth wall to protect himself. The angels fire their arrows and only hits the stone wall. After all the golden angels shoot out their arrows, Roy kicks the thick earth wall, and it launches towards Prince Graysen.

"Revering Soul!", the prince shouted.

A pair of angel wings appear out of his back and cover the prince with its feathers. The stone hits the wings but breaks into pieces. The angel wings stand strong and have protected Prince Graysen from the incoming attack. The angel wings soon disappear. Roy notices this and makes an observation.

'Those angel wings might be a special kind of barrier judging from the appearance. It might be his strongest barrier.', Roy silently thought.

Roy then charges at the Prince. The Demonic Saber is engulfed in darkness, radiating something ominous.

"Dark Style: Fear Strike!", Roy yelled.

Hearing this, Prince Graysen launches a barrier to shield himself from the attack. However, Roy jumps and strikes the barrier down with its unholiness, breaking in a matter of seconds. In those matter of seconds, Prince Graysen quickly blocks the attack using Excalibur, catching Roy's dark attack with his sword but soon the prince feels afraid. However, Prince Graysen stands still and doesn't move, not wavering from the fear he's feeling. Soon, Excalibur shines very brightly.

"Sacred Strike!", the prince yelled.

Using only his right hand, Prince Graysen pushes back Roy. Soon, the light overcomes the darkness and launches Roy into the air and away from the prince. Seeing this, Roy's leg is then engulfed in flame and air soon flows around it.

"Rocket Legs!", Roy yelled.

Roy uses his Rocket Legs to fly back to the Prince. As well as increasing the Darkness within him.

"Dark Style: Barrage of Terror!", Roy shouted.

Roy then strikes the Excalibur which dims the light a bit from the golden sword. After that, Roy ricochets off from the prince and then lands on the ground. Roy soon starts sprinting towards the prince, striking the prince down using the Dark Demonic Saber. Prince Graysen defends himself using the Excalibur with one hand, but the Darkness starts to consume the light from his sword while he's defending himself from Roy. A golden fire appears on the prince's left hand. Roy notices this and puts up his guard. Prince Graysen then tries to kick Roy down but Roy jumps back seeing this. Fortunately, that is Prince Graysen's plan all along, to give himself some room to breathe. Prince Graysen changes his grip on Excalibur and passes it on his left hand. Soon, the golden fire surrounds the sword as well as the prince's body, bursting in righteous flame.

"Flames of Righteousness!", Prince Graysen yelled.

Roy keeps away, not knowing how to what does that technique do. Unfortunately, Prince Graysen charges in. Soon, the Dark Demonic Saber and the Fiery Excalibur weapons clash with one another. The golden flames coming from the prince then touch Roy's hands, and it stings. Roy feels the pain so he pushes the prince back and jumps away from him. After gaining some distance from each other, Roy checks his hands to find no burnt marks, not a single sign of pain or anything can be seen on Roy's hands. There are no signs that something is wrong there but Roy still feels a sting of pain on his hands.

'What the hell was that?!', Roy thought.

"If you're wondering what that pain was, it was the feeling of being cleansed from the darkness. In other words, you shouldn't use dark powers against me or you'll get yourself incinerated.", Prince Graysen explained.

Roy looks up to glare confusingly at the prince. He's confused about why the prince told him that.

"Why did you tell me that?", Roy asked.

Prince Graysen gives Roy a confusing look. As if something that Roy asks makes him baffled, and it did.

"Roy, we're not enemies. We're allies. It's better to know you're comrades' abilities so we can help each other out much better when we're in a fight with someone.", Prince Graysen said in response.

"So we can have some sort of good harmony or synergy combining our powers and skills.", Roy added.

"Right on, mate!", Prince Graysen replied happily.

"I see... Well then, let me explain my other techniques.", Roy agreed to do as well.

Something green starts to grow on the Demonic Saber. A long thick vine has grown itself on the sword.

"Nature Style: Vine Whips!", Roy yelled.

Roy then raises his whip and starts swinging it around. It targets the prince. Prince Graysen protects himself by converting his golden flames into light barriers.

"The name of the attack explain itself, innit?", Prince Graysen observed.

"Exactly.", Roy responded.

Roy then stops for a moment and releases 8 shadow clones. The shadow clones are all covered in darkness. Their eyes are all red as well. All of them are holding red swords while the original Roy has the Demonic Saber.

"I know, you said that I shouldn't use Dark Powers against you but, that's a part of my fighting style. So let's see if your barrier can handle this next attack.", Roy prompted.

All of the shadow clones' swords then change to a dark state. All of them are using the same element, darkness. The Demonic Saber is also consumed in darkness as well. A dark magical circle appears in front of every one of them, including the original Roy himself.

"Try to defend yourself from this! Dark Style: Ray of Despair!!", Roy yelled.

The shadow clones and Roy stabs their swords in the dark magical circle. Soon, every single one of the dark magical circles blasts a ray of despair, shooting out a dark magical beam. All nine of them including Roy.

"Revering Soul!", the prince exclaimed.

A pair of angel wings then cover the prince, protecting him from the 9 rays of despair. However, the angel wings start to crack, unable to handle the blast of darkness that it's tanking. Roy then pumps more ki on this blast, wanting to destroy the barrier even faster. It does and the angel wings start to crack at a faster rate. Until it completely shatters. The 9 rays of despair then continue to blast on, destroying everything it touches. Yua, seeing this, makes her a bit worried. In her eyes, something catastrophic may have happened to the prince.

"Roy stop! That's enough!", Yua shouted.

Roy, hearing this, stops. The 8 shadow clones disappear as well. Roy sighs seeing the destruction that happens.

"Yeah, I think it was enough. He was even there to take it.", Roy said in response.

"Wait what?", Yua was dumbfounded to hear this.

"You know, Roy is one of the few people that can destroy those angel wings. He really something else, ey?", Prince Graysen commented beside Yua.

"Gwah!", Yua was surprised to see him there.

Roy looks over the prince and sighs again. After that, Roy puts the Demonic Saber on the scabbard, signaling an end to their battle.

"So you can teleport?", Roy asked.

"Well, yes. However, I can only teleport to places that I remember or see. In which case, I saw and teleported behind Yua here.", Prince Graysen explained while sheathing Excalibur.

"I see... Well, maybe we should head back-"

"Hold on a minute, I haven't tried to fight you, Roy-boy.", Bakin jumped in the conversation.

Everyone looks over to trees to see Bakin there. It seems Roy's master is there from the start, watching the whole fight that happened earlier. Bakin then jumps down and walks towards them.

"Fight? You want to spar with me again like we used to?", Roy asked.

"Exactly what I just said. I've been too busy training your students that I overlooked mine. Don't forget, unless you defeated me once, I'm still your master.", Bakin answered.

"Alright. If you say so, master, I won't say no to your request.", Roy agreed to fight.

Yua and Prince Graysen are watching from the sidelines about to witness a battle between Bakin and Roy. Uncle vs Nephew. Master vs Student.

"Hey Yua, if you would have all elements at your disposal, will that make you stronger than having someone that only has one?", Prince Graysen asked.

"Huh? I mean, doing the math, I think so? Like Roy, he's super strong, isn't he?", Yua answered.

"Hm... Yes, when given time, the user with all elements will dominate the one who only has 1. Though I also argue the user that has 1 element will become stronger much faster than the one who has all of them.", Prince Graysen said in response.

"Huh? Why so?", Yua asked while scratching her right cheek using her right index finger.

"Because the user that has one element will focus on just that one thing they have, while the user that has all elements will have to memorize and split their focus to all of those elements. I should know this because I am that one user that only has 1 element, which is only Light, and I just went toe-to-toe with Roy that has all elements under his belt. Though, neither of us went full power so I can't say for sure that we're equals.", Prince Graysen explained.

"So having all of the elements doesn't matter?", Yua asked after hearing that the prince only has 1 element.

"No, it does matter. More elements mean more potential to become the strongest there is. However, you'll have to put more work into it. Roy, despite being called the Ultimate Ninja, still has a long way to go.", Prince Graysen replied.

Roy holds the watch on his wrist, holding it very dearly. Roy then grabs his crimson scarf as well. Bakin notices this and points this out.

"Hm? Why are you holding your watch and scarf?", Bakin asked.

"Because this watch had helped me many times and this scarf gave me warmth in cold times. These are the things you've given to me to which I'm fortunate to have. ", Roy answered.

Roy then takes his scarf off After doing that, Roy removes his watch from his wrist. Soon, Roy wraps his watch around with his crimson scarf. Roy looks at Yua and approaches her, placing it in her hand. Yua and Prince Graysen are confused by this. Bakin smiles seeing this, understanding the gesture.

"But now, I'll be taking these off. I'll show you that I can be independent. I'll prove to you that you have done enough in my life. I'll prove to you that I'm no longer a boy.", Roy explained.

"I already know that you grew up. You're no longer Roy-boy but Roy-man. However, are you really strong enough to stop calling me master?", Bakin asked intimidatingly.

"There's only one way to find out.", Roy replied.

Roy nods to this. Bakin smiles again and chuckles.

"All right. I love the grand gesture that you're showing. Let's see if you're truly stronger than me.", Bakin said as he unsheaths his katana.

Roy is about to show the Demonic Saber until somebody grabs his shoulder. Roy looks behind to see it was the prince.

"Hold on a sec.", Prince Graysen yelled to Bakin.

Bakin hears this and lets him. Prince Graysen then starts giving ki and mana to Roy, knowing that Roy just fought with him earlier. After a few more seconds, Roy is in tip-top shape. Roy smiles and nods.

"Thank you.", Roy thanks the prince.

"Your very welcome.", Prince Graysen responded.

Roy then stares back at his master, giving him an intimidating stare. Bakin smiles, even so, seeing this. Loving to see Roy's eyes filled with fire.

Roy then grabs the handle of the Demonic Saber and with one swift, removes it from its scabbard. Roy then goes to a battle stance. Bakin responds with the same expression. They both look at each other with fiery glares.

"Maybe we should move back a bit. Something tells me this fight will be phenomenal.", Prince Graysen commented.

Yua hears this and quickly hides behind the trees but also peaks her head to see the upcoming fight. The prince also pops his head from the tree without even walking towards it.

Roy closes his eyes and sighs one last time. Then lightning is produced out of his entire body. Roy then opens his eyes and charges quickly at Bakin, swinging the Demonic Saber to the left. Bakin blocks it and moves back from this. Then Bakin's katana starts to form a small tornado on it. Roy charges in again swinging his sword to the left this time.

"Wind Style: Repel!", Bakin yelled.

Unfortunately, Bakin blows Roy away, canceling his next attack. Bakin then stomps on the ground and an earth pillar emerges from the ground, about to hit Roy. Roy then raises his arms and uses the armor on them to brace himself for impact.

THUMP!!!

Roy is soon launched to the air. However, Roy remembers another move that he uses in this situation. The Demonic Saber then stops electrifying and starts to produce liquid. Roy then raises the sword to air and begins falling back to the ground about to crash towards Bakin.

"Water Style: Waterfall!", Roy yelled.

Bakin raises his katana and plans to block the attack. Roy swings the watery sword down along with the force of gravity on Bakin's katana. It hits and creates a shockwave that flows through the area. The ground that Bakin is standing on starts to crack and sink his feet. Bakin smiles and quickly submerges himself to the ground. Roy rolls over and stands right back up, looking around to see where Bakin is to feel that his feet and legs are descending. Roy looks down to see his feet and legs are swallowed by the earth itself. A small earthquake occurs and Bakin emerges behind Roy. Roy sighs seeing this and then he punches the ground to which a huge earth pillar pushes Roy towards the sky. Bakin sees this and backs away from the emerging earth pillar. He's right to do so because, at that moment when he jumps away, spikes suddenly appear on the pillar, preventing Bakin from approaching and destroying the rising earth. The earth pillar then stops and Roy stands up tall. Then Roy focuses his light powers to do his next move.

"Brighten Clones!", Roy yelled.

Suddenly, 2 light figures dropped from the pillar, landing perfectly on the ground. Yua widens her eyes seeing this to see the 2 clones. They radiate a bright yellow color and their eyes are shining white. Both of them are holding red swords and then they start attacking Bakin, swinging their swords at him. Bakin kicks one of the clones down. The clone rolls to the ground and stands up almost immediately, charging at Bakin once again. The prince takes notice of this.

"That clone got kicked down yet it didn't disappear...curious...", Prince Graysen commented while putting his hand on his chin.

"Wh-what do you mean by that, Prince Graysen?", Yua asked while stuttering.

"Usual Shadow Clones disappeared when they're hit. Though you can make tons of it. These kinds of clones, however, didn't disappear after one hit. It seems that these are more durable than their counterparts.", Prince Graysen answered in detail.

"Brighten Clones are more durable than Shadow clones, but they cost more mana than shadow ones. I'd say 5 Shadows equals 1 Brighten Clone.", Roy explained.

"Wah!! Oh... It's just you... Remind me to put a bell on you later.", Prince Graysen was surprised to Roy there beside him.

"Can one of you stand underneath the sun for a minute?", Roy ignore the remark and requested.

"Ok?", Prince Graysen volunteered to do so.

The prince then steps out of the trees, stepping into the sunlight. Prince Graysen then turns around to face Roy. Yua and Prince Graysen are confused about why Roy asked for something like this.

"So now what?", Yua asked.

Roy sighs then approach the prince, jumping straight to his shadow. Roy disappears in Prince Graysen's shadow.

"Woah! Did he jump into my shadow?", the prince asked.

"Hey! Let me join as well.", Yua said.

Yua then jumps into Prince Graysen's shadow, canon-bowling towards it to hit solid ground.

"Ow! Hey what gives?", Yua asked while rubbing her butt.

Roy's head appears out of the shadow, facing Yua with a disappointed look.

"Don't jump in shadows. You didn't learn Shadow Jump. We don't even know what your affinity is.", Roy warned.

"But what are you going to do in there?", Yua asked.

"Focus on master just for a minute...", Roy answered.

Both Yua and Prince Graysen look over to Bakin, seeing him fight the 2 clones. Roy's head then disappears in the shadow of the prince.

Bakin parries one of the light clones away, pushing them backward. The other clone then attacks from above and attempts to strike Bakin down. However, Bakin raises his sword and blocks it. Then Bakin stomps on the ground and an earth pillar launches that clone into the air. Suddenly, Bakin senses a presence behind him. When he quickly turns around, Bakin gets double kicked on the body by Roy who appears out of nowhere. Yua and Prince Graysen are surprised to see this, to see Roy appear from one location to another in a quick manner.

"So he jumps in my shadow as a portal to get behind his master using theirs. Fascinating.", Prince Graysen muttered.

One of the Brighten Clones that is launched to the air, comes back crashing down. Their sword starts to make crackling noises as well as electrifying.

"Thunder Style: Lightning Bolt!", the Brighten Clones yelled.

Then the Brighten Clone points their swords downward and a lightning bolt is released out of it, targeting Bakin from below. Bakin's katana then darkens, having a terrifying aura engulfed it.

"Dark Style: Blast of Sin!!", Bakin shouted.

Bakin quickly points his katana upwards. Suddenly, a small beam that is the size of the blade of Bakin's katana, shoots towards the falling Brighten Clone. The Lightning Bolt and Dark Beam clash, however, Bakin is much stronger than the Brighten Clone. So the dark beam blasts through the lightning bolt, piercing the clone on their chest. The Brighten Clone then puffs up in smokes and disappears.

"Nature Style: Strength Of A Tree!", the other Brighten Clone yelled.

Quickly, Bakin looks over to where the other Brighten Clone is. The Brighten Clone quickly grows a gigantic wooden shield. It's the same size as Roy. The Brighten Clone quickly charges at Bakin. Unfortunately, Bakin points his katana towards the incoming attack. Bakin quickly pierces the wooden shield and stabs the Brighten Clone on the other side, resulting in the other Brighten Clone disappearing.

"That was-Huh?!", Bakin immediately felt a rise in power.

Bakin looks over to Roy to see a massive light magical circle pointing towards him. Roy then stabs the center of the circle. Patterns then appeared on the circle.

"Light Style: Ray Of Hope!!", Roy yelled.

All of a sudden, a massive light beam exits the magical circle. Bakin quickly stomps on the ground which emerges a huge earth wall, blocking the attack. Almost immediately, several Shadow Clones appear and attack Bakin. Bakin then closes his eyes and breathes.

"Determination Drive!!", Bakin yelled.

In an instant, the clones all explode in black smoke all in one. Bakin then feels something in the forest beside him.

"Determination Drive!", Roy yelled as he jumps towards Bakin.

Bakin looks over to still see that the massive beam is still firing but it's controlled by a Shadow Clone. Roy switches out himself with the said clone. Roy then zooms towards Bakin and pushes him towards the earth wall that Bakin made earlier. The Demonic Saber quickly enveloped in flame.

"Flame Style: Mega Slash!", Roy shouted.

Roy then swings the Demonic Saber horizontally and out comes a big Fiery Slash. Bakin quickly ducks and the Mega Slash misses. Bakin smirks but he quickly realizes about the huge earth wall behind him. The Mega Slash destroys the wall and the massive light beam comes charging in. Roy quickly jumps into Bakin's shadow and dips out of there.

"Oh shi-", Bakin muttered before getting blasted by the beam of light.

BWOOOOSH!!!

Roy then pops out Prince Graysen's shadow, landing on solid ground. Roy then wipes off the dirt on him. Both Yua and Prince Graysen are surprised at what Roy did.

"Wow! That was amazing!", Yua praises Roy.

"Yeah, that was amazing...but is your master ok?", Prince Graysen asked worryingly.

"I don't know. Ask him yourself.", Roy answered while facing towards where the explosion happened.

Smoke is there, covering the scene. Dust starts to fly away and reveal a figure that is still standing up. It's Bakin. Bakin puts his arms up and defends himself from the attack. Unfortunately, though, Bakin takes some damage from it.

"I got to admit. You got your father's battle strategies... Not to mention, it stings a bit. Ow... But this isn't enough to take me down Roy-boy.", Bakin stands up properly with intensity.

Yua is shocked to see someone survive such an attack. Prince Graysen is dumbfounded by the sight of Bakin. Roy sighs while closing his eyes and then he opens them with a determined glare, going to a position while tightening the grip of the Demonic Saber. Roy is determined to defeat his master.

Bakin sees this and starts to get excited, smiling intimidatingly. Bakin jumps up and down multiple times, pumped up and ready to go. After that, Bakin then stretches his body before getting to a stance, feeling determined to defeat his student.

Both of them inhale. Then they exhale. Breathing in. Breathing out.

"Determination Drive III!!", Both Roy and Bakin yelled.

They clash once again. A huge shockwave pushes both Yua and Prince Graysen significantly. The ground they are standing on starts to shake as well as cracking. However, the ground that Roy and Bakin are standing on is starting to sink in deeper and create a small crater. Their feet are creating small craters. The 2 opposite forces are breaking the earth they're standing on. Unfortunately, it isn't over just yet.

Both Bakin and Roy separate their swords and clash with each other again. Again and again, causing all sorts of shockwaves that are blowing the leaves on the trees away, creating an even bigger crater on the earth below them with each swing, and pushing their spectators away. Yua is struggling to stand up and push against the shock waves. Though Yua is feeling a bit dizzy, vision getting blurry, hearing bells in her ears, and is feeling a bit tired. Prince Graysen then wraps his arms around Yua and then he carries her like a damsel in distress, running away from the fight.

"Let's observe this battle with more distance, shall we?", Prince Graysen asked.

"Yes, please...", Yua answered with a headache.

The ground starts to shake a bit, repeatedly disappearing and reappearing. Varari, Alvin, and Sara feels it. They start questioning where it's coming from.

"Where is that earthquake coming from?", Alvin questions.

"I think nature didn't cause this. Earthquakes don't appear, disappear, and reappear again on short notice. I believe someone is causing this.", Sara shared her thoughts.

Varari then looks over the direction where Roy is, feeling that's where the source is. Suddenly, Varari remembers about Bakin going that way.

"I think Bakin and Roy are fighting someone.", Varari theorized.

"Well yes, but actually no.", Prince Graysen said beside her.

"Ah! Wait, Prince Graysen? How did you get here?", Varari was surprised to see the prince there.

"Long story short, I can teleport. Another long story short, Roy and Bakin is fighting.", Prince Graysen explained as he set Yua down.

Yua seems to be winded, looking even sickly. Seeing this, Sara then runs towards Yua drastically, genuinely worried about Yua's health.

"Wait, Roy is battling his master? Why?", Alvin asked worriedly.

"Well, let's just say Roy is trying to prove something to his master. I mean, he gave us this.", Prince Graysen showed Roy's crimson scarf and digital watch.

"That's Roy's watch and scarf. He values these dearly, why did he give them to you?", Varari pointed out.

Alvin sees the watch and remembers that time when Roy lost it and was trying to find his watch.

"I'm sorry... I just... That watch is important to me. It was given to me by someone I respect greatly.", Roy explained.

These words echo through Alvin's head. Then it hits him.

"Probably because the watch was given to him by someone important. I mean, I don't know if you know this, Roy's watch was a gift from someone he respect greatly. That person he respects greatly could be Master Bakin.", Alvin explained the watch.

Varari hears this and begins thinking, staring at the watch on the prince's hand. After that, Varari switches her gaze from Roy's crimson scarf, remembering something in past, remembering that time when Varari got shot and Roy used his scarf as a cloth to stop the bleeding.

"Hold on to that. I'll come back to get that scarf. Master poured sweat and blood into making that. He would be pissed if I lost it.", Roy commented.

Those are the very words Roy said to Varari that night. Varari then looks over to where Roy and Bakin are fighting.

"These 2 things help him greatly. And I guess giving it away means that he doesn't need his master's help anymore. Roy is trying to prove that he can survive on his own.", Varari explained her thoughts.

Roy then releases a Fiery Slash at Bakin. Bakin blocks it with an earth wall. After that, Bakin smashes the earth wall, making bits of rocks fly towards Roy by pushing towards him using the wind element. Seeing this, Roy's quick reflexes forces him to move out of the way, dodging the incoming pieces of rocks.

"Nature Style: Flowery Stars!!", Roy yelled.

After he lands, Roy then starts spinning fast like a small tornado. Pink flowers appear and start to fly everywhere, piercing everything it touches. The pink flowers act like shurikens. Bakin gathers the wind around him and then he starts spinning as well.

"Wind Style: Tornado!!", Bakin shouted back.

A huge tornado then appears on Bakin. After a few seconds, the tornado soon separates from Bakin and starts to gather all of the pink flowers that Roy made earlier and throw them back at him. Roy then quickly makes an ice dome, protecting himself from the counter-attack. Soon the tornado disappears. When that happen, the ice dome broke into pieces, showing Roy holding a watery Demonic Saber.

Roy quickly splashes it onto the ground in front of him and steps on it, freezing instantly. The watery sword starts spewing out water while using his feet to freeze it. Using the combined elements of water and ice, Roy skates towards Bakin and raises the watery sword upward, creating an icy ramp. This makes Roy fly above Bakin. Roy creates a line of water and freezes it instantly by kicking it towards Bakin. Seeing this, Bakin quickly moves away. Roy changes tactics and decides to do something else. Still skating around the area, making everywhere he goes turn into ice. As well as creating huge ice pillars as Roy maneuvers around the area.

'What is he doing? Does he plan to freeze the whole forest while ignoring me? That doesn't make any sense...', Bakin confusingly thought.

Bakin then remembers that Roy is a tactician, thinking that whatever Roy is planning to do is dangerous.

'This is Roy-boy I'm talking about, there's a good reason why he's making those ice pillars, which I still don't know the reason why, but I shouldn't give him time to execute whatever he's planning to do.', Bakin silently thought.

Bakin is confused about what is Roy doing, but instead of thinking and giving Roy more time to prepare, he attacks. Bakin goes for the offense, light begins to shine on his katana. Then Bakin points it towards his moving opponent.

"Light Style: Light Beam!!", Bakin yelled

A white energized beam is released out of the tip of the katana, blasting and burning everything it touches. As well as melting some of the ice Roy is making. Roy quickly switches techniques by jumping into the air and smashing the ground beneath him, causing a huge stone to emerge and launch towards the sky. Roy then swings the Demonic Saber and hits the gigantic rock mid-air, smashing the rock towards Bakin. Bakin sees this and slices the rock in half, shattering it into pieces. Bakin's eyes suddenly widen when Roy is inches away from him. Roy's body is also electrifying.

"Thunder Style: Stormy Attacks!", Roy yelled.

Roy swings the Demonic Saber downward to left. Bakin leans and dodges it, causing Roy to miss. However, Roy lands in one of the ice pillars and jumps from there towards Bakin. Unfortunately, Bakin is too slow at this moment to dodge but is quick enough to block. Bakin blocks the attack and Roy ricochet off. The attack is so strong that Balkin couldn't counter-attack. However, Roy still isn't done.

Roy quickly sprints at Bakin with lightning speed and begins his barrage of attacks, swinging the Demonic Saber up, down, left, and right. Bakin could barely block Roy's attack due to the sheer speed that Roy is making. Bakin could barely keep up until Bakin's katana starts to darken. Bakin blocks Roy's next attack and jumps back, giving himself some time to breathe. Roy sees the katana emitting darkness that Bakin is holding. Seeing this, Roy quickly lunges at his master, trying to prevent Bakin to use a certain sword move. However, it's already too late.

"Dark Style: Fear Strike!", Bakin shouted.

Bakin then clashes weapons with Roy. Roy is suddenly overwhelmed with fear. Fear has struck in Roy's heart, making Roy freeze for just a second. A second is all Bakin needs. Bakin doesn't let up this chance and continues on the offense.

"Dark Style: Barrage Of Terror!", Bakin yelled.

Bakin starts attacking Roy while Roy defends himself loosely and with fear. With each strike from Bakin, it makes Roy's skin go white. Roy's heart starts pumping harder and harder due to progressive fear. His body started sending in more adrenaline, making him do a fight or flight response. Bakin then spins to the right and pushes Roy, overshooting the center of the area and pushing him at the edge of the forest.

Roy skids back significantly and he is trembling. The fear that he felt and is currently feeling is making him go nuts. Roy forces himself to steady the grip of the Demonic Saber for it is shaking, taking multiple deep breaths to calm himself down.

"You know Roy, I won't judge you if you want to call quits now.", Bakin said.

Roy smirks and chuckles a bit, getting to a fighting stance. The Demonic Saber starts glowing very brightly.

"I'm not done yet. Besides, I know that you're lying, master.", Roy replied.

"Eh... You caught me. I will judge you a little bit if you did give up now.", Bakin admitted and gets to position as well.

The master's katana then starts to be engulfed in darkness more. The student's sword shines even brighter. Then they both launch at each other again.

"Dark Style: Barrage Of Terror!!", Bakin yelled.

"Light Style: Heavenly Strikes!", Roy shouted back.

Bakin strikes first at Roy. Roy blocks it but this time he doesn't feel any fear at all from the effects of the dark attack that Bakin made. Only the fear that using the light element won't block all the negative effects of the darkness that Bakin is emitting. However, it does. The light element protects Roy from the fear coming from the darkness.

Roy and Bakin quickly trade blows after blows. Swings and strikes. Slashes after slashes. They're at a standstill. Even when both of them are still at Determination III, they still have plenty of stamina to use. Bakin doesn't plan to lose but Roy's will to defeat his master shines brighter. Roy then strikes Bakin, making Bakin skid back at the center of the area. Roy then breathes for just a moment. The light on the Demonic Saber soon disappears and is replaced with crackling lightning. Then Roy's body starts to electrify, and so does the Demonic Saber.

"Thunder Style: Multiple Strikes!", Roy yelled.

Roy quickly jumps forward. However, instead of charging towards Bakin, Roy heads towards one of the ice pillars he made earlier. After that, Roy lands on it and jumps from there, launching himself at Bakin. Bakin blocks it but Roy ricochets off him and lands on another ice pillar, launching from there and attacking Bakin again. Roy repeats this again and again, overwhelming Bakin enough that the only thing he could do is defend himself. With each strike, Roy gains more speed and momentum, making Bakin unable to move due to the sheer speed of attack Roy is dishing out on Bakin. Bakin then has enough and decides to go to the next level.

"DETERMINATION DRIVE V!!!", Bakin screamed at the top of his lungs.

Bakin then quickly moves aside and strikes Roy at the perfect time, making Roy roll on the floor and crash into a tree. This causes Roy to lose his Determination Drive state quickly. Roy's red aura and eyes fade away. After a few seconds of breathing and recovering, Roy then stands up and faces his master.

Bakin's body is bloating a bit and his aura is blood red. Bakin's muscles tense up, making his veins pop and his eyes are intense. Bakin is filled with furious but at the same time, Bakin is holding back, trying not to lose his sanity to the final form of Determination Drive.

Roy feels a little bit familiar, remembering something similar to this...

________________________________________________________________

Little Roy is launched and rolls on the ground. His tiny body is bruised up a bit but nothing fatal. The boy tries to stand up until a katana is pointed at Roy.

"You lose...again.", Bakin stopped the fight.

Seeing this, Roy then flops to the ground, turning around to see the blue sky above. The boy's teeth grind with one another. Roy's face contorts. Then the boy screamed a bit. Mad that he lost...again. Seeing this, Bakin lay on the ground beside Roy, looking at the bright blue sky as well. There is a few seconds of silence until Bakin broke it.

"Are you angry?", Bakin asked.

"Yes...", Roy answered while forcing himself to calm down.

"Good. Remember that feeling whenever you lose.", Bakin replied.

"Huh?", Roy was confused by this.

"Whenever you lose, naturally you feel angry. Though anger can be ugly, it can also be used as a driving force to be stronger. It makes you not want to lose again, which will push you to be stronger. Being furious when you lose is a survival instinct that we humans have.", Bakin explained.

"So are you saying that I should be angry all the time?", Roy questions Bakin.

"Well, no... Too much of anything can go bad. Not to mention, anger is also a destructive emotion. I'm just saying that it's ok to be mad. It's a part of who we are. Though we also need to control it or set some boundaries. Otherwise, we'll be consumed by it, and that's the last thing we should avoid.", Bakin said in response.

Roy holds his scarf. As well as understanding what Master Bakin said. Roy then stands up and holds the wooden sword. His anger is fueling his determination to become even stronger.

It's already nighttime. Bakin and Roy have been training all day the sky turns dark and the moon rises. Bakin is holding the hand of his nephew, taking Roy back to his home. When they're there, Bashira is at the porch, waiting worriedly for her child. When Bashira sees both Bakin and Roy, she feels relieved, then her expression goes sour. Bakin sees this and starts approaching Bashira while looking away. Bashira notices and took a breath, trying to calm down a bit.

"Seriously... You know that I hate it when you 2 arrive this late.", Bashira said while a bit annoyed.

"Well, sorry. Time passes by fast when you're having fun. Isn't that right, Roy-boy?", Bakin made an excuse and asked his nephew.

Roy nods happily. Seeing her boy happy makes Bashira calm down a bit.

"But still. I don't like it when you're this late. At least come here when it isn't past 12.", Bashira added.

Bakin then scratches the back of his head and winks at Bashira while sticking out his tongue.

"Sorry, but we don't have a watch.... So... Oh, forget it.", Bakin quickly backpedals after pointing out the fact that they don't have any watch to tell time.

Bakin then grabs something in his pocket, pulling something out. Bashira is surprised to see the thing that Bakin pulls out. Roy looks at it and is confused. The boy is confused because he doesn't know what it is.

"I was saving this for your birthday buuuuuuut.... Yeah.", Bakin explained.

Bakin kneels at Roy's level and then grabs Roy's right arm. Roy is still confused about what's happening.

"Steady your arm a bit.", Bakin ordered.

Roy does what he is told and steadies his right arm. Bakin then straps something on Roy's arm. Tightening it a bit, making sure it won't fall or turn over.

"Does it hurt?", Bakin asked.

"No... But what is it?", Roy answered and asked a question.

"Well, that is a watch. It can tell the time.", Bakin told Roy while standing right back up.

"Wow... How do I use it though?", Roy doesn't know how to use a watch.

Bashira breathes heavily hearing this. Bakin laughs awkwardly knowing that Roy doesn't know how a watch works. Bashira then coughs, clearing up the mood.

"Ok, ok. Don't worry, sunshine. I'll teach you how to read a watch.", Bashira replied.

"Really? Thanks, mom!", Roy hugged his mother's legs.

Bashira is caught off guard by this but appreciates the gesture, giving Roy a head pat seeing this. Bakin sees this and smiles.

"Well, keep it safe. That thing cost ¥20,000. It is very expensive.", Bakin added.

Bashira's mouth soon drops, shocked by the price of a watch that is on her son's wrist. Roy doesn't understand the value of the watch he's wearing so he doesn't react to what Bakin said.

"Please, tell me you didn't spend that much on a watch?", Bashira wanted it to be a joke.

"I'll leave it at your imagination.", Bakin said this while having a goofy face.

Bashira is even more dumbfounded to hear this. Bakin laughs at the expression that Bashira is making. Roy still doesn't understand anything so he does nothing. Bashira then starts laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

Bakin chuckles a bit as well. After that, they both stare into each eye while smiling. Roy looks at both Bakin then Bashira, confused at what's happening.

"Mom, can you teach me now how I can use this watch?", Roy interrupted the mood of the atmosphere.

Hearing this, both of them looks away from each other. Roy makes the situation awkward. Bakin then coughs, trying to clear the mood.

"Well then, I'll be going now. See ya tomorrow, Roy-boy.", Bakin said as he turns around to leave.

"See ya, master!", Roy responded back.

Bashira stares at Bakin while he walks away, closing her eyes while giggling a bit.

"That idiot... ", Bashira muttered while smiling.

"What was that mom?", Roy asked.

"Never mind! Come on, let's get inside now.", Bashira replied.

________________________________________________________________

Roy sighs while closing his eyes, feeling the anger within him swell up a bit. Roy breathes in and out. One. Last. Time.

"DETERMINATION DRIVE V!!!", Roy screamed as well.

Roy's aura then emits a crimson infernal and his muscles tense up. Roy's body is seconds away from bursting a bunch of blood vessels but it doesn't. Roy's eyes go feral, imitating the eyes of a wild angry animal. The inner anger that Roy has is awakening.

Bakin sees this and holds his katana tightly. Roy does the same as well with the Demonic Saber. Then... They both charge at each other!

CRASH!!!

When they clash with each other, the ground they stand on sinks significantly. It also creates a huge shockwave that blows most of the leaves out of its branches from the surrounding trees.

BOOM!!!

WHACK!!!

THUMP!!!

BANG!!!

POW!!!

WHAM!!!

SWHING!!!

They repeatedly strike swords with each other. Hitting blows after blows to one another. Collision and collision and collision. Smashing metal at metal. Sparks repeatedly appear for just a brief second whenever the 2 blades come in contact with each other. The sinkhole they're in gets even deeper and bigger. Trees lean away from the fight due to the powerful gust of air that is blowing through them. Both Roy and Bakin are literally giving blood and sweat in this battle. Not backing down from this. Both determined to defeat one another.

CRASH!!!

BAM!!!

KAPOW!!!

WHOMP!!!

THWACK!!!

SMACK!!!

CLASH!!!

Trading blow after blows again and again. Until both of them strike each other with equal strength and push each other back. Both Roy and Bakin slide backward for a few seconds, giving each other some distance.

"FLAME STYLE: HELLISH BLADE!!!", Roy shouted like a maniac.

Hellish flame engulfs the Demonic Saber, burning hotter and hotter. Roy grips the Demonic Saber with both hands and charges at Bakin. Bakin sees this and moves away. Not wanting to clash weapons with the Hellish Demonic Saber. Seeing this, Roy now knows that Bakin doesn't want to fight in close quarters due to the flaming sword. So he changes tactics.

"FLAME STYLE: FIERY SLASH!!!", Roy yelled like an animal.

Roy swings the Hellish Demonic Saber downward and launches an intense Fiery Slash targeting Bakin. Bakin dodges and the blistering Fiery Slash instantly burns the tree it crashes into. Roy swings his sword in all directions, trying to at least land a single Fiery Slash at Bakin. This causes the surrounding trees to be burned, making a huge forest fire. Roy then stops and starts coughing. The smoke from the forest fire starts to get to him. Adding to that statement, Roy loses sight of where Bakin is due to the black smoke on the battleground. Seeing this, Roy tries to focus and sense where Bakin is until he feels his master behind him. Along with a powerful aura coming from Bakin. Feeling this, Roy immediately turns around to see Bakin standing there with a massive light magical circle.

"LIGHT STYLE: RAY OF HOPE!!!", Bakin shouted at Roy.

Bakin then stabs the center of the circle and patterns blooms out of it. Soon, a huge light laser blasts towards Roy. Seeing this, Roy quickly reacts.

"FLAME STYLE: MEGA SLASH!!!", Roy screamed.

Roy swings the Hellish Demonic Saber vertically, firing a massive Fiery Slash at the beam of light. The gigantic Fiery Slash splits the massive light blast that is coming from Bakin. However, it still isn't strong enough to penetrate through it all. Knowing this, Roy decides to amp up the flames in his attacks even more.

"KYŌKA SURU X20!!!", Roy yelled out like a beast.

Roy's Hellish Blade went blue. His aura combines with the red hellish aura and becomes a violet chaotic atmosphere. Then Roy positions himself again.

"FLAME STYLE: MEGA SLASH!!!", Roy screamed at the top of his lungs again.

This time the large Fiery Slash pushes through the middle of the beam. Seeing this, Bakin chooses to do the same.

"KYŌKA SURU X20!!!", Bakin roared out.

Bakin's red aura goes violet-like, doing the same thing that Roy did. This results in Bakin giving his huge beam of light a stronger and much more powerful blast, pushing the Mega Slash back.

"FLAME STYLE: MEGA SLASH!!!", Roy repeated.

The Mega Slash keeps on pushing through the light beam, making its progress towards Bakin.

"FLAME STYLE: MEGA SLASH!!!", Roy yelled again.

"FLAME STYLE: MEGA SLASH!!!", Roy fires another one.

"FLAME STYLE: MEGA SLASH!!!", Roy screamed once.

Firing more Mega Slash, Roy keeps on thrusting his attacks towards his master, trying to make it go through the beam.

"FLAME STYLE: MEGA SLASH!!!", Roy yelled again.

"FLAME STYLE: MEGA SLASH!!!", Roy launches another one.

"FLAME STYLE: MEGA SLASH!!!", Roy cries out again.

Inching one by one, Roy progresses towards Bakin, going even past halfway, and is closing in Bakin. Seeing how close this is, Roy fires another.

"FLAME STYLE: MEGA SLASH!!!", Roy did one last time.

However this time, Roy only launched a normal-sized Fiery Slash. Roy's eyes widen seeing this, not understanding why that happened. To see if this is all just in his head, Roy swings another Mega Slash to test if his eyes deceive him or not.

"Flame Style: Mega Slash!!", Roy yelled again.

However, Roy fires a much smaller Fiery Slash. Suddenly, Roy's body aches so hard that both Determination Drive and Kyōka Suru quickly disappear. Roy soon realizes what's happening now.

"You already ran out of ki and mana! You shouldn't have used too much of it!!", Bakin shouted.

After saying that, Bakin pushes more power through his beam of light, destroying the last Mega Slash that Roy made. Roy tries to dodge it but his body is too weak to move. Soon, Roy is enveloped by the light.

BWOOOOOOSSSSHHHH!!!

The light beam blasted Roy, pushing him through the ground and beyond the trees. After a few more seconds, Bakin stops himself and the beam of light slowly disappears. Bakin's aura fades away and soon he feels the after-effects of both techniques he used. Tired, Bakin slowly makes it through the burning forest, walking towards the path that the beam of light paved. At the end of it, Roy is lying there, groaning in pain. Roy is once defeated. Again. Seeing Roy lying on the ground, Bakin approaches his injured student and lays beside him, breathing heavily while staring at the sky.

"Are you angry?", Bakin asked.

Roy sighs and then he opens his eyes, looking at the beautiful sky.

"Yes.", Roy answered.