Arthur's Test

[Reynolds H's POV]

Palpable atmosphere reigned supreme as the two squared off at the centre of the field. The tenseness was rising with their ever-increasing battle intent. It was dense enough that even Lilia and Ellie had to come and sit down with Sylvie in their arms. Mom and dad had put a hold on their chat and had now become serious as they waited for the spar to commence. The same was true for Uncle Vincent and Aunt Tabitha. I looked over to Aunt Alice to check how she was doing, but she doing fine with only a tinge of concern swimming in her eyes.

Having taken note of my surroundings, I focused back on what was ahead. To be honest, I myself was quite excited to see how Arthur would do. I didn't know if there were any deviations from the usual canon. So I wanted to check if Arthur would be the same or not. Would he be an utter disappointment or would he surpass my imagination? That would give me an idea as to what to expect from the world going forth.

And with that, the battle started.

Without wasting a second, Arthur dashed towards uncle, his low-to-the-ground silhouette almost blurring from his speed.

His small stature, as well as his low body positioning, made his movements unpredictable and wild.

As he appeared before uncle, he lifted his left leg for a shin strike, but that turned out to be a feint as his left fist was already closing in on uncle's right side of the chest.

seeing that coming, uncle caught the punch with his left hand, effectively putting a stop to that offensive.

"You're going to have to try harder than..." Before he could finish, Arthur was already on his next move. Keeping the momentum from earlier going, he jumped up and used uncle's forearm as a foothold and freed himself from his grasp. Landing back down, he quickly turned around and thrust his elbow into uncle's stomach.

Uncle dodged to the side and again grabbed his hand, but this time instead of waiting around, he yanked him to the side in an attempt to throw him off his balance.

While in the air, Arthur grabbed uncle's shirt and at the same time swept his feet off the ground while consolidating his own footing.

Using the same momentum, he pulled uncle and threw him from over the shoulder.

After a few flips and twists, uncle landed safely with a good few meters of distance between them.

All this happened and not even 15 seconds had gone by.

" What happened about going all out? I thought you said you'll be using spells from the start." Arthur said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Now, now... don't get too ahead of yourself. I'll admit you caught me off guard. But, your old man is going to get serious now."

*Crack!*

Sparks started to fly off as he punched his fists together.

"A little trick I learned after I broke through into the dark orange stage. Don't say I didn't warn you."

His fists, which were giving off sparks moments earlier were now completely shrouded with shining amber fire. His body was giving off an ethereal amber light as the temperature around him slowly started to rise.

It was quite a sight to behold, the kind that would entrap you with its beauty. The others were also not an exception to this. And thus, amidst all this, they failed to realize that a similar change was happening in Arthur, only this time, it was much more volatile and way scarier.

*Zizzzz zizziz zizz*

They noticed what was happening only when a crackling sound took over the area.