The Search for Knowledge - Chapter 9

As he walked the five hundred meter gap between the two; Rox spoke casually, "Now, I'm going to get back to blowing off steam and stretch out my wings a bit. Do try to hold it together for a bit, future barrier-boy. Oh, and I recommend putting up as many defensive spells as possible." Jeerae rushed to his feet and gathered as much magical power as he could. However, instead of attacking immediately, he followed Rox's advice and put up several defensive barriers. Only then did he attempt his attack again. Combining the magic power of fire and wind, he created a small flaming twister. He harnessed it between his hands and compacting it; adding power to it until it became so fierce and volatile that even he was having issues holding onto it. After it was sufficiently charged, Jeerae threw the compacted fiery tornado. It seemed to hold far more power than even his largest fire wall from earlier.

The attack traveled like lightning, closing the distance between them in mere milliseconds. It seemed to make contact with Rox this time, causing an immense detonation. Jeerae was lucky that he had put up his defensive barriers. If he had not, even he would have been caught in his own magic. The explosion spanned several thousand meters. The spectators of the fight could only gasp in amazement, as if watching the fire wall disappear earlier had been only a dream. All of them relaxed, thinking that this must be the end of the fight. However, the battle structure's space did not begin breaking down; letting the audience know that the fight was still on. Jeerae and the audience frantically searched the battlefield for where Rox had gone.

The entire battlefield was torn asunder without warning. Suddenly, the dust from the explosion separated; blown away by a second explosion from within the cloud. The ground split and the entire arena shook violently. The cracks in the ground reached outwards as if to touch Jeerae. Instead, they continued past him to his left and around him. He followed the fissures with his eyes, wondering if it was some kind of attack. However, when the fractured ground was about to reach him, he paled. Rox stood at the end of it. Jeerae realized that the other man had simply run with incredible force and speed, enough to cause the ground to cave under his feet. Only Kara had observed that the split formed only after Rox had appeared behind Jeerae. However, even she could not see him during his movement.

"That was much better, but still not enough. Now let's test those barriers, shall we?" Rox said, his cheerful mood having returned. He took his fighting stance. His legs were wide-spread and it was clear his weight was shifted onto his back leg. His left arm was in front of him, bent at the elbow, with palm open as if ready to block an attack; while his right was held close to his side in a fist.

Then, without warning, Jeerae felt the impact of a strike. From the audience's point of view, Rox stood still. Then abruptly the ground beneath them shattered from some sort of powerful wave. Jeerae was sent flying parallel to the ground with an acceleration that easily broke the sound barrier and without losing momentum. However, Rox set off running and easily caught up to him in a matter of seconds. Jeerae could only glimpse the smirk on Rox's face as he clasped his hands together and brought them down like a hammer onto Jeerae's chest, slamming him into the ground. Causing the ground to once again fracture apart from the force. A crater began to form. Then after an instant, the crater multiplied in size; coming to span a distance of nearly seven hundred meters. Jeerae coughed up blood from after-effects of the impact. Thankful that he had imposed multiple barriers of the highest caliber that he could muster. While he lay on his back tasting his own blood; Rox once again casually walked up to him before speaking.

"Excellent, your ability as a punching bag is quite admirable. It's been a while since I could let loose a bit. However, I'm running out of time. So I'm going to end this now if you don't mind. I hope you've learned to respect your elders a bit, kid." He spoke while raising his fist and opening his hand as if he were holding something over it. "Experience this and regret your arrogance." Atop his hand, a sphere that seemed to be darker than even the blackest night seethed into existence. No larger than the size of an apple, the sphere expanded. Threatening to overtake his hand before shrinking multiple times, as if he were compacting the ability in imitation of way that Jeerae had done earlier. He did this for what felt like an eternity to Jeerae and the watching audience. Fear grew not only in the young fiery-haired youth, but even in the onlookers. As they began to feel anxious about what they would witness.

There was an instant in time where everything seemed to freeze. This was when the ball appeared to finish gathering energy. Immediately after it had, a dark shockwave of energy was visibly released from it; spreading out over the battlefield before disappearing. Rox then gave the youth a smile devoid of any mercy and rammed the orb into his opponent's abdomen. The orb burst, a silent explosion occurred. Expanding from the point of impact was a surge of impenetrable blackness. It seemed to engulf everything it touched, swallowing all that it came into contact with. The battlefield was consumed before the audience's eyes. The displays they watched spread out further and further to show the devastation of the attack. It continued expanding, drawing fears from the viewers that it might never end. However, it finally reached its greatest extent after consuming over fifty kilometers of the battle structure. In the clearing gloom, Rox stood alone in the center of a vast crater. One that could have encompassed nearly half of the very city they were in. Once again, they could only stare. Not in amazement, or surprise, but in abject fear of the monstrous fight they had just witnessed. No, rather than a fair fight, it was more like a one-sided annihilation.

Moments later, Rox's figure disappeared from the space and turned into motes of light. Only Kara had collected herself enough to realize the match was over, and rushed out of the room to find the cause of this disaster.

Rematerializing in the room that the two had started in previously. Jeerae was on his hands and knees vomiting uncontrollably, when Rox appeared on the circle from earlier. He took a few steps forward and was about speak. However, Kara burst into the room, having been lead there by people who had seen which room the two had entered earlier.

"Rox! What the hell did I just see you do?!" She yelled frantically at him. He then looked at her quizzically, not quite sure how to answer. Especially given that he had not been aware that she had even been watching the fight.

"Ah, I guess I have some more explaining to do... However, you're going to have to pardon me for a bit before I get to that." He stated calmly, accepting the situation as it was.

"No, you explain right here and now just how much you're hiding." Kara demanded, appearing to not be afraid of him at all, or at least doing her best to control herself after having seen first hand that he actually is a good person.

"I'm afraid I have to insist," Rox said in response. Before Kara had a chance complain or make further demands, seal writing appeared in midair and seemed to abruptly move in reverse. The writing collapsed down onto his body, and rapidly scrawled across his skin, retreating from his scalp back underneath his clothes again. He then collapsed onto the ground and began convulsing in horrid agony, muscles spasming as if they trying to tear themselves apart. Coughing up blood, so thick with magic poisoning that the blood appeared to be pulsating and electric blue. Then, as abruptly as an extinguished candle, he lost consciousness.

- - - -

Rox did not regain consciousness until the next day. Opening his eyes to see a ceiling that he was unfamiliar with. He remained calm and analyzed the situation. Glancing around the room he could tell it was very upscale. It definitely was not the same inn that Kara had rented for the both them earlier. The inn itself appeared to be made of some form of high-quality magic-enchanted wood. Which caused the structure to take on strange twisting shapes at the corners of the room, or at edges of the windowsill. It also caused the wood to be either completely white or entirely black. This gave the room a gorgeous black-white contrasting color scheme. The bed he was in felt similar to the one in Nil, that he had previously slept in, before he had left with Kara. His weapons and cloak were resting on the ground next to the bed he was in. After noticing this, he threw the blanket off and quickly donned them. Once they were equipped, a sharp pain shot up his leg all the way to his neck. Abruptly, he collapsed onto the ground with a loud noise.

He heard muffled panicked voices outside the door that creaked opened a few moments later. Kara peeked through it to check on the room, then suddenly threw the door open and ran in. She helped him get back to the bed, then called to someone who was apparently standing near the door. Feera then appeared from around the corner and joined them both in the room.

"Where am I?" Rox groaned, asking the most obvious question, and trying to avoid the others questions he knew were probably soon to come.

"We're at the Fira family household. I'm not sure what you did, but apparently they wanted to show you some kind of respect? Kara has been very unclear to me about the whole thing. Honestly, I was hoping you would know." Feera answered Rox, confusion apparent in her voice as she looked over at Kara. Rox also looked over to the small girl for an answer.

Staring back at the both of them Kara calmly answered, "While you were unconscious, the Fira family approached me in the arena queue room. They asked me who you were, what had just happened in the arena, who I was to you, and a few other things that I wasn't entirely sure how to answer. So they agreed to let us stay here until you woke up, and they could speak with you."

However Feera only looked more confused now. "I feel like I'm being kept in the dark by you. You wouldn't tell me what happened to nearly kill Rox, now you're telling me that Fira took an interest in him at the arena of all places? What happened?" She said, hurt, looking between the two for answers.

"Yes Rox, what happened?" Said Kara, with a sharpness to her voice while looking at him with a smile that did not reach her eyes.

Rox felt a chill run down his spine and nervously began to speak. "Ah, well you see, Feera, I got into a fight with Jeerae Fira. We went to the arena to spar, and he made me upset with his arrogance. So I beat the fear of the gods into him." He had spoken quickly and nodded with affirmation after he finished, as if that alone would be enough to prevent further questioning. The look he was receiving from Kara, however, convinced him that they'd be having another conversation when it was just the two of them later.

"Woah! Really? I heard that Jeerae was quite powerful. Even the black market dealers I contacted while looking for Aetherous information seemed to stay out of his business. How are you only a bronze rank adventurer?" Feera said with childlike amazement. She grasped his hand in hers and squeezed it in excitement. Like she was hearing some sort of heroic adventure story. Rox could not help but smile at her innocent reaction.

"Yes, how are you merely a bronze ranked adventurer? My son is safely within the orichalcum rank with his rating, yet you beat him literally into the ground as if he were nothing but a trainee." Suddenly spoke an older man in a deep voice as he entered the room. He was quite tall, and looked like an older version of Jeerae. Except that his hair was mostly grayed; with only flecks of his fire-like hair color remaining, like memories of a time forgotten. This was the head of the Fira family. Next to him was a young human woman with long, luscious, black hair. Her skin was tanned, like that of a dark elf, and her eyes were ice blue. Her height was similar to Kara's and she wore a maid's uniform with the emblem of the Fira family on it. Her eyes seemed to be locked onto that of Rox's figure in the bed. No emotion was present in those eyes.

"Allow me to make the introductions. I am Lee Fira, and this here is my son's fiancee. The beautiful Leyri Hyperia." Once she had been introduced, she gave a small curtsy to the group. "Now, to business. My son said you claimed to go by the name of Rox Nihil. Looking closely, he seems to not be entirely insane, you look exactly like Rox did back when I met him over a thousand years ago. However, that can not possibly be true, because you should be older than even I am." he said inquisitively. While examining Rox more closely he continued, "The Rox I remember was nearly two hundred years older than I and was entirely unable to use magic, despite having nearly unparalleled physical capabilities. However, the magic you displayed at the arena was beyond the comprehension of anyone who witnessed it, myself included. Not to mention the incredibly powerful seal, or should I call it a curse, that you seem to have on you." He had stated everything as a fact, almost as if starting an interrogation. Rox tensed up, as could tell he would not back down until he received the answers he was looking for. Today was going to be a long day, longer than any he had experienced in the Forest of giants. Now he had to deal with both an overly curious old man, and the overbearing Kara looking for answers in tandem.

Various gazes fell upon him, Kara searched him with critical eyes, the old elf with a stern one, Jeerae's fiancee without emotion, and Feera was, of course, looking at him with the excited eyes of the child. He could not help but smile at the girl, who seemed to be immune to the tension in the room, and from the hardships he had forced himself into since he decided to rampage to vent his frustrations. His previously tense body now loosened. With a sigh, he spoke with a tone that suggested he had long since given up. "This is what I get for letting out my anger in such a public setting. Fine, ask away."