Two Paths

Valerius thought he was truly seeing in red. 

"Do you think you're worthy of such a thing?!"

SLAP!

Valerius had no idea where it came from. Ryu hadn't even taken a single step. His hand just swung and a hand print deformed his cheek and left a tooth flying into the distance. 

"Every moment you don't, I'll increase the strength of that slap by 10%."

"You—"

The sound echoed even louder than before. 

The beast tamer woman seemed to finally regain her bearings. "Stop right—"

Ice needles appeared once again, these ones even more robust than before, and yet somehow even less detectable than the first time. 

Another slap. 

This one shattered Valerius' cheek bone and part of his jaw. The side of his face swelled into a balloon. 

By the time the fifth descended, Ryu was greatly disappointed. The combination of genius and youth on the Ninth Heaven left him feeling no sort of exhilaration.