Chapter 54

"Brother Atid! Let us embrace the saiyan ways and converse further with our fists!"

"Hahahaha! You read my mind as well, Brother Igor! Let us not talk any longer! Our fists will convey our feelings!"

"Yes!"

Swoosh Swoosh…Clash

Right there in the cafeteria, stupid decisions were made.

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|DxD|

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It was a peaceful day in the heavenly realm. Indra and Sun Wukong were still in the command room overlooking the entire heavenly realm. The royal purple skies filled with golden radiance coated the horizons, numerous little buildings laced with gold laying erect down below. The kingdom of Indra was large and well governed. Although the Deva population belonging to Indra wasn't particularly large, each member was very well off, enough to be compared to millionaires on Earth. Indra valued perfection and his governance showed it.

Both monkey and god stood next to each other, their gaze roaming Svargaloka.

Both men were quiet, the atmosphere between them slightly tense. Igor's aura still permeated the room, the special seals lining the wall not allowing it to easily dissipate outside. They were quiet, their gaze roaming the scene down below.

This continued for a while until Indra tilted his head to look at Sun Wukong, a question in his head bubbling.

"Wukong. Why do you care so much for the boy?"

It was truly a question that had the god in quite the bundle of confusion. He had known the old sage for centuries, yet not once did he show such concern for anyone apart from his comrades or family. It was such a conundrum that Indra couldn't help but ask the question to satisfy his curiosity.

Sun Wukong looked ahead with a sigh, a myriad of thoughts in his head.

"Because, Indra…that kid reminds me of myself in my youth."

Indra raised an eyebrow at this. There was slight confusion since he was sure there were quite a few people like the blonde in the army-

"You probably think there are many like him, right?"

Looking at Sun Wukong's sly grin, Indra huffed. It always irked him when the old sage accurately predicted his thoughts at the worst of times.

It made it seem as if he was the younger one between them.

"As if. Don't get ahead of yourself, Wukong."

Sun Wukong looked at Indra with puffed cheeks, the wind trapped inside threatening to rush out in bursts of laughter.

"Pfft…hahahahahaha! Admit that the blonde is interesting! After all, many dared to resist, but none have ever attacked you. Out of thousands, he's the only one who took a stance against you."

"..."

Sun Wukong was right. During the course of his life, many existences had resisted Indra, but none dared to attack him directly. The Heavenly King was so powerful that those who were weaker could only silently endure or secretly grit their teeth. Out of the few hundred exceptional warriors that entered his command room, only the blonde dared to directly fight against him. It was so infuriating, yet so intriguing that Indra couldn't help but continuously think about that moment.

It was the first time that a person of lesser strength dared to defy his authority right in front of him in their lonesome.

"Wukong. Tell me about that kid-no. Tell me about…Dimori."

"???"

Sun Wukong was rightfully surprised. In all his years of working with Indra, very few people were able to make the war god remember their names. Even then, it was after a few decades or centuries had passed. Not even a day had passed and Indra being able to call Igor by his surname made the old monkey curious as to what was going on in the head of the one he called a friend.

But first, he decided to answer the question.

"I don't know much about the kid. I've barely known him for more than a week as it is. What I can tell you, is that this kid has so much potential that it's astounding. Even the most talented Aryans weren't so monstrous. But what truly has me support the blonde, is because of his purity."

Indra raised an eyebrow.

"Purity? Elaborate."

"Heh~. Indra. In all my life, I have never seen a person with such pure aspirations. Do you know what the kid wants to be? He wants to be strong just for the sake of being strong. Whenever he speaks about his aspirations, there is no underlying motive."

Indra was genuinely intrigued. Although rare, there were a few people across history who truly wanted to reach the limits of their strength just for the sake of it. But, they were truly very few in number, to the point that in a single human generation, the number would not surpass ten in a census of billions.

It was why Indra wanted to confirm.

"No revenge? World domination?"

Indra shook his head proudly, almost as if the subject of the conversation was his son.

"None. He simply wants to be strong just for the sake of it. And he works so hard to get there. It is as if becoming strong is an instinct of his. With such pure aspirations, is he not worthy of reaching the top?"

"..."

Indra turned away with a scoff. Even though Sun Wukong put it quite nicely, Indra still had one thought in his head about the blonde.

"He'll die before he can reach that goal."

The old sage merely shrugged in response.

"And given what happened before, he rather would. You see, I had a little talk with him. I'll summarize what he said in one sentence. He said, 'I would rather die, than live with broken pride.'."

Indra looked up in mild shock and surprise.

"He truly…said that?"

Sun Wukong nodded with a smile.

"Intriguing, is it not? Very few people can abide with such an ideology. That kid, was truly willing to die for his ideal."

"..."

The silence in the room stretched on, Indra stuck in his own thoughts.

" 'I would rather die, than live with broken pride.' "

The sentence itself seemed so simple, yet at the same time, profound, to the point that very few people would be able to grasp the essence of it. The war god seemed to be lost in his own mind, Igor's sentence especially resonating with him. It especially struck a chord in him since he was a god. As a god, especially one of war, Indra valued his pride greatly. As such, he truly understood the term, 'Die with pride, than live in disgrace.'. 

Indra smiled, his lips releasing the quote again.

" 'I would rather die, than live with broken pride.' "

"What do you think? Quite poetic, isn't it?"

Indra smiled lightly.

"Indeed it is."

Sun Wukong looked at the god with a smile of his own. 

"I wonder what sparks will result when he finally meets your son. It surely is bound to be explosive."

BOOOM!

""…""

Indra and Sun Wukong looked down towards the rising plume of smoke with curious expressions. The old monkey was about to enquire when he suddenly felt a familiar source of energy.

*Vein Bulge*

""That brat/Atid!""

Indra and the old monkey looked at each other before the former grinned.

"It certainly is explosive, Wukong. How about you become the seer in my army?"

Noticing the sarcasm, Sun Wukong huffed.

"I'll handle those two."

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|DxD|

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Igor and Atid looked at each other with matching grins of excitement. Both boys had their clothes torn in their battle, their eyes gleamed with so much delight that even the spectators watching them couldn't help but shiver.

The cafeteria was already a huge mess. Tables were destroyed and the walls had massive cracks on them. Windows were shattered and people were scared. Despite they themselves being soldiers, none of them could hope to interfere in a battle between two powerhouses of the god class. Besides feeling it from their aura, the damage in the hall alone was sufficient proof. Every single block used to construct the hall is laced with blessings and seals that enhance their strength and durability to the point that even ultimate class entities would have a hard time laying a scratch on it. Yet those very walls were now riddled with cracks caused by the two boys.

Igor looked at Atid, not caring for the slight bruises and the dried trail of blood on his mouth.

"Brother Atid. I had no idea you were this strong. You hid your strength pretty well."

"You flatter me, Brother Igor. I thought I was already the most powerful in my generation, but you broadened my horizons."

When one heard these words of flattery being passed at each other, they would think that their fight had come to a conclusion. They had already done enough damage to the hall and to themselves. Their clothes were torn and in disarray. The blonde had already removed his coat and was left bare-chested while Atid had his robes torn so badly that he may as well tear off the upper half due to how many holes and tears it had. With the both of them having drawn blood from each other, it was reasonable that everything would end. But the fiery aura emanating from them said otherwise.

Noticing that Atid's aura was gradually recovering, Igor got into a stance.

"Brother Atid. Can I assume that this isn't your full power?"

Atid rubbed the back of his head with a laugh.

"Hehe, Brother Igor. I can't say this power is mine, but it is a part of me since I was born with it. Besides, I also felt that Brother Igor has a hidden card, right?"

The blonde grinned.

"You guessed correctly, Brother Atid. But, I want to see your hand first."

Atid chuckled.

"Then I will embarrass myself in front of Brother Igor."

Then, Atid's left hand was covered by a brief light for a moment before it unveiled a red dragon-like gauntlet with a massive green gem on the back of its palm.

Atid clenched his left hand a few times before looking at Igor.

"Watch, Brother Igor."

Then from the gauntlet, a deep voice bellowed.

"[BOOST]"

Gruuu!

Igor widened his eyes when he felt Atid suddenly get twice as strong. There was only one other method he knew of that could allow a user to amplify their power.

"Red Dragon Emperor…"

Atid chuckled. He flexed his fingers, crimson claws covering.

He then clenched them, his eyes locking with Igor's.

"Hehe. Brother Igor guessed right. I am this generation's current Sekiryuutei. I wonder if Brother Igor is still willing to fight?"

"[BOOST]"

Gruuu!

Igor was silent for a while, which prompted Atid to be concerned.

[Is…is he afraid?]

Yet before that slight disappointment could well up, Igor began to laugh.

"Hahahahaha! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! I finally found you!"

The blonde then pointed towards Atid with an excited expression.

"Watch, Brother Atid. I want to see which is better between your 'Boost' and my…"

A red aura started melding together with Igor's white aura.

"...KAIOKEN!!!"

GRUUU!

His aura exploded fiercely, the shockwave offsetting debris and shattering any remnant pieces of glass in the window frames of the hall. The blonde looked at Atid with a completely maniacal expression. His grin was so wide that if it stretched a notch further, his lips would tear.

Yet his gaze remained focused on Atid.

"Brother! Let's FIGHT!!!!!!"

It was already too late. The blonde was so fired up that even if Atid did not consent, he would attack. Fortunately, his fellow compatriot seemed to have a similar ideal.

With a matching grin, Atid also got into a stance.

"Indeed, Brother Igor! I can no longer wait! RAAAA!!!"

"RAAAAA!!!"

Their powerful aura clashed with each other, resulting in a massive explosion to engulf the entire hall.

BOOOOM!

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AN

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And I'm back. The reason why I couldn't upload for almost a week had to do with my pc breaking down and so I had to take it for repairs last Wednesday. And it is only today (Monday) that I got it back. Hopefully, nothing unexpected happens again and thanks for sticking around. Like I said, I'm not abandoning this work.