Chapter 31 - The True Strength of a Stronghold

The purple aura of the mysterious met the illuminated fist of Eon Stronghold in a clash that parted the skies and shook the earth as the villagers and soldiers, alive, fled for their lives.

None could come between the battle of these two monsters that continued to kick and punch at each other, only for those attacks to be parried away to the side, sending shockwaves in whatever direction it went.

Though, while it was not very noticeable, Eon was slowly being pushed back as the purple aura continued to pummel away at his self. Of course, he still remained unharmed as always but he was definitely sure of it, this man was stronger than him. At least, in terms of raw strength anyways. Eon was sure that he had the edge in terms of durability. He only needed to land a few solid punches and this match would be his.

But the man's fist were too fast and strong for the Stronghold to get any opportunity to knock him back.

Surely. Eon would have lost if this continued and that was only confirmed as a striking fist of purple met Eon's abdomen and blasted him through several houses as a pillar of purple light continued to push him back.

Eon sunk his feet into the ground and slowly, he came to a stop as he pushed forward at the beam of purple that continued to surge with power.

It was then that the purple man fell from the sky and another purple pillar came from the heavens to blast Eon from above as well.

Now, Eon forsaked one of his hands that had been pushing back the first pillar, in order to stop the second incoming pillar. And as it were now, he had been sandwiched between the two, desperately trying to dispel the man's attacks.

Yet still, the Regelia power glowed along his skin (that was now loosely covered by tattered cloth) and protected him through it all. Not a single scratch could be seen on Eon's brown skin.

Though, his strength on the other hand, was less than impressive and eventually, his muscles gave away and he was left to take the brunt of the two endless pillars of power.

But unsurprisingly, while it did irritate him a little, the pillars could not harm Eon. It was like he had been trapped between two streams of wind that kept him from moving but due to his impeccable defences, he remained unharmed.

"This is going nowhere." The mystery man Rogue spoke as he crossed his arms in front of the stationary Eon. "I'm positive that I'm much stronger than you but that barrier ability of yours is annoying. I suppose that's what you get when you combine the natural sturdiness of a young Stronghold with the impenetrable barrier of the Regelia."

It was then that Eon felt the purple wind on his right let up. The first pillar, as it would seem, was finally running out of steam and with that little looseness, Eon shifted to the side and escaped the surging power as he watched the pillar that came from above shatter the ground below.

But it wasn't long after that did Rouge appear from behind to land a kick that hammered Eon's head into the dirt below.

"I kinda expected more from you." Rouge said as he looked at Eon, whose head was stuck into the Earth. "I suppose it was too much to expect you to be on the same level as your father. Though, it's still amazing that you're yet to be harmed."

And then Eon pulled his head from the ground and aimed a kick for Rouge's chest as he launched himself into the air.

Though, of course, Rouge was also superior in speed and dashed away with relative ease.

As Eon fell to the ground with a fist leading the way, he gritted his teeth as he looked to purple man that now sat idly on the ground with his feet crossed over each other as he braced his left cheek with his hand.

"Well now, this is just a standstill, isn't it? I'm stronger and faster than you so it's impossible for you to hit me. And I can't seem to deal any damage to you due to your annoying ability." Rouge spoke nonchalantly with a bored expression written on his face as his hair drooped to the side. "I suppose that if I keep attacking, I'll eventually whittle you away but…" the man yawned as he got up with arms stretched to the sky. "that'll take way too long." He then then punched his right fist into his left palm as he smiled with enthusiasm. "And besides, I've got a simpler solution." As he said this, a shadowy smoke began to emerge from the man.

In a matter of seconds, Eon watched as the shadows mixed with the purple aura causing it to dim in color and become a shade darker than what it once had been.

"Yes, this should do nice." Rouge said as his eyes became red like a hellish fire.

And before Eon even realized, the man appeared in front of him as a fist struck his torso that shattered the barrier that coated the man's skin and consequently, sent him flying through several more houses as blood and bile sprayed through Eon's mouth.

Eon soon landed into the wide lake and fell slowly to the bottom as his consciousness began to fade and the waters became dyed with red.

Was this pain? He had never felt such a thing in all his life. It was unbearable, he could've died just from the feeling alone.

But no, Eon clenched his fist as pictures of his mother and younger brother flashed through his mind. His father was there too, but Eon placed less emphasis on him.

And with his new found determination, Eon pressed his feet against the bottom of the lake and launched himself upward to eventually land on to the sandy shore as an upstream of water sprinkled rain drops of red all over the houses and road that stood atop the small hill.

Eon grabbed his torso where several of his ribs had been broken. It still pained but at the very least, the part of the barrier that had shattered slowly began to heal itself. But then again, it wasn't as though that would be particularly helpful since Rouge could shatter it in a single blow.

And soon enough, the smiling man appeared again to dash forward with a dark, purple fist at Eon.

But this time, Eon caught the man's arm and spun him around to throw Rouge far into the sky above.

Before even Rouge had realized, Eon had laughed himself up into the air at an even greater speed and soon appeared behind him to kick the man down into the lake.

Eon had done it with such a tremendous power that all the water in the lake jumped up, and some even flooded the base of the village, to create mighty waves that ran in all directions.

But it wasn't over yet. Rouge still emerged from the water and landed on the sandy shores where Eon had been waiting.

As it would seem, the man's entire spine had been broken and he stood limped forward in a strange position. But soon enough, malice fumed from his skin and he became healed before Eon could even muster another attack.

"You're stronger now," Rouge said as Eon launched a fist to be parried away by a purple hand. "How is that so?" the man asked as he shot his own attack, only for Eon to dash away and dodge it successfully.

"As it is now, either of us could die from a single strike from one another." Rouge said with smile on his face. "But then again, I have the advantage of healing while you do not."

That much was true, for Eon to win, he would have to destroy Rouge's body, so much so, that not even the malice would be enough to heal him.

Eon smiled as well as he rammed a fist against his chest. His barrier became cracked. He did it again and his barrier shattered even more. One more hit and it completely broke along his torso. "Did you know that the Stronghold family's strength and power are inverse to each other." Eon explained as he rammed a hand through into his torso to create a flesh wound.

Blood spilled from both the wound he had created and his mouth. He continued still as Rouge aimed a kick that Eon dodged with ease. Eon then appeared behind the purple coated man and placed his other hand gently over Rouge's shoulder. "When a Stronghold grows old, their bodies weaken. And as such, their strength will increase immensely. So much so that their bodies would no longer be able to sustain that strength."

Rouge spun around in hopes of landing a kick but once again Eon dashed away to appear behind him. "What I'm trying to say is…"

Rouge turned around and yet again, Eon found his way behind the man. "Is that the more I become hurt, the stronger I will become. And unlike most, due to my Regelia, I do not have to worry about breaking my body."

This time, when Rouge turn around, a fist met his face and once more, he was sent flying into the skies above. And soon enough, he flew past the clouds and left Eon's field of vision.

But to Eon's dismay, the man did not return. The young Stronghold held a hand over his wound that continued to bleed as he rammed his other fist gently into the sand. "Dammit, he got away." And all the while, the shattered barrier along his two fists and torso, slowly began to heal.

Eon gritted his teeth and he let himself fall into the sand. "Though at the very least, I can say that I've won."