At night, before the promised day.
Rei walked into his [Mind Realm], meeting [Ray Houston] and [Fafnir] who stayed within his body.
He found Ray kneeling on the ground, covered in injuries as Fafnir stood in front of him.
"Did you start the training before me?" Rei spoke while he stood beside Ray.
"Yeah, sorry...couldn't contain my excitement to learn something new." Ray spoke as he dropped down, panting.
Rei looked at him and sighed, "Well don't overdo it, your soul is still recovering from the last damage we spent on reforming our body."
"Yes sir." Ray smiled and got back up again.
"But Fafnir, why do you insist on teaching him [Martial Arts]?" Rei asked Fafnir who's folding his hands on his chest while looking at them both.
"Well it's simple, that's because your body is gifted to learn [Martial Arts]." Fafnir answered easily.
"Huh??" The two of them were confused.
Ray shook his head, "But I never once learned any [Martial Arts], even in my previous life...I was known to be untalented with it."
"I heard your story, [Regressor] but from what I see now...it seems the people in the real world don't know it yet, or it's hard to discover." Fafnir explained.
"But from what I can conclude, it is probably because of you." Fafnir shifted his gaze at Rei
, and Rei pointed a finger to himself in mild surprise
"M-me?"
Fafnir nodded, "Yes, I checked your status, it is quite impressive for a human capable of wielding multiple weapons to this degree."
'He can check my status?' Rei thought.
"Apologies, it is quite rude of me to violate your privacy." Fafnir apologized as if he knew what he was thinking.
"But...what does it have to do with our body being gifted to learn [Martial Arts]?" Rei asked him.
"Well you gained 2nd enlightenments, did you not?" Fafnir reminded him.
"Yes." Rei nodded.
"And not only that, you acquired a new [Unity], the first one of your race to gain an enlightenment: [Unity of Weapons]." Fafnir spoke.
"Which allows you to resonate with all the weapons you hold, become one with it, letting you learn more advanced skills."
"Is it not?" Fafnir explained.
"Y-yes, just like what Master(Ignia) said." Rei replied.
"But that's when you're wrong, [Unity of Weapons] doesn't just allow you to be one with any weapon."
"But also...allow you to be a [Weapon] yourself." Fafnir spoke.
"...?!" Both of them were surprised to hear it, but then...
"....??" They tilted their heads in confusion.
Fafnir pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing and muttering under his breath in irritation, "Both of you clueless idiots will be the death of me one day"
"I-i mean...I kinda understand it, maybe…mhm." Rei scratched his head while averting his gaze.
Fafnir knew that he's a genius, but could also be clueless over something so obvious sometimes.
"Ughh...do you know what [Martial Artist] use as their weapons?" Fafnir spoke.
"Yeah? I mean, it's their fist." Rei replied.
"But why do you think their [Fist] are their [Weapon]?" Fafnir pressed further.
"Because...they used their body as their...[Weapon]." And suddenly something clicked in their head.
Fafnir smiled, "Correct, with [Unity of Weapons], it doesn't only allow you to wield any kind of [Weapon] but it also allows you to wield your body as a [Weapon]."
Both of them were surprised upon hearing that statement. An idea that was so out of the box no regular person could think of.
'It's true...[Martial Artist] considered their body as their [Weapon].' Ray thought.
'And with [Unity of Weapons], it can also allow us to mix both Martial Arts and weapon skills.' Rei thought as well.
"It is different from [Unity of One Body] which only [Martial Artist] can obtain, because this condition only allows you to move your body in perfect sync with your mind."
"It doesn't go well with weapons and it would hinder their growth." Fafnir explained.
"That's why, when I saw you both wielding multiple weapons, fighting together as one."
"I immediately knew, you both are gifted."
"A body that is capable of holding two opposite energies, Yin and Yang within one body."
"A body that was gifted by heaven itself, but not through their will but through one's hard work and motivations."
"A body that defies the natural law of this world, tempered with scars and blood."
"Which is why, I, Fafnir, the former Ancient Evil Dragon, shall teach you both to create a new [Martial Arts] solely for you." Fafnir offered his hand towards them.
"Will you accept it or not, it is a choice only you can make."
The two of them glanced at each other, and smiled.
"Of course, we accept it."
******
And that's how they created a new [Martial Arts].
One that could be used offensively and defensively, the two chose a single weapon that could be used as both.
They named it, [Heavenly Shield Martial Arts].
Hughes was surprised when his sturdy body got injured, not by weapons but by pure strength from the body of a young man who stood before him.
"[Heavenly Shield Martial Arts]...so you mixed my [Shield Arts] with [Martial Arts]? What a crazy idea." Hughes commented positively on his statement.
"Seems like I have gotten old, to think my skill could evolve this way." Hughes muttered and suddenly lifted his shield then aimed it at Rei.
"But, so what? I am the one who created [Shield Arts], the first person who fought against the [Demon Lord] with only using a shield in the Hero Party." Hughes declared out loud.
Rei took his stance again without giving him any answer.
"Yes, a man should talk with his fist instead!!" After that, Hughes jumped at him, swinging his right shield towards him.
"[Bash]!" When the shield was about to hit Rei...
*THUNG*
Hughes' shield slipped through, Rei redirected the shield's direction by grazing his own to hit the ground instead.
It happened so fast and Rei barely moved from his spot.
In that moment, Rei shortened their distance, raising his right shield as he came alarmingly close to Hughes' body.
Then...
Rei launched his right shield and struck his abdomen.
'[Bash].'
*BAM*
It was a direct hit.
Hughes couldn't lift his left shield due to its size that was bigger than his body in such a close distance to protect him. He failed to block his attack in time.
But after that strike, Hughes didn't budge at all. Rei could tell he dealt damage to his body, but unlike before…
Hughes endured it and lifted both of his shields.
'[Bash]!'
Then hammered them down towards Rei, taking advantage of their close distance.
Rei didn't move back, instead he faced the shield and used his red aura on his both arms, creating a small swirl.
'[Heavenly Shield Martial Arts: First Form...'
When his shield was about to reach him, Rei lifted his hands and used the rotation from the swirling red aura on around his arms including his shield.
*THUNG*
When it touched both shields, it redirected them and they hit the ground.
*BAM*
"—?!"
Once again, Rei redirected his attacks swiftly and flawlessly.
'...Kagero(Heat Haze)].'
With the spiraling aura on his right shield…
*SWOOSH*
Rei threw another punch towards Hughes.
'Second Form...[Rasen Homura (Spiral Flame)]'
Added in his [Bash], he launched that strike again.
*BAM*
Another direct hit, but this time, even though Hughes endured it, his body was thrown back to distance himself from Rei.
The punch created a dent on his chest armor and caused internal damage at the same time.
*SWOOSH*
But Rei didn't give Hughes time to recover as he jumped right at him.
Hughes immediately reacted, instead of blocking this time, he charged at him with his left shield.
'[Rush]!'
Rei stared at the shield that charged at him, but he didn't stop.
He landed his feet down instead, then raised his right shield, '[Fortress].'
*BAM*
Rei blocked the shield head on, not budging an inch and remained in a perfect martial posture.
Hughes didn't stop at that, he used his left shield as decoy, and raised his right shield.
'[Bash]!'
He swung his shield down at Rei.
Rei effortlessly raised his left shield. He used the spiraling aura on his shield and when it caught Hughes' shield...
*THUNG*
It got deflected on the side, by just a graze.
'Again—?!' Hughes gritted his teeth in annoyance, two of his shields were currently occupied
Hughes raised his head, 'I still have my head, you KNOW!!!' Then proceed with a headbutt move.
But...
*BAM*
Within the gap in between their shields, Rei raised one of his legs and went for an upward kick towards his chin, cancelling his headbutt.
"BUGH—?!" Hughes unexpectedly received another damage, and not from his shield.
'A...kick?'
Hughes was thrown back again, his vision blurred for a moment then Rei jumped to punch him straight in his face.
With his battle experience, Hughes' instincts for survival kicked in and immediately lifted his left shield again.
*BAM*
It blocked his punch but his body was pushed back again.
Hughes coughed a bit, he felt lingering pain all over his body and even his chin, but he began to smirk widely, "HAHAHAHA!~ To think my skill can evolve in that way..." he praised
'[Shield Arts], it's originally a skill that allows its user to know how to defend themselves, but I twisted the skill to fit me.'
'It came from a different form, which is through redirecting an attack to elsewhere, blocking an attack head on and attacking your opponent with forceful impact by bashing it which can also be included as blocking and redirecting enemies' attack at the same time.'
'I also divided the skill into [Defense Mode] and [Brawl Mode]. I called it [Brawl], but the only skill I have are bashing that have been buffed with other skill.'
'But this guy...from redirecting, blocking and attacking, he uses all those elements into proper [Martial Arts] which have mostly been used to fight with their body and fist.'
'on top of that, he improved the skill by adding a twist...that was able to [Ignore] my defense and injured me internally by sending the contained energy through [Reflection].'
Hughes laughed again, "Hahaha...this is beyond improving it, you completely revised it into something unimaginable! what a monster you had become...Crimson."
Rei took his stance again, "I take that as a compliment."
'Though the one who taught me this technique...wasn't me.' Rei muttered in his head.
'A monster had been born into this world, but...' Suddenly the atmosphere around Hughes changed.
"I am [The Strongest Shield] in this world!" Then he released an outburst of greenish aura.
"...?!"
Everyone present in this promotion match knew that Hughes was finally going all out.
'I want to see how you can surpass this!!'
Then he began to cast all his buff.
'[Shield Arts : Glorious Shield], [Shield Arts : Immovable Fotress], [Shield Arts : Great Wall], [Shield Arts : Guardian Will], [Shield Arts : Great Shield]....' And so on.
All kind of buffs were applied to his body, turning the aura into a full armor and shield.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
A total of 26 buff [Shield Arts] known in this world…had been applied into one body.
'Combined skill...[Shield Arts : World Defender].' A whole different level of buffs.
Rei could have attacked him anytime during his buffing time, but he wanted to see what he was capable of when Hughes became serious.
In fact, he was surprised along with Ignia who watched on the sideline with others.
"To think a human child like him capable of handling all those buffs into one~ even that [man] cannot be compared to him." Ignia referred to her comrades in the past.
"I take that back, you are indeed [The Strongest Shield] in history, Hughes Farhill~" Ignia smiled.
His wife, Miranda Farhill who's standing beside her, was smiling as well.
"Yes, he is my husband...after all~" Miranda muttered.
Ignia smiled, 'But...currently, his opponent is none other than...'
While the others were amazed by the spectacle…
Some were in awe of the sight.
"Woah...Boss is really amazing." Fang muttered.
Andrew nodded "Yes, our Leader is truly amazing...he remained fearless even in the face of adversity."
Some were nervous by the sight of it.
"Crimson...will he be okay?" Lena muttered.
"Of course he will! Aniki can handle such an attack!" James proudly spoke but still felt worried by it.
"Onii-chan..." Emily whispered, gripping her hands close to her chest, praying he would be alright.
Rei took a deep breath and looked at his opponent.
'....I am standing here once again, fighting against an impossible opponent that cannot be defeated through any means.' Rei thought for a moment.
'But strangely...I felt so calm, is this what it means to stand at the top?' Rei clenched his fists.
He glanced at Ignia who stood there watching the fight, as if they understood each other with just a look.
'Yes...you are indeed the [The Strongest Shield] in the world, but the one who stands before you is...'
'[The Strongest One] of this world' Ignia stated.
Rei stored his Shield away into his [Inventory].
"....???"
His action confused everyone else but Ignia, but then he pulled out his black sword through his [Inventory] instead.
'Hmm? Switching his weapon? At this moment?' Hughes observed keenly until...
*SHIVERS*
"...?!"
He began to tremble for a moment.
With years of experience, Hughes could tell how dangerous his opponents were.
From that time he fought against one of the [Four Heavenly Kings], [The Ashura, Styx].
And his experience fighting against the [Demon Lord].
He could tell any dangerous attack from his enemy with trained eyes.
And right now....
He knew, the moment Rei switched his weapon into a sword…
All sorts of red alarms blared through his head.
Rei raised his sword and looked at him, "I was trying to show you other skills I developed...but if I take my time any longer..."
"I will be late for my next appointment, so...Guild Master, I'm sorry."
"I have to end this fight." He spoke
*SHING*
Rei was clad in bright white light and...
*******
*BOOM*
The fight immediately concluded in an instant.
Hughes was found lying on the ground with a stunned expression. His shield broken beyond repair, all the buffs he prepared were turned into sparkling dust in the air.
His rather peculiar expression wasn't caused by the pieces of his broken shield laid next to him.
"Hahaha~ you really outdone yourself. my disciple…" When Ignia commented…
The dust settled, revealing half of the arena that was completely destroyed—no…pulverized into nothing.
Because of Ignia's barrier, they separated them from time and space, leaving only a dark empty space where the arena got destroyed.
"..."
Everyone who saw that scene could only stand in silence.
"What is this..." Fang muttered in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Andrew broke a cold sweat, "The gap between us...is it this wide?"
And the culprits who caused it...
*CRACK*
Rei stood very still as his sword began to crack.
*SHATTERS*
Then shattered into dust.
Hughes got up, he thought he was dreaming, because the person who he thought was a monster...
"Hah...did you just ascended and become a [God]?" Hughes muttered as he touched his head that was covered in dust, sweat and grime from their battle.
Rei sighed as he looked at him, "Who knows."
Miranda, who's still surprised by what's happening, immediately shook her head to regain her composure.
She raised her hand and announced the conclusion of this promotion match, "The fight is over! The winner!! [The Knight of Wrath, Crimson]!"
*******
After the match…Hughes barked out a laugh inside his office while being treated by Miranda on his side.
"HAHAHAHA!! This is the first time I got so one-sidedly defeated like this! This is my loss!" Hughes seemed happy even after his defeat.
Rei sat across from him, with Ignia on his side while the others waited outside.
'Isn't he enjoying it more than me?' Rei broke a sweat because even though he won the fight, the opponent who lost to him was far too joyful.
"Geez, stop laughing." Miranda smacked his shoulder after she treated his injuries and wrapping bandages around his chest and shoulder.
"Sorry sorry~ it's just that I never thought he could grow to be this strong. No—stronger than I could ever imagine! He broke through every single barrier I had!" Hughes spoke so proudly, as if talking about his own son.
"Indeed, even I, who thought the fight would end with my husband's win, never imagined that you of all people would overwhelm him so much." Miranda spoke while looking at Rei with a smile.
When Rei was about to speak, Ignia looked very proud, nodding her head at them singing praises to her disciple.
"Of course! He is my precious disciple after all!" Ignia declared smugly as if it was her own achievement.
"Indeed! HAHAHAHA!" Hughes laughed again.
"I thought you only grew a bit taller and stronger after 7 years, but it seems you have grown tremendously more than what we expected." Miranda spoke. "I am happy for you, Crimson."
"..." Rei, who heard her words, could simply nod his head shyly, "Thank you..."
Miranda and Hughes were taken aback by his reaction, because he always wore his helmet and it's hard to know what kind of expression he made.
And it made them forget that he defeated Hughes just a moment ago.
'I guess...despite your achievements, you are still a young man, huh.' Hughes thought.
'What a relief.' Miranda thought.
The two of them looked at him with a warm smile.
"...??"
Rei looked at them in confusion, but Ignia could tell what they were thinking and just smiled.
"Now then, how about we continue our real business~" Ignia reminded them.
"Oh right, but before that..." Miranda spoke then suddenly she faced Ignia, along with Hughes who stood at Miranda's side.
Then Hughes and Miranda bowed their heads towards Ignia.
"We want to thank you for saving our Adventurer." Miranda spoke politely.
Ignia raised her eyebrows. "Ohhhh~?"
"And we greet, O' Benevolent, [The King of Dragons, Ignia]-sama." Hughes spoke.
"...?!" Rei was surprised that they knew about her true identity.
"As expected, you already knew about me~" Ignia spoke cheerfully.
"Of course, how wouldn't we know...since we met you before, Ignia-sama." Hughes spoke.
Rei looked at them back and forth, "Wait, you guys have met before?!"
Miranda smiled as she started to explain, "Yes, we met before in the past….in her dragon form. So we couldn't recognize her at all, until we found out how strong she is."
Ignia laughed proudly, "Hahaha! As expected! My [Transformation Magic] is truly amazing. It's able to hide my majestic aura!"
"Indeed, the only race capable of creating a realm that separates space and time…is a [Dragon]." Hughes spoke.
"But [Dragon] have their own rank, not every [Dragon] capable of creating that kind of barrier in the first place." Ignia supplied.
"Yes, since the one capable of controlling that kind of magic is an [Ancient Dragon], and the only [Ancient Dragon] in history that still lives in this world is..." Miranda trailed off.
"[The King of Dragons] herself." Rei finished it for her and understood the gist of it.
The others nodded in agreement.
"But...that doesn't answer how you both met her, when she always secluded herself inside her castle." Rei spoke matter-of-factly.
"Hey! That's a rude remark to your own master!" Ignia scolded.
"What? I'm just telling the truth." Rei shrugged.
Hughes and Miranda laughed seeing their banter.
"Hahaha! Well, the thing is...we the [Hero's Party] was once tasked to secure an alliance with the [North]." Hughes explained. "We needed the strength of the [North] to help us fight against the [Demon Lord]'s army."
"But before we could step into the region, we were stopped by [The King of Dragons]." Miranda spoke.
"You stopped them?" Rei looked at Ignia.
"Yes, I stopped them from entering the [North]." Ignia replied calmly.
"Why is that?" Rei asked her.
But Hughes raised his hand to answer his question, "Because the [North] was already on the brink of destruction, with powerful monsters roaming around it."
"That's why the Adventurers and the Soldiers there could only focus on defending the city." Hughes explained.
"And that's why Ignia-sama told us to go back." Miranda spoke.
Rei was somewhat appalled by the answer, but he remembered one thing, "And that led you to a fight with the Hero?" He spoke to her.
"Wait—how did you know the Hero tried to fight with Ignia-sama?" Miranda spoke.
"Well...she told me before that she found the Hero of this era to be quite weak." Rei answered.
"Indeed~ the Hero was so stubborn even though I told him to go back already, but he insisted on fighting me instead! He lost miserably though" Ignia snickered while reminiscing about the memory. "He told me, [Why you didn't save the North, and just watched them fall to their demise] after losing to me~"
Hughes and Miranda remembered that it was exactly what had happened, and just nodded along, confirming her story.
"So, I answer this to him, [We, dragons have made an Oath, that we would stay neutral regarding human affairs]." Ignia spoke.
"Yes and you left us afterwards." Hughes replied.
"But since I haven't explained why, So I planned to explain it now, for you" Ignia looked at them both on purpose.
"...?? You're willingly sharing it with us?" Miranda asked.
"Of course, since I also owe you both explanations and for helping my disciple to grow further~" Ignia spoke.
"T-thank you." Miranda spoke.
"Don't thank me yet, because the answer you're looking for...is something that the whole world doesn't know about." Ignia smiled at them before she explained it all.
That the curse at the North, was the curse the very human brought upon themselves after betraying the Hero they once trusted.
The Hero who grew to become the new Demon Lord and his comrades who became Boss monsters that protected the sealing stone so the curse could go on forever.
Hughes and Miranda couldn't help but be shocked to hear it.
"So...does that mean, there was another [Demon Lord] that we're not aware of?" Hughes muttered.
"This truth is too big for us to handle, never thought the Hero of the previous era would turn into a new [Demon Lord]." Miranda muttered.
Ignia smiled as if she was having so much fun seeing them at a loss of words. She looked at Rei as if she just said [As i planned] with her smug looks.
Rei sighed, "Let's stop with this conversation and get to the main topic." He redirected their attention to him.
Hughes, the one who got excited and confused the most, cleared his throat to regain his composure, "A-ah...ahem, right."
Hughes then looked him in the eye as he spoke, "So, what is it do you want, Crimson? I get the feelings that you wanted something from me."
Rei looked at him, "I want to make a request."
"...what kind of request?" Hughes asked.
"I want the Guild Master of Aven Town to contact [The Elf Kingdom]." Rei replied.
Hughes raised his brows in mild curiosity, "...?? Why is that?"
"Because, the Savior of the Elf Kingdom, is requesting for an audience...to secure an alliance with the [Dwarf Kingdom]." Rei replied.
Hughes and Miranda were taken aback with that request.
"And that Savior...will be visiting shortly." Rei smiled.
To be continued...