A factor difference of a thousand... That shows the overwhelming power gap between Xavier and the two young heroes.
Dom grits his teeth with tightened fists as he stares at Xavier, the sheer intense aura oozing out of Xavier's body numbing his already weakened body.
The thought of giving up crosses Dom's mind, but it vanishes once he sees Xavier's cocky smirk.
But as the knights clash with the wolves, it quickly occurs to him that someone is missing.
In that moment, Dae's eyes widen once he notices a large shadow suddenly appear behind Xavier. With her powers now fully recovered from the after-effect of the suppressor cuffs and her slightly recovered health, Lucy, now in her primal form, bares her teeth against this new threat.
She swings her razor-sharp claw at Xavier's head.
But Xavier smirks as he suddenly vanishes, leaving her swinging her claw harmlessly through the air... while he reappears behind her.
Instantly, Lucy howls in pain as a cut suddenly appears at her side, her warm blood quickly coating her silver-colored fur.
"Settle down, girl," Xavier said as he flicked the blood off his spear. "The humans are talking."
Lucy immediately collapses while she quickly reverts to her human form.
The moment her body hits the ground, Xavier turns to the sound of a loud sonic boom and blocks a punch with his spear, the resulting impact instantly creating a shockwave that blows everything within several feet around them.
Dom suddenly dashes at Xavier with a punch, which Xavier blocks with his spear, creating a shockwave that causes the ground beneath them to crumble.
Xavier grins as he holds his spear against a now furious Dom's fist. "Oh? Were you holding back before?" He asked while Dom glared daggers at him.
Meanwhile, Dae has already moved Lucy to a safe distance and ties his shirt around her wounded side. She groans in agony as he tightens the band.
"Stay here." He said, and despite her intense pain and growing weakness, she nodded.
Dae nods back, picks up his swords again, and sprints towards Dom, clashing intensely with Xavier.
Despite his body still begging him to stop, Dom chases Xavier with a deadly gaze in his blue eyes.
As simple as that chant seems, it triggers a noticeably dark change in Dom's aura. Even Xavier shivers a little at the now stone-cold blue glow in Dom's eye as he throws another punch, this time using his full strength. A level of strength he's never used on any human before.
Xavier blocks it with his spear, but the resulting impact creates a shockwave that radiates out like ripples in the water. Knocking away the wolves and knights fighting a considerable distance away, while the trees on the outer edge of the clearing tremble.
The ground beneath them also gives way, instantly forming a crater with the sharp winds kicking up debris and dust in every direction.
"Whoa." Xavier chuckled, his expression genuinely shocked as he stared at his spear, which hummed as it vibrated due to the clash.
Xavier then vanishes, nearly evading a snake-shaped lightning bolt that loudly strikes down where he was standing. In surprise, his spear was vibrating from the impact... before disappearing to avoid a snake-shaped lightning attack.
Some distance away, Dae clicks his tongue as he turns to guard against Xavier's spear. The two briefly stare each other down, their weapons grinding against each other before suddenly pushing themselves.
The moment their feet take a firm stance, they swing their weapons at blinding speed.
The air is filled with the sound of rapidly clashing metal. Both electrical and fire sparks fly in all directions as their blades meet, but while Dae visibly struggles to keep up, evident by his furrowed brows, Xavier gives him a mocking smirk.
"Too slow!" With a shout, Xavier suddenly swings wide, throwing Dae off balance with his katanas repelled upwards.
Xavier crouches and winds his spear back for another strike when Dom grabs his spear from behind. This temporarily halts his movement just in time for Dae to recover and swing his katanas at Xavier's front.
But Xavier's strength quickly overpowers Dom's, instantly pulling Dom with his weapon and throwing him into the attacking Dae.
The collision sends both of them flying across the field, but they quickly recover several feet away.
"Damn," Dom grumbled as he wiped the sweat from his forehead while Dae took another stance.
"Hmm. You guys are getting serious." Xavier said as he rapidly spins his spear in mesmerizing movements before suddenly stopping in a low stance with his spear hanging behind him.
Dae grunts as he surges forward first, but Xavier easily deflects his attack before evading Dom's sudden kick.
Dom grunts as he follows up with more quick punches, but Xavier evades each of them before kicking Dom away.
Dae appears again with rapid sword swings, but Xavier instantly counters each of them.
"My turn," Xavier mumbled with a sudden serious gaze in his eyes as he knocked Dae back again before jumping back.
Mid-air, Xavier thrusts his spear forward and retracts it instantly, the movement resembling a rapid engine that creates a loud whistling sound.
Simultaneously, Dae grunts from a sudden sharp pain in his gut. He immediately drops to a knee and stares at the small bleeding hole in his vest.
"A bullet?" Dae whispered..
"Air bullets," Xavier said as he rapidly spins his spear, but this time a spiraling gust of dust accompanies the weapon, the flow of his red mana clearly manipulating it. He suddenly smirks at Dae. "Or did you forget that I'm also a wind mage?"
Dae grits his teeth as he presses against his bleeding wound while Xavier chuckles. "I don't need to use my magic..." As he casually strolls to the side, he makes sure to keep his eye on Dom, already gearing to charge at him from the sidelines. "... but since you're both being serious with this, I thought it would be a little insulting if I didn't get a little serious too."
With a sudden grunt, Xavier swings his spear forward, creating an arc of wind which Dae instinctively dodges. The invisible spell instantly zips across the clearing and slices through a tree, cutting it in half as easily as a hot knife through butter.
Xavier then turns, narrowly avoiding Dom's sudden punch. With a laugh, he swings the blunt end of the spear into Dom's chin, instantly disorienting him before moving back while rapidly spinning his spear.
"Whirlwind," Xavier whispers as he suddenly swings his spear upwards, his red aura causing the air around Dom to rapidly spiral before promptly flinging him up with a sudden burst of wind. This sends him helplessly spiraling several feet into the air.
Xavier laughs at Dom's struggle before instinctively blocking Dae's sword swing.
Dae grunts as he begins to rapidly assault Xavier with more rapid slashes, but Xavier effortlessly blocks each attack.
"Come on. I've barely broken a sweat." Xavier chuckled.
Dae grits his teeth as he suddenly steps back before surging forward with his color contrasting swords crossed over each other.
In a split second, he swings, creating an X-shaped electrical slash that rips through the air and ground... but Xavier is already standing behind him.
Xavier thrusts his spear at Dae's back... just as Dae disappeared with a loud thunderclap.
In that moment, Xavier's eyes widen as he senses Dae now behind him with his swords already inches from his back... but he jumps, leaving Dae's attack to hit nothing.
Dae clicks his tongue while Xavier remains temporarily suspended in the air by a whirlwind around his lower body.
"So that's your top speed, huh? You almost got me." Xavier said, and Dae's grip tightens on his swords as Xavier slowly descends. "But you're still slower than me."
The moment he lands, he draws his spear back, and Dae raises his katanas to counter.
"Air bullet," Xavier mumbled as his arm moved forward and back instantaneously, creating another whistle.
The tiny, deadly bullet being made of air makes it invisible to the human eye. Due to this, Dae had to rely solely on the direction of Xavier's spear, the timing of the attack from the first hit, and his instincts.
With a sudden sword swing, Dae instantly deflects the invisible bullet, creating a loud, high-pitched ping that echoes throughout the clearing.
Stunned by this feat, Xavier's eyes widen while an amused grin fills his face.
"You really are that old man's blood. He was the only one who had ever stopped my bullets."
Dae lets out a calm sigh as he changes his foot-stance, his mind already geared to block the next one... when a loud crash suddenly erupts some distance to his side.
Dae's eyes turn to the direction of the crash, where he finds Dom groaning as he pulls himself out of the small crater in the ground.
In that split second, another bullet suddenly flies his way, with he narrowly blocks it again.
"You should focus on your enemy, rookie!" Xavier shouted as he began rapidly firing multiple air bullets while Dae rapidly deflected each bullet.
But with a sadistic grin, Xavier's attack speed increases with Dae now straining as he struggles to keep up.
A few bullets begin to slip through his defense, most of which nearly graze his body.
Once a bullet cuts deeply through his right cheek, Dae finally gives up and vanishes from the attack path with another thunderclap.
He instantly reappears beside Xaiver, who casually leans back, narrowly avoiding Dae's sword swing before following up with an elbow strike to Dae's ribs.
Dae grunts, giving Xavier the chance to back away and swing his spear in one swift move, knocking both swords out of Dae's hands. Dae grits his teeth, his expression frustrated as he stares at his blades spiraling into the air above him while he helplessly stumbles backward.
At that moment, Xavier fires two more bullets. One hits Dae's shoulder while the other hits his lap.
With a thud, Dae drops to his knees, tightly clutching his bleeding shoulder while his blades land harmlessly behind him.
"One down..." Xavier said, satisfied with Dae's defeated expression, before turning in time to find Dom sprinting towards him.
Xavier scoffs as he suddenly surges towards Dom, his swift movement creating a powerful gust that sweeps Dae aside.
Seeing Xavier rapidly approach, Dom abruptly stops his dash, digs a foot into the ground, and suddenly kicks upwards, sending dirt and dust flying towards Xavier.
With a simple swing of his weapon, a gust of wind clears the dust... just as Dom bursts out of the dissipating dust cloud and grabs Xavier by the shoulders.
"Nice trick." Xavier chuckled as he drew his spear back to attack when Dom suddenly rammed his forehead into Xavier's, the thundering sound comparable to two boulders colliding.
But despite initiating the attack, Dom staggers, his vision blurry while his mind trembles.
Meanwhile, Xavier leans back with a laugh. "I actually felt that one." He said before, suddenly grabbing Dom's shirt. "My turn." He suddenly rams his forehead into Dom's again.
This time, Dom groans as he staggers backward, his eyes widening as the world spins around him.
Xavier chuckles confidently as he hops away, watching as Dom stumbles to his knees, shaking his head to recover from the hit.
"Alright. Let's finish this." Xavier said as he took a familiar stance, his spear drawn back and aimed to fire another shot.
Already mostly recovered, Dom raises his arms, his eyes narrowed at Xavier, who still appears slightly blurry in his sight. "Bullets don't work on me."
Xavie just smirks as he fires anyway.
Instantly, Dom's eyes widen as a sharp pain suddenly radiates from his shoulder. He clutches his already bleeding bullet wound with his teeth, grinding against each other.
"My bullets move and hit like ordinary bullets..." Xavier said as he held up his spear, which Dom saw carried a swirling current of dust at its tip. "...but with my magic, it's sharper than any bullet you've ever seen."
With a suddenly determined glow in his eyes, Dom stands and retakes a defensive stance, this time with his blue aura visibly focused around his arms. "Then I'll just make my body stronger."
"Seeing as that's your specialty, I'm sure you can do it," Xavier said as he took his stance again. "But..." A certain sadistic smile crosses his face as his eyes turn to the side. "I doubt she can..."
Following his eyes, Dom stiffens once he finds the weakened Lucy watching them from a distance. With a furious glow of his aura, Dom suddenly charges at Xavier... who grins as he vanishes.
"Got you."
Dom grunts as Xavier's foot suddenly connects to his side from behind.
Dom's body skips across the ground like a stone across water. His already damaged clothes are ripped into shreds as his skin scrapes against the hard floor until he manages to roll to a stop on a knee.
He coughs and winces from the pain in his side...
"Dom..."
A voice weakly mutters, and Dom stiffens once he finally realizes that he's now in front of the injured beast-lady.
A familiar whistle causes Dom to instinctively guard as another bullet hits his arm, the sharp wind cutting deep through his unprotected skin, causing some blood to spill on Lucy's face.
Dom groans but maintains his gaze on Xavier, who walks towards them with a now disgusted sneer on his face.
"That's why I hate heroes. Having to beat the villains while also protecting the weak." He stops several feet away, his eyes laced with dark contempt. "So fucking stupid."
As Xavier speaks, Dae watches from a distance as he wraps his ripped vest around his bleeding leg.
"The same goes for wars. To our kingdom, you're the hero, but to the enemy... you're the villain. And one day, that army you defeated will come back and start another war for revenge. It'll never end."
Xavier rests his spear on his shoulder and sighs heavily.
"And then you realize how these villains can put the hero in a tight spot by simply holding the weak hostage... All you're doing is creating unnecessary work for yourself."
Dom maintains his glare despite Xavier's words.
"The only reason why any of you are still alive is because I was paid to capture you, not kill you. As long as you just do what you've been paid to do, you won't have to think about that complicated stuff."
Xavier then scoffs as he looks around to find his men killing the last of the wolves. This further angers Lucy, who can only growl weakly from her seated position.
"And when you do a good job, not only will they pay you well, but you get to do whatever the hell you want." Xavier grins. "That kind of life is perfect for me."
Dom narrows his eyes, his expression showing the same level of contempt Xavier did. "You're wrong." He said, getting Xavier's attention. "The Monarchs stopped the war. 500 years of fighting, and they stopped it."
Xavier's smile quickly turns into a sneer. "Is that what they told you?" Xavier asked.
Dom furrows his brows, his expression now a mix of conflict and confusion.
"I was born during the war, kid. It's nothing like what stories and books tell you. I was born during that war."
Xavier looks up, his eyes fixed on the starry night as a sudden, reminiscent expression fills his face. "It was... hell.... And despite what people say, it didn't end peacefully either. It ended because the other nations were scared shitless of the Monarchs to fight back anymore."
He looks at Dom again. This time, his expression is dead serious. "They've lived for years in bitter humiliation. You may not feel it, but they're itching for a comeback. The only thing stopping them is one man."
Dom lowers his gaze to the floor. From Xavier's description, only one person fits the profile.
Xavier chuckles. "They're good at hiding it, but the Royal Family and Council have been worried sick these past couple of years since the only thing standing between them and war is a single geezer. I hear they pay him a ridiculous amount of cash just to keep him from retiring early."
Dom frowns. "But we've been at peace for decades now. Why would the other nations want to start the war again?"
Xavier scoffs, his expression annoyed again. "This is why I said heroes are stupid." He slowly steps closer, his spear lazily spinning in his hand. "All you think about is saving the weak now... You have no idea how to deal with what comes next..." He stops again, a dark look now in his eyes. "It's what caused the Great Fall in the first place."
Dae's eyes narrowed upon hearing that title.
"All the Monarchs did was put a pause to the war. The moment they're all gone, there's nothing to be scared of anymore. That's why the Capital put so much effort into the Knight Academy."
Despite not being the focus of the conversation, Dae frowns as he listens closely. "To create the next Monarch." He whispered.
"I'm willing to bet my life that the moment good old Dragon taps out, the war will start again," Xavier said with a smirk. "And this time, they'll not fight each other. At least... not until they do everything they can to destroy us first."
Dom frowns in thought, his mind flashing back to his conversation with Pops about the conflict that even delayed the peace treaty signing itself.
"Even though they can't kill one of the men who caused their lands so much death and destruction, they'll be more than satisfied to destroy the land he came from. The moment the Great General Anthony Justice dies..." Xavier's expression takes a more ominous presence, emphasized by his suddenly dark voice tone. "... this fake peace will end."