The moment Vastarael raised his foot off the sand, he vanished.
Eldrigan barely caught the gleam of the sapphire flare trailing behind Vastarael's movement before a heavy force slammed into his guard. The air between them cracked from the sheer pressure of impact, sending ripples through the beach sand. Eldrigan was pushed back several meters, his feet carving deep trenches until he flipped in mid-air, landing hard and skidding to a halt just shy of the palm trees that bordered the sands. He grimaced, holding his ribs.
"Damn. That wasn't even laced with energy."
"You okay?"
"Don't stop just because I got sand in my mouth," Eldrigan replied, spitting to the side. "Guess I do need to take this seriously."
His body began to shimmer. A layer of crimson light surrounded him as his Ascender Form of his Pinnacle Tether Shield Barrier Formation, Impact Reduction. Hexagonal energy matrices formed around his joints and limbs, his inner defenses rising like a fortress. With his Divinity Dismemberment, the impact of attacks would split in half, redirecting the kinetic force away but even then, he could still feel Vastarael's punches echo through his entire body.
Peroncerea, seated on a smooth boulder by the shore, leaned forward.
"Mmm. He's stronger than he looks, snack boy."
"Don't call me that!" Eldrigan snapped but she just blew him a kiss.
Vastarael smiled faintly. "Come on. You said you wanted to spar. Let's see if I'm worthy of training you."
They collided again. A blink and their limbs became streaks of sapphire and crimson in the sky. To Peroncerea, it was like watching a meteor shower, seeing blinding arcs of force, one after another. The speed was ridiculous and almost surreal. The air screamed with the turbulence of their kicks, punches and slams. Each block from Eldrigan created brief shockwaves, sending plumes of sand high into the air.
Vastarael dodged around Eldrigan's strikes. His movements were too refined. His body twisted in mid-air, a heel dropping toward Eldrigan's shoulder like a comet. Eldrigan barely crossed his arms in time, his barriers flaring as the impact struck. He slammed into the ground, creating a crater on the beach, groaning.
"Fucking hell!"
"Oi! Don't disrespect my home like that snack boy!"
He pushed himself up, coughing, but with a smirk. "Okay, okay... sorry Peron."
Vastarael tilted his head. "You're not bad either. I'll just move faster now."
In Eldrigan's mind, the realization settled in fast and hard.
First, Vastarael's body was beyond tough. Each strike Eldrigan landed felt like he was punching a mountain. The Second Enlightenment improved speed, power, and reflexes but not durability. Which meant... that sheer endurance? That was just Vastarael. Second, his martial arts were frighteningly good. The angles, the precision, the way he dropped weight into his hips for each strike, it was the stuff of real battlefield combatants, not some mage playing fighter.
Third, the bastard was studying him. Vastarael had already started countering attacks Eldrigan had used earlier in the spar. He has the kind of adaptive combat intellect that wasn't something one trained. It was instinct. And fourth, he hadn't used a single circle, a single rune, or even a whiff of Divinity. Vastarael was just using hands and it was forcing Eldrigan to use his Pinnacle Tether already.
"You holding back?"
"Honestly? A little. But that was before I saw how much you've improved."
Eldrigan chuckled. "Then stop holding back."
The moment Eldrigan sensed the shift in Vastarael's body language, something primal in him screamed danger. His body moved on its own. His Divine Weapon instantly burst into his palm, then widened into a shield in a fraction of a second. Vastarael's leg shimmered with steaming golden Soul Energy as it headed to him. The kick connected with his shield like a bolt cracking against the earth. The force launched him. His entire body rolled across the sand like a tossed ragdoll, carving deep trenches in the beach as shockwaves rippled out in rings.
Peroncerea, sitting on the nearby boulder, was slammed with a pressure so harsh that she instinctively covered her eyes by crossing her arms. Her eyes narrowed, impressed but also concerned.
"That… that was no regular strike."
Vastarael stood there casually, his leg still slightly raised in the air, steam trailing off his golden-glowing calf. The sand beneath his feet was scorched into a perfect spiral crater. He looked down at his own leg and let out a mild sigh. He said flatly, turning toward Eldrigan who lay coughing violently a few dozen meters away.
"That was my strongest kick. If you didn't have Dismemberment and summoned your Divine Weapon in time, every single rib in your body would have been shards by now. And that's a compliment. Anyone else's bones would have been dust."
Eldrigan groaned, his shield flickering from the damage. He got to his knees then staggered, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. He spat to the side.
"Dammit…"
Before Peroncerea could run toward him, Vastarael waved one hand lazily. Golden strings of Body Restoration wrapped around Eldrigan's torso. In less than a breath, all internal injuries were undone. His ribcage realigned. His lungs stopped bleeding. The pain evaporated but the shock didn't.
"You alright?"
His voice was so flat it was impossible to tell if he was being polite or bored. Eldrigan blinked, looked up, and forced himself upright.
"I'm... yeah. I'm good. You healed me?"
"I'm not going to hold back in my marital skill. I'm only focusing on combat mode. My mage skills are meant for large-scale warfare and if I use them here, I'd vaporize the beach."
He rotated his shoulders, his joints cracking.
"I'll give you the courtesy of fighting you man to man. No circles or conjurations. Just fists, legs, and bone."
"Got it."
He had no time to blink. Vastarael moved. One heartbeat, he was ten meters away and the next, he was gone.
Then, he was behind Eldrigan.
"Wha—"
Eldrigan's stomach caved inward as if a meteor struck it. He hadn't even seen the punch but he felt it. Every internal organ lurched in opposite directions. The world spun, color drained from his vision and the next thing he knew, he was on all fours, vomiting blood into the sand. Vastarael stood above him, golden steam trailing off his fingers. Another silent wave of his hand and Eldrigan's insides were repaired again.
"I'm going to make you reach your limits. Don't expect me to slow down."
Peroncerea's heart was racing as she watched. She wasn't scared for Eldrigan's life. Vastarael would never kill him. But this… was brutal. And somehow, almost cold. There was no joy on his face. It was as if Vastarael were fixing a broken clock by smashing its gears to force them into precision.
"You still alive?"
Eldrigan wiped his mouth and gave a short nod.
"Yeah yeah, still breathing…"
"Good. Then get up. Round three."