Chapter 11: Matched In A Single Day...
Evian delivered on his promise...
*Bam*
*Bam*
*Wham*
... He delivered on his promise thrice.
Adrian limited to the First Order and Adrian limited to the Second Order had one thing in common: Both were still much too slow to Evian's eyes and reflexes.
Evian knew even as they started trading blows that it won't take long for Adrian and Lord Stygian to realize his abilities were past the Second Order, at which point, they would either call off the spar or Adrian would finally go all out.
'I need to strike as fast and as many times as I possibly can before that happens.' Evian thought.
He punched Adrian twice and slammed him with his forearm on the third hit.
"Ahhh"
Adrian yelled as the force behind Evian's blow sent him flying back and turning a few times in the air before he finally hit the ground with his face towards the stage floor.
Adrian's brows were furrowed. His lips turned over in a frown as he was filled with disbelief.
"Impossible. This- This is impossible"
In contrast to Adrian's disbelief, Lord Stygian's lips were stretched into a wide smile as his dark eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Incredible" The proud father mumbled.
Adrian quickly got back to his feet and turned to glare at Evian who was grinning and bouncing at a spot while throwing out jabs like a boxer.
"How? How is this possible?" Adrian asked.
"How is what possible?" Evian asked without stopping his jab throws.
"How are you already at the Second Order?" Adrian clarified. He sounded hurt and he looked his brother over, for the first time noticing that the color of his hair and eyes were not the only things that had changed about him.
He noticed Evian's previously sickly physique had filled out ever since he came back to life yesterday.
Evian shrugged.
"I'm just special, I guess," he said before he dashed forward and sunk a blow into Adrian's stomach.
*Bam*
The blow connected but Adrian remained standing- unaffected. He raised his head and his eyes were filled with rage. He grabbed Evian's arm and used it to pull him even closer before sinking a knee into his stomach.
"Ack"
Evian's eyes widened as he felt the force behind the blow had increased and so had the speed.
'The Third Order'
With a focused glare of anger, Adrian delivered yet another knee strike and quickly followed it up with a kick that sent Evian flying almost completely off the stage.
Evian managed to plant his legs on the ground and he skidded to a halt but by the time he raised his head, Adrian was already in front of him with a punch directed at his face.
Evian's eyes widened but he remained calm with the realization that the speed of the blow was not yet at a level he couldn't follow. He caught the blow with his palm and sidestepped so that he was no longer standing at the edge of the stage.
Adrian's face was screwed in concentration and in a continuous seamless move, he took his hand out of Evian's hold and smacked him in the face with a backhand.
*Smack!*
As Evian started spinning away, Adrian grabbed the lapel of his robe and used it to pull his brother close.
Evian grabbed Adrian's arm and was about to try pulling it off when a sudden release of pressure from Adrian's body forced him to stop.
"I had to train for years to reach the Second Order and I trained for even more to reach the Third. So far, all you had to do was die and come back to life." Adrian said through gritted teeth.
Evian smirked refusing to let the pressure intimidate him.
"So what?" he asked defiantly.
Adrian's lips stretched into a sinister smile.
"So- A sudden boost in strength does NOT put you at my level. You lose in skills and you lose in utilizing your pressure" he said before drawing his fist back and practically smacking Evian's face with his pressure as a prelude for the blow he wanted to land.
Evian let out a small stream of Eldritch energy and with mental indications, he used it as a barrier against Adrian's pressure and smiled when it not only forced the pressure back and away from him but canceled it out completely.
Adrian shivered as the Eldritch energy touched him. His arm that Evian was holding was getting colder by the second. As if it was losing Life.
"What in hell-" Adrian started to say as he pulled his arm out of Evian's hold only to be immediately swept off his feet.
Adrian's back hit the ground with a small thud and Evian followed him only so he could strike him on the side of the face with his forearm.
The blow seemed to shake off the numbness that was starting to creep into Adrian's mind so he immediately let out his pressure to resist whatever was causing the unnatural deathly cold he had been feeling.
He pushed Evian off his body and returned to his feet.
The brothers started trading blows and the more they did, the clearer it was to Evian that Adrian indeed had him outclassed in skill.
Adrian knew how to use his hands. He had the proper stance and was so aware of his surroundings that he could almost accurately predict where Evian's blow was coming from and move out of the way before it hit.
'I probably shouldn't have scoffed at those self-defense classes back on Earth' Evian thought in regret.
The moves he was trying to use right now were a mix of what he had seen on TV in his past life whether during a boxing match or an olden-day martial art movie.
He was trying his best to replicate them but they were not as easy as he would ever have thought. Especially since he was using it against an actual opponent and not the empty air in his apartment.
The only reason he was still in the fight was that he had strength and agility that far outclassed those of even the fictional characters in the movies he watched. He was just slugging through the fight throwing as many punches as fast as he could and even then, he wasn't winning.
The more Evian and Adrian traded blows, the less restraint Adrian showed, and when he went all out, although his released pressure was still within the range of the Third Order, he was quite a few notches stronger and faster than Evian was.
Towards the end, Evian stopped throwing punches not by choice but rather by necessity. Adrian forced him to become defensive.
Alas, two arms raised in front of his face did not stop Evian from getting hit with punches and kicks that were so hard-hitting, they had him wheezing.
The only other card Evian had to play was Eldritch energy but that wasn't anywhere as effective as it had been during his encounter with Daria.
Adrian was not an Arcanist so there was no spell to cancel out and even using Eldritch energy to distract him wasn't working because the black-eyed Stygian was focused and had his pressure out to give him protection against such.
"Hold on" Lord Stygian called out suddenly and the two brothers stopped.
Although Evian had been struck more, his face was glowing with pride while Adrian's was twisted in shame and the reason was easy to guess;
Evian had nothing to lose.
To everyone in the Stygian Estate and Evian himself, this was the first he would ever trade blows with anyone and have the potential to not only stand his ground but even have a slim chance at winning.
Adrian was expected to win and if he did, it won't be special. It was just another day. In fact, he had to win. By a landslide.
However, all Evian had to do was stand his ground and he would be praised.
Case in point.
"Haha, very good, Son. Very good" Lord Stygian said while patting Evian's shoulder.
'When did he get here?' Evian wondered in surprise.
One second, the tall man was standing five feet away from the stage, and the next, he was standing beside Evian on the stage, patting his shoulder.
"I expected a solid start at the First Order. Never would I have dreamed that you would have breezed past two Orders already.
This is incredible, won't you agree, Adrian?"
Adrian looked from his Father's glowing face to Evian's punchable, handsome face.
"Yes, it's a real happy miracle," he said sarcastically. "Excuse me, Father" he added before walking away from the stage.
'So many years spent Training- Cultivating my strength and proving myself only to have it all matched in a single day of resurrection.
Fucking Pathetic...'
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