Legacy of the Dark Sage

Kyran watched as Osman covered half of the distance between them in a matter of two seconds. His aquamarine eyes glowed brightly. But under his face-altering mask, the cause of this was his eyes had already turned silver. A clear indication of him utilizing the Regis's Body Tempering technique.

Without bothering to wait for Osman, Kyran also dashed forward.

The audience cheered at the scene unfolding in the arena. They applaud Kyran's bravery for not avoiding a melee confrontation after seeing Osman's body covered in flames.

Kyran summoned four small light golden magic arrays, which circled his legs and arms, camouflaging his use of the Regis's Body Tempering technique. In truth, these magic arrays had no effect whatsoever.

Osman's eyes narrowed, seeing Kyran approach him without his weapon. If the latter believed he could land a hit on him with just his bare fists, Osman would not stop him. He would readily accept whatever attack the latter would use and teach him a lesson!

Flaming gauntlets appeared on Osman's fists. He was actually a hand-to-hand specialist and his weapon was an elemental fire gauntlet.

Pulling back his right fist, Osman's arm muscles bulged as he prepared to punch Kyran's head.

Kyran, seeing Osman's action, prepared to duck and avoid the punch.

"Humph."

Sneering at Kyran's amateurish reaction, Osman suddenly changed his action from punching the latter to grabbing his shoulder. Afterwhich, he raised his knee and aimed at Kyran's dipping head while using his right hand to keep him from evading.

BAM!

Instead of hitting Kyran's chin, Osman's knee struck the latter's two hands, which he brought up to protect his chin.

Kyran took advantage of the pause in Osman's action to straighten and aim his head toward the latter's chin.

Whoosh!

Osman recovered just in time and pulled back his head to avoid Kyran's head.

A smile tugged at the corner of Kyran's lips as he used this opening in Osman's stance to grab the latter's right wrist, whose hand was still holding his shoulder. He tugged at his arm, and made a quick turn, his back now facing Osman's, before lifting the latter's huge flaming body and performing a shoulder throw.

"Ngrgh!" Osman grunted as Kyran slammed him to the ground.

Without waiting for Osman to recover, Kyran began to twist his arm.

However.

The moment Kyran started to twist Osman's arm, the latter moved his body to counter the twist while aiming to kick Kyran's left leg.

Retaining his composure at Osman's quick counter, Kyran used the latter's arm as leverage to hoist his body upward and evade the kick.

"Agh!" Osman groaned in pain, feeling the bones on his arms creak from Kyran's weight. In an instant, the flames on his body increased.

But Kyran ignored the flames, even as the air around him crackled and sizzled.

Since Osman was still sprawled on the floor, Kyran deftly moved and shifted in position. He pinned the former on the ground, using his knee to press on the former's back, while his left hand kept a tight hold on the former's arm.

Using his right hand, Kyran grabbed Osman's head, pulled it, then slammed it on the ground.

​ BAM!

A loud dull sound filled the hall.

BAM!

Another dull sound came.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

BAM! BAM!

Seemingly not content in hitting Osman's head on the ground twice, Kyran did it three more times. Then another two times, finally rendering the cheering audience into silence.

In the beginning, they were still cheering in anticipation. Even when the two finally approached each other and exchanged moves.

Thinking Kyran had fallen from Osman's feint, the crowd was surprised. But then their excitement soared after realizing that the former managed to counter the latter's feint and even initiate an attack.

Both Kyran and Osman's next actions filled their heart with anticipation until the former slammed the latter's head on the ground.

Their reaction was not because they could not believe Kyran was able to successfully attack Osman, but because when the former did it, they only realized his expression remained emotionless. Kyran did not even blink when he slammed Osman's head on the ground several times.

What was more surprising was the fact that Kyran did all of these while being engulfed by Osman's flames!

The ground where Osman's head had hit already turned to a mixture of rubble, blood, snot, and what seemed like broken teeth.

"RAWRGH!" Osman shouted as his magic aura exploded with the full force of his mage level.

FOOM!

A powerful and almost tangible force surged out from Osman's body in different directions.

"Ergh..!" Kyran used his arms to protect his head as he got thrown off Osman's back.

HUM!

The hammer, unmoving on the arena's ground, vibrated and its shaft increased in length. Kyran grabbed the shaft and deftly circled it before landing on the ground.

Osman slowly stood up. His face was covered in bruises and blood. With his magic aura increasing further, he turned and glared at Kyran.

Kyran smiled slightly. It seemed that slamming Osman's head on the ground was not enough to take him out.

Good.

It only proved Osman's physical defenses and strength were good.

"I'll f*cking kill you," Osman hissed.

BOOM!

The flames covering his body intensified as he dashed toward Kyran.

The length of the hammer's shaft shrunk as Kyran lifted it off the ground.

"Ngrgh!"

With the hammer in hand, Kyran did a three-hundred-and-sixty turn, before throwing it at the incoming Osman.

"RAAA!" Osman did not avoid the hammer. Instead, he made a sudden stop with his left foot, then shifted his body's weight to his right, before pulling his right arm to launch a punch.

BAM!

Osman's flaming fist slammed on the hammer's face.

DONG!

A massive shockwave rang out, spreading in different directions.

When Kyran threw the hammer, he did not pause to watch and dashed forward. After Osman punched the hammer's face, stopping it in midair, Kyran already arrived. He grabbed the hammer's shaft and exerting every muscle on his arms, hurtled it forward, pushing Osman back.

"Ergh!"

"Ngh!"

Osman's right arm was thrown upward as he was flung backward. However, he used the flames covering his body to stop his momentum.

Not waiting for Osman to recover his balance, Kyran rooted his feet on the ground and raised the hammer above his head. The shaft increased in length as he dropped it over Osman's head.

Osman looked up and raised both his arms to block the hammer.

DONG!

Another massive shockwave erupted as the hammer's head hit Osman's arms.

CRASH!

Osman's feet sunk to the ground from the weight of the hammer.

"Ngrgh!" He gritted his teeth as he felt the bones on his knees creak in agony. At this moment, his mind was reeling at the fact that Kyran was able to keep up with him. Not to mention, he punched the hammer with all of his might, yet, not a scratch appeared on its surface. As a matter of fact, he felt the bones on his hand crack instead.

"RAAA!" Osman's flames erupted once more as he pushed the hammer off his head.

Instead of letting go of the hammer after it got pushed upward, Kyran took advantage of it and let its shaft shrink, pulling him forward at an astonishing speed. He shifted his body and raised his right foot, poised to kick Osman in the face.

Osman, who had yet to fully recover his baring, looked up and was met with Kyran's feet.

BAM!

"Guah!" Osman's head got pulled back by the force.

Kyran did not try to jump back after successfully landing a kick at Osman's face. Instead, he used the added weight of the hammer to push the latter down on the ground.

But Osman was no pushover. Knowing what Kyran was planning to do, he grabbed the latter's ankle and willed his flames to slither toward his body.

"Burn you bast*ard!" Osman shouted.

"I don't think so," Kyran replied and let the hammer fall on the ground. He twisted his waist and using his free feet, he hooked it around Osman's neck, forcing him toward the ground.

BAM!

Osman was again thrown head first on the ground, "GUAH!"

Kyran deftly used the shaft to shift his body before letting go, dropping his knees on Osman's chest.

"GAH!" Osman spat out a mouthful of blood from the force.

Kyran grabbed Osman's face and pulled it before slamming it on the ground.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The familiar dull sound echoed in the hall once more. However, unlike earlier when it happened several times, this time, it only sounded three times before stopping.

Silence filled the hall.

Osman appeared to have lost consciousness.

Kyran's aquamarine eyes turned dark. Under his mask, it had now turned reddish purple as he subtly left a mark on Osman's forehead. Once done, he let go and stood up. Then he looked at the female announcer who was once more gaping at them in shock.

Sensing Kyran's gaze on her, the female announcer recovered and looked at the timer.

It had already stopped at 4:33.

She looked at Osman's unmoving body, before raising her hand and announcing, "Eighth match, Tyr of the Conclave wins!"

Her announcement was greeted by grim silence.

The audience remained dazed at what they had witnessed. The exchange between the two happened too fast and even defied logic. Mostly, the latter was due to Kyran not receiving any damage after being exposed to Osman's flames for some time.

Kyran took a deep breath and left the arena without so much as another look at Osman, or even a glance over the Royal Army's corner.