It was... truly a one-sided battle.
Sure, everything Vivienne taught him worked but... they simply did not work well enough against Rhydan.
Lucian slashed his knife towards his chest. Rhydan caught the blade between two fingers. Lucian used Telekinesis to rotate it. Rhydan released the knife before it could cut him, then punched Lucian’s face, sending him flying.
He landed badly, rolled, then remained still for a moment.
"LUCIAN!!!"
Naomi screamed in worry as she prepared to rush towards him. Isolde stopped her again and this time, Naomi snapped.
"He has already lost consciousness! What more do you want!?"
Isolde, however, remained calm.
"He is still conscious."
She spoke as she pointed towards Lucian. Naomi turned around, her eyes fell on his twitching fingers, then Lucian clenched his fist, pressed the fist against the floor, forcing himself to stand up.
"Haha... Hahh..."
He breathed heavily. His right arm was hanging uselessly, his shoulder was broken, his forearm was fractured, there was blood all over his clothes and face. Anyone, be it Naomi, Isolde or Sabine, or the Werewolves who were together with Rhydan, they could all see that he was in a terrible situation but...
As they saw him standing, instead of his injuries, their eyes couldn’t help but move to his eyes.
The shine in them had not faded away in the slightest, if anything, it had grown far, far stronger.
It was almost... terrifying.
And with those terrifying eyes, Lucian stared at Rhydan.
An enemy with greater strength, greater speed, greater instincts, more experience, better technique, better senses and regeneration, an enemy who was better than him in every single way—
And instead of accepting his defeat, Lucian grinned, then he grabbed his damaged arm, forcing it back into its correct position.
"What are you doing?"
Rhydan questioned as he narrowed his eyes and Lucian—
"Trying something different."
His grin widened.
He used Red Quiet to calm himself, his very energy became silent. Then, he looked at Rhydan and rushed forward.
This time, instead of attacking directly, he threw the knife in his hand towards the wall. The blade was nowhere near Rhydan, it struck the wall. Rhydan frowned at the sudden miss, but he too, could see that Lucian was severely weakened. It was time he gave up anyway, this must be one last desperate but hopeless struggle.
Lucian didn’t care what he was thinking. He stepped into his range, he sensed Rhydan’s left shoulder tighten and his weight shift, and he ducked before Rhydan could attack him.
Rhydan changed the angle of his attack instantly, this time he tried to drive Lucian’s spine into the ground using his elbow.
Lucian used Telekinesis on his own body to move several inches to the side. Rhydan’s elbow passed beside him. Lucian used the chance to attack.
One-Inch Dominion.
However, before he could even punch, Rhydan caught his wrist, diffusing all the energy from his punch.
By then, the knife Lucian threw before flew back at them. Rhydan’s ears twitched, sensing the incoming knife. He released Lucian’s wrist and turned, his hand closed around the blade and at that exact moment, Lucian attacked with his damaged arm.
Rhydan raised an eyebrow at that, not expecting Lucian to use a damaged arm. He raised his free hand, catching Lucian’s fist, which was far weaker than his normal punch.
But just then—
One-Inch Dominion.
Rhydan’s eyes widened at the sudden force. His fingers trembled from the impact. He forced his body to stay in place, while Lucian twisted his body and for the first time since the battle began—
He managed to land a knee into Rhydan’s side.
Rhydan was pushed back.
Lucian’s eyes glowed at that sight, but he did not celebrate. He pulled the knife out of Rhydan’s hand with Telekinesis. The blade spun through the air.
Lucian caught it with his good hand and slashed towards Rhydan’s throat.
Rhydan bent backwards.
The blade passed above him. He kicked Lucian in the stomach, sending him flying. This time, Lucian used Telekinesis to change the angle of his body again. Instead of colliding with the wall on his back, he landed on the wall with his feet, then, without losing momentum, he pushed off like a spring and flew towards Rhydan.
Rhydan raised an arm to stop him.
Lucian threw the knife again. This time, he threw it above Rhydan. The Werewolf ignored it and stepped forward. The moment Lucian got close, Rhydan punched. Lucian dodged at the very last second, the punch still grazed his cheek and just that was more than enough to tear his skin.
But Lucian did not stop.
He punched Rhydan’s ribs. The Werewolf tried to block but Lucian used Telekinesis to unnaturally change the angle of his attack and—
He managed to punch Rhydan’s face with One-Inch Dominion.
Rhydan bled.
For the first time since the battle began, Rhydan’s golden eyes glowed dangerously. Then, without uttering a single word, he grabbed Lucian’s face with one hand, then—
BOOOM
He slammed him into the ground.
For a moment, Lucian’s vision became white. Rhydan didn’t care, he lifted him again and threw him at the wall.
Lucian struck it hard enough to leave a crater, then his body fell to the floor and...
He passed out.
Rhydan’s companions grinned at that, it went exactly as they expected.
Rhydan, however, narrowed his eyes.
The demon passed out.
Then...
Why wasn’t Aevrienne eliminating him from the Trial?
He frowned.
That was when Lucian’s body twitched.
Rhydan and the other Wolves blinked at that. Lucian, on the other hand, forced his body to stand.
"This is fun."
The glow in his eyes intensified.
The bloodied grin on his face looked terrifying.
Rhydan kept staring at him for a good while. Lucian, on the other hand, attacked again.
This time, he used the corridor itself. He put his energy into his foot then, he tapped onto the ground.
One-Inch Dominion.
BOOOOM
The stone floor cracked into pieces. Lucian used the Energy of Desire to lift those stones into the air.
Naomi stared at the sight of Lucian standing with giant pieces of stone flying behind him and she...
She was mesmerised.
Just... what had he become...?