Chapter 114: He was no ‘new recruit.’
"I am going to touch you now~"
Lucian grinned playfully as he then pushed himself off the ground and dashed towards Alaric, and the instant he did, the playfulness on his face disappeared completely.
Lucian started with a punch, Alaric raised one arm to block it and—
BOOM
The impact exploded through the room.
The ring on Alaric’s finger shone, his feet stayed in place but the floor beneath him cracked, that made Alaric raise an eyebrow.
’He is stronger than expected.’
He thought inwardly as he looked at Lucian. Lucian saw his expression and grinned. Alaric twisted his arm, redirected part of the force and used the momentum to step inside Lucian’s range and attack his ribs with his elbow.
Lucian reacted quickly, he could tell he didn’t have the time, so instead of moving away, he moved closer, not giving Alaric enough space to produce enough momentum for the strike to actually hurt him.
Again, Alaric looked surprised.
Lucian didn’t care, with the distance between them, this Alaric wouldn’t have a way to dodge either, he wanted to use this chance to plunge his knee into Alaric’s gut but—
The instant Lucian moved his knee, Alaric’s bracelet flashed and for a short moment, Lucian’s leg slowed.
Alaric used that moment to strike Lucian’s shoulder with two fingers, specifically at two important nerve points.
"Tsss."
Lucian’s arm dipped as he groaned.
Alaric used that moment to step behind Lucian, aiming for the back of his neck but just then, Lucian grinned.
He turned back at an impossible speed and with an arm that should have lost its function, he punched.
Alaric’s eyes widened as he ducked at the very last moment, the punch passed over his head and smashed into the reinforced wall.
CRACK
The wall cracked.
Alaric stared at that wall, his outward expression didn’t change, but inwardly, he was shocked. He distanced himself from Lucian and—
"How did you do it? How did you move your arm?"
He questioned directly. Lucian just grinned—
"Nerve point, really?"
He looked offended.
"Did you forget who my teacher was?"
Alaric’s face changed at those words.
"My nerve points have built enough resistance that normal attacks don’t work on them anymore. You’d need needles."
Lucian explained and Alaric was only horrified by that answer.
Enough resistance...?
Just...
Just how many times had Lady Vivienne forced that man to move through blocked nerve points!?
Alaric couldn’t believe it.
Lucian smiled as he saw the face Alaric was making, then he attacked again. Only this time, he didn’t rush blindly.
His footwork changed, the Marrow Nail training showed effects, he dropped most unnecessary movements and rushed forward, moving from different, strange angles that would confuse most enemies.
Alaric blocked his attack, Lucian didn’t care, he attacked again, then again and then again, with each attack, he read Alaric’s movements, noticed the possible openings, then targeted those specific openings.
And by the seventh exchange, Lucian’s hand slipped past Alaric’s guard and struck his chest.
The White Marrow Aegis lit up, Lucian’s attack’s force spread all over the armor instead of sinking into one point, but Alaric was still pushed back half a step.
"Is that enough to make you take me seriously?"
Lucian smiled when he saw it.
And Alaric—
"It is."
He nodded as his eyes turned even colder.
He gave him too much space and the boy jumped at it the next instant, his reflexes and battle understanding were sharp.
Alaric nodded in his head, but this time, as Lucian moved, he didn’t answer casually like before, his ring shone as he planted his foot, his body twisted around Lucian’s attack, his bracelet pulsed, stealing the smallest fraction of Lucian’s forward momentum and—
Alaric attacked.
An attack that should have made Lucian lose his balance, but the monster, even when his movements were slowed, adapted that very instant.
His body moved in an odd, misbalanced manner, in a way that his elbow came directly towards Alaric’s jaw, leaving him no choice but to dodge.
Alaric was surprised.
This time however, he didn’t move according to Lucian’s expectations, he let Lucian’s elbow hit him, his locket flashed, forming a thin shield that blocked the attack at the very last second.
Lucian blinked in surprise but at this point—
His balance was already shaken, Alaric used the moment to drive his palm into Lucian’s chest, and at that very exact moment—
BOOOOM
The White Marrow Aegis released a burst through Alaric’s shoulder and arm and Lucian’s body was thrown back, crashing into the wall.
"Khwwrkk! Khaerrk!"
He coughed as he slowly stood up.
Then, he wiped the blood that came from his mouth, and with a bloodied mouth, he grinned.
"That one hurt."
"It was supposed to."
"Again."
Lucian’s eyes shone brightly as he dashed forward again and this time, Alaric did not underestimate him.
The fight had changed.
It was no longer a test of whether Lucian could keep up or not.
He could.
And that’s what surprised him the most.
He had heard Lucian was an odd case.
An unnaturally strong Blood-Altered Human, and when he saw him train, he did expect to see absurd strength, regeneration and stubbornness.
What he did not expect however, was adaptation.
Lucian was learning inside the fight.
Every time Alaric used the bracelet, Lucian reacted faster to the binding pulse, every time the anchoring ring held Alaric in place, Lucian adjusted the angle of his next strike instead of wasting force, every time the White Marrow Aegis spread damage, Lucian’s eyes followed the light under the fabric, studying how the armour moved.
He was no ’new recruit.’
A monster wearing the face of a recruit!
A monster even Alaric had to take seriously at some level.
The fight continued.
Lucian moved better with every exchange, he learned so quickly that the same trick did not work twice against him.
But Alaric still found openings.
They were small.
Too small for normal hunters to even notice let alone use.
A slight step forward where Lucian trusted his instincts too much, a slight unfamiliarity when Alaric’s ring redirected force, a fraction of confusion when the bracelet slowed his movement for a short moment.
Lucian had terrifying power.
But he lacked experience.
He didn’t know how artifacts worked, in fact, artifacts confused him quite a bit since they didn’t follow normal body anatomy that his instincts relied on.
And as someone who had fought his entire life, Alaric didn’t have a hard time noticing and using that to his advantage.
He knew exactly how to keep using his artifacts to confuse Lucian’s instincts, he knew how to make him react and then punish that reaction.
Still, Alaric’s method didn’t work every time, Lucian continued to adapt and managed to move past his defences a few times.
He punched Alaric’s shoulder once, hard enough for the White Marrow Aegis to flare. His knee grazed Alaric’s ribs. His hand caught Alaric’s wrist for half a second, the White Marrow Aegis flared as Lucian tried to crush it into pieces through sheer force.
The battle continued for a good while, both opponents read each other, Lucian stared at Alaric hungrily, learning every single thing he could from him.
He rushed towards him, keeping his body lower,
Alaric’s bracelet flashed, Lucian expected the binding and forced through it, but that was what Alaric wanted.
The moment Lucian resisted, his weight shifted very very slightly, that was all Alaric needed.
He stepped past Lucian’s guard, let the Aegis surge through his body, and struck under Lucian’s ribs. Before Lucian could recover, Alaric was already standing behind him, he grabbed him from behind, his arm locked his throat and his knee drove into the back of his leg, forcing Lucian’s knee to the ground.
CRACK
The floor beneath Lucian’s knee cracked, he tried to resist, but Alaric only tightened his hold around his throat as he held him there.
One second.
Two.
Three.
And then—
"Yield."
Alaric instructed.
Lucian’s eyes glowed faintly.
Then he laughed.
"Alright Alright, I give up."
