Chapter 120: You’re my reason for getting stronger
"Ice and shifter," Ethan announced his powers, unwilling to spend any more time exchanging words with Caiden.
"Metallic user," Caiden responded, and took out a long stick from his ring.
The air around them shifted as soon as Dean shouted, "Begin." Caiden was the first to move, fully aware that he wasn’t entirely Ethan’s match, but he could hold his own and last in their fight.
He activated his powers, and a gold sheen started to cover the stick, turning it into a golden one with a solid texture.
He swung through the air, shattering the ice daggers that had been hovering above him; their immense numbers would have made a normal person break out in cold sweat, but Caiden still swung his stick.
Ice shards scattered across the stage as Caiden lowered the number of ice daggers hovering above him, though he couldn’t avoid injury from some daggers that slipped past his defense.
Ethan, on the other hand, waved his hand, effortlessly conjuring more daggers. If he weren’t facing Caiden, he would have ended the battle long ago, but now he wanted Caiden to suffer.
Gradually, Caiden’s blood started mixing with the dissolved ice, and he realized he couldn’t just passively defend anymore; he had to launch an attack. To do that, he needed to create an opening in his defense to get close to Ethan.
His gaze sharpened, and he charged forward, leaving himself vulnerable. As he shaped his stick into spiky balls, he swung it toward Ethan, subtly slipping in his beasts — a gold-horned beetle that blended seamlessly with the gold balls.
Ethan held out his hand as if he was holding a bow, then an ice bow materialized in his hands, its cold edge emitting a biting chill.
Reinforcing the icy arrows until they were as strong as iron, he aimed, and one arrow turned into five, accurately hitting the gold balls.
As he shot them down, he flicked his fingers, sending the hovering daggers raining toward Caiden. A flash of golden light sped toward him.
His eyes narrowed, and he dodged to the side. He wasn’t fast enough—the thing tore through his shoulder, shredding his clothes and leaving a faint cut that seeped blood.
Ethan frowned, his eyes drifting toward where the thing was to spot a beetle. Caiden took that chance to attack, thinking Ethan was distracted.
But before he could land a hit, an ice whip slammed into him, and he couldn’t dodge, taking the full brunt of the attack.
He hissed under his breath as sharp pain burned through his bones, forced backward by the impact.
He was lucky that his bones were stronger than iron because of his powers, or all his bones would have shattered from that attack.
Seeing that Ethan was getting ready for another attack, he quickly shouted, "I give up!"
Though his bones were strong, he wasn’t sure he could take more hits from Ethan; at least he was glad to have injured Ethan, even if just a little.
"You’re my reason for getting stronger... the thought of possessing your beautiful hands keeps me awake at night." Caiden knowingly irritated Ethan with his words, watching his eyes fill with murderous intent.
The crowd was awakened as if in a trance—the battle had been so thrilling, with blood, a beautiful attack, and sizzling tension that made them crave more, feeling the fight ended too quickly.
Eva felt the difference in their strength; she knew she could barely hold her own if even one of them became her opponent.
"You’re stronger than before, and it’s only a matter of time before you reach our level or surpass us. You need to train more," Julian said encouragingly when he saw her lost expression.
Eva snapped out of her thinking, feeling his arms pressing on her shoulders.
"Thank you very much, but I’m quite satisfied with my current power... tsk, trying to deceive me into training again." Eva clicked her tongue, her face showing resistance as she pushed Julian’s arms off her shoulders.
Julian didn’t move, wrapping his arms around her and letting out a reluctant sigh.
"Your husband is about to retake the stage, no good luck kiss? At least let me breathe in my wife’s scent... maybe I’ll be lucky. Hmmm..." He rubbed his face against her nape, his tall figure enveloping her petite form.
"I... can’t breathe...loosen up," Eva muttered through gasps as she struggled against his hold.
After soaking in her warmth, Julian finally let her go. Eva’s face was flushed from the heat, her eyes burning with anger as she pinched him in retaliation.
"You nearly smothered me with your hug. See? My ponytail has come undone." Eva pressed her wavy, shoulder-length hair back and shot a glare at Julian while she fixed it.
"You’re beautiful with your hair down. Okay, I’ll shut up." Julian raised his hand in mock surrender, watching her anger flare at his compliment and seeing her take the stage for her last fight of the day as she waved at Ethan.
But what happened next left him speechless.
"Julian!" Eva called out his name; her shock was clear in her voice.
Aaron and the rest of her cousins looked at Julian with dagger-filled eyes, as if warning him against cursing even a minor wound on Eva.
Ethan’s hand gripped Julian’s shoulders firmly and warned flatly, "Be careful."
Julian knew exactly what Ethan was talking about; he had never wanted to give up a fight like he did now.
He knew Eva wanted to test the results of her training, and she would like him to take the fight seriously. Taking a deep breath, he resigned himself and pushed through the noisy crowd.
Eva’s eyes lit up when Julian stepped onto the stage; he was the ideal opponent to challenge her abilities.
"Begin."
Eva lunged forward and quickly drew her daggers from her ring. With a slash, she attacked, but Julian easily blocked her strike.
The sharp clang sounded through the air. Eva stepped back and feigned an attack from the left but then delivered a sneaky kick to his right.
Julian calmly stopped her leg with his palm. He didn’t respond with an attack and let her retreat, but only realized there was more to the attack, until his energy was being sucked away.
He smiled in approval but dodged the green energy blade aimed at his back.
"Tch!" Eva clicked her tongue when she saw that her two sneak attacks had failed.
First, she wrapped the thinnest green strands around her foot as she attacked, knowing he would easily block them, and then she created another energy blade from behind in case he wasn’t affected much by the energy drain.
"Are you ready? It’s my turn to attack," Julian said, the aura around him shifting as he swung his sword forward.
Eva swiftly blocks it with her two daggers, her hands going numb. She immediately channels energy into her daggers in preparation for his next attack.
The clang of steel rang through the air as the crowd watched Eva being forced to defend against Julian’s attacks.
Some strong people in the crowd knew he was holding back his full strength; all the fight would have ended with him using his time power.
Eva’s eyes shone brighter as they fought, and although she was doing most of the defending, she learned quite a lot, with Julian subtly guiding her from the side.
After a while, Eva couldn’t block as effectively as before, taking an attack from the blunt side of Julian’s sword.
"Let’s end it here... My hands are... hhh... numb," Eva said through heavy breaths, her body drenched in sweat, her face flushed red, and her heart pounding in her chest.
"Alright." Julian sheathed his sword and held her by the waist before she collapsed from exhaustion.
"I give... up." Eva surrendered, leaning on Julian as they left the stage.
The Selina who had been awake for a while watched the fight with mixed feelings of dread and disbelief.