The old man never thought his act would be seen through. Worse, he never imagined one day he'd be punched in the face by a junior as weak as a bug.
But as Varian's fist broke Merov's jaw and blasted his teeth off into the space like fucking rockets, he had no choice but to accept he fucked up.
A light green light eminated out of Merov and pushed him away from Varian, created enough distance between them to give him a breather.
'I had my doubts before, but I'm sure of it now. This boy's soul is young…too young, not even a century old! And he got the strength that rivals Merov?'
His pupils shook as he watched Varian with newfound emotions.
Awe and fear.
But they quickly turned into something more.
Greed.
'Not Merov, this boy is my chance! And not just any chance, my chance to reach the peak of existence!'
The shift in his emotions wasn't very subtle. Varian guessed what the old bastard was thinking without even trying to.
It's the same stuff every single time!
'That body is heavily injured. I might not win, but I can fight him.'
[Adept Rank 6: 2000/5000 (+750, +1000)
< Getting beaten up by your wives in the name of training and using those Zions helped you grow. >
< As you can see, fighting strong enemies is more efficient. So, just go punch that powerhouse in the face and get yourself into a fight >
Assimilator Rank 6: 2500/5000 (+1500)
< You really like this power, don't you? >
Binder Rank 6: 500/5000 (+500)
< Don't let this fall behind >
Energy Rank 6: 1000/5000 (+1000)
Matter Rank 6: 1000/5000 (+1000)
< Using the slivers to improve in the paths is really a cheat. But you aren't using it enough. >
Space Rank 6: 500/5000 (+500)
Time Rank 6: 500/5000 (+500)
< Not enough>
Note: You should really try for a second Synergy session with Isadora. It won't give the same jump as the first session but you'll see a huge growth. You're not a high celestial yet, there's a lot of room for quick growth.]
'…She'll bite my neck off I try to propose another Synergy.' Varian's lips twitched.
"Hahahaha!"
With a madness that surpassed a cult fanatic, Merov shot towards Varian, the green light eminating from him leaving behind a beautiful trail, like an arc painted from a green brush.
'Why is he trying to fight in close combat?' Varian was puzzled.
Merov covered his fists with life force and punched out. Varian returned the punch and the moment their fists clashed, space shattered.
The green light from Merov acted like a strong suction force and tried to destroy his vitality.
At the point of their physical contact—their fists—Varian's body began to wither and break down.
In a blink, his strong and tough fist disintegrated into ash and blew away.
'Damn it…'
Varian jumped back, realizing why the old guy had chosen this style of fighting.
The green light could affect Varian from long distances but wouldn't take him down anytime soon. But with direct contact, the life force entered his body and dealt way more damage.
With a light exhale, Varian laughed, much to the confusion of the old man. "Fights like this are the best!"
Their figures blurred, turned into afterimages, flashes of light, and just invisible at some point.
They moved faster and faster, with each move, shattering the space around them and creating aura shockwaves that'd travel for light years.
Varian's body began to break down like a sandcastle that was hit by the sea waves.
His Assimilator power worked on overdrive to heal him back and he didn't hesitate to devour whatever he could of Merov to replenish himself.
It was a tug of war slowly being played out.
Right from the start, the old bastard held his superiority over Varian.
Be it combat experience, the state of mind during a tough fight, and even reading the opponent's moves—which Varian was well accomplished in—the old man was several times better.
Yet, a sense of dread filled his mind as he realized something that was so ridiculous that it should be impossible.
'He's grown so much in just this little time! Impossible! What even is going on?'
Varian didn't use his other paths as much, so his growth primarily came from the Adept and Assimilator. But that was more than enough to scare away the experienced powerhouse.
'No, I have to end this before anything unexpected happens.' The old man resolved himself and jumped at Varian.
As he did before, Varian raised his hand, whichever was still intact, to counter the enemy. But Merov had two hands and he had only one.
So, while he neutralized one punch, the other ended up hitting him in the chest and crushing his chest bones.
As blood mixed with pieces of bones splattered out, Varian tried to move away. But this time, something odd happened.
An eerie red-colored light emerged out of Merov and drilled into his eyes.
"Arghhh!"
The foreign power, no, the foreign soul rushed straight into the depths of his mind, heading towards the most vulnerable part of his being—his soul.
"Hahahaha! Wonderful! Just wonderful! What is this body? This is a masterpiece! No, masterpiece is an understatement!
This is a body that shouldn't even exist. You're an impossibility! A wonder of nature! And now, you're mine. All mine!"
With every word he spoke, the old voice grew more and more crazy. He couldn't believe what he was witnessing.
Varian sealed away all his powers other than the Adept, so he could only notice that one path.
Yet, he was able to grasp that this body had awakened only a little over a year ago.
Forget all those geniuses, even the legendary Princess Isadora whose talent shattered all records couldn't compare to this boy!
"You're my destiny! Boy, you're my destiny to godhood, to greatness, and to immortality!"
The old man's soul broke through Varian's mental defenses and reached his soul.
Currently, his soul region was in the form of a blue sea. Instead of replacing his soul, the old man began to assimilate.
The water of the blue sea began to slowly turn red. Little by little, drop by drop.
Varian's body shook violently, blood spilling from every part as it rejected the invasion. But the soul assimilation proceeded despite his resistance.
He could feel everything that was happening. But he could no longer control anything. It's as if he had become a spectator in his own body. It was a terrifying feeling.
"Hm…why does your soul have so much resistance?" The old soul complained.
Normally, the preliminary assimilation should've been finished by now. It'd take a while to digest and perfect it.
But right now, all his soul entered the blue sea but only a tenth of it turned red.
"Wait, why do you have soul pa—whaaaat?!"
A beam of black and white light descended onto the contaminated soul.
"Sl…Sliveeers? No fuc—arghhh!"
Varian's soul power stuck him right after.
Caught off guard, the old soul was quickly injured, weakened, and isolated.
Without hesitation, Varian threw him to the Requiem Sword, which captured him like a genie in a bottle.
And when he opened his eyes, Prince Merov's fist greeted him. "Give me back my teacher!"
