"Let me show you how to wield your Intent properly. Maybe you could even pick up a thing or two along the way." As these words came out of Braum's mouth, a feeling of despair swiftly enveloped Merdus. After all, throughout their fight, he thought of Braum as a mere Rank 4 class holder. Sure, he was at the peak of Rank 4, but even that gap was enough for his surmount as long as he utilized his Intent.
Yet, in front of him was not only a man at the peak of Rank 4…
But also someone who had an Intent just like him.
Gritting his teeth in anger, Merdus felt like he had just made himself look like a fool to his opponent, to both Valyr and Tryndall. With that in mind, he felt the urge to take revenge against Braum for the humiliation, only to remind himself that his opponent having an Intent meant that he would undoubtedly lose.
And thus, he set his eyes on the two behind Braum.
"Graagh!" Letting out an enraged roar, Merdus bent his knees as he circulated a great amount of energy throughout his body, making up for the lack of Intent with buffing skills he had in his arsenal. Ducking as he charged forward, he swiftly closed the gap between him and Braum, with the latter already prepared to take a hit from the man's staff.
However, rather than hit Braum with the staff, Merdus instead deftly swerved around Braum's body, appearing behind the latter as he flashed a devilish grin towards the two behind him. Swinging his staff diagonally as there was nothing block him from attacking the two, Merdus sent a blade of energy towards the duo, thinking that the attack he sent out was more than enough to end the lives of both Valyr and Tryndall.
"Halt."
Whoosh!
Unfortunately, just as the blade of energy from Merdus' staff had reached the staff's tip, the blade was quickly stopped in its place as dull gray energy manifested out of nowhere, binding the blade to its current spot before the gray energy dismantled it into particles of mana.
Then, after destroying the blade of energy, the gray energy then headed towards Merdus' body, binding him in place as his pupils shrunk in slight fear when he noticed Braum turn around, looking at him with a cold expression. "The most important rule of wielding Intent: contain all of the energy from your Intent into a specific spot as much as possible. Letting all of that energy radiate into the surroundings might enhance your power for a bit…"
"But only for a bit."
"[Mountain Fist: First Fist]."
"[Quake]."
Bang!
With Merdus still bound in place by the dull gray energy Braum had manifested, the latter retracted his right fists before condensing all of his strength into it, imbuing his fist with a bit of Intent before sending it flying towards Merdus' chest. At that very instant, the dull gray energy holding Merdus in place dispelled as he was swiftly sent flying through the room with his chest slightly caved in.
Thud!
Though the force Braum put behind his attack was more than enough for Merdus to crash through the wall and be sent flying towards the dimly lit city streets, Braum had conjured a barrier of energy around the walls at the very last minute, reinforcing the part that would collide with Merdus with a small portion of his Intent as the latter fell to the ground with a thud.
"Ack!" Forcing himself to stand up, Merdus gritted his teeth through the pain that spread throughout his entire body, only for him to cough out blood as a result of taking Braum's attack head-on. Coughing out a bit more blood after that, Merdus' gaze contained a bit more ferocity to it as he looked at Braum, who looked back at him with nonchalance.
"[Serpentine Staff: Molt]."
Whoosh!
Ignoring the warning signals his brain sent him to not fight any further, Merdus stared daggers at Braum as he thrust his staff towards Braum, infusing a great portion of energy and his Intent into it, the latter of which he followed Braum's words to a certain extent.
Unsurprisingly, Braum raised his eyebrow in interest as he noticed the subtle change in how Merdus controlled his energy and Intent, prompting a light smirk to appear on his face. "So, you do know how to take advice. I'm glad to see that.
"Though, unfortunately for you…" Letting out a light sigh soon after, Braum sent out a fist to meet with Merdus' staff, infusing it with a great amount of his Intent.
"You learned too little too late."
"[Mountain Fist: Second Form]."
"[Landslide]."
Bang!
At the very moment Merdus' staff and Braum's fist collided, the former quickly snapped into two under the force behind Braum's fist, prompting the latter to continue its momentum as it made contact with Merdus' body not long after, punching him straight in the gut.
However, just as Merdus had buckled to his knees from the overwhelming pain the punch gave him, another wave of Intent radiated out of Braum's fist, sending a fist purely made out of energy and Intent towards Merdus' face as he fell backward, landing on his back at great speeds.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Then, punching out with his other fist, a barrage of fists made out of energy and Intent bombarded Merdus' body from head to toe, causing the man to let out a wail of pain that could be heard throughout the entire city from its sheer loudness. Sadly, this wail could only be heard by Braum and the other two as the former blocked any sound from coming out by conjuring a barrier of energy around them.
"Now, we could do this the easy way or the hard way." Moving closer to Merdus, Braum looked down at the man before opening his mouth. "Are you the one who started the entire Clossbay Killer incident?"
"Why should I tell someone like you something like that, especially a group of people who decided to barge into my manor all of a sudden?" Hearing the words that came out of Merdus' mouth, the three could not help but look at each other for a bit as bitter smiles appeared on both Valyr and Tryndall's faces.
"I see." In response, Braum lightly nodded before clenching his fists once more, imbuing both of them with his Intent before sending both of them downwards.
"The hard way, it is."
