"You dare challenge me? Who do you think you are to have the qualifications to challenge me? I can easily crush you in just a blink of an eye," Mevron's deep voice boomed in the area as pin drop silence descended in the forest.
One could even sense the buildup of wrath in his tone, and even a fool would know better than to provoke the anger of a dragon.
Anyone would say Viktor did not have brains and consider him a dead man already. But they had no idea that Viktor's words struck a nerve in Mevron...especially since he felt as if his pride and dignity as a Winter Dragon were being questioned here.
"Why don't you come down here and fight me like a man? Then we will find out if I am qualified or not," Viktor said with crossed arms while Mevron found him to be quite strange.
There wasn't even a hint of fear in his eyes despite staring death in the face. Was he just ignorant or trying to put up a front?
Mevron normally wouldn't feel provoked or even bothered if someone lower than him "challenges" him.
He would just crush them immediately and even forget about their existence the next second.
But this man named Azu had shattered his dignity in ways he didn't imagine. The most important one was his own wife being stolen right under his breath, and the second was that he even questioned the worthiness of the blood flowing through his veins.
Even the woman he fancied and got rejected by seemed to have sentiments towards him.
As a Winter Dragon, he can't just let this go. Simply crushing him won't satisfy him or quell the rage he was feeling.
He had to gain back the dignity he lost while gaining some as well.
So to crush Azu in the most humiliating way, he decided to assume his human form as his body rapidly became smaller till he was back in his human form before descending to the ground.
"Your human form?" Viktor asked with one of his brows raised.
"To crush an insignificant one like you, I don't need to assume my true form. It would only be an insult to myself if otherwise. You are not the first one to challenge me nor the strongest. But none of them even made me assume my true form...not even once. And that is why I was chosen as the champion to represent my race. But I promise you...Your death won't be merciful," Mevron said as he stood with his hands behind his back, ready for a duel.
Seraphina felt nervous and worried as she grabbed Viktor's arm and said mentally, "Azu, you shouldn't fight him. You are not ready."
Seraphina wanted to let Viktor know in the best way possible that he was not ready to take on Mevron. It was not because she thought Viktor was weak but because Mevron was someone who was well versed in using odic force and the various techniques that made use of them.
Viktor knew no such techniques or arts. He even barely knew how to properly use his odic force. This was no different than a child trying to duel against an adult.
But she was confident that given enough time and training, Viktor could face Mevron.
Viktor looked at her and mentally conveyed, "I know, but I have to do this anyway. We can't let this bastard get away with stealing your fruit, can we? While I fight him, use that time to open a portal and escape quickly. Not even Orgaz would be able to reach you within time. Trust me, I will be fine. You know that."
Seraphina had a subtle look of disbelief as Viktor gently removed her hand from his arm and walked toward Mevron.
She realized that he was doing this to buy time for her, even if that meant he would get trapped here. But why...Why was he going so far?
She knew how badly Viktor wanted to get back home, even if he didn't mention it to her afterward. She couldn't help but feel pain in the back of her throat, feeling guilty that it was all because of her.
She looked behind and saw Orgaz standing quite far away. She knew experts like him could see things clearly from afar, but at the same time, it only made Viktor's idea more sound since she could silently conjure a portal while keeping Orgaz unsuspicious.
With her powers of illusion, she could make it look like she was not doing anything and simply jump into the portal after she was done. But that would mean she would have to abandon Viktor.
Now she was the one in a dilemma since she had to choose between saving her realm and Viktor.
"Come. I will let you land an attack on me. Consider it a merciful gesture before you no longer can even raise your arm," Mevron said with an air of superiority since he found it an insult to even raise his arm to attack someone so weak, especially a human. Even now, he couldn't understand why he was entertaining this ridiculous deal.
He was expecting Azu's arm to shatter no matter how strong his attack might be.
Viktor could see that Mevron was trying to show off his superiority while stomping on him.
But he smirked as he said, "Then I won't be polite," Viktor charged forward as he ran towards Mevron, and right before he was about to reach him, Viktor jumped into the air as he raised his arm as much as he could.
Mevron had a look of disdain and didn't even bother to use his odic force since his inherent body strength was enough to turn Azu's arm into a paste.
However, just as Viktor's fist was about to touch his face, his eyes suddenly turned crimson as a sudden influx of odic force rushed towards his fist, making Mevron's eyes widen.
*BHAM!*
A loud resounding sound of a punch echoed in the area as Mevron's cheeks shook before his body was sent flying backward by a few feet till his back crashed onto the trunk of a large tree, making the tree break in half.
"You were saying?" Viktor asked as he swiped back his hair.
