1560 Commence
With two important events coming up, Rui quickly got to work, forming the presentation rapidly. The mode of the presentation was going to be an analog slide show where he would need to draw out each slide and it would be upscaled onto larger paper on a bigger board for the actual day of the presentation.
It appeared that digital technology in this world had not reached a stage where he could actively work on a screen and create a digital slide show. But that was fine as far as Rui was concerned.
A few days passed when Rui finally got a message from Kane stating that he had made his mind up, and wanted to meet.
Rui decided to oblige him.
"Kane," Rui addressed him as he sky-walked down.
"Rui…" He murmured.
Rui had immediately noticed a change in his temperament.
His eyes were sharp. Sharper than he had ever seen them.
His normally easy-going demeanor and body language were gone. Yet he wasn't stiff, there was only one thing that radiated from him at the moment.
Conviction.
Rui sensed the resolve in his eyes.
"Good, I see that you're well-prepared. I wouldn't have allowed you to go through with this is if you had half-baked determination," Rui remarked.
The two of them had been communicating remotely over the past few days as Rui informed Kane more of what was necessary.
It appeared that Kane had truly taken Rui's words to heart.
"I won't be holding back," Kane's voice had a chilling undertone. "If we go through with this, I'm going to give it my absolute best…to kill you."
It hurt him to even utter those words, but Rui had insisted that it was the bare minimum.
Breaking through to the Senior Realm required being pushed past your limits, something that couldn't happen unless one was giving it their very best to eliminate their opponent. Not even aiming to incapacitate or restrain was enough since avoiding dealing lethal blows required some amount of holding back.
It was why Rui and Ieyasu had seriously aimed to kill each other in their fight, they wouldn't be Martial Seniors if not for that.
"Alright, let's get going," Rui stated. "There's no way we're doing this in the Kandrian Empire. I've told my family that I'd be away for a few days, that's how long this will take. I trust you've made all the preparations I've told you to make."
Kane nodded seriously. "I'm ready, Rui. Thank y-"
"You can thank me or curse me depending on the outcome," Rui cut him off. "I've told you. You're risking a fate worse than death for us Martial Artists."
His expression grew sharper as he clenched his fist silently.
Rui had prepared a few supplies, purchasing some potions and a food pills for their journey away. He was only going to get started after he was certain that he wouldn't be discovered by the Kandrian Empire.
The two of them departed the Kandrian Empire as they set out far and wide, heading west of the nation. Neither of them exchanged many words through their travels. Rui wasn't even interested in the journey itself. He had just returned to the Kandrian Empire and his homesickness was still too fresh for him to be pleased about leaving the empire.
Nonetheless, he was willing to do it for his friend.
The two of them reached a deserted wasteland that was far west of the continent, devoid of any life.
Rui had specifically aimed for this place because of this feature. He couldn't detect the presence of even the slightest hint of fauna and flora anywhere within a hundred-kilometer radius.
"We're here, let's get prepped," Rui said, burying his bag away.
It wasn't too long before the two of them stood opposite each other.
Kane drew his knives, taking his stance.
Rui stretched a bit longer, loosening his body after a long journey, hopping lightly on his feet.
"This is your last chance to pull out, Kane," Rui told him.
"I'm willing to see this through," Kane declared with determination.
"Is that so…?" Rui murmured. "Well, I hope that's true. As I said, that was your last chance."
An avalanche of bloodlust erupted from Rui.
The very air curdled under the peril that he emanated.
The atmosphere seemed to have been wrung taut from the sheer pressure that he radiated.
Kane's eyes narrowed.
"From this point on, even if you beg me to stop, I won't," Rui calmly declared.
This was a lie.
But it was fine because he had managed to sell the act. What mattered the most was whether Kane believed it or not, and it was clear that the sheer intensity that he managed to put out convinced Kane that he was absolutely serious.
The fight commenced immediately.
A quiet bloodlust burned in the depths of Kane's eyes as he rushed forward toward Rui at a speed that beggared the mind.
WHOOSH!
Rui narrowly evaded the pair of daggers swinging at him with fearsome speed, leaping away.
THWOOM THWOOM THWOOM!
He fired three Mighty Roar Flash Blasts at Kane, which the latter promptly evaded, weaving through them effortlessly.
WHOOSH!
He moved with a speed and agility the likes of which Rui hadn't seen within the Squire Realm.
'He's truly grown stronger in the past four years,' Rui mused inwardly, before deciding to get serious.
Kane rushed forward at blinding speeds. His daggers became arcs of pure destruction threatening to cleave any and everything that came their way. The sheer friction from the speed at which he moved set the air ablaze making his visage match that of a comet that weaved around the battlefield at incredibly high speeds.
Yet Rui had already decided that he couldn't afford to hold back against Kane's current level of power.
In his mind, a hypnotic spiral appeared in the distance on the battlefield. His body language conveyed that to Kane, subconsciously misdirecting his attention, and leaving his subconscious mind unguarded.
'Temporal Disharmony," Rui activated the technique as he manipulated Kane's perception of time, speeding it up relative to his body speed, causing the two to go out of phase.
