Rui was shocked that such a bigshot had reached out to him, even if indirectly. Still, he did not regret his decision, the mission itself gave him absolutely nothing of value that could enrich his experience and help his Martial Art and his Martial Path at all. He would only be fattening his ego while being reduced him to a trophy for display. Such vanity might even regress his Martial Path.
The Flowing Void Style was more than a trophy for display. It was the crystallization of decades of research, decades of relentless, maddening blood, sweat and tears, decades of searching. Searching for the pinnacle of martial arts and, now, Martial Art.
Just the thought of it being treated as one of many trophies made Rui bristle, though he wisely hid his indignant range.
The carriage paused as it reached the main entrance of the hall, and the doors opened as butlers of the DiViliers family helped Nartha out, Rui sooned followed suit.
The scene he saw helped him understand what he was in for. Each of the invited guests were accompanied Martial Apprentices.
There were even a few Martial Squires!
They had a sharp and heavy feel them, yet they restricted their emotion, dampening their aura. They did do a good job, none of the ordinary humans seemed to notice them. Yet, all the Martial Apprentices could clear feel power in a higher Realm.
Rui could do much more, he could even gauge which among them was the greatest threat.
"Mr DiViliers, it's been far too long." Nartha's pleasant voice drew him out of his reverie.
Rui sharply turned as his eyes fell on an old man with an extremely groomed appearance. His clothes and skin were practically glowing with a lustre of their own.
He long flowing white hair that extended to his neck. A thick white beard garnished his neck, beginning where his hair ended. He gave one the impression of a majestic lion, with a presence that demanded attention.
"Mrs Freier." A deep melodic voice escaped his mouth, as he smiled. "I'm so happy you could be here."
He turned to Rui. "And this is..."
"He's my representative fighter today." She smiled. "He goes by Thalken."
Thalken was the alias he had decided to go with while his identity remained hidden.
"I see." A hint of interest lit up in his eyes, before he turned back to Nartha. "Enjoy your time here today, if you need anything, I'm happy to help anyhow."
"Thank you for your hospitality." Nartha curtsied as Charles DiViliers smiled, before proceeding to welcome other guests.
Nartha and Rui proceeded inside, as Nartha joined a circle of women, each of them accompanied by their own Martial Apprentices
"My, miss Freier." One of them greeted. "Glad you make it. Hm? Where's Apprentice Gregory?"
"I let Gregory go. I got my hands on someone even better. Meet Apprentice Falken." She introduced Rui.
"Better?" Her eyebrows rose. "Impressive. He seems quite young too." She said, blatantly eying his body head-to-toe openly.
The women bantered until a booming voice gathered all their attention.
"Ladies and gentlemen." The booming voice of Charles DiVillier resonated across the hall. "Allow me to express my sincerest gratitude to all of you for joining me as I host our customary Martial games. I'm pleased to inform you that our guest count has peaked in light of the Martial Festival. I hope all of you have a wonderful time today." He said with a pausing tone as he was showered with a round of applause. "Now without any further ado. Let us begin!"
As he said so. The gigantic doors at the end of the hall opened as they exposed a wide circular viewing platform with a large arena visible down below.
The guests seemed accustomed to the phenomenon. They distributed across the ring viewing platform, indulging in the luxurious seating arrangements as butlers and maids tended to them.
"Ladies and gentlemen." A different voice took over. He immediately began hosting the event. "As scheduled; the first match is between Mr Hoerken's defending champion; Apprentice Frillix Hafbor versus Mrs Fellington's challenger Apprentice Havier. Betting officiants are present at every location of the viewing platform, please place you bets."
Two men walked into the arena.
"Take your stances!" The arbiter told them.
Apprentice Hafbor took a stance that prioritized static defense. He planted his legs firmly to the ground away from his center of gravity as if he had no intention of moving from that spot.
Apprentice Havier, instead, adopted a strange stance, his fingers curled as he brandished his hands at Havier, as if they were claws.
Yet they were.
Rui's eyes widened as Havier's's nails grew in length. what were originally nails morphed into claws as he brandished his centimetre long claws.
('That must have taken an enormous amount of conditioning.') Rui mused, surprised. Rui couldn't even imagine what Havier put himself through to get nails like those.
"You may begin." The arbiter stated.
Havier launched himself towards Hafbor with remarkable swiftness, crossing the distance between them in the briefest moments.
He swung heavily, launching his claws at Hafborn with remarkable swiftness.
And yet.
FRAP
The claws tore through Hafbor's cloth effortlessly.
Yet they failed to pierce his skin.
Hafbor took a moment to look down on Havier, staring him down as the latter tried his best to atleast inflict a wound.
Yet to no avail.
POW!
Hafborn hit with a jab as Havier opened up the distance, before lashing out at Hafbor with an even more powerful swing.
And yet,
THWACK
His attack never reached Havier as Hafbor skillfully deflected it.
THWACH THWACK THWACK
Havier kept swinging, and Hafbor casually redirected them out of his way. What surprised Rui was that his body was barely moving at all. Meaning he wasn't exerting himself as he calmly Havier's powerful swings.
('He's applying just a few ounces of weight on the strikes.') Rui's eyes widened with surprise. ('He's not pushing them out of his way with brute force, he's destabilizing their flow of power by applying the bare minimum weight on Havier's motions at the right time and place, causing them to destabilize and go off-trajectory.')
