Yuso Ase

ARC 1 Chapter 18

Several dozen people, with Yuso and Misu at the forefront, stood in front of the palace and patiently waited for Taran to approach. From afar, his massive figure could already be seen, walking calmly at the head of his army, surrounded by the emptiness of the city. After about five minutes, both armies stood facing each other.

- For a long time, your actions seemed suspicious to me, but I never thought you would go as far as dealing drugs. You don't even have the honor to stand before your own people. Do you have anything to say? Any explanation? Clarification?"

The merchant stepped forward with trembling steps

- It's not what you think! You don't know who you're dealing with! I was forced into this! If I refused, my entire family would be in danger, I had no choice!

- Then why didn't you come to me?- just hearing his voice sent a chill through the air

- With all due respect... Honorable Taran Nightaker, you stand no chance against this person. They would destroy you too.

A slight irritation could be seen on the large man's face at hearing this.

- Is the person who supposedly forced you into this the Crimson Beast?

- No.- he was extremaly nervous, could barely speak

- Are they someone from the council of the Crimson or White Order?- on the other hand Taran, seemed stone cold

- No, no...

- Is it the mighty Crimson God himself?

- Of course not, where would he...

- You're lying to me. In that case, there's no other possibility than deceit. Those are the only entities I would yield to. Someone outside of these circles might be a challenge for me, but they could not... as you put it... destroy me- it was evident that these words irritated his ego.

- It's really not a good idea for us to fight, surely we can come to some sort of agreement...

- No, we can't. Drugs are a line that cannot be crossed. I've traveled far and wide, and I've seen what they do to people. The foundation of prosperity in this city is that there are no drugs.             I don't want to hear anything more from you, you filthy swine.- Taran drew his sword and pointed it at Tanja's father- We have nothing to talk about.

- Wait, wait.- the hero of this story stepped forward- I'm not part of any of those groups you mentioned earlier, so my proposal should appeal to you. There's no point in shedding innocent blood. Let's fight one-on-one. Just like back on the arena. One-on-one, without killing. There's no judge here, but I think we're honorable enough to stick to that. No fighting fields, so there won't be any manipulation like in that other fight.

- You're that boy who came to me with Ayu and Uter... who are you supposed to be?

- Yuso Ase. A humble battle mage.

- I take it you agree to these terms?- Teren looked towards the merchant

- Yes, yes, of course.

- Very well then.- he redirected his blade towards Yuso- Let someone count down from ten to zero, and we'll start on zero. Everyone, step back.

He didn't need to say it, everyone would have moved away from the two fighters to a safe distance anyway. Misu was the closest to them both and began counting down from ten, taking a step back with each number. With each count, Taran glowed more and more intensely with a blue aura. At zero, fully charged with magic, he rushed at Yuso.

Black magic began to flow from the boy's hand, taking the shape of a human body. With a quick sidestep, he avoided Taran's charge, which was much faster than what his son had displayed in previous fight, and as he swung his sword through the air, it was evident that his strength was incomparable. Yuso immediately knew that under no circumstances could he afford to be hit. The two-meter-tall man immediately wanted to continue the attack, but noticed a black figure standing next to him, connected to his opponent by a thin line of magic. He guessed it was some kind of spell, but he had never seen anything like it before, nor had he even heard of it. He decided to try cutting it with his sword, but when he attacked, the shadow deftly avoided it and punched Taran in the stomach. The sound of the impact reached the ears of the spectators, and the warrior's large body slid several meters back along the ground. He made no sound of pain, but Yuso noticed in his gaze that he had to grit his teeth.