Online In Another World

A figure arrived from the opposing hall, soon entering the arena in the form of a man that more-so resembled a temple of muscle and savagery; he stood well over two meters with black hair kept in dreadlocks and two horns protruding from his forehead.

He held a fiery smirk as his sharp, scarlet eyes set on Emilio, tightening the black-steel, studded gauntlets that were worn on his fists.

Emilio recognized those features, though never seeing them in person before, he had read about them in books: "The Demon Race." Despite such a name, Ikar mostly resembled a human, save for his horns and violent eyes.

The crowd went wild at the man's appearance, beginning to chant: "IKAR! IKAR! IKAR!"

Ikar didn't wear a shirt, presenting his chiseled torso that was present with scars of war though seeming to be in his early twenties, holding a perplexed look as he finally seemed to register the stature of his opponent.

"A kid? Give me a break," Ikar sighed, "I'll earn shit for points by beating on a brat–I'll make this quick."

Emilio gulped his hesitation down, reading his catalyst as his opponent readied his stance across from him, a good twenty meters away.

The announcer swiped his hand through the air, "BEGIN!"

Just like that, the crowd went wild as Ikar immediately set off in a dash towards the young man with a fiery smile on his face.

He's fast! Emilio thought.

Still, he was ready as he maneuvered with wind at his heels, able to dodge out of the way as Ikar slammed his fist forward, missing his target and instead hitting the barrier.

THUD.

The impact echoed off of the barriers, rippling the sand as a gust of wind brushed Emilio's blonde-and-black tufts as he stood there in awe at the raw power held by the demon.

"...You're not half bad," Ikar said with a smile, pulling his fist away from the cracked barrier.

Emilio held a nervous smirk himself, "Same to you."

The man hailing from the demon continent seemed to like that response as he smiled, setting off in a dash towards Emilio again. Through sheer agility and the might of his steps, Ikar parted sediment into brief sandstorms in his wake.

Emilio intercepted the aggressive approach as he moved his staff, summoning a sturdy, rock wall between him and Ikar.

A single thrust of his opponent's fist caused the wall to split into dozens of pieces as the man broke through with a smile.

"C'mon! I'm used to pummeling mages like yourself with my bare hands! You'll have to do better than that!" Ikar roared as his shaggy, dark hair flowed.

–This was as expected by Emilio, who only used the rock wall as a momentary diversion to give himself time to invoke his next spell.

"Huh–?" Ikar looked forward.

A powerful swirl of wind was held in Emilio's hand, causing a sandstorm to spiral in a cone in front of him before unleashing towards the brawler.

"Tempest Wind."

The wind howled as it engulfed the man in its tunnel of roaring might, knocking him back harshly against the opposing wall of the arena as sand was scattered throughout the battleground.

In the face of the upsetting reversal of the battle, the crowd went silent in the aftermath of the blast of wind as a veil of kicked-up sand persisted.

"--" Emilio stood his ground.

"What a turn of events, folks! Despite his youth, Emilio Dragonheart is a force to be reckoned with himself!" The announcer shouted, "But…that won't be enough to take down Ikar!"

Just then, the young man's instincts fired off as he knocked himself to the side with a gust of wind to move swiftly, finding himself narrowly avoiding a brutal clotheslining from Ikar, who had dashed across the length of the arena in a single moment.

…I didn't even see him coming! Emilio thought.

There was no time for further thoughts as Ikar approached him relentlessly, dragging his hands though the sand before knocking it up.

He's trying to throw off my vision! He realized.

As he placed wind beneath his boots to levitate upward for a better view, he immediately found his ankle being grabbed onto the moment he went up.

"Gh-!" Emilio let out.

"Got you!" Ikar smiled wide.

Before he could conjure a spell, the ruthless warrior dragged him through the air in a circular pull before slamming him down against the sand harshly–THUD.

"Argh–!" Emilio gasped out as the air left his lungs.

There was no mercy presented by the foreign warrior, who held a vicious smile in delight of the battle as he didn't let up, picking Emilio up and slamming him into the ground again. This time, the impact of his chest smacking against the ground caused Emilio to spit out blood.

…Hurts…Emilio thought.

"Ha-ha-ha!" Ikar laughed.

Nonetheless, the crowd still cheered on, though some of those cheers were placed not for the favored combatant:

"Go, Ikar! Put that newbie in his place!"

"Hang in there, new guy! You've got this!"

Still, such motivational words from the strangers in the audience weren't enough for him to magically pick himself out of his current predicament as once he tried picking himself up from, a stomp was delivered to his back as a disgusting crack resounded.

After such a brutal blow, delivering what could be lethal damage to the young man's spine, Emilio went limp, face down against the sand.

Ikar held a surprised look at the consequence of his own strength, coming out of his stupor for battle for a moment as guilt came across his expression, "Oh, shit…Are you alright? Dammit…I did it again."

"Err…I think that's it, folks…It's never a happy sight to see, but the winner–" As the announcer spoke, he was cut-off as the crowd went silent as well.

The Undying Blood flowed through his veins; the cracks and imperfections in the integrity of his spine were mended by internal threads of darkness. As his body recovered, the young man began to lift himself from the ground, picking Ikar's foot from his back in a surprising show of strength.

"What the…?" Ikar raised an eyebrow before stumbling back.

Picking himself up from the ground, Emilio held an annoyed look embedded in his sharpened, amethyst eyes as he spit a mixture of sand and blood from his lips.

[Dragonheart System Activated.]

"I don't know how, but it looks like you're raring to go now," Ikat said with a flaming smile, slapping his own chest, "C'mon, let's get this sta–"

Prevented from finishing his words, the young man's knuckles slammed against the demon continent warrior's cheek with a mighty impact, stifling the man's words as the brawler stumbled back.

"Grh…"

For a moment, Ikar winced as a bit of blood dripped from his lip before the scar-covered brawler straightened himself out, facing towards Emilio again with a smile brighter than ever.

"...That's the stuff! I was disappointed when I saw my opponent was a spell-flinger, but this is much better!" Ikar howled with laughter.

"--" Emilio watched him before sighing, sheathing his staff and unsheathing his gifted sword, "...Don't blame me for what happens next."

"Not in a million years, friend!" Ikar laughed.

Without any further exchange in words, uninterrupted by the audience that was roaring in anticipation of the coming clash, both combatants set out towards one another.

What ensued was a clash of physical might; the ironclad fists of the battle-loving warrior from the continent of demons, and the immaculate sword of the aspiring adventurer from the continent of humans.

Through the Dragonheart state he was in, he was able to contend with Ikar's frightening speed, matching him in an aggressive clash that resulted in continuous footwork as they both continuously switched who had the initiative.

CLING. CLANG. CLING.

As he embodied the principles of the Mountain God Style, Emilio used broad strokes of his sword, using a planted stance to increase the strength of each strike, though Ikar managed to block the steel with his sturdy gauntlets.

"--!" Ikar's scarlet eyes widened at the sight of an opening.

Through a swift stomp forward and a clean thrust of his fist, Ikar broke through the barrage of slashes, managing to slam his massive gauntlet straight into Emilio's abdomen.

The force couldn't be understated; it rattled through the young man's entire skeleton as the impact made it feel as though his stomach was set ablaze.

"Grrgh…!" Emilio gritted his teeth before tightening his grip on Silver Wing, planting his boots down to prevent himself from sliding back.

Still, through his draconic endurance and the undying blood mending all damage done to him in an instant, he recovered with unexpected speed, countering with a vertical slash across Ikar's chest.

SQUELCH.

A spray of blood befell the sand as a new scar was etched onto the brawler's chest, leaving Ikar stunned at the endurance of his opponent, though he smiled again with further ferocity, excited beyond his limits.

Even though the demon himself possessed no such regeneration of his own, he pushed through with the same reckless abandon as Emilio, slamming his gauntlet against the young man's nose.

WHAM.

In the aftermath of such a blow, bolstered by Ikar's might, the wind cracked as the sand swirled around the point of impact.

For a moment, everything went blank in Emilio's mind after being rocked by such a mighty blow, seeing stars as he stumbled for a moment.

…Ah…He thought.