Rise Of The Infinite Sovereign

*BOOM*

A shockwave erupted the moment Motavu's punch and Ilyon's sword collided, causing more and more dust to engulf the surrounding.

But both of these people couldn't care less as Ilyon takes a step back while Motavu takes ten steps.

In the face of such an outcome, Ilyon's scowl only seemed to grow thicker while Motavu's face manifested a large grin with large beads of sweat all over his head as he spoke with a tone laced with mockery.

"You must be really surprised right now eh? But there's more to come"

Without giving Ilyon time to think, Motavu lunged at him as his fist moved at fast speeds, targeting different areas.

Ilyon, who had brazenly gone on the offensive, was now defending, deflecting and dodging. His mind was currently in turmoil as he tried to understand.

'How?!'

How was he, the guild leader of a C-rank guild branch, being pushed back by the vice leader of a D-rank guild?

It didn't make sense! Ilyon refused to believe it.

'There's no way this guy is at the Advanced-rank'

There was no way Motavu could have been this strong and no one noticed until now. Adding to the fact that he had been poisoned with a decent dose of lethal venom…something else was definitely going on.

'But what could it be?' Ilyon wondered as he dodged another blow close to his head and retreated a bit.

No answers came to Ilyon's mind.

Regardless, if he didn't take the opponent in front of him seriously, he would be the one to die, and he was not dying today.

Amplifying his body with mana, Ilyon began to counterattack in earnest as his swords and Motavu's fists began to cause reverberation in the air.

He would not allow this battle to become one of attrition.

'I have to end this as fast as possible'

Little did Ilyon know, Motavu was thinking the same thing, but for an entirely different reason.

Just like Ilyon had speculated, there was something going on with Motavu.

'Dammit! If only I didn't let my guard down!'

Behind Motavu's fake grin was an immeasurable amount of regret.

The snake had broken four of his ribs when it squeezed him, two on each side. His internal organs were also messed up, his left shoulder was dislocated and, upon smashing his body into the ground after being flung by the snake, his skull suffered and it affected his brain.

Along with the fact that he had been bitten once while chasing after Cabrera, the poison that would've been harmless was now lethal because of his severely damaged state.

With all this, he was not in any position to keep moving.

He could've moved, but that would've allowed the venom to spread through his veins within minutes, killing him, if he was not careful.

So he just laid still while he tried to use the little mana he had left to isolate the constantly spreading venom.

Motavu hadn't said anything when Ilyon was touching various parts of his body because he thought help had arrived and was checking his condition.

It was also why he let Ilyon pour the contents in his mouth, thinking it was a healing potion or mana recovery potion being administered.

This, and the fact that he didn't know it was Ilyon because he didn't bother to open his eyes, made him react far too late.

Motavu had reacted the moment he realized what had been poured into his mouth was poison and opened his eyes to see Ilyon back away, before lunging forward with his sword in a downward slash seconds later.

Without any time to think of proper counter measures, all he knew was that he wasn't going to die in such a pitiful state.

With this thought, he activated his greatest ability on instinct, allowing him to land a decisive blow on the unsuspecting Ilyon.

Motavu got up to face him. His whole body was invigorated to the extent he felt like he had been born anew.

But he knew it was just a deceitful feeling and quickly relocated his shoulder while staying silent.

The ability was a trump card he saved as a last resort in the most dire of situations.

It was a technique that used his life force to fuel his power.

This meant it was an ability that shortened your life span the more it was used.

Motavu had only ever used it once before, so his lifespan was still long, but he also knew about the drastic consequences he suffered at the time.

But in this situation, Motavu knew the moment he got up…

'I'm going to die when this is over'

His organs were a mess, his bones had broken, and now the venom in his veins before, plus the one which Ilyon had poured into his mouth, were spreading through his veins at an unprecedented rate.

So there was no doubt.

'Once I turn this technique off, with my mana dried up and my body in this state, I'll die'

But instead of ruminating and sulking, Motavu resigned himself to his fate, which was pretty easy, because…

'I always knew I'd die anyway…never thought it'd be like this though'

It was engraved in the hearts of almost every adventurer, the fact that they could die at any time. Some more than others.

Which was why most just acted as they pleased their whole lives. After all, while some built a sort of immunity to the concept after fighting with their lives on the line every single day, most were scared of dying with regrets.

But now that he knew he was going to die no matter what he did, what more was there to fear?

His only goal now…

'If I'm going to die, I'm taking this b*stard with me'

Ilyon had doomed him to die, so Motavu would make sure they both died.

That's why-

'What is this?!'

-Ilyon couldn't help but grow cautious as a feeling he'd never thought he'd feel bloomed in his heart.

'What's with this bastard?! Why isn't he dodging? No, why isn't he even trying to dodge?!'

Ilyon couldn't understand the madness he was seeing.

*Bam*Bam*Clang*Bang*Swish*Kkin!*

The madness in the red eyes of Motavu, who didn't once retreat, or even take a step back from the start of the battle.

Motavu's hands had been bleeding since the first clash, and it only worsened as they fought.

As the fight continued, there was no doubt that Ilyon's skills were superior, but Motavu didn't seem to give a damn about anything else, neither his injuries nor his body, and kept going after Ilyon again and again after being pushed back.

It was bringing forth a feeling from Ilyon.

Fear! Ilyon was feeling fear.

But he would never accept nor succumb to such a thing.

Especially from a person he deemed to be a vermin! It would never be!

The faces of other guild masters came to mind with sneers on their faces as they made remarks of mockery.

Memories he had buried deep within were now coming to mind.

'No, I'll show you, you b*stards!'

Such intense emotions brought forth a madness in Ilyon's eyes as he stared at the cause of such feeling, Motavu!

"I'll kill you, I'll kill you!" Ilyon swore.

Only, he didn't know, but he had fallen right into Motavu's trap.

From this moment on, they devolved into what could only be called a battle of madmen.

And truly, neither of them were in their right minds.