The Black Necromancer

Seeing as the situation was unavoidable, Curtis had a resigned look on his face. He pulled out his armor from his spatial ring and put it on.

"Before we fight, I want to know your name. Who are you?" Curtis asked when he put on the last piece of armor.

The white haired man raised his head proudly. "I am Rakon, the most prominent child of Her Excellency, Nedra."

"Nedra's child?!" Curtis' eyes flew open wide.

"Yes, we are all children of Nedra, and we do not appreciate your infatuation with our mother." Rakon affirmed. "In this fight, if I win, then you will leave this place immediately and never search for my mother. If you win, I will leave you be." He stated his terms.

When met with this reply, Curtis was taken aback. He briefly felt his confidence waver as he took it all in. But then he remembered what his goal was and his resolve was steeled. With eyes blazing with determination, he held up his golden broadsword and prepared to do battle.

"Come then, Rakon. May the best man win!" His voice boomed just before he shot forward.

A shield flickered into existence around the arena in order to minimize the damage that was done to the surrounding area during the fight.

Whoosh!

Curtis' sword sliced through the air with a golden glow before planting itself in the ground where Rakon stood only moments ago. The white haired White Millipede Royal appeared behind Curtis and sliced down with both of his knives.

"Glitch!" Curtis' body suddenly flickered and Rakon's daggers went right through his body. But he appeared where he was with his fist cocked back and punched Rakon right in the face. The punch was followed by a sudden explosion of golden light.

"Act One of the Demolition Code: Sudden Impact!" Curtis' fist suddenly glowed brightly before a powerful explosion engulfed Rakon's body, sending him flying a distance with smoke coming off his body.

Curtis' moves were followed by strange calls from him. These calls seemed to imbue his strikes with a mystic property that eluded Rakon.

"...What was that?" Rakon asked when he regained his balance, looking at Curtis with interest.

"Mystic Martial Arts, a long lost technique that my family had guarded for a long time. I was suited to learn it and I have spent years in perfecting my style." Curtis replied confidently.

"I see." Rakon nodded and suddenly his aura and presence changed. His human features rapidly began to change as his body was covered in a layer of chitin. His face was no longer humanoid as his eyes turned large, round and red while his mouth turned into a pair of large mandibles. His soft clothes that had been slightly burnt when he was engulfed by Curtis' explosion suddenly ripped apart as two more pairs of arms appeared out of nowhere, holding jagged knives. His skin was replaced completely with sturdy white chitin, boosting his defense greatly.

"Now, Curtis. Let us continue." Rakon's body blurred as he rushed forward. Multiple afterimages rushed at Curtis as Rakon utilized his supreme speed to try and confuse him.

"Act Four of the Demolition Code: Great Rumble!" Curtis' body swelled with power as he lifted his right leg and slammed it back down to the ground. The golden power that his body brimmed with rushed to his right foot and was transferred to the ground around him, causing it to explode outwards.

The result was immediate.

The afterimages that Rakon left all vanished, but he was already right in front of him. The chitin covered A rank's arms blurred forward rapidly.

"Glitch!" Curtis called out again and his body suddenly flickered, causing the arms to miss him, but it seemed his opponent was prepared for that. Rakon's mandibles flexed as his head shot forward.

Curtis' expression changed when he saw that. But his bag of tricks was not yet empty.

"Glitch!" He called once again, but unlike before, his body remained as it was. Instead, his golden broadsword appeared between him and Rakon, wedged between Rakon's mandibles. Curtis was not able to make out a look of surprise on Rakon's inhuman face, but from the sudden jerk in Rakon's movements, he had been taken aback by the sudden appearance of Curtis' sword.

Curtis' arms suddenly snaked their way around Rakon's torso despite the risk to get close to the many-armed fighter. He held Rakon tightly and his body began to glow.

"Act Seven of the Demolition Code: Implosion!" This time, the golden light gathered within his body before exploding outwards and engulfing Rakon as well.

"Glitch!" Curtis yelled right after.

The two fighters were obscured by the smoke but when it died down, the other White Millipedes that filled the stands were dismayed to see that it was Rakon who was adversely affected by the explosion. Curtis, on the other hand, only had a few marks on his body and was barely injured. He had glitched at the last moment, dodging the worst of the explosion caused by the Seventh Act of the Demolition Code.

The Demolition Code was an ancient Mystic Martial Art that had been in the possession of the Gladius Family for a very long time. It had been gotten from Divinity's Bout by one of their long dead ancestors, but it had barely seen use in all the years. The reason why was simple. The Demolition Code imposed unrealistic demands onto the physique of the one who practiced it.

Such an unrealistic demand could be seen from the latest attack that Curtis had delivered, the Implosion. This attack originated from within the body of the user of the Mystic Martial Art and dealt heavy damage to both the user and the one it was being used on. This was only just one example.

Thankfully, this Mystic Martial Art was not the only one that had been in the possession of the Gladius Family.

Glitch was a homegrown Mystic Martial Arts that only a select few in the Gladius Family could practice. It also imposed strict demands on the user but it worked wonders when paired with the Demolition Code, allowing the individual who practiced both to achieve a form of synergy that allowed him or her to execute devastating attacks while keeping themselves in good condition.