The Novel's Professor

In a world brought to ruin; the damp stuffy air blew, propelling wind to the two beings that were standing opposite to each other, at a distance both of their eyes stared at one another admist the opressive silence.

The oppressive atmosphere grew as the frigid silence continued. Two beings, both human and man, yet never have been so different.

One was a hulking, intimidating mass of flesh. His enormous stature, combined with his bulging tightened muscles, created a terrifying image that terrified others to no end.

The other, was a frail and thin, charming man. The air of youth seemed to radiate on his fragile, smothered skin. However, despite his calming and angelic looks, he brought a different kind of terror, different from fierce intimidation, his was a frigid chilling calm.

At that moment, the continued oppresive silence shattered apart as the thin blonde haired man moved. Rio ran, blitzing as fast as he could to the dark skinned man opposite to him.

Woosh—!

The air around him blew from how fast he moved. His body vanished, appearing like a blur to others eyes. Dallas spoke while his face grinned wickedly, "You think you're fast?"

At that moment, the muscles of his legs suddenly tightened as he vanished instantenously. He charged directly to Rio while the wicked grin on his face grew wider with each passing second.

Woosh—!

Far from the two opposing fighters, a black haired man with a mature face lay on the ground, ragged and battered from taking a beating. Ciel panted, his mind gradually losing consciousness. Shit, this is...bad. Before his eyes closed, he muttered, "Don't die...John..."

His mutterings, however, were so low and quiet that the two fighters had missed them. Even if they did notice, nothing would change. They would continue to fight. Whether it was because of a grudge, or simply a small reason, the fight would continue.

Rio raised his hands while he was running. Accessing magic. Applying skill. In that instant, his arm was filled with fiery flames. He bit his lip as the flames intensified. Despite the magic protecting his body, he still felt the burning embers of the flames on his arm.

Opposite to him, Dallas smiled maliciously, the muscles of his arms bulged as he manipulated he fibers within. His arm pulsated, quivering like throbbing heart from the sudden enlargement. Without a moment of rest, he charged his fist as he struck.

The fist came like a giant missile, fast and destructive at the same time. Rio could feel the hair of his skin standing erect from the pressure. However, just as the strike was about to hit his body completely, he dodged at the last possible second.

"Ha..!" Rio panted as he breathlessly dodged, his body moving to the side the last moment. Without pausing for a second, he instantly thrusted his flaming fist into the dark skinned man's face.

Woosh—!

Dallas groaned in pain, his body taking a step back. The pain wasn't as tormenting as the previous dark figure's attacks, but it still caused him some discomfort and agony nonetheless. He tried to open his eyes to recover, however before he could even react, the flaming fist struck once more.

Boom—!

Fiery flames struck the man's face, combusting and exploding right after. Fumes of smoke erupted, blinding the muscular man's vision. Behind the smoke, the man's skin was battered, and charred.

Yet, even so, Rio showed no signs of stopping his advances. He struck, and struck. After his fist made contact with the man's face, he charged it again as he bashed his arms filled with orange flames into the muscular dark skinned man once more.

Dallas gnashed his teeth, putting his body forward as he wildly flailed his massive arms, trying to escape Rio's continous advancements. However, it proved to be for naught as the blonde haired sorcerer dodge each and every attempt of his to retaliate.

Behind Rio, a transparent body flotated in the air as the remnant spirit watched with interest. 'Alright, retreat for the moment,' Faust instructed, his body hovering behind Rio.

'What? Why?' Rio thought, confused. He had the advantage and momentum, wouldn't retreating now just be a waste?

'Just listen to me fool. He's gonna do the signature move of all brawlers,' Faust scoffed, 'Bashing walls and grounds like there's no tomorrow.'

Rio nodded hesitantly, trusting the man. His arms suddenly stopped striking as he flipped to the back, retreating just as Faust instructed him to.

True to remnant spirit's words, Dallas immediately tightened the muscles on his arms, dark green veins bulging over his skin. He suddenly charged his arms as he bashed it on the ground.

Bam—!

A loud cracking sound echoed, the wind blew fiercely from the intense impact he unleashed. Moments after, the ground revealed itself, broken and shattered into pieces.

Dallas grunted, annoyance flickering in his eyes. His gaze stopping at Rio, staring at the blonde haired man with an infruriated look. While he was looking at the man, steam suddenly erupted from his body. His mind churned as he thought of a possibility.

'What...already...!?'

Dallas thought, his face morphing into a scowl. This was bad. He had to end this quickly, or else he would be the one that would be ended. At that moment, he remembered his weapon. His eyes suddenly wandered the place, searching for the long and heavy blade.

"Looking for this?" Rio spoke, his feet stepping over at what appeared to be a gloss of metal. It was the long and heavy sword Dallas was using earlier. He figured that the man would forget about it admist tormenting Ciel, so he hid it somewhere.

Dallas growled, his eyes seething in rage. At that moment, his feet tightened as muscles bulged over his legs. Without saying anything, he rushed in to Rio at superhuman speed.

'Now....' Faust said before pausing as he waited for the moment, 'Dodge to right.'

As soon as the words dropped, Rio immediately moved to the right. In that instant, a fist came striking to his position, grazing his body as the corner of his clothes were blown apart by the impact.

Boom—!

Rio gasped breathlessly, his body barely dodging at the last moment. Without a moment of rest, he raised his hand in the air. Accessing magic. Applying skill. At that moment, splinters of ice appeared from his arms as it rushed forward, hailing to the muscular man's face.

Poof—! Poof—! Poof—!

Dozens of sharp splinters of ice showered the man's head, his face contorting in agony and pain while his eyes closed as it burned, blinded from the sharp pointed ice splinters. Dallas howled harshly, "Argh! Damn you!"

Despite the man's howls of anger, Rio continued attacking. This time, his arms were once more covered in fiery flames, passionately burning as embers fell. Without a moment of rest, he pounded his flaming fist into the man.

Boom—! Bam—!

"Cough, co— hack!?" Dallas coughed before hacking from the fumes of smoke that seeped into his body. The agony and torment had no signs of ending, as soon as he felt the blonde haired man's fist connect to his face, the fiery flames exploded onto him as it burned his skin.

At that moment, large amount of steam suddenly erupted from his body. Dallas trembled, his muscles deflating while his eyes widened in disbelief. The skill was losing effectiveness! He was running out of time! He needed to end this quickly..! If this continued, he would be the one dying..! That couldn't happen!

At that moment, his mind wandered as it envisioned a scene. A scene where his dead corpse lay on the ground, unburied as he slowly rot from the passage of time.

"No....!!" Dallas screamed, his voice filled with disbelief and unwillingness. He can't just die yet..! He still had dreams he needed to fulfill..! In that moment, his gaze slowly shifted to Rio, "Fine..! You left me no choice!"

Suddenly, Rio shivered. His instincts flared, warning his body of sudden danger. The hairs of his skin stood erect from the sheer pressure emitted by the muscular man.

'Quick, kid! Run!' Faust shouted in warning, his previously calm eyes were now tense and serious.

As soon as the remnant spirit's words dropped, Rio immediately tried to run. However, before he could move, something grabbed his shoulders, forcing his body to stay.

"Oh you're not going anywhere!" Dallas bellowed, his eyes filled with madness as a wicked grin was attached to his face. He would finish this in one move!

Rio struggled vehemently, his body widly flailing trying to retreat from the man's grasp. At that moments, his eyes suddenly widened in disbelief. The previously massive man was growing larger.

Dallas grinned wickedly, his body growing at an exorbitant speed without pause. His massive arms grew even larger than before, resembling the arms of a real gargantuan giant. His legs widened as it enlongated, making him tower over the place.

Rio's mind went blank, his lips quivering. The man was impossibly large for a human, towering over him at a height of ten meters. He was more of a titan and a giant than a human.

Seeing his opponent tremble, Dallas chuckled. Suddenly, his body stopped growing. At that moment, muscles tighten over his body, dark green veins bulging over his skin as it pulsated, quivering like a throbbing heart.

"«Limit—" Dallas spoke, his body emitting large amount of steam. One last move to decide everything. This was his final stand. He was going to win this and fulfill his dreams! At that moment, he raised his massive arm. His arms glowed, shining brightly resembling a star.

Rio could feel the immense amount of magical converging within the man's arm. It felt monstrous. Large, infinitely large, without no end whatsoever. He knew that he was going to die if the fist would hit him.

"—Burst»!!" Dallas shouted, his hand instantly swinging down at Rio. At that moment, his eyes caught something. The blonde haired man smiled. However, before he could think of the implications of the smile, it was too late.

At that moment, a bright light engulfed the place, blinding everything that was near. Inside the light, two faint silhouettes could be seen. One was a hulking brute with his arms slamming down. The other was a frail, thin man with a smirk on his lips.

Boom—!

The ground beneath them shattered as a loud cracking sound echoed from the land. It sounded like a lion's roar. The move that would decided everything.