The earth shaked and Cetas felt disconnected from the ground with every step that the bald dark-skinned man did. His physique carried immense strength, emanating an aura that made Cetas feel like a twig.
Cetas noticed Galkan step forward within the group of Elishia, Jones, and Reid. He assumed a defensive position and removed his shirt, revealing a round belly.
His fiery-red hair flew back and his hands curled up into a fist.
Galkan gazed furiously at the dark-skinned man in the distance.
Then, he reached into his pockets and brought out a heart-shaped coin-sized piece of metal.
Tightening his fists, Galkan shattered the piece of metal. With that, incorporeal gray particles flew into pieces but stopped immediately in mid air. Within a second or two, the particles made their way towards Galkan and entered his body.
Something seemed off about the bulky man, it was as if his body had been reinforced to its utmost limits.
He carried his steps and started to walk slowly towards the dark-skinned man. Both of them seemed to contest with one another as each of their steps carried a heavy weight that cracked the ground beneath.
Then, the dark-skinned man began to increase his pace.
And so did Galkan.
They began to jog which soon turned into a normal-paced run, and then ultimately became a high-speed movement towards one another.
Galkan seemed especially light on his feet even though the ground behind him cracked with every step.
Suddenly, he screamed.
Cetas could hear his voice loudly, almost penetrating his eardrums due to its noise.
"Come at me!"
The dark-skinned man did not speak but matched Galkan's pace.
Soon, the two of them were already upon each other.
Galkan swung his right fist with a steadiness and durability that matched steel itself!
The dark-skinned man did the same, but his fists were covered with an alloyed shine!
Two fists collided with one another, bringing forth a shockwave towards the surroundings.
They stood there with their fists connected for 2 seconds, none giving up the contest of strength.
And then, they both pulled out, stepping back to charge another strike with their opposite arm.
They swung again.
Their fists meeting once more and fulminating a larger shockwave this time.
However, in the split second in which their fists met, Galkan maneuvered and twisted his body. He used the impact of the shockwave to discombobulate the enemy and strike with a backhand!
For someone his size, his speed seemed too unbelievable.
The dark-skinned man guarded with his forearms but he was pushed back with his legs still standing straight.
The pavement below shattered as a result.
Before the dark-skinned man could even recuperate, Galkan was already upon him.
He jumped up with his right arm raised. When the dark-skinned man saw his attack, he guarded once more with his forearms.
However, it was a feint!
Galkan swung his right leg, striking the man in the abdomen.
When the man was pushed back, Galkan used the momentum of kicking to twist his body in a counter-motion. Now he used his left legs to bring down a powerful downward strike.
The man was too late to react, he was soon buried in the ground due to its immense power.
Galkan jumped back, assessing the stature of the opponent before him.
Cetas watched as the familiar paunchy Galkan surprise him with his immense speed and power. He knew that the reason for this is his mastery over the Physique Zeal, which enhanced his body to his limits.
He recalled one of Reid's words when they were training. He mentioned that Galkan was at the same level of Skadi in terms of Zeal.
That means that if Skadi was a high-level acumen, then Galkan would be one too!
That explained his great speed and strength, however, Cetas was curious about one thing.
What was the coin-sized metal that Galkan had been holding prior to the fight?
Such an object filled him with utmost curiosity.
However, Cetas had no time to be curious now, he had to stay wary so as to not fall in danger.
He trusted the Historian's protection but Cetas still stayed vigilant.
While almost lost in his thoughts, Cetas was shocked to see that the bulky red-haired Galkan had leaped as high as the roofs of the houses near them.
It had to have been at least 3-4 meters high!
Raising his legs, Galkan aimed to perform a decisive blow to the dark-skinned man. He saw the man's bald head, and sent out a powerful kick to it.
The dark-skinned man sank even deeper.
Galkan gazed back at the crew and then let out a deep breath.
Cetas could not hear it but Galkan muttered under his breath:
"It's not over yet.. It's never this easy."
And he was right..
The dark-skinned man crawled out of the Galkan-made hole with his two alloy-like arms.
Cetas gazed at the man's condition, his eyes widening in confusion.
"After all that.. he wasn't damaged at all?"
None!
No bruises, no wounds, not even signs of weakness could be seen in the dark-skinned man's body.
All that happened was his clothes were completely removed from the fast beating. It now revealed an almost steel-like physique and showed everything from the neck down.
Because he was far away, Cetas couldn't see the man's expression. However, judging from his body language and demeanour, Cetas could determine that the man seemed...expressionless or devoid of any face whatsoever.
Galkan rushed again.
This time, he had a different approach.
It looked as if Galkan was a bit slower than his previous attempt. Cetas noticed that his hands looked to be lower than before.
When he was upon the man, Galkan noticed his right arm stretching out and swinging his fist towards his direction.
Leaning back, Galkan easily dodged the attack and immediately ducked with his fists below his chin.
Then, in half a second, Galkan let out a powerful blow to the dark-skinned man's core.
The former almost blocked with its hands but it was too late!
He was blown upward, flying meters away from the docks!
In a few seconds, the dark-skinned man was knocked to the ground, sending another heavy shaking in the surroundings.
Cetas could no longer see where the man was so he shifted his gaze towards Galkan.
Galkan looked back at Reid, signalling him to head towards Cetas' and Skadi's direction.
Without wasting any time, the four of them ran quickly. With Galkan several meters away from the docks, Reid sped through the distance between him and Cetas. Jones ran with a considerable pace behind him, along with Elishia who seemed to struggle to run.
Reid scanned Cetas from head to toe, then he let out a rough voice of curiosity, "Are you alright? What happened?"
Cetas, who was now in a difficult position, answered almost immediately, "I met Falkone."
With that, the three's eyes widened.
"F-Falkone?!", Elishia cried out, a hint of fear inside her voice.
Jones stepped forward and put his arms on Cetas' shoulders, "Where? What has he done to you?"
"I saw a symbol that resembled a withered sun with 7 tentacles protruding out of its edges. Then, the next moment, I was asleep and had been face to face with Falkone.. He wore a crimson cloak and there was an black eyepatch on his right eye."
Jones' eyebrows furrowed, "In any case, even with the Historian's protection, I shall cast a healing spell upon you."
He extended his right arm and opened his palm. Suddenly, a green ray of light glimmered from within the center of his palm. The light headed towards Cetas and made him feel soothed.
A warm feeling came from within his insides, and traversed through all of his blood vessels.
Cetas felt his mind sharper as ever, his eyesight as clear as glass, and his body bursting with energy!
"Thank you.."
Jones nodded.
Feeling something amiss, Jones looked past Cetas and shifted his head within many directions.
"Where is the captain?"
Cetas pointed behind him - on the tattered wooden door of the vintage house.
"There."
Jones acknowledged this and faced Reid, "Mr. Reid, stay with him and protect him with you utmost strength. Elishia, come forth, let us fetch our captain and report our set of circumstances."
The two went towards the wooden vintage house, and opened the door with caution. After a few seconds, they entered with Jones being at the front and Elishia guarding the back.
Cetas looked up at Reid, who seemed to be worried about Galkan. Then, Reid turned his head towards Cetas and apologized:
"I'm sorry for leaving you behind, you wouldn't have ended up in danger if it weren't for me."
"It's alrig-"
Suddenly!
Galkan's bulky stature flew towards the wooden vintage house, demolishing it completely!
Cetas looked at the direction where Galkan flew from and saw the dark-skinned man running at full speed!
Within a few seconds, Galkan stood up from the rubble, followed by Jones and Elishia.
Galkan then laughed loudly, proclaiming a tone of pride in his voice:
"Haha! He's pretty tough isn't he?", he looked at Jones, and pointed at the dark-skinned man.
"Oh well!", with a loud grin, Galkan reached into his pockets.
This time, he brought out a sword-shaped coin-sized piece of metal. Crushing it once more, incorporeal red particles flew out and were sucked back to Galkan's body.
Galkan's smile went ear-to-ear.
Then, he looked at Cetas and Reid's direction.
"You, boys! Find Skadi! I will deal with this fiend!"
As he spoke, he burst out of the wooden rubble and headed towards the dark-skinned man.
Cetas didn't focus this time but he could hear loud metal-like noises crashing upon one another.
The two immediately ran towards Jones and Elishia, their eyes emanating with confusion.
It seems that only the two rose up from the rubble. Although they were perfectly fine due to Jones' Zeal, their faces seemed to be struck deep with Dread.
"What happened? Where's Skadi?", Reid asked with his same monotonous voice.
Jones gritted his teeth.
Suddenly, Cetas was filled with the feeling of Dread.
"All we found was a vermillion coat, and.."
Her breathing was heavy, her voice seemed to crack before she said the last words.
"A pool of blood."