Zeill followed behind Ery. As he passed by the group, he noticed their baffled squints in his direction. Unbothered by them, he quietly made his way.
"He is dangerous. You should reconsider."
Zeill turned towards the blue eyed girl side eyeing him. Without much visible emotions she continued. "Just a warning."
He politely nodded at her, pacing up to catch up with the hulking, burly man.
"Want to watch their duel?" Melis asked the group.
No one seemed to be in a mood to miss it. They were all witness to the spark that led to this duel. They knew Ery, so seeing a guy, who hasn't even undergone genesis, being so confident in defeating a luminer? It was worth their time, whether he wins or loses, it will be enjoyable regardless. So they nodded in anticiaption.
Zeill, after a minute of walk was back at the entrance of the hall. He felt confused by their route. That was until he saw Ery step through the door set in front wall. Following behind his steps, he too made his way inside.
It was a large training hall. There were some people sparring with each other. Zeill also noticed Rael and Silas sitting at one corner accompanied by some students.
Their entrance drew some attention, bringing them looks from people present. Well, Zeill only received a few fleeting glances, much of the it was meant for Ery. Unbothered, he followed behind the man towards another door at the other end of the hall.
"What are you doing here?" Silas, who seemed to be resting on the floor asked.
"What you did." Without bothering to spare him a glance, he proceeded to open the shut door and stepped through.
A visible frown appeared on Silas's face. He wanted to say something but Ery was already out of the door. It was only then he noticed the skinny guy following behind. Again, he wanted to speak something, but the stranger has also exited. With a sigh he got up, and followed behind the two.
It wasn't only Silas, nearly half the people in the hall trailed after them, eager to see what was going on.
Watching Ery move towards the center of the stage, Zeill stopped. He started surveying the area around him.
Stands were surrounding the place, though not filled to brim but good amount of people were still visible. After he exit the door, there was a small area with seats connected to lower part of stands, probably meant for instructor or teammates.
After having a brief idea of the place, he walked towards the center to face Ery.
"You either accept defeat, or are no longer to fight...Clear?" cracking the knuckles, Ery spoke out.
A small chuckle left Ery's lips. "And I hope you weren't all talk."
Zeill stood motionless at the center of the arena, all he did was stare at his palms. Hearing the chuckle snapped him out of his stupor and his gaze finally lifted to meet his opponent's. A smile was plastered on Zeill's face, slowly turning into a grin. And with each passing second it was turning into something unsettling. With a creepy grin stretched across his face, he Let out a small giggle and took his stance.
"Don't disappoint me...Luminer."
A bit taken back by sudden shift in Zeill's expressions, Ery narrowed his eyes and gauged Zeill. Whether the creepy expressions were a bluff or not, Ery couldn't ascertain that. but...that expression- it was enough to make him get serious.
Silence swallowed the arena, as both held onto their stances without moving. Only the murmur from stands were audible. But they heard none of it...to them the world has faded, with all their focus glued to each other.
Then in a blur of motion, Ery lunged towards Zeill.
Seeing him move, the creepy grin widened on Zeill's face, as he dashed forwards to meet him.
Ery threw a straight punch towards Zeill's face which he dodged. Slipping past the punch he flicked at Ery's now straightened forearm with a back hand, while counterpunching towards Ery's jaw. Ery jerked back in time, retreating a few steps.
At 170cm, Zeill was shorter than Ery's towering 185 frame. Being on the shorter side, he was trying to use his frame to his advantage. Keeping himself low and nimble, trying to hit at the jaw while staying out of Ery's reach.
Slipping past a couple more heavy swings, Zeill tried to close the distance by dashing closer. Seeing his right shoulder move, Ery anticipated for a punch, he raised his hand to defend, but the punch never came. What came was a kick to the guts, followed by a left hook.
Taken back by the sudden blows, he staggered back a few steps while frowning at the smiling Zeill. It hurts.
Unmoving for a couple of seconds, Ery started laughing..."Shall we fight then." Narrowing his eyes at Zeill he said, maybe to himself...and dashed towards Zeill.
Zeill calmly observed him, standing still, holding his stance. This time Ery didn't throw a punch, a kick it was, a low one aiming for Zeill's legs. Reacting instantly to the kick, Zeill shifted his stance, trying to pull his left leg out of the range. A gap appeared in his defense, which received an incoming fist from Ery.
A flicker of surprise and a hint of irritation took over Zeill's face. He couldn't dodge from the blow, but he had no intention to take it head on. So raising his palm, he struck towards the incoming forearm, trying to redirect the hand's trajectory.
It was a fast moving fist, but he was still able to perfectly hit the spot.
Shifting the momentum of the punch, it barely brushed past his cheek. Taking advantage of the opening due to this sudden miss, he kneed at Ery's abdomen...tilted his body down and landed a left fist square at his jaw.
Zeill tilted his body towards left to avoid Ery's redrawn fist, and swung for Ery's jaw again. He rotated his body to throw a backhand fist at Ery's face, which was met with a block.
Unable to find any immediate openings, Zeill stepped back, resetting his stance.
Ery shifted his jaw while staring at Zeill. It was unexpected for him...to get hit multiple time while unable to land a single hit. A grin crept onto his lips.
"Not bad. You are better than me."
Zeill, relaxing his stance, acknowledged politely. "You aren't bad either."
It was something about that smile which ticked Ery off. It felt...fake. Or was it real? Which was the real one? He couldn't tell. But what he did feel was a feeling creeping over him...the feeling of being mocked.
And he wasn't the only one who noticed.
With the progression of their duel, the arena had also fallen silent. Everyone there knew Ery. After all, he was one of the earliest luminer amongst them. Not having any information of Zeill, they had initially dismissed this as a simple spar...But now, seeing Ery unable to land a hit. They began taking the skinny man seriously.
Zeill, who was standing very lax, suddenly took his stance. Eyes narrowed and focused, he stared at the grinning Ery.
This time there wasn't a grin on his face. No doubt he was excited, but seeing this sudden change in Ery... It made him understand who was on the weaker side today.
Walking back a few more steps, Ery stretched himself. Eyes still locked onto Zeill, his grin getting wider with each passing second.
"Zeill, right." he said while cracking his neck..." Impressive for a dormant. But, let me show you why I said... Luminers can't be defeated by a dormant."