Indomitable Horse

Even though Shadow was demonstrating a much greater strength and Will than Arthur, he was still in an indomitable fighting spirit and did not want to give up until he reached his goal: to hit at least one blow in Shadow.

His leg was being held, his mind was constantly being pressed by the Will of Shadow... his situation did not cooperate with his desires.

Everything was telling Arthur to just stop and give up, showing that Shadow was his superior.

But that was not what he wanted...

That was not his will...

Then, in a low, slightly annoyed tone of voice, Arthur spoke as he looked down: "Release..."

"I already said! Enough!" Putting more of his Will on Arthur, Shadow started to get angry too.

The pressure that was once like one building, was now like two. Arthur was starting to sweat from the pressure.

But suddenly, a will began to bubble through that pressure, as if a sleeping being was waking up.

Arthur's leg started to put pressure to get out of Shadow's clutches. The grip was getting stronger everymoment.

"Boy, it's good that you know what you're doing! I won't let you -" But, before Shadow could finish speaking, the leg that was in his hand suddenly passed over his face at high speed. If it weren't for his unconscious reflexes, the blow would definitely have hit.

A calm voice sounded in the hall, an indomitable will sounding through it:

"I told you to let go!"

Arthur, who as soon as he managed to free his leg jumped away, was standing a few feet away from Shadow.

His emerald green eyes were carrying a few black bands, and his pupils were thin and flat, but only slightly.

Noticing the changes in Arthur's actions, Shadow wanted to know what was going on. But he didn't even have time to ask before Arthur ran at him, wanting to attack him.

"Humpf" Shadow snorted slightly as he prepared to receive the attacks.

The moment Arthur's punch was about to hit him, instead of dodging, he also intended to hold this time.

But, as if he knew this, Arthur's punch suddenly stopped and his leg suddenly accelerated towards Shadow's abdomen.

Noticing the kick, Shadow soon put his leg to block it. But, like the punch, the kick also stopped abruptly and the one who advanced was the punch that stopped.

This did not escape Shadow's senses, so he threw himself back and left Arthur alone.

"The fight is over and your strength is already proven. You can get off the stage and calm down!" With an authoritative tone of voice, Shadow gave an order to Arthur and started off the stage as well.

But, as if he hadn't even heard him, Arthur jumped and aimed his blows at Shadow's vulnerable spots.

A vein started to grow on Shadow's forehead when he turned and looked Arthur in the eye. He then realized that he must have entered some Berserk mode and was not thinking straight.

'That little pest!' Shadow was becoming irritated by the actions of Arthur, who could not control himself.

As soon as Arthur got close and was about to attack, with unlimited speed, Shadow moved behind him and hit hard in a region close to the trapeze. As soon as he hit, Arthur's high-speed body fell to the floor suddenly, already unconscious.

Janice, who watched the fight all the time, was shocked by the events that unfolded.

Magikeen was also impressed, as she did not imagine the end.

***

2 minutes later, Arthur woke up from his sleep and looked around. He was back in the private room, sitting in the armchair from before.

Shadow was in front of him, drinking a soda. Janice was typing on a laptop at a small table in the living room, while Magikeen continued to look at the Arena through the glass wall, as usual.

"Did you sleep well, young man?" Shadow was the one who asked, while a smile formed on his face.

"What happened? Weren't we fighting?" Still a little dizzy, Arthur asked, as he settled into the chair.

"So you don't remember? It seems that you have some irritation problems, my comrade." Shadow paused a little before pointing his finger at Arthur's body.

"What? My body? What about him?" Arthur looked at where Shadow was pointing and there was nothing special about it.

"Lift your shirt"

Like Shadow, Janice and Magikeen also looked at Arthur right away.

Finding it all very strange, Arthur simply shrugged and lifted his shirt, revealing his 10-pack abs.

But, unlike before, it had some veins jumping, as if it was under a lot of pressure. Arthur, feeling that this strange thing could not end there, took off his coat and saw that his arms were also like this. Veins were throbbing all over his arm and chest.

Wondering what that might be, Arthur noticed that they started to fade and return to normal. All the veins started to hide, as if Arthur had given a command.

But as they subsided, the pain throughout Arthur's body began to reveal itself, showing him the internal muscle destruction that the pressure did.

"It looks like your body has gone into a super active state. When I did the favor of passing out, that state has remained active until now. It looks like the blood has finally cooled, doesn't it?" With a playful tone, Shadow spoke to Arthur while throwing some pills at him.

"They are pain-killers. It will help you endure while your muscles work to regenerate."

The pain was so unbearable that Arthur could barely speak. But with all the effort, he simply took a pill and swallowed it dry. He did this only for temporary relief. He could take a health potion and drink it, but it would be very strange to do that in front of others.

After waiting a while for the effect to begin, Arthur thanked him.

"Thanks for the help. I really don't know what could have happened. I still remember the images, but my brain must have stopped recording memories for a while." Arthur spoke between his teeth, still feeling pain all over his body. His head was hurting too, but less than his body.

"No need to say thanks. In fact, if I were you, I would try to find out what this could be, or even learn to be more calm. I could feel that you were irritated by something."

"Don't worry about it. I still remember those details. I was just mad at myself for not being able to reach you. I just didn't know that something like this was going to happen." Arthur replied to Shadow, while giving an embarrassed little smile.

"But then? What did you think of my skills?" Arthur asked, as soon as he finished speaking. He knew he hadn't hit Shadow, but he was the leader after all. If it were so easy to overthrow the leader, then it was not worth to join the group.

Shadow looked at Arthur a little and then said, while shaking his head slightly: "You are a very interesting person. Your skills are really difficult to describe. Let's say you are a super novice. Your skills, fighting tactics, movements, blows and tricks are all beginners and completely predictable. The point is that you can push each one to the limit and apply them in a way that always fits the situation, trapping a person in an endless stream of predicting your attacks, but not able to avoid them. As I said: a Super-Novice. Besides, you always learn during a fight, which is very good. You convert experience into skill very quickly. " After finishing speaking, Shadow threw his can of soda in the trash.

"I didn't know I had so many good points! But thank you very much. I can't say that I am starting in this field now, but I have always limited my options." Arthur blatantly lied, trying to hide his rapidly growing strength and inexperience in fighting. But he knew it was no use.

"Getting started now, huh. If you want, I can teach you more ways to fight. This will be good for you, as it can also keep you in control of your irritation problems. Two birds in one stone!" Shadow spoke, hiding his intentions to verify what had happened. He cannot have a time bomb in his group, so he has to be sure of what is going on.

"I appreciate the kindness. If you're not too busy, I would like you to teach me how to fight. And about my problems, I still have to find out what it is before making any conclusions." With a smile of thanks, Arthur nodded slightly.

Soon after that, they shook hands and Arthur left. He had only gone to talk to Shadow about it, but now that it was over, he had other things to do.

***

Shadow, Janice and Magikeen, who stayed in the room, shared a silence for a few minutes. But it didn't last long until Janice spoke to Shadow.

"Are you sure? What happened on stage can be more serious than we think and he's some kind of crazy man with no control. You looked him in the eye! It was an intention to kill in disguise, and he was clearly fighting to get free." Her voice grew louder and louder, and she approached Shadow as she spoke.

Shadow, who had a serious face and without any hint of the playful person from before, spoke in a calm voice: "He's a boy in trouble, that's all. It's not my responsibility to help him, but something in my mind says I must. You know very well about my instincts. "

"I know very well about them, but still! That kid's disposition changed from someone wanting to fight to a ferocious predator very fast! It was almost as if ..." Janice suddenly stopped talking, as if Arthur could hear her there.

"His true personality has emerged. I know, Janice."

After that, the silence came again.

Magikeen, who was looking at everything through the glass wall, had her eyes fixed on Arthur, who was walking calmly.

'Who are you?' That thought was the only one in the minds of the people in that room.