Growing Seed

The master prepared for his next attack.

His idea was to exhaust Aster with his concurrent attacks. But little did he know that Aster was the most powerful being in the world though, he himself did not know the extend of his abilities.

There was deep silence around. No was talking. For a moment it felt that everyone had stopped breathing except for the master. The master's lips widened to an ugly grin.

'BANGGG!'

The next moment, Aster was on the ground, struggling to get to his feet. No one saw what hit him. They could only see that the grin on the master's face had widened. It widened...widened...widened... and suddenly he broke out into a hysterical laughter. The sadistic look in his eyes was beyond terrifying.

Laughing hysterically, he walked towards Aster. His laughter thundered throughout the burning stadium. His one look was enough to kill a normal human being whether mages or not.

Aster was unable to get up from that sudden blow. He was in pain. Too much pain. Still he tried to lift himself up from the ground. He struggled to stand but was barely able to sit. He slouched while sitting.

The master was enjoying Aster's pain. He wanted Aster to suffer. For helping the traitor, for standing up for her, for standing up against him... He wanted Aster to suffer the most painful death in the world. He laughed until he was satisfied. Tania was now sitting up but was panting hard. She was muttering something but it was barely heard.

The words choked in her throat, not letting her speak. She knew she was already done for. But, something in her wanted to rebel. Figt back against the beast who wrecked her life. She tried to speak louder.

Aster was frighted this time. He didn't even see that master moving his hands to conjure a spell. All of it went without a movement. He could only feel a sudden blow on his chest and send him flying. Maybe, it was his armour that protected him from a sudden death.

Suddenly, the thought shocked him. 'Could it be....' If it was really what he was thinking, he knew that he had no chance to win. He was still distant to his abilities. Schwann had told him that he still had to cultivate his abilities.

Schwann had told him that he had to go through ten levels of cultivation if he had to get access to all the powers that the stone offers him. But Aster knew that he hadn't even gotten into the second level.

The thing that the master used would be somewhat like the fifth level. Using magic without moving. No one on Earth has ever been able to do that. And on addition to that, only a very powerful mage can conquer such levels of magic.

According to Schwann such levels of magic was unreachable for an ordinary mage. And that would mean... The master was someone extraordinary... And Aster now understood that he could not stand a chance against the master. The faint ray of hope he had while starting up this fight was gone now. He knew he couldn't win.

But... He didn't want to give up either. He wanted to fight until his last breathe. Not for anybody else. But for himself. He wanted to prove to himself that he was not weak. That he was not useless like the others called him. He wanted to prove that he can become stronger and that he was strong.

Only a strong opponent could make him want more. He knew that this worthy opponent could kill him. But he would live.

Even if he had to crawl back to his planet he would do that. Because, this fight was important. He could realise where he is weak and where he is strong. He began the fight to protect Tania. But now, he was not fighting for her alone. He was going to fight for himself.

He struggled and got up on his foot again. His feet did not listen to him. It swayed sideways again. It took some time before he could stand straight on his foot again.

He looked straight into the master's face. The master's amber eyes did not just show joy. It was just a veil to cover up his surprise. The master knew that his attack was strong. Nobody had ever survived that attack before. But now, this kid could actually stand up after such an attack! It was almost impossible.

Aster could see it. The shock in his enemy's eyes. He was getting ready for another attack. The master stopped laughing and turned grave. He wanted to squish Aster between his fingers.

Tania was sitting on the floor watching the scene. She knew how vulnerable Aster was now.

"Aster, stop. He is more stronger than you." He muttered. Eren, Sienna and Huda could hear that. No one else could.

Eren and Sienna had been tense all the while. But they wanted to be on Tania's side for now. She was in a more dangerous situation. They wanted to rush and help Aster. But they were obliged to stay where they were. They turned to look at Tania who was more relieved from pain.

"ASTER!!! STOP THIS! YOU CAN'T WIN AGAINST HIM!!" She shouted with all her might.

Aster was astounded for a moment. He had promised himself that he would fight. There was no 'stepping back'. He had decided that. Aster ignored Tania's warning. He looked into the master's eyes again to give the master a confirmation that he wasn't going to back down.

Aster had not noticed the master moving closer to him until, he was face to face with the master. The master looked cold. Aster could see a faint smirk on his lips. He looked at Aster as if he was an insect ready to be squashed. Aster responded to it with a small smile.

The master was shocked again. It was his first time he was seeing this. A kid daring to smile to him. He knew that something was different about this kid. His armour and sword. All were different. The master knew that the boy in front of him was not ordinary. He was a rare piece. A rare jewel. But a dangerous one. He had to strike him to death. Once such a seed is allowed to be a plant, it will be difficult to stop it from growing.

But little did the master know that Aster was already growing.