Chapter 58 : Burn The Woods

Croak smashed his fist forward directly at Duri's face, Duri caught it with one hand immediately.

"I-Impossible! No one can do that to me!" Croak said in shock.

The frog mafia spectating the fight commented:

"He grabbed the boss's hand!"

"That brat actually caught the boss's attack!"

Duri jumped and kicked Croak in the face twice with both legs, then spun downward, grabbed Croak's head, and smashed it into the ground.

The crowd said:

"Come on boss, get up!"

"Yeah stop toying around with this brat and murder him!"

"Yea! You've never lost before!"

Croak turned around fast, throwing a punch to Duri's stomach.

Duri caught that fist with both hands, but Duri ended up sliding back, dragging Croak along with him.

They both slid back pretty far, but they were still on the platform.

Croak thinks, 'His raw strength is formidable. His awareness and defense are that of a pro's! Based on our first altercation, he has a fear of frogs..ahh that's it. I can beat this brat! He won't make me look bad in front of my potential business partners!'

Croak used his other arm to throw another punch, Duri ducked underneath it, jumped on top of Croak's arms, threw himself in the air, spun at least 4 times in a row, and kicked Croak in the face.

The kick blasted wind everywhere, allowing everyone to feel it. Croak fell back a few feet, and Duri jumped on top of him. Duri was punching Croak in the face over and over, allowing frog blood to splatter on his white hand wraps.

As Duri was punching, he was looking closer at Croak's face, and Duri thought, 'No..no..stop looking at him..stop looking at him…his eyes keep moving around all weird..I'm gonna vomit..'

Croak grinned, and he croaked loudly, scaring the hell out of Duri.

Duri hesitated to throw another punch, he was startled. 

Croak laughed, and he punched Duri in the face. The punch knocked Duri back some, Croak jumped up, and he started wailing on Duri's body and face.

Croak said, "How ya like this brat?! Have ya learned ya lesson?!"

Croak thought, 'If I keep croaking, I can keep his mind off the fight and let his fear of me drown him! I won't be humiliated!'

Croak tried to smash both fists down on Duri, but Duri moved out of the way, letting the first break pieces of the platform.

Croak said to his mafia, "I'm getting into my zone. Play the music."

They answered:

"Yes, boss!"

They turned on some loud rap music with a bumping bass, and Croak cracked his knuckles.

Duri wiped blood from his cheek, and stared at Croak menacingly.

Croak leaped up into the air, and made his body form into a ball, and his skin was sharper than before.

He landed on the ground, and he started rolling towards Duri.

Duri gasped, jumping over Croak.

Duri ran to the right, and Croak was still rolling after him.

Duri said, "Oi! You're cheating!"

Croak answered, "I'm not using powers. This..is my BODY! Now stay still so I can smear you across the platform!"

Duri slid to the left, and Croak was still rolling at him at fast speeds.

Marshy watched, saying to Duri, "Stop running, Duri! Fight him! Be a man!"

Duri responded, "I'm trying!"

Croak was croaking at the same time as he rolled, making Duri more anxious.

'Haha, yes! I got this brat Duri right where I want him! It's only a matter of time before he gives up and leaves me an opening!'

Croak started bouncing now in his round form, trying to squish Duri.

Duri was dodging it, flipping around Croak.

Duri slid on the ground, and he used his bare hands to rip a piece of the platform up, he turned around all the way, and he threw the platform at Croak as hard as he could.

Croak dodged it by rolling to the right, laughing, "Ha! You think I'm gonna let that pierce me?! You're mistaken brat!"

Duri was already dashing behind Croak, and he had caught the platform he had thrown.

Croak thinks, 'Huh? Where did he go?!'

Duri threw the platform piece again, and Croak saw it. Croak dodged it, saying, "Fool! Doing it a second time does not guarantee a hit! You're annoying me!"

Duri dashed on the other side of the Croak, catching the platform again.

'I can't use my powers, so I have to fight differently. Changing the rotation and speed of his rolls are my main focus. This bastard moves fast in that form, and his skin is tough. I just need to keep building my momentum by throwing and catching this platform, and once that is sufficient, I can throw the platform even harder due to my momentum.'

Duri kept throwing the platform at Croak, Croak kept dodging it, and Duri would zoom to the other side of Croak to catch the platform again.

The frog mafia said:

"Come on, this isn't a game of monkey in the middle!"

"Yeah, fight! Stop being scared, brat!"

Marshy thought, 'Wait..Duri's using his brain. Is he trying to build up his power so he can pierce the frog's skin? Damnit, I'm impressed. Let's just see if it works out.'

Duri kept dashing around, catching and throwing his own platform, and Croak continued to evade them.

Croak exclaimed, "I'll break you, kid! I'll break you!"

Duri said, "Do it then!"

Duri was in the motion to throw, and Croak was ready to dodge it again.

But, Duri pretended to throw it, which made Croak roll to the right.

In motion, Croak thought, 'He didn't throw it?'

Duri smirked, and he threw the platform over to where Croak WASN'T.

Croak looked at it, thinking, 'He's gonna dash over there next to catch it, I have to get there before he does!'

Croak was going to roll that way, but Duri didn't head over there. 

Instead, Duri ripped another piece of the platform off the ground, and threw it at Croak.

Croak heard it, and dodged it, thinking, 'Damn, he almost had me!'

Instantly, Duri was on the other side of Croak, and he had caught the platform piece he threw at first.

Duri threw the platform piece as hard as he could at Croak, and the piece pierced Croak's side. 

Croak screeched, and he was in his normal standing from again.

Duri said, "Oh shit, it actually worked."

The frog mafia commented:

"He wounded the boss!"

"He cracked his skin! No way!"

"This kinda looks bad!"

"Shut up! Root for you boss, idiots!"

"Go, Croak!!"

Croak ran over to Duri, and threw another punch, the punch connected.

But, Duri didn't budge when he was hit.

Croak said, "Huh?!"

Duri smirked, "This shit's got my heart pumping…I love fighting!"

"You brat..!"

Duri punched Croak in the stomach twice with both hands as fast as he could, Croak went flying out of the platform, and he was soaring past all the trees that were on fire.

Duri caught up with him, and as they were both soaring through the flaming trees, they were fighting with their fists and legs.

Croaking was launching punches and spinning kicks, Duri was dodging and blocking them. 

Duri was having fun, smiling as he punched Croak in the frog face over and over. Blood splashed on Duri's face and chest, but Duri ignored it, still punching away.

Croak yelled, "Wait! Wait! I have to pee!"

Duri replied, "Huh?!"

"Haha! Tricked ya! Dumb brat!"

Croak kicked Duri in the gut, making him crash through a flaming tree.

Croak used his tongue to try and hit Duri. Duri was flipping around it, and letting the tongue miss him and hit the trees around him.

Duri smirked again, "Duuuumbass! Is that all you got?! You're weak!!"

Croak started croaking again, and Duri closed his eyes, thinking, 'Don't listen to him…don't listen to it..don't listen to it..'

Croak thought he found the perfect opportunity, he shot his sharp tongue at Duri, but Duri caught it, yanked Croak towards him, and kicked him in the stomach.

Croak spit up blood, and crashed through a burning tree.

Croak looked to the right, and he ripped a flaming tree straight from its roots with his tongue, and he threw it at Duri.

Duri said, "Well..that was stupid."

Duri dashed towards the flaming tree, and smashed it with his fist, breaking it to pieces.

In mid air, Duri grabbed one of the sharp pieces of the tree, zipped to Croak's face, and stabbed him in the eye.

Blood and goo sprayed out, and Croak yelled, "AGH! YOU BRAT! YOU BASTARD!"

Duri dropped down to his feet, did a 360 turn, pointed his elbows out, and jabbed Croak in the stomach hard, knocking the breath out of him.

Croak started flying back to the platform, crashing through flaming trees on the way there.

'No way he's that strong against me! I'm Croak! The king! The boss of the frog mafia! My-my eye! I can barely see! It's going to be to avoid this kids' attacks!'

Duri was running through the field of flaming trees, smashing through them with his fists.

Duri thought, 'Conquering my fears is the first step to becoming the strongest. I fear four things: Losing Marshy, frogs, not being able to keep my promise to Jae, and the possibility of losing to Zabel. First step is overcoming the fear of these ugly goblin frogs, and then after, I'll be able to conquer anything else!'

Duri ran past another one, but then he ripped out of its roots with his bare hands, and ran faster towards Croak.

Duri got up close, running on the blind side of Croak, saying, "I'm not scared of you anymore..demon!"

"You little-!"

Duri smacked Croak in the body with the flaming tree, and Croak was knocked out, sliding onto the platform where everyone else was.

The hip hop rap music was still bumping loud, slightly making a vibration feel throughout the area.

As Marshy stood there watching, she said, "Woohoo! That's my FUCKING son!"

At that moment, a frog mafia member started secretly stepping next to Marshy, and he looked nervous.

Marshy said to him, "You're not a ninja. I can see you stepping towards me. Do you want your soul ripped out of your body?"

"N-no! I just uh..can you please.."

"Can I please what?"

"Sign my back?! I'm a huge fan!"

"Fan? A frog? A frog is a fan of me?"

"Yes! Please!"

"Of course. For 9 million yen."

"Deal!"

"I want it now though."

Another frog approached with a checkbook, and the other frog started filling out a check for 9 million yen.

[9 million yen is around 70 thousand dollars.]

The frog handed Marshy the check, and Marshy smelled it.

"It's real. Turn around."

The frog turned around, and Marshy pulled a marker from her back pocket, and she sighed her name in cursive on the frog's back.

The frog mafia reacted to their leader, Croak, lying unconscious on the platform.

"Boss! Boss!"

"He's down! He lost!"

"Impossible!"

Duri dropped the flaming tree, and he put his foot on top of Croak's face.

Duri put his fist halfway, blood dripped from his face and fists, and he said, "You know…I actually might be..unbreakable.."

The crowd around them was silent, and Marshy had walked up to Duri.

Marshy said, "Duri."

Duri looked at her, and Marshy celebrated, "Hahaha! You beat him! You whooped his ass!"

"Yeah I did!"

Duri looked at Croak, and started slightly stepping on his face, pointing and mocking, "Haha! Take that! Weak goblin! Weak goblin! Dumbass! Asshole! You stupid ugly!"

Marshy was doing the same thing to Croak, pointing and laughing and mocking him.

They did this for a few seconds, until a man with a wolf head and face, wearing a grey hoodie over his head, grey sweatpants, and black shoes approached them.

The wolf man's name was Howl. And he was a black and red wolf, standing like a human.

Howl said, "Host Marshy."

Marshy and Duri stopped, saying, "Heh?"

"I am Howl. I overheard your little duel arrangement earlier in the city today. I would like to go one round with you."

Marshy asked, "Why?"

"I believe you will give me a great match. I love fighting. I love the thrill of it. I was once a man, until that day Reborn had come to earth. He and his son had cursed a lot of people that day, unfortunately I was affected. I saw how you fought, and it inspired me to become stronger. I have been training everyday and every night since then. I want to become strong enough to change myself back into my human form. Please..have this fight with me."

Marshy stared at Howl for a few seconds, then she smirked.

"Hahaha! Wait, wait, oi, Duri, don't he kinda sound like you?"

Duri grinned, "He damn sure does. Lemme fight em'! I love fighting too!"

Howl sighed, "I would wish to fight the Host. That's the only way I could know If I have gotten stronger. I have copied hundreds of training regimen from hundreds of manga and comics."

"Manga? You're kidding."

"I am not. Host Marshy…accept my duel! Please!"

Duri said to Marshy, "Let me fight him. I wanna do it."

"Nah. I got this. I'll give him what he wants."

The crowd around them said:

"Host Marshy is gonna fight Howl?!"

"Howl used to be a fighter in the tournaments, right?"

"He's probably at a higher level now! That Reborn attack was years ago!"

Marshy walked forward, stepping over Croak's unconscious body.

Howl took off his hoodie, and said, "Power Level : 900 thousand!"

Marshy smiled, "Hoh?"

Wind blasted from around Howl, and a red and grey aura surrounded his body.

Howl said, "Here I go!"

He started smashing the ground, and parts of the platform were flying all over the place with dust.

Howl started using all 4 of his legs to jump from all the pieces he smashed.

'Using a smokescreen is logical in a fight against someone stronger than you.'

Marshy was standing with her hands in her pockets, surrounded by the rubble and smoke.

Howl started to gallop across the platform behind Marshy, and tried to hit her multiple times.

Marshy was playing a game on her phone, dodging Howl's attacks at the same time.

Howl thinks, 'She's not even focused on this fight! I have to go all out! I need to see my own results! I've trained too hard!'

Howl grew another tail, and he pounced at Marshy again.

He was close, but Marshy was already behind him, chewing a piece of gum, and using both hands to play a shooting game on her phone.

Howl thought, 'Behind me?'

Marshy raised her foot up, placed it on Howl's head, and smashed his face into the platform, creating a loud sonic boom, shooting wind everywhere.

Marshy said, "Dammit! They're cheating! I shot him first! Damn this game! Damn this game!"

Marshy looked away from her phone, and she looked at Howl's unconscious body.

Marshy asked, "Oi..Oiiiii. Are ya dead? Oh nevermind. I hear your heartbeat. Let's get outta here Duri. You got homework to do."

Duri said, "Aww, can you do my homework for me?"

"You did not just ask me that."

"Kidding, kidding. Geez."

The crowd around them was stunned, barely having any words to say.

"What…just happened?"

On the car ride home, Duri was sitting in the passenger's seat, looking through the Bloggerz app, seeing all sorts of tournament posts, posts and selfies from celebrities and normal people living their life, and saw movie news, anime news, manga news, sports news, political news, and worldly news. He saw him in his Angel Titan form, posted side by side with Seven in her Spirit of Wrath form. Someone had gathered those two pictures of them and put them side by side. And he even saw posts and videos where he was getting chased by the frog mafia in the city earlier.

Marshy was driving, and she asked Duri, "Crazy day. Right?"

"ANIMALS AND REPTILIANS POPPED UP OUT OF NOWHERE JUST TO FIGHT US. I'd say it's pretty damn crazy."

"This is what you wanted. VIOLENCE or whatever."

"You know me too well."

"Duh, brat. I raised you and pushed you out of my v-."

"OKAY! OKAY! OKAY! I GET IT!"

Marshy laughed uncontrollably, and she said, "Oi."

Duri answered, "Hm?"

Marshy had the same baby frog from earlier, and she tossed it on Duri's chest.

Duri stared at it, and the frog stared back. Duri's left eye twitched, and the frog croaked.

Duri screamed as loud as he could, and he jumped out of the moving car.

Duri rolled on the ground, ran forward, and he threw the frog as hard as he could in the air. He was breathing heavily, and he said, "Yeah..that'll show that goblin.."

The car was stopped, and Marshy was leaning against the car, holding the same frog that Duri just threw.

Marshy said, "Gasp. How could you?"

Duri turned around menacingly, "That little bastard tried to eat me.."

"A baby frog couldn't eat you. I thought you conquered that fear of frogs?"

"I'm sorry! I acted out of impulse! I'm not scared of those things anymore!"

"Mhmm. So what do you want to eat tonight?"

"..."

"Ah don't be a baby. Don't be a little wuss ass."

"Pizza."

"Great. Me too. Get back in the car."

[Arcane Realm]

[A dark void]

Zabel was standing in front of a red cube, and the red cube was glowing and floating in front of him.

Zabel's Pov: "This cube allows me to transfer to any realm that has irregular spikes of energy from time to time. Which means heavy power is being produced, and when that happens, that realms sun reacts to that. My super cool ass needs more power. I realized that the realms shown on the cube have artifacts much like the glove I used to weaken the Shadow realm in my attempt to catch Duri. I don't know what kind of artifacts they are, but I need to get ahold of them after I kill everyone in the realm and steal their sun's energy. Yeah, the guardians don't know I tend to take over everyone's mind and emotions with Duri's Titan power after I kill him, those guardians are perfect pawns though, I'll give them a cookie for good behavior and pawnyniness. Is that even a word? Shit I don't know. I need to get this done quickly before Reborn is actually resurrected. I had no clue that his Centurions were that strong, and I had no clue there was a rogue Titan helping them. If Duri dies before I gain enough power to start a war with earth, then my plans will be ruined. Reborn…ex-brother…why can't you just stay where you are, heh? No one liked you anyway. Let's see now..oh..the Skull realm is having high spikes in power energy..they also have an artifact. Very well then. I'll go alone. I'll kill them all, take their sun's energy and artifacts, and move onto the next realm. And no one can stop me."