The Author's POV

WOOOOM'”!

Redirecting with his finger, a translucent yellow ring materialized above Matthew's armpits, and below the saber.

'”Crack!

Making contact with the ring, the saber broke the ring into millions of particles that diffused in the air. Fortunately, although it broke, it had served its purpose as Matthew's attack had pretty much been stopped.

By directly stopping the saber midswing rather than at full swing, Ren was able to reduce the amount of force the ring was subjected to upon making contact with the attack. This was one of the things he had learned in his experience at the Monolith.

Tapping onto the ground with his feet, Ren shot back and distanced himself from Matthew.

"No, you don't."

With the saber in his hand, Matthew chased after Ren. Fully knowing just how dangerous and powerful the Keiki style was, Matthew knew that he couldn't give him any time to breathe.

If he gave Ren time to breathe, he was as good as done for.

WHIIIN! WHIIIN! WHIIIN!

With each passing second, his attacks became more and more vicious. The yellow hue that resonated from his sword thickened enveloping his whole body.

"Haaa!"

Matthew roared out loud. The hue that was revolving around his body disappeared and agglomerated at the tip of his saber. Instantly it shot like a bullet towards Ren.

Unable to react to Matthew's sudden burst in power, the attack smashed solidly on Ren. The only thing he could do was stack three rings in front of him.

'”Bang!

"Hueek!"

Despite the rings revolving around his body cushioning some of the force, the force of the impact caused Ren to firmly smash against the side of the room. Landing back first against the wall, Ren found himself unable to breathe for a couple of seconds.

"huuu"

Gazing at Ren opposite of him, Matthew slowly exhaled. He didn't continue his pursuit. It wasn't that he didn't want to, it was because he couldn't.

There was one major flaw with Matthew's current strategy. It was that it heavily consumed his stamina. Especially that last attack.

Even though he was trying his best to mask it, he was slowly running out of stamina. If he continued to attack now, the chances of Ren being able to exploit his tired self increased. He preferred to play it safe.

'”Gulp!

Tapping onto his ring, Matthew took out a couple of potions and quickly downed them. Slowly his stamina and mana started to recover.

'I should be in a better state than Ren.'

Matthew thought as he wiped the side of his lips.

Ren had used two major moves to beat his two companions.

Coupled with the fact that he had killed the captain, Matthew estimated that he was currently extremely tired and low on mana. As long as he kept replenishing his stamina and mana with his potions without giving Ren any time to consume them, victory was in his bag.

"Ugh."

Eyeing Ren opposite to him, he watched as he slowly stood up. Dusting his body, apart from his torn clothes, Ren was fairly unscathed.

Staring at Ren, Matthew noticed that his expression was still calm. Frowning, he spoke, "You have really surprised me. Compared to years ago when you were much weaker than me, I must say, you've truly grown."

Matthew was honestly shocked by Ren's rate of progress. He could remember not long ago when Ren's talent assessment was only <D> rank. At that time he thought that he and Ren would never be on the same level, but surprisingly, Ren was now in the same rank as him.

Most shockingly, Ren had done it without the aid of the demon fruits that brought a massive increase in strength upon the first ingestion.

"Though I hate to admit it, it seems as though you've finally surpassed me." Mattew's eyes became solemn. "But don't let that fool you. Even if you're stronger than me, it is only by a marginal amount. In terms of experience, I'm far ahead of you."

As he spoke, the medical effects of the potions were starting to kick in. The yellow hue around his body slowly started to stabilize. In fact, it was also showing signs of thickening.

"..."

Listening to Matthew's words, Ren did not give a reply. He merely lifted his eyes and glanced indifferently at him. As he sensed the slowly soaring yellow-colored energy within Matthew's body, he quickly got into a stance.

"That's enough speaking from me. It's about time we end this relationship of ours." Matthew slowly raised his hand. The yellow glow revolving around his saber became increasingly dense as his gaze never left Ren. "Killing you will set me free from the binds of revenge that have chained me up for a long time. Your death will be the start of my rebirth."

Only upon Killing Ren could he finally move on and be his own person. This was the duel that would decide his fate.

Listening to Matthew's words, Ren's face contorted slightly. Almost as though he was cringing.

Unbothered by this, Matthew shouted.

"Let's finally settle this!"

As Matthews's voice slowly fell, the clothes on his body alongside his black hair on his head suddenly fluttered wildly despite the lack of wind.

A gloomy pressure gradually rose from within his body. The extent of the strength increase presented by Matthew caused Ren, who standing opposite to frown. Unprecedented seriousness clouded his face.

Suddenly, the saber in Matthew's shook and a clear ringing of the sword sounded. Following the sword ringing, the yellow hue revolving around it abruptly soared.

Lifting his head, the tip of his feet abruptly pressed gently on the ground. His body turned into a streak of light as he once again took the initiative to attack Ren once again.

The strategy was the same as before, attack before Ren could have enough time to do any big move.

The distance between the two of them was but ten meters. For someone like Matthew, this was distance was meaningless. It was something he could cover in a couple of seconds. His body flashed and reappeared, placing Ren within the range of his saber. Stabbing his saber, like a venomous snake in an almost erratic and unpredictable pattern, the sharp yellow glow revolving around the saber condensed slightly as it trickily pierced at Ren's chest in a vicious manner.

"Haaa!"

Matthew roared.

Relaxing his brows, Ren indifferently watched the tip of the saber that was slowly enlarging in his vision. Raising his head, a smirk appeared on his face.

"Naive."

Right when the attack was about to land on Ren, Matthew felt a cold chill wash over his body. The hair at the back of his head raised, as he abruptly turned his head.

Raising his left foot, Ren stomped heavily on the ground and an explosive sound was created. His body turned into a black-colored shadow and like a ghost, Ren disappeared from where he was standing, reappearing behind Matthew.

"haaa!"

Roaring, Ren punched out.

Borrowing the force from his half-rotated body, his fist viciously smashed towards Matthew's back with a terrifying force. An ear-piercing energy explosion rang inside of the room as the color green flashed across the room.

The reason why Ren's fist was coated in green was because at the moment it was currently coated with wind psyons. Using the same principle as the Keiki style, borrowing the speed that he got from the wind psyons, Ren released a devastating attack that was almost as fast as his regular sword attack.

This was a principle he had developed after contemplating on the Keiki style for a long time and combining it with his martial manual. If it worked on the sword, could it work on his fist?

The result? A terrifying attack that left Matthew breathless.

This was Ren's true finisher.

Everything before that was Ren merely trying to trick Matthew into thinking that he could only attack using the Keiki style, making him forget that he now could use martial arts.

Staring at the incoming fist that was slowly enlarging in his vision, Matthew could only open his mouth absentmindedly. It was already too late. He knew it.

'”Bam!

"Haaaak!"

The fist directly smashed into Matthew's stomach. Like a broken kite, his body flew all the way towards the other side of the room smashing against the furniture and wall.

Similar to Matthew, Ren did not chase. However, unlike Matthew, it wasn't because he was too tired. It was because he was preparing to finish it.

A majestic green hue enveloped the whole room, and alongside it was a terrifying pressure. Ren's clothes fluttered wildly as the pressure enveloping the room intensified. Coldly looking at Matthew opposite to him, Ren's left foot pushed back.

"huuuu."

He exhaled.

"Khh..."

Lifting his head and staring at Ren who was coldly looking back at him. Matthew was indignant. His ribs were broken, his head was dizzy, and he could barely lift his body.

'Is this how I die?'

He wondered to himself.

Gritting his teeth, Matthew glared at Ren. "I can't accept this!" He shouted.

This was supposed to be his moment. This was supposed to be the moment where he would finally leave his past behind and grow into a majestic phoenix. How could he let Ren, someone who was supposed to be weaker than him defeat him? He couldn't accept this.

"Come you fucker!"

Using every last ounce of his strength, Matthew slowly stood up. His body swayed left and right. Supporting himself against a shelf, a terrifying yellow hue exuded from Matthew's body. The veins on his neck and head popped out, and his eyes became bloodshot.

"I will kill you! Haaaaa!!!"

Roaring out loud, Matthew poured everything in his last attack. Tensing his legs, like a bullet, he shot in Ren's direction.

Coldly looking at Matthew who was approaching him, Ren closed his eyes.

'”Click!

A clicking sound rang out and his body then disappeared.

The third movement of the [Keiki style] : Void step.

Unleashing their attacks, the two passed each other. With their backs facing each other, neither one of them spoke. This continued for a good ten seconds before Matthew broke the silence.

"...so this is the end, huh?"

Letting go of his saber, Matthew knelt on the ground.

'”Spurt!

"Huek...shit" Lowering his head, blood splurted out of Matthew's mouth. A gaping hole appeared on his chest. Right, where his heart was. "Who would've thought that I would die like this."

Matthew laughed as he dropped to the ground with his back facing the ceiling. A somewhat gratified smile appeared on his face. His mind which had been clouded for a long time was slowly starting to clear up.

"I thought that death was scary...keuh!" Blood spurted from Matthew's mouth. Smiling, even more, Matthew muttered."For some reason, I don't feel scared."

Maybe it was because the effects of the demon contract were slowly disappearing and his sanity was returning, but Matthew was slowly coming to come to terms with his death.

His head felt clear.

"Haa...I deserve this don't I?"

As his sanity returned, a bitter and tragic smile appeared on his lips.

Turning around, Ren quietly listened to Matthew's words. He knew that this Matthew was the true Matthew, not the one that he had seen in the past.

"...I killed my own father, blackmailed the one only friend that supported me in the past, all for what? Power? Haaa, I was truly naive back then."

Covering his eyes with his arms, tears trickled down by the side of his cheeks.

At the end of the day, Matthew had only been a child. A child that was exploited and manipulated into signing a contract with a demon. His emotions were stripped away, and what was left was only a husk of a body that only followed his own desires.

"Do you know..." Weakly turning his head, Matthew looked at Ren. "Do you know that the person who drove my mother to suicide wasn't actually my father?"

A sad laugh escaped from his lips. Indifferently looking at Matthew, Ren did not speak and just listened.

"It was the demon who contracted me." Matthew hoarsely laughed. "Haha, what's worse, is that even when I found this out, I felt no anger or sorrow over her death. I was already too far gone to feel those types of emotions."

The reason why Matthew had signed a contract was due to his hatred for his father for driving his mother to suicide. It turned out that they had both been under the control of the demon to act like that.

If not for Everblood, he would never have found out, and even then, he felt nothing upon learning of this. He just continued pursuing strength.

"Looking back at it now, I truly was too naive."

Quietly listening to his story, Ren lowered his head. He didn't feel sorry, nor any pity for him. It was already too late for him. The things he had done were already done, even if he was manipulated into doing those, he couldn't bring himself to forgive him.

He couldn't change the past. Though tragic, this was Matthew's fate.

"Hey, I know you hate me for what I've done to you in the past, but..."

With hollow eyes, Matthew stared at the lights from the ceiling. His consciousness was slowly slipping away, and his breathing was starting to become fainter.

Opening his mouth a couple of times, he struggled to say his last words.

"...i-ff there is a next time, t-ry to be more gentle when you kill me...it hurts."

Matthew chuckled. A couple of seconds after, his eyes lost all of their clarity and his breathing stopped.

He had died.

"Huuu."

Closing his eyes, Ren quietly looked at Matthew for a couple of seconds before lowering his body and apathetically looking at him.

Closing his eyes, he proceeded to take his dimensional space. Then, taking his mask out, he prepared to put it on his face.

'”BOOOOOM!

However, just as he was about to copy his face, the whole building shook and a massive explosion rang out.

"What the?!"