"I wonder." Noah says as he looks at his glass of water. "Why are you mad? Am I not stating the truth?"
"Odd." Arlo thought as he observed the interaction between the boys. "Noah isn't the type to act like this. He doesn't even care about status, so why is he acting like this? Especially towards that kid?"
"This is weird." Byron says while looking at Noah with confusion
Arlo nods in agreement
"Did something happen between them?" Arlo says pensively. "That's the only reason I can think of."
"Today is the first time they meet." Eve says while looking at Adam. "Adam isn't the type to react to provocation, but he keeps reacting to him for some reason.... I have a bad feeling about this."
"I think the reason is really simple." Seleph says while stuffing his mouth with cake
As he keeps eating his cake, his body suddenly shudders in fear. He looks at Eve who's pissed, he stopped talking. So, he quickly swallows the cake, so quickly that he starts coughing
"I WAS GOING TO EXPLAIN, I SWEAR!" He says while waving his hand to Eve who was approaching him with a clenched fist
"She's my type." Arlo says with flushed cheeks and a smile
"Make it quick then." She says with anger
"You guys are thinking too much." He says as he looks at Adam and Noah staring at each other with anger. "Sometimes you meet someone, and you like them or dislike them without even knowing why. Isn't that what's happening here?"
"Are you picking a fight with me?" Adam asks with anger
"That is not my intention." Noah replies with a smirk. "I am simply giving you advice. You are not a noble; therefore, you should mind your manners while speaking to one."
Adam smirks, which in turn makes Noah frown
"Do you find something funny?" He asks with displeasure
"I guess you didn't hear how we were introduced to the guests." Adam says with a smirk
"What is he talking about?" Noah asks Byron and Arlo while keeping his eyes on Noah
Arlo's eyes widen. He had realized that if he explained what had happened earlier, this situation would only get much worse. So, he decided to do something about it
"I don't really remember." He answers as he tries to play dumb
"You don't?" Byron says, surprised. "Your mother said that they were her grandkids."
Arlo slaps his face with the palm of his hand. Adam smirks even harder while Noah frowns with anger
"What is this feeling?" Eve thought as she watched the unfolding events. "Something is going to happen."
Her eyes widen as she sees golden arcane energy building up at the boy's feet
"Is that... arcane energy?" She says while looking closer at the small golden flames appearing and disappearing
"What are you talking about, Eve?" Seleph asks confused
Seleph and the two others look where she is, but cannot seem to see the arcane energy that she sees. As for Noah, after taking a deep breath, he grabs a black glove that's on a plate a butler is carrying and puts it on. That action made everyone in the garden go silent
"This is really bad!!!" Byron says nervously
"Whafs habnein?" Seleph says with cake in his mouth
"If you're a Noble Lion, then what I'm about to do is not dishonorable." Noah says as he grabs a white glove
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!!!" Elaine yells at her brother
"Do not meddle, sister." Noah says with a frown
He throws the white glove at Adam
"I challenge you to a White Lion Duel." Noah says after throwing the glove
"To what?" Adam asks confused
"A White Lion Duel." Arlo says as he walks up to Adam. "A Lion Duel is a fight between two people; however, the rule of the fight is decided by the opposite color of the worn glove. A Black Lion Duel is a duel that goes on until one of the two dies, while a White Lion Duel ends only when one of the two is incapable of continuing or surrenders the battle.
Adam smirks
"I see." He says after taking a black glove from a butler's plate. "This is going to be interesting."
Adam puts his glove on, and at the same time, a storm of golden arcane energy appears around them
"This is truly getting interesting." Caesar says with his usual cold expression
The storm of arcane energy gathers above them, forming a golden lion
"Do you know what this means." Noah says while looking at the golden lion above them
"How am I supposed to know that?" Adam replies while jumping up and down to warm up
"Our duel became a Leo duel." Noah says while stretching his legs. "A duel that the tower's god, Leo himself, is watching. A duel that won't stop until he decides it."
"I feel bad for Noah." Seleph says while looking at the two standing in the middle of an "arena" created by the golden arcane energy that forms a wide circle. "Adam has always been on another level when it comes to physical strength."
"If physical strength is all he has, then you should be worried about Adam." Byron says with a smile. "We of the Great Lions learn different fighting arts as soon as possible. Noah has already taken down adults with them."
The two dash towards each other while, at the same time, the golden lion lets out a powerful roar signaling the start of the duel
Noah grabs one of Adam's arms and pulls him toward him. At the same time, he puts his right leg in front of his feet. Adam's trips but rolls away and gets up quickly, but when he lifts his head up, Noah is in front of him with a fist raised in the air. Instead of getting up, Adam throws his upper body backward, places his hand on the ground, and uses his strength to lift both of his legs to kick Noah, but he tilts his head backward. Noah backs away and touches his chin
"His he some kind of beast?" Noah thought while looking at Adam. "How was he able to react and move so quickly and in such a way?"
Those who were observing this holy duel were amazed by Adam's amazing physical prowess and combat ability
"What the hell is he?" Arlo says while looking at Adam. "The ability to quickly react to a surprising situation, the strength to lift his lower body in that position, and the flexibility to actually pull off that move."
"It's almost like he's some kind of animal." Byron says with a smile
Adam and Noah stare at each other
"He's better than I thought... but...I don't feel like I'll lose." Adam thought with an excited smile
He immediately starts running toward Noah at full speed. Noah puts his left hand forward, ready to counter any attack Adam throws at him, but when Adam arrives in front of him, he stops, jumps up, lands behind him, and throws a punch. Noah, who was shaken by the unusual action taken by Adam, turns to look at him but gets hit by a punch in the face, which makes him take a few steps backward.
"What kind of move was that? He stopped and jumped? That doesn't make any sense! During the time he was in the air, I could have attacked him!" Noah thought
"But he didn't." Caesar says while keeping his eyes on the battle. "No, it's more like he couldn't. Adam's move was far too confusing, which made him unable to react. We've trained in all kinds of fighting techniques, especially Noah, but in the end, we have no fightingexperience."
"What are you talking about, Grandpa?" Seleph asks with confusion
"Don't mind me." Caesar replies
"Seems like the real battle starts now, Noah." Arlo mumbles with a smile
Noah shakes his head and tries to regain composure, but Adam runs toward him and throws a spinning kick that Noah dodges by quickly backing away. Adam doesn't stop and throws a punch as soon as his feet touch the ground. Noah blocks it with both of his hands, but then gets it with another punch that lands on his stomach. Noah grunts while Adam draws back his fist, then spins around and kicks Noah in the stomach.
"This is quite interesting." Caesar says with the same unchanging expression. "His fighting style has no consistency. It's ever-changing. He improvises on the spot, which makes it impossible for Noah to do what he is best at in fights."
"I don't see it! I can't see it! He keeps changing up his movements! I can't predict what he's going to do next!" Noah thought as he kept trying to create distance between the two of them
Adam throws another punch, which hits Noah in the face again and makes him take a few steps back.
"Is that really all you can do?" Adam asks as he leaps towards Noah to continue his rampage of attacks
However, when he gets there, Adam suddenly stops and jumps backwards. He raises his head to stare at Noah
"What was that? I just got a bad feeling?" Adam thought with a frown while observing Noah
Byron giggles
"Seems like Noah is finally starting to get serious." Byron says with a smile
Arlo shakes his head
"He's been serious since the beginning, Byron." Arlo says while watching Noah and Adam at a standstill
Elaine looks at Arlo
"What are you talking about? Didn't Noah learn it?" Elaine asks her father
Eve, Seleph, and Kenzo look at Elaine
"Wait... Elaine, are you saying that he learned it?" Kenzo asks with concern
He then turns to look at the two who are in the arena with concern
"The air around him changed. My instincts are telling me that I need to be careful!" Noah thought with a frown
"Aren't you going to attack?" Noah asks while wiping the blood that came down from his nose
Noah stares at Adam. The two of them stare at each other for a bit, and when a drop of sweat falls off his face, Adam dashes at Noah at full speed. When he gets there, he receives a kick in the face that he never saw coming. He backs away from Noah while grabbing his nose, from which blood comes out.
"What was that?" Adam thought while looking at the blood in his palm, which came from his nose. "I didn't even see the kick! I felt it coming, but I wasn't able to move fast enough."
Noah looks at Adam with a frown
"That bastard." Noah thought with a frown. "He stopped and moved backward at the same time the kick landed, which diminished the damage he took from it... He didn't see it coming, but he was able to feel it."
Adam lowers his body and takes a deep breath, and exhales. Noah's eyes widen in surprise when he sees Adam's expression. He was smiling. Adam was smiling
"He's strong. During this duel, I will be able to improve rapidly." Adam thought with excitement. "I will get even stronger!"
Eve and Seleph smile when they see Adam smiling
"Looks like there is nothing to worry about." Eve says with a smile
Seleph puts both of his hands behind his head
"Yup!" He says with a smile
Elaine and the others all look at them, confused
Back in the arena, Noah, who obviously was the most surprised by Adam's expression, addresses the matter in question
"Have you lost your mind after getting hit once?" Noah asks with a frown
"We'll see about that." Adam says with a terrifying smile
This time, the first one to make a move is Noah. He gets near Adam carefully and throws a roundhouse kick at Adam, but it gets dodged by a step back. Noah uses the momentum of his kick to spin and throws a spinning back kick that lands on Adam's stomach. Adam takes a few steps back with his head lowered, then raises it with a smile. He rushes at Noah, but Noah throws another kick that he dodges by stopping dead in his tracks.
"My body is reacting to his attacks! I need to go faster!" Adam thought with excitement
Adam raises his fist but before he knows it, he gets it by another kick on the chin that makes his head rise.
"What!?" Adam thought surprised
"He's able to react to other attacks but not to that one, huh?" Caesar says. There's no way he could react to the secret kick-based Fighting Art passed down in the Leoneo family; Balnielk."
Seleph tugs at Kenzo's vest.
"What? "Kenzo asks while keeping his eyes at the ongoing fight
"What's a Fighting Art?" Seleph asks with curiosity
"It's a method of fighting which uses your body or a weapon." Kenzo explains while keeping his eyes on the fight. "It's usually made by gathering a bunch of self-created Fighting Techniques to create a Fighting Art. But it can also be made by gathering already existing Fighting Technique or even mixing self-created ones with existing ones,"
Seleph nods as he turns his head to look at the fight
"Some Fighting Arts are passed down from master to disciple while others are passed down withing a family from generation to generation." Kenzo finishes without moving his head
"Father, how much of Balnielk has Noah mastered?" Elaine asks
"About 40%." Caesar answers
"Quit lying." Elaine says with anger. "If that's all that he had learned, then he wouldn't be able to use that technique."
"The 40% of Balnielk that he mastered is that very technique." Carla explains. "He focused on only that technique and while he hasn't mastered it completely, he mostly did."
"If he had mastered it completely, his mastery would be at 70%." Caesar says. "Out of the four techniques that makes up Balnielk, the three others value nothing more than 10% of Balnielk."