Kill The Old Ones!

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Ren waited for something to happen...

He wasn’t trying to be mean, no, not really. But he’s also not going to go out of his way to make this guy—Sieg—comfortable either.

Ren knew that the audience watched him render deadly stabs, strikes, and attacks like nothing. He swatted them like flies, who are a mild inconvenience. If he suddenly started looking like he’s having a difficult time receiving Sieg’s attack, the audience would become confused, and the battle wouldn’t look genuine anymore.

He didn’t have ideas about inflating Sieg’s ego. Heaven knows the guy already has enough to drown a room.

Besides, what can he do? Sieg was disappointing. He was too weak. He wields that big-ass sword, but his slashes felt like nothing but a strong gust of wind. It wasn’t even as threatening as Lily’s.

And now, this...

With a mere flick of his finger, the guy looked as if he got hit by a catapult shot. He took a knee, supporting himself using his sword, and the light in his eyes dimmed.

Ren could’ve done more, but he refrained from doing so. He was waiting for something to happen because he’s confident that something will happen.

And his assumptions were proven very quickly.

All of a sudden, Sieg’s chakra flared.

But unlike earlier, where it’s all bark and has no bite, this time, the flare had structure and real weight behind it.

It was stable, clean, and hot, just like the flames wreathed on his sword. Speaking of which...

The flames on his sword saw some changes, too. Previously, it was wild and uncoordinated. They act as if they will burn whoever touches them, even the ones who made them. But no, they pulsed rhythmically. They were suddenly tamed but haven’t weakened. If anything, they’re even more dangerous than before.

Then, Sieg stood up. But everything about him suddenly feels different.

There were no visible changes in his appearance, but the way he stood suddenly made him feel taller and more ominous. The way he held his sword changed too—more disciplined and correct.

Seeing all of this, Ren couldn’t help it. He laughed—crisp and clear; it’s as if he confirmed something that he found hilarious.

Sieg’s expression didn’t change, but on the inside, he was confused. He didn’t understand what Ren found so funny all of a sudden.

But it doesn’t matter; he’s not the one fighting anymore. He’s not the one in control of his body anymore.

Sieg—or more specifically, his master—used his movement technique, the same one that he had been using all this time. Only, when his master used it, the difference was day and night. The latter being Sieg’s.

There’s a reason why his master was a master. Everything he taught to Sieg, he knew and could use better, even though he was using a different body to use them.

Sieg wasn’t stupid. He’s desperate, not stupid. He knows what he has done. He knew what this meant, and he could accept criticisms. He knew that he still had a long way to go, but that’s not his main concern right now.

Bang!!

Because much to his dismay, even with his master piloting his body and attacking Ren with all the force he could muster, the result remained the same.

Ren still felt just as much an immovable wall as before. Not even his master could make a difference.

’Well, now, who are you supposed to be? ’

Sieg gasped, both mentally and physically—which meant he and his master reacted at the same time.

They looked at Ren as if they saw a ghost.

Ren’s voice echoed in the same mental space that both he and his master shared—which shouldn’t have been possible. But upon looking at Ren’s either smug or amused smirk, it’s clear that it really did happen and he knew something.

’Shit! ’Sieg cursed.

He was panicking. This shouldn’t have been possible. The existence of his master was something he kept close to his heart. He didn’t even tell Aria about him, and she knows everything about him. He also promised her, once upon a time, that he’d never keep a secret from her—a promise that he willingly broke just for the sake of becoming stronger.

Sieg could also feel his master’s solemnity, which almost tells him that he probably hasn’t expected this either.

But unlike him, his master was more composed. He collected himself quickly after hearing Ren’s question and continued his assault. It was so quick that he might as well not have reacted at all.

That said, even though his master continued his assault, nothing changed either way. Ren was still as strong and as tough as he ever was.

Sieg could tell that his master was hitting him stronger, way stronger than he could, which shows the old man’s mastery, but Ren was just something else, something completely beyond their understanding.

’Ah, I think I know what’s going on here.’

Ren’s voice echoed in their heads again.

He took everything his master dished out without a change in his expression. He doesn’t even look hurt at all.

’Just what kind of hellish monster is he? ’Sieg complained inwardly.

The way he was biting his nails in anxiety could almost be heard in his tone. Sieg desperately begged his master to help him defeat Ren, but even the old man can’t do anything about him.

Sieg’s request was ruthlessly rejected the first time he asked for it. His master was an honorable man, mostly, and bullying juniors wasn’t something he did casually. He looks down on the act, and he emphasized that even if Sieg won through this way, it’d feel hollow anyway.

But Sieg was truly desperate. He begged and begged. He even played dirty and used his master’s vulnerability to force him into doing this. He used the old man’s guilt—his act of siphoning Sieg’s charka in the past to stabilize himself, causing all the torture and hardships Sieg experienced because of it.

In the end, he won, and his master reluctantly told him that he would do his best.

But now, it looks like even with his master’s help—even with his deliberate cheating—nothing changes. Ren was still the same kind of monster, one that not even his master couldn’t solve using his body.

’Why don’t you two just give it up? This isn’t worth it, you know? ’

’You, old man, are basically spending your soul power just to help this...boy, cheat? Is this something you willingly did, or were you forced to? Because whichever it is, the meaning paints two completely different pictures.’

Sieg blanched.

Exposed.

Completely and utterly exposed.

Ren’s words pierced through his body and reached Sieg’s very soul, stabbing his black, bitter, and resentful heart with the accuracy of a surgeon’s scalpel.

He called him a ’boy.’ Not a man, not a guy, or a dude. A ’boy.’

That’s how Ren saw him. A mere ’boy.’

And it hurt. It truly fucking hurts because it’s accurate and true, regardless of how much Sieg tried to deny it.

His own master warned him about this. That his help makes the challenges trivial to him. His path to martial arts was his to walk, not his master’s. He understood that and yet...

Guilt and shame flooded Sieg’s entire being. And it didn’t help that he could feel his master’s reluctant resolve through their shared connection.

He wanted to say something, anything, in hopes of defending himself or changing something, at the very least. But words escaped him completely.

Sieg knew that his old master would have to spend his soul power to control his body. He knew that.

Soul power is what tethers his master’s existence to the land of the living. It’s what anchors him to this ring, allowing him to teach Sieg freely without dissipating with the wind.

And he begged, desperately, for the old man—all for what? To cheat. To fight a battle that’s just not worth it.

Sieg asked his master to essentially kill himself, using the old man’s own guilt against him, just so that he could prove something to the masses.

And he was. Proving something to the masses, that is.

He’s proving that he’s a sore loser. An ugly, shameful, and bitter loser.

And his master was dying for it.

"Right. I’ve seen enough."

Ren spoke this out loud.

He had been defending himself all this time, but this time, he made it clear that he was retaliating.

Ren planted a foot forward, and a sharp whistle rang.

With a speed that defied common sense, he appeared like a ghost before Sieg’s body with his fist already planted on Sieg’s stomach.

Sieg saw it through his master’s perception.

Ren punched him in the same place twice.

The first time, it was almost gentle, but the impact was penetrating. It severed his master’s control over his body. Sieg felt himself being pulled back to his body in an instant.

The second time was the real attack, one that truly hurts. And Sieg realized that it was done on purpose.

Ren saved the old man from spending more of himself in this meaningful fight, while also making it known to Sieg just how truly inferior he was.