Chapter 73. Ogan vs Silas
Metal magic. Interesting.
Silas cracked his knuckles and took off his jacket, the white dress shirt he wore was a bit loose and he didn't want to ruin it so he teleported it away. Now he stood there in his black dress pants and his bare feet. The air was still thick with S-rank mana but now the pressure was on.
A screen lit up on the walls, displaying a countdown from five. It was time to begin. Ogan smirked at him and cracked his metal fingers.
Five. Silas breathed in, feeling the mana rush into his body.
Four. His heart beat fast and he grinned at Ogan, who was readying his metal covered fists.
Three. The ground beneath his feet started to crack.
Two. Space warped around him, the air bending and distorting.
One.
The countdown hit zero and Ogan exploded forward like a kinetic missile. Silas blinked instantly, reappearing dead-center to drive a mana-infused fist straight into Ogan's jaw. The impact detonated like a thunderclap, but Ogan merely smiled—the blow flattening harmlessly against his dense metal face.
"Come on old man, I expected more!" He laughed.
Silas chuckled. Ogan swung his fist at him and he disappeared again, reappearing behind Ogan. But the young man predicted his move and turned around, catching Silas' kick with his arm and throwing him back.
The floor cracked as he landed, his feet sliding across it.
This was fun. Ogan was definitely S-rank material.
"I can't just use brute force on you, huh?" Ogan grinned and his body started to shift. The metal on his body was rearranging itself, changing shape. Grey, metallic liquid pooled on his back before forming into eight metallic tentacles that started to whip around, cutting the air with a hiss.
A smile was on Silas' lips.
The steel appendages lashed out like striking vipers, shrieking through the air with deafening cracks. As a razor-sharp tip came within an inch of skewering Silas, he warped space. The tentacle plunged into a rift and whipped violently out of a twin portal, slamming directly into Ogan’s own face and fracturing his momentum.
Capitalizing on the daze, Silas blinked behind Ogan and unleashed a devastating, true-weight strike. The heavy impact shattered the air as Ogan was hurled across the room, cratering violently into the reinforced wall. The metal plating buckled and groaned under his weight as he hacked up a spray of blood.
"You know...that's kinda unfair, don't you think?" He groaned.
Standing in the middle of the room, Silas smirked.
"There is no fairness in a fight to the death, kid."
Ogan laughed. His metal tentacles were still whipping around but then suddenly they melted into thousands of tiny metal needles and he controlled them with his mana. A cloud of metal was flying towards Silas and he was impressed.
On anyone else it would be devastating. But to him it was nothing.
The needles entered space portals and exited behind Ogan, all of them aimed at his back. The needles bounced off the metal skin.
Ogan grinned and sent them again and again but Silas just kept sending them back, they couldn't hurt him and Ogan knew that.
"For fuck's sake, I knew space magic was broken," he sighed and the needles dropped to the floor, melting back into his body.
They were both S-rank. Without killing intent they could only get to this level of battle. Still, it was good exercise. The air felt electric, charged with their mana.
"No mana?" Ogan asked as he stepped closer.
With a smile, Silas nodded and he could see the excitement in Ogan's eyes.
"Good. I wanted to punch you at least once." He laughed.
Silas waited and watched as Ogan got into a boxing stance. His skin returned to normal and his muscles were flexing. This was a fist fight then.
With a deep breath, Ogan ran towards him, his fists were ready.
Ogan's first hook whistled past his cheek as Silas slipped the blow. The second—a brutal body shot—smashed directly into his ribs with a dull, flesh-compressing thud. Silas absorbed the impact, tracked the third punch aimed at his jaw, and snatched the fist out of the air, brutally wrenching Ogan’s wrist downward, and kneeing him in the gut.
A cough escaped Ogan and he stumbled back, rubbing his stomach.
"You got a metal skeleton or something?" He joked, taking his stance again.
"I've been punched by monsters stronger than you, kid," he replied.
Ogan laughed and charged at him again. His punches were fast and strong but Silas' reflexes were faster, honed in actual life and death battles.
A right hook missed, the air whistled as he moved out of the way.
Silas seized Ogan's driving arm, using the giant's own momentum to pivot and execute a brutal hip throw. Ogan’s massive body slammed into the floorboards with a bone-jarring impact, the metal floor vibrating violently. Silas instantly dropped over him, pinning his neck against the cold deck with an unyielding grip.
"Good fight. You did well." He panted, feeling the adrenaline leave him slowly.
Ogan grinned, despite being in a chokehold.
"I got a punch in though." He laughed and Silas let him go, getting up and helping Ogan up as well. Both men stood in the middle of the room, catching their breath and smiling.
"Two I think. My ribs will be sore tomorrow," Silas said, patting Ogan on the back.
The young man shrugged and then he bowed his head. Silas blinked.
"Thank you for the opportunity to fight the strongest. I hope I can become like you someday," he said, his eyes serious.
Silas waved him off. The praise felt a bit weird, he wanted to train, not get complimented. With a cough he cleared his throat.
"Do you if any of the other S-rankers are around here?" he asked.
Ogan thought for a second and then nodded.
"Dagmar Hoffmann. She's in the simulation room," he replied and pointed at a wall. There was a small screen showing a list of names, one of them was Dagmar's name.
"The second strongest huh," Silas mumbled and turned to Ogan again. "Do you know her?"
He nodded. "Yeah she's quiet but a monster on steroids. Be careful," he warned him.
Silas laughed. So far no new S-rank has proven to be capable of killing him. With Berlin's death, the only ones are trapped on Jupiter.
The metal of the room felt cold against his feet.
"Ogan since you know her, can you call her out of the simulation and tell her that I am waiting for her?"
Ogan raised an eyebrow. "If I can watch sure."
"Deal."
With that Ogan left the room and Silas was alone, pulling out his phone and texting Liz.
His hands were moving quickly over the screen, telling his wife about the training session. The thought of her made him smile. A soft warmth in his chest. After the training he could go home and make dinner for his family.
His thumb was just about to press the send button when the other door opened and a blonde woman with blue eyes walked in. She was shorter than him and wore a simple tracksuit. Her hair was short, barely reaching her chin.
Her eyes scanned the room and locked onto him.
Silas smiled.
"Miss Dagmar." He greeted her.
Her lips were pressed in a thin line. Then she sighed.
"Ogan told me a strong guy wanted to train. Not an old fossil." She muttered, the German accent was heavy on her words.
"I'm not old." He pouted, pocketing his phone. This woman had an aura similar to Berlin and yet she didn't have sealing magic. What was it again?
She took her stance a few feet away. "I'll make this quick," she muttered.
Instantly, Silas's world shat completely into a pitch-black abyss. An smothering, predatory dread choked the air, causing his primal survival instincts to scream. This woman was dangerous.