The Titan's Throne

The Stance

Bastian wanted to use this as an opportunity to improve his reaction speed or rather to test its limits. To his disappointment, Tate's swings became easier to read as time went on.

In order to further increase the difficulty, Bastian would leave himself with less time to dodge each time, and after a few moments, his mind and body would adjust. This was not only thanks to his body, but his brain, from hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness, Bastian was in the form of his life

As far as Bastian was concerned there was no danger. He could kill this man any time he wanted to.

Although Bastian had initially wanted to vent his anger, the dull simplicity of the fight had completely calmed him down. He started gaining back his rationale as time went on.

Although Bastian wanted to end the fight quickly, he not only needed to train, but he also needed to gain the attention of someone in the audience, thus he started using this time to showcase his unique skills.

If only Bastian had known that he already had an owner.

...

"Hahahaha! The heavens are finally smiling upon me!"

In their private booth, Kai and his Master were observing Bastian make a fool out of Tate. Or rather the young man was.

Kai knew that the truly incredible feat was not how the purple-haired boy was toying with Tate but how he had suppressed and resisted the blind disaster.

How is he alive? How did he do it?

Kai wracked his brains trying to think of an answer, yet nothing could come up. Kai knew well enough what the blind disaster was capable of. Thus he knew that the implications of such a matter would not be small.

Kai reached into the pockets of his robes and pulled out a piece of paper with some writing on it.

It was proof of their ownership over the purple-haired boy. Kai looked at the piece of paper that had cost them quite a few gold coins. He now knew that it was worth far more than this.

Although his Master was thrilled, whenever he looked at the paper, Kai could not help but have a foreboding feeling in his heart.

...

Within the many booths that were observing the fight, there were plenty of rich people, each with their own servants.

The majority had merely come to observe for leisure, while some had come for the same reason Kai and his Master had. To purchase a fighter!

Tate and Yahd had been the main attraction as far as this match was concerned. Yet now an unthinkable scene was occurring.

Yahd was dead, the blind disaster had been suppressed with a few strikes, and Tate was being toyed with by a purple-haired boy who looked no older than 15!

Many of the observers, especially those who had come prepared to purchase fighters, were salivating at the prospect of owning the purple-haired boy. A lot of people, who had only come to observe, could not help but be tempted. It was clear that the purple-haired boy was untrained. Yet he was able to make a veteran look useless.

He was neither running around nor was he defending himself with a weapon. He was using his instinct to dodge strikes by a hair's breadth. Such an action was utterly breathtaking.

Many Masters immediately ordered their slaves to go to the owners of the arena, in the hope that they could purchase the purple-haired boy.

Yet they all got the same response. A response that made them smack their lips in jealousy.

He already had an owner!

Of course, everyone was curious as to who had been lucky enough to purchase such a diamond in the rough. Yet when they all learned who had bought the purple-haired boy, especially the fact that he had been bought on that day, angry shouts and insults rampaged in countless booths.

"How? Why him?"

"The heavens do not have eyes! This is a travesty!"

"I will not allow that brat to take such an incredible specimen!"

"Hahahaha, that kid is very lucky, but his luck can turn his misfortune if he is not careful."

...

After hundreds of swings, Tate started to feel tired. Sweat was covering the entire top half of his body, and his muscles were aching.

Bastian on the other hand looked no different from when the fight started. It was as if he had not been fighting at all.

This difference in ability between the two had made Tate depressed. At first, he was happy that he had found a warrior who was strong enough to meet his standards and have a final glorious battle.

Yet not only had his standards been met, but they had also been surpassed. Breathing heavily, Tate stopped his mad rush in an attempt to catch his breath.

Bastian was only a few feet away from the giant, but he made no attempt to take advantage of Tate's situation. Instead, he crossed his arms and spoke words that hurt Tate far more than any weapon had ever had.

"Are you done?"

..

Bastian was getting bored. His attempt at improving his reaction speed was becoming more and more pointless as time went on because Tate's swings became slower and easier to predict.

This was not only because the giant was tiring, but also because Bastian's eyes were adjusting. Thus when Bastian saw that Tate had stopped, he decided to put an end to this farce.

Bastian's mind had finally returned to what could be said to be a good place but he was still not his usual self.

Be it, Bastian, from Earth or Sebastian from the Sovereign Continent, both were very calm and hard to anger. They were very passive in terms of emotions and would never get enraged in the truest sense of the word.

Now that the two personas had fused, they had changed each other. Bastian had come out on top over his far younger companion.

Thus, it was more accurate to say that Bastian had devoured Sebastian. Either way, the new Bastian was different from both of his former personas. One of those differences was about to come out.

This new aspect of the new Bastian was ruthlessness.

Bastian Smith was kind-hearted, Sebastian Tirius was also soft. Yet when both souls fused and bore a third, much darker side.

Bastian's wisdom and knowledge of the human mind, coupled with Sebastian's knowledge of the true nature of the Sovereign Continent, had led Bastian to a conclusion; Kindness to your enemy is cruelty to yourself.

Tate was a stranger to Bastian. He did not know the man. But Bastian would not hesitate to kill the giant, especially considering that his survival hinged on this battle.

So why had Bastian not killed the man now that he had no use? The answer is simple.

"Old man, I am about to kill you, but before I do I need you to help me out with something, and tell me where I am. Specifically what Country and City this is."

Bastian's question baffled the audience. What kind of person would request a favour from someone he was about to kill? Especially in such a nonchalant manner.

Bastian's face was no different from the face you would have when you were talking to a friend.

He had a smile that was not a smile. His expression was relaxed and he had his guard down.

The audience knew very well that Bastian was relaxed because he had Tate within the palm of his hands. But his shameless act of asking a favour from a man, whom he had just toyed with and was about to s*******r, had surprised quite a bit of people.

The smarter people in the audience, people like Kai were speechless for an entirely different reason.

He doesn't know what country he is in?

Bastian looked very relaxed, and he had asked what country he was in as if he was asking for the time of day!

Absurd, just who is this youth?

"You are in the Blue Seas Alliance, in the City of Yani."

"Hhmm what is the date?"

"The 1st of May 4130 E.D."

"Hhmm that's good. Thanks for helping me out. I owe you one."

"Nonsense, it's the least I could do, after all. You are helping me."

At Tate's odd statement, Bastian merely shrugged.

Meanwhile in the booth containing Kai and his Master...

"Kai, do you believe in miracles?"

"No young master."

"If not a miracle then what are we looking at?

"Two mentally ill people young master."

Kai's Master put his hand under his chin and entered into a state of deep thought. He was really trying to understand what was occurring before him.

That was when Bastian opened his mouth.

"Tate, I'm attacking. Get ready."

"Alright, come at me."

Bastian loosed up his body and made a crouching pose, looking to pounce on Tate. Tate defensively raised his sword. Assuming a stance that said 'I will block everything you can give me.'