The main hall of the Goblin Guild fell completely silent in an instant. It was as if everyone’s breath had caught in their throats.
James, with a smile full of hatred and arrogance, pointed his index finger straight at Daniel.
"Him. I want to fight him." His tone was steady and firm, and his voice echoed through the silent hall.
Sara put her hand over her mouth, and Joe smirked. They had both guessed that this bastard would pick Daniel. Even after all this time, he still couldn’t let go of his old grudges.
"But that’s better. Daniel, give him a proper lesson! Beat him so bad even his own mother won’t recognize him," Joe said.
Varnos raised his eyebrows slightly but didn’t say a word. With just one glance, he could understand the real goal behind this duel.
They probably thought they could kill Daniel, enrage him, and make him attack them. But they were idiots if they thought this plan would work.
These fools didn’t even know what kind of monster this boy really was.
But there was still a problem... that wine... His Moon Law was also sealed, and he couldn’t use it. It was obvious this was the work of that bastard.
Daniel, however, wasn’t surprised at all. From the moment Alaric had mentioned the "duel," he had known James’s main target would be him.
"Since the opponent for this duel has been chosen, how about we change the location?" Alaric waved his hand, and suddenly the space shifted.
A moment later, everyone found themselves on spectator stands while Daniel and James stood in the fighting arena below.
"I don’t even get the right to refuse?" Daniel said mockingly. They hadn’t even asked if he wanted to participate in this fight or not.
"A piece of trash like you doesn’t deserve the right to have an opinion," James laughed with contempt.
"I thought you wouldn’t have the guts to pick me. It’s been a while since we last saw each other. I didn’t think you missed me this much," Daniel laughed and said with a mocking gesture.
"You’ve always been like this, Daniel. An arrogant piece of trash who thinks everything belongs to him. Even Sara." His eyes turned toward Sara for a moment before locking back onto Daniel.
"Today everyone will see that you’re nothing but a fraud. Once I take your power away, even Sara won’t look at you anymore. I’ll crush you under my feet once again."
Daniel smiled. A smile that he knew exactly how to use to shred James’s nerves.
"Sara was never in love with you, James. You were just a dreamer staring at himself in the mirror. Even when she answered you, it was only out of pity. And now... you’re still looking at her? Pathetic."
"Whether she loves you or not has nothing to do with me."
James’s face darkened for a second. The veins in his neck bulged.
"Shut your mouth!"
Alaric laughed loudly and clapped his hands.
"Perfect! That’s exactly what we wanted. The arena is ready. Begin!"
James pulled two long black swords from the shadows around him. The blades moved like living liquid, darkness dripping from them.
"Law of Darkness... Twin Shadow Blades." He spun the swords and took a ready stance.
Daniel simply clenched his fists. He still hadn’t summoned his sword.
He knew that because of that damn wine, he couldn’t use his main laws. The source of power inside his body felt locked. But he didn’t need it anyway.
His raw physical strength alone was enough to crush a Rank S as strong as Varnos, let alone a piece of trash at Rank A.
From the very beginning, James never had any chance of winning this duel. Unfortunately, he didn’t know he had picked the wrong opponent.
Of course, this was their plan, and he had already seen through it. Either way, he didn’t mind beating this bastard James to near death.
"For crushing a piece of trash like you, fists are enough."
James launched the first attack.
[Chains of Eternal Shadow]
Shadows shot up from the ground like living snakes and rushed toward Daniel’s legs. The chains tried to bind him and drain his energy.
Daniel punched forward at high speed. But... his strike... was far too weak!
His fist only broke one of the chains. The rest wrapped around his legs like snakes.
"What...?" Daniel frowned. His physical power had dropped in a terrifying way. It felt like his body had suddenly fallen to Rank A level.
Before, he could shatter mountains with one punch. Now even simple shadow chains were putting him in trouble!
What the hell was going on here? What exactly had happened? Why had his power dropped this much?
Maybe it was because of that wine? But he didn’t feel like the problem was inside his body. It felt like an external force.
James seized the opportunity and charged with both swords.
[Eclipse of Darkness]
A massive dome of complete darkness formed around the arena. The light vanished in an instant. Everything turned black. Only James’s red eyes glowed.
"Now you’re blind, Daniel"
James attacked from behind. One sword slashed across Daniel’s shoulder, opening a deep wound. Blood sprayed. Daniel jumped back, but his movement was slow. Too slow.
"Daniel! What’s wrong?! Why is he so weak?! Is he doing this on purpose?" Outside the arena, Sara whispered in worry.
Varnos also furrowed his brows. He knew exactly how powerful Daniel was. This scene seemed impossible to him.
James laughed and pressed on.
[Void Slash]
His swords created small voids. Every strike swallowed part of the space and made Daniel’s attacks disappear.
Daniel threw punch after punch, but every strike vanished into the void. James pushed him back again and again. Wounds opened on his arm, side, and thigh.
"This... can’t be normal."
Daniel thought while retreating. His physical power had now fallen even below Rank A. It felt like something was devouring his entire energy source.
He quickly activated Mana Healing to close the wounds, but even the healing was slower than ever.
James attacked again.
[Whisper of Nightmares]
A dark whispering voice echoed directly in Daniel’s mind
"Sara... Sara is mine... you’re just a thief... she always loved me..."
Daniel’s head spun for a moment. Images of Sara in James’s arms flashed through his mind.
"Damn it..."
He gritted his teeth and slammed a fist into the ground to snap himself out of it.
[Abyssal Armor]
James covered his body with complete darkness armor. Every punch Daniel landed was absorbed and returned twice as strong.
"My power... why has it dropped so much?" Daniel jumped back. He was panting.
Right at that moment, with his incredible senses, he detected extremely faint but precise fluctuations of an array on the arena floor.
A massive, hidden array that directly targeted comprehension and energy flow of laws... and not just laws—it was also reducing raw physical power.
"This array... where did it come from? It’s even restricting me... This level of power... impossible." Daniel’s eyes widened slightly.
He was sure the thing restricting him was an array, but the question was, where the hell did this array come from?
With his level of power, there shouldn’t be any array capable of weakening him this much.
Unless it was made by a Demi-God...
"Mr. Varnos... why is Daniel... why is he so weak? He’s... he’s..." From far away, Sara looked at Varnos in horror.
Varnos’s expression had turned serious too. He couldn’t believe it either. The boy who had almost killed him with one strike a few days ago was now being toyed with by a Rank A.
James laughed again and spun his swords.
"See? You’re nothing, Daniel. Just a fraud. Now everyone can see it. So where’s that genius they call the treasure of Everlight Moon Guild? You’re no different from trash."
Daniel took a deep breath. His wounds were still bleeding, but his eyes were colder than ever. His life force began to burn.
He was burning his vitality to at least partially purge the poison.
And it worked!
By burning his life force and using the resulting energy to suppress the poison, he managed to push back a portion of the toxin. He kept repeating this process relentlessly until he gradually regained a small part of his power.
He still couldn’t use his main laws. His body was still severely weakened, but at least now he could use skills that didn’t depend on laws.
"Well... the real game starts here."