Reacting on instinct, Gary activated the claw drain as he threw his hand. He could see the attack was not simple one, and he had a feeling that if it hit his skin even in a slightly trasnfromed state it would hurt and do some type of damage.
No one at Harvor’s side would be weak by any means. He knew they would all be Altered and they were part of some of the very best. More importantly, Gary wasn’t going to hold back in his strike when it was about to hit Xin. He wouldn’t let her get hurt when she was right there.
Which was why, unconditionally, he activated the new fire trait he had received, allowing him to add extra power to nearly all of his attacks.
As he swiped his claw through the air, the loud sound of wind was heard ripping through, but more importantly, everyone could see the flames engulfing the air and the intense heat radiating from them.
The attack was completely destroyed, turned into nothing, and Gary was the one who had acted.
With what had just occurred, it was hard for him to think straight, consumed by pure anger.
“What the f*ck do you think you’re doing?” Gary stared at the pineapple-looking man.
When Gary guessed the man who attacked was no ordinary man, he was right. He was one of the Zodiac’s, named Pinner.
Pinner had great strength, strong enough to be considered for one of the top 12 positions. Not only that, but he had also been around Harvor enough to know when he wanted him to act.
Harvor rarely acted by asking; he just did. So when he made suggestions, it was for those around him to act.
Pinner knew very well what was expected of him, so he went ahead and struck, yet his attack had failed, and he had no idea how, or who had blocked it.
He was so stunned that he didn’t follow up with another attack, and Harvor didn’t blame him, because he was shocked as well.
‘Pinner is almighty strong; he could be part of the top 10 in the AFC,’ Harvor thought. ‘There’s no doubt in my mind, if he were to fight against Xin, there would be no contest.’
‘I thought he could complete this job easily, but then this stranger has come by the side and attacked. Just who is that man? He can’t just be Xin’s boyfriend. Is there really an Altered so strong that the world doesn’t know about?’
What had confused Harvor more than anything was the elemental powers he had just seen, and it wasn’t only him—Apollo was confused as well.
‘I watched the fight between Gary and Sin, or whatever was recorded of it anyway,’ Apollo thought. ‘During that fight, he never used any flames of the sort.’
‘There was nothing like this. How can Gary even produce flames in the first place? Isn’t his Altered base a wolf? I guess they’re not based on beasts or animals that we have today, but those of the past, but to have flaming claws now… This is hurting my head a bit,’ Apollo thought.
“Hey, you can’t just come here and attack one of your guests,” Gary said with a slight growl in his voice.
This time it was Xin who placed her hand on his shoulder, trying to get him to ease up.
“I know you’re angry; I am too. Trust me, the attack was aimed at me,” Xin said. “But you’re the one who said it yourself: we shouldn’t cause problems. I don’t want to distract my brother from the fight he’s about to have; we need to leave it.”
“Yeah, but I’m not looking at your brother’s opponent. About that deal, Harvor, how about you put me and him in the ring? I’ll take him right out,” Gary said.
Although Gary probably knew the man only acted because of Harvor, he was trying to create a favorable situation.
Now, they were all just waiting for what was going to happen. Gary was thinking a little straighter now thanks to Xin and hadn’t already leapt on Pinner, but if Harvor acted, he needed to as well.
“I’m sorry for my friend’s actions. I’m sure he got swayed by what I said,” Harvor said. “As you mentioned, I have an important match, and you told me not to underestimate Jayden, so I won’t.”
Harvor then turned to the door, but before that, he walked up to Apollo. When close, Apollo, who was taller than Harvor, knelt down so he could lend him an ear.
“Do you know this man? Who is he?” Harvor asked.
Apollo thought about it as he turned his head. Should he tell the truth? Would it change anything, and did he want to tell the truth?
“I don’t know,” Apollo whispered back. “I just brought Xin with me, and he was with her at the time. I’ll do my best to find out who he is.”
Harvor quickly leaned back and headed toward the door.
“I’m sorry for getting both of you riled up. Xin, I will face your brother with the respect he deserves, as long as he has earned that respect in the ring.”
“As for you, young man, first you should get a haircut. Second, what’s your name?” Harvor asked.
“Screw you,” Gary said. “I’m not trying to become friends with someone who just attacked us. As a champion, you disappoint me, Harvor.”
Harvor didn’t know why, but he was quite annoyed at the comment, and decided to turn away and head out the door with Pinner following him.
Pinner was surprised Harvor didn’t act, and he had just left before getting what he was supposed to—what was going on?
“Speak to Stanley,” Harvor said. “Find out everything about that man, an Altered that’s powerful with fire powers. I want to know everything about him.”