The tension was at its peak as the monk and the new man were ready for a fight. Even though they hadn't moved yet, Levin who was watching from the sideline could feel the heavy atmosphere in the air. Honestly, compared to his fight with the fire magic and the illusionist, he felt like this was on a completely different level.
Yeah, even though they hadn't made a move yet, Levin could see what those two were trying to do. The monk kept flaring the heavy aura that could suffocate any normal human being, trying to test his enemy's reaction. However, his enemy, the flamboyant man, just stood still with his infuriating smile as if he wasn't bothered by it, showing clearly that this aura wasn't enough to intimidate him.
Now that the initial phase of testing each other was done, the next should be the real move. The question was just, who would make a move first and take the initiative?
After waiting for a few more seconds, in the end, the flamboyant man finally made a move. Even though Levin couldn't see it, he could still hear the sound of a crack there, and a moment later, the tree that was blown away by the monk a few ago suddenly had a big crack as the flamboyant man stood on it, and then, like a professional football player, the man just stomped it hard, cracking the tree into two parts and letting one of them flew before kicking it hard toward the monk.
BAM!
"Holy shit!" Levin held his breath unconsciously. "To kick the tree so easily like that, his foot should be made of steel, right?"
The monk himself wasn't bothered by it. The speed of the tree flying at him wasn't that fast, so he just took a step aside to avoid it. However, the flamboyant man seemed to predict something like this to happen as he rushed forward quickly. His movement was incredible, jumping around so quickly like a weightless man, who cannot be bothered by everything around him.
In the next few seconds, punches were thrown so fast that if not for his experience as a soldier, Levin wouldn't be able to see it clearly. With his smaller build, the flamboyant man darted in and out, throwing quick punches one after another. He was like a little hummingbird, buzzing around the monk, trying to find a weak spot. Unfortunately, the monk was steady like a mountain, easily blocking each strike with clever parries.
"Hmph. I thought you were just a long-ranged combatant. Who would've thought that you could be this annoying even in a close-combat situation?" The flamboyant man snorted ungentlemanly.
"It is not me who is strong, but your strike that is weak. Even flies hurt more than your punch. Are you sure you want to beat me in this state?" The monk just asked with his usual blank expression, not a hint of joke could be heard in his tone. However, the blunt statement was enough to piss his enemy out as the flamboyant man had his mouth twitched in annoyance.
"Oh, so, you want to raise the stake, huh? Okay, let's get this done quickly!"
The flamboyant man suddenly stepped back a little before rushing forward once again, making a quick faint movement like a professional boxer before he sent a left hook to the monk's face. Unexpectedly, the monk was ready for that. He didn't even flinch, catching the punch easily before it could land. However, that was what the flamboyant man was waiting for.
"Ha! I got you!"
With a swift movement, the flamboyant man suddenly rolled over the monk's hand that had just caught his punch. He used the monk's hand as a pivot to flip through the air, raising his leg high, and came down with an axe kick, heading straight for the monk's head.
BAM!
'Shit! How is this possible?!' Levin widened his eyes in shock when he saw the impact of the kick. He could see the ground where the monk stood a moment ago was destroyed, and a giant crack spread in a radius of about ten meters there. This alone was enough to show how powerful the kick was. Levin didn't want to imagine what would happen if he was the one who received the end of it. 'What about the monk? Is he okay?' He thought to himself.
After the dust settled, Levin could finally see how the two fighters were doing, and he could feel his jaw drop at the sight in front of him. There, the flamboyant man was still hanging awkwardly in the air while the monk himself grabbed his enemy's foot as if the last kick didn't have any impact on him.
Levin could see the flamboyant man was trying so hard to transfer more power onto his foot to pressure the monk, yet it wasn't enough to send damage toward the monk. The most outrageous thing, though, was the fact that the ground where the monk stood sunk a few feet deep, just showing how powerful the kick was before. For the monk to receive the end of it directly and not have any injury because of it, that showed how strong the monk was.
In the end, the flamboyant man finally twisted his body, using his other foot to land a high kick to the jaw, which the monk evaded easily. However, the purpose of such a weak attack was to create an opening for the man to escape from the monk's grasp, and right after he escaped from the close combat radius, the flamboyant man kneeled, panting heavily on the ground. It seemed whatever he did before really took a toll on him.
"For a religious man, you sure are tough as steel, Old Man." He scowled, glaring at the monk fiercely.
The monk just nodded, acknowledging his words as he rotated his shoulder a little. "You are so light yet your strength in that moment is beyond my imagination. Is that your power?" Even though it was a question, the monk didn't look curious at all, talking so casually as if it was something not special at all.
"Hell, yeah. My ability is to manipulate my own weight. You can guess the rest of it by yourself."
Even though he just gave the name of his power, it was enough for Levin to figure out his ability. At first, he thought that it would be a gravity manipulation like Mattheus had. However, he found out that the flamboyant man could only manipulate his own weight, not his surroundings to change the terrain around him. But that was still a versatile ability, especially with how proficient the flamboyant man applied it in this fight. He constantly manipulated his weight to make himself faster and more agile, and when he was close enough to the monk, he put all the weight on his body to the punch he threw. Well, maybe not all, since Levin was sure the 'all-out weight manipulation' should be something like the last attack, not a method that the man could pull so casually like that.
After hearing that, the monk nodded slightly as if he just understood something. Then, he closed his eyes, putting both hands together while muttering some sort of prayer. Unfortunately, Levin was too far away to hear that, and he didn't dare to intervene, knowing that the monk was about to do something.
"Well, since you are kind enough to let me know your ability, let me return the favor. Keep your eyes open and watch carefully, because this time, it will be me who is going to attack. Get ready!"