53 Ottar (5)

(General POV)

It would have been an absolutely strange sight for any adventurer that may have been around at the time. The scene that they would have beheld would have been something they'd scratch their heads at confusedly, that is if they were able to see at all.

But if they could see, they would have almost laughed at the comedic sight of two shirtless people duking it out with their fists alone. The bizarre image of a small boy with lean yet extremely defined muscles against a giant of a man with a stature so muscular, his biceps being the size of basketballs, they would immediately have given the victory to the large man.

And while they still would not be wrong, the fact that the small boy was somehow holding on against such a greater and more impressive opponent would have garnered respect no matter if the spectators knew the identity of the two or not.

Lyze had abandoned the golden chainmail, fading away into motes of gold light as he willed it gone from his body. The receding of the armour revealed the Darkness of his demon form curling around his arms in vine-like patters while the veins on his wrists were black in colour. And with Libur no longer being used, Lyze had fully committed to the use of his fists to fight with the added on perk of Combo Star.

Shockwaves were generated from each collision of their fists as Ottar marvelled at the explosive power of the younger adventurer. Lyze had surpassed all of his expectations, and even now the young warrior was beginning to adapt in the heat of their battle.

Lyze ducked under one of Ottar's punches and closed into the Boaz's torso area. There he unleashed a barrage of blurring fists as each of his strikes became heavier with each punch. Ottar feeling this effect wondered at how many more powers Lyze seemed to possess.

'This boy...each punch he lands is stronger than the last!' Thought Ottar as he kneed Lyze in the face too fast for him to react in even demon form. One could hear the crunch of bone as Lyze's jaw was shattered and he went spiralling away in a flurry of teeth, limbs and blood. It didn't last long though as tendrils of Darkness quickly dispatched themselves from his body and caught the teeth in mid-air.

Ottar spectated as the jaw reformed itself and the teeth were pulled back into their correct places. The Boaz was beginning to realize exactly why Lyze didn't want to use this form. It honestly was a cheat more than anything else.

You can tell a lot about someone when you cross swords with them and when you're like Ottar, somebody who could at times read a person's character and their situation just from a good glance, it was extra easy to gauge an opponent's personality.

Lyze seemed to be the type that wanted to get hurt in battle, so he could further improve upon himself. The boy WANTED to be in fear of death each time he was up against a powerful opponent because it was under the most extreme pressure that he experienced an explosive growth in combat experience and also stats point it seemed.

Ottar had been following Lyze's behaviour closely throughout their entire scuffle and had realised by now that were it not for the dark form of his, Lyze would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago. Any injury Ottar was inflicting now immediately healed itself but all the injuries that Lyze had received before were still there.

Even from beneath the skin, it was evident how many ribs of Lyze's had been broken and misplaced as they his chest area was covered in purple bruises. Cuts and gashes littered the boy's body from head to toe as they all flowed with blood and were caked with dirt and ash to the point where it was possible an infection may occur.

In fact, with how much blood Lyze had lost in this fight alone, Ottar was surprised that the boy had not simply fainted and at the worst died from the blood loss. Yet even despite that, and despite the fact he was clearly beginning to lose stamina even in this form, they boy's attacks were still as ferocious as if he were a fresh fighter.

Ottar himself was only suffering from the cut on his shoulder and the 'permanent' wound on his face. They had little to no effect on his performance, which even Lyze seemed to realise but still the boy was able to slam fearsome punches that would have made other adventurers quake in their boots.

Such as this one now.

Lyze moved his jaw a bit as it finally cracked back into place before clenching his fist tightly and launching back at Ottar, leaving a large crater behind him from the force of his jump. Ottar easily caught the small fist in his own large one but the impact completely ripped apart the undergrowth around him.

'This kind of power would probably kill a level four.' Ottar thought as he crushed the fist in his palm, grinding the bones against one another. Lyze showed no reaction other than to clench his other fist as wisps of Darkness flowed out of the patterns on his arms and coated it. With an uppercut, a beam of dark magical energy shot out of his fist and struck Ottar in the throat and went further to push the man off of him.

Ottar tensed his neck and made to grab at the tendril but it dispersed just as he grabbed it. The energy flowed back into the now fully healed arm and Lyze lifted both of them as Darkness began to flow around them again. This time his arms turned into giant ones with massive claw-tipped hands.

Lyze reached forwards with these new appendages and clasped Ottar with both of them. Ottar made to break out of them as the Boaz pushed back against the giant fingers, but Lyze anticipated this and with a massive hurling motion, he threw Ottar straight towards the cliff face that their fight had somehow carried them to.

Ottar smashed into the rock face and his body was buried deep within it. A ball of Darkness formed between Lyze's hands which he then threw towards Ottar as he was climbing out of the hole he'd made. Ottar dodged out of the way just in time, and closed the distance between them in an instant. Lyze quickly disassembled his giant arms and constructed a shield, only for Ottar to easily smash through it and connect a punch right into Lyze's gut.

Lyze yet again coughed up another mouthful of blood as he was sent surfing through Earth, his insides screaming in pain. Yet again, his Darkness regenerated the damage and Lyze stood up with a wobble as Ottar descended upon him.

Ottar punched into the cross guard Lyze created with his arms and they were locked into a contest of raw strength which needless to say Ottar was winning. But Lyze finally began to show signs of weakening as the blood continued to dribble out of his mouth. Ottar felt the boy beginning to lose strength.

"I see now." The Boaz said. "Your body appears to heal itself but not your strength and stamina. Which means you must still retain the damage even after you are healed."

Lyze spat out in frustration.

"Just how perceptive are you, you damn boar!?"

"You tell me, I thought you read about it." Ottar quipped before he returned Lyze's earlier uppercut with one of his own. Lyze grit his teeth as the pain blared through his head but faced a palm at Ottar once he found ground again.

"Exterminate Ray!"

A beam of purple coloured magic energy exploded from his fist and Ottar blocked it with his palm. The beam continued to push between them as Ottar's arm stood firm in place, the Boaz now full using his real strength to overcome Lyze.

Lyze held on as he felt the attack finally drain what magic he had left in his Mind pool and 'Overdraft' became unresponsive. It had been about ten minutes since he had begun fighting Ottar in his Demon form and throughout that time, it had been nothing but a one sided massacre on Ottar's end. In that time Lyze had used 'Overdraft' a few times in desperate attempts for more magical energy. He didn't dare try something like Cruel Sun again as he was positive that he would actually die from the strain.

Each time Lyze closed in on him, it only took one clean attack from Ottar to just blast him away. Lyze was confident that had it not been for his Demon form, he would definitely be dead by now. He expected to lose from the beginning anyway, but Lyze was astonished at just how powerful the Boaz was really turning out tot be.

The fact that this was actually a much weaker version of Ottar than canon as the Boaz had yet to level up, much less become a peak level 7 just rubbed more salt in. It looked like no matter what level he was at, Ottar always pumped out more force than was expected of him.

Lyze supposed it was to be expected. This was the same man that defeated Zald after all, a person whom even Ottar was dead scared of. But Lyze knew that after his next volley, this battle would come to its end. Lyze cancelled out the beam, and right before the rest of it had finished reaching Ottar, Lyze flew through the man's legs and turned mid-air.

He grabbed Ottar by the hips and forced himself to fly upwards with as much strength he could muster. For the second time, the two began to ascend into the air, Lyze pushing the Boaz towards the crystal ceiling, and because the small boy had him by the back of his hips, Ottar was having an awkward time trying to reach him.

Higher and higher up they flew, further than they had gone the last time as the adventurers in Rivira with the more keener eyesight finally were able to see them from this great distance although not clearly. With one last jolt, Lyze threw Ottar's body in the air and then flew past him to get above.

Forming his giant hands and then clasping them together, Lyze attempted to jack-hammer the Boaz back onto the ground. But Ottar saw this coming and using his full enhanced senses, Ottar twisted his body around in the air so the giant fists glanced past him. Then using the giant hands as a foot hold, he grabbed onto Lyze's head and swung his own body upwards.

Once above Lyze, he slammed a palm down on the back of Lyze's head and they began to descend back to the forest floor. At this point Lyze, felt all the last reserves of his strength, both physical and magical run out and he squeezed his eyes as he waited for the oncoming and inevitable pain.

They both collided with the ground so hard, not only was there another mushroom cloud and another crater, but cracks ran up the cliff-face as the floor shook with the impact.

The dust settled to reveal Lyze sprawled out, unresponsive and still with agony as his Demon form finally wore out and he'd expended all his steam. And then the consequences of the battle fell on him as Lyze found that he couldn't even move with how numb his body had become in pain. His clothes were in tatters again with only most of his pants intact to preserve his modesty. But his metals boots were pretty much bent, dented and ruined while his arms guards were battered.

Blood and saliva drooled from his open mouth as he flicked his eyes around in search of Ottar. Ottar rose out of the dust cloud and walked up to his body, looking down on him with the same stony face as always as he seemed to nod.

"Are you done now?" Ottar asked.

"What does it look like?" Lyze breathed out. "I can't even move my hands. It's taking effort to even talk at this point."

"I see. Well I should suppose it's a good thing as I may have been forced to kill you. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal as you are from a different Familia and I would just explain it as a duel to the death." Ottar looked away for a bit before returning his eyes to Lyze's still form. "But...you are strong. Even more so than I could imagine."

Lyze chuckled dryly.

"Not enough to beat you though. Still, in your expert opinion, where do I place on the power ladder?"

"At the point of our battle where you showed most power..." Ottar said confidently. "...I would suggest that you were on the level of a level 4. A lower tier level five if we're pushing it."

"I guess that explains it." Lyze coughed out smiling as he finally got an idea of just how much power his abilities afforded him. "You weren't even taking me seriously at all. But what more could I expect? You are the strongest of our generation, and I have only just begun." Lyze then stared at the scar he'd left Ottar with which had been blackened by his Hellblaze. "But still, I've left my mark as much as you have left yours."

"That you have." Ottar said as he put a hand to the wound. "Do not be disappointed in yourself. I find that I had quite a lot of fun in this fight. The versatility of your magic and the raw power behind your melee and swordsmanship. You are a fighter that has managed to maximise his talent as both a mage and a weaponist."

"That is what I have been aiming for. That's what I keep telling my executives."

"Indeed." Ottar paused as he stared at the boy. "Had you been born a few years earlier, I'm certain that Zeus and Hera would have fought with one another over the chance to recruit you."

Lyze chuckled and scoffed slightly. "Now you're just flattering me."

"I do not jest." Ottar said seriously. "You are a level 2 that can physically fight like a high level 4 and your magic might even place you above that if you learn how to incorporate it properly. With such talent and promise, as well as so many numerous and bizarre abilities, you would have found a perfect spot in each Familia where they would have made sure to mould you into the perfect version of yourself that you could be." Ottar then looked down a little sullenly. "But those days are long gone. The best Orario has now is me and I myself am nothing like the adventurers of those Familia. Their strength was a different story altogether." Ottar the looked up. "Have you learnt your lesson now?"

"...Yes. I have not been handling my problems properly. I've been too stuck on them and stuck doing the same thing over and over again, fighting those that I was used to and not spending the time I was using to complain on actually testing my limits and pushing me further. Lamenting about my issues was actually keeping me from my objectives, not pushing me towards them."

"And now that you have realised that, what will you do?"

"I'm going to become better. I will be stronger, and I will forcefully take back control of my life with my own two hands, no matter how hard it will be or how long it takes. The only one who can solve my problems and push me towards my goal is myself alone. Blaming others, only slows me down."

Ottar smiled. 'It is as you foresaw Lady Freya. I believe I have completed my task now...although there is one more thing to do.'

"I am glad that you have figured it out." Ottar said. "In this fight alone, you have improved by leaps and bounds in more ways than one. I cannot wait to see how much more powerful you will become in the future. Remember, the moment you begin to self-pity and complain is the moment you become your own biggest enemy. This leads to weakness, and weakness is something every adventurer must aspire to be rid of as they will never survive in the dungeon with any form of it. Take this lesson to heart, and remember how capable you truly are."

Lyze nodded before wheezing as he felt his eyelids become heavy. Ottar sensed him losing consciousness and hurriedly said his last piece before the boy timed out.

"One more thing I must tell you."

"What?"

"My goddess, Lady Freya wishes to speak with you."

At this, Lyze experienced an adrenaline spike and he snapped to attention. "Why? What could she possibly want to speak about, and with me of all people?"

"The answer to that is one that even I am not aware of. But all the same, my goddess must be obeyed. You will meet with her on the top of Babel tower when you have recovered. DO NOT keep her waiting more than necessary."

"Do I not get a say in this?"

"No." Ottar said firmly.

"I suppose you will drag me up there if I refuse."

"If I must."

Lyze sighed as he felt a new set of headaches come.

"Fine. But you tell her that nothing she says will ever persuade me to leave my Familia. I know of her games and tricks as much as she is aware of me. Her charms and her other powers have absolutely no effect on me whatsoever, so she'd better be ready for disappointment."

Ottar narrowed his eyes a little bit.

"I'll be sure to pass it along then. But next time, do not speak so rudely about her. If I hadn't already beaten you half to death already, I may have just done so with how disrespectful of a tone you've taken."

"Understand that I do not worship her like you and your troop Ottar. I've yet to see any reason why I must treat her with a modicum of respect apart from her influence and authority with Orario."

"Then you shall be enlightened soon enough." Ottar paused before adding another thing. "This is a discussion between you and Lady Freya. Your Familia will have no involvement in this matter. So make sure to come alone."

"As if that isn't ominous." Lyze muttered before he finally faded out of consciousness and Ottar breathed a heavy sigh.

The Boaz flipped open one of the pouches on his belt and took out a healing potion which poured into the boy's mouth. Casting the bottle aside, Ottar turned to the forest-line as his ears picked up on chatters of adventurers coming his way. Straining his ears a little more, he recognised a few voices, from which he determined what Familia they were from and decided to make himself scarce.

"Until next time young warrior. Let us meet again soon." He said before he departed just as the Ganesha Familia arrived on the scene.

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