Book 3: Chapter 16 – Bond Of Equals
After Amira helped their weary team leader back to their make-shift camp, Julius immediately got started on dinner.
The smile on his face was no less than the one on Ace's whilst fighting the lion earlier. His getting the chance to cook meat of this quality was a dream come true.
Ace stared at the back of the young round chef with saliva falling from the corner of his mouth. The aroma was simply too captivating. Even Amira stared impatiently at the pot of food Julius was preparing.
The meal prepared was dragon soup, a popular delicacy of the Yulan continent, one both Ace and Amira had tried several times over the course of their lives, but never in their life had they tasted any that tasted even remotely as incredible as this.
They could taste each and every one of the ingredients Julius used, fusing together perfectly to create a taste so incredible that Ace felt as though he had died and gone to heaven, but that was just the beginning.
As they swallowed each bite, they could feel a heat rising from within. Their cells burning with a renewed vigour. Even Ace, who could barely move after his fight with the lion, had a sudden burst of energy.
By the time they finished their meals, both Ace and Mira experienced small breakthroughs in their warrior cultivation. Mira to the Middle and Ace to the Peak of the fourth rank.
The trio devoured every bit of the dragon soup to the point where Ace actually licked the bottom of the pot, unwilling to waste even a single drop. An act that fatty took as the biggest compliment one could give.
Because of the energy provided by the meals and his most recent breakthrough, Ace only took three days to make a full recovery, at which point he made his way back to the lion for round two.
Though Ace's recovery was sped up by the heaven-defying meal he had consumed a few days prior, the vitality of a magical beast was always superior to that of a human, let alone a Divine Beast on the level of the lion.
When Ace made his return, the regal black lion calmly strolled out of its cave to meet him, not a wound in sight.
Without so much as a sound, it and Ace shot towards each other, resuming their battle exactly from where they left off.
After his breakthrough, all of Ace's physical abilities saw an improvement. Although the difference wasn't huge, and the battle was still extremely difficult, Ace was able to leave on his own at the end of the battle.
From that day on, Ace and the Divine Beast would fight once every few days, and much to the lion's surprise, whether it was its physical abilities or its technical abilities, it was actually improving at a much faster speed than it would when fighting against other beasts. Still, what was even more surprising was that its human opponent seemed to be improving at an even faster speed.
Though it didn't know what haki was, it knew that when Ace's arms and glaive were no longer black in colour, it meant that his opponent was holding back, and yet it still wasn't able to beat Ace.
Through the course of their battles, Ace's [Observation] had taken another step forward, reaching a level that VERY few in his last world, even amongst proficient [Haki] users, had achieved. He had finally comprehended [Future Sight].
With his ability to peer a few seconds into the future, Ace could counter each of the lion's moves before it even made it. It was frustrating to no end, but there appeared to be nothing it could do.
After almost a month, a confident smile appeared on Ace's face as he softly opened his eyes after spending the morning deep in meditation. "It's time."
Hearing that, Amira, who was practicing her swordsmanship not far away, turned to look at her team's leader. "So you're finally willing to have your final fight with that lion?"
Whilst Ace and the lion would normally fight every two or three days, it had now been eight days since their last bout. It was strange, considering Ace had broken through to the fifth rank four days ago, but when asked, he just said that he wanted the next time they fought to be the last, and he would win as convincingly as possible.
"Does that mean you've comprehended it?" Fatty asked as he sat up from lazing on the ground.
Ace didn't speak, but a confident smile hung on his lips as he picked up the glaive lying across his lap.
Now that he had reached the fifth rank, he was finally capable of actually wielding 'Newgate' – the glaive gifted to him by Wukong before he left.
As he skilfully spun the glaive through his fingers, his smile softened. "Are you ready for your first battle, partner?"
The glaive was the real reason he wanted to wait before challenging the lion again. It was a weapon he named after a man he saw as a father figure, a man he respected from the very depths of his heart. He wouldn't allow his first fight with it to be anything short of perfect.
As Ace approached the cave, he was met by the deafening roar of his sparring partner.
"Ooh, looks like you reached the fifth rank as well," Ace noted as he watched the titan-like lion proudly walk towards him, stopping a little over ten meters away. "This will be our last fight before you submit!"
When it heard Ace's last statement, the lion let out a deep and disdainful growl.
Over the last month, the lion's feelings towards the young human had undergone several changes. It went from anger and frustration on their first meeting to respect and even anticipation as it began to enjoy each of their fights, but its pride never faltered.
It couldn't bring itself to even consider submitting to another being, let alone one that was so close to it in strength.
"You don't believe me? Today, I'll show you the real difference between us," Ace said calmly, the corners of his mouth creeping up to form an almost teasing smirk as he raised his left index finger. "One move. In just one move, you'll understand why submitting to me will be the best thing you ever did…
Are you ready?"
Even though it felt disdainful regarding Ace's boastful claim, it also knew that his opponent was stronger than him – albeit only slightly. It couldn't afford not to give Ace his undivided attention.
Seeing the Lion focusing so intently, the smile on Ace's face vanished as he closed his eyes and allowed all distracting thoughts to fade.
As it did, the lion was shocked to find that Ace's presence seemed to disappear. Even though it could clearly see him right in front of him, the rest of its senses failed to locate him. Suddenly a bad feeling arose in its heart as Ace disappeared from his spot.
Ace kicked off against the ground 25 times in an instant allowing him to move at speeds that would've made the him from his previous life gawk in amazement.
Holding 'Newgate' in his right hand, he suddenly appeared directly in front of the dumfounded lion. Whilst it was true that between his breakthrough to the fifth rank and his being able to use [Soru] with 25 kicks, his speed had definitely seen a large improvement, it also had to be remembered that as far as natural physical ability went, Ace could never compare to a genuine Divine Beast.
The improvements they saw with every breakthrough were nothing short of heaven-defying. So although fast, Ace still shouldn't be able to catch a beast like the lion by surprise. But as soon as its eyes failed to keep up with Ace's movements, it was unable to sense him with the rest of its senses allowing Ace to catch it off guard so easily.
But like earlier mentioned, after reaching the fifth rank, its physical abilities were incomparable to what they were before. It was able to remain calm as it prepared to jump back and put some distance between them, but that was where its second surprise came.
As its hindlegs began to bulge in preparation for its escape, it felt the space around it suddenly constrict.
As the tip of Ace's glaive approached the skull of the lion, it felt the compression of space around it getting tighter.
At that moment, the Lion subconsciously believed it was about to be killed, and there was nothing it could do. Looking passed the incoming blade, it noticed that Ace's usual light-hearted smile was no more. Instead, he had an expression of total indifference.
"Submit," Ace commanded. "Or die."
There were no superfluous words. If even after showing it the difference between them now, it still refused to submit to him, Ace would simply kill it and let Julius turn it into a stew.
Whilst most people would resort to all sorts of tricks and tactics to subdue the lion, it could feel that Ace was being completely serious. It was as though Ace was telling him that although he wanted it to follow him, he definitely didn't need him.
Ace watched as what looked like helpless resignation appeared on the lion's face. He didn't take it personally; he understood how proud the lion before him was. For it to not only lose in a fight to someone of the same rank but also be forced to make such a choice had to be exceedingly challenging for it. Still, Ace only chuckled as he lowered his weapon.
"Haha, you know what to do," Ace said as he lifted his empty palm in front of the lion.
He had long since known that for a beast to enter into a bond of equals with a human, they had to be the ones to initiate it.
Though there were other, more forceful methods, Ace didn't want a mindless subordinate who followed him because of some restrictive contract. Instead, he wanted it to follow him because it believed he was worthy.
Seeing Ace's hand, the red-maned lion calmly bit down on the teen's palm, making sure to puncture the skin.
As it let go, Ace then watched as a dense reddish-black light began to emanate from the lion's hulking figure when a drop of fresh blood, a combination of both Ace's and the lion's blood, left the mouth of the Divine Beast.
That blood suddenly transformed into two opposite, interlocking triangles, which the reddish-black light merged with, forming a strange magical formation that gave off an overbearing aura.
The strange magical formation separated into two halves. One entering Ace's, and the other entering the lion's body.
Upon entering Ace's body, the barrier surrounding his soul was about to act to destroy the foreign spiritual essence when the miniature translucent 'Ace' opened its eyes. The barrier shockingly became docile, allowing Ace's half of the formation to enter his spiritual sea successfully.
Though he was still unable to use inner sight to take a look at his spiritual sea, Ace knew that the barrier around his soul could pose a problem, but when he felt the connection between him and the lion, he knew it had worked.
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Book 4 - Chapter 24