The Monarch.

"Y-You are not any righteous man, you are a monster! A cold bloo-"

*Whoosh*

*Thud*

Another man tried to shout but got the same result, having his head severed by one of Ace's wind blades.

"Alright, though the righteousness that flows within me is immeasurably deep, it does have a flaw. It sinks pretty quickly. I have been gracious enough to offer you some mercy but since you don't value it, I will change my offer now.

The only one who tells me what I want to know will live, rest all,

Will Die." Ace stated.

"Bah! Just do whatever you want, I know you will kill us all anyway, it won't matter if we tell you or not, so just kill us" Lord Valent rebutted.

"Oh? Does that mean you are giving up?" Ace questioned with a smile.

"Of course I am, your magic is very powerful, I can't win against it. Unfortunately, I was born as a Lion-kin. We people focus on strengthening our body since we have a bad aptitude for magic so there is no way for me to fight against you.

But I am a warrior, a proud warrior, so I would rather die than to sell out my comrades, so just kill me and be done with it, I am not afraid of you!" Valent announced.

"So you are giving up huh…" Ace muttered. Seeing that, Valent's expression changed a little, he showed a bit of fear.

"But… why does it sound like you are saying that you could beat me if it weren't for my magic?" Ace questioned and as soon as he did, a slight smirk appeared on Valent's face before it disappeared quickly.

"Is that even a question? Of course, I won't lose to you if it weren't for that magic of yours!" Valent claimed as if a matter of fact.

"Oh? How about we test that theory of yours?" Ace suggested with a smile.

"Haa? You want to fight me without magic? Do you really think you can win?" Valent provoked with a smirk.

"Of course I can. There is no way trash like you can defeat me" Ace answered with a smile as he lifted his arm and pointed towards Valent, "Come"

'I knew it! He is one of those arrogant young masters who think they are above all and doesn't put anyone in their eyes. Hah! One just needs to provoke him a little and he will give them an opportunity to kill him. What a fool!'

Thinking that Valent rushed towards Ace with his giant hammer in his hand.

"Heh! I guess we are saved because of his arrogance! He actually challenged Lord Valent in a physical fight! What a fool!" One of the black-robed people whispered.

"I know right! Even we, with our magic, can't defeat Lord Valent, how can he do it without magic? There's no way any human can possibly defeat a Lion kin in a physical fight"

"Hahaha! That's what you get for being overly arrogant"

"Yup! He will be crushed to death before he knows it!"

"Now Die!" Valent roared as he swings his hammer with all his might. With his huge body of 2.4 meters combined with the weight of the hammer, the force accompanying the hammer looked deadly, as if it could crush everything in this world, but just as the hammer was about to land on Ace, he moved back a step and dodged easily.

*Bam*

"Heh...? Is that all you got?" Ace questioned with a casual look.

"You'll know what I got soon enough!" Valent's mouth twitched as he lifted the hammer and swung it again only to get the same result.

"You are pretty slow for someone who trained his body since childhood huh…" Ace muttered leisurely.

"You bastard! Ahhh!" Valent cried in anger before lifting his hammer again, and again, and then again and again.

But no matter how many times he swung that hammer or no matter how much force he puts into it, his giant hammer never even managed to touch Ace's shadow. This whole time, Ace was standing leisurely with his hands behind his back as he comments randomly.

"You can do better than that, right?"

"C'mon, don't disappoint me! Aren't you a lion kin, a race known for its strength? Or are you just a bottom feeder there?"

"Ahhhh! I'll kill you!"

"Yeah, that was better. You improved, congratulations! If you keep going by this rate, then maybe if you continue this for about another 100 years and you might touch my clothes… but, that would be considering that I don't improve at all... so it should take more time than that...

but what if I stop my growth? Maybe that will help... but even though I do it, I don't think I can stop it completely, after all, if I keep dodging your attacks for 100 years then I will improve no matter I want it or not.

So maybe my theory is flawed... but if that's the case... then how long would it take for you to defeat me? Maybe if we double the time?

But for that, I will have to stay here for around 200 years. Let alone Gracie, even Maeve, who is generally understanding, would kill me if I do that, so it makes this all unfeasible..." Ace nodded to himself analyzing the whole situation, and the worst part about it was that he looked like he actually was thinking earnestly about ways in which Valent could win only to come up with nothing. Of course, he was dodging Valent's attack simultaneously.

"DIE!" Maybe Valent didn't like his analyses so he swung his hammer again with all his strength only to dodged by Ace, again.

*Bam*

The hammer struck the ground but right now, Valent didn't have any strength left to pick it up. He was tired and out of breath while his whole body was covered in sweat but, he was still glaring at Ace with a gaze full of hatred and killing intent.

"You… Ha… ha… I am going to… ha… kill you…"

"Nope, not happening" Ace replied as if concluding his analyses before his gaze turned cold and he stepped on the hammer before kicking Valent's face, causing him to fly back before falling on the ground. He then walked towards Valent before kicking him again.

"Is that it? Does the great Lord Valant only amount to this much? What an utter disappointment" Ace muttered as he casually walked towards Valant before kicking his face ruthlessly.

"C'mon! What happened? Didn't you try so hard just to make me fight without magic?" Ace mocked as he kicked again.

"Didn't they say that there was no way a human could defeat a lion kin in a fist fight?" Ace spoke as he glanced at the black-robed guys.

"Why aren't you saying anything now? Aren't you the proud warrior? Where's your pride now?" Ace kicked again, causing Valent's body to fly back again.

By now, Valent already understood that he was no match for Ace, so before Ace could come close to him again, he tried to stand up and make a run for it.

"Where do you think you are going?" When he saw that, Ace smiled and questioned before he quickly appeared near him and stepped on his right knee.

*Crack*

"AAAAGHHH!" Valent screeched in pain as his right knee shattered due to impact but Ace didn't stop and stepped on the other knee before shattering it as well.

*Crack*

"AAAGHHHHHH!!"

Ace then kicked his face again, his body flew back yet again.

"Hahaha! What happened proud warrior? Why are crawling away? Weren't you going to fight me? I too am very interested to know how strong the lion kin actually are, c'mon, fight me!" Ace laughed as he saw the fearful look on Valent's face as he was walking close to him and now since his both legs were broken, the only way for Valent to try and avoid Ace was to crawl his way to the exit.

But this time, Ace didn't stop him, he laughed as he saw Valent crawling away. Rather than stopping him, he was enjoying Valent's tormented face. He was enjoying torturing him, mentally and physically.

As they saw this, the black-robed men gulped in fear. This was the first time they saw the real Ace Vorste.

The Monarch.