109 A Sudden Visit to a Certain Character: Chapter 107

For the last time, Hamil had one last thing to do before he would leave the kingdom.

That will all start when he would come to meet a certain protagonist. Leaving that character with a message that he would expect will leave a mark for this person.

A mark.

A message.

A sign that he was weak…too weak to do anything for his friends and family…

Hamil had to remind him what it truly means to have a goal for strength.

So by now, as he stood in front of the boy who laid in bed with his unconscious will and unsavored spirit, he wondered when would Arthur notice…

"..."His gaze was ever unmoving. For the midnight that came, where no one was here to assist Arthur, the thought of simply ending the protagonist came to his mind. Arthur was helpless in his state..and no one would ever figure out that he was gone the next day.

"…" But that thought was quickly thrown away like the garbage that it was.

Arthur was still unconscious since his fight with the demon. Where he laid inside one of the beds of the medical resting room in the Academy. Licia was here about most of the time of day, watching over Arthur with her caring attitude. But after 10 PM, she finally left the room to go to her home outside of the academy in request of her worrying family. It wouldn't be wise to simply stay the night knowing that what happened yesterday was too much for some students and especially to some Parents of renowned nobles. So by their request, Licia had to leave the academy that night.

With Licia gone, it was the perfect time to move…

"...Arthur, I know you can hear me so listen well."

"What do you think would happen if I pierce a spear right down your throat. I wonder if its enough to make you wake up Arthur." as he said these words, a thick essence of killing intent was expelling outside of Hamil's gaze and presence. It was very much like that of a monster who came to devour a helpless prey.

The moment he finished his threat, a small glimpse of his eye was open and Arthur could see the ceiling of the room.

"..." his eye leaned to where Hamil was standing…but as he looked, what he could only ever see was the sight of a fully cloaked man in black.

"...who are you?" he said this in such a low tone of voice where to a point, weakness could be sensed.

Their eyes meet and by then, Hamil approached him with a spear reaching to Arthur's neck.

"...Hello Arthur." greeted Hamil in his soft but cold voice.

"..."But Arthur could not recognize him at all because of the change of his image. What he was only seeing right now was the same image of a shadowy figure in the corner of his eye.

"Why did you lose Arthur? Why did you fall by the hands of the demon? Why didn't you fight him with your best on the line?"

"..." but Arthur could only look with a curious gaze.

"Was it because you were scared of showing them you blood?"

"..."

"Your origin?"

"..."

"...Your true power?"

"..."

Hamil leaned forward his ear and whispered for the last time.

"...Your Dryad's blood?"

"!?"

Those words fully awoke Arthur from his somber state to a point that in a half of a second, the bed broke because of a show of immense exfoliation of the power from Arthur's rage.

The explosion of power caused Hamil to step back and watch as Arthur rose from his weak self.

"Well well well, Looks like someones awake." he said this with a smile on his face.

The presence that Arthur showed was one that felt divine… one that would make anyone kneel. But Hamil simply stood to smile at his show of power…because it wasn't enough to make everyone kneel.

"Who are you!?" Said Arthur in his maddened tone.

And in response to that, Hamil showed his face to him. He lowered the shadow skin down to his throat and revealed the look of a man who was ever so ready to take him on.

"!?" Arthur was surprised by this.

"Why…no, How!? How did you know about my blood?" instead of wondering why Hamil was here in this room, he wondered how he was able to figure out the identity that Arthur had hidden from everyone, especially from his friends and love ones.

"That does not matter Arthur." Hamil said in his ever so cold tone while putting back his shadow skin to his full state.

"..."

After Hamil spoke, he dashes to Arthur with his spear ever so blackened with its shadow. But as he came close, Arthur brought out his sword and countered against the strike with his parry.

*THANG!*

The two metals crashed and both were staggered by the force that they carried. But in a quick succession, Hamil pushed forward with his spear yet again and this time, Arthur did not have a chance to block his attack.

With a burst of energy, Hamil lunged forward, extending his weapon's formidable reach. The razor-sharp tip of the spear aimed directly at Arthur's chest. Swiftly, he sidestepped, narrowly evading the lethal strike. He countered with a rapid series of precise sword strikes, aiming for Hamil's vulnerable spots. But Hamil skillfully deflected each blow with the length of his spear, maintaining distance.

He felt it…those attacks weren't heavy enough…meaning that Arthur was hesitating. And in that moment of thought, the battle continued.

Not one to be outmaneuvered, Arthur changed his approach. He closed in with blinding speed, weaving and feinting, trying to get inside Hamil's guard. With a wind-like motion, Arthur launched a flurry of wind slashes, aimed at overwhelming Hamil's defenses. However, Hamil showcased his experiences in his battles, deftly parrying and countering the wind strikes, exploiting the reach advantage of his weapon.

Persevering through the attacks, Arthur decided leaped back, creating some space between them. He assessed the situation, searching for a weakness in Hamil's defenses. Suddenly, he noticed a slight hesitation in Hamil's movements, a brief opening. Seizing this opportunity, Arthur came forward, aiming a precise thrust towards the Hamil's chest.

Yet, Hamil's quick reflexes saved him once again. He swiftly lowered his grip on the spear, using its length to parry the thrust aside. As Arthur's attack failed, Hamil didn't hesitated and unleashed a rapid counter-attack. With a powerful thrust, he aimed for Arthur's legs, attempting to disrupt his balance.

'I got you!' Hamil hurried.

But Arthur, relying on his agility, leaped into the air, evading the spear's deadly point by a hair's breadth. That deadly point was so powerful, that despite it hitting air in the room, it cause a shock of force that caused the walls of the room to crack in its collision.

*Boom*

In mid-air, he spun, bringing his sword down with incredible force, Hamil raised his weapon in time, blocking the powerful strike. That strike itself caused Hamil to carelessly burry his feet down to the ground.

The clash of steel reverberated across the room, signaling the intensity of their duel. The fighters continued their intricate spirit and will, each maneuvering, parrying, and attacking with fluidity and precision. Arthur with his swift slashes were met with Hamil's careful blocks and thrusts, as they pushed each other to their limits.

Minutes has only passed in the room and as they fought with unwavering determination. Their movements were a mesmerizing display of skill, blending offense and defense seamlessly. The room was alive with the sound of clashing weapons, the swirling dust, and the grunts of exertion.

" haa….haaa…haa"

"..."

Both were tired…but unwilling to give up.

But finally, in a moment of vulnerability, Arthur executed a masterful feint, luring Hamil into committing to a wide swing. With lightning speed, Arthur sidestepped and delivered a swift, decisive strike to Hamil's exposed flank.

*Clank!*

But to his shock, his blade was met with an invisible wall…something that was blocking his strike down to cut Hamil.

In that chance, Hamil strikes again with a powerful thrust of his spear.

It was powerful enough to push Arthur out of the building. He was forcefully crashed out of the medical room and onto the open stage of an empty floor. Without nothing to stand on because of him being placed in the higher floors of the academy, he started to fall from the side of the building.

"!!" He panic for a bit but quickly stationed himself to a calm state. And with his mastery towards his element to use the winds, he stood his ground midair.

"..." Hamil simply stood and watched as Arthur tried to gather his thoughts in this matter.

'Why would he do this?…why would he attack me?!' to question why Hamil did this, Arthur knew that he had to immobilize him down until he could not do anything to Arthur himself. And knowing his current knowledge about Hamil's strength and ability, he was a bit confident in taking him down without fully causing any major damages to the area or Hamil himself.

"You won't get any answers from me Arthur…not until you can satisfy me with your worth." as Hamil said this, he created a mana sword out of thin air and jumped out of the building to dash down on Arthur. With both a sword and a spear on hand, it showed that Hamil was fully pushing on the offensive. Arthur saw this and readied himself to take on Hamil.

One thing to know about Arthur is that his mark of the Elemental Wind king which was given to him by Emurteus, as it was the recognition of knowing that he had the right to be the next elemental king to carry on the kingdom of the wind. And despite it being a very honorable mark and power to be bestowed upon, it wasn't his first ability to be gained. The first thing that he was able to attain in his entire life was "The Blood of the Divine Dryad". a gift given to him by his foster father who raised him since he was a small infant who was founded in the middle of the woods.

His Father was a Divine Dryad who had the ability to be forever immortal because of his blood. But because of his race as a Dryad…not just any Dryad, but a Divine Dryad, he and the rest of his clan was hunted down by the demons who craved such immortality. The main factor being their blood as the source of their immortality. This was the reason that Arthur wasn't able to fight the demon on hand with his Dryad Abilities…because if he showed it to a demon who was an S-rank, he would have no chance of surviving against such a fight, so he had to fight with his second ability which was to manipulate the winds by his mark.

The Blood of a Divine Dryad has a lot of benefits. One being that it has a strong manipulation towards one's ability to regenerate and heal. So even if Arthur were to lose an arm, he could easily grow an arm. And to go even further beyond, he could also grow back his own heart or even his head if lost in a battle.

Another factor is his great compatibility with nature as a whole. And it meant that he could manipulate trees and the callings of the beast in them, as well as the spirits and the natural aspects of nature as a whole.

And being a divine existence, he has a right to the holy aspect of the elements, making him a danger to the demons and all other dark monsters.

It was supposed to be a secret hidden from his friends and families…

But for some reason, this boy who came out of nowhere, knew of this…and Arthur wanted answers.

Without a second to falter, he flies to Hamil with a great force behind him. Bringing out his power to create the holy element. Mending it to the nature of his already holy sword, White Scale.

*THANG!*

And again, they crashed to one another and caused a collision of great power.

With the white scale going against Apolo who was clad in its nature of fear, Arthur thought that Hamil would slowly be pushed back because of his nature as a Dark Element, but to his surprise, it seemed as though his Holy Element and White scale combined did nothing to Hamil's spear. But it did do something to Hamil's shadow skin who continued to sink back to Hamil's body everytime it comes in distance with Arthur's holy Element.

But despite Hamil losing his armor, he swung his mana sword without fear of Arthur's attacks.

*Swing*

With a precise swing down directed at Arthur's eye, Hamil was able to cause Arthur to back away to heal. With Arthur escaping, Hamil had to jump back and pierce his spear down to the side of the building.

"...Ahh, you bastard!" he said as he holds his injured face, waiting for it to naturally heal.

In that moment of healing, Arthur noticed that Hamil didn't attack.

It didn't take a full five seconds and already Arthur was fully healed but he looked to Hamil with his spear already producing an attack. Lightning was coming out of his spear as if it was luring Arthur's gaze and telling him to ready himself.

"You better ready yourself Arthur, cause this one's going to hurt." as Hamil warned Arthur, his lightning spiked in power to a point that it began to merge well with Hamil as well. Both dark and a flashing light was within his form…causing Arthur to worry of what might happen if Hamil were to get a clear hit on him.

So in retaliation to this form of attack, He brought out his mark of acknowledgement from the wind king and there, a gust of great winds began to gather on him. The winds formed into a cyclone surrounding the sword and some came to form an image of a wing as gallant as that of a griffon.

The cyclone sword was so fierce and ravaging that it caused the surrounding area to take damage. Some rooftiles were getting ripped apart and the windows were shaking ever so wildly, as this was the show of his power as one who claimed to have the ability to control the winds.

Both powers were charging and bot kings were waiting for the first one to make a move.

"You're going to die if you don't back off!" warned Arthur as he was sure that his attack was going to be superior.

"..." but all Hamil did was stare at the ever growing power of Arthur's attack.

'...That isn't enough.' he thought as he could see that Arthur was still at its weak point. His attack wouldn't be enough to take down an S-rank Demon.

".…" so to send a message, Hamil expelled and over-creeping amount of bloodlust towards Arthur…and with that, he increased the size and power of the lightning to a point that it turned its color to a fearful image. Black lightning.

"!!" Arthur was shocked.

'How could someone of his age produce that amount of power!?' his mind bugled by this show of power.

But that didn't stop Arthur. Not one bit. Despite this massive show of fear from Hamil's intent and presence, Arthur gritted his teeth and simply move forward to attack.

He did not stop…not for fear nor for his doubting mind. His body simply moved by his will.

And just like that, in a quick melee-second, he vanished from thin air.

*Bom*

Assisted by the winds, he flew straight at Hamil.

*Bom!*

And so did Hamil who vanished the same way as Arthur did on the side of the building.

A second passes and by then…nothing occurred.

And instead, what came after the two was a show of an unexpected guess.

"...My, students shouldn't be up at this time. Its clearly past your curfew." this old man's voice suddenly came to echo in the ear of both Hamil and Arthur.

""!?"" and before they could say anything, out showed an old man who was holding on to the tip of Arthur's sword and the other hand which was holding on to the wrist of Hamil who was giving a glaring reaction to the Old man's presence. Both were being stopped in midair.

"...Head Principal." out said Arthur as he was shocked by his sudden show.

"Now then, why are you kids awake at this hour?" as the Head principal spoke, they were suddenly moved from the air to the ground in a blink of an eye.

"...Principal." Hamil was cautious of his sudden arrival.

As it may not have been weird for Hamil to notice his presence, it was weird that it took the principal just now to intervene in this battle. Meaning that the principal was actually watching from afar on their battle.

It only took him to make a move now since they were going to release on of their strongest attacks that might be devastating to a part of the academy.

""..."" both were silent in saying anything. With Arthur who didn't want to speak because he had every right to since he didn't start the fight and Hamil who simply did not want to explain himself…not to Arthur and especially not to the Head Principal.

"I see…so both of you do not plan on saying a word, very well."

With that he lets go of their arm and weapon.

"By tomorrow, I want you two to come to my office. By then, you should have the courage to explain yourselves. And also, the damages done today will be added to your accounts." said the Principal as he smiled so slyly.

"Now then, you two better go to your homes now and rest. No more fighting, Are we clear?"

"Yes." only Arthur answered back.

By then, the head principal leisurely walks away into the academy. Leaving the two on their own.

"..." Hamil simply stayed quiet while Arthur was looking to Hamil with a glaring look.

"...Why did you attack me?" asked Arthur.

"..." but Hamil continued to stay silent.

"What was your reason for doing all of this? And how did you know about my blood?"

"...Your weak Arthur…that's all there was." as Hamil spoke those words, he started walking out of Arthur's way.

"...What?" Arthur was caught off guard by his words…by his answer. To a point that he could not let Hamil go so easily, so he tried to block his way.

"...Get out of the way." said Hamil in his cold tone.

"No, you clearly aren't making any sense…tell me, what makes you think that I was weak?" Arthur asked genuinely.

"..." But Hamil didn't answered and simply continued on his way, bumping on Arthur's shoulder and passing him by as if Hamil could not care any less for his presence at all.

"Wait!" but this time, Arthur held on to Hamil's shoulder willingly.

"..." Hamil leaned to look back at the hand that was holding on.

"...Let go." as Hamil said this, Arthur was only ever furious by his request, that it made him grip on harder to Hamil's shoulder.

But as he did, a sudden cold feeling grow in Hamil's presence.

And in a blink of an eye, Arthur was suddenly feeling this heavy force making its way from the whole left side of is body. As if he was being crushed and pushed away by a big hand.

Before he knew it, he was sent flying and crashing down to the fountain of the academy.

*Boom!*

Lying by the ruined fountain, his eyes darted to Hamil's figure, only to see that by his side was a Golem who was suddenly there.

'...What the.' by then, he was getting groggy...and when he came to blink his eyes, Hamil and the Golem were gone from his sight.

That night, Arthur was simply confused by everything that happened.