The dust hanging in the air slowly began to settle.
But the tension surrounding the courtyard hadn't faded at all.
Rudeus walked forward, his steps slow and steady as he approached the white-haired man standing among the rubble.
His eyes studied Boros carefully.
'This guy is reckless,' he thought, letting out a quiet chuckle.
'When I attacked him earlier, I aimed for a fatal strike to the chest. If it landed, it would've shattered his ribs... maybe even damaged his heart enough to knock him unconscious.'
Rudeus' gaze narrowed slightly.
'But at the last second...He redirected the punch. Guided it toward his head instead.'
'And took it head-on...Even though he could've dodged it by the skin of his teeth if he tried.'
A faint grin formed on Rudeus' face.
'What an insane bastard.'
"You know?" Boros suddenly called out, interrupting Rudeus' thoughts.
"I fought a guy in the forest earlier today."
Rudeus kept walking.
"But he died," Boros continued casually. "Shame too... he had an interesting weapon."
Rudeus stopped about four feet away from him.
"Died?" he repeated calmly.
His eyes locked onto Boros.
"Then I'll assume that you-"
"Yeah," Boros said, tilting his head slightly.
"I killed him."
A brief silence followed.
Rudeus let out a quiet breath.
"Confessing to murder in front of a Guild officer..." he said, pointing at Boros.
"You've got some nerve. I'll give you that."
Boros grinned wider.
"All this conviction..." he said mockingly.
"Do you suddenly hate me because I killed someone?"
He shrugged.
"Or is it because of your duty to uphold justice?"
Boros chuckled.
"It makes no sense."
"You're reckless," Rudeus replied.
Then he suddenly moved forward, closing the distance with quick, deliberate steps.
"I've been told that a lot!" Boros shouted.
Boros' feet slid across the stone as he dropped into a fighting stance.
A grin stretched across his face.
"Come on then!" he shouted.
The courtyard went silent.
For a moment-
Neither of them moved.
Then Boros exploded forward. The ground cracked under his step as he closed the distance in a blur, his fist tearing through the air toward Rudeus' head.
Gasps rippled through the watching adventurers.
"Too fast-"
But Rudeus didn't move.
At the last possible moment, he shifted his body slightly to the side.
Boros' punch tore past his face, missing by inches.
Before Boros could react-
TAP.
Rudeus' fingers struck Boros' wrist.
The impact redirected the rest of the punch harmlessly into the air.
Then-
THUD.
A sharp strike slammed into Boros' ribs.
The air burst from his lungs.
Before he could recover-
CRACK!
Rudeus' fist snapped upward into Boros' jaw.
Boros staggered back several steps, boots scraping across the stone.
The entire exchange had taken less than a second.
Silence swallowed the courtyard.
One of the veteran adventurers whispered under his breath.
"...Three strikes."
Another swallowed.
"He didn't even take a full step."
Dust drifted through the air as Boros slowly straightened up.
Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
Then-
He started laughing again.
"HAHAHA!"
He wiped the blood away with his thumb. His grin widened as he looked back at Rudeus.
"Good."
His eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Do it again."
"Gladly," Rudeus replied.
Boros rushed forward again, swinging another heavy punch.
Rudeus slipped past it effortlessly and moved to strike Boros' wrist-
But Boros pulled the arm back suddenly and drove his elbow forward.
CRACK!
The blow smashed into Rudeus' nose.
Rudeus jumped back a step.
A thin line of blood trickled down as he casually adjusted it with his fingers.
"You landed a hit," he said, wiping the blood away.
Then a faint smirk appeared on his face.
"This might not end up being a waste of my time after all."
His eyes sharpened as he stared at Boros.
"Let's get serious."
Boros grinned wider.
"Sure thing."
"Sir!" one of the nearby adventurers suddenly shouted. "You can't possibly be serious about fighting him like that!"
"Yeah!" another added quickly. "He already barely escaped death!"
"We must not wake the Guildmaster under any circumstances!" a veteran adventurer said urgently.
"There are several A-Rank adventurers on ground today. Just give the orders and we'll take him into custody." He glared toward Boros.
"A-Rank?" Rudeus chuckled softly.
Then his expression hardened.
"If you don't want to die..."
"...evacuate the headquarters. Now."
As he spoke, he clenched his fists.
His muscles tightened.
Veins bulged across his arms and shoulders as his already massive frame seemed to swell even larger.
He cracked his neck once.
Then he lunged.
Rudeus appeared in front of Boros in an instant.
Both fists drew back-
Then exploded forward.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Punches rained down like a storm. Each strike sounded like a shotgun blast tearing through the air.
The barrage continued relentlessly.
Five seconds.
Ten seconds.
Fifteen.
In that short span of time, countless punches had been thrown.
The courtyard was swallowed in dust. The watching adventurers stared in stunned silence.
Only one thought ran through their minds.
"He's really dead this time."
The dust slowly began to settle.
Rudeus looked forward.
Standing there-
Was Boros.
A manic grin stretched across his face.
One arm hung loosely at his side.
The other was raised in front of him.
Every punch...Blocked.
His body completely unharmed.
"H-He blocked it...?" one of the veteran adventurers whispered.
"That's impossible..."
Boros rolled his shoulders slightly.
"You said to go all out," he mocked.
"So what the hell was that puny attack?"
Rudeus stared at him calmly.
"I had hoped I wouldn't need to go further for your sake."
His eyes flicked downward briefly.
"You call it puny..."
"...and yet your hands are shaking."
Boros glanced down.
Then slowly rolled his wrists.
A grin crept across his face again.
"My turn."
Boros planted his foot hard into the ground.
The stone beneath him cracked. He clenched his fist and pulled his arm back-
'A punch?' Rudeus thought, narrowing his eyes.
Boros swung.
A feint.
Rudeus reacted instantly, shifting to block-
-but that movement opened his guard.
SLAM!!
Boros' leg whipped upward and crashed into Rudeus' jaw.
The impact snapped his head to the side and sent him stumbling-
Boros didn't let him breathe.
A second strike followed immediately-
A brutal kick to the chest.
BOOM!!
Rudeus was launched backward-
CRASH!!!
A nearby structure collapsed as his body tore through it, debris exploding outward.
Dust swallowed everything.
Boros was already moving.
He stepped forward and swung his arm once-
The air itself parted, clearing the dust in front of him.
His eyes narrowed.
"...Where the hell did he go?"
"OVER HERE!!"
The voice came from above.
Boros looked up-
Rudeus was already descending, both fists locked together, crashing down like a falling hammer.
Boros jumped back just as-
BOOM!!
The ground shattered beneath the impact.
The instant Rudeus landed-
he moved.
No pause. No hesitation.
He drove forward, planting his foot and throwing his fist-
BANG!!
Their punches collided mid-air.
The sound cracked like thunder.
Then-
They exploded into motion.
No defense. No restraint. Only violence.
Fists slammed into ribs. Elbows crashed into jaws. Knees drove into torsos. Strikes landed on skulls, chests, thighs-
Neither man blocked. Neither man stepped back. They attacked. Relentlessly.
Every blow aimed to kill.
"We need to stop this..." Kinuko said, her voice tight as she watched the clash.
"There's nothing we can do," Akeno replied.
"What do you mean-"
"Do you plan on getting between them?!" Akeno snapped, cutting her off.
Kinuko froze.
Back in the battlefield-
Rudeus' fists hammered into the side of Boros' head again and again-
Boros answered with crushing body blows, driving his fists into Rudeus' chest, slamming knees into his ribs whenever he found an opening.
Then-
Boros suddenly slid back.
A small gap formed between them.
He wiped his nose. Blood stained his fingers.
Rudeus exhaled slowly.
"Did you know," he said calmly, "the chin is the most effective place to strike if you want to knock someone unconscious?"
His eyes locked onto Boros.
"It seems my hits are starting to take effect."
Boros straightened.
A grin crept across his face.
"Sorry to disappoint you..."
He flicked the blood from his hand.
"...but I'm not bleeding because of you."
Rudeus' gaze sharpened.
"...Is that so?"
"Then why are you bleeding?"
Boros rolled his shoulders and dropped back into stance.
"Let's just say..." he muttered, "...it's the consequence of my actions."
Rudeus' expression didn't change.
He stepped forward slightly, mirroring the stance.
"Let me guess," he said. "You killed someone."
Boros' grin widened.
"You sure you're not a detective?"
"Tch... damn bastard."
Rudeus suddenly drove his hand into the ground-
CRACK!!
Stone shattered as he tore up a massive chunk of earth and hurled it forward.
The boulder shot toward Boros at insane speed.
Boros twisted-
It barely missed him.
Wind pressure tore past his face.
"You really just tried to kill me..."
His expression changed. The grin disappeared. His eyes hardened.
"...you're dead."