The Author's POV

'Aren't they overreacting a little?'

The way the three of them were looking at Octavious was rather odd. It was as if they were staring at some sort of god.

'I wonder what reaction they'll have when I do the same...'

I was just about to do that when I suddenly stopped and my eyes opened wide.

'Why does his body possess the Akashic Laws… and why can I feel them?'

My gaze was fixed on the murky white substance that was enveloping Octavious. It gave me a very familiar feeling.

Boom—!

I put very little pressure on the ground as the area beneath me began to collapse into a crater. When I looked up, Octavious was staring at me with a blank expression on his face.

The strength he was exerting was indeed <S-> rank, but the most shocking part was the white mist that was covering his body.

It made his power soar all the way toward <S+> rank.

Boom—!

He wasn't a man of many words.

Arching his back, he threw a fist my way, splitting the air in the process. I took a look down at his approaching fist, and then I punched out with the same level of strength as he had.

…I needed to get a better grasp of his strength and the white mist that was covering his body. I had a feeling that I was about to unearth a very big secret.

The aftermath of our two fists colliding was anything but beautiful. The warehouse collapsed, completely destroying the ground beneath it.

Octavious showed a surprised look at the fact that I was able to block the attack and threw another fist. I retaliated in kind.

Booom—!

I took a few steps back and stared at my hand, which was covered in a cloudy white substance. For some reason, in that collusion, small parts of it entered my body.

'This power…'

I wasn't wrong. This was indeed the Akashic law, and my eyes couldn't help but widen at the realization.

'Why does Octavious have this sort of power? …Shouldn't it just be Kevin who can wield such power?'

The more I reflected on it, the more concerned I became about the situation. Things were going in a direction that was completely outside my expectations.

"Is this really all you have?"

Octavious's voice rang from behind me, and I felt a powerful blow land on the right side of my abdomen. Shortly after, my vision blurred, and I seemed to have crashed against the remains of the warehouse.

Despite that, I was in no major pain. If anything, my heart hurt after seeing the state that my warehouse was in.

I slowly stood up and patted my body clean.

'Damned bastard.'

***

The sounds of explosions continued to echo from a great distance away. The ground began to shake, and the air began to twist. The entire plain was thrown into disarray just from the aftershocks caused by the collision between the two.

If not for the barrier that surrounded the place, Edward was afraid that their conflict would implicate the nearby city.

"Never in my life did I believe that someone could reach <S> rank…"

The shock that Edward was going through right now was unlike any other he had experienced in the past.

Before his eyes, he was gazing at two 'beings' who had surpassed what was deemed to be possible.

"I understand Octavious… but someone else?"

If there was anyone that could've reached such rank, Edward believed it would be Octavious.

He could accept that…

But how come there was someone else who was capable of achieving such power? Moreover, he looked to be the same as his daughter.

'Do people who reach such rank grow younger?'

It was the only explanation he could think of.

Boom—!

"Amanda, come here!"

After hearing the sound of another explosion, Edward moved quickly toward Amanda in order to shield her from the aftereffects of the collision between the two.

"Ugh."

He let out a groan and took several steps back.

"This is too much…"

Concerned, he cast a worried glance around the place. There were still people there from the Green Claw Guild laying on the ground in addition to the members of his guild.

He was afraid that they'd be implicated in the conflict between the two.

He grit his teeth and looked at Amanda.

"For now, help me collect all of our members and place them in the furthest part of the barrier."

"What about you?"

Amanda asked, her voice tinged with worry.

"Don't worry about me."

Edward reassured, caressing her head. Looking toward the battlefield in the distance, he murmured.

"If I'm careful, I should be able to survive…"

***

I felt a light breeze brush past me, and then I saw a fist coming closer to my face. I ducked my head to the side and sidestepped the punch that was coming my way.

After that, I gently pressed my hand against his stomach, and his entire body shot off into the distance.

I didn't bother following up as I once again focused my attention on my hand. The opaque white substance that had been surrounding it before was even thicker. When I clenched and unclenched my fist, I could feel that I had some degree of control over the power.

'Why is that?'

Was this something that Kevin had planned for me?

Somehow, as I stared at the newfound power, I felt that the more I fought against Octavious, the more I could grasp it.

I turned my head to look at Octavious before taking a step forward. I was in front of him in a matter of seconds, at which point I threw a gentle punch in his general direction.

Boom—!

He counterattacked with his own punch, but in the end, he was the one who was pushed back several steps.

'There it is!'

When Octavious and I parted ways, that was when I noticed a thin white thread moving away from him and linking toward me.

'Fascinating...'

Unaware of what was happening, Octavious's face, which had been expressionless up until that point, became a little more surprised, and his eyes became a little clearer.

"How are you this powerful? This shouldn't be possible? I… I thought they told me there was no one else capable of fighting against me…"

In response to his words, I wrinkled my brows. I was making slow but steady progress toward a better comprehension of the mystery that Kevin wanted me to solve.

"Who is this they?"

I asked while standing squarely in front of him once more. As soon as he saw me, his foot came flying toward my face, but I was easily able to avoid it while lightly kicking his foot and causing him to stagger back several steps.

'It seems like the more I touch him, the more I can control this Akashic law?'

As we fought, I was dumbfounded by the fact that I was gradually absorbing the hazy white that was enveloping Octavious and that he also appeared to be displaying an increasing number of emotions at the same time...

Was this a link? Was the hazy white liquid the reason why he couldn't display emotions?

Boom—!

I continued to punch, kick, or even headbutt. I used every part of my body to fight him, and my assumptions soon turned out to be correct.

With each punch, kick, slap, and headbutt I delivered... his power began to dwindle while the opaque white substance I was able to control began to grow. Not only that, Ovtavious's eyes began to become progressively clearer.

It was as if he was starting to become normal again… If that made any sense?

Boom—!

"How are you this strong!? It shouldn't be possible?!"

Octavious shouted with a shocked expression. Long gone was his apathetic and calm look. What replaced it was a man who was filled with emotions.

It was at this moment that I came to get a better understanding of what was going on, and my expression turned grim.

Easily dodging his fist, I extended my hand forward and grasped his shoulder. I thought I heard a small cracking sound, but it was probably just my ears. I ignored his contorting face and closed my eyes.

"Hm?"

While I was carefully sensing the Akashic Laws that were revolving around his body, I soon noticed a small white orb in the middle of his body and tried to absorb it. The orb seemed to be thick in Akashic laws.

"What are you doing?!"

I paid no attention to Octavious's shouts and instead kept my attention on the small ball that was located inside of his body. My expression, on the other hand, changed as time went on, and I quickly released my grip on his body.

"Oh sh—!

Booom—!

My body was struck by a powerful force, and as a result, I was propelled a great distance away. Crashing against the ground, I felt several of my bones break as my body spasmed on the ground.

"Ukh"

This time l truly felt it.

The pain was terrible, but I was already used to the pain. It was one of my many friends.

I deliberately shut my eyes and took a long, deep breath before slowly raising my body so that I could look into the distance.

In there, I was able to catch a glimpse of Octavious laying on the ground, unconscious. His entire body was trembling, and I forced myself to stand.

I inched my way closer and closer in his general direction. Because of what just happened, I was able to verify something.

"Ukh."

I let out a small groan while stumbling forward.

'The power Octavious wields…'

I gritted my teeth and forced myself to come to a stop in front of him. After I had fallen to my knees, I reached forward with both hands and grabbed his head.

'…It's the same as Kevin's.'

A white glow dyed my vision.