In just a second, commotion broke across the duel arena.

The people of Wayan could be seen running away while screaming at the top of their lungs, none daring to look behind them as they feared the beast would chase after them. Due to the panic, some fell to the ground and were stomped on by others fleeing. Some children were even left behind by their parents.

The eight knights of Wayan, four of whom had been defeated by Garrick, remained and watched their master with varying reactions.

Garrick frowned as he observed the chaotic red aura emanating from Denji.

Floki had the same expression, though his was more like scrutiny.

He had already summoned his greatsword.

It seemed things would not go as he originally planned, which he had already expected.

Denji had already finished eating the first woman to his satisfaction, discarding her body onto the ground without remorse.

He turned to look at Floki and Garrick with thick hatred.

Just then, his body began to expand unnaturally.

He grew from below-average height to almost seven feet in a matter of seconds. His muscles swelled with power, veins bulging out of his exposed arms and legs as they transferred dark energy all across his body.

His clothes tore apart, failing to hold his body in place any longer.

And then, once his transformation was completed, he took a step forward.

It was a single step, yet it shook the small duel arena and created a cloud of dust behind him.

His eyes locked onto Garrick.

He was the one who had defeated his knights and made him look inferior in front of his people. As a result, he became his first target.

Yet he was not targeting him for revenge alone. He targeted him as prey to be eaten. His flesh had been tempered, he had more experience, and thus would taste better than the two women he had devoured.

Garrick, spotting his intense gaze, drew out his weapon and took a stance, his eyes furrowing into a firm glare as the tattoo on his face began to glow.

Light red energy drifted across his palm, merging with his blade and increasing its potency. Dust softly drifted around him as his power-up completed.

Floki stood and watched.

He wanted to gauge the strength of Denji, but he stood prepared as well, ready to attack should Denji place Garrick in a life-threatening position.

Well, it happened sooner than he had expected.

Like a blur of light, Denji left his position and appeared before Garrick, whose eyes were still focused on his previous position.

Before Garrick realized the closeness, Denji’s balled fist launched at his stomach, laced with lethal force.

Then..

With a loud sound of flesh clashing violently against flesh and the faint noise of bone breaking, Garrick’s massive figure was sent flying dozens of meters away, leaving a trail of dust on the ground.

As Garrick’s body was still flying helplessly midair, Denji blasted forward once more.

Floki’s eyes glinted coldly.

This guy was far stronger than he had predicted. He should be at the peak of gold-rank at the very least.

Not wasting time, he opened his stats window and, in a matter of seconds, operated it.

[ 115 Attribute points have been transferred to agility. ]

With the speed boost that came with it, he blurred forward.

His speed caused the eight knights of Wayan to react in shock. They had not expected him to have such strength, given his ’sissy’ appearance.

Floki closed the gap between Denji and Garrick.

Denji was a split second away from sending another punch when he appeared between them.

[Grandmaster Martial Arts]’ defensive and instinctive boosts were more active at that moment, as he launched his palm forward and caught Denji’s punch, resulting in a thundering clash and a shockwave that drifted around them.

"You- you dare stop me!"

Denji spoke. It was not his real voice, but a combination of overlapping tones that sounded ominous, something straight out of a horror movie.

Floki was unfazed.

He applied more strength to his grip and tried to twist Denji’s arm.

But Denji was stronger.

He pulled his hand free and proceeded to punch forward. This time, his hand was clawed. He was attempting to stab through Floki’s chest and kill him in one move.

’Lethal..’

Floki commented as he smoothly moved to the side, watching as the strike passed in front of his eyes.

He acted quickly and then summoned his greatsword.

With a downward strike, he managed to chop off Denji’s left hand.

Overlapping cries of anguish thundered across the arena.

Denji held his remaining hand as blood dripped from the severed limb, glaring at Floki, tears and blood forming in his eyes.

He gritted his teeth and struck with his right hand. A whooshing sound followed. Lethal and swift.

Floki reacted in time and ducked to the side.

He wanted to attack again, but Denji had entered a new stage of rage.

He did not even pause for his body to balance properly before sending a devastating kick toward Floki’s most vulnerable area.

’’Shit..’’

Floki had to perform a quick backflip to protect himself.

He landed swiftly, but a rageful Denji was already charging toward him.

"Stone Reinforcement."

He used the only defensive skill in his arsenal at that moment.

Stone armor appeared around his body.

Because of his mental control, several layers of stone formed around his chest, where Denji’s fist was already closing in.

The force shattered the stone easily, but it still sent Floki staggering backward.

Denji retracted his fist and punched once more while his teeth gnashed like a beast.

Floki channeled more mana into Stone Reinforcement, creating more and more layers of defense in that same area.

While he was doing this, he could not properly attack.

And then the system reminded him of a crucial stat he had neglected, due to fighting weaker opponents lately.

[ Your stamina has drained to 75%.. beware ]

It had not reached a drastic point yet.

But if the fight continued in this manner—if he kept overexerting strength, defense, intelligence, and agility—he would run out of stamina much faster.

"Ahhh!"

Floki screamed at the top of his lungs, using his voice to create a brief moment of disruption.

Denji paused for a split second, not expecting the outburst.

Using that moment, Floki managed to pull himself out of his disadvantageous position.

He created a quick gap.

Before Denji could close it—

He used [Air Cannon Barrage].

Creating two dozen glowing magic circles in the air that immediately drew Denji’s attention.

"Magic? I hate magic!"

Like a beast pushed into a corner, Denji snarled while staring at the circles.

A split second later, the magic circles began to release large-scale condensed wind attacks toward his position.

Denji immediately began to move.

BOOM!

Before an air cannon could strike his location, he shifted to another spot. A massive dent was left behind, forcing dust to surge outward.

The air cannons did not lose momentum.

More attacks rained down continuously.

Seeing the wind projectiles tear through the arena, the knights ran away with all their might, afraid of being caught in the barrage. They cried out and abandoned their weapons as they fled without looking back.

Meanwhile, their master weaved through the attacks, evading strike after strike with swift, precise movements.

Floki used the distraction to act.

He blasted forward toward Denji.

Since he controlled the attacks, he had no fear of friendly fire.

He closed the distance while Denji was distracted.

He balled his fist and delivered a clean uppercut that launched Denji several feet into the air.

While Denji was airborne, Floki used telepathic control to redirect all the wind projectiles toward him.

BOOM!

BOOM!

One after another, the invisible cannons struck his body, driving him into the ground and creating a spiderweb of cracks that deepened and widened with each impact.

The duration of the spell ended, and all the magic circles disappeared.

Nonetheless, Floki was not worried. It had done exactly what he needed.

He checked his stamina, and to his satisfaction, it was still more than ten points above 50%, where the first major reduction in power would begin. In other words, he was still in a stable condition.

He approached the spot where Denji’s body had been buried.

He could still hear his strained breathing.

He was still alive, though barely.

The commotion that had occurred earlier had reached the manor.

At that moment, Deborah and the guards could be seen running toward the field.

Floki ignored the guards. They were no issue at all.

He focused on Deborah instead.

"Perfect timing."