Chapter 359: The Challenge
An hour later...
Everything had been prepared for the challenge.
The gathered wolves had widened the circle around the courtyard, creating a spacious arena for the exchange. The bonfire that had burned at the center earlier had been extinguished at this time.
Hayley rolled her shoulders before pulling off her leather jacket.
Her eyes were fixed on the entrance of the residence as she watched Gaston emerge from the mansion and make his way toward the open ground where the challenge would take place.
At the time, Percival and Ethan were the two people standing closest to Hayley.
However, as the Alpha approached, both of them began retreating toward the outer edge of the gathering to rejoin the rest of the spectators.
As Ethan stepped away, he glanced at her with a smile. "Good luck... I guess?"
Hayley scoffed, barely sparing him a glance. "I don’t need luck," she muttered. "This should be over pretty quickly."
By the time she looked up again, Gaston had already come to a stop several paces before her.
The Alpha stood shirtless, wearing nothing but a pair of plain dark trousers. His broad frame bore a few scars.
For a moment, uncle and niece simply stared at one another as the surrounding wolves watched in complete silence.
Somewhere behind them, the Elder had begun reciting the rules of the challenge. Although for Gaston and Hayley, her voice had already faded into the background.
She was merely reminding them of traditions they already both knew.
Victory would be decided the moment one side willingly surrendered... or was rendered unconscious.
Death, though never desired, could never be completely ruled out whenever two werewolves fought for the Alpha title.
However, House Arcorys had always upheld a different belief from many other packs.
Should one challenger kill the other, that individual might have won the battle, but they would never inherit the position of Alpha.
Killing one’s own blood was an unforgivable act within the Arcorys Family. Ordinarily, it was a crime punishable by immediate banishment.
A challenge exempted the victor from that punishment, but also conferred consequences for doing so.
The Arcorys believed that a leader worthy of standing above the pack should never have to establish that authority by taking the life of their own kin.
"...You may begin." The Elder’s voice finally reached them.
Almost instantly, Gaston transformed.
His muscles swelled as white fur rapidly spread across his body. His hands lengthened into massive claws while his face distorted into that of a towering white werewolf, radiating the overwhelming pressure expected of an Alpha.
Hayley, on the other hand, remained in partial transformation.
Her features stayed largely human-like, save for the sharpened claws extending from her fingers, the wolf-like ears emerging through her hair, and the predatory intensity that settled across her face.
Her eyes never left Gaston for a single moment.
However, in the very next instant, Gaston vanished. By the time Hayley’s eyes tracked the movement, he had already appeared directly before her.
He swung his arm forward at point-blank range. Using the basic form of cannon style technique, he drove his fist through the air, releasing a massive shockwave that erupted outward and engulfed Hayley almost instantly.
She hadn’t expected him to move that fast, however she was quick enough to throw both forearms up over her face.
The shockwave crashed into her guard with explosive force and a burst of wind rippled across the courtyard as she was driven backward, boots carving long grooves through the ground.
Even so, she never lost her footing.
Silence fell across the gathering.
Not just Hayley, but the entire Arcorys Family had been left staring in shock.
Uncle Gaston had always been known as a warrior with six meridians opened, which placed him within the ranks of an S-Tier warrior.
But what they had just witnessed was something entirely different. The pressure behind that single strike, the speed and power...all that was beyond the normal S-Tier.
What Gaston was displaying now was the strength of someone who had already opened the Seventh Meridian.
A level comparable to an SS-Tier warrior.
The only member of House Arcorys whose Canon Style should have reached that level of power was Hayley herself.
but it seemed as though Gaston was matching her.
Before anyone could properly process the revelation, he disappeared once again, becoming nothing more than a blur. In the next instant, he reappeared behind Hayley in a speed blitz, his arm instantly locking around her neck in a crushing chokehold.
But Hayley reacted just as quickly. Her hand came up to seize his wrist, and using the momentum of his own charge against him, she adjusted her body before throwing him over her shoulder.
Gaston crashed onto his back with tremendous force, and the ground fractured beneath him as a deafening shockwave burst across the arena, scattering loose stones and sending dust rolling outward in every direction.
He groaned in pain, but quickly crossed his forearms over his face to block the incoming attack. Hayley gave him no time to recover, driving her fist downward at him the very next instant.
The impact landed with a deafening boom, and a tremendous shockwave erupted from the collision. The surrounding ground and grass were flattened even further as compressed air exploded outward from the point where Hayley’s fist collided with Gaston’s guard.
Unfortunately for Gaston, the full force of Hayley’s Canon Style had nowhere to escape.
His back had been pinned firmly against the ground, leaving the shockwave with no outlet but through him.
Blood escaped the corner of his mouth as his body convulsed slightly from the force.
Hayley then planted her foot firmly against his throat and said, "Surrender."
Instead of answering, Gaston’s hand suddenly shot upward and clamped around her ankle. With a violent twist, he hurled her across the battlefield.
Hayley adjusted her body in midair before landing gracefully several dozen meters away, her boots skidding across the earth until she came to a controlled stop.
By then, Gaston had already risen to his feet.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth before staring at Hayley with disgust in his eyes.
Then, his magic power erupted into a surge so overwhelming that the surrounding air visibly distorted around his body like shimmering heat rising from burning ground.
Gasps spread throughout the gathered wolves.
Even Percival found himself staring in genuine disbelief, unable to understand how such a dramatic increase in power was possible.
Ethan, however, reacted differently.
His eyes were narrowed in observance. For only the briefest of moments, he had sensed demonic energy.
It flickered from Gaston before disappearing almost as quickly as it had appeared.
And that made absolutely no sense.
Hayley also had a different kind of reaction as well. Admittedly, she was surprised by the sheer amount of aura pouring from her uncle.
But to her, it only meant one thing; which is that she had to end this quickly.
More white fur spread across her skin, racing over her arms, shoulders, chest, and face as her transformation continued.
Within seconds, her body had fully shifted into that of a complete werewolf.
Gaston threw his head back and roared, his aura continuing to swell around him as he prepared to charge.
But he had barely taken a single step forward when Hayley suddenly reappeared directly before him, her fist already buried deep in his abdomen.
The impact folded Gaston’s body in half as blood and saliva exploded from his mouth.
Giving him no chance to react, Hayley clasped both hands together and brought them crashing down onto his back.
BOOM!
The crushing blow slammed every bit of air out of him. His body crashed face-first into the ground with tremendous force that the ground cracked further.
The difference between Hayley’s partial transformation and her fully transformed state was overwhelming.