Chapter 234: What are you? A dog?

"I still have my hands."

Rhydan stared at his ’hand’.

"Your right arm is broken."

"I still have one hand."

Lucian corrected himself.

"That one is also broken."

"It’s only a minor fracture."

Lucian even waved his broken hand, showing that the fracture was no big deal.

Rhydan laughed at that. Lucian laughed as well, then he stepped forward, but the instant he did, his leg immediately gave way.

He was about to fall, but Rhydan moved forward and caught him by the shoulder.

"I can still fight."

Lucian tried to pull away.

"No, you cannot."

"I can bite."

Lucian pointed at his teeth.

"What are you? A dog?"

"...should you really be saying that? You?"

That made Rhydan stop for a moment, but then—

"I won, I can say anything I want."

"It is not decided yet! I can still fight!"

Lucian pointed at his teeth again.

Rhydan stared at him. Lucian stared back seriously.

"I can bite very hard."

He tried to convince him.

Rhydan laughed out loud, unable to control himself.

Even some of the Werewolves behind him couldn’t hide their amusement.

Lucian tried to step forward once more.

Rhydan kept one hand on his shoulder, holding him in place.

"I said enough."

This time, his voice was firmer.

Lucian looked into his eyes.

The disgust that was there before was gone. The cold man he saw before now actually seemed... quite friendly.

"You fought well."

Rhydan spoke honestly.

"That doesn’t seem like something you would want to admit."

"I usually do not. I still dislike Demons."

"I’m a Human."

"With Demonic Blood."

"A minor detail."

Lucian shrugged.

"It’s a rather large detail."

Rhydan corrected him.

"Come on, be honest with yourself.

You don’t hate me anymore~"

Lucian smiled cheekily.

"I have not decided that."

"That means no."

"That means I have not decided."

Lucian’s smile widened.

Rhydan shook his head, but his eyes were a lot friendlier now.

"I will admit, you are annoyingly difficult to dislike."

"I hear that often."

Lucian nodded knowingly.

"I doubt it."

Rhydan laughed.

The Wolf then released Lucian’s shoulder after making sure he could remain standing.

Then, he extended his hand.

Lucian looked at it.

"What is this? A love confession?

I am embarrassed."

He asked with twinkling eyes.

"Acknowledgement."

Rhydan completely ignored what the boy said.

"You stood against someone stronger than you, knowing you would lose, and continued even when your body was broken and had nothing left.

You fought directly, with honour.

And you improved with every exchange.

I have never seen anyone grow like that."

Lucian glanced at the offered hand.

"So you admit I impressed you."

"Yes."

Rhydan answered without hesitation.

That made Lucian blink.

He was not expecting Rhydan to accept it so quickly. He still wanted to tease the Wolf a little, but in the end, he just clicked his tongue.

Then—

Lucian grabbed his hand.

Receiving Rhydan’s acknowledgement.

The Wolf shook his damaged hand carefully, making sure not to hurt him.

It was honestly a complete one-eighty.

To think this was the same person who was throwing him around like a rag doll just a few minutes ago.

Lucian couldn’t believe it.

"You have the heart of a Warrior, boy."

"Lucian."

Lucian introduced himself.

"Lucian Cross."

He regretted that introduction that very moment.

He missed the perfect opportunity to start with Cross.

Cross, Lucian Cross.

For now, however, he could only sigh and wait for the next opportunity.

"You have the heart of a Warrior, Lucian Cross."

Rhydan corrected himself.

"Whatever blood runs through your veins, you are a True Warrior."

That made Lucian smile.

"Look at you, being all friendly~"

"I am simply acknowledging everything you’ve done.

You have filthy blood, but I trust that a Warrior like you will not let that cloud your mind."

"That’s still pretty friendly."

"It is."

Rhydan nodded, making Lucian frown again.

"Together with acknowledgement, it is also a handshake of friendship."

This time, Lucian was genuinely surprised. So were the Werewolves standing behind Rhydan.

"Rhydan..."

"He is a Demon."

"You should not involve yourself with someone like him."

The other Werewolves tried to warn him.

Rhydan only looked at them.

"I fought him."

He spoke in a calm, confident voice.

"I understand him better than you do."

Werewolves were a race of Warriors.

They always believed that a battle revealed more than words ever could.

When two Warriors exchanged blows, their instincts picked up things that could not easily be hidden—

Their courage, hesitation, cruelty, discipline, pride, and the reason they fought.

A liar could control his words, a skilled manipulator could fake an expression, but it was much harder to deceive a Werewolf in the middle of a battle, when every single one of your movements carried intent and every decision you made exposed the kind of person you were.

That was why Werewolves often began their friendships through duels.

Once they fought someone and accepted what they felt from them, that judgement carried more weight than rumours or appearances.

And perhaps... there was merit to their reasoning.

Werewolves were known for their loyalty.

Finding a Werewolf who betrayed their friends or allies was extremely rare. Once a Werewolf accepted someone as one of their own, they would sooner lose their life than abandon them.

Of course, Rhydan had not reached that point with Lucian yet, but after fighting him, he knew one thing with certainty.

Lucian was not the creature Rhydan had assumed him to be.

And the other Werewolves who had complained just now nodded, believing in his words rather than their own prejudice.

"I accept your friendship."

Lucian spoke with a grin.

The two shook hands again, then Rhydan released his hand.

"Now surrender."

He spoke.

Sure, his opinion of Lucian had improved, but they had still agreed to a duel and Lucian had lost. Now, it was time for him to pay for that loss.

The only thing Rhydan could do right now was let Lucian leave on his own rather than forcefully ending things from his side.

Lucian stared at him, then he turned towards Naomi.

This was what he hated the most.

He didn’t particularly care about the Trial, but he did care about Naomi. Leaving her alone in this dangerous place did not feel right.

For a moment, Lucian even considered continuing to fight and Rhydan sensed that, so he—

"You are not in any condition to fight."

He spoke clearly.

Then, he glanced at the girl Lucian was staring at.

"Leave. I’ll protect her like you initially wanted me to."

"You will?"

Lucian blinked in surprise.

"Think of it as my way of apologising for letting my prejudice get the better of me."

Rhydan looked at him. Lucian nodded at him with a grateful look on his face. Rhydan nodded back.

Then, just as Lucian was about to leave—

Something happened.

Something that surprised even him.

He glanced at Rhydan, who noticed the change as well, and Lucian’s eyes shone again.

"You up for a rematch?

Fair warning, though, it won’t be easy this time."

He spoke as an almost endless amount of Demonic Energy filled him.

And Rhydan—

"Good."

He took his battle stance with a grin.

"I was disappointed that it ended so soon."