The warriors from the Simhara Beast Clan charged at Dominic Rutherford in unison while creating a circle to block off his exit. Dominic glanced at his attackers for a moment before using one sword to block the physical contact of his enemy. With the flowing movement, he swung his sword around and smacked it hard against another enemy, causing them to fly into their comrades.

The force of the blow sent both the enemy and his comrades flying back while, at the same time, impeding the attacking movement of others. Dominic’s sword, which was blocking an attack, was sudden pushed aside by an enemy as he took a swung at the Sword Titan’s head.

Dominic took one glance at him before dropping down to evade the attack before swinging his sword upward to smack against the jaw of his enemy. The blow was so strong that it knocked the enemy out cold as he flew a few meters upward before dropping like a sack. Even so, none of this stopped anyone as they charged at Dominic with a beastly ferocity in their eyes.

Using his amazing skills with the sword and his great speed, Dominic managed to handle the warriors with ease. Several times, he attempted to stop them by using Paralysing Blades, but it did not work as the warriors anticipated his move and deflected them. Only those behind the warriors got caught in the attack and stopped them while the majority continued their assault on him.

It looked like an outnumbered match between him and so many of them, but it was an even battle. The warriors of the Simhara Beast Clan were managing to keep Dominic from using many of his other techniques by applying maximum force in their physical blows. Dominic, blocked them with ease, but did not find it anymore easy to use other techniques he had up his sleeve.

“This is a pain!” said the voice of Destiny Blade telepathically in his mind. “Use Swipe Blades and end this nonsense.”

“No,” Dominic thought firmly as he continued to attack and doge their attacks. “That will kill them if I am not careful, which I will not risk. Besides, if justice is by my side, I will prevail.”

He heard his Sacred Spirit sigh in his mind and heard her telepathically say, “Listen to yourself. Anyone would think you’ve given up completely in attaining victory by any means!”

“No… I just don’t believe victory attained by any means is necessary,” thought Dominic in a firm voice. “If what I am doing is justice, then I will win.”

“You fool!” his Sacred Spirit shouted telepathically in an agonised voice. “How can you believe in justice when you aren’t even confident in yourself!”

Those words stunned Dominic and he paused his movement for a second as he hesitated to respond, which was a bad move. At that moment, the enemies took his moment’s hesitation and began to beat him up black and blue. Completely stunned and unable to retaliate, he was at the mercy of his enemies as they unleashed their full ferocity on him by beating the day lights out of him.

“UUURRRAAAAGGGHHHH!!!!”

He was blasting into the air by one of the warriors who roared like a wild animal on rampage. Dominic sailed through the air and his eyes fell on the forest where Shalany was waiting for his return with her son.

His eyes widened and the dizziness cleared as his consciousness was forcefully brought back to reality. His mind was clear and so was the objective of what he came originally to do at the Beast Village. Thus, he managed to stop his flight and hold himself in mid-air as he glanced down at his enemies, who were surprised to see him floating up in the air.

“They aren’t chasing me into the air…? Perhaps they haven’t mastered the flight ability…” thought Dominic and he nodded his head once with a determined expression on his face.

With his swords broken and original back in hand, he swung forward and aimed it at his enemies. He hesitated for a moment before making his decision and shouting the technique to attack them with.

“Blasting Blades!”

In an instant, magic circles appeared beside him and sword began to rain down on the warriors below. The flying sword flew at an incredible speed and did not give any chance for an average person to dodge them. The beast warriors did their best to defend themselves by bringing their arms and crossing them defensively.

Explosion after explosion occurred upon making contact with either the ground or the enemy. Screams were heard dimly from where Dominic hovered as he observed the destruction scene of his enemies. Several seconds later, Dominic disabled the technique and the raining of the bombing blades stopped, allowing the rising dust and spoke to slowly clear.

It took a few seconds for it to clear and reveal many of the warriors still standing firmly on their feet. Only a several handful of warriors were defeated by the previous technique while the rest managed to keep defensive positions in place despite the force of the attack.

“Not bad,” commented Dominic in an impressed voice. As the warriors recovered their ground, Dominic used his Amplification Blade technique and said loudly, “Stand down and lead me to your leader. That is all I ask of you.”

The warriors looked up at him and Dominic, while unable to see their expressions, sensed the fighting spirit still firmly in place for the ones still standing. He sighed because he had hoped to settle this matter without needing to attack them all, especially hurting their pride of being powerful warriors.

“RRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!!!”

The Simhara Beast Clan warriors began to roar like wild beasts for a few seconds, which caused the wind to blow wildly as they charged up their energies. Dominic was slightly buffeted by the strong blowing wind as he stared at his screaming enemies with a surprised look on his face.

The next moment, his enemies took fighting stances and brought their hands together to gather energy. It took them a second and once it was charged, a bright red ball of energy was gathered between the palms of their hands. In an instant, they brought their hands upward and unleashed it at their intended target while shouting the technique out loud.

“Beast Cannon!”

A large powerful red wave of destruction was unleashed and it soared through the sky at high speed towards Dominic. The floating Sword Titan saw the attack and sighed deeply before shaking his head in sadness.

Dominic extended his right hand to its side with his sword held in his hand and gazed down at the incoming attack. In a second, his sword began to glow brightly in a golden glow as he charged it with energy in preparation of ending this battle.

“Destiny Smash!”

He swung the sword in an arc and released a massive golden wave fo destruction that was like an arc. It soared towards the incoming attack and managed to deflect it with ease before continuing towards the ground. The watchers screamed in shock as the wave smashed into the area the warriors stood and the resulting explosion created a powerful blowing wind and shock wave to be sent in all directions.

Several seconds later, it all slowly settled down and Dominic slowly descended towards the ground. He landed gently on the destroyed ground and looked around at the destruction his attack had caused. Multiple of the village’s houses, within the radius of the attack, were wiped out in the explosion. At the same time, the ground was littered with the unconscious forms of the defeated warriors.

“I didn’t want this to happen…” said Dominic in a heartfelt sorrowful voice.

“Don’t be so glum. You gave them a chance to surrender and they didn’t,” said the Destiny Sword telepathically in his mind bracingly.

“Perhaps, but I am unsatisfied with the result,” he said in a loud voice.

“Why? It isn’t justice?” said the Sacred Spirit telepathically in an exasperated voice, to which he did not respond. “You have to get it into your mind that justice can swung both ways; good and bad. It’s almost illogical to think that justice is always right because it won’t always be.”

“But… Master said—!” Dominic began, but his Sared Spirit cut him off.

“Ah! Not this again?!” she said in telepathically in an annoyed voice. “Don’t give me the ‘Master said this …’, ‘Master said that…’ because they are nothing, but excuses. Stop hiding behind the words your master said to you because this is your life; not his! That means, you make choices based on your experiences and quick analysis. Both follow blindly on justice. The Phoenix Titan told you about it when he gave you this mission!”

Those words stung Dominic painfully and he remained silent because he did not know how to reply. Since he was young, he had been brought up to believe in justice and follow it, which was what he had been doing all this time. Sadly, though, his teachings never seemed to do him good because of his numerous failures.

He was brought out of his reverie when he heard a strong voice say, “This is crazy…!”

Dominic turned and looked towards the speaker, who was a man with a powerful stature. It was then that Dominic realised that there were people kneeling beside each and every warrior that he defeated. During his mindful discussion with his Sacred Spirit, the family members of the defeated warriors gathered to heal them with the healing magic they knew.

The Sword Titan turned his attention towards him and noticed that a powerful aura was emanating from him, which Dominic quickly identified as the War Titan. He was above average height with made wildly growing out of the sides of his face while he wore warrior clothing with an additional cloth wrapped over his shoulder and waist. It was also easy to identify him as the leader due to the crown like object he was wearing above his head.

The War Titan, who was glanced by four beast warriors holding spears in each hand, was glancing around with a surprised expression on his face. A moment later, his eyes returned to focus on Dominic and he was wearing a mixed expressions of anger and impressed because of what happened.

“I came out to see what the commotion was about and then, BOOM! A violent explosion occurs and I came to find a small portion of the village destroyed. This is your doing.”

It was not a question and Dominic nodded slightly as he responded by saying, “I’m afraid so.”

“Mmm…”

The War Titan closed his hand to form a fist and placed it on his chin as he stared at Dominic. To the Sword Titan, this came as a surprise because it seemed the man was curiously observing him instead of feeling anger for attacking his village.

“I can sense the great power within you and I must say; Impressive!” the War Titan exclaimed and surprised Dominic even further. “Who are you? Identify yourself.”

Dominic was a little taken aback, but he quickly recovered and said, “I’m Dominic Rutherford and I carry the title of the Sword Titan.”

The War Titan digested the name as it was one he did not recognise, but the title caused his eyes to widen. A broad smile break to spread over his face as he became excited, which Dominic noticed and confused him even further.

“Sword Titan?!” the War Titan’s guards exclaimed in shock and their eyes were wide open with shock.

“Don’t repeat, idiots!” the War Titan said and he smacked the back of their heads in annoyance. He turned back to Dominic and said excitedly, “Awesome! A Sword Titan! Then, it’s no wonder so much destruction had occurred and a lot of my warriors were defeated in less than half-an-hour. Most impressive! In fact, I must congratulate you because you managed to fill in their thirst for battle, which was something I couldn’t do because I, uh, cannot attack my own people.”

Dominic stared at him in silence for a moment before replying shortly, “Uh… Okay…”

The War Titan was pleased with himself until he noticed the confused look on Dominic’s face. Not realising the true meaning behind it, he assumed the Sword Titan was confused because he did not know his name.

Chuckling, he smiled widely and said proudly, “I am the War Titan and my name is Nara Simhara!”

Dominic nodded and made a small smile as he said, “I see. Thank you for your introduction.”

“Right,” said Nara experimentally with an excited smile on his face. “What brings such a powerful warrior, like you, to my village.”

“I came on a mission given to me by the Phoenix Titan to bring together the NJine Pillars of Power,” replied Dominic in a firm voice.

It was unclear whether the War Titan heard everything, but he immediately got overwhelmingly excited at the name ‘Phoenix Titan’ due to the wide grin formed on his face.

“The Phoenix Titan?! He’s here?! Where?!” Nara exclaimed excitedly and he began to look all over to see another strange like Dominic. Seeing no one to match his imagination, he turned back to Dominic and asked, “Is he not here?”

Dominic shook his head and said, “No. He sent me to bring you to join him and the Nine Pillars of Power.”

“Oh…” said Nara slowly and he looked crestfallen. He remained in that state for a moment before he recovered to ask, “So, he sent his dog to handle the discussions with me to join him?”

“Dog?” Dominic thought and he looked a annoyed. “I’m his best friend and he requested me for this mission.”

“Best friend?” Nana asked and laughed mockingly. “Then, you definitely are his best dog. Why? It’s simply because he wants you to do his job while he takes a vacation.”

Dominic, instantly, became angry at the War Titan’s words and he retorted, “Such injustice is not within the Phoenix Titan’s way of living!”

The War Titan chuckled and said, “Justice and injustice. Why care about such complicated stuff? It’s simple to them; be all friendly with you, use you as a tool and throw you away when you are useless to them.”

The War Titan chuckled darkly as the Sword Titan remained silently without saying anything, but his narrowed eyes and the firm expression on his face spoke a lot.

“Your injustice way of thinking is probably why you don’t have any friends, Nara,” stated Dominic daringly.

Those words caused Nara to stop laughing and his guards to grip their spears tightly. They moved forward to deal with Dominic, but the War Titan stopped them extending both his arms out to bar their way. They looked at him for a moment before stepping back and taking their place behind him.

“”You are wise to back them off , otherwise, I would’ve blasted them because of your sense of injustice,” commented Dominic firmly with a serious expression on his face.

The War Titan eyed the Sword Titan curiously for a moment before he asked, “You’ve been going on and on about justice and justice. By any chance, are you crazy about those needlessly complicated stuff?”

Dominic raised an eyebrow incredulously and said, “Following the path of justice is not needless; it’s the right choice. For those with justice by their side, they will always prevail. That is my firm belief.”

Nara looked stunned for a moment before he began to laugh hysterically, surprising both Dominic and his own people. Once he calmed down, he gave Dominic a serious glare and pointed a finger at him.

“That is a load of bull-crap-nonsense!” Nara said in a firm voice and he raised his clenched fist in front of him. “Those, who have strengthened their fists, are the ones who shall prevail in the struggle to achieve victory!”

Dominic looked alarmed and he asked, “Are you saying only the strong will prevail?”

Nara nodded and said, “Absolutely. The strong will prevail and the weak shall perish. It’s a very simple concept to understand in my opinion.”

Those words caused Dominic to remain quiet for a moment before he replied, “No. That is not true. Just because you’re strong doesn’t mean it’ll grant you victory. Even the mightiest of warriors have lost when their strength was unimaginable while the weak find a way to always survive. Justice dictates the outcome of any action and behaviour if it is right by their side.”

Hearing such words caused the War Titan to hold his head for a moment as if he was dazed. Recovering, he glared fiercely at Dominic as he spoke once again.

“Spare me your justice nonsense. The weak might be strong like you said, but they are cowardly to hide their potential when they have the chance to bring it out and show the world what they are made of!”

“There is justice in hiding their potential and living peacefully because they don’t wish to do battle with another,” stated Dominic and he smiled a little.

“Ugh…!” Nara said and he clutched his head as if he was pained.

His guards immediately attempted to ask him questions, but he retorted that he was fine. The throbbing pain in his mind was not from the headache, but the words that Dominic spoke. He firmly believed those with their fists strengthened and powers hardened will be victorious, so it pains him when the concept Dominic says is very different.

“I can’t take any of your justice crap,” he finally said and sighed deeply.

“Fine,” said Dominic simply and he shrugged his shoulders indifferently. “Anyway, come with me Nara because we have much to accomplish together for certain events to occur in two years.”

Dominic began to explain the situation between the Phoenix Titan and the Calamity Titan and the war that was going to occur between them. He also explained that the Phoenix Titan firmly believed the Nine Pillars of Power would be his greatest allies when the time finally comes to challenging the Calamity Titan and the demon army he was surely gathering in the demon world.

He finally finished saying what he wanted to say and the War Titan remained silent for a moment as he processed all that information. He was making a thinking posture with his closed fist placed underneath his chin as Dominic waited for a response from him.

“I see,” began Nara and he nodded his head in understanding. “A Phoenix Calamity War that is to occur two years from now and the Nine Pillars of Power will tip the favours against the Calamity Titan. A very interesting thought.”

“That’s right,” replied Dominic in agreement. “That’s why, please come with me so that we can prepare for that inevitable future.”

“Mmm…” said Nara slowly as he seemed to be thinking about something. “I refuse.”

Dominic was shocked and he quickly asked, “Why?”

Nara folded his arms, shook his head and said, “As the leader of the Nine Pillars of Power, the Phoenix Titan was the one that’s supposed to come recruit me into his war regime. Instead, he sends his best dog—!”

“Best friend—!”

“to come and persuade me into joining them. Tell me; how can I follow behind a leader that can’t afford the time or effort to recruit his own members without the help of others?”

Dominic gritted his teeth momentarily before he replied, “You’re right in thinking like that, but the Phoenix Titan is a very busy man with multiple tasks to complete. That’s why, he sent me to speak with you, otherwise, he would’ve come personally to recruit you. I’m sure of that.”

“Yes. You’re sure, but I’m unsatisfied,” replied Nara firmly with a dissatisfied expression on his face.

The Sword Titan did not know anything else to say, except, “It can’t be helped if he is so busy.”

Those words caused the guards to exclaim, “What do you mean ‘it can’t be helped’?!”

Nara raised a hand and made them go silent in an instant as he continued to stare at Dominic.

“Fine. I’ll, grudgingly, accept that he was too busy to come meet me in person and recruit me, but I can never allow myself to work with someone else, not without seeing the weight of their fist,” said the War Titan in a strong voice with a serious expression on his face.

Puzzled by those words, Dominic asked, “Weight of their fist?”

This caused the War Titan to sigh and his guards to shout, “Fool! It’s common knowledge to bump fists with any Simhara Beast Clan warrior to let them see the weight of your fist!”

Dominic stared at them and said, “Huh?”

“Think of it like a greeting gesture,” stated Nara as he simplified for Dominic to understand.

“Oh… Okay. If it’s that simple, then fine,” said Dominic and he began to move towards Nara.

He took a few steps and suddenly came to a halt as a doubt formed in his mind as he saw Nara extend his fist out towards him. Dominic was wondering if this was some sort of trick or a trap to lure him into a false sense of security, but he did not know what could happen. On the other hand, if he managed to bump fists with him and nothing happens, then all is well for his mission.

He began to think in his min, “I have to do this. I’ve got no choice. This is—!”

“Justice. Yeah, we know. Now, go already!” the voice of his Sacred Spirit said irritably in his mind.

Feeling a little sad, he moved forward and reached the War Titan’s position. Dominic glanced around at the guards behind the man and momentarily paused to stare at the fist the War Titan was extending out to him to bump his fist against.

“Come on,” said Nara impatiently. “I haven’t got all day to stand here and wait for you to bump your fist against me.”

Feeling a little annoyed, Dominic raised his clenched fist and bumped it against the War Titan’s fist. There was a moment of pause, in which, Dominic looked at the fist, then at Nara and then at his surroundings.

Dominic’s eyes suddenly widened sharply and he felt himself flying backwards from an intensely powerful force. The next moment, he was blasted away from the War Titan and the force of his flight was so intense that he left a wild flowing dust behind as he flew out of the village.

He continued to fly backwards at an incredible speed and zoomed past the forest while threatening to rip them out of their roots. The Sword Titan flew many kilometres away before slamming into a large mountain after bursting out of a forest thicket. The smashing force was so great that the mountain split into pieces and crumbled to the ground.

Back at the village, the newly awakened warriors, the common people and the guards all cheered by the War Titan’s demonstration. The warriors had been attempting to attack him for some time, but they were held at bay because of the small gestures that their leader had shown at them to stop them. He was simply telling them to leave it to him and that the Sword Titan was his prey.

Seeing the wild dust rising slowly into the air and the mountain crumbling, the War Titan smiled smugly as he said, “I only respect those capable of matching the weight of my fist.”

Author's Note

Hello my dear readers and thank you so much for reading this chapter. After a long time, I managed to write a long chapter and that was while I was sick. Yeah, I had a heavy load of work and had to wake up early in the morning to get the workers going, which restulted in me being sick today. Still, I got some power up and started writing the chapter until I finally got it done! So, I hope you enjoyed it and will look forward to more as the story continues!