**Meanwhile, at the Wolves Den**
Two warped and sinister figures stood yards away from each other. The forms they took were intense as they waited for the other to move first. As one inched, so did the other, readying their stances with each slight movement. Watching so intently—two predators, no prey.
They did this two to three times until…
DASH!
They both bolted and jetted at sonic speeds, colliding in a matter of seconds. The crash ricocheted them to the side, where they threw their flurry of punches at each other of both offense and defense.
Sparks flew from their clashes as they colored the field in front of the Wolves Den. The pink one, Star in slow motion, jabbed the yellow one, Henza, on his left side. He did the same to her on her right shoulder, hitting each other simultaneously. Her punch managed to crack a part of his rib, regardless of it being protected by Bonding magic in two layers. And Henza's fist shot a hole into Star's left shoulder, which she regenerated just as quickly.
Once her shoulder had formed back, she reeled in her left arm, morphing a long white bone blade from it, and swung down onto Henza. He blocked the strike with both his forearms in a cross-motion. Star's scorpion tail then swung around to his left but was blocked by a layer of bonding rings to Henza's side like armor. The countless blocks and clashes cracked the ground with each made impact, cratering endlessly.
"This is insane. I can't even figure out how to jump in to help without being a hindrance to her." Brand said to himself, observing the match from the sidelines.
Henza's complete focus was on Star right now. Any wrong move could potentially be fatal to him in this fight as she had enough strength to penetrate his Bonding shields if he was too careless. After a few more clashes, they separated and both ran up opposite pillars, standing atop them afterward.
Star is half demon, Brand thought, I've heard that was the case, but this is the first I'm witnessing it in person. She regenerates like crazy... but I suppose that's just the Demon blood in her.
Demons had an innate ability to regenerate their limbs if they were severed or torn off. This Regenerative ability didn't count as their own unique magic abilities. It was simply a default for all demons to be able to regenerate at will. The only part of themselves that they could not regenerate was their heads. Beheading them was the only way to stop them for good and kill them.
"So, this is the power of a half-breed," Henza said to her, taking a moment of pause in their fight as they stood above the clearing on their pillars.
They faced across each other as Star's long scorpion tail wrapped around her pillar, scraping the stone as she rattled and growled like a wild beast.
"The last Demon I encountered was five years ago. It took my brother and feasted on him until there was nothing left but puddles of blood and bones. Is that what you want to do with me, 'Demon girl'? Do you want to eat me?"
Star growled animalistically as spiked bones began to ripple out of her skin, protruding out of her randomly, uncontrollably.
"We've gone at this long enough. You put up an impressive performance, but it's time to end this for good. I'm tired." Henza said as he crouched down on his pillar, laying his hands down upon it.
Right then, the two disappeared completely, shattering the pillars they once stood atop—their speeds matching.
There was an odd silence left afterward that had Brand in question. When Henza and Star came back into view, he was left in shock...
CRASH!!
A loud and powerful impact penetrated the silent space. This one was bigger than all the clashes from earlier in their battle. The shockwave was so powerful that Brand still had to cover his face from the shards of debris hitting his mask. His long, spiked gray hair fluttered violently in the air behind him.
When the shockwave stopped and the smoke fumed, he saw two silhouettes within it, one looking like it stood over the other with a hand on the other's throat.
"Star?" Brand spoke hesitantly.
A pause before an answer from the clearing smoke.
"Sorry… 'Fraid not," a sinister male voice answered, widening Brand's digitized eyes on his mask.
When the smoke cleared, he saw Henza in his mummified form, walking slowly over from the cratered ground with Star's throat in his left hand, dragging the rest of her body with him. Her eyes were closed, seeming completely lifeless as he took his time.
Brand's digital eyes shut off, as if shadows had formed over them. He inhaled and exhaled deeply in a drawn out manner, "I guess I'm forced to use it here. I still have so much left to do…"
When he lifted his head, his eyes shot a deep red that glowed hauntingly toward Henza.
"What's this?" Henza uttered almost amused, "For a moment, I felt sinister aura from you, masked wolf... Are you angry with me?" He mocked.
Not thinking twice, Brand locked in his stance. He positioned himself in a fighting form, starting from his right fist, reeling it back slowly and holding it in place. Left fist in front and right fist just behind it by his face. His legs were squatted and were like tree trunks as they stabbed the ground. His long, spikey hair waved stiffly from his focused movement.
"You don't stand a chance. I can sense your mana aura. You're nothing special. Not like this girl, at least. I doubt you could give me an entertaining fight even if I decide not to bond you to give you a leg up," Henza continued, making a mockery of him.
Then, in a drawn-out way, Brand held up his index and middle fingers from his left hand, about to make a cast of some sorts,
As his fingers slowly raised, the air seemed to thicken and the ground shook slightly. Henza stopped in his tracks.
Hold on... this feeling... It's just like when—, he thought of the other day when he had bonded Greed at the abandoned church, There's no way he's like that...
But then…
"Then why don't you fight me instead… that is… if you're a real man," a strong, heavy male voice sounded behind Henza from the double door entrance of the Wolves Den.
Startled, Henza whipped around. Even the sound of this male's voice had made him shudder.
As the smoke continued to grow faint, the male's figure began to come into view more clearly. He was shirtless and had yellow-orange hair that was fairly short, clean-cut, and slicked back. His physique was very muscular, like a bodybuilder's, and he had a huge tattoo of a wolf's head plastered on his back. He sported two thick, broken gunmetal chains that he wore like bracelets on his wrists, and his pants were black with matching black boots. The whole time he stood there, his chest was out and his hands were in fists, glowering intensely into Henza's one exposed eye. His other wrapped eye looked like it could be seen through the bandages as they widened, shivering at the male yards away, who had suddenly made his appearance.
It was only when he caught sight of him that he understood.
This feeling... it's from this man. Not the masked wolf.
"Brand," was all the muscular male said as Brand appeared like a flash next to Henza and stole Star away from him.
Henza swung a slash with his arm as Brand sped away, too distracted by this new presence to have reacted properly.
Brand then appeared behind the muscular male in a mere blink just as fast. "Bout time, Nash," he said to him.
"Better late than never," Nash replied calmly, "So, who the hell is this guy?"
"That's—" Brand said before getting interrupted.
"That's Henza to you. So you're the rarely seen one? I was expecting someone more... out of shape." Henza shouted distastefully. "This is getting more annoying than I hoped to endure."
"I can tell you don't use social media." Nash responded.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"You knew as far as my name and my name only. Had you come here knowing your enemy more properly, you'd have come with an army." Nash finished tauntingly.
"Oh? Are you saying you can beat me all by yourself?" Henza mocked.
"I'm saying it should have been easy. I'm all over social media after all."
Brand sighed as he thought about it. This man, Nash, with the wolf tattoo on his back, those gunmetal cuffs on his wrists looking like he had just broken out from imprisonment, and muscular in build, standing at the height of six-foot-five, was one of the most known influencers on social media in the Valley Kingdom.
"I make workout videos." He said.
"I don't care." Henza shot him down as Nash remained his unwavering light blue eyes on him, unfazed by his disregard.
Nash then spoke to Brand without shifting his eyes away, "Don't worry, she'll be fine after she sleeps it off." Referring to Star whom Brand was carrying on his back. "This is your first time seeing her like that, isn't it?"
"Aye" Brand replied.
"First time, wasn't so pretty." Nash said.
"And this was?"
"You'd be surprised."
"Already am."
Henza interjected, "If your magic ability involves boring me to death, you're doing a fantastic job of it."
Nash tilted his head to the left and gave Henza a half-eyed stare. "Well, you're more than welcome to strike first. No one's telling you to wait there,"—he raised a brow—"Or perhaps you're afraid of my presence?"
Henza twitched an eyebrow and calmed himself before retaliating, "I've wasted enough time here with you lowly dogs…"
He stuck out a hand and bonded Nash, Brand, and Star with those infamous yellow bonding rings.
"It always ends the same," Henza said, reverting back to his natural tired, condescending attitude.
Shadows formed from Nash's eyes, at this time, and then his muscles flexed…
SHATTER!
The yellow ring broke into pieces around him, breaking like glass. Then, with his muscular arm, he swung it with a fist toward Brand and Star behind him, shattering their bond as well. Standing there with his fist out in front of them, he shot Henza an intense glare.
"That's not going to work on me," Nash said intimidatingly.
Afterward, Brand disappeared at high speed with Star somewhere unseen as if understanding Nash didn't want them around there anymore.
Shocked, Henza studied Nash, who had just broken his, Brand's, and Star's bond one after another. He had even wondered if he was like Star, but that didn't seem to be the case.
"What kind of freak magic is that?" He said to Nash, a noticeably irritated tone in his voice.
Nash stood there in silence, staring him down with locked eyes, unwavering. His presence alone was enough to send shivers down Henza's spine as he locked his eyes back to him, not knowing what to expect.
At this time, the first round with Brand and Star had ended, with round two about to commence. At the Wolves Den was Blue Phoenix Knights Vice Captain Henza vs. Black Wolves 2nd Ace Member Nash.