Arthur left with his fists still clenched, but once he got far enough from the bathroom, he loosened them and murmured, "Ouch. Ouch. Ouch."
When his adrenaline faded, pain flooded his body, especially his shin, "Holy crap, how could he kick me in the shin? That's dirty!"
"Technically, you fought dirty too, boy. That rich kid has yet to awaken his inner demon, so he relied only on human strength. You, on the other hand, used mine," Dullahan commented. "Without my power, your shin would've cracked."
He wasn't going to lie, he was impressed on how strong Lancelot was without his inner demon's power. He must've been trained in martial arts since he was a kid, unlike Arthur, who spent his childhood licking dirt.
Dullahan sighed, sounding like a disappointed coach after seeing his favorite player make a dumb mistake.
"Why did you attack him? Boy, you should have better self control if you want to succeed."
"He was mocking my grandma. I know everyone does it, but they never say it to my face, so I couldn't control myself…" Arthur admitted, lowering his head in shame, "I regret escalating the situation, but… I don't regret punching him in the guts. He deserved it."
…
Arthur lifted his head as he walked to his locker to grab his history books and asked Dullahan, "I don't think he and I can be friends. We're too different. He sees me as a subhuman at best."
"That is up to you, boy. We will find someone else in the future anyway. But finding a fellow descendant is not easy," Dullahan warned.
"I just don't think that we can work together. If he doesn't see me as a human, he definitely won't see me as a friend…"
What Arthur said was a harsh truth that even Dullahan couldn't deny. He fell silent and accompanied Arthur to his next class.
The class was already filled with students when Arthur walked in. Everyone went quiet and gave Arthur ugly looks. It seemed the sight of Arthur trying his best to talk to the new student was too jarring for them.
Perhaps they thought he was trying to leech on a rich kid.
He sat in silence, getting used to such stares. He just wanted to be done for the day, and pretend he never talked to Lancelot.
However, the rich kid walked in after a while, and his eyes immediately darted to Arthur.
The unbridled rage in them was frightening. Arthur knew that Lancelot Fairmont wouldn't let him go easily after he punched him in the stomach.
It got even worse when Lancelot purposely sat right behind him, like a tiger ready to pounce.
Arthur cursed his luck but dared not to look behind his shoulder, knowing Lancelot was glaring at him.
"Wait for me at the school gate after school. I'll make your life miserable if you dare run away," Lance said coldly while glaring at Arthur.
Arthur nodded weakly, knowing he had no choice.
He just wondered if it was alright to use Dullahan's power against someone who couldn't fight back. No matter how strong Lancelot was, he was no match against a giant horseman who could crush him in a stampede.
**
The classes flew by for Arthur. He couldn't focus, constantly thinking about how to deal with Lancelot after school.
He walked through the busy corridor. Those in the same class gave him nasty looks again, but most were too focused on escaping the school to care.
This meant he could talk to Dullahan freely.
"Dullahan, do you think you can turn big again to fight him? I'm sure we can win."
"Even if I could, I wouldn't, boy," Dullahan rejected firmly. "I will only use my power to fight demons. Besides, that goes against my—and your morality. We both know you wouldn't hurt someone weaker than you."
"The thing is… I don't think he is weaker than me…"
"He is weaker than you. You've absorbed some of my physical durability when we formed our contract. Trust in yourself, and fight him fair and square. Beat him until he acknowledges your strength."
Arthur felt better getting encouragement from Dullahan, though he still found it hard to believe he could win if Lancelot went all out.
Nevertheless, he lifted his head as he was approaching the school gate. He didn't see Lancelot anywhere, so he stood at the gate, waiting as instructed.
"Glad you didn't run away. I was ready with my plan had you ignored my warning." Arthur turned as he heard Lancelot's voice. The scion walked to the school gate, still perfectly clean, as if he hadn't been punched in the gut a few hours ago.
Arthur's body went stiff, and he clenched his fist, ready to fight. But Lancelot didn't seem to take him seriously.
He stood next to Arthur and stared at the road, "Fighting here will only ruin my reputation. Come with me."
As he said that, a black Mercedes pulled up. A man wearing a suit bowed and opened the door.
"Did you have a good day at school, Young Master?"
"Could be better," Lancelot said as he got in the backseat. The driver was about to close the door, but Lancelot stopped him. "Let that kid in. He is my… acquaintance."
"Yes, Young Master."
The driver looked at Arthur, sizing him up, and said, "Please come in."
Arthur was stupefied. He stood like an idiot until Lancelot said, "I'll take you to the safe place where I can square up."
Arthur gulped. He got in the expensive car, sitting next to Lancelot.
Arthur had never been in a car this expensive before. It was always a bus, train, or his mom's old toyota before she passed away.
Nevertheless, he felt extremely uncomfortable. He was scared he might accidentally break something. Since the armrest had so many buttons, he was curious yet scared to touch them.
Everyone was quiet until the driver asked, "I'm glad that you made a friend on the first day of school, Young Master. I thought it would be difficult, since the environment is vastly different from what you used to."
"Friend?" Lancelot scoffed. "I'm bringing him because I want to fight him again. He punched me in the guts."
"I-I-It was an accident…" Arthur stammered as tried to defend himself.
"An accident that makes me puke my lunch out hours later," Lancelot sneered, noticing Arthur was actually sweating nervously. "What? Are you scared?"
Arthur shook his head.
He was more afraid of getting scrutinized by the adult driver.
He had spent his life tiptoeing around because he and his late grandma already had a bad reputation in three towns. So, one simple mistake could make him the prime target of bullying.
But the driver didn't seem angry.
"That is surprising, Young Master. I've never seen you lose a fight."
"I was caught off guard. But not anymore, I will make sure to go all out on the rematch."
Rematch.
That word echoed in Arthur's head.
He turned to look at Lancelot, waiting for him to say it was a joke. He didn't.
Lancelot simply glanced at him and said, "You're the first enemy to successfully land a good blow on me. So, we need a rematch."
"That's right, young man. Do not worry, we're not going to gang up on you, at least not without Young Master's order," the driver said calmly. "Young Master must be very eager to fight you."
Eager? More like angry, Arthur thought, watching Lancelot's jaw tighten.
He stayed quiet until the car drove up to a mansion overlooking the sea in Fort Garden. The villa sat on top of a hill, looking spotless—either newly built, or freshly renovated.
The front garden was enormous—big enough to fit Arthur's house three times over with room to spare.
He couldn't help but stare in awe. For someone who had never seen real luxury, it felt like stepping into another world.
The car circled the mansion, and stopped at the backyard, where a wide training ground of sand stretched out. Strange, Arthur thought— shouldn't rich kids have tea pavilions and swimming pools instead?
Lancelot and Arthur stood at the edge of the sandy field.
Arthur stared blankly at the sand while Lancelot already kicked off his shoes, and rolled up his sleeves.
Stepping barefoot into the training ground, he planted himself in the center, legs spread in a fighting stance and said, "Let's not waste time. Come fight me."
Arthur retreated a step, "C-can we not? I'm sorry I punched you earlier. I-I can stand still and let you punch me in the stomach in exchange? That will make us even, right?"
"What nonsense?" Lancelot scoffed. "It's been a while since anyone could punch me like that. I need to make sure that it's just luck, or else I'll not be satisfied," Lancelot insisted.
"B-but I really don't want to fight," Arthur took another step back. "F-fine, I give up. You win, I lose. You're definitely stronger than me. C-can I go home now? I have to wash—"
Before Arthur could finish his sentence, Lancelot suddenly lunged at him and aimed a kick right to his face.
Arthur barely raised his palms in time to block, but Lancelot didn't relent— he dropped one hand for support and drove another kick straight at Arthur's stomach.
This time, the kick connected, and the scrawny boy felt a sharp pain.
"Ack!" Arthur's legs shook. He felt he was about to puke his guts out. However, a moment later the pain was gone.
"It would've been fatal without my power," Dullahan said. "But it's a damage I can heal with my strength for now, boy. Now get up and fight him seriously."
The pain faded, but Arthur seriously didn't want a fight. So he acted, "Ouch… It hurts so much. I-I give up, you win…"
Lancelot narrowed his eyes, then suddenly lashed out with another kick aimed at Arthur's head. Arthur instinctively threw up his arm to protect his head and stumbled back, "Hey! I said I lost!"
"Stop acting like a wimp and fight me seriously," Lancelot said. "Do you think you can fool me with that pathetic act? A man who could punch me wouldn't go down easily."
This time Arthur got up with fists clenched . Ready for a fight.
"If I agree to fight seriously until one of us is down, will you promise never to ask for a fight again?" Arthur asked seriously. "I… really don't want to fight."
"I promise. Follow me, and we can settle this once and for all."
Arthur pulled off his shoes, and followed Lancelot as they stepped on the sandy training ground and faced each other, ready to fight.
"That's the look I want to see," Lancelot said, sliding back into his fighting stance. "Now come, and show me how strong you really are."