Elemental Cats

"You scared? You weak-legged chicken? Are you trembling, cowardly mongrel pirate?"

"Thank you for your consideration, Dog Prince, but I am perfectly fine. I can even stand on my own."

Wulf knew the situation was tense, but he couldn't help but laugh at Hama, who hadn't even gotten down from Lester's arms before mocking Toz. Red Hook, Avan, and Brunswick also chuckled a little at Hama.

The only ones who didn't find the situation amusing at all were Dyra, Hama, and Lester. Toz could've sworn he saw Dyra's protector's lips twitch in amusement.

Hama felt like everyone was laughing at him, so while blushing in shame, he left Lester's embrace and shoved Lester away from him in frustrated anger.

Lester willingly let himself get pushed away before he stepped closer so he could be ready to stop another one of Hama's outbursts.

After Hama stopped embarrassing himself, everyone turned to look at Dyra to see what she would do after Toz's rejection.

"Why?"

Dyra pushed her question through her gritted teeth. She clenched her fists in anger as dark-colored mana began surging out of her body.

Toz didn't show if he paid any attention to Dyra's infuriated state as he stood relaxed while answering.

"'Why?' That's my question. Why should I let myself get beaten by you? Why should I even fight you? I lose if you win. And if I win, I still lose since you have your protector and your fleet to back you up."

"..."

"What? Does the young miss feel useless since it doesn't matter if you lose or not? You still win without trying."

Toz guessed from how the others looked at Dyra during the conversation and how the elder called out to her when Dyra first spoke that she was an important young miss of some family. And considering her obviously obsidian eyes, she was clearly related to the royal family in some way.

Such a person was bound to have gotten coddled most of their life, whether they were aware of it or not. If the person was aware of their preferential treatment, Toz's words would surely strike a few insecurities. And if they weren't, they wouldn't care about fighting Toz without getting some help.

"Alright. Fine. As you wish. If you lose, you'll simply be paying for the sin of having a disgustingly annoying mouth. And if you, by some miracle, happen to scrape out something that could be called a victory against me, I swear on my name as Dyra Obsidiris that no one present or in some way related to me shall take revenge on my behalf."

Dyra's words were enough to make Toz agree to the fight, even if they didn't completely guarantee he wouldn't suffer in the future for offending Dyra Obsidiris.

With a signal from Dyra, the person who threw out the box controlled the platform so that the table scraps and chairs disappeared into the ground, and a circular platform appeared instead.

A separate barrier appeared around the platform after Toz and Dyra stepped on it, ensuring the spectators' safety and preventing any outside interference.

The circular stage wasn't very large, only a few meters in diameter. Toz would have liked something slightly larger to make full use of his magic, but at the same time, he didn't need something like that in order to win. It would just make it easier.

Toz and Dyra stood on opposite sides of the circle. Toz grabbed his sword, and Dyra roused her magic in response.

"A sword fighter?"

Toz shrugged

"Something like that."

The dark-colored mana around Dyra solidified into gauntlets around her fists and forearms, encasing them in obsidian. Dyra raised her guard, giving the first strike to Toz. Despite being angry and irritated at Toz, Dyra was still smart and experienced enough to know that there had to be a reason for Toz's arrogance.

If there wasn't a reason for Toz's attitude, he would have been killed by someone long ago. There was no way he would have ended up in the meeting meant to negotiate peace between the kingdoms and Pirate Haven if he didn't have something that allowed him.

Dyra knew level wasn't always an accurate measurement of someone's fighting capability, and Toz's strength would be the most obvious reason for his attitude. Not willing to risk anything after lashing out in anger, Dyra took a slightly more cautious approach since she had no idea what Toz was capable of.

Toz analyzed Dyra's posture as he held up his sword. He hadn't expected her to be so cautious, but it didn't matter.

Toz dashed forward, using only his physical body. He was curious about how much Dyra had seen and wanted to find out if she only knew his level of power or if she even knew how many elements he had. There should be a reason for her caution. But if there wasn't, Toz would simply have to prove her right.

Dyra met Toz's swing with an outstretched gauntlet. The collision sent sparks flying, despite the sword technically being wood.

Although sparks had appeared, Toz's sword hadn't left a mark on Dyra's gauntlet.

Toz hadn't infused his sword with any magic, but it was still sharp enough to cut through stone. Dyra's magic gauntlets weren't just basic magic if they could withstand his sword without a single mark left behind.

Dyra's words, pride, arrogance, and everything Toz knew about her were more than enough for him to figure out that the gauntlets were probably a spell. And a pretty good one at that. But a simple pair of gauntlets wouldn't be enough to defeat Toz.

Toz used the rebound from the strike to redirect his sword and slash in an upward diagonal.

Dyra's obsidian-clad fist struck the sword's edge before he could reach her body.

The impact of Dyra's fist left a dent in the blade and sent it into the platform. The sword left behind a shallow furrow as Toz pulled it out and prepared to block Dyra's fist flying straight toward his face.