As those words left out of Tryndall’s mouth, Braum swiftly released the entirety of his aura in response, pushing Merdus’ aura back to his side as the pressure weighing on both Valyr and Tryndall swiftly disappeared in an instant. Letting out light sighs of relief, Valyr and Tryndall thanked Braum as they moved behind him, giving Braum the space to go all out.

“First of all, I have to commend you for having such strong Intent,” said Braum to Merdus, who could only frown in response as his aura, coupled with his Intent in full swing, was being matched by the ‘guard’ that stood before him. “However, do you really have enough experience and control to continuously wield it at that level?”

‘A Rank 4 class holder?’ Then again, it did not take long for him to come to a conclusion as to why that was the case, instantly wondering where someone like Braum had come from. After all, as the city mayor, he was privy to all the powerful and influential people that passed through his city.

Yet, for some reason, Braum’s appearance was unknown to him. He did not know where he came from, nor when he arrived.

‘I’ll figure it out once I beat him.’ Taking in a deep breath, Merdus radiated a bit of mana out of his right hand, prompting a staff around three-quarters his height to appear soon after. Gripping on it tightly, he channeled his Intent through the staff as he swung it down towards Braum.

“Serpentine Staff: Skyfall!”

Bang!

In response to the falling staff, Braum crossed his arms in front of him before forming a shield out of energy. Surprisingly, the force behind Merdus’ staff was enough to break the shield, though the momentum that accompanied the staff was nullified.

Just as Braum was about to grip on the staff and remove it from Merdus’ hands, the latter already seemed to have an idea on what his opponent was going to do, retracting the staff before thrusting it out in a series of random attacks, all of which were still accompanied by his Intent.

“Serpentine Staff: Hundred Fangs!”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

With him being at the peak of Rank 4, Braum had great ease in dodging a great portion of the attacks Merdus sent at him, owing it all to the great disparity between their agility. However, at the times where he did not have the time to dodge it…

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Braum coated his fists in energy before punching out at the area where the staff would make contact with his body, deflecting the attack before it could even land. In fact, due to the force he had infused into each of his punches, aside from deflecting the one attack that would hit him, his attack also messed up the rhythm Merdus had in striking out, prompting the man to start all over again.

Nevertheless, the exchange between the two at this point had become more or less the same.

Naturally, with none of the attacks landing on his opponent’s body, Merdus grew more and more infuriated with every passing moment. In response to this fury, the attacks he sent towards Braum became more and more aggressive, though, in turn, the accuracy of his attacks lessened, allowing Braum to dodge even more of them.

“For **s’ sake, hit!” Letting out an enraged scream, Merdus retracted his staff before infusing the entirety of his mana and his Intent into it, rotating his entire body to gain momentum before coming to an abrupt stop. Then, by maneuvering the staff, he conserved the momentum that he had built up into the staff before slashing it down towards Braum. “Take this!”

“Serpentine Staff: Nine Hells!”

Bang!

Crossing his arms once more, Braum came face-to-face with Merdus’ staff as he blocked with a swiftly conjured shield, causing all of the momentum it had to dissipate. However, just as he thought the attack was over, the staff gained momentum out of nowhere, colliding with the vambraces on his arms as the force the staff had gained was enough to send him face first to the floor.

“Hahahaha!” Cackling, Merdus took advantage of Braum’s predicament and continued the subsequent attacks that came with the skill, hitting Braum at the arms and legs before proceeding to aim for his vital spots. By the end of it, Braum was embedded to the ground as an arrogant grin appeared on Merdus’ face, shifting his gaze towards both Valyr and Tryndall.

“You may have surprised me by having someone at Rank 4 fight against me…” Noticing the slight panic written on Valyr and Tryndall’s faces, Merdus started to move closer to them. “However, that’s all there is to it. A surprise.”

Raising his staff once more, he infused his energy and Intent into it as he gave them what he considered to be the last words they got from him. “Repent making an enemy out of me in the underworld.”

“Alright, that’s enough.”

Rumble…

Just as Merdus had swung his staff horizontally, sending a blade of energy and Intent towards the duo, a wall made out of dull gray energy appeared out of nowhere and intercepted the blade, nullifying its effects.

Wondering where it had come from, Merdus could only stare at the man before him as he gradually stood up and looked at him with a calm expression. However, if one looked closely, one could see frown on the man’s face as he continued to gaze at Merdus.

“I’ve got to admit, I’ve underestimated the Intent you’ve formed,” Braum said to him. “However, the question I have still stands.”

“Do you have enough experience and control to continuously wield it at that level?”

“Why would someone without any Intent even bothering a question like that?” Merdus frowned as he infused his energy and Intent into his staff, deciding to hit Braum with another Serpentine Staff: Nine Hells to bring the man down once and for good. Though, just as he had finished infusing his staff with his Intent…

Whoosh!

“W-what…?” Within seconds, the Intent he had infused into the staff disappeared into smoke, prompting a light smile to appear on Braum’s face as he opened his mouth.

“As expected. You were just using it with reckless abandon.” As he said these words, the aura Braum emanated gradually intensified in strength, with Merdus eventually becoming slack-jawed once he felt a familiar feeling from Braum’s aura.

The feeling of the world helping Braum.

The feeling…𝗈𝒱𝑳xt.𝐂𝒪𝔪

…of an Intent.