Chapter 116: Moves On The Boss! (II)

The Boss whispered, just as Declan punched forward toward his head.

The man crossed his arms to block the punch, although the force sent him piercing farther through the clouds.

For the next few moments, explosions raged across the academy sky.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

Each collision obliterated entire clouds, while the resulting shockwaves blasted across the sky for miles.

The explosive noise immediately attracted the attention of not only the students but also the Instructors.

In an instant, a total of fifteen Instructors were in the sky, preparing to step in, when an order suddenly came.

"Leave them alone."

They all turned back, and there, standing within a random cloud in the sky, was a woman with long golden hair and piercing golden eyes.

"Principal Matilda!?" the instructors called in shock, immediately pausing.

"But that’s one of our second-year students," a dark-haired Instructor said to her as Matilda looked into the distance, watching the crazy blur flash through the sky, every collision triggering a shockwave that blasted clouds apart for miles.

"No. He’s not a student."

"He’s an X Guardian being tested by the Boss of the X Guardians."

"WHAT!?"

________________

"Remind me..."

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

"How many months has it been since we last saw each other?" the Boss’s thick voice boomed through the air as Declan raised his head.

Above him, the Boss had his hands together, fingers interlocked to form a single massive fist that came crashing down toward him.

Declan’s hands shot forward, crashing into the descending shockwave and shattering its ripple before he punched upward, landing directly beneath the massive fist.

"Six months, two weeks, and five days."

KAAABOOOOOOOOOM!

The explosion forced them apart, sending Declan hurtling downward while the Boss was flung upward, only to dive back down with even greater, almost insane speed.

Declan withdrew a glass ball from his hand and released it into the air.

When it slipped beneath him, he tapped his foot against it, using the rebound like a spring to thrust himself farther into the sky.

Three punches slammed toward his face, yet he dodged every one of them, countering with an elbow toward the Boss’s neck.

The man blocked with the back of his wrist before pushing his hand forward and headbutting Declan, who seemed to have predicted the move, jerking backward while slamming his knee upward instead.

It connected directly with the Boss’s lowered forehead, sending his head jerking backward into the sky.

The world darkened for a second, but when he opened his eyes, he found the back of a foot crashing once more toward his forehead.

CREEEEAAAAAAAAAK!

The sound of bones creaking echoed from the Boss’s crossed hands as he felt the vibrations coursing through his body from the kick.

"You fight pretty well," he whispered before being blasted deep into the ground, crashing straight into the street and carving an abyss into the surface.

Declan couldn’t fly, so he naturally plummeted toward the ground as well, but just before impact, he puched downward, canceling most of his falling force and landing gently.

Even so, a spiderweb-like crater still opened beneath him.

When he looked downward, he expected to see the Boss deep inside the crater, but there was nothing at the bottom.

[Behind You]

WHIIISTTLE!

The sound of whistling echoed behind Declan, but in that same moment, he swung out his walking cane, pointing it backward even though he never turned.

His hair was blown chaotically around his head, and when he finally turned, he found the Boss standing directly behind him, his outstretched fist now inches away from Declan’s nose.

It wasn’t that the Boss had stopped. The tip of Declan’s cane was also hovering mere inches from his face, dangerously close to his nose.

A tense silence hung between them, and then the cane’s end began quivering unstably, reflecting the shaking of Declan’s hand.

It fell to the ground just as his knee crashed down beside it.

DROOOOP!

DROOOOP!

Droplets of red blood flowed from the corner of his lips, dripping onto the ground, and a glint crossed through the Boss’s eyes as he pulled his fist back.

Even though he had not gone all out, he had also become a little lost in the excitement of the fight, causing him to forget that he was only fighting a boy who had far exceeded his limits.

"Are you okay?" he asked, reaching out his hands.

Declan grabbed them and allowed himself to be pulled from his knees, quietly supporting himself with the cane.

"I’m good. Just exhausted..."

VROOOOOOOM!

The sound of air flapping rang out, and Declan turned to see a group descending from the sky.

They were the instructors, led by Principal Matilda.

"Quite unbelievable, isn’t it?"

Principal Matilda addressed the Boss, and Declan saw the stunned expressions of the Instructors, their gazes fixed on him as though he were a ghost.

"A little more than six months, and he went from a non-Core fuser to a power level of the Physique Core while only holding an X Core within."

"If that is not genius, then that word shouldn’t exist."

She praised him, and the Boss chuckled.

"It’s indeed abnormal."

But then he paused.

"I’m surprised you haven’t dissected him yet, Matilda..."

The Boss said, his eyes narrowing suspiciously at the golden-haired woman, and Declan’s spine unconsciously froze.

’Dissect him...’

"I won’t say the plan didn’t cross my mind," she said, looking at Declan with a predatory grin scary enough to make him unconsciously take a step back.

"But Morgaret seems to value him a lot, going as far as wanting to kill me if I dared touch him."

She said, and the Boss’s brows furrowed.

Morgaret displaying interest in someone was strange. He had thought the same when she first recommended Declan.

But seeing his anomaly and insane growth, he began to get an inkling of why Morgaret must value him so highly.

There had to be something within the boy, something that could make him so strong, so fast, and the only person who seemed to know the answer apart from Declan himself was Morgaret.

"You’ve tested him, Boss. Do you think he’s ready?" Principal Matilda asked.

Once more, the Boss’s coat mysteriously appeared, resting on his shoulder as his dreadlocks rearranged themselves, before he properly rebuttoned his folded sleeves.

"Declan," he called out.

Declan watched him dip his hands into his coat and bring out a golden card.

"Every X Guard undergoes training that takes three years, after which they graduate from the academy and take the X Guardian Test."

"Passing means getting this, an X Guardian Card," he said.

"I have just given you your test, just now, and you passed it, hence your X Guardian Card. But..."

He passed him the card, and Declan took it.

It was crisp to the touch and golden in color, with the only thing on it being a clear X symbol stretching horizontally across the card, along with the name Declan Ezra in the corner.

But more than the card itself, Declan noticed the Boss’s pause.

"But what?"

"But I’ll understand if you still wish to remain in the academy for your Mech Designing goal, so I’m giving you the freedom to choose whether you want to remain in the academy or begin full duty as an X Guardian."

"With enough time, you should be able to feel the resonance from the card, and it will take you to X Guard Tower, where you’ll find your place."

"You’ll know everything once you get there. After all, the room has been vacant ever since you got the mark."

He said, and in the next moment, he began hovering above the ground.

"Remember, follow the pull to the X Guardian Tower, and you will know everything once you reach it."

In the next moment, he floated over to Matilda, and both of them turned, disappearing into the distance, followed by the Instructors.

In the end, all that remained was Declan, with the deep crater behind him.

He looked around and noticed some students recording the destruction with their devices.

Quickly, he pulled his hoodie over himself and raced away to avoid drawing attention.

____________

Arriving back in his room, Declan sat back in his chair and took off his cap, but then the panel flashed.

[You faked defeat!]

Declan paused before grinning.

"So you noticed, huh?"

[Yes, I did. You didn’t use up half your strength, and you bit your own tongue to fake the blood.]

[You were superior to him in pure brute force and should have easily subdued him.]

"Yeah, that’s true. But what’s the point, though?" he asked.

[Then why did you fight at all if there’s no point? Trying to show him you’re not a disappointment?]

[I don’t think you’re that naive, are you?]

It replied, and Declan hummed.

"Do I fight because I wanted to prove to him I was no disappointment? No. I don’t care, neither do I especially want his pride."

"I fought because I needed to get out of here to show him, I could help out there, and being in the Academy limited me."

"And I was able to get that message across well enough by showing him Physique Nexian level power, which is enough to make him understand I’m beyond the second-year level."

"And that convinced him enough to give me a True X Guardian Card."

"If I had done any less, I never would have gotten the X Guardian Card as I wouldn’t have gotten my message across."

"And if I had defeated him, I would have sent a different message. That of being a monster, which, like any monster, would have signaled that I needed to either be dissected or taken down."

"At the very least, I definitely wouldn’t have gotten the X Guardian Card, and I’d have been more likely to get increased security around me or even be captured outright."

"Not like the Instructors and Principal Matilda would have simply watched silently as the Boss got pummeled."