Seed of Titan-Chapter 181: A Needless One-Sided Beating

Hearing Cassian’s proposal, Auri frowned again as she responded, "What are you even saying, Cas? You’re a peak third-stage—are you trying to bully him?"

Cassian raised a brow. "Didn’t your friend offhandedly mention that he killed that traitor of a professor, Paul or something? Then shouldn’t he be more than strong enough to match a third-stager? Unless, you know... that was just another lie."

This time Auri couldn’t find any words to refute Cassian since what he said made sense. Besides, Drai had also told her how he briefly meddled in the professors’ battlefield and escaped from a high-ranked member, so considering all this, he shouldn’t lose easily to a mere peak third-stager.

"Don’t worry, Miss," Cassian spoke again. "I’m aware I’m not your ordinary peak third-stager, so even if his story was true, he could still find it difficult to match me. That’s why I’ll set up a few winning conditions for him to avoid a needless one-sided beating."

"What are the conditions?" Auri inquired.

"You’ll find out later. Don’t worry, my words aren’t merely for show, unlike those of a certain someone," Cassian remarked, annoying Auri once more.

"Fine. Let’s go," Auri said as she marched out. She worried that she’d fly into rage again if she remained there and argued further. Cassian followed behind, suppressing an urge to smirk.

Arriving outside, the two discovered that Drai had gone to the yard. He was in the middle of practicing what seemed to be combat moves. They also noticed that the ground around him was riddled with unusually deep footprints.

While Auri walked to Drai, Cassian stopped and crouched to inspect one of the peculiar footprints. It wasn’t too deep, only a few centimeters into the soil. However, the crushed grass inside the depression didn’t match the force that was required to create footmarks these deep.

’Are these traces of some kind of stomping technique? Maybe it amplifies the boy’s striking force or is required to execute some kind of maneuver. Interesting...’ Cassian mused before getting up.

Meanwhile, Drai was looking pretty perplexed, asking, "A duel with Cassian? What for?"

"He just wants to test your strength. Think of it as a friendly spar, but more intense," Auri replied. She didn’t have the heart to tell Drai that he was being suspected as a fraud.

"Can’t we do this tomorrow? I haven’t trained much today," Drai said, a bit reluctant to the idea. Not only was his time here rather unproductive, he was also just getting into the groove when these two interrupted his training, which upset him slightly.

"Don’t worry, Drai. This will only take a moment if you play your cards right," Cassian suddenly butt in.

Auri turned to him. "Cas—"

"Sorry, Miss, but this can’t wait any longer," Cassian swiftly cut off. "Either we do this now or we do this later in front of the other masters after I report my suspicions."

"What suspicions?" Drai asked. Based on these two’s interaction, Drai felt that he was missing something.

However, Cassian ignored the question and proceeded to state the conditions he previously mentioned. "Listen, Drai. The duel can end quickly if you achieve either of the following. First, completely dodge my attacks for a whole minute. Second, injure me badly. Or third, force me to give up. Not too bad, right? Of course this applies to me too, so if I knock you out in one hit, the duel will also end."

Hearing these conditions, Auri realized she had been played, so she snapped, "What the fuck, Cas?! These aren’t ’special conditions’—they’re just general outcomes of a one-sided fight! Didn’t you say you want to avoid a needless one-sided beating?!"

"I sure did, Miss, and none of what I’ve said contradicts that," Cassian flatly replied. "Remember, I didn’t say that I’m not looking for a one-sided beating, just a needless one. If I achieve any of these conditions, wouldn’t that prevent the ’needless’ part?"

Just as Auri opened her mouth again to admonish her aide, her head was patted by Drai, stopping her.

"The conditions suit me, so let’s just start," he said, both to Auri and Cassian.

Auri wanted to object, but Drai simply ruffled her rainbow-colored hair to shush her. On the other hand, Cassian smirked and nodded.

"Very well. Please observe us from the side, Miss Auri," he said, following which Auri reluctantly walked away. She then stood at a distance, watching her friend with a worried look. Despite her proud words back in the house, she couldn’t see how Drai would get away unscathed from this duel—despite being rather prideful, Cassian was unquestionably a highly proficient combatant, otherwise he wouldn’t be assigned to her.

Meanwhile, the two men stood several meters away from each other. Cassian’s gaze that gleamed with excitement was met by Drai’s disinterested look.

"I’ll let you have the first move, Drai," Cassian said.

"Okay, thanks. So has the timer for the first condition already started?" Drai asked.

"Yes. If we both don’t get hit for the next minute, it will end with a tie," Cassian explained. Inwardly, he added, ’But there’s no chance I’m letting that happen.’

"That works. Alright then, see you in a minute," Drai said before enveloping himself in a dazzling white aura and taking off to the sky. He flew so fast and high that he disappeared from view in a matter of seconds.

Silence fell over the grassy yard outside Auri’s residence. Both Cassian and Auri’s head were frozen in an upward tilt as their eyes scoured for a certain white object.

Moments later, Cassian turned to Auri and shouted, "Miss! Why didn’t you tell me he could fly?!"

Without moving her head, Auri shouted back, "You think I knew about this?! I’m also shocked here, idiot!"

Suddenly, a siren rang throughout the estate, alarming both of them along with all the residents.

"Ah! Drai must’ve triggered the security system! Cas, explain the situation to the security team!" Auri hurriedly instructed.

Following that, Cassian rapidly spoke through an earpiece. Seconds later, the siren finally stopped, and both of them could finally sigh in relief.

As the one-minute mark approached, a white streak appeared in the purple sky. It hovered above the estate briefly before diving toward Auri’s residence.

Drai landed gently at the yard and deactivated Nova Flux. This time, the siren didn’t go off, since the security team had been made aware of his actions and eventual return.

Looking at the dazed Cassian, Drai said, "It’s a tie, right? Thanks for the duel." He then walked away, intending to further explore the vast estate and see if he could find any suitable training spots.

However, his steps halted upon hearing Cassian shouting, "Wait! I can’t accept this result!"

Turning around, Drai’s face looked displeased as he asked, "Aren’t you the one who set the conditions? Why are you going back on your words now?"

"B-because I didn’t know you could fly!"

"So what? I also don’t know anything about you," Drai replied, starting to get annoyed by this fussy man.

At the side, Auri remained silent, still partially in a daze due to her earlier astonishment.

Meanwhile, clearly losing the argument, Cassian finally snapped. "You dare act cocky, brat?! Let’s see if you’re still allowed to remain here after I report you to the masters!"

Cassian’s words snapped Auri back to the present. But before she could scold him, Drai had already spoke up as he walked back to the bothersome man. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Report me to the masters? What are you even talking about?" he questioned.

"Heh, still acting, huh? I admit you lie pretty well, but with this it’s clear. You didn’t defeat all those people you said you did—you merely fled by flying, right? Wait, maybe you didn’t even get close to them and instead observed them from the sky. You then inserted yourself into those fights thinking that no one would find out about your fabrications," Cassian blurted, causing Drai’s expression to darken.

"Why the hell would I make such lies?" Drai coldly asked.

Cassian snickered before replying, "To be well received by our family, to make a name for yourself, to fool the long-lost master, to get close to Miss Auri... the list is endless. Now, be a good boy and let me get a taste of your so-called prowess. If you obey, I might just let this matter go and keep it from the masters. What do you say?"

While he kept walking closer, Drai gestured with his hand and replied, "Fine. Come here and taste my fist."

Before Auri could stop the two, Cassian had already darted forward. His skin was now gleaming as if made of metal and power surged through him.

Arriving before his opponent, Cassian punched forward with his fist that had transformed into something resembling a drill head. He didn’t aim for a fatal spot though, since he was certain the boy’s death would cause Auri to make a huge fuss, which could implicate him severely.

A deafening crack resounded, and at the same time, the ground beneath Drai’s feet depressed slightly.

"Eh?"

For a split second, Cassian eyed his cracked arm in confusion. Then, his arm shattered, splattering the grass red with bits of flesh and blood.

Cassian’s wail echoed through the yard and alerted the servants, who hurriedly rushed toward the sound.

Each butler and maid that arrived at the scene immediately gasped in horror before falling silent, for the sight that greeted them was a kneeling Cassian whose right arm was only left with its bones and sparse flesh clumps. Plopped on the grass a few meters away from the poor blondie was their Young Miss—pale and quivering as her eyes stayed glued to the horrid scene.

The approaching footsteps startled Cassian, who forcibly restrained his wail as he endured the agonizing pain. Slowly raising his head, his fearful eyes met Drai’s impassive gaze. Then, the toneless voice that followed turned into a chilling hiss in his ears, jolting him back.

"This should satisfy you, right? So will you now let me train in peace, Cassian?"

***