On the nearby ground in the battlefield, a spear caught Melavan's eye, and his hand reached for it.

  ?It was during one of his early days, when the junior Melavan first entered into a battlefield to fight against the Ottoman Empire's enemies, that he witnessed his first amazing battle. At that time, his platoon leader was a man named Armagon Mordragon, a fighter well known far and wide throughout the empire as the man beholding the most honorable titles belonging to the battlefield attached to his name.

  ?He was fierce, like a lone lion, and he was fast—fast like a galloping horse at its utmost speed. And he, Melavan , had the honor to behold one of the most fearsome battles Mordragon had fought in his life.

  ?Mordragon had fought countless enemies—men and women—in his life, and each and every time he would come out victorious, so, of course, this enemy he fought fiercely was not of human kind. It was a lion that was tamed by a rival lord who occupied lands standing in the way of the Ottoman Empire's domination.

  ?Mordragon fought the lion after taking down its owner's head. A fact alone that made the lion even more fierce and cruel in its action, caring not an ounce for its life, it fought to avenge its owner's life from the man, like it was having the last battle in its life.

  ?Melavan witnessed how Mordragon used the ground advantage and tools he had in his possession for his gains in the battle. The lion was physically superior and faster than Mordragon by leaps. But Mordragon used the weapons fallen from enemies and allies after the great battle to create a field around them that reduced the fast and reckless movements of the deadly beast. This prevented the beast from using its speed as an advantage. And for the strength that is superior to humans, Mordragon had his extremely sharp weapon—crafted from a star falling from the sky and gifted to him by the empire—at his disposal to use.

  Melavan knew he couldn't hope to do what Mordragon did exactly in that battle, but he hoped to imitate at least a fraction of what he admired. Thus he observed the battle he could hardly grasp, the movement of sword and claw-filled paws and razor-sharp teeth moving in a speed he cannot keep track of.

  ?The beast was already something out of the ordinary and Melavan knew of it, but Joshua was the one keeping him even more surprised and slightly terrified. As the battle proceeded, the kid became more fierce and cold in his actions, like a cub that was shaping up into a monster, or more like a flower just beginning to bloom.

  ?At first, Joshua's abilities were inferior to the beast, and even now it's the same, but it's the method and way he uses his skills that made it possible for Joshua to stand up against the fearsome dark-fur wolf.

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  ?Melavan gulped, he, being an adult, felt slightly frightened to see Joshua at the moment. The kid did not make a sound, his movements are like forms that were practiced a thousand times for this exact battle, but yet they are not in order and coordinated, they are movements born out of pure instinct to fit the right moment for defending against the dark-fur wolf's attack.

  ?Melavan took his gaze away from Joshua and focused it on the dark-fur wolf, and took patience in his actions. Soon he saw a pattern. It was not a perfect pattern—one that happens occasionally after a few moves—but it was enough for Melavan .

  ?He gripped the spear and waited, the beast, not knowing his intentions, kept attacking Joshua as if he was the only enemy it had. Its sharp claws swung at him, but were blocked by Joshua's blade, which already had a number of claw marks and scratches on its iron surface.

  ?Its powerful claw created another scratch on the surface, but Joshua cared not for it, his haste was for a moment for his blade to raise and prepare for an offense after all this time of defending against the beast. Yet the beast moved again fast to the back and leapt once again at him, attacking Joshua from another direction. Joshua abandoned his intent for an attack and once again defended. It was not the first time this happened, all through the battle, from the moment this stalemate of his defending and the wolf attacking began, he had been aiming for an attack. But it did not come easily, however, Joshua felt it was not that far.

  From the experience he had, he could feel it; the wolf's movement became slower, or it was him becoming faster. Either way, he was approaching the point of delivering an attack after defending against the beast's strike, and that moment would be the moment of his victory.

  ?Joshua waited for this moment, to redeem the victory from this cold and intense battle—to feel the thrill and excitement of taking down a beast of this caliber on his own. It would be legendary, people would tell tales about this, and he would have the ultimate joy of being the victor against this mysterious mythical beast.

  ?These are the thoughts that ran in Joshua's mind as he unknowingly moved more like a beast than a human to reach for his goal. Each moment is like a chance for a new life, as even a slight mistake against this beast would cost him his life, but Joshua feared no death, he yearned only for the victory.

  ?After another failed attempt at an attack, the beast sprinted at Joshua, and Melavan saw what he awaited: the repetitive movement done by the beast at certain times had once again appeared on the surface, and he took his chance.

  ?The spear, which had been waiting for its moment to shine, was thrust forward by him with all of his remaining strength. Between Joshua and the dark wolf, the battle was continuing and the wolf, as usual, appeared to attack, and Joshua defended himself and prepared for an attack on the beast.

  ?The feeling of landing an attack on the beast was still a bit distant, and Joshua was slowly reaching for it; this attack was one aimed for that target. But at that moment, a change occurred as the wolf suddenly got distracted as a spear came hurling from the background, to which neither of the two in the battle paid attention till now.

  ?The spear's tip was not at its best, and it did not shine to reflect its sharpness; yet it was still a weapon, and if it landed on the beast, it would suffer harm from it. However, Dark Shadow reacted in a sudden movement and deflected it using its paws. Melavan watched as his effort to take down the beast failed in shame, yet he was not disappointed with his attempt.