Magus Supremacy

"Now, with those annoying weights off, shall we have a rematch?" Grey asked as he bent his knees, Ki swirling around his legs and feet, and then…

Boom!

Grey vanished in a blur, disappearing so fast that none of them could follow his movement.

Bam!

His foot exploded forward and slammed into one of the clan members' heads, hammering him down into the ground with devastating force.

The earth trembled slightly from the sheer impact of skull meeting stone. Finral stared at Grey with wide, unbelieving eyes. The other men mirrored the same expression, their feet slowly retreating a step in caution.

The man whom Grey had struck lay unconscious, his eyes rolled to the back of his head as if his mind had completely detached from reality.

'Huh?' Grey thought, briefly stunned as he stared at his hands and clenched them open and shut. 'I feel lighter, faster… and so much more powerful. Taking those weights off was like removing a seal. It feels like the limits that held me back were just stripped away.'

"Oh! So you want to be rebellious, huh?" one of the men barked. With a snap of his fingers, about thirty more clan members stepped out from the shadows. Without hesitation, they surged toward Grey like a charging horde.

Swoosh!

A sword sliced through the air, aimed directly at Grey. But he simply channeled Ki into his legs and launched himself upward, shattering parts of the floor beneath him from the force of his jump.

While airborne, a spear was hurled his way. With a sharp twist of his body, Grey kicked the air, flipped backward, and slammed the spear down to the ground with his heel.

Bang!

As soon as he landed, he dashed forward like a bolt of lightning, leaving a thunderous bang in his wake.

A spear lunged toward his chest. Grey pivoted on one foot and delivered a crushing punch into the attacker's abdomen, sending him flying backward.

Another sword slashed toward his head, but Grey bent backward just in time. The blade only managed to nick a few strands of his hair before he flipped back, maintaining distance.

His breath was calm. His fists were clenched. His mind was steady. He waited.

And just as expected, they charged.

A punch came flying toward his face, but he ducked low and countered with a powerful palm strike to the gut. The man's mouth erupted with blood and saliva as he crumpled to the ground.

Before the body hit the floor, Grey rolled beneath him, narrowly dodging a downward sword slash.

With a burst of strength, he used one arm to launch himself off the ground and delivered a brutal roundhouse kick to another assailant, smashing the man's face and sending him flying backward with blood trailing.

But before he could reposition, a shield user rammed into Grey's back with intense force. Grey tumbled forward, nearly losing his footing—only to see another sword racing upward toward his head.

"Crap!" Grey growled. He focused all his Ki into his hands and forcefully clamped them around the blade, halting it mid-swing. His teeth gnashed as sweat trickled down his brow.

He barely had a moment of relief when another attacker came from above, launching an axe kick straight onto his back.

Crash!

Grey was driven into the ground with such power that the impact sent a shockwave outward, making even Finral's hair whip backward from the force.

Tchk!

Grey spat out a mouthful of blood, his face twisted in pain. His back throbbed violently. If he hadn't coated his body with Ki to reinforce his durability, his spine would have snapped like a twig.

"Finish him!" one of the clan members barked, and immediately, all two dozen men swung their weapons toward Grey, who lay on the ground with wide eyes.

"Shit!" he groaned, slamming his hands on the floorboards. Swirling the Ki around his palms, he propelled himself backward just in time as their weapons struck the ground, slicing through it like a hot knife through butter.

Grey was now on his feet, standing a metre away, his hands clenched around his side as he struggled to steady his breathing. He glared at the group of men in front of him.

"You know," the clan member who always did the talking spoke again, "you could end all this by simply surrendering. No need to drag the Cromwell family into this mess."

"Oh yeah? I don't want to surrender. What are you gonna do about it?" Grey shot back, raising a defiant eyebrow.

"We've got orders to bring you in—dead or alive. We tried taking you alive, but it seems your stubbornness will be your downfall."

"Bring it on," Grey said coldly, taking a stance with his hands up, gesturing for them to come at him.

"Just kill him!" the same man barked, and the two dozen warriors charged at Grey with full speed.

'Remember what Yami sir taught you, Grey,' Grey reminded himself inwardly. His eyes darted across the room, tracking their movement as he forced his breathing to slow and steady.

'Always be patient. Wait for the right time.'

Bam!

One of the men lunged forward, swinging his leg in a powerful arc to kick Grey. But Grey reacted instantly, slamming his palm down on the leg and forcing it to the ground with a thud.

Before he could counter, a fist shot toward his face. Grey leaned back, narrowly avoiding it, and responded with a crushing stomp to his attacker's foot, drawing a yelp of pain.

He didn't waste a second. Grey drove his palm hard into the man's stomach, sending him skidding backward and crashing into two others. The rest quickly adjusted, darting aside and circling him, still charging in from every direction.

"You know what I've learned from my time with Yami?" Grey called out as he crouched slightly, eyes locked on the incoming enemies. "That my strength lies in my speed!" he roared, bolting forward to meet them head-on.