The Hero of Hypnosis

Kai wasn't impressed. He could easily tell from the look on Hector's face why the man wanted to duel him.

Hector wasn't that much older than Kai and was a prodigy, considering how powerful he is for his age. His master is not only a superpower, but also a noble. His entire life has been filled with nothing but greatness, but there was one thing he was missing: love.

Hector's eyes sought the love of Janna, his peer, his friend. She was the only person he had eyes for and was the only person he knew would understand him. So seeing her with Kai really shattered his heart.

'I wouldn't be surprised if she liked him romantically before, but that doesn't matter. She's mine now.' Kai chuckled to himself

"Is something funny?" Hector took Kai's chuckle as him mocking his strength. While he was a humble man, he took pride in his strength. To him, it was to show that his master forged a powerful warrior.

"Listen, dude. I can tell that you are a chill guy and don't mean any harm. But don't let your jealousy cloud your judgment. You could ruin the position you have in this family." Kai said, turning around.

"Is this how the students of the Hero Academy act when challenged to a duel? I wanted to test the strength of someone aspiring to be a hero. But I guess you're all weak and pathetic."

Kai nearly laughed his ass off at the poor attempt to have him agree to the duel. Instead of falling for it, he turned it around.

"That's pretty rude, don't you think? Calling your young lady weak and pathetic isn't something a subject should say to their master." Kai grinned

Once Hector heard the words come out of Kai's mouth, he knew he had messed up. "W-What?! No! I never called her those things!"

"You didn't? But didn't you say that we Hero Academy people are weak and pathetic? Janna attends the academy, and I don't recall you exempting her from your claim. Therefore, you insulted her while trying to insult me."

"Hector, just drop it. I don't know what's going on with you, but we don't have time for this. We need to leave."

Hearing Janna not only take Kai's side was like a stab in the heart to Hector.

"What's going on here?" Kirlia asked, stepping out of the mansion.

Janna explained what went on, and Hector didn't even bother to deny it out of shame.

"Hmm. Duel then. Since you truly wish to see his strength, I think it is a good idea to see how powerful Kai is as well."

Janna nearly choked. "M-Mother!" She ran to her and whispered in her ear. "Kai is way stronger than him! And he's gotten stronger since the last time we saw him."

"I know, this is great. Kai will show off his power, and Hector will see how outmatched he is. If he cannot handle the defeat, then we'll have to kick him out. We would be losing a great ally in the process, but if he cannot control himself, then nipping the bud before it explodes is the best option."

"Sigh, I understand."

"So, Kai. Are you willing?"

Kai shrugged. "Whatever. Let's just get this over with."

Hector nearly slit Kai's throat for speaking casually to Kirlia, but seeing as she didn't say anything, he held his tongue.

"Ready yourselves!" Kirlia shouted, lifting her hand in the air.

Hector opened his palm, and his spear flew into his hand. "You're not going to use a weapon?"

"Are people in fantasy worlds stupid or something? You have people who can shatter mountains with their fists, and you ask if they'll use a weapon? Dude, not everyone trains with a weapon. Some people actually use their bodies."

As a martial artist, Hector felt embarrassed for overlooking that fact.

"I apologize." He bowed.

"It's okay. And nah, I won't be using a weapon."

Anger rose in his face as Kai had just mocked him. But instead of blowing up, he would take out his anger during their fight. He took his stance and waited for Kirlia to signal for them to begin.

"Let this match...Begin!"

Hector dashed forward so fast that the wind blew well after he was already gone. His spear never trailed behind him, and he was ready to end the fight in one strike. Still, as an expierenced warrior, he knew that there was a chance he couldn't end it in one strike, so he prepared for that as well.

His mana flared, and his strength rose. Hector lunged forward, the ground beneath his feet cracking, and thrusted his spear at Kai's chest.

"It's over!" He shouted with excitement.

"Really?"

The voice came from behind him, and Hector felt two fingers on the back of his head. His body froze, and panic set in.

Never before had he been beaten so easily, without any effort. When he looked forward, Kai's afterimage vanished.

'He moved that fast?! T-Then I must have been moving in slow motion in his eyes.' He gulped hard.

"I-I lose." He said, raising his hands and dropping his spear.

"Sweet. Let's go now."

Kirlia nodded and directed Kai to where their carriage was. But instead of following, he took out his own carriage and told them to hop in.

"Wait! Before you go, may I ask how strong you are?" Hector asked on his knees.

"Stronger than tier-10." Kai closed the door and left with Kirlia and Janna.

Hector was in awe. "I-I never stood a chance."

---

"There it is! The front lines!" Kirlia pointed down below.

"Whoa, that's a lot of fighting." Janna awed.

"I agree. This is more chaotic than when the necromancer tried to invade the capital.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers were fighting a hard, fierce, bloody battle against minor demons, demonic beasts, and the cult of demons. No side was winning, and each side suffered heavy losses.

Many superpowers fought on the front lines, swatting away weak demons like bugs, but when faced with stronger ones, they had to use everything they had.

However, there was one thing that bugged Kai. The feeling in the air, the energy. It felt suffocating, as if something was trying to limit his power.

He then looked at the demon forces and the kingdom forces and saw that the kingdom outnumbered the demons 10 to 1. While it was true that the kingdom had more fodder soldiers than the demons, with the amount of strength the kingdom possessed, especially with many superpowers who arent in the military getting involved, the kingdom should have pushed the demons back by now.

"Something isn't right."