The back and forth began, and there were no signs of it ending in the short term. He did not use any power or abilities, or at least none that I could identify. He did not talk or scream. He did not roar the names of attacks. He simply punched, kicked, and even attempted a few grappling moves from time to time.

  He was literally doing the epitome of mixed martial arts, while I held my spear and did not hold anything back, especially once I realized that the man before me could handle it. Or maybe it was another boy, I am not sure. Either way I did not give a damn.

  I fought with everything I had from a physical standpoint, obviously without including the eternal flame. And even after a few minutes passed, there were no signs of either of us running low on stamina. But at the same time there were also no signs of any injuries on either side.

  No matter how many feints I mixed in, how many different ways he came at me, or how many angles he threw attacks from, neither of us had given up a single inch since the start of the battle.

  Until one moment where the tip of my spear was going directly for his chest, and instead of dodging like he had done in all the previous exchanges, he met it full force with a fist.

  The sound of piercing flesh that I have grown familiar with over the years did not come. Instead, I heard the sound of what felt like two hammers colliding.

  BOOM!

  The force of the attacks colliding pushed us apart briefly, and we both took the moment to size each other up. I did not plan on talking and was ready to get back into the swing of things, but it seems he had other ideas.

  "That is enough of a warmup then."

  I raised my eyebrow at this, but not even a second passed after he said that before water began to gather all around him. Only it was not the normal color of water that I expected. It was black, just like his scales. Pitch black water, and it gathered around him before settling at his feet and rising up in a swarm of tentacles.

  This was different.

  If I thought he was going to stand back and use those tentacles to fight against me, I was surely mistaken, because after he finished whatever he was doing he once again took off toward me. But before his fist could reach me, a myriad of tentacles shot out in a flurry of attacks.

  Though I did not run.

  I stood my ground with a spear covered in Infernal Qi. I blocked and defended against them until he himself got close enough to throw punches once more. And that is precisely when I started losing this battle.

  It was not just the speed of his punches and all the other attacks he mixed in. It was not just the number of tentacles that seemed to continuously multiply. It was the angles they attacked from that threw me off. No, the real threat was the properties of the water itself.

  Even though my spear was coated in Qi, I could feel that very Qi being eaten away every time I made contact with the water. And not only that, but it was also heavy. I was not being hit by a glass of water. It was someone dumping a bucket of water around me that somehow felt like deflecting a brick wall.

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  Hard enough to withstand the force of someone in the Core Formation realm, yet still with all the fluidity and formlessness of water.

  Even with my speed and all my physical gifts, I struggled to keep up. And for all to see, mermaid people and Infernals alike, I was getting my ass whooped.

  And eventually it happened. I was too late to respond to one of his fists after blocking and dodging a couple tentacles that came in from both the left and the right. He managed to land a punch directly on my chin, and I was sent flying backwards, crashing into one of the smaller structures in the courtyard.

  I stood up in a flash, ready for a follow-up attack, but no such thing came. The water around the young man was slowly receding, and he looked at me as if he were bored, as if continuing the fight was beneath him.

  Honestly, I could not give a damn. I enjoyed it. It was exactly what I wanted, and I was glad these mermaid people were not disappointing. If it was up to me, that would have been the end of it. They would go about their way, me and my people would go about ours, and I would go explore our brand-new universe.

  But life is never quite what you expect.

  Instead of accepting his victory in the sparring session and going on about his life, the man dared to open his mouth again. This time instead of inviting me to fight, he did something even worse.

  "Capture them all. He and his people will likely make good slaves."

  If there is one thing I hated most in this world, it was the thought of serving under another.

  Losing a battle to someone stronger than me and dying was fine. But to be subordinate to someone else, and to make matters worse, a slave. A motherfucking slave.

  "Say that one more time."

  Instead of responding to me, someone else stepped up in his stead. One of the other powerful people who were likely his servants or bodyguards.

  "The Young Master has spoken. Submit willingly or forcefully. The choice is yours."

  "Hahaha."

  All I could do was laugh, because this feeling of anger was one, I had not felt in a while. In fact, it was one I had spent a few years suppressing. Even when the princess's descendant dared to disrespect me and my people, I did not get this angry. But this, oh this, pushed it.

  My eternal flame, which I had kept from enjoying the pleasure of battle in recent weeks, was angry too.

  Instead of holding it back, I simply let go, and massive black flames rushed out from me. The water behind me burst down, and before anyone could move, the entire courtyard and likely the entire estate were drowned in the unquenchable heat of the eternal flame.

  "I said... say it one more time."

  The boy, if that is what he was, was no longer ignoring me. His eyes were trembling with fear, and he could barely speak, muttering a few haphazard words that would barely pass as a sentence.

  "You... Empire... no...!"

  Honestly, I did not give a damn what he wanted to say. I promised the princess I would not kill him, but I would make him bow down before me.

  "No one is to interfere."

  Obviously, those words were for my own people. And since every single one of them now had access to the eternal flame, these mermaid people before me were practically swimming in black flames, and not a single one of us held back the pain and suffering the full force of the eternal flame could inflict.

  I was angry, which meant my clan was angry.

  But before anything else could happen, and just as I took my first step toward the trembling boy, a powerful presence unlike anything I have ever felt before, stronger even than Elder Zal, landed right in front of me.

  In a flash, the flames that I was so proud of were not only pushed back but forced to retreat all the way to a small area around my body. It was the same for all the other Infernals that were gathered here.

  Alarm bells quickly went off in my head, and the V word was just about to be uttered when the man, a very tall one with broad shoulders and a pristinely bald head, opened his mouth.

  "I apologize, young Infernal. Please stay your hand."