How did one avoid misfortune? Many philosophers came up with several ideas, concepts, to stop unhappiness at its core. Stoicism. Utilitarianism And many, many more. He himself wasn't a philosopher. By all means, he was an idiot in all regards, which was natural for an uneducated tribe that wandered and wandered, looking for the next source of food. However, when he was at his most broken, only one word came to mind to stop the inevitable. To overcome himself at his lowest point.
Power. If he had power, he could've defeated the beasts that invaded their clan. If he had power he could've protected his family from being torn apart. Perhaps it was a punishment from the gods. Too long they lived idly. No goal to achieve. Reliant on trade and tools, their ancestry, their savage past was forgotten. It was too late to change now, for he was alone. But what did it matter? For the sake of the truth his family had revealed to him, when they all died, he would never waver. Books were researched. Wisdom was learned. Anything that would help getting in touch with his inner nature, empowering his muscles, he'd spent every minute on those things. Eventually, he would reach the place where the mighty were born and forged.
Naturally, most ignored him. His obsession of power wasn't a trait most would reject. His denial of tools and weaponry was. The first gods laughed at his idiocy. That there was a limit to what raw muscles could do. Swords, blades, claws, all these would tear him apart before he could reach the level of the peak, of the King and Elgarm. But eventually, someone saw the potential in his singleminded path. A small Familia, just starting out, revealing herself with her singular child, who was her captain. When she heard of his ambition, of growing strong for the sake of being strong, she laughed at him. Yet that amusement brought interest and in the end, she accepted him into her ranks.
He didn't think much of it. At first the Familia was just a chance for him to grow. Allies of convenience in a sense. But unbeknownst to him, he seemed to desire comradery. The people that joined were nothing like his old clan. Yet that clash of personalities put him... at ease. It even made him laugh sometimes, as they fought in the dungeon, to advance their levels and reach higher heights for the sake of their goddess. But one day, it all changed. When the strongest of the strong were utterly crushed by the mighty Dragon. Darkness rose from their hiding spots.
Gone were the days of adventuring. Gone were the days of peace and joy. All that was left was pure business, a business to survive. In the end, he returned to his roots. They couldn't be free, couldn't go back to the past, if he didn't grow, in size and in spirit. So if an innocent small Familia had to be crushed on the way, in order to satisfy those that held their chains... then that was inevitable fate.
He could only pray his soul could withstand even more of the blood and sins tainting it.
/
Haruhime barely leapt to the side, panic written all over her place as she yelped in response to Danos' battle cry. What followed was an explosion that caused some of the audience to cover their ears in shock.
"Aaaaand that's a crater!"
"So the rumors of his strength are true after all. Not even a level four would be unscathed if that hit directly."
Of course even after cracking the ground and creating a hole with his bare fist, the weretiger didn't stop. He twisted his head immediately, locating Haruhime who just touched the ground, before chasing after her with an explosive dash. Then the unbelievable happened when Danos threw his wide, powerful hooks at her.
"She's diverting that giant's attacks?!"
"Combining the Earth, Wind and Fire style to overcome the gap in body build. Respectable skill."
To compare his blows with the furious rushing power of a minotaur wasn't inaccurate. Yet even as Haruhime backed up with a panicked expression, her ingrained training made her act. With her palms, that seemed to tense up alongside her arms, she brushed his attacks aside as she danced across the battlefield, compared to Danos' rough dashes. It was as if she was moving wind itself as she redirected his attacks, smashing rocks instead of her own body as her feet slid across the ground.
"Yeah, I have no idea what those styles are!"
"Hardening of the body, the insight of your opponent's flow and footwork, in that order."
"What's water?"
"Relaxation."
"Cool! Anyway, this girl is good! But being on the defensive all the time won't do much for her!"
"In that regard, we agree."
One could already see how exhaustion progressed faster with the sweating Renard, who began to breathe heavier and heavier, while the weretiger seemed perfectly fine. Realizing she had to change things up, the next straight aimed at her hand missed her entirely as she seemed to flicker around him. At his back she took a deep breath and threw her arms out, like sending out a swarm of bees to sting her opponent with whip like movements, the trajectories of her attacks ever changing as they hit his back. When Danos swung around with a backfist, she ducked underneath it and repeated her attacks as she drew circles around her slower enemy. His next straight was caught by Haruhime and she pulled, causing him to stumble before she threw an uppercut at his lowered upper body, causing his head to snap upwards. The audience cheered at the change of pace, but the veterans knew better.
Those attacks did nothing. They barely counted as annoyances. The quantity was incredible for her level, her swiftness as well... but anyone who knew their stuff could tell that there was not a hint of killing intent in her attacks. Against a man this thick with muscle, the uppercut was the closest thing to damaging than anything else and even that was more annoying than anything. Naturally, at the Twilight Mansion, Ryuu bristled up as she turned to Kaguya with a snarl.
"What did you even do?!"
Idly, Kaguya glanced at her while supporting her chin with her palm. She let out a sigh as she shook her head, as if Ryuu said something foolish.
"My best." She shrugged nonchalantly. "I can't turn a pet into a lion."
"You-"
Alise pushed Ryuu down by her shoulder, shaking her head in disapproval.
"Enough."
The elf didn't want to drop it however, glaring at her captain before snapping her head at the Senbonzakura. But then she heard it, as everyone else did. A loud crack. They all looked down in shock, seeing her prosthetic's fingers exert so much force as they were tightened into a fist that they actually began to get damaged. Only the slight vibrations in the rest of her body showed Kaguya's true feelings on this topic. Wisely, everyone left her alone after that showcase of her silent rage.
"Enough with those insect bites!"
Danos roared, stomping the ground and forcing Haruhime to retreat less she'd be caught in the blast zone. Then she retreated behind a larger rock, hiding her figure. The weretiger exhaled in annoyance before he reared back his arm, as if he was about to throw a javelin. Then with a mighty scream he caused the stone to explode with his right fist. Yet his eyes widened as the rock gave away and revealed nothing behind it. But the audience could see what Haruhime did. The next moment she landed right behind him and snapped her right leg up, kicking him right in the spine. It actually shoved him forward a little bit, causing him to grunt as if he felt that blow unlike the others.
"Wow, that was nimble as heck!"
"Maneuvering on the flying remnants of the rock to get behind him is not an easy feat."
The Renard blinked in shock when she pulled her leg back, realizing that attack didn't do as much damage as she hoped for. Danos cracked his neck before letting out a small scoff.
"That one wasn't too bad. But not good enough."
With those words, he threw a straight again. But Haruhime would surprise him once more. Instead of retreating or going to the side, it was like she became water the moment his knuckle touched her cheek. Flowing up his arm, she pulled it back, causing a pop to sound in the air. The next instance, the giant man was forced to the ground by a girl half his size as she held him in an arm lock, her knee pressing against his spine and her left foot, or rather her toe, seemed to stab into something in the back of his knee. His eyes were wide with shock while the audience gasped at the sight.
"Submission! She managed to wrestle down the Titan!"
"Now how will she take advantage of this? She did dislocate his ar-"
"Surrender!"
The silence was deafening. Everyone blinked in utter disbelief, with Danos having the most of it. Yet Haruhime grit her teeth as she tried to keep him down by subtly shifting on his back, seemingly aiming to keep up pressure on certain muscles.
"Did I hear that right... ?"
Naturally not only Hlokk couldn't believe her ears. Kaguya in the mansion couldn't take it anymore and smashed her hands down at the wooden table in front of her, causing all sorts of snacks and drinks to fly up into the air.
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, YOU STUPID BRAT?! BREAK IT!"
Yet her rage couldn't compare to Danos'. Veins bulged on his skin as he grit his teeth so hard they were at the verge of breaking.
"Such an insult... "
"Huh?"
Haruhime gasped when the weretiger seemed to grow in size, his hair and canines becoming longer. Then he raised his free, not dislocated left arm, slowly, as if in demonstration. It caused the Renard to pull at the arm in her grasp, as if she was about to break it, or at least try. But it was too late. He roared, ramming his fist down into the earth as if it was made of water. The next thing the Renard knew was that the world shifted. She jumped off as fast as she could, else she would've been caught in the spinning momentum of Danos. After using the ground as leverage with his arm, he pulled it out with plenty of dirt.
"Beastification?!"
"A rare ability of the animal races. This doesn't look good at all."
Danos, more tiger than man now, actually even bigger now, casually popped his shoulder back in with a flex of his muscles. The next instance he threw a wide swing once more. Haruhime grit her teeth, trying to shift his attack and knock him off balance. Yet instead of stumbling like before, he just stomped on the ground hard and kept his posture. Haruhime gasped, and so did everyone else that trained in the Divine Arms Style. Difference in power or not, one couldn't get used to the Wind Style that fast. Not unless he had some experience against that. Danos glanced towards his Familia for some reason before exhaling slowly. Haruhime retreated in that small pause but he already threw another straight, one she tried to divert. Yet the sheer force rejected her attempt and she was sent flying when it hit her stomach. She spat out blood as she flew against a rock, crashing against it. She held her sides as she took deep breaths, shaking her head in pain. She barely managed to go limp, limiting the damage that was caused. If she hadn't done that, her ribs would have been pulverized. To the audience, it was a clear message, one that Danos spelled out as he flexed his fingers with a beast like grin, not out of joy but out of anger.
"Techniques are meaningless against overwhelming power, girl. Especially such weak techniques."
A shiver went down Haruhime's spine and she rushed forward, to stop that malice from being directed at her. She shot her right fist out, aiming for his liver. But instead of hitting flesh, it was caught in Danos' palm. Her eyes widened as she struggled to get free, but his grip was like glue as he calmly raised her by her arm, causing her feet to dangle in the air.
"Enough. You... are no warrior." Danos sighed, shaking his head."What a disappointment."
Then he squeezed, causing her fingers to crack.. Haruhime screamed, kicking at his chest with next to no force as tears ran down her cheeks. Before she knew it, a hand grasped her throat and began to choke her. Her skin slowly began to change colors as she clawed at the arm with her left hand, while Danos stared at her with a stoic expression as he held her up with one hand.
"It is over. If you want to curse something, curse your weakness."
The audience winced at the sight they were witnessing. To see a girl helpless at the hands of the Titan, as she weakly scratched and kicked at him. It was almost too pitiful to see.
"That's hard to watch!"
"The difference in strength was too much after all."
Yet against all expectations... she didn't stop. She kept trying even as the light in her eyes grew dim, even as her struggling became weaker and weaker. Kaguya looked away, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood. Hestia covered her mouth in horror while Astraea patted her shoulder with worry. The Takemikazuchi Familia was in outrage, yelling at the Divine Mirrors for intervention as angry tears ran down their cheeks. Despite Haruhime's attempts, everyone believed she would lose. Oryou was about to jump it but Penthesilea and Artoria stepped in her path before she could do. Before she could give into her own rage, Ohma began to cry, forcing her to comfort her baby instead but not without sending a warning glare at the amazon. Yet the queen made no move to interfere, even as she kept a close eye at Haruhime, ready to step in if she would cease struggling and show her surrender in any form.
"Just give up, Haruhime! Don't die for this!"
Bell's sorrowful shout was the only thing that caused Haruhime to freeze up for a moment. Many believed that was the instance where her spirit gave up. But to Hachiman, her teacher, it was different. He smiled ever so slightly underneath his beard. For he saw her eyes when she heard those words, the ones she wanted to hear the least from Bell Cranel.
Baring her teeth, her eyes became slits as their sclera became crimson, as if filled with blood, as her fear and despair were replaced by rage