"Use Aura!!"
Karkas' voice was full of desperation upon seeing the eerie white light shining on top of Dawn.
They were a hair's breadth away from each other, and Karkas' heart sunk when he saw that Dawn and the light made contact.
Shiiing!
Womo pinpointed all of the blade's force in one place, and that was Dawn's head.
---Aura...?
However, the result was vastly different from what anyone expected.
Dawn's thoughts were slower than the speed of Womo's but Dawn's instincts honed by the battlefield were faster than Dawn himself.
The moment that Dawn heard the word Aura, his instincts as a goblin worked.
His brain may not know what Aura is, but his body knows it. And the process was further enhanced when Dawn felt pain on his forehead.
Before the blade could cut through the flesh and pierce the skull, Dawn's right hand moved by itself.
Woohoong.
A monotone light covered Dawn's right hand, and it moved to his fingers. As if the light was guiding him, Dawn's right hand collided with the blade!
Tap!
No, to be precise, Dawn's fingers caught the blade. He didn't even know how he did it.
Blood flowed from his wound on his head, and the flow of time reverted back to normal.
"W-what!"
And within that normal flow of time, Dawn could hear Womo's flustered voice.
Shuuu.
Dawn stepped back without thinking, and when he realized it, he created a distance between them.
"So you can use it, tsk."
Womo was surprised at first, but after realizing what Dawn has done, it wasn't that great of an event.
At most, they were just standing on the same starting line.
Now, it depends on who can use Aura much better, and Womo knows that he has the necessary experience to pull it off.
"So Aura isn't just Aura, huh."
Dawn watched the light flicker on and off before disappearing entirely in his fingers.
How should he put it? The feeling of using Aura was different, yet it feels ultimately the same when he was fighting without it.
If he had to explain it, it was as if Aura was an extension of himself.
"You didn't know? I'm surprised you were able to achieve two evolutions without knowing it."
"Oh, what happened to your tone? Weren't you mocking me just earlier?"
"I don't respect you as a goblin, but I respect you as a warrior!"
Womo put his sword in front and took a posture to attack in any second. A light similar to Dawn's was engraving Womo's hands.
It was a different type where the light was directly on his skin. His killing intent was so fierce that some of his Aura was actually within it.
"I know now this Aura, but I don't understand how you were able to slow time. I don't believe you're that strong."
"...Hahaha!! Are you serious?"
Womo grandly laughed that he broke his posture deliberately. His left hand covered his face though it didn't help in masking his laugh.
He laughed, and he laughed as if he found Dawn's question to be the funniest thing in the world.
That was why he didn't see Dawn, who was already charging at him. His steps quaked the earth slightly, and a crack could be seen on the earth's surface.
However, it's not as if Dawn was going in for the kill. He just wanted to exploit this opening.
---Why did he laugh?
Staring at Womo who was still laughing, Dawn pulled his fist when he was still some distance away then...
As if the distance didn't mean anything, Dawn appeared right in front of Womo and punched with his fist covered in his Aura.
Boom!
The sound caused by his punch was thunderous; however, it hit nothing. Womo was able to dodge it in time.
The absurd strength carried by his muscles covered with Aura was strong, but it's meaningless if it doesn't hit the target.
"What!?"
Shocked by this, Dawn quickly looked around to search for Womo; however, his search didn't last long.
"Over here!"
Shiiing!
With his blade already in the motion of swinging down, Womo appeared right behind Dawn.
His speed was much faster than before, and his Aura was thicker than ever, enveloping his whole sword.
'This time, he's dead!'
Womo was sure of it; this was the best strike that he could deliver as he is right now, and the opponent was just a weakling who doesn't even understand how Aura works.
There's no way someone like Womo, who has fought many goblins who could use Aura even better than him and survived against them, will lose to someone who could be considered a novice.
'I cut him!'
Womo could see his sword cutting the enemy's shoulder, and the impact felt from his hands assured him even more.
'There's no way he could survive this!'
Right, there's no way Dawn could. That's only if the sword finishes its arc.
"So it can be used like this too."
Dawn said as if he was taking a walk in the park. His head turned back to look at Womo while his mouth was lifted in a mischievous grin.
"Tell me more, Womo."
"I-impossible!"
With the blade still stuck in his right shoulder, Dawn turned his body around to face Womo.
His momentum was slow, but the force was incredible. Womo couldn't prevent Dawn from turning as Dawn's strength pushed him back.
Splash!
Womo pulled back his sword, seeing that he couldn't fight against the strength of Dawn, making blood flow out of Dawn's injury to the ground.
However, that flow of blood didn't last long as it stopped when Dawn focused his Aura on that particular wound.
"This Aura...is good. Don't you think so?"
"Hmph! You're not that good with it!"
"I'm not, huh."
Although Womo sounded as if Dawn's skill in handling aura was but a trifling matter, he was actually shocked inside.
He just didn't show it on the outside. Womo was a goblin who could teach others to act; no doubt he could do it too.
'He's getting better by the minute! Is this the king's power?!'
Womo saw how Dawn was helpless before him when he first used Aura to block Dawn's senses.
He couldn't even fight back, but now, Dawn was using Aura in various ways.
These kinds of ways were things that a goblin should practice for many years just to use it in an actual battle, but Dawn was learning these in a blink of an eye.
He learned them as he pleased, and he used them as he liked.
"You monster..."
Womo muttered a weak rejection of Dawn's unbelievable rate of understanding the usage of Aura. He fixed his posture and arrogantly brandished his sword as he faced Dawn.
Dawn, too, got in his fighting position as he noticed the change in Womo.
---He's prepared to die.
The change in Womo wasn't just any relighting his determination to fight. He wanted to defeat Dawn, and if death is required for him to kill Dawn, he will pay that price.
---This is bad...I don't know if I could use Aura indefinitely; I better finish this quickly.
As Dawn thought about how he would deal with the killing blow, Womo started inching towards him.
Slowly but surely, Womo was getting closer to Dawn. His speed was of a turtle, but his foundation was as great as a tiger.
His focused eyes tell Dawn of the imminent danger that if Dawn were to get close to his range, Womo's sword would cut Dawn in one strike.
"A fool will always be a fool, huh."
However, Dawn used this style of fighting in the past. He knows the ins and out of this as if it were the back of his hand.
It's either he does not attack first or Dawn attacks before he gets cut up by Womo's sword.
Unfortunately, the range of Womo was much longer than Dawn, who does not have a sword.
However, there is something that Dawn has other than the sword.
"Aura."
Walking slowly as if to compare with Womo's, Dawn eventually approached Womo's range.
A faint light covered Dawn's whole body, and when he was about to step in, Womo's Aura circulated around the edge of his sword.
---He's trying to breakthrough in a single point. Good, but!
Not enough. Dawn thought as he entered Womo's range. His proud look as he walked was indeed the description of a grand sight.
However, not all think that it was a grand sight. For sure, not Womo believes that as a faint smile spread across his face.
"Idiot!"
Shiiiing!
A single word escaped Womo's mouth as his sword moved in a straight line.
Womo's Aura condensed in a single point in the blade, his goblin body that was given strength by the Blessings of the Battlefield, his experiences in battles were riding in this one sword strike!
'Reach him!'
Boom!
An explosive sound resounded out as the sword, contained with Womo's hopes and Dawn's Aura, connects. Something like a fog formed from the powerful impact of both strong defense and offense.
'Please...!'
Womo couldn't tell if he succeeded or not. An Aura collusion's result wasn't something he could tell at his level.
As the fog cleared away in time, Womo's shout for hope grows stronger and stronger until it was destroyed ruthlessly by reality.
"You couldn't break it."
Dawn's voice struck Womo's ears as the harbinger of death. Step by step, the impending doom made Womo relax his arms.
Clang!
His sword fell to the ground, and his knees gave in as he shouted a cry of weakness.
"I-is this the difference between my and your foundation?!"
However, that didn't stop Dawn as he pulled his Aura into his right hand and got in a position to strike.
"Bullshit."
Dawn's deep voice confirmed Womo's death because even without Womo looking, Womo could feel the tremendous Aura circulating the area.
Pyak!
Dawn's fist smashed and destroyed Womo's head. His rigid skull exploded, making his brain matter exposed to the ground.
Blood spurted from Womo's head with the force of Dawn's strike, and soon it dyed the ground where Dawn was standing.
Clouded by the blood of his enemy, Dawn spoke with a bit of a sorrowful tone while looking at Womo's corpse.
"A pathetic end..."