Aeneas took Aether and placed him atop one of his luggage. The boy told the bizarre creature to stay put. Oddly enough, Aether seemed to understand him as it didn't move from where Aeneas put him and just stared at him with curiosity.
The boy then picked up the wooden sword Silas threw. It landed in a perfect spot only centimeters away from Aeneas's feet.
"It's your victory if you managed to touch even a single strand of my hair."
"Then, should I begin?" Aeneas asked.
Silas nodded his head, "Attack me whenever–"
Aeneas dashed. He was swift and with a determined expression. Seeing that Silas was sitting atop the wooden table with his legs crossed, Aeneas decided that the best attack in their current situation was a thrust at the center of the old man's body. But he extended his arm that was wielding the wooden sword making the old man think that he plans to attack with a slash.
When Aeneas reached a good distance from Silas, he folded his arm to prepare for the thrust. Then, he attacked with all his strength when Silas was in range. He saw the old man take out something behind him to block his attack, but it didn't matter. Aeneas thought that he could overcome it with brute force.
But he was wrong. Aeneas felt as if the end of his wooden sword clashed with the strongest shield. He was more confused when he saw what it was. A mere rock the size of a coin stopped his attack.
After the unsuccessful attempt, Aeneas's eyes slowly moved toward the old man's face like moths to a flame. The boy shuddered at the sight of his grin. His instincts screamed at him to fall back, so he leaped away from him.
"That rock… H–how?"
"All things have strengths and weaknesses. Even a rock of this size could be a good tool for someone who understands it."
Aeneas became more wary and remained in his stance while staring at the old man.
"What? Don't tell me you give up?" Silas closed his eyes and touched his beard, "You still haven't–"
Aeneas dashed once again. The distance he needed to traverse was way less than his previous charge. He went with a downward diagonal slash from right to left this time.
"What a rude brat…"
Silas dodged with the smallest movement possible. He swayed his body to his left while also making sure that Aeneas wouldn't hit a single strand of his hair. When Aeneas realized that he missed, he twisted his wrist to go for a horizontal slash. But Silas swiftly laid on his back and dodged it again with ease.
With the old man lying flat on top of the wooden table, Aeneas knew that his next attack should be a vertical slash, so he proceeded with one. Still, Silas turned to his side and dodged again with the side of Aeneas's wooden sword being only a centimeter away from the old man's body.
"Brat, you should listen to others when they are speaking," Silas said while kicking Aeneas in the abdomen at the same time. His kick was strong enough to hurl the boy a distance away from him. Aeneas landed on his back, turned to his side, and coughed aloud.
The old man sat up, scratched his head, and said, "Ah. Should I have held back a little more? Sorry kid."
Aeneas stood up. He was gripping his shirt around the area where Silas kicked him.
"I'm fine, master. Let us continue."
Silas smiled, "You can attack me anytime you–"
The boy charged once again. This time, he was more focused and relentless with his attacks. But all of it missed, or it would have been more accurate to say that Silas dodged the boy's every single attack with perfect precision.
"Were you always a rude brat? Attacking me in the middle of my words… Well, I guess it's one way to take your opponent by surprise," Silas said while continuously dodging Aeneas's attacks with ease.
Aeneas grew weary after a couple more swings of his wooden sword. When his tempo slowed down, Silas kicked him once again. Although it was weaker this time, it was still strong enough to send the boy flying. He landed on his back again. But this time, Aeneas managed to block the old man's kick with his arms.
Silas felt excited with his eyes getting wider for a second, "Oh. You managed to block that," he said.
Meanwhile, Aeneas was chasing his breath as he stood up much slower than the last time.
Still with a smile, "Why haven't you used your Zeal?" Silas asked. He knew that Aeneas was still unable to control his Zeal like a normal Zeal-bearer, and Aeneas knew that Silas was aware. Still, the old man was curious to see how Aeneas would react.
"It was just us two in this place. Remove that thing covering your Zeal."
Aeneas followed what Silas suggested and removed the lens covering the Wise Serpent's Zeal.
"That's better. Well, I guess I should also show you mine."
Silas removed the patch on his right eye. The deformed right side of his face was in full view. He opened his right eye to show Aeneas what had become of his Zeal.
Contrary to what Silas thought, Aeneas stared at him without showing any sign of disgust. Nor was the boy felt repulsed at the sight of something macabre and looked away.
But deep inside, Aeneas was still a boy who felt sickened seeing such injury. Although his experience with death and despair in the previous expedition made him tougher, the main reason he was able to hold his facade was the thought of being someone in control of his emotions. Just like his older brother.
Silas laughed, it was much louder this time, "Even your mother couldn't help but retch at the sight of this eye of mine. Do you not find it vile?"
Aeneas gulped, "Should I speak the truth, master?"
Still chuckling, "We both are Zeal-bearers of the Wise Serpent. There's no need for lies between us," Silas responded.
"Then… It's hideous, master. I am not saying this to anger you, but I do not want to look at it any longer."
The old man's eyes widened. He was more amused to hear such words from a boy than he was offended by it. Silas laughed once again.
"What an honest brat!"
Silas activated his Zeal. An emerald green glow emitted from it.
"You still haven't touched me nor my clothes. Use your Zeal and attack me again. But I warn you, I am quite enraged by your words. So make sure you block my next attack," Silas said with a terrifying grin.
Aeneas gulped, 'Didn't he ask me to speak the truth? What an unreasonable old man,' he thought.
"What? Did you give up?"
The boy took a deep breath. He focused on himself and tried to use his Zeal. But he couldn't feel anything different. Aeneas placed his left palm in front of his right eye. He knew that his Zeal wasn't activated since no light reflected on his palm.
At this point, Aeneas had already swung his sword a lot of times with his full strength. He was also kicked twice, and although he blocked the second one, he could feel his arms aching. Aside from that, the presence of Silas alone was enough to wear him down mentally. Aeneas was close to his limits, and not being able to use his Zeal increased his fatigue in both his body and mind.
"You can't use your Zeal? Just give up and–"
Aeneas charged once again.
"Still not letting me finish my words…Brat, you're just annoying me at this point, aren't you?"
'Just give up,' hearing those words was enough to fuel the cinder inside the boy's heart. He remembered the times he was thinking about stopping the pursuit of his dream and the great shame he felt. His dream is to become a hero. To become someone strong yet kind. A person who can protect all that he loves while also helping others in need. A great fighter who will emerge victorious and alive even against the greatest adversities. An opposite outcome to his father who died trying to help others.
With these in mind, Aeneas rebelled against the thought of giving up. He went with a vigorous charge. As if the exhaustion he felt was but an illusion.
Yet it wasn't enough. No matter how much Aeneas swung his sword against Silas, the old man still dodged everything with ease.
"It is possible to achieve a different result by doing the same thing. But this time, the result won't change," Silas said while dodging Aeneas's attacks.
Aeneas continued. Ignoring the old man's words. Silas sighed, and after dodging a few more of the boy's slashes, he kicked him once again.
But, Aeneas was anticipating his kick. He dropped his wooden sword, braced himself to not be tossed away, and aimed to grip the old man's leg.
Silas grinned, "You thought I wouldn't know?" He said. Then, he changed the path of his foot toward the boy's face. He was fast, but he made sure to hold back more when his foot was close to the boy's face.
The old man's eyes and grin widened when he saw Aeneas was following his movement and the boy was unaware that his Zeal was glowing.
In the end, Aeneas couldn't touch the old man's foot but managed to lessen the damage on his face, blocking it with his right palm. Nonetheless, he was sent flying once again and landed on his back.
"That was a good attempt–"
Aeneas raised his right arm with a closed fist. He let out a battle cry, then shouted, "I won!"
Silas was a bit confused. He looked at his leg and saw nothing different. Then, shivers crawled up his spine when he saw something hanging on his other leg.
It was the lens Aeneas removed from his right eye.