Chapter 58: Chapter 64: Rivalry at the reunion!

Axel Pendold, bald identical twin of Maxwell Pendold grinned towards his brother excited for their first hand to hand challenge against each other aside from light sparring during their years of training. Maxwell paid no attention to his twin, in the middle of gazing up towards the stands filled with admiration. Axel took notice and asked a question to catch his attention knowing his answer. "He trained you for a few months and that was enough to make a fanboy out of you, Maxy?" Axel asked as he laughed at his brother. Maxwell turned his gaze, laughing at the fact that his brother said it like he ought to feel shame about it. Axel grabbed out a cube made of a rare metallic alloy he was given by his father and formed a pole out of it before forming an image of Ryoh out of it. Axel and the eighty-percent accurate clone from a metal he gave movement to went on the offensive against Maxwell driven to win while Maxwell's laughter persisted. Frustrated by his small and nimble brother's insane agility as he stepped, ducked and leapt over everything he threw at him persisted with the attitude he couldn't stand. Maxwell gave a thumbs up and received one from Derek as his brother, Axel Pendold, decided he saw enough close calls after countless failed attacks with no retaliation from his brother. Maxwell kept the epic regaling Derek gave him about his own saves. "You're usually honest, you received split training from Ryoh during his break and Derek, if that new guy loses, who would you bet on to win this Quinquennial?" Maxwell inquired while pulling out his own cube and tossing it on the ground liquefying it after it hit the arena floor. Axel grabbed his hips as he looked downwards to his left considering the strengths and weaknesses he observed during his months of training that he received from both. "Unbiased and positive, the roaring spirit of the thunder lineage. It'd be a five of ten record if the two clashed if they possessed equal ruthlessness. I don't think the Wiley heir of leadership is capable of leveling the playing field in that regard." Axel answered as Maxwell was hoping for, without unfair factors in his addition to their mid-battle discussion. Maxwell thought of the stories that he recollected and came to the realization that none of them had involved any particular ruthlessness leaving the fanboy unsure of his final opinion. "You'd be right but I've heard from both Patriarch Ryom himself and our dad that ruthlessness isn't the only thing that matters in an actual fight or for defending yourself, especially when it's five to five. Confidence and a mind focused on strategy to your win leaves you more likely to overcome the fighter standing against you." Maxwell responded with both confidence in the elder's experience and his own unyielding that Derek is the most skilled out of the older bunch a step above them in the hierarchy of the families. "Then we hear the stories that our aunt told us about how she used to bully our father in past quinquennial celebrations, overcoming his imagination and his powerful Onyx transformations. Utter ruthlessness on display." Axel argued as he showed his twin a devious and cocky grin. Maxwell remembered the nickname they have for their aunt after he looked up at her in the stands, chugging down a beer as she was snuggled next to her husband. She gave him a thumbs up after she finished. "The fierce and ruthless thundering crane?" Maxwell thought to himself before his expression turned stony and he formed the liquefied Diamond into a copy of his hero, Derek Wiley. "He doesn't realize when he loses his temper, that he becomes worse in every conceivable manner, maybe I'll let him know after I take our first quinquennial?" Axel kept to his thoughts. Mutually preferably rather than clashing in a contest of martial arts themselves, the twins allowed their altered gemstone copies of the two, with their authoritative energy poured in, from above to take center stage of their quinquennial bout. Derek and Ryoh, standing near Duri, took notice of the copies the two made of them duking it out and put two and two together. Jang asked Settembre to hold his beloved arrow with sentimental value for him as he surveyed Ansel with a swift glance before showing a playful grin as the two made their way to their corners in the arena. Ryoh gestured for a fist bump from either while Duri shook his head, filled with unwavering confidence in himself as he looked towards Ryoh. The Grand patriarch of the Throndson household, Ryum, turned his gaze towards his pal, Philip Wiley and reminded him of their youthful days. "I'd like to not be one of the old men who make reminiscing about the youthful years their all-time favorite sport, Ryry." Said the Grandpatriarch of the Wiley household before he cheered on Jang and praised Ansel as they took over the arena. Ryum scoffed as he looked over towards the Manchester family on the other end of the bleachers. The Patriarch, Ray patting Haoyu on the back and his mother hugging him. He thought of the best friends who were not present or were gone. The father of Ray Manchester in particular and his funeral before he began asking himself if they could have been friends. "Do you at least remember that crazy researcher we fought to a bloody draw during our assignment on the continent of the thirst for knowledge?" Ryum asked as he held that as one of the fondest memories he's collected. Philip looked at the Manchester family and broke out laughing. "How did we ever survive that because things would never go our way the whole trip, Ry?" Philip asked with his mood lifted to soaring heights once he collected his memory. Ryum gently nudged his elbow into Philip's rib right next to him, after a moment of feeling perplexed by his reasoning, Philip shook his head. "Ages of asking, what really happened, I was defeated by their boss but Junior had proven to me that he was slightly more skillful and tactful. He was a hillbilly blessed with a superior tactical mind than the rest of us. Far more humble too. I do wish that he was still with us." Ryum admitted and confessed without having shame. Philip turned his baffled gaze slowly towards Ryum, genuinely shocked by what he showed he was capable of in that moment. "Did you just compliment Junior's character instead of only his capabilities on the field?!" Philip replied as he was stuck in a state of disbelief, "never have you ever!" Philip finished before asking him to continue with the others. Ryum continued complimenting their other brothers of the Oath without hesitation. Duri chuckled as he knew more about his brother's style as the families roared for who they were rooting for the Pendold's eldest with no problems making that clear. Ryoh taunted Derek pointing at the sight of his cousin's defense getting overwhelmed by Ansel's offense prior.

Ansel Pendold's toad companion, andamooka, fittingly named that after the prodigious eldest Pendold child decided to imbue his authoritative energy and transform it into an andamooka opal aesthetic powerhouse against evil as it proves itself, or against his foes as Jang gets to experience. Amin decided to go check on Reynard, though he was curious about the Pendold family's abilities as they were similar to his own. "Akin to his family's abilities with their chosen object or companion, he's able to grant it a slew of abilities with practice." The heroic son of a JinJunyë engineer as he stood by the door to leave the arena, "He manipulated the size to eight feet?!" Amin finished with immense awe in his tone. It caught up to the Archer born of the lineage of ashes and attempted to crush him though he was swift enough to leap out of its way taking full advantage of the opening it gave him to send Ansel one simple arrow storm from above. Ansel dashed out of the area of the storm as his companion returned to his shoulder. "Do you always decide that your throw downs will be two against one?" Jang asked the eldest Pendold son who challenged him with slight frustration heard in his tone as he stood in a squat position. The question got a chuckle from Ansel with his face slightly hidden by his hood as his head was tilted. "Your opponents have to face an arrow that acts like a relentless homing missile or have their mind on about a dozen of them coming from out of nowhere when facing you. They face a single toad that genuinely hopes for me to be left to do the dirty work." Ansel replied as he patted Andamooka as he rested on the hero's shoulder and gave the Hyun's eldest an unamused expression. Jang held a determined look in his eye as he replied with a lower volume towards the end. "I wasn't complaining though. Just thinking out loud." Jang briefly glanced at his brother. The eldest Hyun child began feeling his goatee as he realized the eldest Pendold son took the moment of discussion to strategize ways past his evasiveness that rivaled his own and both considered nerve racking. Jang emphasized the final word of his observation. "He's less of that shy boy during our first introduction and more of a monster's master now. Wild." The Hyun family's eldest son noted in his thoughts. Ansel briefly glanced at his father. "He isn't the slacker in battle that hastily judged him to be, maybe he'll give us a challenge that his cousin failed to be for us at the last Quinquennial reunion. Hopefully." Ansel noted in his thoughts before approvingly nodding in anticipation. Andamooka abruptly leapt on Jang, the arrow enjoyer was able to utilize more of the defensive practice he's gone through since Derek's visit for assistance. Jang went toe to toe with a pair of enduring arrows made from his essence against Andamooka, each blow, tougher the withstand from the sheer might of the opal toad and tougher to keep up with thanks to its accompanying speed, as he glanced around every now and then hoping to keep track of his human opponent's position. Jang had conjured ash using his face as its source while he continued battling the opal road and realized where Ansel had hid behind thanks to his impeccable ability to send an arrow that tracks heat itself as the eldest Hyun watched his opponent dash and rush away from his arrow he sent to chase him down. The toad zipped after allowing distance then head butted the beige ashen archer to one of the Arena's floating blocks though Jang used his little sister's perfected technique to glide safely on top. "That's my baby boy!" Ansel's father, the Patriarch of the Pendold family known as Rhett Pendold cheered the loudest from the arena's spectators' bleachers. Emaline Pendold sighed and shook her head out of frustration of having to constantly remind Rhett. "Seriously, Rhett, you know he's prone to mistakes when someone he loves is putting pressure on him to succeed." The Patriarch's wife reminded her husband as she stood up and gently caressed his shoulder. Rhett looked at her with his usual warm smile. "My bad, one horrible habit in this case." Rhett responded before sitting with her once again. Ryum enjoyed reminding and reminiscing their past moments with whom he held as the best conversationalist in his opinion of their disbanded group, Philip, though the Wiley Grand Patriarch found it annoying, he decided to participate. The Throndson's Grand patriarch continued his yapping. "Remember that woman we met on the continent of relics and cultivation?" The thundering old man asked, forcing Philip to have a flummox expression on him as he had a clue of where he had been going, "I don't know how to fess up to it, Philadelphia." Ryum finished with a hesitant and lost tone. Philip gently grabbed Ryum's knee as he sighed with relief. "It's— definitely alright, buddy, I already have what you're owning up to unmistakably figured out thanks to enough clues you've left behind over the years." Philip responded as he gave him a thumbs up, "how does he manage to keep the family's identities secured but left a dozen mistakes with hiding his secret child?" Philip kept to himself as he watched Duri being ragdolled by one of Ryoh's blasts of pinkish cream shaded lightning. The ashen dancer caught himself on a floating pillar and performed a backflip, landing and recovering on the obstacle. Duri respected Ryoh's similar competitive spirit to himself and his younger cousin.