Debased Life

    Since the Argin was no full, he swiftly made the connection between the pieces of data he had: that enterprise was interested in mining the blood rubies from that territory and needed someone to "clean up" the area of threats and "trespassers" into their private property in order ensure the safety of their employees and machinery. The CEO had connections with Maxsuz' previous employer, who spoke well of him and gave his contact, and the amount of money being offered was something the mercenary could simply not ignore, despite having his businesses on Plant to deal with too.

    Alas, once the Himônus had finally arrived on Earth, he was greeted by one of the Enterprise's correspondent, who gave him the coordinates of the land and a warrant to enforce their legal rights to the area to anyone who would be there. The bounty hunter took the document and put it on the inner pocket of his cloak. With that, the masked swordsman took off into the atmosphere and crosses the globe in supersonic speeds, reaching his destination in a couple of minutes. Once arriving, he could see the barren wasteland that was the Skull Valley. It was even worse than Namek, surprising the Argin. His shock, however, quickly subsided and his mind went back to his work.

    Scouting through the region, it appeared as if it was completely devoid of life, making him question why he had been hired in the first place. That was until he suddenly spotted a man wearing a bright yellow jacket in the distance messing with some blood rubies. Due to his árula signature, he knew it was not a human. His vision narrowed and he landed silently a couple of meters behind the mysterious individual, attempting to sound as menacing as possible while with his arms crossed.

    "What are you doing here? This is a private property. You are currently trespassing."

    The mysterious being continued, stating he would have what he wanted, no matter who it belonged to. The himônus found that character in the middle of nowhere and their demeanor amusing, if a bit childish. Clearly he was full of himself.

    "Ah, I see. You are one of those pieces of crap who thinks they are beyond anyone and any laws. While I do appreciate some autonomy and the drive to do what you want, you will come to realize soon enough you've messed with the wrong guy here."

    The bounty hunter slowly unsheathed his white sword and enter his battle position.

    "My job is to clear this area of trespassers and threats to my employer. You qualify as both, and I'll enjoy ripping you apart."

    The Renegade focused his árula around the blade, forming a sharp layer of black energy around it.

    "This should be good enough to cut through whatever is around you. Show you me what you can do!"

    The Argin dashed towards the stranger at high speeds and attempted thrusting his alkálipe sword through his aura and into his chest.

    The dark flames around the aura's fingers coursed through its arms and into the enemy's body, concealing him in a veil of magic fire. The aura then tossed Maxsuz' alkálipe to the side, and followed it up with an attempt at a strike using a ki blade at the mercenary. He was faster, though, using the momentum from the toss to spin around and deflect the attack at the right moment.

    "You'll have to be more creative than that, I'm afraid. I've been swordsman longer than you have probably been alive. A sword duel is not something you should expect to beat me in anytime soon. Still, you're welcome to try."

    The Himônus leaped backwards and tried analyzing the current situation, while keeping a confident smirk on his face to prevent the foe from reading him. It appeared like that aura around the mysterious man worked as a sort of ethereal body that could change its shape and channel the user's strength through it, while also serving as full body armor. It seemed strong too, seeing as it blocked the ryuko completely, without any apparent effort. But perhaps, it was because the enemy was still fresh and on guard. Perhaps an opening could be enough to pierce through the aura and hit the opponent where it hurts. For now, he had to study what the trespasser was capable of more, before exploiting any weakness.

    The opponent coated his ethereal sword in black flames once more and went on the offensive. He attacked with a basic slash at the bounty hunter slowly enough that the mercenary could easily keep up with it, making him wonder if that was a bait. Regardless, the Himônus had to react, and through his skills alone, he summoned the black aura around blade again and deflected the incoming swipe, countering it with a sword slash of his own towards the enemy's neck. He was done trash talking. It was time to be serious and finish his opponent off before they could get stronger.

    However, even being behind on the fight so far, as he was not able to hit the mercenary even once, the trespasser immediately resumed his taunting and trash talk. Not unsurprising, considering what Maxsuz had seen from them up to that point. He wanted the Himônus to join him in the banter and be consumed by pride and anger as well. The Argin found it funny and revealed a grin shortly, before regaining his serious composure.

    "The only thing I have to say to you is: leave or die."

    The swordsman knew that would annoy the enemy greatly, and so he got into a defensive position with his blade and waited for their reaction in silence. His eyes were dead set on the stranger, and everything seemed to disappear from his field of view. Whatever his opponent would do next, he was ready for it.