For I Am A Side Character - 132: A Non-Believer vs. The Executioner

As we made our way to the base camp. We were running at a pace considerably fast. Right now, we were half way there.in about 15 minutes from now, we might just make it.

But as we got closer, something felt wrong.

Out of pure instinct, I started to feel the presence of something approaching us.

“…” I quickly halted my feet and the others from Class-E became curious as to why I stopped.

“W-what’s going on? Why did you stop?” they asked.

“…Listen to me, and listen well. From here on out, you guys will go to the base camp on your own.”

“What? What are you talking about? We’re almost there.” they said.

“Find another route from this path. If you meet any kind of men that you don’t recognize, don’t take the risk of talking to them. Its best that you keep to yourself and make it a priority to go to the camp as fast as you can.”

“W-why? What about you?”

“..I-” but before I could answer, out from the distance, an entire tree was thrown our way.

“What the-” they were surprised by this, but I quickly raised my fist and destroyed the tree into splinters.

*Hup-*

*Boom!* the tree scattered into pieces all but too easily.

As I protected the Class-E students, I soon turned to what was in front of me.

“…I know you’re there, show yourself.” I said as I stared at the shadow of a tree in front of us.

“Wow, even to this degree, you were able to notice my presence. You must be quite the expert to find me at my best hiding spot.”

“…Go now.” I said to the others as I could feel the dangerous aura surrounding this man.

“…” feeling the danger in the air, they slowly made their way into the thick depths of the forest without questioning me. Maybe to their own natural reaction, they too felt the danger behind this man’s approach.

And as they did, the man in front of me simply remained his gaze at me. His intentions were clear.

Not only was he overflowing with demonic energy, I couldn’t gouge out his level. It was like the first time I encountered Agifell, the fallen angel. It felt like I was being overwhelmed in some way.

“Always ready to fight, aren’t you?” he said in reaction to me raising both my hands up.

“…Who are you?” I asked.

“I’m pretty sure you know me well enough without knowing my name.” he said.

“…”

“So tell me, where did you left the bodies of the others?”

“…”

“Tell me…”

“.…” as I stayed quiet, ready to move in any way possible, his aura simply turned menacing for each seconds my silence brought in the moment.

“TELL ME!!” he said as his tone was filled with rage.

“…” but even still, I remained alert.

“You know what. Despite your beliefs, despite your mission that goes against ours… you are just as much of a monster as we are. In the end, we both look to a path filled with blood.”

As he murmured to his own, he soon brought out his own hands, ready to clash with no intention of using the weapons that were hanging on his back.

“I can tell…your eyes are just like that of a warrior. Not some adventurer or a hunter…no, you are a true warrior that stands in his own beliefs and principles…just like me.”

“…”

“And it’s been a while since I’ve raised my hands against a true warrior…I hope you’re ready, because despite our principles of honoring a fight, I have no thoughts of ever bringing you a peaceful death. I will kill you with my own hands…in value to the exchange of the lives you took.”

“…” I can see it.

This man, despite the conflicts of our own standing. With him looking to go against God and me who believes in God, we both honor the act of being a warrior.

It’s a shame, if he wasn’t my enemy, I would have been honored to exchange blows with this man.

But my mission comes first. And it’s clear that this man will be an obstacle to what lies before my path in saving this world against the tragedy far beyond the future.

“I am Soril Remus…I walk the path of a warrior, but above all else, I am an Executioner under God’s Will.”

“Introducing ourselves are we…fine. I am Orjay Goliath, the holder of the 5th holder of the fallen seat and the vice leader of the Purity Order….and I shall bring down your path.”

Without anything else to say from our exchange, it was here that we let our actions speak to themselves.

Without even considering my actions, my body moved on its own simply from the moment we locked eyes with one another.

“Khk!”

“Ghk!”

When I tried to strike him in the vital areas, he came about through the sliver of openings I had and striked me in the same way.

This person was simply acting straight from the get go and no time of thought was being given for me to take proper action. Every attack I made was countered, and the same went with his attack.

Counter after counter, we were wearing each other down simply by the pureness of each of our own style of fighting.

I can tell that despite his warrior-like presence similar to that of a spartan, he showed no proper martial arts that I was accustomed to dealing back in the house of shadows.

He was more straight forward with fighting styles similar to boxing and grappling techniques.

And despite the presence he brought in this battle, he was sharper than me in terms of fighting experience.

Right now, I can’t help but compare him to Brother Cecil in terms of the confidence he brought in his own sheer will.

Who can blame me, he was twice as old as I was…

He was probably around his thirties while I was still 16 years old. But age doesn’t matter, what matters is the sheer mastery over one’s own fighting style.

And truth to our actions, he was overwhelming me in hand to hand combat.

***

The air was dense with tension as Soril and Orjay locked eyes. Each stood motionless, assessing, the forest around them silent, almost anticipating the chaos about to unfold.

Soril made the first move, his body blurring as he lunged forward with a powerful right hook. Orjay met the strike with his forearm, the impact creating a shockwave that snapped trees nearby, splintering their trunks and sending leaves and branches swirling into the sky. And along with that, the ground beneath them cratered, with the dirt and rocks spraying out in all directions.

Orjay countered with a sharp uppercut that Soril barely managed to block with his forearm.

*THUD!—!!!*

The force of the punch sent a tremor through Soril’s arm, radiating down his spine as he dug his heels into the ground. The earth beneath him cracked, forming jagged fault lines that spread outward, shaking the forest floor. With a quick shift of his weight, Soril pivoted and sent a knee toward Orjay’s torso, aiming to break his guard. But Orjay twisted out of the way, his movement fluid, and retaliated with an elbow strike that caught Soril just above his ribs.

The blow was devastating, throwing Soril back, his body skidding across the forest floor, uprooting bushes and snapping saplings in his wake. He dug his hand into the ground, dragging a deep trench as he came to a stop. He looked up just in time to see Orjay charging toward him, his face set with grim determination.

Soril lunged forward, fists clenched, and the two met again in a furious exchange of blows. Each punch was a force of nature—Soril’s strikes were sharp, precise, every movement honed to perfection from the open days of rigorous training. Orjay’s style was relentless, a barrage of heavy punches and grappling moves that relied on sheer brute force. When their fists collided, it sounded like thunder cracking across the sky, sending shockwaves rippling out, uprooting trees, scattering animals, and tearing up the ground beneath them.

In that quick but devastating moment, Orjay grabbed Soril’s wrist mid-strike and pulled him into a knee aimed at his chest, but Soril twisted, using the momentum to spin around and deliver a reverse elbow to Orjay’s side. The force of the hit sent Orjay stumbling back, and he regained his footing, only to meet Soril’s onslaught as Soril closed the distance again. Soril swung low, sweeping his leg with enough force to create a wind strong enough to whip through the forest like a hurricane. Orjay leaped over the kick, landing with a punch that left a crater where Soril had stood moments before.

Their fight intensified, the forest around them quickly becoming a wasteland of shattered trees and scattered debris. Soril felt the heat rising in his chest, the thrill of the fight as his body pushed beyond its limits. Every blow was met with fierce resistance, every dodge was met with a counter. Orjay fought like a beast, his fists smashing into Soril’s defenses with a strength that threatened to overwhelm him, but Soril matched him, his determination fueling his strikes, his sheer will keeping him on his feet.

They broke apart for a brief moment, both breathing heavily. The forest had transformed into a desolate battlefield, trees reduced to splinters, the ground cratered and cracked. Both warriors had blood running down their faces, their clothing torn and dirt-streaked, but neither showed any signs of backing down.

Orjay gave Soril a grim smile. “You fight well. But strength alone won’t save you!” he said as his expression showed similarities of that of a devil.

Soril clenched his fists, his gaze unwavering. “I don’t need saving. I’m here to finish what I started….under God’s Will, I will execute you!” he said as he showed such a fierce spirit.

With a primal yell, they charged at each other, each step shaking the earth.

Without Soril knowing it himself, his body conjured [Dominion Overload] in that moment. It was increasing his strength by tenfold as they both continued clashing with their fist.

But even so, for some wonder of mystery, Orjay was not overwhelmed by this.

Soril’s body pulsed with newfound strength as [Dominion Overload] surged through him, amplifying his power to levels he had yet to comprehend. Each punch he threw now left craters deeper, each impact more forceful, shattering the forest floor in chaotic eruptions of earth and stone. Yet, Orjay met every blow without faltering, his movements almost dancing between Soril’s strikes as if he knew exactly where each one would land.

Orjay’s eyes glinted with a newfound intensity. With a grin, he reached behind him and unsheathed the twin blades from his back, the sharp metal glinting ominously in the fractured light. He wielded the twin weapons with an eerie mastery, the weightless, fluid grace of a predator. Each blade spun in his hands, a blur of lethal precision as he lunged at Soril with brutal intent.

Soril barely had a moment to process the shift before Orjay was upon him. The first swing was a horizontal slash, forcing Soril to block with his forearm, but the sheer power behind it sent him staggering back, his feet skidding against the broken ground. Thankfully because of his attained skill, ‘The Body of the Dark’ he remained uncut.

Orjay followed through with a downward chop, and Soril twisted, barely avoiding the deadly arc that came his way. feeling the blade’s edge graze the air just past his cheek, he soon realized that for whatever reason, the blade was suddenly getting sharper.

Orjay’s strikes were relentless, heavy and unyielding, like the hammering of a blacksmith forging raw steel. He wielded his twin blades with the deadly finesse of a seasoned warrior, every movement filled with the weight of experience and murderous intent. He lashed out with a series of rapid, bone-crushing slashes that forced Soril back, his defenses barely holding up. The amplified power of [Dominion Overload] was fading under the sheer intensity of Orjay’s assault.

Each swing of Orjay’s blades cut through the air with a powerful whoosh, the edges gleaming with a deadly glint as they narrowly missed Soril’s vitals. Soril dodged and blocked, but Orjay was everywhere at once, his blades a blinding whirlwind that was impossible to fully evade.

Suddenly, Orjay shifted his stance, dropping low before lunging up with a brutal upward slash. Soril blocked, but Orjay used the momentum to twist around him and drive one of his blades into Soril’s side.

“!?”

Pain shot through Soril’s body, but he bit down, suppressing a gasp as Orjay withdrew the blade, only to drive it back down again, piercing through Soril’s shoulder with vicious force.

“KhF!!!”

Soril staggered back, clutching his wounded side as blood trickled from the fresh cuts, staining his fingers red. His breathing grew ragged, and his vision blurred slightly, but his grip on his own resolve held firm. Orjay’s eyes narrowed, his expression cold and unrelenting, as he lifted the twin blades again, ready to finish the job.

“You’re strong, but I told you, raw strength alone isn’t enough.” Orjay sneered, his voice low and mocking. “You might fight for a cause, but that doesn’t make you invincible…call yourself whatever you like. God’s executioner, God’s agent, God’s lap dog, it all won’t matter in the end. You are still fucking human!”

Soril’s grip tightened. Despite the pain and the overwhelming force pressing down on him, he summoned every ounce of strength he had left. He clenched his jaw, locking eyes with Orjay.

“This… isn’t over.” His voice came out as a strained whisper, yet there was a fierce determination in his gaze.

Orjay smirked, raising his blades once more, and in that instant, Soril steeled himself, ready to push beyond his limits for more.

Meanwhile, as Soril was struggling to keep his life intact, a certain pair of eyes were seen watching from a distance.

‘…’ his eyes were cold and calculated.

Those eyes belonged to only one person.

Jason, with his changed personality turned to see the massacre that was put on the forest.

‘God…those two are monsters. I can’t believe he actually reached this level of strength at such a young age…if he could, he would have already killed me back then…so why didn’t you?’

‘Who are you…Soril?’

PS: Shark-san here. Sorry it took me a while to write this chapter. I’ve been having a hard time finding the motivation to write this fight scene. Thankfully, I got motivated by watching Dragonballs. Although there isn’t a lot of screaming, there’s a lot of martial arts involve…in some way or the other.

If you would like to know, I took inspiration in making Orjay into something similar as Kratos from the old God of War games. So yeah…take that as you will.

In terms of the next chapter, I’m still finding it in my head the motivation of where I’ll move from here. To the people who aren’t authors, I’m sorry to say this but it’s hard writing a fight scene with so much detail, so I don’t know when the next chapter might come out. Please forgive me.

If you have any thoughts on what will happen to Soril here, knowing that it’s clear that Orjay overwhelms him in both skill and power, just comment it below. I really like to have some inspiration from your ideas. Haha….