The Scrap Tamer - Chapter 83

Chapter 83: Reid Vs Owen

Owen and Reid stood across each other with their forged-beasts ready to make a move on command.

While Owen looked relaxed and a moment away from sleeping, Reid stood tense. He knew Owen was strong, which was proved by the domain he was able to keep up for so long.

Reid might have had an easy chance of winning if he could use his three power houses but commander Ajax had clearly stated that they had to use only one.

But that didn’t mean he lacked advantage. For one, just like Owen’s, his forged-beast had a domain of its own.

And two, he had an ability that allowed him to copy the abilities of his forged-beasts even if they were still in his inventory so this fight wasn’t one he planned on losing.

Owen let out a slow breath, his eyes half-lidded as if he was currently fighting his urge to sleep.

“Y’know” He muttered, stretching his arms “you look a bit tense. Loosen up a little.”

Reid didn’t respond, he kept his eyes on Owen, looking for any sudden movements. The longer they stayed in Owen’s domain, the more advantage Owen gained.

Ghostly chains suddenly rose from the mist, trying to restict Reid but with a command, Nyx used [void] making them disappear out of the chain’s way.

The reappeared behind Owen and sent a punch out only for Owen to fade into mist, causing hm to swing at empty air.

“There’s something you’re missing here kid” Owen’s voice came from behind Reid causing him to quickly turn, only to be met with a punch to the guy which sent him barreling backwards.

“Even though you woke up from your nightmare” before Reid could recover, Owen was already upon him again, delivering another blow.

“You’re still in my domain” Owen completed “and in here, I decide when you wake up”.

Reid stood up, and wiped the blood from his lips. His expression still remained unchanged as he looked at Owen.

“I see” he said simply, “if you have all the advantage while in your domain, then I simply have to shatter it.”

Owen raised his brow in interest “then let’s see you try.” He was curious of what Reid could do to ‘shatter’ his domain.

“Gladly” Reid said and gave the order to Nyx.

[Null zone]

Nyx activated its own domain, which immediately clashed with Pixel’s own.

If there was one thing about domains, it was that the strongest domain always won in a clash.

But what if the weaker one was a direct counter to the stronger. And that’s what happened when the two domains clashed.

Since Nyx’s own nullifies every type of energy and all domains are basically made of energy/soul power, its own won in the end.

Owen raised his brow in surprise as the mist suddenly cleared up. He hadn’t expected Reid to have a domain of his own.

Reid smirked. ‘it wroked’.

“Huh” Owen muttered “that’s annoying”.

The sudden cutoff of its domain caused a minor backlash to Pixel so Owen had to send it back to his inventory.

Now, he could summon another forged-beast but just like the juniors, they also were only allowed to use one forged beast, which meant he was at a disadvantage.

It also meant that the fight had suddenly switched to brawling for him.

Reid cracked his knuckles “not so sleepy now, are you?”

Owen gave a small, amused chuckle.

“You say that like I still can’t kick your ass”

Then he moved.

This time, a lot faster than before.

Reid barely had time to react before Owen was already in front of him.

With an open hand, Owen shot a brutal palm strike towards his chest.

Reid twisted his body, barely dodging the attack and he was glad he did, as the force of the attack sent shockwaves through the air, which were quickly nullified.

Reid countered with a fist towards Owen’s ribs but he caught it. The moment Reid’s fist touched Owen’s palm, he felt it.

Raw strength.

Even without his forged beast by his side, Owen’s physical power was monstrous.

Owen’s grip tightened “hope you didn’t think this was going to be easy”.

“Not really” Reid replied.

Owen suddenly felt a sudden constricting force fall on him.

“But remember, this is a 2 V 1 battle” Reid completed.

Reid twisted his the fist in Owen’s palm, capturing him by the wrist.

He pulled Owen towards him and, delivering an elbow towards his stomach.

But even with all the force trying to crush him, Owen was able to move just in time to block the elbow, which surprised Reid.

“Oh, I didn’t forget” Owen said, “I just didn’t think it’d make a difference”.

Owen then swung his head, delivering a headbutt at on Reid which caused him to stagger backwards.

‘Damn’ Reid cursed as he wiped the blood off his nose.

“I would be disappointed if you lost even with all your advantages” Owen mocked.

Nyx intensified the crushing pressure but Owen completely shrugged it off, as if it was there at all.

“You’ve already tried that” he said “it won’t work”.

Reid exhaled. He realized that the longer their fight went on, the more Owen adapted.

Even without his forged-beast, Owen remained a monster and Reid knew it was time to reveal more of his cards, else he would lose.

Owen rushed forward with speeds almost untrackable by Reid’s eyes. He sent a punch towards Reid’s face, aiming to knock him out but before the the punch landed, his entire body froze.

Owen’s fist hovered inches from Reid’s face, his body completely locked in place. His sleepy eyes widened slightly in surprise.

[Pause]

Reid exhaled, stepping back as his ability took effect. Rusty wasn’t out, but that didn’t matter—he had long since mastered the skill of borrowing his beasts’ powers when needed.

“You were saying?” Reid wiped the remaining blood from his nose, watching Owen closely.

For the first time in the fight, Owen looked mildly inconvenienced. “Huh,” he muttered. “That’s new.”

Reid didn’t give him time to process it. He twisted his body and delivered a brutal kick straight to Owen’s ribs.

Owen’s body flew back like a rag doll and crashed into one of the walls.

Owen hit the ground and rolled, catching himself in a crouch. He let out a slow breath, rubbing his ribs but his usual sleepy expression remained.

“You actually got me with that,” Owen admitted, tilting his head. “Not bad.”

Reid didn’t let his guard down. Owen had already proven he was a monster, and Reid knew better than to assume this fight was over just because he had the upper hand for a moment.

Nyx hovered above, its presence amplifying the oppressive force pressing down on Owen, but Owen… still looked relaxed. Annoyingly so.

“Let’s try that again” he lunged forward again and it repeated in the same pattern.

He was paused in time by Reid again but this time, instead of being totally restricted as before, he made body made a movement, even though it was subtle.

Reid noticed the movement making him curse in his head.

That’s when it hit him. He had Beel, and Beel had the perfect skills to handle this situation.

[Extract] and [Enhance]

While [Enhance] relied on how much he ate, the description of [Extract] remained broad so he decided to copy it and try it out.

[Extract]

As soon as it was activated, Owen’s sleepy demeanor changed as a frown marred his face.

“What did you just do?” He felt all his strength suddenly leave him.

“You see, Nyx just needed time to completely nullify your strength” Reid lied.

He felt Owen’s strength fill him and he couldn’t help but close and open his palm, feeling the strength.

Since he didn’t absorb Owen like Beel usually does, he could only temporarily keep the strength but that was more than enough advantage for him.

Owen cracked his neck, shaking out his arms as he adjusted to the sudden weakness in his body. His frown deepened, and for the first time, real irritation flickered in his expression.

“So, that’s what your moth’s domain is capable of, huh?” Owen muttered, rolling his shoulders.

Reid smirked. “Took a while, but yeah?”

Owen exhaled slowly, assessing the situation. His strength had plummeted, and his body felt sluggish, almost like something had been drained from him.

But he still had his instincts.

Reid didn’t wait. He moved—faster than before, closing the distance in an instant. Owen barely had time to react before a punch slammed into his gut.

The impact lifted him off his feet, shockwaves rippling through the air. Even nullified by Nyx’s domain, the sheer force was undeniable.

Owen grunted, skidding back as he landed. He exhaled sharply, rubbing his ribs. “Okay… that actually hurt.”

Reid pressed forward, capitalizing on the advantage. He feinted left before driving his knee toward Owen’s chest.

This time, Owen twisted his body, narrowly avoiding a direct hit. Instead of retreating, however, he used the momentum to grab Reid’s arm and pull him forward.

Reid’s eyes widened as Owen’s knee slammed into his stomach instead.

Pain flared through him, but he gritted his teeth and pushed through it.

Owen smirked. “You’re strong, I’ll give you that. And I’ll admit… I underestimated you.”

“But I’ve got a lot more fighting experience than you kid” Owen said but at this point, even he knew the fight was almost over.

[Spatial collapse]

Without his strength, Owen couldn’t fight the effects of the skill. He struggled to move forward but the skill kept getting stronger and stronger, threatening to pop him like a balloon.

After a while, Owen stopped and spoke “Fine, you win.”