Extra's Ascent-Chapter 166: Aldrich Aldaman V Saldrich Aldaman (i)

"What do we do?!" Fiona's voice cracked under the weight of urgency, her trembling hands clenched at her sides as she fought the gnawing helplessness.

"I'll give him what he wants," Saldrich muttered, her mind racing. After weighing the options, few as they were, this was the only route that was best applicable to ascertain the upper hand they have.

Aldrich had demanded a duel. A personal confrontation. And if that's what he desired, then she would meet him on those terms.

"Sal!" Fiona called after her, the name sliced short by an undeniable understanding between the two.

"I know." Saldrich glanced over her shoulder. "And don't worry… I have no intention of underestimating what he's capable of anymore."

Fiona said nothing in return, she didn't need to. She knew Saldrich well enough to understand the importance behind those words. That name, spoken with such brevity, carried a thousand unspoken pleas.

For too long, Saldrich had looked down on Aldrich not out of malice, but from a silent conviction that she understood him fully. In her mind, his strengths and weaknesses were mapped out like a chart she had long memorised. He was the fragile boy who once lay motionless, barely breathing, while she sat at his side, praying that he would open his eyes and smile at her again.

But that version of Aldrich was long gone.

He had changed, transformed into someone beyond her understanding. He had shattered the framework she used to gauge his worth. His accomplishments no longer fit within the metrics she trusted. He had climbed past her expectations, achieving feats even she hadn't touched.

The boy who once needed her protection now stood tall as a man, a formidable, unyielding, evolved man.

This duel wasn't just for his sake, it was her reckoning. Her acknowledgement of his might.

With each step deeper into the mist, Saldrich distanced herself from Fiona's protection and ventured alone into the shifting fog that concealed her brother. Her voice rang out, calm yet firm.

"You wanted a one-on-one, Al. So here I am. Show me what you've become."

She positioned herself where no interruption could reach them. The atmosphere was dense, veiled in a thickening steam that swallowed vision and muffled sound. Still, Aldrich remained hidden.

"Now now, dear sister," his voice drifted in at last, amused yet distant. "No need to rush."

But there was a need.

He had briefly considered striking Fiona while Saldrich was distracted. It was a cold, tactical thought. But it faltered quickly as he knew of Fiona's passive trait. She wouldn't be as defenceless as she seemed, and the gamble wasn't worth the risk.

So instead, he resolved to commit fully to this moment, three minutes of concealment. Three minutes to either defeat Saldrich or fall trying.

A dangerous gamble, but when had his path ever been safe?

"I'm impressed, Al," Saldrich spoke, her voice echoing faintly through the fog. "You've surpassed every expectation I had. Shattered the scale, even."

"I'll take that as a compliment," he replied, stepping forward with purpose.

There was no room left for conversation. Time ticked away, each second precious. Action mattered more now than any words could.

Saldrich met his advance, her stance shifting as she embraced the rhythm of battle once more. Their bodies collided in a violent dance, fists flashing, limbs twisting. Every strike was calculated, every movement executed with deadly precision.

The clash resumed where it had been interrupted. This was no longer a skirmish; it was a storm contained in human forms. For three fleeting minutes, the world would belong to them alone.

As their blows connected, Saldrich found herself questioning everything.

Who was this man? Could this really be the same Aldrich she once cradled, bones like twigs and skin pallid under hospital lights? fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

No. This couldn't be the same person. It defied sense.

Could someone truly change this much in such a short time?

His footwork was masterful, his counters seamless. Their tempo matched unnervingly well as if he had memorised her patterns and wove around them with uncanny ease. Had she not possessed the Clover Eyes herself, capable of perceiving movement at a heightened clarity, she would have been overwhelmed in mere moments.

He was that skilled.

This was no longer just her brother. This was an Aldaman. A name that carried weight and pride.

She thought of Dwayne, of herself. Both of them were prodigies in their own right, growing at rates others struggled to keep up with. Yet here was Aldrich, once the weakest of them all, now accelerating past expectations at a terrifying pace.

He didn't just grow, he evolved.

His transformation wasn't merely physical. There was something deeper, an invisible pressure he now carried that bent the rules around him.

It was in this storm of fists and breathless rhythm that she understood.

"Fine. I admit it," Saldrich exhaled between parries, blood singing in her veins. "You're not just my brother. You're an Aldaman… and a powerful one at that."

And that meant she would treat him accordingly from this moment onward, not as a sibling she needed to shield, but as a rival. A true adversary.

She broke away with a sudden force, gaining some ground. "Alright, Al, you win this much. But remember, you asked for this. So don't blame me when it becomes too much to bear!"

Aldrich didn't flinch. He surged forward, fist arcing in a sharp right hook. Whatever speech she planned to give, he wasn't listening. He didn't have time to entertain it.

But just as his punch neared its mark, her eyes flickered.

A glow.

A sudden shift in the flow of her mana.

Aldrich noticed it immediately. He had been monitoring her aura closely throughout their battle, watching for any anomalies and this, this was not ordinary.

'Don't tell me…'

His instincts screamed at him.

He connected the signs, the sudden surge, the glowing irises, the fluctuation in her core. He knew what was coming. He had feared it.

She was activating the Three-Leaf Clover was awakening.