The sudden fist, as it traced its way from my blind angle, drove through my left cheek and blew away together with the sofa I was sitting on.
Alright, I might have lowered my guard after another disappointnt of a soft villain with no hostility etc etc, but the punch ca at a precise speed and angle that I couldn't act on it in ti. It took a few monts to organise my thoughts and realise what had happened.
...I had misunderstood the strength of Rebel or whatever that guy was.
I was confused, like why would a guy like him engage in an exchange with kids for trifling amounts of money, but he had him in it. It wasn't on par with Leo, but I honestly believed his strength wasn't far from my rest of classmates.
After the series of doting love my elder sister shower with, whose fist would often always co unannounced and without any reading, I had managed to raise my mana guard instinctively, right before fist could've landed on my face, however I believe the it packed enough power to KO your average joe.
Well, now I wonder if all that display of joy over minor act of villainy was just his attempt to stall for ti until the Freak guy or sothing returned.
"...What the hell was for... huh?"
I confird I was still fine, and reflexively jumped to my feet. My elder sister's love had engraved on my body that such actions were nearly instinctual. Beside, Freak *should* be quite strong if Rebel was this strong. I couldn't keep on the ground and put my opening for them.
Had it been my elder sister, she would've certainly jumped on the opportunity right after the earlier punch, but Rebel didn't move. Was it negligence, or his confidence speaking? I couldn't tell.
When I got back into my feet, taking the sofa as a sort of shield, Rebel and his follower's eyes went all googly suddenly.
"H-he stood up like nothing after taking that... Kathy's punch..."
"A-am I dreaming?"
Tch. I think after my ordeal with frog's nest, my reception to danger had been haywired. Or how others put it, conceitedness, I guess? It was an elent that could lead to one's downfall in this dog eat dog world, and yet, I......
But, it wasn't the mont for self-reflection. I suppressed my anger toward , and calmly analysed the situation.
Let's see, I couldn't lower my guard against Rebel, but the followers certainly seed to be so riff-raff from their stance. At least, they weren't any trained individuals.
It certainly wasn't impossible to hide one's strength, but imitating an amateur's movent was in fact a far tougher nut to crack than how it may appear.
Anyway, even if I eliminated his followers, I was still facing Rebel and Freak. A two versus one. But I think I could drag on their followers to disorient them in lee.
After a few monts of shocked expression, Rebel's expression incomprehensibly twisted for a heartfelt laughter when he saw cracking my neck, and taking my step forward.
"Haha.......Hahaha! He stood up! He stood up after taking my full powered punch like it's nothing! Hey, you, so you truly are the real Mad Hound?!"
"......I am Explorer Ren. Had you skipped my introduction or sothing?"
I promptly shook my head and denied. As if I would ever proclaim that cringy alias as my own. It was a re nuisance, and the last thing I wanted was to be those idiots—Benze and slum kids.
When I stepped closer to him, Rebel fearlessly stretched his arms, and even showed his left cheek as if to say 'co and punch .'
"Hmm? Oh well... just co at ! It was my fault I went for a surprise attack, very unelegant. But you can punch as payback! I can also verify if it's truly you."
......Did he really think I would fall into an obvious trap?
He had so motives to do that. I was sure. ...And in fact, he was so wide open that there wasn't any blind spot for him to exploit.
I could've walked out, but the exit was blocked by the Freak. In the end, the only option was to jump into the obvious pithole. I swing my fist, channeling my entire strength, into Rebel's left cheek, guarded by mana guard—or, that's how I pretended.
I drew my left knee into his, seemingly, unguarded abdon. I an, it was worth trying out just how 'open' he was trying to be.
"Aaaargj!|
..................Did that guy hit his head during childhood or sothing?
◆◆◆
Taking my left knee on his unguarded abdon, Rebel sunk to the ground. A holler from his followers imdiately followed up.
"W-what the heck was that for, you bastard!"
"Wasn't the handshake between n a punch to face?!"
Excuse , who the heck brought that nonsense rule......
"Never heard that sorta rule, not from here. He asked to hit, I did. That's all. Maybe explain your rules first next ti!"
I turned to Follower A and Follower B as they hollered their complaint, and gave them the "n's handshake"—aka a straight punch to their cheeks—they'd wanted.
"L-local what? No, it's not so random rule. That's what we read from «Big Bro's Ballard»......"
"And I am saying I don't know a shit about it!"
For so unexplainable reason, that fatty image flashed back at the depth of my mind. I delivered another face punch to Follower C.
I kept telling myself to not be so reckless, but their nonsense excuses were kind of getting on my nerves.
And amidst that, the Freak, who had been guarding the exit all this while, finally showed so movent. He should be 170cm tall, much like Rebel. Though in wide stature, he was an absolute unit, with rippling muscles, and even wires creaked often under his movent.
I fear Freak had an outburst of congenital mana organ enlarge-ification disease, or as the other people famously call it «Devil's Blessing», an abhorrent disease. The clear details were evident in its na. It was a situation where a mana organ grew up to abnormal size, which in turn made it hard to control mana. It was hereditary.
It was also a disease that, for so reason, broke out mostly among the mbers of prestigious families. The physical transformation, the wide body and muscles, was simply one's body defense chanism to cope with overflowing mana due to the size.
It was also a disease peculiar to this world, with the cause being contemplated to lie among mana particles, just like Mana Collapse disease. Often, muscles develop to a degree that there would co a point where the skeleton failed to bear the weight, putting pressure on the internal organ, and ultimately leading to multiple organ failure. To be short, the survival rate was pretty low.
The wires all over the body should be an ancient healing thod I reckon. It could suppress down the inflation of muscles to a degree, but that was rely slowing down the inevitable. Above all, it was no less of hell to have the tal wires keep digging on flesh.
Then again, it doesn't matter to . Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novel✦fire
"............"
We had been five ters apart, and from Freak's steadfast stance, I could tell he must have received training from sowhere. And above all, the presence of overflowing mana, like a magma quietly seething inside the volcano just before its eruption, was quite evident.
Huff, Huff—
And, as soon as the rugged breathing of Freak stopped, I caught mana rapidly gathering into his left fist, hanging next to his hip.
For a mont, I even doubted if that absurd amount of mana density would cause his fist to give a blinding light, and I closed my eyes.
◆◆◆
The ground humd as Freak took his step, closing the distance within a breath, and delivered his full-powered fist on Allen's face. And just as rapidly Freak had closed the distance, Allen was hurled through the air like a ragdoll in their collision, as if he was a kid hit by a car, and crashed into a dical cabinet where jars with red pills were lined up.
Ooh, Freak won! Just as everyone was assured of it, "Argh!", Freak suddenly collapsed on the floor, his knees giving in, and fainted.
*Rattle* Allen stood up as he kicked aside the dical cabinet weighing on him.
"Oww... man, that hurts. Why is it even happening when I am simply on tour......"
Grumble escaped from Allen as he got back to his feet. Then he paused, recalling sothing, and picked up two or three red pills, pushing them against Rebel's mouth.
"Don't give kids these shits. Now eat all of them by yourself! Talk about a hell of a situation... anyway, I'm off."
Rebel suddenly ca out of his reverie, and stopped Allen. As a matter of fact, the red pills, while roughly made, were healing dicine, so perhaps it jolted him awake with their potency.
"Cough, cough! Wait! I... I want to beco a man like you. I hope to destroy the rotten part clinging to this Empire, and bring it up from scratch. Just like you—"
His shoulder echoed as he pointed at the wall—to be precise, the posters that were hidden behind the dicine cabinet. The poster depicted a boy standing at the centre with a devilish grin, with multiple cringe-inducing catchphrases written around.
Allen took a few monts to grasp the reality before him, his eyes staring at the poster in amazent, and then strongly tapped on Rebel's shoulder.
"...I know you can do it, Rebel. And that's why, that title is yours starting today. I believe in you... and no one's going to say anything otherwise. Yeah, so believe in yourself! Starting today, tell everyone you et that you're the «Evil Genius», and keep pushing yourself! Alright, that's a promise!"
After strongly asserting himself, Allen turned on his heels and left the hideout with a leisure gate.
"Co one, the tour isn't over yet, Poro-kun, Rigel-kun! Man, I am now hungry, so show the way to any restaurant or diner. Anywhere is fine, as long as they fulfill the portion!" A mont later, they could hear his gleeful shout coming from outside.
◆◆◆
Marilard Palace.
Castic made his entry from the backdoor quietly, alone, and had just stepped inside when Archi addressed him imdiately. Grayfia was next to her, so they apparently were waiting for him.
"Welco back, Kathy. There's soone I would like you to... search—what happened to you? Should I call in a priest?"
But when she saw her little brother's strange walking posture, she changed her question midway, her voice laced with concern. However Kathy shook his head with a wry smile.
"It's just... a minor scuffle at the slum. I think I would like to keep this pain. But I appreciate your concern, Sis."
It was quite an unusual scene for Arichi. Kathy might have been a bit too kind for his own sake, but he was a genius studying under the best tutelage of Rosemieur Family, and it was unthinkable he would be on the receiving end in a fight, much less in a slum.
But if there was one, then it had to be that person. The boy who had received the sa tutelage of Rosemieur family, a prodigy in his own, yet abandoned like a puppy after the outbreak of that abhorrent disease, stripping away his status—Arichi's second brother.
"...It's quite unexpected that you and Latty quarrel."
But seeing no further comnt from Castic, Grayfia clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"Tch! You're too clumsy with your actions, and now you even ca beaten up. Pathetic. ...... I reckon you went to his place again, huh? It's about ti you forget about him, who has no future ahead. I doubt he can even make any movent after that disease. It's about ti for you to grow out of your naivety."
"Gray, watch out for your words. And hadn't you been impressed by Latty's talent as well? I am sure you'd lanted about his disease more than anyone. Am I wrong?"
"......Hmph! I am just saying for his own sake. The Emperor should be watching over. That boy might be his relative and an important person, but what's the use of soone who can't be put to use? If he's hesitant in making a logical choice now, how can he possibly shoulder the responsibility of the Empire in future? ...Anyway, he's probably going to run away from the succession war when his ti cos, but if Girai or soone hateful found out about it, we're waiting for a huge drama you know. That bastard might even blackmail him for his own benefit."
Grayfia justified her rambling with a logical outlook, but Castic didn't show my reaction. It was as if his mind was wandering in its own realm.
In his mind, he was going over the side profile of that boy again and again. The boy must have figured his big brother's—Lattic—shouldn't be able to move for long. Yet, he chose to confront the fist, fuelled by the entire life of his big brother, head on.
He saw the boy closing his eyes for a mont just as the two were about to clash. And then, as if he knew which action Lattic would take, he reacted a mont faster than Lattic could lunge at him, tanked against the fist, and neatly executed a cross-counter with the heel of his right-hand palm.
It didn't appear he had poured that much strength into his palm, and he was blown away when the fist hit his cross-counter, but that palm strike alone reaped away the conscience of his big brother, who should've been protected by his excess mana.
He even preached to him that 'Don't give kids this shit' while pointing at the red pills, sothing they'd purposely made inferior to slip under the radar of the governnt. —Don't miss the forest for the trees. The kids should only be able to see your magnificent visage. Kathy felt the boy was indirectly criticising him to get his act together.
And then, there were those last words, which struck him more than anything else.
The boy, his idol, was a person beyond his imagination had ever thought of him.
"......I have decided, Sis. Grayfia. I will not be supporting either of your faction."
" "Wha—!" "
"Ah, and of course, soone like big brother Girai or anyone else is also out of options. I am... I will be taking my own path, to put back this Empire on the right track. And, I am going to rebuild it from the ground up, making a na for myself as «Evil Genius»!"
Ever since his beloved brother—from the sa mother—was chased out of the Imperial Palace, Castic had never been a steadfast person. It was the first ti there was no hesitation in his voice, all so while his expression displayed the sa charismatic smile that had enamored so many.
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