4-77

4-77

A/N: I give up on naming the titles.

“Is that all you’re capable of?” Rex sneered in between his quick breaths that were the result of his intense battle with Olivia. Wounds riddled his body and blood dripped incessantly. However, there was not a single trace of distress or unease in his expression as if his accumulated injuries were not deserving of his concern.

Rex’s indifference towards his wounds was not a product of arrogance. With a shrug of his shoulders, the tattoos all over his body gave off a radiant glow and the illumination dispelled his wounds, as if they had not existed in the first place.

“Spell brands?” Olivia widened her eyes, not just because Rex’s wounds suddenly disappeared altogether but also the spell brands that had appeared on his body.

“Brands, markings, tattoos, whatever you wish to call them.”

“How is that possible?”

“I’m not even sure myself.”

“The Mana surges should have ripped you inside out.”

“My body is just that sturdy, I suppose? My lack of aptitude for Magic Arts is compensated by my physical prowess and my affinity with Combat Arts.”

Olivia clicked her tongue. Despair wrought her face. Despite giving it her all, this battle didn’t even come close to her victory. She was in a state worse than Rex's before his unforeseen instant recovery. Unlike Rex who was simply mildly breathless, Olivia was barely keeping her breath under control. In fact, she could barely keep her stance. A single lapse of focus would be all it took for her consciousness to leave her.

“I’m impressed though, truly. I can’t remember the last time I’m wounded to this degree. You have my respect, milady.”

“I don’t need your respect,” Olivia hissed.

“Fair enough. But anyway, it’s time to end this charade,” Rex said, He thrust his hand towards her neck, wrapping it around her neck, and lifting her off the ground. “Tell me, where’s Erynthea?”

“K-kill me…”

“I will but not before you tell me what I want to know.”

Olivia raised her arm with much strain and weakly hit Rex in the head. “Fuck… you,” she spat with barely any vigour in her voice.

Rex sighed. He tightened his grip around Olivia’s neck. “Just tell me and I’ll make your suffering short.”

Olivia groaned as her body twitched due to her being choked even harder. His expression remained defiant and hardy as ever, coupled with a glare that seemed to be boring holes through Rex’s gaze.

“I can do much worse than this but I preferred not to out of my respect for your… feat.”

“As I… said, fuck… you. I will tell you… nothing.”

“Very well, then. I’m not good at torture so I won’t bother making a fool of myself doing it. It has been nice knowing a worthy opponent such as you but all good things must come to an end.” Saying that, Rex straightened his palm, preparing to drive it into Olivia’s heart.

It was then that a long-forgotten aspect of him made its return, and that aspect was “fear”.

Rex felt death walking past him, whispering to him his demise into his ears. The chill ran down his spine and shivers crawled through his skin.

Fear wasn’t something he had cast away or discarded. It was just that he had become so strong that there was nothing that could instil fear into his heart. He thought nothing or no one could ever do so again, until now. He instantly tossed Olivia aside and spun around to meet the source of his fear.

Rex saw a man walking towards him. No, it was more like the man was striding towards him. The man was donned in full body armour that was made of metal that he couldn’t quite recognise. His Appraisal skill was only limited to appraising a person’s status information. It did not allow him to appraise an object.

There was not a hint of fear or unease in the armoured man’s steps. His gait remained firm and uniform as he approached Rex closer and closer.

“Who the hell are you?” Rex asked, cracking his knuckles. He didn't know who the person was but he knew this would only end in a fight. The man’s face was covered by his armour’s visor, so Rex couldn’t get a look at the man’s appearance.

“Aedan. I’m an acquaintance of Marduk.”

“The boss’ acquaintance?”

“His teacher, you could also say.”

Rex snorted. “Truly?”

“Truly.”

“I don’t think I believe you. I can’t read your stats but I can feel that you're merely in the early sixties at best.” Yet, he couldn’t erase the budding dread in his heart. The person in front of him was dangerous, his instincts kept telling him despite all notions to the contrary.

“Levels are not everything, my friend.”

“I’m not your friend.”

“True. That just makes this easier,” Aedan said and assumed his battle stance, which resembled a brawling stance.

“You use your fists?” Rex questioned dubiously. This was the first time he had seen someone resorting to his fists when they were donning full body armour.

“And my feet too.”

Rex chuckled. “Just who the hell are you?”

“I’m Aedan.”

Rex’s eyes narrowed. “You’re acquainted with the Dragon lady behind me?”

“She’s more than just an acquaintance. Not lovers but more than friends.”

“So, it stands to reason that you would know who’s Erynthea and where I can find her, no?”

“You are absolutely correct.”

“Good. Then I shall ask you, where’s Erynthea?”

“You can have your answer if you defeat me in combat.”

“Fine by me!” Rex cried in delight and lunged at Aedan without a second delay. Though he lunged, to the untrained eyes, it would look as if he had teleported.

Aedan’s eyes were not untrained. He saw Rex’s movement clearly in spite of his tremendous level of loss. He stepped to the side and dodged a straight punch from Rex.

“Not bad,” Rex commended and immediately threw another punch.

Aedan dodged low and the hook went over his head. In retaliation, he rose with an uppercut to Rex’s chin.

However, Rex backed away, narrowly dodging Aedan’s uppercut. Or so he thought. Something unseen hit him straight in the face and he went stumbling backwards. Before he could get back his composure, Aedan thrust towards him with a kick. Rex spun his body to the side. He clearly saw Aedan’s kick missing his body by a foot or two. However, the unseen force once again struck him, in the belly this time around. He staggered but he held his bearings.

“What manner of deception is this?” Rex snarled.

Aedan shrugged and twisted his whole body into a roundhouse kick.

“Fine, keep your secrets.” Rex caught Aedan’s foot with ease. “Ain’t my main concern anyway,” he said and flung Aedan through the lamp poles as he weighed nothing.

Aedan was quick in getting back to his feet after crashing through more than ten lamp poles that were by no means soft or frail. Even a thick layer of steel would be dented but not the metal of Aedan’s armour.

“Whatever trick you’re using, it changes nothing. You either tell me where’s Erynthea on your own, or I’ll force it out of you until your very last breath.”

“You are most welcome to try,” Aedan said with a smirk and complemented it with a theatrical bow.

Aside from fear, wrath was also something that had started to fade out of relevance for Rex. This was because he had become so strong that the snide remarks and the taunts of all his foes just seemed like the act of children crying solely for attention. Rex couldn’t help but feel that he was being demeaned to the depths by his current foe’s indifference and apathy to the gap of their strength.

Rex wasn’t wrong, however. It wasn’t just a feeling. Aedan was demeaning him.

“I have half a mind to let you live if you told me where Erynthea is but not anymore. I am going to take my time tearing you to pieces even after I have gotten what I want.”

“Blah blah blah blah. Anyone can bark like a dog but not anyone can bite like one.”

“I am going to enjoy this very much,” Rex said with a wide grin. The tattoos on his right hand glowed. He pulled at the air as if he was gripping onto an invisible rope.

Suddenly, from afar, Aedan was pulled towards Rex. To others’ eyes, it would look as if Aedan flew at Rex himself. Right before Aedan fell into Rex’s grasp, he flipped his entire body while in the air and sent a kick to Rex’s face.

Rex tutted and cancelled his spell to avoid being trampled in the face. It would not hurt him badly but there was just something incredibly humiliating about getting the sole of someone’s foot planted straight on his face.

Aedan seized this chance to regain control of his body. He landed on both of his feet and thrust his palm out at Rex, though his palm failed to reach Rex with a gap of a few feet in between. Despite this, Rex felt an invisible force being driven into his torso. His body jerked backwards. His feet left the ground from being hit by the unseen force. He was driven back a few feet but he did not lose his balance.

“Damn it,” Aedan cursed. “You’re tougher than I want to admit.”

“The feelings’ mutual,” Rex groaned, rubbing at the spot where he was struck. “Just what sort of trickery is this?”

“I thought you said you weren’t interested.”

“I only said that your trickery isn’t my main concern but I’m still curious about it.” Rex stretched and wound his shoulders. Those three strikes that he received didn’t appear to have left any lasting damage on him. “Care to let me know?”

“You’ll have to earn that,” Aedan retorted and lunged at Rex.

“Figures,” Rex mumbled and met Aedan’s assault in kind. Rex threw the first punch, which Aedan swiftly dodged. The Dragon-kin retaliated with a hook but he missed, as expected. Rex went for Aedan’s arm but he pulled back before his arm could be grabbed. With his arm being Rex’s focus, Aedan sent a furtive jab into Rex’s belly from below.

“Oh, shit,” Aedan muttered grimly as his punch barely did anything to Rex.

Rex snorted. “And I was worried for nothing.” He then grabbed Aedan by his shoulder and legs, raising him up high before slamming him down into the ground. “I don’t know what just happened but it works in my favour!” Rex cheered and raised his foot, preparing to stomp down on Aedan.

“Fucking hell.” Aedan moved out of the way by pushing himself away just as Rex’s foot came down. Though he avoided being trampled in the face, the shockwave from Rex’s stomp still hit him and sent him tumbling across the ruined street.

“You’re fast, I’ll give you that.”

“Why, thank you,” Aedan responded and rose to his feet unsteadily. He closed and opened his fists as he shrugged to gather his bearings. It had been forever since he last felt this feeble and weak. Though he had spent a long time being weak, he had spent an even longer time amongst the strong. His punch had failed him just now because he had somehow lost track of his strength. His skills and memories were there but his instincts just felt off. It was an honest mistake but one that would prove to be lethal.

“You can’t win this. You may be able to wound me but that will be all that you can do. You can’t defeat me. I have not lost a single battle since… a long time that I can’t even remember when was the last time I tasted defeat.”

“Who knows, maybe today will be the first time in a long long while.”

“You’re an arrogant sod… it’s what I want to say but for some reason, I can’t see your confidence as arrogance. Why is that?”

Aedan chuckled. “This means that you have good instincts.”

“Do you perhaps have some sort of secret ability or weapon that gives you this much confidence?”

Aedan shrugged. “Perhaps.”

Rex sighed. “You truly won’t tell me anything, huh…”

“Yes, truly. Now, are we going to keep talking or are we gonna fight?”

“...You will regret this.” Rex cracked his knuckles. “I won’t be holding back any longer.”

Aedan grinned. “Oh, I’m counting on it.”