Volume 6 Chapter 66 The Fact of Being Human
Slowly pushing through the opened door was a man bigger and more muscular than Randy.
His messy brown hair and droopy eyes seemed familiar to Randy, but he couldn't quite remember where from.
(If he's bigger than me, I should remember him...)
It was on the tip of his tongue.
Just as Randy swallowed down his frustration, the man in front of him chuckled and looked at him.
"Well, if it isn't the [Battle Demon]!"
Hearing someone act as if they knew him, Randy shot a sharp glare at the man.
"Who the hell are you?"
The man nodded with a grin, saying, "Oh, I see."
"This must be our first meeting in this outfit, right?"
Spread wide, his arms radiated a faint aura of fighting spirit.
"I'm Elliot. I'm the [Emerald Sage] of the Four Saints [Pilgrim of Truth]."
Randy squinted at Elliot's sly smile. "Sage?"
Four Saints, Sage, Elliot... as Randy pulled memories from his mind, he recalled the man he had encountered with Waldner.
"Wait, are you the guy His Excellency Rolf knocked around?"
"Well, I wasn't exactly built for battle."
Elliot shrugged, and Randy couldn't help but say, "I'm impressed you survived."
"Curious, are you?"
"Nah. I can imagine it well enough, so I don't need details."
Shaking his head, Elliot frowned slightly in boredom.
Randy actually had a good guess about how Elliot survived.
He had pointed out his body for a reason.
Surely, there must be a way to extract just the soul from the body.
Thinking back to when he first faced Rolf, he remembered that he was a puppet.
"So, is this puppet going to behave properly?"
Raising an eyebrow with a mocking grin, Randy saw Elliot's expression twist slightly.
"Want to find out?"
With a stance ready for battle, Elliot radiated a powerful aura.
A shiver ran through Randy's body.
The chilling tension felt like facing a true strong opponent.
"At least make it a little fun!"
Elliot snorted in displeasure and opened his mouth at Randy, who was smiling.
"You seem like a necessary piece, but honestly, it would be the same if I killed you now──"
Just when it seemed Elliot had vanished, he appeared right in front of Randy in an instant.
Elliot's fist came crashing down.
Randy's left arm was ready to meet it.
Their arms collided, shaking the air around them.
"Wow. You can take it. You're not just big for show."
In Elliot's steady gaze, he could see Randy, his feet sinking into the ground.
Elliot's right arm pressed down on Randy, trying to crush him.
Randy's left arm pushed back against it.
It felt like they were evenly matched, both arms trembling... until Elliot suddenly stepped back.
"That was just a warm-up."
Elliot cracked his neck, and Randy, pulling his feet free from the ground, chuckled, "Good to hear."
"If that was your full power, I'd probably cry from how weak you are."
With a mock smile, Randy teased, and Elliot smirked, "You're so tough," before taking another stance.
"Next, I'll go at 50 percent."
"Stop pretending and come at me with everything you've got."
Randy stood there and waved him over, and Elliot said, "It's called style," before disappearing again.
Elliot was faster than before.
He closed the distance in an instant, throwing a jab that jolted forward.
As the fist approached, Randy slipped his head to the side.
The sound of air bursting echoed near Randy's right ear... then Elliot's left jab was suddenly pulled back.
Elliot's returning fist came charging at Randy's head once more.
It was a double strike from a jolt,
but it still missed Randy's head.
The missed jab didn't stop Elliot's fierce attack.
With the momentum from his left, Elliot threw a right punch.
It was a compact straight focused on speed.
Elliot's right fist was closing in on Randy's nose.
Just before impact, Randy dodged.
At the same time, he slammed a right hook into Elliot.
Randy's right fist caught Elliot squarely in the face.
It was a perfect counter, and even with his nose hit, Elliot grinned.
"You're weak."
Elliot, acting the fool, crossed his arms in an attempt to grab Randy.
Randy stepped back to avoid Elliot's grasp.
"Is that all the [Battle Demon] can do?"
Elliot taunted, then declared, "Next, I'll go at 75 percent," as he quickened his pace towards Randy.
Randy focused solely on evading the faster attacks, his lips pressed into a thin line.
"There, there, there you go!"
Elliot, aiming true, repeatedly threw punches and kicks with evident glee.
Some of them connected, drawing a little blood from Randy.
Randy continued to dodge the storm-like rush, taking another large step back to increase the distance.
"You can't win by running away, you know."
Randy silently prepared himself, facing Elliot's sneering grin.
"Can't even crack a joke?"
Chuckling, Elliot opened his mouth again.
"The playtime's over. I'm going all out at 100 percent──"
Elliot's speed was such that he seemed to vanish.
Randy guarded with both arms against Elliot's fist.
The impact shook the air, and Randy was sent sliding across the floor.
With a thunderous sound, Elliot pursued, "Not yet," and unleashed a torrent of attacks.
Kicks and punches rained down on Randy without mercy, and then──
"I've got you."
Elliot grabbed Randy and slammed him against the ground.
The room shook violently, and Randy's body lifted slightly off the ground.
Elliot stomped him.
He pounded Randy into the ground repeatedly, over and over.
"Hahahahaha"
Laughing, Elliot stepped on Randy repeatedly, breathing heavily, "Hah, hah," as Randy lay embedded in the ground, his body soiled with debris and dirt.
Satisfied, Elliot turned his back on Randy... but then, from the hole in the ground, Randy slowly rose to his feet.
Noticing Randy, Elliot casually threw a punch.
The punch aimed for Randy's face... was caught in Randy's left hand──
"Can you still move──hmm?"
It was too late when Elliot noticed.
The fist, squeezing tighter and tighter, started to scream...
"Stop it! Let go!"
Without waiting for Elliot to beg, Randy crushed it with his left hand with a dull THUD.
"You──"
"What a disappointment... you strong man."
Randy spat out a little bit of blood with a "Ptooey!"
"You were talking big, I thought you might have some cool moves... Just brute force, huh? What a waste."
Elliot quickly backed away at Randy's ferocious grin.
Elliot glanced at his right fist, which was completely dead, frowned and glared at Randy, "What is the meaning of this?"
"You fool. Strength is all about how you use it."
Randy cracked his neck and slowly got into a stance, "I'll teach you."
It was a quiet but powerful stance, one that would make Keith, the knight, say, "That's a good stance."
"You little brat. Who's doing the talking now?"
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