༺ Hassan And An Ill-Fated Relationship From The Past (4) ༻
“Come at me all at once. I’ll be your opponent.”
Elfriede confidently spoke while facing us. Her growling voice, like she was holding in her anger, sent shivers down my spine.
“They’re gonna fight?”
“It should be fun. Innkeeper, bring more pheasant meat here!” “
“Yes, right away.”
In contrast to our serious situation, the atmosphere around us seemed to have taken a festive turn as all the people started waiting in anticipation of the ensuing fight. It was understandable, as fights among drunkards in taverns were one of the few sources of entertainment in this joyless world. However, as the one involved in said fight, I couldn’t laugh at this situation with the others.
“Elfi, should we help too?”
Elfriede’s colleagues supported their chins with their hands on the table while smiling with narrowed eyes. Even in this situation, their minds focused solely on the food in front of them, as if oblivious to anything else.
They must be overflowing with confidence. Most probably, they hadn’t even considered the possibility of their colleague, Elfriede, losing this bout.
“Delphina, this is my fight. You guys shouldn’t interfere.”
“Hmph? Since when did you become so possessive?”
” I can handle these guys with just my fists, without using magic.”
“Just do whatever you want then. But will you be okay? I am talking about that Samaritan over there. Unlike what you said, Elfi, he looks quite strong. I can sense strange karma emanating from him. With that level of karma, he must be a real warrior.”
“I doubt that. I know him quite well, even better than anyone else in this world. I’m more than capable of dealing with him alone.”
Slide— Slide—
Elfriede swiftly removed the white gloves from her hands and placed them on the table. I could clearly feel her fighting spirit emanating from her.
But I couldn’t believe this. Was she really about to face us without using her magic…?
Though, even without relying on magic, Elfriede would be a tough opponent to face.
But, It’s still worth a try, right?
If I remember correctly, Elfriede’s level is around 35.
My current level was 19.
Luna’s was 15.
And Paranoy’s level was around 21… I think?
With these levels, and with it being a 3vs1, there was a substantial chance of us doing it.
“Mr. Hassan! Show them what you’re made of…! If it’s Mr. Hassan, you can surely handle it, so I’ll cheer you on from the sides—!”
But Paranoy didn’t seem interested in joining the fight with us. She was standing a step back and planning to just watch the fight unfold.
Hmm, did this girl mistakenly think I was a super-powerful warrior or something? That was a problem in its own right.
“First, it’s your turn.”
Without even waiting for us to agree to the duel, Elfriede stomped on the wooden floor of the inn. The floor cracked and shattered, and, at the same time, Elfriede sprang toward us at full force.
Her fiery hand swung down with all its might toward Luna’s head.
“Hii-iiiiik!”
Perhaps feeling the fear of death, Luna quickly covered her head and swiftly bent down to the ground, avoiding the blow by a paper-thin margin.
From what I remember, Luna’s agility stat was around 8. With her agility and reflexes surpassing that of an average person, it was no wonder that she was able to dodge the attack.
“Huh, what’s this?”
Elfriede, too, seemed surprised that she had missed her punch. So, in frustration, she continued throwing punches at her as though deeply enraged.
However, incredible as it may be, Luna managed to narrowly evade all of her attacks.
“V-Voodoo of Evasion!”
Elfriede’s punches missed Luna’s body entirely, either slicing through the air or hitting a table, shattering the plates on it.
“Hi-yah!”
“Do you think this is a joke!?”
Watching Luna gracefully dodge the attacks with the flexibility reminiscent of an expert gymnast, I found myself more bewildered than anything else.
What in hell is going on here?
I couldn’t make sense of the current situation at all. While Luna’s reflexes were impressive, the current situation wasn’t really due to her being amazing but rather Elfriede’s body being unusually stiff and rigid.
“Just stay still, will you? C-Come here!”
“Don’t wanna!”
“Argh!”
She was like a robot with rusty joints and awkward movements that hadn’t been properly maintained for a very long time.
Having spent a considerable amount of time with her, I could tell immediately that Elfriede’s condition was unusual.
“Hmph, you can’t escape now. You little brat. How dare you run me around? I have to teach you a lesson.”
Still, Elfriede was very strong.
Luna, who had been skillfully evading the attacks, found herself cornered in an instant. She trembled, unsure of what to do next.
“H-Hassan—!”
Therefore, Luna eventually turned to me for help.
In response to her cry, I broke free from my frozen state and rushed toward Elfriede with hurried steps. Now, it was more important to assist Luna than to be scared.
“Damn it!”
“Hmph, is that the best you can do?”
Elfriede spoke as if she didn’t even care about me.
In reality, the gap in skill between her and me was enormous. Even if I were to punch her in the solar plexus, I still couldn’t imagine knocking Elfriede down.
Perhaps, it was because Elfriede’s body appeared even larger and more imposing than it was in reality to me right now. The illusion I had created stunned me briefly before I was even able to properly swing my fist.
“Indeed, you’ll forever remain a fool. As usual, you are just standing there quietly.”
Taking advantage of that gap, Elfriede’s counter punch struck my solar plexus instead.
Thud—!
“Keugh.”
A punch barely hit me, yet I could hear a sound that was similar to a building collapsing, echoing through the air. I couldn’t comprehend how the sound could have been so loud. Was it really coming from my own body?
Did she just make a hole in my stomach?
Anyway, everything went dark in front of my eyes, and the air in my lungs came out of my mouth in an instant, making it difficult for me to even breathe. I really felt like I was going to pass out right now. In the old days, I certainly would have passed out at this juncture.
“Heh, you took that punch and still held on? You must’ve trained a lot lately, huh?”
“Hassan–!”
“Where do you think you’re going? You should come here, too.”
Luna rushed toward me in a panic but was ultimately caught by Elfriede.
Elfriede held Luna’s waist, who was squirming to get out of her grasp, with her arms and slowly raised one of her palms.
“I finally got you. This little loser has been causing so much trouble. Stop, stop struggling. Do you think I’m going to eat you or something?”
Elfriede’s hand finally reached the helmet that was covering Luna’s head. Luna trembled like a hen who was about to lose its eggs to a raccoon.
“No, you can’t take it! H-Hassan gave me this!”
“Well, what a tasteless gift. Don’t worry, I won’t take it even if you give me something like this. Anyway, since it’s come to this, how about I take a look at what you, you little brat, actually look like, huh?”
“Heheek!”
Luna exerted all her strength as if she didn’t want the helmet on her head to be taken away. However, Luna’s stamina and strength were relatively low, and eventually, the chin strap holding the helmet in place snapped.
Snap—
As always, her amusing pink hair was revealed to the world.
“G-Give it back to me!”
Even in that situation, Luna still struggled desperately to retrieve her helmet.
However, as she saw Luna’s appearance, Elfriede’s expression turned quite perplexed and bewildered and she momentarily froze in her posture.
“Is this even possible—? Did he find some kind of weakness of yours—?”
“Let go of it! Kreuk—!”
Luna fiercely bit down on Elfriede’s nape with all her might.
“Argh! H-How dare you bite me!”
Whether that attack had any effect or not, Elfriede still screamed and flung the bone helmet away from her hands.
Damn, it must have hurt a lot.
Having been bitten by Luna many times before, I knew fully well how painful it could be. You could even call it Luna’s ultimate move.
“T-This…!”
However, perhaps truly enraged by Luna’s behavior, Elfriede grabbed Luna and forcefully threw her towards a corner.
“Hyaaaaeeeek!”
Thump— Thump— Thump— Crash—
Luna bounced off the table and collapsed in a corner of the inn. Seeing her like that, I felt a surge of anger wreck through my body that made the pain in my solar plexus disappear in an instant.
Elfriede, that fucking bitch. She was not only tormenting me but also bothering Luna.
“You… you wicked bitch!”
Thus, I rose to my feet while overcoming the pain and charged at Elfriede with full force. I didn’t know where I was drawing such courage and boldness from, but it didn’t matter right now.
Elfriede, whether she knew my intentions or not, simply sneered.
“Just stay down. Do you really think you can hit me with such an obvious attack?”
“Aah!”
I clenched my fist with all the strength that I was able to gather in my right hand, determined to put all of my power into the punch. But I didn’t consider the possibility that Elfriede would dodge.
“Huuhh…”
It was all because of Luna, who had collapsed in the corner.
I saw her pulling out a peculiar obsidian dagger from her waist and thrusting it into the floor where Elfriede’s shadow was.
“…Shadow Binding Curse… P-Please, let it work… Hassan, your turn…”
Shadow Binding Curse was a voodoo that temporarily restrained the opponent’s movements. The success rate was said to be about fifty-fifty against opponents of similar levels.
It was obvious that the success rate of this curse would be much lower against Elfriede, who had a significantly higher level than Luna.
But I chose to trust Luna.
I trusted Luna and I also trusted my fist to do its job.
“Y-You wicked bitch arghhhh…”
Thus, my fist extended.
“…M-My body!?”
Elfriede, who had just been smirking with a self-assured and arrogant smile, suddenly tensed up as if taken aback.
“Keuh, I don’t know what kind of sorcery this is, but Hassan, your pathetic and weak punch means nothing to me— It won’t even hurt—!”
Elfriede growled again. Thanks to her words, the guilt of striking a woman’s face with all my strength subsided.
“Then take this!”
And so, my fist collided with Elfriede’s fair pale face.
“Keuu—!”
As Elfriede exerted her strength to withstand my blow, and my fist strived to break her body, a battle of strength ensued between us.
“Y-You damn loser! W-When did you get this strong?! Arrrggh!”
Soon, an undignified scream, that didn’t suit Elfriede’s demeanor, erupted from her mouth, and her body bounced around, crashing into the corners of the inn.
Thud— Thud— Thump—!
Elfriede was sent flying and crashed to the ground from the impact of my fist.
“Did you see that, Elfriede, you stupid bitch? This is what I am capable of now!”
I couldn’t believe this. I managed to strike down the powerful Elfriede with my fist! I felt an immense sense of accomplishment, realizing that the levels and experiences I had gained during my struggles were not in vain. My head felt clear as if the fog that had been covering my head till now was lifted.
Damn, is this what it feels like to have an adrenaline rush?
Anyway, it felt great.
“Wow, you defeated a silver-tier adventurer.”
“Is it true that tiers don’t matter to Samaritans?”
“He’s from the Desros Arena, after all. The people who hail from that place are all formidable…”
“Hmph! I didn’t want to see those pompous outsiders acting all high and mighty in my city. Don’t ever underestimate someone from Sodomora again!”
People exclaimed loudly as they looked at me. In front of all these people, I had defeated Elfriede, who had once ruled over me.
That fact washed over me like a refreshing wave, making me feel incredibly exhilarant.
Perhaps this was the moment I had been living for.
And in that very moment—
Sling—
Something sharp touched my neck.
Damn, what the hell is it again?
“Well, let’s stop right here. That was indeed a mighty fist. But, Elfi, how could you fly off so dramatically like that? That’s why it feels like you’re really the one who lost. Now our party looks weak.”
It was Delphina, the leader of the female party of White Silver Roses or something who held a blade near my neck.
When did she approach me? Even though my unexpected victory had intoxicated my mind, how could I not even sense her presence at all?
So, this was the true skill of a silver-tier swordswoman.
Ssk—
At that moment, Elfriede rose from the broken table.
“Hah, you’re stronger than I expected, so it caught me off guard. Hassan, you bastard, when did you become like this…?”
Elfriede touched her swollen face and dusted off her body. Then, two streams of blood started dripping from her nose.
“Hah, what the hell is this? It really hurts. Ugh, it hurts so much… Hassan, you bastard, how dare you, without any hesitation, hit me right on my face–”
All of a sudden, Elfriede spat out a mouthful of blood onto the floor.
Damn, she was so fucking tough.
Honestly, I thought she would be knocked out for at least a day with that powerful punch. How could she take the hit and immediately regain consciousness? As expected of a high-ranked adventurer.
Frown—
Elfriede’s deeply furrowed eyes stared at me, who was at the edge of the blade that Delphina had placed, and also at Luna, who was lying on the floor, gasping for breath.
What would happen now?
With my weak imagination, I couldn’t envision what would unfold next.
“Guards! Over here! There’s a big fight happening in the inn!”
Right at that moment, a desperate voice calling for guards came from a distance. Somehow, it sounded like Marco’s voice. Was Marco around here too?
Upon hearing the voice, the sharp object that was aimed at my neck wavered greatly. Now that I looked closely, it was actually a finger, not a blade. What the hell? I almost thought it was a real sword.
“Oh gosh, it seems like we’re in trouble. The viscount told us not to cause a commotion. Let’s escape from this place—!”
And with that, they hurriedly moved. Even the female monk who had been sitting at the table while observing the situation spoke up at this instant.
“I enjoyed the meal—”
So she could talk… I thought she was mute. Thus, the only one who didn’t open her mouth until the end was the red-dressed martial artist, who silently ate her own food till now.
“Let’s run!”
Upon Delphina’s words, those women quickly got up from their seats and gathered their belongings. After that, Delphina turned to ask the innkeeper, who was still flustered by the situation.
“Innkeeper! Where’s the back door?”
“T-The-There—”
Swiftly, they all followed the innkeeper’s finger quickly escaping through the back door. However, Elfriede briefly took a glance at me before disappearing through the door.
“…”
She stared at me with her swollen face as if she had something to say to me but didn’t do it out of hesitation.
I was worried about what kind of words she would use to insult me again at that moment. Then, a slender woman’s arm extended from the elf’s side.
It was Delphina. Delphina pulled Elfriede from behind.
“Let’s go, Elphi. Your body seems stiff. It must be time for another massage. I’ll loosen you up, every nook and cranny of yours. Heh-heh—”
“…”
Elfriede silently gave me a menacing glance before turning away.
And with that, it felt like a storm had passed, and my body was drained out of all its strength.
“Sigh. Damn it.”
“Hassan…”
Only then was I finally able to lift Luna, who was trembling and lying in the corner, and help her stand up.
“Hey, are you okay? You made quite the loud sound when you flew away like that.”
“Uh, yeah. It was more fear than pain. More importantly, Hassan, you two sound very familiar with each other.”
“Well, um…”
“Also, what’s this Desros Arena about?”
I couldn’t hide it any longer.
So, I just decided to tell her the truth.
“I set that place on fire.”
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