Charles was still sitting in the wooden box, looking at the fire in front of him, and listening to the commotion from outside. Even though he was far away from the voice, Charles could guess that many of his men had lost. And from the intervals of punches and steps, he could already guess who was coming.
"All of you." The leader spoke to the kneeling and battered men. "You guys get out of here, take these two hanging friends of yours."
The men exchanged glances, then hurriedly let go of their two friends.
"Bring them too." Charles pointed at the three women still lying on the floor.
Some of Charles' men picked up the naked women then ran away with the others, leaving the leader alone.
Charles knew that whoever was beating his people couldn't possibly kill. But that's no excuse. Charles should have saved his men anyway. However, that meant he had to fight that person. Even if he came out just to check, a fight would be inevitable. Charles didn't want that to happen. He chose to wait for the woman to come to his place and talk to her first.
A few minutes passed, and the noises from outside had stopped. The footsteps of someone echoed, approaching Charles. The man remained where he was, looking at Renee, who had finally arrived. The woman's body and clothes were splattered with blood.
"I promised you not to interfere with your activities as long as your group isn't too cruel to the shop owners," Renee spoke with a sharper look than before. The muscles on her face also tightened. "So, why did your men come to beat me?"
Charles took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. It's my fault for not being able to educate them. Even Hugo became a victim."
"And how could your men attack a friend of mine." Renee's voice started to shake..."
"What?" Charles raised his head. "Ah, maybe some of my subordinates have escaped my control. Don't worry, Miss Emilian. I'll look into that."
"I told you, I gave up that name. Now I'm just Renee." Renee gritted her teeth. "And I think it all comes down to this, Charles. You do have to be stopped."
"You know that my group is hated, but we are much better than other mafia groups or even government officials." Charles finally got to his feet. "You realize the importance of my men and me? Do you really want to finish me off?"
Renee pointed the tip of her staff forward. "Shut up. I won't listen to criminals."
"I know that reaching your dreams is so hard. Failures frustrate you and make you feel like you're about to explode. And with this incident, you have a justification for attacking us, even though you just want an outlet for your emotions." Charles took a few steps forward. He spoke in a calm tone, "So, are you not satisfied with beating my men?"
"That's not why I'm doing this!" Renee's expression grew more intense. "I have to beat you so that my friends don't fall victim again."
The woman dashed forward and performed her ice move, sending a layer of ice floor creeping up to Charles. However, Charles jumped far. Then, he and Renee advanced toward each other.
Renee swings her staff, but Charles catches it.
"I respect your father, Renee. He is my mentor." Charles was still holding that staff. "I don't want to hurt you."
"Shut up!" Renee made her staff hot, and Charles was forced to let it go.
Renee swung her staff even more fiercely. Charles could only dodge, not daring to block the glowing object.
The leader of the thugs pushed Renee back a few steps. Then, he jumped away again.
Just as Charles landed, Renee smacked her staff down. Charles turned his head towards the crackling sound behind him. A boulder then came off the floor. But, the leader of the thugs managed to escape.
Renee was ready. She jumped, spun through the air, then kicked the boulder.
"Ugh!" Charles lost his balance because the boulder hit his shoulder hard.
Renee isn't done yet. She advanced again, ready to attack. This time Charles took a wooden box and threw it. Renee dodged, and Charles threw down another wooden box.
Due to too many wooden boxes flying at her, Renee's movement was hampered. She couldn't move forward and was forced to destroy the boxes with her staff.
"Don't be a coward! Fight me!" Renee snapped, destroying the last box, and after that, she didn't see Charles again.
Renee moved to check her surroundings, ready with her staff.
"So, you really want to fight me?" Charles spoke from the tallest pile of wooden boxes. Because there was so little light from the bonfire, his face was barely visible.
"Come on!" Renee grew sick of the man. "Fight me with all your might!"
"I will apologize to your father." After saying that, Charles jumped up, flipped through the air, and kicked Renee. The woman avoided that attack, but Charles didn't let her go that easy.
The leader of the thugs did a fluid combination of fists and kicks. Renee's staff was no longer burning, so Charles didn't hesitate to attack hard. Renee was overwhelmed and could only block with her staff. The woman continued to back away. And finally, Charles jumped, making the same circular motion that Renee did when kicking the boulder moments ago, then kicking that woman.
Renee managed to block the kick with her staff, but the force of the attack still managed to send her flying fast. Her body hit one of the piles of wooden boxes until it collapsed and hit the bonfire.
Suddenly, Charles lost his balance again. His left leg was sore and so cold.
"What the..." Charles checked his now frozen left leg.
The fire from the bonfire grew bigger and bigger, devouring whatever was near it, filling that place with fiery orange color.
Renee came out of the rubble with a bit of a limp. Her staff was dotted with whitish ice particles and emitted cold steam.
"Holy shit," Charles smirked. In his wildest dreams, he had not expected that his feet would be hit by ice magic with such a method. "
Renee opened her legs, using her stance to fight again. Her breath started to get heavy.