"Hm?" Turning around to see who it was, Redd was met with the menacing look of a gigantic, muscly man with a horrifying expression on his face.
The man wasn't as tall as Butler but he was certainly almost double Redd's height. He wore a shredded tank top that accentuated his pulsating muscles and had a huge, dancing serpent as a tattoo that covered his left arm as a whole.
His face was also colorfully scarred in multiple places, including his left eye which was turned blind.
Redd knew instantly that this guy was one of Maleck's goons and the reasons are many. A few of them are the fact that he wasn't skinny or weak-looking, he was as healthy as a bull. The second reason is because of his presence. Redd's instinct told him that this man was very strong.
"Welcome, welcome. How can I help you?"
However, Redd still smiled as he continued grilling the fish while welcoming the menacing man.
"What are you doing here, stinky brat?" He asked with a deep voice.
"Nothing much, just grilling the meat of a monster that I fished out with a small fishing pole that I created. You?"
The man looked at Redd's carefree expression before he approached him. Each step he took made the whole ship shake.
"What? You want some? Sorry, man. But, you will have to wait for the second batch. I don't have 8 hands to cook more than this." Redd sighed as he flipped the fish.
However, at that moment, out of nowhere, the man's fist descended on the grill, aiming to destroy the grilled fish.
Redd, who was ready for such an attack, quickly picked up the fish from the grill.
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! That's hot." Realizing that he just picked up flaming hot pieces of meat, Redd jumped around for a while before he put them down on the counter.
"That was not nice!"
"Kitchen is prohibited for those who don't pay. Did you pay your share, stinky brat?"
"No and why would I? I didn't use the food, I just used the fire."
The menacing man clenched his fist again and was about to rush toward Redd. However, the latter had already thought faster than him and quickly closed the distance.
'Let's see what 24 points of strength can do.' He grinned to himself.
When the boy was close enough, he clenched his fist before he launched a powerful punch, coated in Aether, right at the man's stomach.
*BANG*
"Blurgh!" The moment the punch connected, a huge mouthful of saliva was spat out of the man's mouth as he was thrown back a few meters.
"Wooooh! This is amazing!" Clenching and releasing his hand, Redd felt a rush of excitement fill his mind. Such a raw power was so amazing that he couldn't even describe it with words! Never in his entire life did he expect to gain the power to knock a gigantic man twice his size with one move.
Aether was truly something of magic.
"AAAGHH!! You're dead meat, you fucking brat!!" Rising up from the ground with maddening anger, the man quickly rushed toward Redd at top speed.
"Hey, hey, you started this!"
*BOOOOOM*
Punching down, Redd quickly jumped back, avoiding the deadly attack that pierced the ground. The man didn't stop his rampage and rushed after Redd.
His punches were fast and precise for a gigantic man but they all missed Redd and instead ended up landing on the poor wooden floor. Loud sounds echoed in the whole kitchen along with the sound of someone laughing jovially.
"You're slow, friend," Redd said as he jumped back, landing on the kitchen counter.
The man quickly swiped with his hand, to grab the nimble boy's leg. Only for the latter to jump in the air before he channeled Aether to his leg and kicked the man right in the face.
"AGGHHH!!" Blood splashed out of the man's mouth along with one of his teeth. However, Redd underestimated the man's resilience.
"I got you!!!" Suddenly, his enemy recovered in a second and was able to grab Redd by the leg. A bloody grin adorned the man's intimidating face.
'Oh shit!' Realizing the deadly blunder he made, Redd tried to release himself. But, he was far too late.
The man used all of his power to throw Redd into the wall.
The latter felt shocking pain hit his back as breath was knocked out of his lungs. But, he didn't even have time to recover as the man quickly followed up with a palm strike, aiming to crush Redd's skull. It all happened in such a short period of time that Redd couldn't even react to the pain.
For a second, the boy saw death with his own eyes. It was a bleak, passing moment but he saw it and it made him… Smile?
A wide grin appeared on his face as he quickly crouched down, missing the deadly attack by a hair's breadth.
Then, he quickly created distance between them. But, the moment he made a move, he felt a stinging pain in his chest. It was not overwhelming but still made him squint.
'Damn, he broke one of my ribs with a single attack. What a monstrous strength.' He thought as he grabbed the side of his chest.
"You really made a huge mistake by coming here, brat. Have you not seen what happened to those who defy us? They're down there, on the bottom floor, dying slowly." He said.
"I saw it and that's why I decided to help those people and kill your leader or whatever he is."
Hearing those words, the gigantic man suddenly exploded into laughter. His bloodied mouth showed a toothy smile. But, his hoarse voice and ugly appearance made it the most unpleasant laugh Redd had ever witnessed.
"Kill? You're killing no one, little kid. Do you think you're some kind of hero ready to save the day? I killed many like you before. I crushed their skulls with my very own hands. You won't imagine the looks on their faces when they realized all their bravado and heroic speeches were nothing but a waste of time."
Redd looked at the giggling man with a smile. "I'm not a hero and I don't like to be a hero. I just do what I want to do."
"Now that's a new one. What? Did they teach you to never claim to be a hero, brat? Hahahaha! Either way, you aren't leaving this kitchen alive."
"Talk, talk, you talk too much… Come on, you look more like a violent brute than a talker. Just come at me! Let's finish this!" Redd exclaimed as he dashed toward the man that he still didn't even know his name.
The latter also rushed at him and the two engaged in a fight. No, it wasn't just a fight, it was a brutal brawl. Redd used his nimble movements and small frame to strike the man whenever he was not ready to dodge or defend. Some attacks did land on Redd that almost broke his bones and basically spilled his end but he somehow was able to clench his way out of those situations. He was strong, but the same couldn't be said about his body as it couldn't sustain one single punch from this gigantic man.
On the other hand, numerous punches landed on the man's body, each more painful than the last.
'This brat is too fast! Fuck! If I can grab him once, he's dead!' Blood leaked out of the man's mouth endlessly. His crazed eyes turned even crazier. He didn't realize that with each punch, his internal organs were sustaining heavy damage.
A few minutes passed by and the two already looked like bloody messes. Red felt intense pain all over his body, each move he made almost knocked him unconscious. His movements became slow and his strength waned. However, he didn't allow himself to fall or he was going to die.
Adrenaline was a great booster but also a very bad thing for someone who was heavily injured because it stopped them from feeling unbearable pain and made them push their bodies past their limits.
However, amidst this chaotic mess, and even when the whole kitchen was completely destroyed, the only part that remained intact was where Redd had put the grilled meat.