I won't deny it, a wave of anger flooded me. For no apparent reason, that lunatic tried to take my life. I felt intense fury, and I didn't believe that a simple warning would be enough to appease it. Moreover, I doubted that any of the passengers had already considered something similar to what that man tried to do.
Although it's quite obvious, I'm not exactly beloved around here. In fact, I can assert with conviction that everyone hates me. They only tolerate me because they recognize that I'm the strongest among all present and that I can protect them if something happens. Probably it's only for this reason that they don't seek trouble with me.
But with this guy, it was different; he really tried to kill me. I can't sleep peacefully anymore knowing that he's around. At that moment, I had already made my decision, and I believe that would serve as an example for the other passengers.
While firmly holding the man's wrist, he panicked and struggled to break free from my grip, but no matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn't get away. Our little argument began to draw the attention of the other passengers, and Ellen beside me also began to stir, indicating that she would wake up soon.
I really didn't want to wake up Ellen, but in the current situation, I doubted I could resolve this without creating some noise. Anyway, the man continued to struggle, and several passengers watched us, their eyes clearly showing curiosity and fear at the unfolding scene.
"Ahhh! Let me go, let me go!" exclaimed the man in despair.
Honestly, he was only making me more irritated. His actions and expressions showed no sign of remorse, only fear. He didn't seem to regret trying to kill me; on the contrary, he seemed more regretful for being caught in the act of trying to stab a dagger into my heart.
"Let you go? Sure, I'll do that with pleasure" I replied, with a sarcastic smile on my face.
As soon as I uttered those words, I pushed the man with the least amount of force I could muster. Even so, he was thrown to the front of the bus. Honestly, although I had intended to do something similar, I was still surprised by my own strength. Was I stronger, or was he simply weaker? Anyway, I got up from my seat and stared directly at the man.
His expression turned to despair, and he began to look around quickly, searching for an escape route. The passengers, now, watched me with a mixture of fear and confusion.
Ellen had already woken up; considering all the noise I made, I couldn't blame her. However, instead of intervening, she just kept watching. It seemed she had no intention of interfering with whatever I did. Honestly, I mentally thanked her for that, as I didn't want to have a fight with her too.
Returning to my "little friend" as soon as I reached where he was, I grabbed him by the neck and, without thinking twice, twisted it to the side. Surprisingly, instead of the sound of something breaking, his body simply dissipated like mist.
(An illusion? So this is his power?)
To be honest, his power was quite similar to that of the Nebulous Goblin, but I must admit that the latter's was much more refined. So much so that I couldn't detect it even using the [Ecopulsation].
(Although... I wonder if it will be different with this guy)
With this thought, I looked around, but still couldn't find him. I didn't hesitate to activate my [Ecopulsation]. Once activated, the pulses began to be emitted from my body, spreading through the area. Surprisingly, I managed to locate him easily. It seemed he had escaped through the window while I was distracted.
Slowly, I got off the bus and started to follow him. He noticed my presence and began to run hastily in the direction where Leo and the others were. Honestly, I didn't care much about it, but Leo and the others noticed my approach and started to stare at me. Suddenly, the lunatic appeared out of nowhere in front of Leo and knelt down.
"Help me! Please, help me! He wants to kill me!" exclaimed the man, pointing at me as I continued to approach.
Leo showed a confused expression, but after a few seconds, seemed to understand exactly what was happening. He then stood in front of the man, who displayed a victorious smile as if he had finally been saved.
"Leo, move aside. You're useful, so I don't want to hurt you" I said, maintaining a serious expression on my face.
Upon hearing my words, Leo raised an eyebrow, but then, a resigned smile formed on his face.
"Talking about killing as if it were something simple. Although I've already noticed, you really don't seem to care about taking others' lives"
Hearing Leo's words, I momentarily paused my movements and raised an eyebrow. For some reason, he was speaking as if he knew everything about me, which honestly was irritating me.
"This is the last time I'm going to ask: move aside, Leo"
After my words, Leo and I locked eyes for a few seconds. Then, Leo shook his head negatively, clearly refusing my request.
"Got it. Looks like I'll have to remove you from my way first" I declared with a serious expression.
Saying these words, I stretched my arm to the side, and suddenly, a scythe appeared in my hand. Both Leo and the others present were surprised by this. Well, I would be too if someone suddenly summoned a blade out of nowhere.
After doing so, I activated [Etheric Pumping] in an instant and moved quickly enough to catch Leo off guard, appearing by his side. But to my surprise, Leo managed to notice my movement, although his movements to intercept me were strangely slow.
This was unusual since I had witnessed Leo's agility in battle before. It was evident that his strength above the level was related to his rune and abilities.
Striking with the blunt part of the scythe, Leo was thrown back a few inches. Initially, I considered the possibility of killing him, but realizing I could contain him without much effort, I chose to just strike him until he got out of my way. Besides, I suspected that his slower movements were related to one of the passives of this scythe.
-Death Aura: Weaker enemies succumb to the scythe's aura, decreasing their overall strength by 25%.
Furthermore, I couldn't find another plausible explanation for Leo suddenly becoming so vulnerable. However, this revelation was intriguing, as it implied that even with his rune and abilities, Leo was still beneath me in terms of strength. With that thought in mind, I slowly advanced towards the man. Leo wasn't my target, so there was no reason for me to continue worrying about him.
However, unexpectedly, Leo rose and advanced towards me with a sword in hand. I easily intercepted his charge with my scythe and threw him away once again. Both he and I seemed surprised by the disproportionate strength at play. In this case, without the scythe, he would be correct in assuming our abilities were similar. However, there was no need for me to explain that to a potential adversary.
"Am I so insignificant in your eyes to be treated with such indifference? Your attitude deeply bothers me, categorizing people only by their utilitarian value. Who gave you the right to make such a judgment?"
Upon hearing Leo's words, I raised an eyebrow and turned towards him. Leo maintained a smile on his face, aware that his observation was being heard by everyone around. It was evident that he wished to expose my abilities to others. However, honestly, I didn't care. There was no reason to hide who I was; after all, it wasn't a secret I was keeping anyway.
"What's the problem?" I inquired, looking at Leo with a smile on my face.
Upon hearing my words, Leo seemed surprised. It was evident that my response wasn't within his expectations.
"What? What do you mean by that?" Leo asked, with a suspicious expression.
"Exactly as I said" I began, maintaining a smile on my face as I responded to Leo. "What's the problem with that? At least unlike you, I don't hide my opinions. What's the problem with classifying people as useful and useless? Why should I sacrifice myself for people who won't help me in any way? We were all forced to fight. If they want to hide, then it's their problem. But it's good to know that if a monster is about to tear apart one of those useless people, I won't lift a finger to help them. On the other hand, if they're useful, I'll extend my hand to help. Simple, isn't it?"
Leo and the others looked at me without reaction. However, I cared little about how they saw me before, just as I didn't care now.
"I really hate you" an unexpected voice came out. Looking at the man who had tried to kill me a few seconds ago, he stared at me with a crazy smile on his face.
"Why even here do I need to be treated like a nobody? Must be easy, right? Being handsome and having all your strength, the girls throw themselves at you, don't they? Hahaha, I hope you go to hell when you die, you and everyone who mocked me..."
Those were his final words. After that, his head was severed when the blade of my scythe struck it.
"You know what? You talk too much"