"Where do you think you're going?"
Melchior frowned, not having expected Elias to be near the mineshaft at this time. The man had probably arrived while he was in there talking to Erin.
"Home. Do you have a problem with that?"
"No, of course not," he said, face darkening, "I merely thought you wished to begin your quota early, seeing as you came here right after your trial."
The tension in the air increased so rapidly that it felt nearly physical. Once again, for the second time that day, everyone in the area paused what they were doing in anticipation.
Melchior noticed this. And if it was any other time, he would back down.
'Not this time.'
He let go of Erin's waist and gestured for her to head back into the cave.
"Oh, I see you're coming to your senses, maggot." Elias laughed smugly.
"You're mistaken,"
Mel scoffed and put both arms up.
"You squeal well, pig. Let's see how you fight."
That was the final straw. The silence was so deafening that one could probably hear a pin drop amongst everything.
An unseen rage spread across Elias' face. The large man looked anything but angry, but it was quite easy to detect.
"You've grown arrogant, maggot. Because of the little you've learned?"
He said nothing more, but suddenly the ground quaked heavily. A loud unearthly roar emerged from the man's lips as he plunged his fist straight into the hard earth below him.
Spikey pillars of rock jutted out of the earth in response, climbing up from where Elias stood to Melchior.
The boy saw it coming and jumped to the side just in time. By the time he looked back, the large man wasn't there.
"I thought you said I squeal a lot?" said a voice coming from behind him.
'How's he so fas-'
BANG!
Before he could even complete the thought, a heavy fist crashed straight into his side, sending him flying forward multiple metres.
It was just slightly degrees better than the attacks those Zatanian soldiers had landed on him, but it still hurt a shit ton.
Melchior jumped to his feet before the next attack could come close to him. And this time, wouldn't be caught off guard anymore.
'Damjan!'
A small wave of energy overcame his body instantly. It was a lot different from a few seconds ago. He felt faster, stronger, and more flexible. He was unique compared to normal bonded who had access to all their powers at a moment's notice.
He had to call upon the spirits before gaining access to their abilities, and that put him at a disadvantage in nearly every confrontation he had been in so far.
'But-"
BOOM!
Another attack came from his side as Elias appeared out of nowhere. He only barely managed to transfer energy to that part of his body. However, it still sent him flying once more.
This time, he landed on his feet and glared straight at Elias. He was sure that his eyes were on him last time, meaning he wasn't merely moving faster than his eyes could follow.
'I'm already at a disadvantage… so I just have to attack before he even tries it!'
A light, smoky blue fog engulfed his body as he propelled himself forward, quicker than anyone's eyes could capture, then he punched forward, each fist coming down like a storm onto non-believers.
Elias harrumphed, then tapped a foot against the floor. Slightly in front of him, a large wall of rock appeared, seemingly blocking Mel's punches before they could hit.
But just then…
'Flood Tide!'
The mundane punches came accompanied by a large tsunami that materialized out of thin air.
It crashed against the wall of rock, immediately slamming through it like a high-pressure washer.
Pieces of the rock flew everywhere, allowing Melchior's fist to enter and connect with the large man's chest.
It was like punching a huge brick wall. Elias had crazy defences, so much so that he had to apply an even stronger force before he could even have any effect, but even at that, it was useless.
Another wall of rock came jutting out of the earth quickly, stopping the momentum of Melchior's attack. Then a large bolder rose out of the earth, then hurled straight at the boy from the side.
'What the fuc-'
He saw the boulder shooting straight at him from the corner of his eye just in time and ducked.
But it followed, then splintered into dozens of smaller, sharper pieces.
SWISH~!
Each piece shot through the air at different angles and positions in a way that he couldn't even dodge all of them.
A small arrow-like piece slammed right into his shoulder but collapsed upon connecting with the fog around his body.
Another piece hurtled straight into his unprotected thigh area. There, a small sore formed, but it was nothing too hard to handle.
The versatile blue fog curled rapidly with each movement he made while dodging, causing a visible streak to follow behind him at the same time. It wrapped around his legs and joints, and he even felt it vaguely increase his movement speed.
But...
'Dodging or movement speed isn't going to help anything here!'
Finally, he stopped running away from the large floating boulders, then punched straight out in no direction in particular.
FLOOD TIDE!
BOOOM~!
An immense wave of water appeared, exterminating all the floating rocks in a mere instant.
He sighed while staring straight at Elias' figure, lest he used his strange teleportation again.
'That was a big gamble. I didn't think my waves had enough force to straight up eliminate attacks. Good thing it paid off,'
He looked straight at his fist, then an idea came to mind.
'Since I'm taking gambles now...'
Every muscle in his legs crackled and surged with energy till he nearly felt the veins in his body pop. Then at the height of the build-up, he jumped.
He shot multiple feet into the air, right above Elias, then activated his ability once more.
FLOOD TIDE~!
A wave of water shot down at rapid speed. This time, it was more concentrated like a high-pressure jet. It slammed down into Elias before that large man could react.
The opponent was sent flying back multiple metres without any problem
A small hole had appeared where his fist connected, tearing through the luxurious clothes. The man's fair skin was covered with a visible dent there as well.
He frowned, staring straight at Mel as he landed. "You're strong for someone who just learned how to use Spirit Energy recently,"
"Thank you. Do you wish to continue?"
Melchior was aware that he wasn't Elias' match. He didn't expect to win at all, but that wasn't the point of him confronting him at all. He hoped to make a statement. A statement that he wasn't the same guy that could be pushed around like before.
And if he was correct…
"I'll pass on that, maggot. I'm not interested in bullying you, especially since I'm not looking forward to the consequences of that." Elias said, "You'll take on her workload for today, along with the rest of your sentence."
With that, he began walking away like nothing had happened.
"Get back to work!"
Melchior waited till the fat man was out of sight before heaving a sigh of relief. Elias was a bastard, alright. But he was a predictable one. He had noticed it with his son, Andy, too. They would only try to step on those who were already down. They avoided people who were on their levels or above them.
He snorted. 'I suspect the consequence he's talking about is Zale.'
Tirun had said his father and Elias were the strongest Bonded in the entire town, so it made complete sense.
He dusted his body off, then walked over to the cave where Erin waited.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
The short girl gaped at him with an incredulous expression.
"You asshole, I should be asking you that!" she said slapping him on the chest, "How did you manage to fight him to a standstill?!"
Melchior grinned, "I'm strong."
"Yeahhh right,"
"Anyway, let's go. I'm a bit late."
He grabbed her by the waist once more and…
"Wait, wait noooo n-"