Chapter 370 - 368:“who’s next?”
THOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The already ruined landscape caved in further as the attack landed, sending dust and debris blasting skyward as massive fissures tore through the earth.
"AAAAABBBSSSSOOOLLLUTTTEEE!"
BOOM!
Another strike hit the exact same spot. Punches rained down in a violent flurry as the battered ground was pulverized into a nigh-bottomless pit.
"Haa... haa... Damn it! That bastard... is he dead?"
"Oi! You bastard!" I appeared right beside the ginormous creature, thoroughly irritated.
WOOSH!
The only answer I received was a swinging, pillar-like arm attempting to swat me out of the sky like a damn bug.
"Fuck your mother!" I cursed out, irate.
BOOM!
I punched out, not bothering to temper the blow.
BANG!
Our fists collided in a devastating impact, the absurd size disparity not making an ounce of difference to the outcome. The creature’s right arm, alongside the entire right side of its massive body, was instantly erased into fragments of blood and flesh.
ROAAAR!
A deafening roar of pure agony tore from the creature’s throat.
"Damn you, Paku!"
BANG!
A solid kick connected with the monster’s massive head, lifting its gigantic body off its feet and blasting it into the distance.
"Wait for me," I said to both Shulvan and Salazar before taking a step.
Spatial displacement placed me directly behind Paku’s flying figure. My fingers curled into a fist that warped the very atmosphere around us, and then—
BOOM!
I let it loose.
CRACK!
The sound of something snapping rang through the air as Paku’s body was sent crashing toward the ground unceremoniously. I wasn’t about to let this fur ball get away with jumping me. He wanted a fight? He was getting one.
SWISH!
The air screamed as I descended, knees folded.
BOOM!
A massive crater was carved into the ground.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Multiple concentric shockwaves blasted outward as his body dug through the crust, the crater deepening as my downward momentum forced us through the bedrock.
BANG!
The entire secret realm trembled as we finally collided with the solid underground strata, our descent finally coming to a halt.
I stood up, my eyes focusing on the unrecognizable lump of flesh beneath me. Paku’s entire body had been utterly destroyed, not a single part of him spared.
"Want to sneak up on me?" My eyes flashed cold before the fury finally settled. "Haa... damn it. I got carried away again."
I let out a long breath as Paku’s body slowly began to shrink. It had been a long time since I last lost control like that. At least when the topic didn’t involve demons, I usually had a decent grip on myself. But this time...
"Haaa..." I walked slowly toward the unrecognizable form, crouching down as my hand flared with a blinding green glow.
Picking him up, the light enveloped his tiny frame. Seeing the healing skill kick in, I took a single step, spatial displacement landing me right in front of Shulvan and Salazar.
"Damn... who’s that?" Salazar leaned in, curious as ever.
"A friend," I replied.
....
....
"What?" I couldn’t help asking after seeing the look Salazar was giving me.
"That’s a friend? You did all THAT to a friend?"
"I was taken by surprise, okay?"
"Damn... if that’s how you treat your friends, I don’t think I even want to know what you do to enemies that irritate you," he whistled.
Before I could reply—
"Ugh..." Paku’s body shifted.
The green glow died down as his eyes fluttered open.
"Haaaa!" He gasped awake. "What... where... how?"
He looked around, confusion clear on his tiny face.
"Hey there, pal," I called out softly.
The moment his eyes locked onto my face, recognition returned to them and with it—
"YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" A massive, clawed fist landed square on my face.
BANG!
SPLAT!
"Argh!" he screamed as his entire arm exploded into chunks of meat the instant he struck me. "Fuck! What was that?!"
"Hey, you can’t blame me this time! I literally did nothing! You hurt yourself!" I defended myself.
"Motherfucker! You nearly killed me!" he roared, his voice way too loud for something so tiny.
"Hey! Hey! You attacked first, okay? And I was a bit antsy, so—"
"So what?! KILL ME?! You fucking bastard! Absolute, I swear on everything furry, if I could, I’d castrate you right here, right now!"
"Oi! Oi! Let’s not get carried away! I said I was sorry, didn’t I?"
"Bitch! When did you ever apologize?!"
"Eh? Didn’t I? I was sure I did." I turned to Salazar.
"Nope. You just started defending yourself. No apology," the bastard replied, completely ignoring my signaling and throwing me straight under the bus.
"Shulvan... you heard me apologize, right?" Surely this one would back me up.
"Yes, Master. I did."
Finally! I was almost grinning in victory when the idiot decided he still had more to say.
"I could hear it in Master’s inner voice. You were indeed sorry in your heart."
"This motherf—"
BANG!
"Ahhhhhhh! MASTERRRRRR!"
I couldn’t stop myself, I had sent the talkative fool flying before I even realized it.
Silence fell around us as both Salazar and Paku leveled unimpressed stares at me.
"What?"
"Your apology, you fucking bastard," Paku growled.
"Do I have to?"
"You almost fucking killed me!"
"I know, I know! But—"
"YOU ALMOST FUCKING KILLED ME!"
"Fuck! Fine! I’m sorry, okay? Damn! You happy now, motherfucker?"
"THAT WASN’T EVEN A PROPER FUCKING APOLOGY!"
"MOTHERFUCKER! DON’T PUSH ME!"
"ABSSSOOLLUTEE!"
"PAKU!"
I readied myself to deliver another thorough beatdown to the unappreciative bastard, but before I could make a move—
"Hmm... interesting. It seems we aren’t all that late after all."
A thoroughly irritating voice cut through the air, followed by a stench I could recognize even in my grave.
"Demons..." I growled, forgetting Paku entirely as I tilted my head. My eyes caught sight of four figures that had just materialized within the secret realm.
I ignored the two that smelled like blood and garlic, my entire focus locking onto the pair radiating that sickening aura.
"Who the fuck allowed demons in here?" My voice came out low and deadly.
The newly arrived group turned as my words reached them. The tall, black-haired demon at the front looked toward us, our gazes clashing as the atmosphere suddenly shifted.
"Interesting... to think I would encounter the one who ran amok on our continent not too long ago." His voice dripped with pure condescension.
I didn’t like it.
"Ehh? That’s him? I thought he’d be some brutish-looking ogre. I heard that old hypocrite Asmodeus even ran away from a confrontation. But... this guy looks beautiful. Almost as beautiful as me," the other demon chirped, the one I had seen before entering the Abyss. His voice made me cringe in all the wrong ways.
"Human. It is your ultimate luck that you encountered me today. Father had planned to hunt you down and punish you for your folly, but I am a bit more merciful. Kill yourse—"
BOOM!
A single punch blasted the motherfucker to smithereens.
"I really... really hate your fucking voice."
A sudden quiet gripped the atmosphere as—
"Now..."
I turned my cold gaze toward the remaining three, who had scrambled backward before my attack had even landed.
"...who’s next?"
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A/N: Well, that was anti-climatic. All that posturing and Dante just deleted him from existence with one fucking punch? I need a refund...
Anyways...
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Thanks for reading...