Chapter 460: Annoying Birb
Chapter 460: Annoying Birb
“Me?” Melina pointed at herself, flustered. “I’m sorry, but I don’t even know which one of you I could beat…”
Because of that, she turned toward the one thing she was confident in. “D-Does anyone here fight with swords?”
Zareth raised his hand with a slight smile. “I am a master of all weapons. We may fight if you wish.”
To everyone’s surprise, Vatyra raised her hand too.
“I don’t use a sword much, but no one has survived my strikes,” Vatyra said, puffing her chest. “Perhaps you can call me a master swordswoman? Hah… Hahahaha!”
[God damn it, this annoying fucking bird,] Burger said in frustration. [Fight her, make her transform into her phoenix form, and skin her alive. If you do, I shall grant you the highest position in the draconic realm… I can even pull a few strings.]
That bad, huh? Rael thought. I thought phoenixes and dragons were fine. Gryphons were the ones who pissed everyone off.
[Doesn’t matter. Just make sure to annihilate her,] Burger replied.
Rael shrugged inwardly. He had a reckless idea in mind, but he wanted to see how Melina’s fight would go first.
Therefore…
“Uh… Is this pure combat?” Melina asked.
Kareth nodded. “You must land a hit before we kill you, yes.”
“Shit…” Melina cursed under her breath. “Fine. Alright…”
She took a deep breath and gave Zarkul a nod.
“I’ll fight you, but could you use a sword?”
Zarkul raised a brow, then chuckled. “I said I can wield swords, but I never said I would use them in our fight.”
Melina flinched, but as she opened her mouth to speak, Zarkul let out a chuckle, interrupting her.
“Don’t worry. I understand weakness, as I have once been just like you.”
With those words, he extended his hand. A moment later, a blue sword appeared out of nowhere, and Zarkul grasped it elegantly.
“I fight fair.” Zarkul swung his blade several times, warming up. Then, he shot a glance at the startled Melina.
“I shall give you thirty seconds to land a hit on me. If you manage to do so, then I will grant you your win and let you live. Does that seem fair?”
“Pfft… You’re such a big softie,” Evelyn chimed in, a wide smile on her face. “Zarkul, playing with your food is unlike you.”
Zarkul shrugged. “I believe that no matter the handicap, the outcome is clear. It doesn’t matter if I give her thirty seconds or thirty minutes. So, Evelyn, I advise you not to make such rash assumptions about my way of dealing with things—”
“It’s probably because she looks similar to his daughter,” Vatyra cut him off, brushing her fiery red hair back with a grin. “A doting father who treats every woman his daughter’s age like a porcelain doll. It’s funny to me how you never change.”
Zarkul’s brows twitched, and the moment he turned his sword toward Vatyra, the man who had done nothing since arriving finally moved.
The air was once again filled with bloodlust, but after taking deep breaths, Zarkul and Vatyra backed off.
Minos raised a single hand, and all of a sudden, Zarkul and Vatyra’s movements froze. Then, with another twist of his hand, he made the two of them face away from each other.
With a satisfied look, Minos once again returned to observing without saying a word, but that only piqued Rael’s curiosity further.
If he’s really the same Minos as from the Memory Record, then I might be able to get some answers out of him… Rael nodded to himself.
Vatyra let out an irritated sigh, and right as she was about to go back to arguing, Kareth clapped his hands, stopping any further disruptions.
“The Beast, Zarkul, and the Pirate Queen, Malinali Liesa, will now engage in a duel. Everyone, back away.”
He snapped his fingers, and in an instant, a large circular area in the ground was excavated, resembling an arena.
Kareth snapped his fingers again. This time, six seats made from stone emerged from the ground as each of the monsters sat down.
However, there was one seat left, in between Kareth and Evelyn. Taking the hint, Rael walked over and calmly sat down, prompting an annoyed groan from Vatyra.
“Why do I have to sit so close to a dragon…”
[Let me out, I’m going to break her skull!] Burger shouted with a resolute look.
Rael tilted his head.
No one’s holding you though?
Even so, Melina and Zarkul took their positions in the makeshift arena. She was slightly trembling, whereas Zarkul wore an unfazed expression.
But both Rael and she knew that there was no escaping this, therefore…
“Both fighters are in place,” Kareth announced. “Count to five inside your heads, then start.”
With that, silence descended as both fighters stared at each other. Melina took several deep breaths, calming herself. In the end, she entered a posture that he hadn’t seen before, not even in the dungeon he had brought her to.
For some reason, that posture seemed to surprise Zarkul. For just a single moment, his brow rose, then lowered.
But Rael noticed, and so did the others.
What’s up with that stance? Rael mused before putting it aside.
Those five seconds dragged on, and Rael was sure Melina had miscounted. Despite that, Zarkul didn’t move, and to get her attention, he raised his hand, then waved.
“You have twenty-eight seconds left to land a hit on me.”
The moment he spoke those words, Melina shot off the ground like a bullet, arriving in front of Zarkul in an instant.
Her sword was surprisingly graceful, yet as it neared Zarkul’s throat, it suddenly curved at an odd angle and headed for his heart instead.
But of course, killing him wouldn’t be that easy, as he simply took a single step backward and avoided the strike with ease, causing Melina’s brows to furrow as she continued her onslaught.
Rael wasn’t sure how to feel when she was being completely overwhelmed, but since there wasn’t much he could do, he turned to Evelyn beside him.
Instead of saying anything, he closed his eyes and focused deeply. A moment later, the sound of clashing swords faded, and what replaced it were faint ripples.
When he finally reopened his eyes, he found himself in his own empty mind realm that only had the flowing shallow water below him. Yet in front of him sat Evelyn on a makeshift fluffy sofa.
She met his gaze, and after giving him a smile, she spoke.