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Without any ordinary lanterns, only the moonlight from the sky illuminated the open space.

Taylor glared at me from close range, while Blair and Arin stood at a distance, observing the situation.

“You fool.”

I looked at Taylor and said,

“You couldn’t even squeak in front of the enemy, but now you’re taking out your anger on your allies.”

“It seems you don’t even understand what you’ve done, Ruin.”

“You stubborn brat. I’d rather…”

I turned around and looked at Blair.

“He’s better than you. At least he kept his pride.”

Blair looked somewhat confused.

Taylor, for the first time, spoke in an agitated tone.

“Shut up. Do you think I’m just standing here because I can’t get angry? I’m saying, have you even considered the immense danger your actions could bring to our clan?”

“I know. I also know you’re sick with the disease of holding back.”

There was someone like that in the past too.

A long time ago, when I was a young gangster who had just entered the back alleys.

It was the boss of a washed-up gang who led me, an orphan at the time, into the world of gangsters.

Our boss, who endured all sorts of humiliation to protect the failing gang.

He wasn’t like a typical gangster, always trying to please the stronger gangs and minimizing damage by giving in to their demands.

During my time in that gang, we were never threatened by external forces.

So what happened?

In the end, the gang collapsed. It withered away painfully, like wringing a dry towel.

Our boss, who had been waiting for an opportunity, never got one.

In the end, he was betrayed from within and stabbed to death.

The gang he protected fell apart, and the women he protected were sold into brothels or exploited by other gangs.

I remember the look in the boss’s eyes as he was dying.

Looking back, the boss was severely afflicted with the disease of holding back.

Taylor, who had approached me, said,

“I almost wish you were still your old self. You’ve become a madman wielding a sword. I’ll say it one last time. Go back.”

“…”

“No answer? Do you think you’re something special just because you subdued Moose? Don’t be delusional.”

I suddenly pointed at Taylor and said,

“Hey, do you know what happens when the disease of holding back gets worse?”

“What?”

“You become a coward.”

The moment Taylor glared at me with an intimidating look, I slapped him across the face.

Smack—

It happened so quickly that Taylor couldn’t defend himself.

“Keep holding back. Keep being a coward. Even if the clan falls, even if you’re exploited, keep holding back until you die.”

At that moment, a powerful surge of mana erupted from Taylor’s body.

“I’ll send you back by force.”

Taylor didn’t hesitate. He activated his 4-star core and instantly completed his hand seals. His mana control had reached its peak through countless real battles.

Although the mana fluctuation that the madman had briefly shown in front of Moose was threatening, that was all it was.

Taylor was about to show his true power.

The experience he had accumulated from countless competitions among the continent’s geniuses at the Magic Tower, and from the hellish disasters of the 3rd-level Demon Realm.

Crack— With a sound, Taylor shot forward like an arrow and clenched his fist.

“Fire Burst.”

Mana fluctuations concentrated in his fist, and flames erupted.

He threw a punch at the face of the madman, who was still standing there, dumbfounded. The fist connected with his face.

Or so it seemed.

‘What?’

Boom—

Feeling a repulsive force pushing back against his body, Taylor was startled and retreated. He didn’t even have time to comprehend what had happened.

Taylor looked around in confusion, then his eyes met the madman’s.

Goosebumps rose all over his body.

* * *

‘He’s quick.’

I had secretly hidden a spell, but I didn’t expect him to dodge it. He had good instincts for a brat. In situations like this, a head-on confrontation was the answer.

I launched a headbutt, the epitome of a frontal assault, at the dumbfounded Taylor.

I had already enveloped my upper body in a stylish ‘Wind Barrier.’

‘Haste.’

With the Haste spell cast, I shot forward like an arrow. At the same time, I felt a powerful repulsive force from the Wind Barrier spread across the front of my body.

With a cracking sound, I broke through the repulsive force and Taylor threw himself to the side.

‘He dodged?’

Taylor, who had rolled on the ground and gotten back up, looked at me with a surprised expression.

I was also a bit taken aback because he had managed to absorb the impact with a defensive spell and dodge.

He had considerable innate talent.

‘This level is top-tier even among direct descendants.’

At that moment, Taylor formed a 5-star hand seal with a determined gesture.

For a damn mage who had learned mana core, he was quite capable.

He was the best I had seen recently.

But it was still no use against me.

My headbutt was actually a continuous attack.

The more I rammed, the faster and stronger it became.

Its power didn’t weaken even after several hits.

I was a man who could ram without getting tired.

My endurance was also considerable.

‘Wind Armor.’

I replaced the defensive barrier around me with the 4th-circle ‘Wind Armor.’

With Wind Armor enveloping my body, I charged at Taylor like a bull.

Even if Taylor perfectly formed a 5-star hand seal, the 4th-circle was enough.

Boom—

I broke through the 5-star explosion head-on and successfully landed my headbutt.

Taylor let out a heavy groan and was pushed back.

I launched another headbutt at Taylor’s chest as he was being pushed back.

With a thwack,Taylor stumbled backward, then regained his footing with a roll.

Even while being hit, Taylor somehow managed to maintain his balance and look for an opportunity. It was clear he had trained his physical endurance extensively.

Unexpectedly, he was a clever kid who knew the basics of a mage.

I decided to stop the headbutts and start throwing punches to match the brat’s level.

“Haaah!”

With my loud shout as a starting point, our fight instantly turned into something akin to a martial arts duel.

Dodging, blocking, punching, dodging, blocking, punching.

To the untrained eye, it might have looked like a brawl between street thugs.

If you ignored the magic surrounding our bodies, that might have been true.

But for those ignorant people, I needed to let them know that our fight was not a mere brawl.

The way to do that was simple. Just shout out the name of the martial art technique.

It might seem like a rather insignificant method, but there was no more efficient way.

I aimed for his stomach and shouted,

“Red Magic Tower’s Mana Martial Arts!”

Taylor’s face filled with surprise, and he staggered.

I seized the opportunity while he was flustered and punched him in the solar plexus with a fist full of compressed wind.

“Ugh!”

Taylor’s body folded in half.

I enveloped my hand in flames, set his hair on fire, then created a chunk of ice and slammed it onto his head.

Taylor collapsed completely onto the ground. I stood over him and stomped on his body with my feet.

Thump— Thump—

“Say it again.”

Even in that state, Taylor tried to find an opening for a counterattack, but it was futile.

He couldn’t concentrate at all.

He thought he had experienced all sorts of extreme situations in the Demon Realm, but he was wrong. He had never experienced being beaten senselessly like this.

All the magical knowledge and common sense Taylor had accumulated were being shattered right now.

‘Ugh, what the…’

The madman’s voice echoed in Taylor’s fading consciousness.

“Coward.”

* * *

While I was stomping on Taylor, another brat charged at me from the side.

“Stop it, Ruin!”

I hated being interrupted during a fight.

I also hated being cut off mid-sentence.

I deliberately stomped on Taylor harder, exposing an opening, and then switched to offense as Blair charged at me.

“Cough!”

With a few body slams, Blair was also reduced to a ragdoll.

Although Blair himself hadn’t done anything particularly wrong, a leader’s mistakes were also the responsibility of his subordinates.

It was collective responsibility.

I continued to stomp on the two of them.

And as I stomped, I started to say my piece.

“You want me to go back to Khaoto?”

Thump— Thump—

“Why would I go back? I’ve been wanting to go to this banquet so badly, you bastard. Why are you taking out your anger on me after getting slapped by Moose? Are you proud of holding back? You did it on purpose? If you hadn’t held back, why? Were you afraid of the consequences? You pathetic bastard. What happens when you hold back? Do you think that guy will let it slide next time?”

After mindlessly stomping for a while, a pit formed where I was standing, and dust rose from it.

The two brats were buried in the dirt, barely visible.

When I came to my senses, it looked as if I was burying living people in the ground.

I felt a wriggling movement beneath my feet.

I suddenly remembered something I wanted to say to my old boss from my gangster days.

“You should have known when to stop holding back. All that holding back turned you into a pathetic fool. Do you know why you became pathetic?”

Did the boss know?

“Because you lost your courage.”

Poof—

Suddenly, I heard the sound of someone spitting out dirt and coughing from beneath my feet.

I looked down to see Taylor’s upper body exposed, his entire body covered in dust.

I met Taylor’s eyes.

Even with his face covered in dirt, his burning gaze was still fixed on me.

‘Ah, damn it.’

That gaze.

People like him wouldn’t change just by being beaten until they were convinced themselves.

That’s why they had good eyes, and that’s why I hated them.

Looking at it this way, his eyes were different from the boss’s.

If I had to compare…

The boss endured until the end and was betrayed,

But this guy would probably kill himself if it came to that.

“Sigh.”

Suddenly feeling a sense of incongruity, I looked up at the sky.

Arin was squatting above, watching.

I asked Arin,

“Since when have you been watching?”

“For a while now.”

“Why didn’t you attack me?”

Arin replied as if it were obvious,

“Even if all three of us attacked, we would have lost.”

“That’s true. You’re smart.”

Arin looked at the two men with a slightly pitiful expression.

“How long are you going to keep stomping on them?”

“That’s enough.”

I was about to stop, but then I felt them squirming more intensely beneath me, and I got annoyed, so I started stomping on them again.

I stomped on them diligently, like someone with a grudge against stomping.

Thump— Thump— Thump—

After stomping for a while, I pulled the two of them out.

They were surprisingly fine, considering.

Most of the footprints were concentrated on Taylor’s face.

Seeing Taylor glaring at me with his face covered in footprints, I couldn’t help but laugh and looked up at the sky.

Moonlight filtered through the round opening in the ceiling.

“The scenery is nice.”

Arin looked at me strangely.

“Suddenly?”

“Places like this have a unique charm.”

There’s a man who enjoys the ambiance even in a pit like this. That’s me.

Ignoring the three of them who looked disgusted, I spoke to Arin, who was still squatting.

“Wash these guys up and bring them along.”

“Where are we going?”

“We need to eat something.”

“What are we eating?”

“I’m craving some spicy steamed fish.”

Arin’s expression brightened, and she quickly took action.

While Arin was gone with the two men, I continued to look up at the sky from inside the pit.

Moonlight kept pouring in through the round opening in the ceiling.

“The weather is perfect for a late-night snack.”

———