Chapter 138

The mask mustn’t break. In the blink of an eye, I quickly made my judgment and twisted my body. Stella’s golden fist came rushing in.

KWAANG-!

The judgment was spot on. Stella’s punch, which had aimed for my face, hit my extended abdomen instead. And from the impact, I had to endure a shock as if a bomb had exploded in my gut.

Gah…! She’s insanely strong. If the Stella from my past hadn’t gone off the deep end and fallen apart, she would’ve been the second strongest person in the world—not me, but her.

I swallowed back the blood that was about to gush out and pushed my spiritual energy to its limit to stop my falling body.

Fortunately, the mask is still intact. Trusting this scrap of wood covering my face, I stood mid-air. Realizing I had no intention of running away, Stella hovered in front of me.

Golden whirlwinds were continuously emanating from Stella’s body.

“Hey, hold on a sec. I get you’re all fired up, but how about we calm down a bit?”

“Who are you? Where did you come from?”

“Ho ho, starting with such rigid questions already. First off, let’s clarify why you’re trying to catch me. You might end up getting charged with assault instead.”

As always, talking helps—especially for me.

I attempted peaceful conversation. Love, peace, how great?

“I merely stopped an act of injustice!”

Stella’s response was unwavering. I tilted my head and asked.

“So, why is it unjust? Why am I the bad guy here?”

“Then, is gripping someone smaller than yourself by the neck and punching them in the stomach considered right?”

“Uh, now that you mention it, that does sound correct. But didn’t you hear gunshots? And they weren’t fired by me?”

“Are you referring to the gun currently in your pocket? Even if the citizen fired it, considering your actions, it likely wasn’t self-defense.”

Bullseye, Hero. Let you handle it.

This strong girl has sharp instincts and spouts nothing but the truth.

“Besides, you were even trying to strip that citizen. Though I couldn’t see clearly due to the short time, your hands were definitely pulling off their hood.”

“Wow, you noticed that too? Guess I’m completely cornered.”

“…Do you have anything else to say? Arresting you right now wouldn’t feel unfair at all, would it?”

“Tsk, there’s no need to rush. I still feel wronged. You’re making judgments based solely on the moment without knowing what exactly happened between me and that person.”

Smoothly weaving words, the more I talk, the more Stella has to think.

“Me? I’m wronged! That person scammed me out of my money. They lured me into a business deal! So I caught them and told them to give the money back—that’s all! Although emotions got heated, so I ended up choking them a bit!”

“Is that really true?”

“Of course! Why would I lie? Don’t my words sound believable?”

I poured genuine emotion into my tone. Stella squinted her yellow eyes.

“Then why are you wearing a mask? A businessman who can withstand such punches isn’t common either, right?”

Should’ve used a disguise spell instead of a mask. Too late now. Changing my face using magic and removing the mask won’t fool Stella anymore. Should’ve done it earlier.

“My face has burn scars, so I wear it. It’s hideous, you know?”

“Didn’t you not have it on just a moment ago when you were attacking that person?”

“That was because I needed to show my face to them. How else could I yell at them to return my money? And by ‘fine,’ who are you talking about?”

With that, I boldly lifted my shirt. Stella tried to look away, muttering something about propriety, but soon stared at the bruises all over my abdomen.

“Does this look fine to you? Just one punch and I’m like this? Ow… hurts like hell! Breathing is painful!”

It may seem like I’m exaggerating, but I’m not. It genuinely hurts. Taking a direct hit to the stomach, especially when I offered it myself, leaves no room for painlessness.

“Still… floating in mid-air…”

“I learned some magic too, you know? You’re just overly strong.”

“…”

Hmm, will it work? Stella, chin in hand, pondered deeply. I subtly smiled and swallowed saliva.

“…I can’t rely solely on your word. Surrender peacefully.”

“Hah, you don’t believe a word I say, do you?”

“We can sort out the details at the police station. I promise, if you were truly scammed and didn’t commit any excessive faults, I’ll cover all your losses with everything I have. Including medical expenses and compensation. If it still feels insufficient, I’ll even return the amount you lost. Is that enough?”

Stella’s magnanimity, worry-free and generous. Barely escaping one corner, I found myself trapped again.

Guess there’s no other choice. Time to flee the ring.

“Hmm? Somehow, that doesn’t seem feasible…”

“What? If you’re truly wronged, you’d have nothing to lose, right? Why?”

“Because…”

In a flash, I pulled out the pistol and shouted.

“It’s all a complete lie! Hahaha!”

BANG BANG BANG-!

The muzzle flashed three times consecutively. The target: Stella.

PAWBAK-!

“Guh…! As expected from you…”

Even though Stella blocked the bullets with her protective barrier, my bullets’ purpose wasn’t to penetrate her.

Raising her arm to block the bullets also obstructed her vision, giving me a blind spot.

POOF, teleporting-like movement brought me right in front of Stella, where I delivered a spinning side kick to her ribs.

A reverse spinning kick. Ideally, I wanted to hit her liver with my left hand, but Stella instinctively defended that area despite her obstructed vision, so I struck with my right.

CRACK, the sound of a few ribs breaking could be heard. Stella immediately turned to grab me, but…

“I did tell you to calm down, didn’t I?”

Her shoulder and waist movements were readable, meaning I could predict her attack path.

Timing matched, counter landed precisely. Accuracy beats power, timing beats speed.

PUH-EONG!

“!”

Landed a proper counter right under her jaw. Of course, Stella isn’t going down that easily. Holding onto her staggering form, I multiplied my weight hundreds of times.

Stella and I accelerated towards the ground, naturally with her below and me above.

“Guh…! St-stop…!”

“Haha, you should’ve stopped when you had the chance. Now we can’t stop.”

“Ugh… cough, cough…!”

“Jaw feeling numb? Look at that beautiful skin torn. Want me to stick a Band-Aid on it? Of course…”

Our speed kept increasing. Unable to regain balance, Stella couldn’t escape my grip.

Like a meteor falling from space, we plummeted straight toward the ground.

“If you’re alive…”

KABOOM-!

An ear-splitting roar erupted. The earth flipped like a pancake. The road cracked in half, and Stella and I were buried deep into the ground.

Even if she survives, she’d need hospitalization for a few days at least with these injuries. Thinking that, I smirked.

SNAP.

“Huh?”

CLANG!

“Keh!”

“You slippery bastard…! Do you think I’d let a criminal like you go?”

“Wait, Hero. There’s still room for dialogue…”

SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM!

PUNCH! PUNCH! PUNCH! PUNCH! Endless golden fists hammered into my bruised abdomen. My stomach felt like it would burst from the impact.

The blazing heat emitted from Stella’s glowing body sizzled the ground. My casual outfit started melting away, but fortunately, the mask procured from the Demon Realm remained intact.

Dangerous situation. Twisting my body to escape, but Stella’s left-hand grip was unimaginably strong. My neck felt like it would rip off.

Still, giving up means no chance of victory. Blocking her right hook with my left hand as much as possible, I retaliated with my free right hand, exchanging blows several times.

PUNCH! PUNCH! PUNCH! PUNCH!

“Can you… go easy on me?”

“Are you still able to speak?”

Normally, facial strikes versus arm blocks favor the one receiving arm hits due to the numerous vital points on the face.

But Stella charged forward like a bulldozer, relentless despite taking hits. Thanks to the golden energy surrounding her entire body, it felt like fighting against a massive mountain.

“Can you… handle this?”

“Keh…! What?”

“One punch… from me!”

Heavenly Hero, Stella’s thunderous cry echoed. Incredible strength.

Back then in my previous life, it was the same. Shine Stella possessed combat talent so extraordinary that she could understand techniques after seeing them once, but her greatest advantage was the vast, boundless energy akin to the sky itself.

That immense energy, paired with a tenacity worthy of the title “Hero,” earned her the accolade of being the strongest on the continent, surpassing formidable figures like Great Sages, Warriors, and Saintesses.

Partially due to the uniqueness of the energy she cultivated.

KABOOM-!

Damn, my arm feels like it’s about to break. Stella’s face was a bloody mess, yet she relentlessly charged forward with her own broken facial bones.

Maybe it’s time to play a card? No, I can still talk my way out of this. Instead of beating her, I grabbed her wrist and urgently whispered.

“Kick… fighting with you is certainly entertaining. Fun, even.”

“Cough, cough…! You’re no ordinary guy…”

“Yeah, stop throwing punches. Aren’t you the Hero? Heroes should rescue citizens, not waste time battling villains, right?”

“…”

Stella’s surging energy halted. I chuckled and continued.

“I have a friend. Her name’s Nyaongi. She’s a cat werebeast. Didn’t you see her earlier?”

“Keh…! Su-surely that werebeast…!”

“Hmm, now that I think about it, I can’t see my friend anymore. What kind of coincidence is this? Ah, perhaps…”

Slyly narrowing my eyes behind the mask.

“Could she have followed my orders and gone to kill that woman while you were distracted here?”

“!!”

“What are you doing?! Hurry up! As a Hero, you should save the citizen! Leaving a citizen behind to throw around flashy punches makes you a thug or gangster!”

SLAP!

Like whipping a horse’s rear in a race, I slapped Stella’s buttocks as she turned away. Stella leapt out of the crater, seemingly prioritizing the citizen’s life over punishing me.

Before disappearing, she glanced back venomously and spat.

“You… I have no choice but to let you go this time, but next time, I will surely capture you.”

“Hehe, plenty of people have said that to me. Go on, what’re you waiting for? Do you want to watch a precious citizen die?”

“…”

Realizing that continuing to fight me would inevitably waste time, Stella immediately soared away. Watching her heroic figure vanish, I whistled leisurely from my prone position in the crater.

“Meow! Are you okay? I stayed put because you told me to!”

From somewhere outside the crater, Aru peeked in, looking down at me.

“Quick, help me out. This hurts like hell. Give me a hand.”

“Meow… might as well kill you.”

“Kill me and you lose a limb. No need for that, right? Just charm your tongue and she runs off like that.”

I stuck out my tongue and wagged it at Aru, who looked at me pitifully. Without a word, Aru hoisted my battered body.

“Aru, remember that scent from earlier?”

“I remembered it since you told me to. Meow.”

“Good job.”

Indeed, there’s no companion as loyal as a dog. Raising my hand, I patted Aru’s head.

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