Chapter 019:

Earnest smiled as he held a hand out toward the approaching chains, anyone seeing this would think him insane, but the following scene was even more shocking.

The formidable-looking chain made of magic and water disappeared into his palm.

There was no clash, nor was there any sign of struggle, the chain merely disappeared into his palm like a drop in the ocean.

Alexander, on the other hand, employed humbler methods, simply smashing his fist against the spell causing the chain to splatter away.

“Tsk,” Nammu clicked her tongue after noticing that the two were seriously about to fight.

‘Idiots!’ She thought and with a wave of her hand, a magical circle woven from complex symbols materialized mid-air and she began chanting. Clearly, she was about to use a much more elaborate spell.

“Touched a nerve did I?” Earnest spoke as he stood in place calmly facing the two.

“You don’t know anything,” Alexander replied as the tip of his spear suddenly lit aflame.

“I know enough,”

With nothing left to say, Alexander rushed forward with genuine killing intent laid bare.

“For someone claiming to be innocent, you sure are touchy when the subject is broached,” Earnest continued as his body blended into the shadows, allowing him to escape Alexander’s first strike.

The spear’s momentum tore a gash into the earth and the fire surrounding it scorched the nearby vegetation.

Unfazed by his opponent’s disappearing act, Alexander formed his own magic barrier. The fire surrounding his spear was sucked into the barrier, before being twisted and compressed multiple times over.

“Out of curiosity, just what is your plan, Alex,” Earnest’s voice came from all around, being everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

People fighting Earnest for the first time would be scared shitless at this point; being unsure of where their opponent was and, consequently, where the next attack would come from.

“{Heatwave}” Alexander calmly stated as if replying to Earnest’s question. In the blink of an eye, the fire within his barrier could no longer be compressed and the sheer force it gave off was enough to break the barrier causing the fire to go out with a bang.

A deafening sound descended as a wave of hot air spread about, knocking everything back. Even Nammu was affected, but she barely managed to maintain her casting.

“Tsk. You sure do learn fast,” Earnest said as he appeared a distance away with his clothes ruffling from the wave. “Guess, I won’t be able to use the same trick twice,” He remarked while he tilted his head slightly to the side, narrowly dodging Alexander’s flaming spear.

Not willing to let him get away this time, Alexander grit his teeth and used his feet to draw strength from the earth allowing him enough strength to swing the spear with newfound speed.

Earnest’s placid eyes watched as the spear he could never hope to dodge dug itself into his neck which offered almost no resistance.

“Alex, you haven’t answered Nammu’s question yet,” Earnest’s decapitated head asked as it fell to the ground with a thump. The smell of burnt blood was nauseating.

Alexander clicked his tongue before immediately sending a kick toward Earnest’s headless torso.

Once again, the odd sensation of hitting air came through his attack as the torso was sent flying back before disappearing into the shadows along with the head.

“Stop playing around!” Alexander demanded.

“You know what I think?” A voice asked from behind him.

“{Terraforma: Marshlands}” Nammu’s soft voice suddenly sounded out as she angrily smashed her fist through the magical circle and embedded it into the ground. The effect was immediate as the ground beneath the trio in a hundred-meter radius turned to mud with geysers of water shooting out in some spots.

Alexander was forced to slow his attacks down as he could no longer find proper footing thanks to the abrupt change in terrain.

But the most affected by the spell was undoubtedly Earnest whose once hazy figure grew more distinct the more his movement was hindered.

“I think that you have yet to even fathom it, a world after the end,” Though seemingly flummoxed, Earnest still calmly continued his one-sided discussion. “I don’t blame you, nobody truly understands what happened after that blasted rock fell from above. And I also cannot begin to imagine what burning down your own village must feel like,”

“Enough!” Nammu screamed as the geysers of water turned to lifelike tentacles that wrapped around both Alexander and Earnest.

Not willing to go down without a fight, Alexander bisected a tentacle with his spear before landing in the mud once again.

Thankfully, having trained with Nammu countless times, he already had some experience dealing with this spell, meaning he adjusted to the terrain quickly.

In contrast, Earnest merely allowed the tentacles to wrap around him, binding him tightly.

“That being said, in the process of running away, you’ve both lost yourselves. Now muddied and scarred by endless battles, you’ve both lost sight of what’s important. But don’t worry anymore. I, your new friend, will bring you back to your senses,” Earnest said as he stared down the flaming spear which was now inches away from his face. Behind the spear, Alexander’s face was expressionless but his eyes burned with such fervent hate that Earnest could have sworn at that moment that he saw hellfire.

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“{Water barrier}” Nammu’s voice rang once more as a rather rudimentary barrier formed around Earnest. Ordinary magicians would never think of employing such a humble spell when facing down Alexander’s might. But even Nammu’s basic spells were far from normal.

A scraping sound came from the collision between the spear and spell as steam rose from the fire eating away at the water.

“Hey, Alex,” Earnest spoke, staring deep into Alexander’s eyes, confronting his hatred head-on. “After we kick those Alliance bastard’s teeth down their throats, and after we conquer every stage of this damn apocalypse, let’s you and I have a drink! And not a bitter one like the ones you use to drown your ailments but a sweet one, a young one. Let’s gather some friends and let’s beat this thing together. Along the way maybe you might even find it within yourself to forgive yourself”

At the word Alliance, Alexander seemed to finally snap as his fire grew even more violent. Soon, his entire body was encased in dark red flames and the smell of blood wafted off him.

“Alexander, no!” Nammu screamed and her voice grew hoarse.

In his new form, Alexander knocked the barrier away with a single swipe of his spear. Steam rose from everywhere as the ambient temperature rose rapidly.

“Going so far as to burn your life force away. You must do that often. How upsetting,” With the ground beneath him drying up and the tentacles around him searing away, Earnest was finally able to restart his movement technique and his figure grew hazy once more.

Then, just as the two boys prepared for one final climactic clash, Nammu’s voice sounded once more:

“You two…” She said with a tone so cold it burned; her once ocean-blue eyes suddenly turned white and her hair slowly followed suit.

Earnest wasn’t as surprised as the first time he saw this transformation. Feeling the once blazing atmosphere cool down significantly, he thought to himself ‘It’s different experiencing it up close,’

Earnest studied the pair before him, one burned so hot, trying hard to forget while the other froze her soul, hoping to keep everything in place.

“Look into my eyes, children,” Earnest said fearlessly as frost began coating the ground beneath him. “Stare into the soul of the man who will fix this world, into the darkness which will encompass all of your hate and hold it. Gaze into the eyes of a man who had everything to protect but now nothing to lose!”

Alexander hesitated then, as he heard of ambition and grief which shook him to his core.

Unfortunately, just as tensions reached an all-time high, a piercing scream interrupted their battle.

………………………………………………..

Alexander stood still, dazedly watching the wounded Dominic slowly lift the burning debris covering the bar’s entrance.

Even though his fingers burned and his wounds bled, Dominic never stopped, never paused. Like a man possessed, he continued clearing the path.

[What do you guys plan on doing after?] Alexander heard Nammu’s voice ask once again.

He clutched his head hard, willing the memories away. ‘Why does that memory keep cropping up?’ He thought, desperately trying to find some anger within him.

A distance away, Dominic finally cleared the doorway, allowing him to enter. A coughing fit soon rang from within the pub.

‘Fool,’ Alexander thought, he himself easily slid into the blazing establishment not one bit bothered by either the flames or smoke. Fire was his after all.

‘This feels nostalgic,’ Alexander remarked as he watched the burning bar slowly fall apart, soon the building would collapse entirely and when that time came, he himself wouldn’t be too sure about his chances of survival.

“Boys, where are you? Answer me!” Off to the side, Dominic continued his crazed search.

Alexander watched as the man desperately took hold of a burning log and lifted it with all his might to search beneath it.

Smelling the man’s flesh being burnt and hearing the sizzling of his let blood, Alexander became acutely aware of something. ‘He’s willing to die for them,’

Earnest’s face flashed before his eyes, once more making a mess of his thoughts.

Whatever anger he had left dissolved into a pathetic whimper as ruthless sobriety took hold.

Fully grasping the crazed state of his opponent, his blood grew cold, ‘Why were we fighting?’ Why had he so violently attacked Dominic? Was it simply because one of his goons infiltrated his home and threatened him with violence?

While he was lost in his thoughts, the crime boss finally gave up as he knelt to his knees and wept loudly.

‘Come to think of it…Haven’t I been in too many fights?’ For the first time, the reincarnator assessed how he had been dealing with his new life so far.

‘Shit…’ Was the only thing he could think after recalling the fact that he fought on the very first day since opening his eyes,

“Fuck,” Was the only thing he could say after fully realizing that he had been in more fights in his short stint as Timothy than most citizens would be in during their lifetimes.

“Where are they?” A heavy voice brought him back to reality and Alexander focused on the eyes of his latest victim. “Or should I be asking, where are their bodies?” Anger could be felt with the last question.

Briefly, Earnest’s eyes overlapped with Dominic’s and Alexander wondered whether his own eyes ever looked like that. ‘Maybe after Jun...’

Sinking once more into his thoughts he forgot to answer, which led to Dominic’s anger flaring up.

“I’m going to kill you,” he said with eerie calm before a brilliant blue light enveloped him.

Even in his stupor, Alexander drudged up a memory from Timothy’s past and recognized what was happening. ‘An awakening…’

The once pale blue light now flashed a mesmerizing azure and it coated his entire body in the form of roaring waves.

{Eyes of Discernment Activated!}

{Grace of Mai (Awakened): Rapidly flowing currents of holy water wrap around the user, protecting them from great harm. Duration: 280 seconds. Cooldown: 86000 seconds.}

With his Wisker renewed, Dominic rushed forward, fist first.

‘Maybe I deserve this…’ Alexander made no motion to dodge and pain took him as he felt Dominic’s fist bury itself into the side of his face; the rapidly spinning current of water ripped some of his flesh off his cheek.

Dominic seemed surprised by the fact he wasn’t fighting back but that didn’t mean he suddenly developed empathy. He viciously continued his assault after pinning Alexander to the ground.

‘The war is over, the apocalypse has been stopped,’ Alexander kept thinking as fists did their best to disfigure his face. In the background, he could hear Dominic spout obscenities one after the other while inquiring about his men.

‘No wait, in this world, that shit hasn’t happened yet, but still,’ A tooth broke, this might be Timothy’s first.

‘Then why am I still fighting? Didn’t we do everything we could so that we wouldn’t need to fight anymore?’

Maybe he was still at war, or according to Earnest: He was still running away.

Realizing that even beheading the fucking demon king’s head failed to free him of his plight, Alexander despaired. ‘In the end, I haven’t changed a bit,’

‘Reincarnating…was a mistake,’ Alexander closed his eyes then and accepted his fate. He would die to one of his victims, a more fitting end, he could not imagine.

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