It had to be said, that moment for the two of them was something magical. Their gazes had crossed several times and then escaped for a few moments as if fleeing from embarrassment, but in the end they attracted each other driven by desire, tenderness and a certain dose of urges. For both of them, it was like crowning a little dream in the closet.

On the one hand, our foolish hero had the feeling of having finally succeeded in showing himself fearless in the eyes of the girl who, for some time now, had given up trying to impress. On the other hand, the dear Camilla could, although for just a few moments, put aside her 'masculine' side, let's call it that to simplify the concept and make a few enemies in the most protected community since the times of the Pharaohs, enjoying the affection and care of her, hopefully since it would obviously be Alex who would have to put things down on paper, boyfriend.

Ah, what a touching scene. An example of teenage affection, lets all ignore the real ages of the subjects so as not to spoil the mood; many thanks, that could have warmed even the coldest and most unforgiving heart around. Even a mystical entity of my personal acquaintance, a lover more of brutal torture than stilettos, I'm sure is echoing chants of congratulations and happiness at this very moment.

Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, would have had the right in this life or in the next to make time flow that seemed to have gently slowed down around those two soap opera protagonists.

Or rather, it would have been so if the rights had been something more than words written on some piece of paper that could only provide protection or instill fear with a civilized society behind it. Where they were, there was no such thing as civilized.

"This son of a bitch!" Screamed a Mario from the distance after a closed fist of the Bolzig had overcome the last defenses offered by his shabby shield, causing a dislocation of his left shoulder as a result of the impact. For as much as he might have already surpassed the limits of human physiques, the brute force of a behemoth the size of a van could only be contained to a certain extent.

"Go back! Go back, you fucking imbecile!" Roberto also jumped in the amiable conversation, insulting him through gritted teeth when he saw him force his shoulder back into place with a sharp blow without even distancing himself from the Mini Boss. "Mind your own fucking business!" Was, however, the almost immediate response with which his concern was met, leaving even someone like him speechless.

Even the Bolzig seemed almost confused about what to do. His pre-programmed intelligence had assumed that his opponent would need at least a few seconds to recover, which is why he had opted for a much heavier attack than normal. However, Mario, instead of wasting time struggling in pain, charged right back; catching the behemoth off guard.

"Goght! Gothg!" For the first time since the start of the clash, the Mini Boss seemed to be saying a handful of sounds similar to actual words, suffocated though by the continuous guttural gurgles. Even for him, in fact, despite the general increase in statistics due to being a Boss, things were starting to get bad.

Roberto had been, and still was, nothing more than an annoying fly buzzing around him without doing much else. Sure, a couple of his blows had left cuts on his skin, but you can keep it quiet if you think little things like that could have knocked him out. Mario's blows were what was getting him into trouble; if he hadn't been in the way and could have decently directed his attention to what was behind him, the heavy smoker would have been dead meat several minutes ago.

Mario alone had been enough to force the Bolzig to that attack with exaggerated movements that now he was paying for it. In order to show that offensive power, the Monster had to move forward a couple of steps, getting unbalanced as soon as the impact reached the target. That small risk would have been nothing to worry about in a normal condition. Now, however, thanks to the very quick recovery of the boy, the Bolzig had not been able to withstand the subsequent blows of his bat and hand without dropping his knee to the ground, completely losing the ability to fight back in close combat.

Roberto first couldn't believe it. Sure, the road to killing the Boss was still long and uphill, but now at least it seemed possible. "Are you kidding me?" He said a few moments later, jumping to the side to avoid the arrival of an already accelerating tentacle and finding himself temporarily out of the picture. Not that it was making any practical difference, as Mario was still holding his own perfectly without him.

"You mean to tell me that the level increase was that important? Or is the Monster becoming less dangerous as it loses life? Oh God... I feel like we won the lottery, but I don't even want to imagine what that guy could become in the future," he ended up muttering to himself as he caught his breath, coming to the end of his monologue with more concern than excitement.

It was one thing, from his point of view, to have to worry about Lovecraftian creatures coming out of some hellhole; it was another to have a ticking time bomb next to you the entire way. Obviously having the chance to beat the first Mini Boss could only be a great advantage, but if Mario had continued to grow at that rate how dangerous could he have become in the future.

Best not to think about it at the moment. I'll have to live with the doubt for a while, now I don't have time to waste on bullshit. He concluded, after a short reflection, deciding on his bet at the roulette wheel and worrying more about the evening than the bill to be paid at the end. Even if he had stayed there for hours, what could he have gotten out of it?

In the meantime instead, Captain Tough Guy and Commander Nice Ass had already started their race to get into the heart of the fight, not thinking for a moment to jump off the second floor as Roberto had done. The two lovebirds continued instead until they reached the moving stairs near the entrance of the mall, arriving far enough away to hear the noise of the clash only in the distance, in order to go down to the ground floor and walk backwards in order to get there.

Indeed, to be precise and do Alex a disservice, it would be much more correct to say that once they reached the vicinity of the exit doors, the testiculated one of the couple had a change of heart for a moment. Fortunately for his pride, Camilla, without even realizing it, dragged him further and further away from the appetizing prospect of salvation, aiming straight for the road that led to the Bolzig.

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Poor guy. And to think that even if he had given up all the decision, courage and growth to try to go out of his mind without having to face the Boss, he would have found himself facing an invisible wall that would have blocked his way without ifs and buts. Poor thing, I almost pity him.

Well, let's forget it and get back to more serious topics.

Dragged or not, Alex managed to keep up with his beauty. As their destination grew closer, the rumbling and swearing became less and less distant. And, once they were close enough to see that soft monstrosity that answered to the name of Bolzig again, they noticed for the first time that even the ground beneath their feet trembled every time the behemoth stomped its feet when it tried to move or counter Mario's blows.

Speaking of him by the way, he didn't seem to be in the best condition at the moment. Compared to when his back had been turned to come down from the second floor, now most of the clothes that covered his upper body had been shredded due to the continuous contact they were having with the hard and wrinkled skin of the Bolzig's arms. Even the flesh that could be seen, more or less clearly depending on the point in question, under the robes had seen happier days, covered in fresh blood and bruises a little everywhere.

Incredibly, the part of his body that had taken the least beating was his face, where only an accidental blow had left its mark, causing him to spit out a tooth. A small fortune in the general misfortune, at least so I would say.

"Tired already? Huh!? Eh!?" Mario, however, seemed not to have noticed his own condition and, falling victim to the same adrenaline that kept him on his feet, continued to throw himself forward and exchange blows with the Monster. Even the makeshift bat had already abandoned the task, demanding a non-negotiable divorce after all the abuse it had received, leaving it permanently unarmed. Oh God, unarmed but nasty, as he had now moved on to using some of the moves he had learned on the field to make space for himself and push his opponent back, coming in hard with his shoulder and squeezing with his arms to force the Monster to fall to the ground.

The Bolzig ended up losing more and more ground in the face of the boy's violence and huge amount of lungpower, barely managing to hold on without falling flat on his face, but without enough remaining energy to swing his big arms around.

The fight that had started as a one-sided confrontation, now seemed to have become a bar fight with a pseudo active spectator in the matter, the classic guy who approaches only in safe moments to kick whoever is on the ground and then run away, also called Roberto for his close friends.

For poor Alex it was... Eh... a relief? Maybe?

To put it better on the table, it's best to start from the instant when he, riding on palpitations and stomach pains, arrived in the vicinity of the war zone. Mario had taken a second direct hit on the nose, violent enough to make his body flex backwards and almost tip him over. The Bolzig had then seen the opportunity to add salt to the wound by flexing his knees and setting off a subspecies of an uppercut; I mention this because the mechanical procedure left much to be desired, with such a sweeping motion that his knuckles scraped the concrete floor.

Mario, however, seemed to have been possessed by some malignant force, so generous as to allow him not to lose consciousness and, indeed, to use a sudden thrust of his legs to immediately strike back. In that way, and we'll never know if voluntarily or not, he barely dodged the visit to the holy field and then launched an amateurish jab straight at the creature's family jewels, which had become visible for a while as the tentacles that covered them were now moving all over the place.

The pain must have been more than excruciating. Poor Beast, because the Bolzig let out one of the loudest and most prolonged gurgles his throat had ever produced, while he dropped his arms to the ground for support.

Camilla saw an opportunity to use her [Energy Bullet] ability and raised her left hand, pointing her finger at the Monster. One after another, three flashes of light hit the target at a speed comparable to gunshots. The poor wounded beast felt as if something was pressing against his side, becoming even more breathless and lowering his head as his vision blurred.

Roberto couldn't ask for better and, much more relaxed than before, he gripped his weapon even tighter and attempted a lunge. However, he had already experienced firsthand that the tip of [Shifting Blade] was not enough to penetrate the Bolzig's skin. Therefore, he went for the only point that provided an easy and unprotected entry positioned at the back: the much fascinating asshole.

It makes me physically ill to describe it, yet the plan was simple and functional, but also terrible to even imagine, worthy of the smoker. The blade of the sword entered for its entire length, causing lacerations of various types and severity, as well as a punishment that only a mentally ill person would want to experience. The boy, however, did not care at all and continued his advance in the dark lands, causing copious losses of blood and odors from that orifice.

I'll let you imagine what kind of smell there could have been in the air at that moment. Going further, the attack brought with it excellent results, weakening even more the Boss. Mario, gassed up despite the blows he had suffered, released all the inner anger that was left in him by the the shit out of the Bolzig. Then, the Monster's head was finally within his reach, so you could say that there was no better time for one last sprint before reaching the finish line.

Armed with gritted teeth, clenched fists and zero footwork, he began with a right hook to the jaw area, followed up with a left and topped it off with a headbutt, grabbing the Monster by the ears to push him back and increase the impact power.

Alex could only watch the scene astonished, captured by that strange vision. At the beginning he had really believed that without his help they would have never been able to defeat the first Mini Boss; but Mario's brute strength seemed to be proving otherwise. Moved more by instinct than anything else, Alex ended up moving his palm upwards, slowly shifting his gaze in that direction.

After his encounter during the illusion, he was now quite sure of how he could use his Skill and its collateral costs. He had also decided to pull his head out of his ass and become the man he had always wanted to be once and for all. Still... "Can it be that we don't even serve a purpose here?" He ended up asking out loud, not looking for anyone's answer in particular, but calling Camilla's attention, now equipped with a combative look that suited her much more than the tears.

Before she could say a single word, however, Mario planted his nails inside the bulges of fat that covered Bolzig's face, tearing and pulling without my stopping his hands. Until, after some of those disgusting bulges exploded in a feast of blood and fluids that I'm not going to investigate, the voice of the System made its announcement.

[Congratulations to the Mona-Prescelti team for defeating The Mini Boss at One Star Bolzig Puppy. Congratulations, the rewards will be distributed equally among the team members...]