Chapter 179 – Floor 18: Part 4
The man who descended the stairs in front of the mansion was a stranger to Lily. If it weren’t for the slight limp in his right leg, she would have no clue about his identity.
He was tall and incredibly handsome; his skin was pale white and unblemished, with a pair of blue eyes that practically glowed in the sunlight. His dark hair was cut to a fashionable length just past his ears and swept backwards with a part in the middle.
The man wore a black suit that seemed to have been perfectly tailored for his lean and muscular body. Whereas Ridley, with his suit jacket open and shirt left unbuttoned looked slovenly, the stranger made it appear relaxed and stylish.
The man was young; Lily guessed he was only around her own age, but a hardness in his gaze made him feel dangerous, like a wild animal that may look harmless for the moment but could turn at any moment.
“Mathew?” Lily guessed, the name coming unbidden from her mouth, and she clamped her lips shut in fear that Ridley would take offence to her speaking. The man turned his head slightly to look at her, smiled widely and winked.
“Do I look that different? Amazing what a good meal, a hot shower and a shave can do. Thanks for the suit by the way, it fits perfectly.” Mathew said, nodding to Lily’s brother Robert in thanks. Lily blushed slightly from his attention.
This Mathew was incomparable to the rough-looking beggar that had appeared in the Barlett’s driveway. No one would have believed he was a Champion of the gods when he had arrived, but now, Lily was beginning to think that perhaps he had been sent by Sanctuary Retort to save her.
“What did you call me?” Ridley White said, his voice coming out as a sharp hiss between teeth clenched in anger. He was beginning to flush red with anger, a dangerous sign that everyone in Amalar knew would lead to disaster.
Mathew seemed unconcerned with the young man’s anger. He smiled and shrugged.
“Little Bastard? Are you telling me that’s not your name? My apologies; I thought it was. Maybe it's Witless instead? Idiot? Hold on, I’ll get it eventually.” Mathew gestured with his hand, making a ‘please wait’ motion.
With each name, Ridley’s face darkened further. He turned to look at Roger, who was still kneeling on the ground and holding his cheek. Blood was leaking from a cut on his lip, and Lily’s father looked terrified. He knew what would soon happen.
He wanted to stop Mathew from speaking, but he wasn’t able to get up off the ground.
“Who is this man?” Ridley asked, and Roger knew that the Bartlett family was in serious trouble.
“Why don’t you just ask me, moron. I’m her Champion.” Mathew said, pointing at Lily and smiling. He seemed so at ease that it was terrifying.
Lily didn’t know if it was from confidence or lack of knowledge. Mathew needed to know what this young man was capable of! He could have her entire family ‘disappear’ without a trial, the cause put down to an accident!
“Champion or lover? You whore! You belong to me!” Ridley viciously cursed Lily, and the young woman flinched from the words. Ridley turned to his guards and shouted.
“I want him dead! Now, you useless pieces of shit!” Ridley ordered. His bodyguards didn’t hesitate; they immediately pointed their guns at Mathew, who was still smiling.
“Alter Self – Thick Skin.” Mathew whispered so softly that only a faint murmur was heard by those around him.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Lily thought she could see barely visible scales form on Mathew’s face, only noticeable by the slight shadows caused by the lights from streetlamps that lined the driveway and the headlights of the automobiles.
There was a series of loud cracks, and Lily’s mother rushed toward her to shield her from the violence. Her brother, Robert, picked up their father and dragged him away from the line of fire. Lily had never heard gunfire before and had never witnessed someone trying to murder another person.
Fighting was completely foreign to her, something that happened in stories or far away places but never in her own driveway in front of her home, where she was always sheltered and protected.
The next few moments were a confusing mass of images and blurry figures half seen from the sanctuary of her mother’s arms.
She saw people running and heard shouts of disbelief and anger, followed by a loud bang and a body flying past them to slam into the side of one of the automobiles, caving in a door and shattering the windows.
When things calmed down a little later, Lily managed to peek her head out from where she was huddled to see Mathew standing before her. He was completely unharmed and appeared not to have moved at all.
Several of the guards were lying on the ground, alive but incapacitated. More of them had pulled back with Ridley protected behind a vehicle. The poor man who had crashed into the car was still alive; Lily could see that he was trying to crawl away.
“I guess I am bulletproof! I always wondered about that.” Mathew said while laughing. Lily could find several holes in the front of his suit where bullets had punctured the clothing.
“Now, if that’s all you have, I’m going to teach the little punk a lesson. Then, I’m going to find his parents and teach them a lesson. And so on until I complete my objective and get to go eat supper and sleep in that comfy bed upstairs.” Mathew said as he shook his suit jacket and adjusted it slightly.
“You fools, stop him!” Ridley shouted, but Lily could see that his bodyguards were terrified of Mathew and no match for his strange abilities and physical strength. They were looking at each other while keeping their guns trained on Mathew.
Lily was finally convinced that he was a Champion sent to her by the god of Sanctuary Retort.
“They won’t be able to, not unless you have something a lot stronger than a pistol. Maybe try a rocket launcher? Do you have rocket launchers in this world? Maybe you could get a flamethrower?” Mathew taunted as he walked forward, his right leg slightly dragging behind him.
“Sir, we should leave.” One of the guards said to Ridley, who promptly scowled at the man and moved to the rear of the vehicle. Popping the trunk, he rooted around for a moment before pulling out a black briefcase.
“Idiots.” Ridley muttered, popping the top off the briefcase as Mathew and most of the Bartletts watched curiously. Ridley had taken out a syringe filled with a strange, blue liquid with black streaks throughout it.
“Is that..” Mathew paused, and Lily turned her attention to the Champion. He was frozen and watching the syringe carefully. The manic, nearly insane expression on his face was instantly replaced with wariness and suspicion.
An odd smell suddenly swept over everything around them; it was spicy and stung her nose, but she couldn’t identify what it was or where it was coming from. It seemed Mathew recognized it because he was suddenly rushing toward Ridley. Lily could tell Mathew was no longer playing around and was intent on stopping him.
“Drop the Aether!” Mathew shouted, but he was too slow.
His leg seemed to be hindering him, and even with his superhuman abilities, Ridley was able to take the syringe and plunge it into the man who had suggested they retreat. Everyone was shocked by his actions; even his bodyguards stepped away from their charge, stunned by the sudden betrayal.
“What are you doing?!” One of the guards screamed as Ridley threw away the syringe and stepped away from the guard. The man Ridley had attacked was howling in pain; he had dropped his gun and was now clawing at his face with his fingernails. His skin was darkening, his veins turning black.
Mathew had stopped his charge and was now moving toward Lily and her family.
“Run!” Mathew urged them. Grabbing Lily by the arm, he was pushing her toward the open doors of the mansion.
“What’s happening!?” Lily asked in confusion. The screams were getting worse, and Mathew wasn’t waiting to provide an explanation. After the second time Lily stumbled, Mathew picked her up and slung her over his shoulder.
“Nothing good! I don’t know what the hell that little bastard gave that guy, but the ‘Buzz’ is going crazy! I can’t fight it and protect you at the same time! Gods damn it all, run!” Mathew shouted to Lily’s father and brother, pushing and shoving everyone up the steps as the shrieks and yells from the guard deepened and changed.
Lily looked up from where she was being carried across Mathew’s shoulder and saw the screaming guard. He was changing. He was growing larger, his clothing was splitting apart, and his skin was a deep, purplish-blue. The other guards had moved away, half dragging and half carrying Ridley while the Prince was laughing at the sight.
“That’s it! Kill them all!”