Leaving Chris back at the arena, I followed after Drake all by myself.
To be honest, I was really worried about Chris but right now I was in no position to be worrying about others. I need to be focused entirely on Drake else Iāll die instantly.
We left from the entrance we gate from and kept walking back the way we came until the point where the arena wasnāt visible anymore at which point, Drake suddenly stopped.
The road here was still narrow so it wasnāt really a place suitable for fighting but he stopped regardless, which made my heartbeat quicken in response.
āSHIT!! That bastard Klaus, ordering me around like heās some hot shit!!ā
While stomping on the ground again and again, Drake roared angrily.
He had been threatened pretty badly just a while back, and it apparently took until now for his frustrations to show back up it seems.
To throw a hissy fit only after the arena was completely out of view made him seem like a proper small fry butā¦ā¦ā¦the fact is, Klaus is just that dangerous and scary.
From the moment Chris called him out, it almost seemed like he was completely unhinged and had no control over his emotions.
āAaah, seriously, that guy pisses me off!ā¦ā¦..Hey, you guys came here to kill Klaus right? Then, why not join hands with me as well? I have a lot of pent up frustration against Klaus as well and Iām at my limit now. Not a bad deal for you guys as well, right?ā
He was sounding so irritated just a second ago, but suddenly he turned calm again as he gave this suggestion.
Now thenā¦ā¦ā¦how the hell do I even respond to this?
Hearing a suggestion like that from the guy I was intending to fight to the death and had fired myself up over, caught me off guard and made my head fall into chaos.
Normally Esta or Chris are with me so talks like these progress even if I just stay quiet and stand behind them but, when I am alone, I have to be the one to give an appropriate response.
After thinking for a while, I couldnāt figure it out so, whatever, I decided to refuse it!
āItās certainly not a bad deal butāāI refuse!ā
āHah? But why? You should have no reason to refuse me?ā
āMy reasonā¦ā¦ā¦.I have none!ā
āWhaaā¦ā¦ā¦.man, Iām really unlucky. Looks like I got drawn with a totally brainless idiot it seems.ā
Drake sighed deeply hearing my response and began walking again as if tired of it all.
I really had no idea what he was planning to do but, I decided to continue following him.
We kept walking until we reached a somewhat open room, seemed like a place where some competitor used to live in back in the day.
It was quite close to the arena, and was much bigger than the other rooms we saw on the way which meant that this was probably the place where the strongest competitor of the arena lived, if what Chris explained to me is correct that is.
Entering the large room, Drake kept walking to the other side before slowly turning around to face me directly.
He took stance with his shield, and then drew his sword with his other hand, while another shield remained rested on his back.
āWhat now? So youāre gonna fight me after all then!? If you really donāt want to fight, you can run away as well you know!? Iām not so shitty that Iād go around attacking people that donāt wanna fight me!ā
āKakaka! Are you joking, or are you actually that stupid?āāwhy the hell wouldĀ IĀ run away huh?ā
He laughed before frowning and glaring at me.
I really didnāt get this guy but anyway, this means he wants to fight right?
So why did he even suggest cooperating with us in the first place?ā¦ā¦ā¦my head hurt just trying to make sense out of Drakeās words at this point.
āDidnāt you say you hated Klaus and didnāt want to fight for him? I donāt want to join hands with you but, if you want to just run away, Iām saying Iām not gonna chase you down or anything!ā
āYou, really are a fucking idiot huh. I may hate him, but Iām not gonna betray him that easily either. I simply gave that offer hoping to sweet talk you to get you to lower your guard, thatās all. When that plan failed, now I have no choice but to fight you head on is what Iām saying.āāāDid you understand all that now?ā
He was talking to me as if he was ridiculing me and revealed to me his real motivations behind the deal he offered.
ā¦ā¦ā¦I see. He wanted to make me careless and attack me from behind!
I thought these guys were supposedly hero calibre people, but that sounds pretty cowardly to me.
I should just hurry up and take this guy down and quickly head back to help Chris.
āIs that so. I didnāt think a so called potential-hero would stopp down to such dirty tactics! But, if you wanna have a good olā head on fight, Iām all for it!ā
āItās not dirty, call it cunning instead. Anyway, I suppose I should beat your dumbass quickly and wrap this up eh?ā
He cracked all the bones in his body and then took a stance againāāand then kicked the ground and lunged at me.
Chris said he was a complete defence focused fighter but his movements seem both nice and quick!
I put up my shield as well and read his attack and then perfectly guarded against Drakeās attack.
Yeah! Heās strong but nowhere near Chris.
If itās this level, I can keep an eye for openings and counter attack as wellāā-or at least thatās what I thought.
āYou may be an idiot but you do know how to guard properly eh! Alright then, let me raise up my speed a little in that case, okay? [Martial Arts First Form. Fierce God Rampage]ā
He had been attacking normally until now but, the moment the skill activated, his movements suddenly became completely different like he was a totally different person.
His strike was heavy, and his speed increased, making it really difficult to keep up.
Forget tracking him with my eyes, I had to depend entirely on instinct to keep a grip on this battle.