**KAAABBBOOOMM!!!!
Arthur met her punches with his own, and the clash of their fists echoed with a thunderous roar that shook the air.
Shockwaves rippled out with each collision, and the ground beneath them cracked and shattered from the force.
Then, as if sensing the same thing, both of them raised their hands into the air at the exact same time.
From the moment Arthur had launched his lightning punches to now, less than a minute had passed.
Their exchange had occurred entirely in the few fleeting moments when their weapons were still airborne.
It was a clear demonstration of just how fast they truly were.
Arthur caught his semi-transparent blade, and Layla snatched her gun. Without hesitation, both pointed their weapons at each other.
Arthur's sword hovered at Layla's neck.
Layla's gun was pressed to Arthur's forehead.
"I win."
"No... I win."
As Layla spoke, her green eyes lit up, glowing with magic power.
Seeing that, Arthur couldn't help but click his tongue aloud.
"Tsk... Paralysing magic eyes.
You do realise I can break out of those, right?"
"Sure, you can. But the time it takes you to break out is enough for me to pull the trigger at least once."
The two stared at each other in silence for a few moments until Arthur finally let out a sigh and broke the quiet.
"Fine, you win."
With those words, he let his sword drop to the ground.
Seeing him admit defeat, Layla smiled faintly and loosened her grip on her gun, letting it fall as well.
She exhaled deeply, her body relaxing as she sat down on the ground.
Arthur followed suit, though instead of simply sitting, he lay back and rested his head on her lap.
Layla simply shook her head, too tired to even bother telling him to move.
"That makes it my third win."
"I've still got seven more wins to go, though," Arthur replied with a smug grin, earning a cold glare from her in return.
Just as he was about to return her glare with one of his own, he noticed something, then suddenly, he burst out laughing.
"Huh? What's so funny?" Layla asked, unable to hide her confusion at his sudden laughter.
"Well, I was trying to see the look on your face, but more than half my vision was blocked by your, cough assets cough."
Hearing his words, she was confused at first, until she noticed where his eyes had been looking. Then it clicked.
Her face flushed red as she grabbed him by the neck and started choking him.
"Maybe I should just end you now.
It'd save the gods a whole lot of time and effort."
"Whose side are you even on?!"
"Definitely not on the side of the sexually harassing, prophesied child of destruction."
Layla shot back while tightening her grip around his throat.
Arthur pried her hands off and sighed before speaking.
"No matter how you look at it, Layla, those things are huge. I was just stating the obvious fac—OW! OW! I'm sorry!!"
Before he could finish, she latched back onto his neck with even more force, this time using body-strengthening magic to intensify the choke.
"T-t-tap ou-ut!"
Arthur barely managed to croak out the words before she finally released him, though she kept her hands hovering near his throat, ready in case he tried saying anything else inappropriate.
Now free, Arthur rubbed his neck while speaking.
"The auction's in a month. I just wanted to get in shape for the fights that'll come after."
"Isn't that auction shady as hell? Just don't—"
Layla cut herself off mid-sentence as she noticed the change in Arthur's expression.
"What is it?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he stood up, stretched his arms, and then turned to her.
"Pass me your gun. The one that still has a full mag."
Without a word, Layla handed it over, giving him a questioning look. He ignored it, checked the magazine, confirmed it was fully loaded, and then tapped his foot on the ground.
*HUMM
A low humming sound followed as a wave of silver energy rippled out from beneath his feet.
"Argh!"
"Huh?"
"Grr!"
Layla whipped her head around at the sound of grunts and surprised voices coming from the forest behind them.
**BANG! x5
Arthur fired five shots toward the source of the noise.
"Gahh!" "Ugh!" "Kuk!" "Arghh!" "Gehok!"
Five cries of pain rang out from the direction of the forest, specifically from behind some of the broken trees near its edge.
Arthur calmly walked in the direction the sounds had come from, with Layla following behind him.
He arrived at the fallen trees, remnants of the basilisk's earlier rampage, and began kicking them aside.
Each kick splintered the already broken wood, sending shards flying in all directions, but he paid them no mind and continued until he reached the source of the grunts.
Five men were lying on the ground, two of whom were already dead, while the other three were injured.
One of the corpses had a bullet hole in the head, the other in the chest.
The three survivors had taken hits in less vital areas, sparing their lives, but for some reason, they couldn't move.
Layla took one look at them and immediately understood the shift in Arthur's mood.
'Half-gods, huh? No wonder he's pissed.'
Arthur stared at them with a cold expression, then raised the pistol and shot two of the survivors in the head.
**BANG! BANG!
Two fell lifeless. The third, however, locked eyes with Arthur, hatred burning behind his glare.
If looks could kill, the glare the man was giving Arthur would've bored a hole clean through his skull by now.
"Fools like you piss me off the most."
Arthur grabbed the last one by the leg and dragged him toward the centre of the clearing.
From his hand, that same negative silver energy, so potent it made Layla's skin crawl, flowed out and wrapped around the man's leg.
"AAAAAAAARRRGhHHHHaargHH!"
The man screamed as if his leg were burning alive, but Arthur remained silent, continuing to drag him without pause.
"Come."
Arthur held out his hand. His sword flew into his grip, and as he caught it, he channelled that same eerie silver energy into the blade—then drove it into the man's stomach.
"Gugh!"