At the same time, Aiden's side of the fight seemed much easier. Although among these thugs were a few skilled fighters, and more were pouring in from outside the bar, for him, it still didn't count as anything serious.
After knocking down three or four people with a clean combo, Aiden realized he had been forced back toward the small stage where the live singer performed. Not far behind him stood Shermie, and the number of thugs surrounding her was far greater than those around him.
Turning his head to glance at her, Aiden asked, "Hey, you sure you don't need help?"
"Mind your own business." Shermie shot him a glance, her sweet voice making her words sound almost like she was pouting.
"What a shame, I thought you were the easygoing type." Aiden shrugged, then quickly swung a punch, sending another thug flying.
"I was never easy to get along with. Besides, you went and provoked me." Shermie spun and kicked two people to the ground, saying without even turning her head.
That line left Aiden a little confused.
"How did I provoke you? I paid for the song request, five thousand euros. That's got to be more than what King's paying you, right? It's not like I freeloaded." Aiden shouted.
His words, however, were overheard by King, who was fighting nearby. The poor woman, innocently caught in the crossfire, nearly got hit by Billy's attack and stumbled back a few steps, shouting in frustration, "Sorry! But it's not my fault I'm broke! Also, can you two flirt or argue or whatever without dragging me into it?"
"Sorry!"
Aiden and Shermie said in unison.
Then, both turned their heads to look at each other.
A moment later, they both looked away and went back to fighting the thugs.
Aiden kicked two more people away, turned, and jumped onto the stage. Shermie was still standing there, so he moved a step closer to her and said, "You still haven't told me what exactly I did to provoke you."
It was something he genuinely wanted to know. A succubus' instincts were strong, but they were never baseless.
"You paid to request a song," Shermie said, "but you only listened to one and then ran off."
Aiden froze. "That's it? That's your reason? Isn't that a bit of a stretch?"
"Stretch? I don't think so. You paid me all that money but only listened to one song. I think that means you didn't like my singing."
Hearing that, Aiden didn't know whether to laugh or cry. That reason wasn't just far-fetched, it was absurd. 'Is this woman's pride seriously that fragile?'
Then again, remembering who Shermie really was, he suddenly thought it kind of made sense. As one of the Orochi's Four Heavenly Kings, she was a proud woman. Having an oversized ego wasn't exactly out of character.
Still, it was ridiculous.
After thinking it over, Aiden explained, "Can I just say I left because I had to take a call in the bathroom? It was kind of noisy in here."
"Noisy? So you're saying my singing was noise?" Shermie turned her head and glared at him furiously.
'What kind of logic is that?!'
Aiden was speechless.
"I just wanted a quiet place to talk, that's all," he said again.
"Which still means you thought I was making noise."
"…"
At this point, what else could Aiden say? He could only keep throwing punches, knocking down the endless thugs charging toward him.
Seeing that he'd gone silent, Shermie gave a few smug laughs. But soon she couldn't laugh anymore, because right in front of her stood a man built even bigger than a bull.
At that moment, she had just thrown a punch, which landed squarely on the man's stomach. But that stomach, rounder than a woman nine months pregnant, was packed with solid muscle and thick fat. Her punch felt like it had sunk into half-stuffed cotton, doing absolutely no damage.
"Heh heh… little lady, didn't have dinner? That didn't hurt at all," the burly man said, grinning under his wrestler's mask.
"Really?" Shermie smiled sweetly, but her still-extended fist suddenly tensed. A violent surge of energy burst out, blasting the brute backward and smashing a gaping hole in the bar's wall. Rubble rained down, burying him.
But before Shermie could even look smug, the man got back up. It was like he hadn't been hurt at all. He brushed the dust off his body and started walking toward her again.
"Better that time, but still not enough," he said, shaking his head. His muscle and fat weren't for show. His body was so tough it could shrug off most firearms, harder than steel.
Shermie frowned. She hadn't been awake long and hadn't had much time to train. Her current strength was barely enough to protect herself. Against this mountain of muscle, she didn't have the upper hand in pure hand-to-hand combat.
'I guess once I awaken fully, I'll regain some of my lightning powers… but still, I really need to train properly after this,' she thought.
Then she turned toward Aiden. At this point, she really did need help.
But before she could speak, she noticed that Aiden was already fighting a tough opponent of his own, a black man wielding two short batons.
'MR. BIG.'
'Mr. Big.'
That was the first thought that popped into Aiden's head when he saw the man's face. He, too, had fond childhood memories of arcade halls, though every "happy" day there ended with a good old-fashioned "fatherly beating." But hey, still good memories, right?
So he recognized the man in front of him immediately, the baton-wielding black man was a character straight out of the classic Art of Fighting series.
'But wait, isn't this guy supposed to be Geese's rival? What is he doing here picking a fight with King?'
Aiden couldn't figure it out.
He didn't have much time to think, though, because Mr. Big had already made his move.
And his opening attack was, Ground Blaster.
Just like in the games, Mr. Big's right hand lifted his baton from below in an upward swing, unleashing a violent wave of energy.
Boom!
The first to collapse under the force was the live stage Aiden and Shermie had been standing on. The metal structure shattered apart instantly.
But before that, Aiden had already jumped down, grabbing Shermie's arm on the way. She been so focused on the muscle giant in front of her that she hadn't even noticed what was happening behind.
Once they landed, Aiden let go of her arm. He no longer needed to play the clichéd "hero dives in to save the girl" routine.
Then he engaged Mr. Big head-on. But since he hadn't activated any of his "classes," he immediately found himself at a disadvantage.
In this world, true martial artists had absurd strength and speed.
Even so, Aiden wasn't completely helpless. He could still fight back, just not with the ease of someone like Mr. Big, who could freely manipulate energy.
His training in Nine Nether Heavenly Divine Art and Phantom Sound Technique was still too shallow. If he'd mastered those, he could easily rank among the elites of this world even without activating a class.
Meanwhile, Shermie had resumed her fight with the muscle brute. Though she couldn't yet use her lightning powers, meaning she wasn't truly the "Lightning of Disturbed Earth", her combat experience and ever-strengthening physique let her gradually take control of the battle.
She also realized that, aside from being tough and strong, the brute couldn't use energy at all. He was basically just a walking sandbag.
Still, even a sandbag like that wasn't easy to take down quickly. Every time she knocked him down, he just got up again.
It made her anxious, she could sense that Aiden was starting to struggle.
Not that she cared about him or anything, she just didn't want to end up in a two-on-one situation if he went down.
In truth, Shermie wasn't the only one worried. King was, too. She kept glancing toward Aiden's side, and seeing him at a disadvantage, she wanted to rush in to help, but Billy wouldn't let her, constantly blocking her way.
And that Ground Blaster from Mr. Big seemed to serve as the "no-holds-barred" signal. Neither side cared about property damage anymore, they both went all out, unleashing their energy freely.
Once a martial artist went all out, it wasn't just floors cracking or walls breaking, the destruction level went up several tiers. The bar now looked like it had been shelled by artillery fire. Holes and craters everywhere. Even the ceiling had collapsed in several spots, and the screams of upstairs tenants could be faintly heard.
Fortunately, Billy and his men were only after King, they hadn't gone for the bystanders. The regular customers and staff, after taking a few hits, had all been dragged to the corner. Now they sat there trembling, clutching their heads, not daring to even look at the chaos around them.
"Hey! You still holding up?"
Shermie managed to call out in between punches.
"I'm fine, not dead yet. Besides, I haven't even used my true power."
"You're still in the mood to brag at a time like this?" Shermie said, exasperated.
Aiden looked at her seriously. "I'm not bragging. If I unleashed my real strength, these three guys together wouldn't even last against one of my hands."
"So why don't you use it then?"
"Ever heard of playing the pig to eat the tiger?"
"Can you speak in a way I actually understand?"
But during that brief exchange, Aiden let his guard down. Mr. Big caught the opening and kicked him hard in the chest.
He didn't even use much force, it wasn't like they were trying to kill anyone, but it still sent Aiden stumbling backward.
Then his foot caught on something, and he fell backward, landing on his butt.
Before he could get up, Shermie, being driven back by the brute's wild swings, didn't notice him and backed straight into him.
What happened next… was not exactly dignified.
Because Aiden was still sitting on the floor when she hit him, Shermie lost her balance and ended up falling backward, right onto his head.
To Aiden, it felt like his head had suddenly been buried in two soft, warm pillows. Instinctively, he looked up, Shermie's skirt was slit high on both sides, like fishnet stockings, letting in plenty of light, so…
'Hmm. Purple.'
And her scent, sweet and intoxicating, filled his nose…
[T/N: I have released a new novels set on Type-Moon universe: "Playboy Watchman of Camelot". Search it by name, it is not in this account. Do give it a try. Have a great read~ I have also pinned it below.]
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