CHAPTER 43: A MAN DEFEATED AND LAUGHED.

Bash!

The glass bottle shattered after smashing right against Ash’s head.

Silence settled for a while, along with a shocked look on Terra’s face, in contrast to the angry look Aisha had on.

She had her hand on the hilt of her blade, ready to launch into an attack at a moment’s notice.

"Haahah! I can’t believe he actually tanked that. Is this dude made of metal or something?! Hahah!" one of the men laughed, pointing at Ash.

The fact that Ash only looked to the side after the bottle was smashed against his head gave the boss the impression he must have done some damage.

A grin was etched on the boss’s face, right before he turned to look at Terra.

"Ah, Terra darling, there you are. And here I thought you ran from us." He picked up on Aisha. "Oh, and you have a guest over. A sexy elf one at that. So this dumbass was not the only one you had over. What’s happening? Is business finally moving forward?"

Terra scowled hard, unable to say anything due to the circumstances of the situation.

If anything, it would be in her best interest if she were to keep quiet.

Although, that didn’t apply to Aisha.

"You bastard. How dare you lay your hand on my master? Do you wish to die?" she uttered with a cold voice, sending death stares directly at the boss.

The boss was a bit spooked, noticing that he was somewhat afraid, even though he didn’t know why.

He quickly caught himself.

"Huh? An elf talking back to a human? That’s not something you see every day—"

Before he could fully complete his words, he heard a bashing sound echo from right behind him, which was then followed by a scream from one of the guys.

Upon turning around to check what had happened, the boss was left speechless at the sight before him.

There, on the ground, was one of his men, screaming at the top of his voice, blood seeping from his severed hand.

The severed arm that Ash just so happened to be holding.

With his eyes holding a purple glow, Ash threw the man’s arm to the ground.

The painful screams echoed in the background as he slowly faced the boss.

The remaining two were already shivering in fear, taking slow steps back.

"W-what the hell happened here?! Huh?!" the boss shouted, clearly confused as to how one of his men was suddenly one arm less, especially since Ash didn’t seem to be holding anything sharp at the moment.

One of the men was brave enough to reply, though his voice was extremely shaky.

"We don’t know either. H-he just moved his hand, and Stephen fell to the ground screaming. This man is not normal. He ripped Stephen’s arm off before any of us even knew what was happening."

"What?"

The boss looked at Ash.

He couldn’t believe it, even though it was playing out right in front of him.

Stephen was a scout class, meaning it was almost impossible to sneak up on him, and yet—

"Are you messing with me or something? Perhaps you don’t know who I am," the boss uttered, clenching his fist as red mana slowly enveloped both his arms.

Ash only smirked, urging the boss to make any type of move.

"Screw you."

The boss didn’t hesitate to charge forward, his fist clenched as he moved, aiming to punch Ash right in the gut.

In his mind, he figured just a single punch would be enough to knock Ash out, since no one had ever survived a hit before.

It was how he was able to make a name for himself in Othland.

Little did he know, he was right up against someone quite different from what he was used to.

Just when he wanted to land the hit on Ash’s guts, the cape stepped in, absorbing the impact of the punch, which sent the boss stumbling backward.

Shock was etched on his face as he tried to grasp what had just happened.

Unfortunately for him, Ash wasn’t planning to waste that time.

Ash surged forward this time, grabbing the boss by the arm with one hand while his other palm covered the man’s entire face.

Then, with a slight grunt, he slammed his head into the ground.

Upon collision, the ground cracked in a spider-web pattern, leaving a large crater right where the boss lay, his eyes turned white as he passed out.

The others who saw this knew they didn’t stand a chance if they were to go up against Ash, so they made a break for it, leaving both of their partners unconscious in the inn.

Pa! Pa! Pa!

Terra began clapping from the back, a loud laugh leaving her mouth at the same time.

"No way this just happened, hahahah! No one is going to believe this, Aisha. Your master... hahaha... your master just knocked out a member of the White Rivel gang. Oh my god, hahahah! This is killing me!"

She laughed so much that she could barely stand on her two feet.

While Aisha chuckled nervously, Ash looked at Terra.

"Next time, keep your guests in check. No wonder you don’t have any customers here," he said, gently standing to his feet.

Terra’s laugh died down slowly.

"I never had customers to begin with. This place was meant to be for the gang members, anyway. This was where they came to hide when they were being hunted. I am simply just the guide of this place."

"..."

"Let’s go, Aisha."

Ash began heading for the door.

"Waittttt! Don’t gooo!!!" Terra sped towards him, grabbing him by the arm while kneeling on the ground, tears hanging in her eyes.

"Please don’t go yet. I am sorry for being rude. My rooms are good, I swear. It’s just 30 eres per night, the cheapest you’ll ever see here."

"Let go of me. Why should I spend the night in a criminal’s hideout? You just want my money."

"Don’t be like that. I am so broke right now; I’ll take anything. I need to leave this goddamn city. I’ll pay with my body if you want!!! Don’t gooooo!"

Aisha covered her mouth, confused as to how she was supposed to respond.

Ash glared. "Go meet your criminal friends; that is none of my business." He pulled his arm away, only for her to grab his feet right after.

"I refused to work with them anymore unless they start paying me. That is why they came here today, to teach me a lesson or something like that."

Ash looked at the innocent look on her face, then he sighed.

....

[A/N]

I would have done a flashback of some sort to show further how much of a help Terra was to Aisha, but that can be introduced later in the story.

Revange on the way.