Quinn fitted his hands into the boxing gloves.
He took one deep breath. And waited for the old man to tell him what to do.
Silas simply instructed,
"Charge. And be careful with your head. That's all you have to do."
Quinn didn't seem to believe it was that easy.
It did look that easy.
He furrowed his brows.
"What about you?"
Silas snickered again. Curse his guts.
"Told you I'd block. But if things go the—"
But Quinn cut in, his voice cascading through the basement,
"I will simply do as you said! Nothing else matters."
His eyes… They looked dead serious just now. He pressed his lips flat.
This sudden boldness lightly baffled Silas. Then, he smirked.
"Well, boy, it seems you must have been dying to punch me in the face…"
Yeah, so much! Why didn't he just become a seer if he was this good at guessing?
Quinn tightened his fists.
"Are we ready for this?!" Now, he was sounding like the leader here.
"Yes, yes, come on."
Quinn sprinted towards him immediately.
Maybe because no weapons were involved. Or that no one would use any special abilities.
Maybe even for the insane privilege he had of being the only one allowed to punch.
But suddenly, Quinn started feeling so confident in his own skin. As if he could finally land a punch on Silas.
The man just stood motionless. And that fucking audacity only pushed Quinn faster. He must break him in a way.
Silas sighed.
'A fire born after all.'
And so, Quinn closed in.
Even now, Silas hardly gave a reaction.
When Quinn aimed a punch towards his shoulder, he simply pushed his arm aside. And as though he were a damned paper, Quinn's body slipped aside.
Even a paper couldn't be so easy to discard!
Quinn almost fell.
Silas smiled with his eyes.
"Come again. This time, with more of that fury."
More fury?
Wait, he was raging the whole time? Quinn took a moment and gazed at his palms. That's right.
His mind was occupied with a sudden grudge against Silas the time he attacked. What he sensed was never confidence; it was fury.
But…
Silas answered before he even asked,
"Don't be afraid. Without it, you're just another mortal. Not a metahuman."
Quinn slowly rose.
"But, why?"
Silas wrapped his hands behind his back.
"It's because of your road of rebirth, boy. That's why all of you guys reborn by the fire act impulsively, doing things out of… PURE RAGE. But don't get me wrong, as this is the only way for you to perform awesomely. Feel the heat burn in your chest, and fuse that searing pain with your attacks. Struggling to understand this, eh?"
Quinn's brows knitted together in an instant. And he groaned,
"As if."
Then, he charged forward.
Silas grinned.
"Yeah, that's it. Feel the heat. It's painful, isn't it?"
Mid-step, Quinn's chest scorched with a burning temperature. He yelled in agony,
"Stop whining about your nonsense!"
His fist travelled towards Silas's face.
That was coming much faster than earlier. A small improvement, eh?
But first, he seized Quinn's wrist. And lightly hit the centre of his chest.
Lightly… But, God damn it.
'Crap!' Quinn's mind raced, his body dropping downwards.
In a nanosecond, his back hit the ground.
He had thought he probably would break a bone when he fell. But, fortunately, the ground was soft bedding.
A big shout-out to whoever made this, right?
Quinn sighed. And turned his gaze forward when a shadow walked closer.
Above him, Silas was standing, extending his hand downwards. Quinn grabbed it and got off the floor.
"Eh, broke a bone?" Silas joked.
Quinn took a deep breath, restraining his own guts.
The man chuckled that off.
"So, ask questions. What are you interested in knowing?"
Quinn rubbed his chin.
"First, why did you lie?"
Silas raised his brows.
"About what?"
Quinn opened his mouth to talk. But Silas cut in,
"Why I hit you when I promised I wouldn't? You're just the type to ask that, I know."
Quinn almost softened up and smiled. But he kept a straight face.
Because that, right there, was dishonesty its finest.
"Yes, why?"
Silas quoted from his recent statement,
"Told you I'd block. But if things go the other way, I'll take measures."
It clicked in Quinn's head.
He sighed.
"That's fair."
"So, back to business, what are you curious about?"
… Quinn swallowed.
There is one thing he needs to know.
He clenched his fist tightly.
Much tighter.
Then, he requested,
"Tell me about the Spirits. What are they?"
If his title was a Spirit Hunter, he should at least know about those he's up against.
Silas chuckled.
"Well, I saw that coming. You're actually not dumb, even if the word is written all over your face."
Was that supposed to be a compliment?
"Okay, listen carefully… This is going to be very brief."
"… But be mindful about what choice you make. Because once you hear this, you'll never see the world the same way again."
But Quinn didn't even blink. Didn't waver. He knitted his brows as he boldly demanded,
"Say it."