Ralph lunged forward at Eugene, charging at full speed. He clenched his fist, the veins on his hands clearly visible.
As he threw his punch, Eugene rotated his entire body to the left, narrowly evading the attack.
In one swift motion, Eugene grabbed Ralph's left wrist and spun rapidly, yanking him with tremendous force and sending him flying a distance of nearly ten steps.
The moment Ralph's feet touched the ground, he rushed forward again, throwing a punch identical to the first.
But Eugene simply caught his fist with the palm of his hand.
Maintaining the same mocking tone, Eugene said,
"So this is all you've got? … You've disappointed me."
He then pulled Ralph toward him and delivered a powerful punch to his face, strong enough to make his nose bleed.
Ralph felt dizzy. He wasn't used to taking heavy punches, but Eugene didn't give him a moment to recover or regain his balance.
Eugene struck him again with his left fist, sending blood spraying, followed by another punch with his right, and then yet another.
Smack. Smack. Smack.
A flurry of rapid punches, each one causing Ralph's face to bleed more and more.
Boom.
Ralph finally collapsed, his nose bleeding and one eye swollen purple.
"Heh, looks like your money can't save you now, spoiled brat."
Eugene turned toward the box in front of him. As he walked, he suddenly felt a wave of heat from behind.
He quickly dashed to the right, narrowly avoiding a black creature with a white stripe along its side and fangs nearly a meter long.
The beast didn't give Eugene time to think and lunged again.
Eugene dodged once more.
Crack.
But Ralph suddenly struck Eugene with another punch, sending him flying through the air and crashing into a tree.
"You bastard! You're using your Mark even though it's forbidden!"
Ralph didn't care about Eugene's words. He summoned four creatures identical to the first, and they began to surround him.
"Hahaha, what's wrong? Feeling scared, orphaned villager?" Ralph laughed, his voice filled with arrogance and insult.
Veins bulged on Eugene's face, but he took a deep breath and stood up again.
"This bastard is using his Mark. If he's using his Mark, why shouldn't I do the same?"
Eugene extended his arms forward, fists clenched and steady, one foot slightly pulled back.
"So you're cowardly enough to use your Mark."
Eugene's gaze was sharp as a blade as it locked with Ralph's.
For a moment, silence fell, the wind brushing through both of their hair.
Boom.
Eugene burst forward at incredible speed—too fast for Ralph to even register.
The grotesque creatures attacked him, but Eugene planted his right foot firmly, using it as a pivot to spin past Ralph and evade the beasts.
He then planted his left foot and lunged forward, throwing a punch.
Crack.
At the last moment, Ralph raised his arm as a shield. It turned intensely red and nearly went numb.
Crunch.
Eugene's eyes widened for a moment as he felt his left foot disappear.
He looked down quickly, only to realize he could neither see nor feel his right foot.
Eugene flipped backward repeatedly, relying on his left leg for support, retreating more than fifteen steps.
His back slammed against a tree, and he looked down at his leg.
"Why can't I see my foot? Why can't I feel it? And why is there no blood?"
Questions stormed through Eugene's mind.
Near Ralph, one of the beasts appeared, gripping a blue holographic image of Eugene's foot between its fangs.
"Hahaha, what's wrong? Need help? Beg me, and maybe—just maybe—I'll forgive you."
Eugene looked at Ralph, rapidly assessing the situation in his mind.
"Five fast, strange beasts. It seems they can devour the soul of a specific body part. My foot is probably still there, but I can't see or feel it—as if it doesn't exist."
"Hurry up. I have more important things to do, like checking what's inside that box."
Ralph turned his head toward the box for a moment, then looked back at Eugene.
Boom.
A gray fog spread across the area.
"Huh… what is this…?"
Ralph was suddenly struck hard in the back.
The impact sent him stumbling forward. "Hey—! Where did he go?!"
Eugene vanished from Ralph's sight. The fog spread again.
"Attack him wherever he is!"
The beasts moved erratically around the area.
One of them suddenly lunged toward Eugene, who had already positioned himself behind Ralph.
Eugene ignored it, leaping into the air in a rapid spiral jump, evading the creature.
Ralph's foot suddenly appeared in front of Eugene and struck him, sending him flying toward a tree—but the moment he collided with it, Eugene evaporated as if he had never been there.
"What kind of strange power is this?!"
Crack.
Another punch landed on Ralph's face, causing him to lose balance.
The five beasts rushed toward Eugene, but every time one got close, Eugene vanished and reappeared elsewhere.
It was as if he had become part of the fog itself—dissolving and reforming at will.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Every attempt by the beasts failed, and with each failure, Eugene drew closer to Ralph.
When Eugene finally reached him, Ralph raised a handgun.
Eugene's eyes widened. "A gun? Is he trying to kill me? Has he completely lost his mind?!"
Bang!
The bullet fired, but Eugene dodged it at the last moment and vanished again.
"What's wrong, monkey? Why are you running away? Hahaha!"
Ralph had gone mad. He was using a silenced gun, which is why no one nearby heard the shots.
Eugene didn't stay hidden for long. The fog spread again, and this time his silhouette appeared in its center.
"There! I see him—attack!"
All the beasts charged at once.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
They bit down repeatedly—on Eugene.
A shadow emerged from the fog behind Ralph. When Ralph noticed it from the corner of his eye, he saw Eugene stepping out of the mist.
"W–wait… what's going on?"
He glanced quickly at the beasts and realized they had attacked a large rock instead of Eugene.
Only then did Ralph understand—it had all been a decoy.
Boom.
A devastating punch slammed into Ralph's stomach, sending him flying backward. When he crashed into a tree, he vomited everything he had eaten that day.
He looked up at Eugene, his eyes teary and bloodshot. When he noticed Eugene's leg, his eyes widened in shock.
Eugene had shaped the fog into a small whirlwind around his foot. The force of the rotating wind lifted the foot he couldn't feel a few centimeters off the ground, allowing him to move—as if he had replaced it with a small floating wheel.
"What's wrong? Where did your arrogance go?"
Boom.
Eugene's nose bled slightly.
"In the end, my body still isn't fully accustomed to this ability."
Ralph stood up again, his nose swollen, saliva dripping from his lips, trembling from overusing his power.
"I punched him so many times… slammed him into trees more than once… how… how is he still standing as if nothing happened?!"
"You're wondering how I'm still standing? Simple. I was raised in a village high in the mountains.
Strong winds, falling rocks, brawls between houses—things you, who grew up surrounded by palaces and servants, would never experience. On top of that, martial arts and endurance training were truly effective."
Ralph didn't waste time and attacked again—with the beasts and the gun.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Three rapid shots aimed at Eugene.
"Relax. Let your body flow like water. Feel the air around you. Don't think about anything."
Eugene closed his eyes, breathing deeply, his breaths steady and perfectly controlled.
Boom.
Eugene vanished, dodging both the bullets and the beasts.
He then leapt upward, planting his feet on a tree branch.
"If you had trained seriously during Master Roger's lectures, your aim would be better."
Eugene cocked his arm back fully as fog coiled around it, gathering in his palm.
He thrust his hand toward Ralph, releasing a mass of fog that struck his face.
"Ah—my eyes!"
The attack caused Ralph to lose focus and balance for a moment. In that instant, Eugene charged forward.
"You really are a spoiled brat."
Boom. Boom. Boom.
A flurry of fast, powerful punches rained down on Ralph's face from left and right.
Blood droplets splattered, staining Eugene's hand slightly.
The punches were so fast and strong that Ralph lost consciousness.
Eugene pulled his arm fully back, preparing to deliver the final punch—but another hand grabbed his wrist. It was massive and rough.
Eugene glanced sideways and saw Thor, the leader of the Border Guardians.
"That's enough. Stop."
The deep, heavy voice sent chills through Eugene.
After Ralph lost consciousness, the beasts vanished, and Eugene could once again see and feel his foot.
"I don't know the reason for the fight," Thor said, "but I must commend you. You used that fog skill brilliantly."
Eugene lowered his head slightly and replied respectfully,
"Thank you for the praise, but it wasn't something worthy of it."
"Eugene… ah—what is going on here?!"
Melsia stood there in shock. Blood was everywhere. Trees bore marks of impact, and bullets were embedded in their trunks.
Her eyes widened, and veins appeared on her forehead.
"What did you do?!"
Eugene felt a trace of fear. Clearly, he looked like the one who had started the fight, especially compared to Ralph's miserable state.
Before she could say more, Thor spoke:
"Please excuse this, Miss Melsia, but Ralph started the fight. Eugene was only defending himself. The conflict began because of that box."
He pointed toward the box containing the egg.
Melsia looked at Eugene, then Ralph, then the egg.
"R–really? … But Ralph—"
"Ralph was simply reckless and weak compared to Eugene, whether in Mark usage or physical strength. As for the minor damage, I will take responsibility for repairing it."
Melsia gestured toward Thor, her voice tense and surprised.
"But if Ralph started the fight, shouldn't he be the one to fix the damage?"
Thor ran a hand through his hair, glancing at Ralph and Eugene.
"In theory, yes. He started it, so he should fix it. But… I was present, enjoying the garden, when I saw Eugene chasing Ralph…
Technically, if I had intervened instead of observing, this damage wouldn't have happened. I'll take responsibility—repair the damage, treat Ralph's injuries, and end this matter before it grows into a bigger problem for this boy."
Eugene walked over to the box and picked it up.
"Thank you, Sir Thor."
"Commander Thor, not Sir Thor."
"Sorry, Commander Thor," Eugene muttered inwardly.
"Sir or Commander—why complicate things? You're still Thor."
Eugene and Melsia headed inside, Melsia scolding Eugene for what he had done to Ralph, as it seemed excessive to her.
As they disappeared indoors—
"That boy isn't just smart… he's strong too."
A voice came from beside Thor. It belonged to a tall man wearing loose clothing marked with a symbol of a droplet inside a mechanical shield. He wore glasses, had long black hair tied back, green eyes, and long gloves.
Thor lifted Ralph with his left hand—the size difference between them was immense.
"You're right…"
To be continued.
End of Chapter.