The fireball was only a few inches away from Acht's face but he didn't freak out. He just calmly looked down and pulled the dead man he was standing on.
*Boom*
A loud explosion shook the whole house. The impact was strong as it made Acht retreat a few feet. But, he was totally unscathed. He used the body of the dead man as a shield to protect himself from fire. The body was caught ablaze and soon the skin turned charcoal black.
The nauseous smell of burned skin and cooked organs invaded the leader's nostrils and made him frown while barely holding the urge to vomit. He wasn't accustomed to this kind of gore.
"Monster." He only uttered one word as he gazed at Acht. Forget about a kid, he never saw someone, whether an adult or not, who could kill with such a cold heart and even use his victims as meat shields. Such a level of ruthlessness was a foreign thing for the leader.
"I heard that quite a lot." Answered Acht briefly. He was not showing it but his mind was racing in all directions. He was aware of this possibility but it was still slightly surprising for him to see that in action.
'He used fire just now so he is an awakener. Very convenient. I should catch him and interrogate him.' He thought as he cracked his neck. He felt his body ache slightly after the fight since even with his soul force enhancing his muscles he was still very slim and weak.
"Shit!" The leader cursed under his breath. He was in a very disadvantageous position now that all of his subordinates died miserably. He was not good when it came to close combat and the only thing he had going for him was his affinity with fire.
'I can only try to create an opening and escape. Fuck! I never knew I would have to run away from a mere kid one day!' He felt the disgrace but that would not alter his choice. He loved his life way too much for him to be blinded by pride and end up dead.
A few seconds passed with no one moving. Acht didn't attack him instantly because he wanted to gauge his power and see how it fully works. As for the man, he was trying to find a way to run. It was a face-off between a natural predator and a tenacious prey.
*Swish*
Suddenly, the man-made a move, he picked up a wooden table beside him and threw it at Acht. He then instantly started muttering incomprehensible words.
Acht simply jumped to the side and evaded the table quite easily. He just barely landed only to see that the man was nearly over with his chanting and a fireball was already made.
The fireball was thrown at Acht the same way as before.
"It won't work twice. Not that it worked the first time, anyway." Spoke Acht as he bent down and grabbed the knife. He then jumped in the air leaving the fireball under him and threw the knife at the leader.
The moment he sent that attack he started running away. Every second was precious for him and so he didn't even dare to look back and see if he hit Acht or not.
The knife flew like an arrow and plunged into his right leg.
"AAARGHH!!" The man screamed loudly and fell down to the ground rolling left and right.
"You're quite stupid for a leader, I might say. This was your best attempt at running away? Even a child could've probably found a better way to escape." Said Acht with a snort of disdain.
However, his words fell on deaf ears. The pain the man felt from his leg was unbearable to the point where all of his senses got blocked and he fainted on the spot.
"Sigh, what a waste of my time."
He then grabbed the man and tied him with a rope and left him sleeping in the library. His injury wasn't deep so his life was not threatened.
Acht then left to shower. The bloody corridor he left behind was akin to a picture from the deepest part of hell. The dead corps of people with bent heads and bullets in their skulls turned this rather beautiful house into a butchery.
'I should leave this place after getting what I need.' he thought as he imagined how horrible the smell would be after a few days. Even his trained nose will not be able to ignore that smell.
Acht then went and took a shower, then he rested for some time before doing some light training. His body needed to be rebuilt with care. He didn't want to only rely on soul force to become physically stronger; normal training was a necessity for Acht.
Hours silently passed and when it was nearing the sunset, the unconscious leader woke up. He was still in pain but he was able to not cry like a baby.
"You finally woke up." Spoke Acht who was sitting at the desk reading a book.
"What do you want from me?!" Yelled the poor man with a horrified look. He saw what this kid did to his subordinates so he was scared to know what the kid wanted from him.
"Sigh, could you stop screaming for a second, I could hear you properly." Acht closed the book and gazed directly at the man.
He then took a deep breath and spoke with a cold gaze.
"I only need one thing from you: information. If you answer every single question I have then I will spare your life."
"W-What?"
"My words are clear and I won't repeat myself. It's your choice whether you want to live or not."
"Yes! I will answer! I will answer." The man almost jumped on Acht to beg him.
"Good. My first question: what kind of affinity do you have?" Asked the boy.
"My main element is fire." He answered hurriedly.
Acht took note of every subtle information the man gave out unconsciously. He was building up a rough image of how affinities work and he only needed a few more key pieces of information for it to be complete.
"Then, how did you gain the ability to use your fire element?"
"When anyone registers in the hunter association, they appraise his affinities and unlock it. As far as I know, they are one of only two places where you could unlock your affinities."
'hunter association? I remember that name from the book.' Acht pondered quietly.
"I see. My last question: where is the hunter association?"
"They have a branch in bluerise city. It's on the main road. As for the main headquarters, I don't have any idea because I never passed the exam to become a hunter." Said the man with a strained smile.
'What a sad piece of trash.' he shook his head in pity for the man.
"Fine, you're free to go. Consider this as a magnificent gift from me and be grateful."
"Yes! Thank you so much!" The man bowed down with a huge smile of relief plastered on his face.
He couldn't believe he was able to get out of the grasp of this monster alive.
Acht then released him and kicked him out of the house. He didn't like the idea of releasing that annoying piece of shit but he made a word and he was never someone to break his word.
Then, the boy sat down on the roof of the house to watch the sunset. He wanted to take a break that night and only gaze at the sky and appreciate the beauty of this world.
"The hunter association, huh. I guess my next destination is clear now." He smiled while gazing at the beautiful sun disappearing behind the horizon leaving behind nothing but darkness.
His mind calmed down and soon, memories of his past life came flooding into his head.
He may have found this world way more interesting than earth, but that didn't mean he didn't have regrets after his death.
"I hope she's ok." He muttered with a nostalgic look in his eyes. His mind was filled with the silhouette of a woman who was smiling at him with affectionate eyes. She was the only thing he considered important in his life and so he felt extremely sad to leave her behind.
"There is no saving it. My only choice is to become stronger and find a way to return to my old world if it existed."
Looking at his small and frail hands, his resolve to become stronger quickly increased exponentially by the second.
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