Chapter 56: The Real Power Of "God Bound"
"Kevin Reid? I didn’t expect an S‑Rank to be here."
Ronan said, opting to swap his conspicuous white mask for a plain black face mask. Still odd, but now more edgy than criminal.
"You supposed to be her husband?"
Kevin looked Ronan up and down, clearly unimpressed. Ronan couldn’t blame him; he had known of him long before he even entered Tartarus‑B.
The youngest S‑Rank prodigy. Although, in Ronan’s eyes, Kevin was seriously overestimating himself.
"Yeah. I just came to pick her up, along with Anastasia here."
Kevin raised a brow.
"What? Are you her caretaker or something?"
"Something like that."
Kevin chuckled at the reply, crossing his arms.
"Fine, you can have your girl back. But Anna? I’ve got business with her."
He shifted his arm slightly, and Sarael didn’t waste a second. She rushed to Ronan and wrapped him in a tight hug.
"Is this true?" Ronan asked, looking at Anastasia.
Her expression was a chaotic mix of emotions, like she had no idea what choice to make.
"Stay with me," Kevin whispered to Anastasia, "or I’ll spill the real reason your father retired from the association."
"Y-You bastard...!"
Rage flared across her face, only to die just as quickly when the weight of his threat sank in.
"...Yeah, we both have business," she said.
Ronan raised a brow, clearly not buying it. Her tone was anything but consenting. But he also wasn’t stupid enough to openly challenge a popular S‑Rank in the middle of a mall.
They were already drawing plenty of stares.
"Sarael, take us somewhere private," Ronan whispered to Sarael.
Kevin scowled, his S‑Rank senses picking up every word.
"The hell are you—"
FWOOSH!
✧ ✦ ✧
All four of them landed in the most secluded spot Sarael could find, and the moment they materialized, Ronan made the first move.
Before Kevin could even process what had happened, still reeling from the disorienting teleportation, Ronan had already driven a powerful haymaker straight into his chest.
CRACK!
Kevin’s ribs shattered on impact, the sound swallowed immediately by the thunder of his body blasting through the concrete wall and the sound of the upper floor crashing down on top of him.
BOOM!
"Will you look at that? My strength can actually scratch an S-Rank."
"What did you do that for!?"
Anastasia immediately panicked, horrified that her new tutor had kidnapped an S-Rank and sent him flying into a random building.
"Giving him what he deserves?"
"I won’t argue with that! But how are you supposed to deal with this socially and legally!?"
Ronan smiled and showed her a small vine sprouting from his ear, a clear sign of her father’s magic.
"When your father asked me to bring you both home, he planted this so he could watch without catching anyone’s attention by coming himself."
He shrugged.
"And when he saw Kevin and heard the threat, he ordered me to handle it."
"And you listened!?"
"Client’s orders. Plus, he said he’d deal with the legal repercussions."
"You!"
Kevin’s voice echoed from the building as he emerged, clothes tattered and blood dripping from his mouth.
"The hell do you think you are!?"
Ronan grinned and cracked his knuckles.
"Stay here, let me finish him off. Sarael, make sure she doesn’t get hurt."
"Got it!"
This was his first time fighting an S-Rank, and seeing his fist actually do damage put him in a more than good enough mood for manslaughter. Right now, Ronan was in an experimental mindset, testing his strength against an enemy who could actually take it.
After surviving Tartarus-B and already taking a life, this was nothing.
"Don’t kill him. Just beat him to the edge of death, and we’ll decide what to do from there," John muttered through the vine.
"Got it, boss. Or I guess... grandfather."
Kevin pulled himself out of the rubble with a snarl, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. His golden eyes blazed with fury, the casual arrogance from the mall completely gone.
Now he just looked like a man who’d been humiliated and wanted payback.
"You’re dead," he spat. "You hear me? Dead. I don’t care who you are or who hired you."
Ronan didn’t bother responding. He just rolled his shoulders and waited.
Kevin moved first. A blade of golden light materialized in his hand, and he closed the distance in a flash, his sword arcing toward Ronan’s neck.
CLANG!
The blade stopped dead against Ronan’s forearm. Sparks flew, but his skin didn’t even break.
"What the—"
"Maybe I’ve been selling myself short... I guess the base stats from my class were worth more than I thought."
Ronan muttered before his fist buried itself in Kevin’s stomach before he could finish. The S-Rank folded around the blow like paper, spit flying from his mouth, and Ronan followed up with an uppercut that lifted him off his feet and sent him crashing back into the rubble.
"Come on," Ronan said. "You’re an S-Rank. Act like it."
Kevin screamed and launched himself forward again. His blade moved faster now, a flurry of golden arcs that would have carved through most hunters in seconds.
But Ronan had already fought monsters faster and stronger than that.
He sidestepped one slash, ducked under another, then caught Kevin’s wrist mid-swing and squeezed until he felt bones grind together.
The sword of light flickered and died. Kevin’s face went pale.
"Y’know, I think you’re the type to abuse porters in the future."
Ronan said.
"And the thought alone kind of makes me annoyed..."
Kevin’s response was a wild kick aimed at Ronan’s knee. It connected, but Ronan didn’t even budge. He just sighed and headbutted Kevin square in the nose.
CRACK!
Kevin stumbled backward, blood streaming down his face, his legs shaking.
Anastasia watched from the sidelines with her mouth hanging open. Beside her, Sarael stood with her arms crossed, looking profoundly satisfied.
"He’s definitely going to kill him..."
Anastasia whispered.
"No," Sarael said. "He would have done so by now."
"...You’re way too casual about this."
Sarael looked at her like she’d just said that water was wet.
"Well, it’s nothing out of the ordinary from him."
"You talk like an S-Rank..."
Kevin had stopped attacking. He was on one knee now, breathing ragged, one arm hanging limp at his side. The golden light that usually surrounded him had faded to a faint shimmer.
"Had enough?" Ronan asked.
"Y-You... you have to be an underground S-rank. How much did Anna’s father pay you to—"
DING!
A bell-like chime rang out beside Ronan, and John materialized in a flurry of petals, disappointment and contempt etched across his face.
"You shouldn’t have stuck your nose into business that wasn’t yours, kid."
"You sound like a villain..." Ronan muttered.
"I’m already dealing with people from your business, so maybe I am. Who knows." John let out a low laugh.
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