Chapter 250: Chapter 249:”20%.”
"Haa... Haa... Haa.." my breath came out strained, a heavy wave of exhaustion washing through my entire body, as I lay stiff, the feeling of softness underneath my head, and the soft hands that were quietly brushing through my hair calming me down significantly..
I didn’t need to look to know who it was.
Finally able to breathe normally, with the little bit of strength I’d gained,
"What.. what happened?" I asked, head still spinning, mind foggy from the last few moments.
All I could remember were the final words the old man had spoken, "Fourth form.. Massacre"
"Well, little Dante, you were kind of, umm, dead back there." The voice of the old Tian drifted into my ears as I finally sat up, steadying myself.
"Yea, I kind of figured that part out the moment everything went pitch black... ughh." I groaned, rubbing my temples, trying to get rid of the last vestiges of a creeping headache.
"Hahahahahahaha!! That’s right, but damn! Boy! Your survivability is impossible, how the hell do you even do that?" His disbelief was clear.
"When you look this good, even reality starts believing it’s a crime to let you die, heh!"
"Humble aren’t we?"
"What can I say? I’m too humble for my own good."
We both stared at each other for a few seconds and then,
""BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"" We burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"Well this is weird." Dakota’s voice stoped is dead in our laughter.
"Hmm? What do you mean, Aunt K?" I asked, looking at the beautiful vampire.
"I mean, isn’t this the point where the incredible genius falls into depression after being shown that he isn’t yet the hot stuff he believes himself to be? Leading to him needing some coddling and comforting?"
"Depressed?" I muttered, looking down at my hands, clenching them a few times as a smile appeared on my face.
"Aunt K, that was the most exciting fight I’ve ever had. There’s nothing to be depressed about," my grin widened, "I just got a glimpse of what the Top looks like, now I have a clear target and that, my beautiful Aunt, is something worth being happy about."
"Rightly spoken young man! Take defeat with grace!" The large Dragon clapped me on my back, hard.
"Pooh... so you don’t want me to coddle you?" Aunt K suddenly pouted, and the moment I saw that expression?
"Ahh, so sad, I hate my life, I couldn’t even beat an old man, life has no meaning, I just want to die, so much for being the chosen one, the so called main character." My expression did a complete 180-turning sad and depressed..
Next thing I knew, my face was squished between two soft and large peaks, the scent of roses washing over me..
"There there, my Dante doesn’t need to worry, it’s just a minor bump in the road, everyone goes through it, you’ll get him next time."
"Yesh... you’re absholutely right..." my words came out jumbled as I tried to speak through the suffocating softness, drifting between consciousness and a very strong feeling of drowsiness...
"Pathetic." I could hear the old dragon’s disdainful voice but I could care less for the opinion of a single old fart.
Not even the death stare I could feel boring through my back cold make me give up this current position of mine.
....
..
After being coddled and suffocated enough by ample bosoms, I finally, very, VERY, reluctantly left her embrace.
"Where’s that old fart anyway?" I finally asked,
"Humph!" Aunt K huffed.
"The poor guy is over there..pff."old Tian pointed out, trying to stifle his laughter.
I was confused until I looked in the direction he pointed and then,
"Pfft..." I covered my mouth, trying hard to stop myself from laughing..
There, sitting cross legged, eyes closed in meditation, was the old man, his figure serene and calm, only, his entire look was ruined by the swollen, bursted lip he was spotting, his panda eyes, the ones that had healed up during our fight having returned, these ones even more swollen than the last ones, so much so that I couldn’t tell if he was purposely closing his eyes or if they’d been punched shut.
"It seems you’re finally done getting coddled.."
He tried to speak in that indifferent voice of his but,
"Pfft... old man.. please don’t speak.. you’ll mark it worse." It wasn’t working, the panda eyes, the bursted lips, the swollen cheeks.
I looked at Dakota and Aunt V, both women looking calm and indifferent.
Then I looked at the old man.
The sharp contrast was enough.
"Bahahahahahahahahahahaha...." I laughed.
"Pfftt...hahahahhahahaha..." old Tian laughed...
"Stop.. little Dante... stop laughing."
"I.. I can’t.. he looks... he looks so... so depressed... Gahahahahaha..." I was rolling.
One look at both of us and people wouldn’t believe I was the one that had lost that spar, not with the old man looking like he’d run into the bully that always stole his lunch money before beating him up.
"Bahahahahahaha... that’s what he gets for bullying kids..."
.....
..
"Are you done?"
"Haa.. Haa.. old man, you really need to learn how to stand up for yourself more. Say no to bullying." I cheered.
"This little.." I could see his swollen face visibly twitch.
"Haa... forget it. Now tell me." The moment he said that, my laughter ceased, my mood turning somber, "how’d you like the spar."
"I just have one question, old man." I didn’t answer directly.
"What is it?"
"How much of your true strength did you use in that fight? And don’t bullshit me."
....
..
There was a moment of silence before the old man finally answered,
"About 20%..."
....
I just stared at him.
The revelation hitting me harder than I thought.
20%.
That’s all I had been struggling against all this while?
With all I had dished out? Sure, there was more, but what good would that have done? Increase it to 25%?
"Heh! No wonder aunt k was talking about falling into depression earlier, that’s...." I couldn’t finish my words as they were too heavy...
"Hoooo.... Haaaaaa..." I breathed.
"Alright."
20%. I’d just seen what 20% of someone sitting at the very top looked like.
Now, I had a clear goal.
Surpass the me that had fought today, and I surpass 20% of whatever is sitting at the top of this world.
"Alright." I said once more, before looking at the old man, a smile finally gracing my face.
"I lost this one, old man, but next time, I’ll make sure you use 100%, if I don’t, then I’m not Dante motherfucking Draven." I vowed, not answering whatever questions he had about how I felt about the fight.
He just looked at me, then smiled, a proud expression on his face.
"Good! I expect nothing less."
"Alright then, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving, I need to rest, and looking at your face is giving me anxiety." I stood up, stretched, then made my way out.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Dakota’s figure materialized beside me, my arm being claimed, yet before I could say a word, the other side was instantly taken by aunt v.
So, I walked out proudly, two beauties by my side.
I had lost, but damn do I feel like I’d won the whole damn lottery..
.....
....
"Blerghhhh....." the moment Dante and the women’s figures were out of view, Valen’s face paled as he coughed up a mouthful of blood that writhed, then visibly unraveled into atoms and particles.
"Heh! Never thought I’d see the day when you, Valen, would be forced to lie."
Tian’s voice sounded out as he looked at his friend’s pale expression.
"Heh!"
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A/N: I knew it! That 20% tall was pure bullshit, this old man be shitting on my boy.
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Thanks for reading...
