I stood there, dumbfounded, hearing the sentence Rachel had just said.
Rachel stayed silent, her head lowered, her teeth biting into her own lip. Her face was bright red like a tomato from embarrassment.
Did she really just reveal her masochistic fetish in the middle of a fight?
Bzzzzt!
A bolt of electricity burst out of the dog's mouth once again, charging rapidly toward me.
My reflexes moved fast as I pulled my bag forward to use it as a shield.
Instantly, my bag was burned by the electricity. I threw it far away, not wanting to be caught in the aftermath.
"What did you mean by that?!" I shouted, my eyes locked onto the electric dog.
"Ugh! I need that to activate my Hamartia!" Rachel shot back.
Bzzzzzzt!
The dog released another electric blast toward Rachel. I quickly yanked Rachel's uniform toward me and pulled her into an embrace.
"Can't you take care of yourself?!" I asked in disbelief at her recklessness.
The dog in front of us began to grow tired, its legs already trembling.
"You're being for real? Punch you? In the face?" I muttered in disbelief.
"Look, listen to me. I have a Hamartia ability that requires me to receive a physical attack from something, then multiply it several times over," Rachel explained, her eyes still locked on the dog.
"Geez! Why didn't you explain that first before asking me to punch your face? I thought you were a masochist or something."
"What kind of girl do you think I am?!"
I shot her a cynical glance.
A Heroine who falls in love easily with the Protagonist?
Bzzzzzt!
Oh, shit!
I yanked Rachel's clothes again, saving her once more from the dog's attack.
"I could've dodged that!"
"There's no time to argue. Right now, do I really need to punch your face?" I asked, my eyes scrutinizing Rachel's expression.
"Of course! Unless you want us to get burned alive together in the middle of the road like this."
I glanced to the side. The electric dog was slowly walking toward us, about ten meters away. Hot, exhausted breaths escaped from its mouth.
I looked back at Rachel.
"Look, are you sure about this? You should know, my strength stat has already reached Rank B."
Rachel's eyes widened, clearly shocked by my strength stat.
Yeah, that was understandable. The average strength for a rookie was only C– or C, while I was already at B. This was the result of my frustrating training from not having obtained a Hamartia yet.
"Then…" Rachel whispered. "You can slap me in the face."
Slap!
Without thinking twice, I slapped Rachel. Her face snapped to the side, her pupils shrinking in shock.
"Why—"
Slap!
I slapped her again.
Rachel clenched her teeth.
"You—!"
Slap!
The corner of my lips trembled slightly.
Slap!
Slap!
Slap!
Ha… hahaha… what the hell is this?
A strange sensation surged inside me, like electricity running through every cell in my body.
I tried to suppress my grin.
Is this the pleasure of revenge? This girl had been flirting shamelessly with Gabriel the Protagonist in class earlier, ignoring her surroundings, and she had mocked me too.
And now… she was helpless as I kept slapping her.
Pfftt! Haha—
Slap!
"Stop! STOP!" Rachel shouted angrily, tears pooling at the corners of her eyes.
I snapped back to my senses and looked down. Rachel's face, once white and smooth like milk, had turned completely red.
"You bastard!" Rachel yelled angrily.
Slap!
A slapping sound echoed, but this time, it wasn't Rachel who got hit.
It was me.
My eyes widened in shock as I looked at Rachel in disbelief.
There, Rachel lowered her head, both hands pressed to her chest.
And there was something strange I noticed.
Her mouth was open, releasing heavy, hot breaths.
I frowned.
Is she… really a masochist…?
"Hey, are you—" I raised my hand.
My hand was immediately swatted away by Rachel.
"Shut up."
She shifted her gaze away from me, then turned to face the electric dog.
Now, it was her back that I was looking at.
Was she angry? Or was she excited?
Rachel clenched her fists, then glanced back at me over her shoulder.
Her eyes were sharp, as if they were trying to pierce through me.
Haha… women really are more complex than anything else in this world, huh?
The electric dog in the distance was glowing brightly again, seemingly having recharged its energy.
Boom!
Thunder still rumbled in the distance as Rachel and the dog stared each other down.
Rachel then slammed her fists together, a confident grin forming on her face.
"Bring it on!" Rachel shouted.
I let out a small chuckle, uncertain whether Rachel could really handle that dog.
Growl.
The dog took its stance. So did Rachel.
The dog's white fur began to move wildly, electricity surrounding its body.
Bzzzzzt!
The dog suddenly lunged forward. My eyes widened when I saw how fast it moved, its body almost looking like a bolt of lightning itself.
I was about to shout for Rachel to dodge.
But Rachel remained still, smiling like someone who had already claimed victory.
When the dog got closer to Rachel, I noticed something else.
It was aiming for Rachel's leg! Did the dog realize that Rachel was planning to strike it with her hands?
"Got you," Rachel said, shattering my earlier assumption.
I saw Rachel's hair lift into the air, her blonde hair turning into a gleaming gold.
I watched as the dog tried to bite Rachel's leg, but Rachel had already pulled her leg back.
Preparing to kick.
"Hundredfold Rebuke!!" Rachel shouted as her kick connected with the dog's body.
BANG!
The dog's body looked like a boomerang for a brief moment before it finally exploded from Rachel's horrifyingly powerful kick.
There was no blood at all. Only electricity and gray smoke scattered everywhere.
I shielded my head from the aftermath of the dog's death.
Insane! What kind of ability was that?!
After a while, the gray smoke from the dog's destruction faded away.
Ahead of me, I saw Rachel kneeling while clutching her leg.
"Ugh! Fuck! It hurts!" Rachel groaned in pain.
I let out a light laugh when I saw her like that.
Ahhh… damn it. I really thought I was going to die today.
We managed to defeat the special monster, even though a monster like that should normally require two to three Hamartia users to defeat.
I walked toward Rachel, limping slightly myself.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Do you think so?!" Rachel grumbled, burying her face into her knees.
I ran a hand through my hair.
"Well… at least we managed to defeat that special monster."
Rachel continued to groan in pain.
I looked at her injuries, curious.
On her shin, there was a fairly severe burn wound, similar to the burns on my back and my clenched hand earlier.
Was it really that painful? To me, it felt pretty ordinary, just like being splashed with hot water.
Maybe this was the strength of Durability Rank B–.
Oh right. After defeating a special monster, there should be—
[Congratulations! You have defeated a lightning-type disaster monster!]
[For this outstanding achievement, you are entitled to receive a reward!]
I grinned, showing my teeth, my heart pounding violently.
Is it finally time for me to obtain my first Hamartia ability?!
[Reward Status:]
[Strength B → B+]
[Durability B– → B]
[Luck F– → F]
Seeing that, my expectations shattered completely.
I had been hoping to get a Hamartia.
Damn it! This has got to be because of this trash, cursed Luck stat!
I scratched my head while letting out a frustrated sigh.
"Why do you look so frustrated?" Rachel asked with a sharp gaze.
"Nothing," I replied. "Can you stand?"
"Of course." Rachel stood up, trying not to let out a groan of pain.
She managed to stand. For a few seconds, at least.
Then she fell back onto the wet asphalt.
I slapped my forehead and looked up at the sky, which had begun to turn dark blue.
I crouched in front of her, my hands behind my back.
"Come on. I'll carry you."
Rachel's eyes widened. She thought for a moment before speaking.
"After saving me once, you think we're close now? No way. As if I'd want to press my body against a man like you."
Good grief. Are Heroines really this stubborn?
I clicked my tongue loudly so she could hear it.
Then I crouched beside her, wrapped her arm around my neck, and lifted her up with me.
"If it's like this? I swear to God, if you still refuse, I'll leave you here alone. Who knows, maybe another special monster will want to get friendly with you," I said flatly.
Rachel turned her head away, refusing to look at me.
I let out a heavy sigh.
We walked together, in the middle of the heavy rain.
I glanced once at her soaked clothes.
"Don't look, pervert."
Ah… I don't remember her being this averse to being close to guys. And yet, she fell for Gabriel the Protagonist so easily.
I grew even more confused about how Gabriel managed to charm Rachel with nothing more than lending her a pen.
"Is your back… okay?" Rachel whispered, almost inaudibly.
Fortunately, I heard it.
"What do you think?" I gave a small smile.
Rachel turned her head away again.
"Ugh!" She lowered her head. "I… I'm sorry."
I raised an eyebrow, wondering if I had misheard.
"Say what?"
"I said I'm sorry, are you deaf?!" Rachel shouted, her face red.
I nearly laughed when I saw how embarrassed she looked.
"If you're really that sorry, you should lend me your first-aid kit to bandage my wounds. Oh, and of course, I'll have you do the bandaging."
"Do it yourself!" Rachel snapped.
"Pfffft." I held back my laughter.
This girl is silly.
Oh right. I forgot to ask—
"Where is your hom—"
Clang!
Before I could finish my sentence, I saw Rachel get struck from behind by something hard.
It was a metal baseball bat.
Who—
I was about to turn around, but I found no one behind us.
Shit!
Clang!
Something slammed into my neck. The pain was so intense that even with my enhanced durability, I collapsed onto the asphalt.
My head turned to the side, my vision blurring.
There, Rachel was also lying on the ground, her eyes vacant. She seemed to have lost consciousness.
Who was it—
I tried to shift my hazy gaze toward the attacker.
There, I only found a baseball bat lying on the asphalt.
And a single green leaf on top of it.
A leaf…?
It's autumn right now…
Then my vision faded away.
Everything turned black.