Chapter 123: Counter

"You know, Aaron. It'd make more sense to just throw more attacks at him until he gets stronger." Monument stated, pointing out an obvious fact. "After all, if you deal enough hits to him, increasing the amount of strength you use each time, he'll grow at a steady rate."

Aaron walked over to Monument while indicating Alec to follow along, as he wanted to prove a point to Monument. "YOU punch him them. Let's see if your theory in physical strength holds up." Aaron replied, a grin on his mind. Aaron stood out of the way, letting Monument have a clear view of Alec.

"You expect me to punch the child?! I'm not a heartless bastard!" Monument responded in shock before turning his head to look Aaron in the eyes. All he could feel emanating from Aaron was power. "You are the person who suggested the idea, so you should be the one to carry it out." Aaron countered, pulling a reversal on Monument.

Monument tensed up, having a bad feeling about what would happen if he punched the child. He looked back towards Alec, who had one hand behind his back. Monument sighed before pulling his hand back. "I'm sorry about this. Please, don't take any offence to this!" Monument yelled before flinging a devastating punch towards Alec. The attack appeared to create ripples in the air, and it almost looked like the fist was bending the sky towards him. Alec smiled and dragged his hand out from behind his back. It was coated in a purple sphere as Monument's hand hit the ball.

"Oh fuck." Monument said before the purple sphere violently exploded, sending him and Alec flying backwards under the explosive force of the punch and the explosive black hole combined.

For anyone wondering, the black hole attack Aaron used is a direct byproduct of Boundless Telekinesis. What Alec used is an altered version, which Aaron passed off as an offshoot from an original form of his black hole. Although, he isn't sure how.

Aaron watched as both were sent flying in opposite directions, leaving a crater in the ground. Aaron honestly didn't expect that to happen, as he thought Monument would have had enough strength to not get knocked back.

Monument sat up, looking at Alec lying on the ground, about thirty meters away. "Wow. I didn't expect that to happen." Monument admitted, watching Aaron walk over to him. "Honestly, neither did I. I didn't even see him prepare it. He was sneaky about it." Aaron replied before laughing. "This is what I love about people. You never know what they're going to do!"

Alec stood up, shaking himself off. He didn't expect his attack to work, but it did, and he was proud. "I've learned a new strategy!" He announced while putting both arms in the air. He was happy with his findings. He had successfully gotten stronger, all thanks to a punch and a black hole.

Aaron began walking over to Alec, taking his time while doing so. He wasn't rushed, so he might as well take as much time as Alec needed to calm down from his foundation of a new strategy. Aaron was actually impressed with how Alec had countered Monument. Judging from the power in that punch, it would have killed Alec. He got lucky with the fact that he had decided to deliver an attack of his own.

"Well, Alec. Colour me impressed. You countered a blow from him! That's something noteworthy!" Aaron congratulated Alec, clapping his hands together. "Why is that?" Alec asked, confused. "All I did was block his attack? What's so special about blocking an attack?"

Monument appeared beside Aaron, his arms crossed. "I have the strength to destroy mountains. The ability to shatter cities. Not just deflecting but countering one of my abilities is no simple feat. I'm honestly quite impressed with your abilities myself." Monument stated, sending a shock down Alec's back.

"Wait a second! I didn't know you were THAT strong! If he's that strong, how strong are you, Aaron?!" Alec yelled out in surprise, surprised at what he had just heard. "Well...here's the thing...I'm stronger than him by a good bit. If I threw a punch at him at full power, I am confident I could shatter him into pieces a thousand times over." Aaron admitted, lifting his hands into the air. In his hand, a small ball of strangely pink energy formed.

"This ball has enough strength to destroy three cities and irreparably damage the world. Do you want to see?" Aaron tempted Alec, making the ball fly around his fingers, but Alec would not be tempted. "No! Why the hell would I want the world to be damaged?! That just seems like something an idiot would accept, and I like to think of myself as an intelligent person." Alec replied, putting his hands outwards, declining Aaron's offer.

"I'm only messing with you! At least we know you aren't stupid! If you were, I might have had to think of a different approach to this entire situation." Aaron responded, rubbing Alec's hair. He just did that to see what kind of reaction he'd get.

"Ayo, what the fuck?" Alec responded, not expecting anything like that. He was surprised as all hell. Also, it hurt. Sharp metal on a bare scalp wouldn't be the most pleasurable thing in the world. Alec dragged his head away, putting his hand on his scalp, checking to make sure he wasn't bleeding. He didn't get cut, so he was fine.

"Sorry about that. I just wanted to see what would happen. Don't mind me and my being curious." Aaron explained as Alec looked up towards him in confusion. He didn't know what to make of what Aaron just said, so he just pushed his thoughts about it to the side and stood up.

"So, how are the pair of you feeling about heading off to fight some of the guardians?" Aaron asked the pair. Alec was the first one to get his word in. "Honestly, I want to see how you deal with them, as I've never seen a guardian before," Alec stated. "It'll be cool to see one in person."

"Oh, about that. You might have already seen one." Aaron mysteriously replied, confusing Alec.

What could he mean?