บท 51: Evil Above Evil

Urgency immediately appeared in Memphis's pretty green eyes as she fervently shook her head, wiggling around in a flurry of actions that all pointed to no. She wanted him to run away and leave her to her own fate! She didn't wish for anyone else to die because of her!

Cassius felt a bit of anger rush up his throat upon watching such a kind girl not care a single bit about herself.

'To push her to this state… And here I thought I was a horrible human being…'

"It looks like I still have a lot to learn about being evil," Cassius sighed. "But it does seem like you are fine with remaining still for a bit, so I will get this done quick and then return to you."

*Mmmf!! Mmmf!!*

'NOOooooo!!!!' Memphis cried out inside her mind as she wiggled over to him in her tied-up state, trying to get him to understand once more. Yet, by the time she blinked her eyes, he was already gone, now standing mere feet away from the monstrous profile of the Kobold King.

"Say, you ugly fucker," said Cassius. "Can you… even see me…?"

"!!!"

The Kobold King was preparing to attack when, from down below, the audacious human blurred from his spot and sparked through the air. The Kobold King felt an imminent threat to his life, urging him to throw up his hands and defend against an onslaught of attacks, all of which contained deadly killing intent.

"My Lord!!"

"The human dares!?"

"How dare he!!?!?"

The Kobolds in the throne room were about to join the fray, but before they could, the Kobold King shot them a ferocious glare. His message was clear: If you interfere in this fight, I will kill you. And knowing how their King got when he was really spun out like this, they held their claws and patiently watched from afar.

Although they didn't possess much intelligence, they at least respected the hierarchy.

After warning his subordinates, the Kobold King's fierce eyes fell on the darkened silhouette stabbing him from all directions. Humiliated, he shouted, "You damn rat!! Do you really believe that these itches will do anything against my skin!??" Then he expanded his aura outward and pushed Cassius back by twenty dozen meters.

Cassius expertly landed his flying body on the ground with a backflip. Then he stood back up and glared at the powering-up Kobold. The King's fur began to change to a mightier, darker red color from his original light red. Moreover, his three-meter figure rapidly expanded and exploded beyond the seven-meter mark, making him the largest Kobold in attendance.

Memphis's worry only grew exponentially. However, Cassius simply gave her a small, gentle nod before concentrating on his battle with the Kobold King.

The magnitude of things had definitely exceeded his expectations, for even if he were faster than the beast, he would never be able to crack deep enough into its flesh as he was. Now, the most logical solution to this would be to just increase his Strength stat with the AP he had left from his grind.

However… Cassius was not a conventional person.

His blue eyes crackled with electricity as he eyed down the dog behemoth roaring to the skies, breaking through the eardrums of everyone present. The Kobold King's strength was now only a step away from the C-Rank, and though this meant certain death for him, he couldn't help but feel that same anticipatory thrill he felt in his last few big fights.

Cassius was beginning to notice a change occurring within himself. It was unknown exactly when it started, but it was definitely happening. But rather than ignore or try to suppress this change, he decided to embrace it.

Trails of purplish-red electricity shot out from his body before surrounding him in a fantastical way. The lightning, however, was produced not from any of the elements he could use, but because of the sheer level at which his body was vibrating. The more he veered from the path of the orthodox, the more thrilling it felt to have moments like this one.

Showing just what he meant by that, Cassius lifted up his right arm and placed it on his left arm, then forcefully pried off the weight that seemed to be glued to his skin. A resounding thud thundered out when an astounding 500 pounds hit the ground.

Yet, that was far from the end of the spectacle to come…

"..."

As more and more heavy weights planted into the ground after being casually tossed away by their owner, everyone in the throne room was left at a loss for words. Some of the Kobolds looked between one another, trying to glean the truth from each other.

Even Memphis wore an astonished look on her face as she watched thousands of pounds crash into the hard room surface. She couldn't understand why the unknown man would purposefully place weights on himself! But when the final waist weight came off, let alone her mind, she couldn't even believe what her eyes were transmitting to her!

Even the Kobold King, with all his unbridled power, felt like a basin of cold water had been poured over his daunting existence when the small human began to naturally blur in and out of reality. He was not moving even a single step, yet his body looked as if it had just been freed from a mountain of stress and was now free to let loose.

As sparks of electrified energy boomed outward, adding to the image produced from an overly charged body, the owner of said body turned his head up. Upon meeting the ferocious gaze of the Kobold King, stimulated tension formed in the distance that separated them.

The Kobold King was ready to go all out, even if the mystery surrounding the absurd human confused him!

Yet, as if that tension was worth less than dirt for Cassius, he shifted his gaze toward thin air. A grin formed on his shadowy face upon seeing his Agility stat well into the three-figure mark. He brought his casual smirk back to the livid dog behemoth, only to ask:

"Say… Can you… even—"