Chapter 173: Seeking death (1/2)

”What?” The star emperor asked while holding his hand to his itching cheek.

Markus's attack wasn't serious. It was a simple bitch-slap, one he would serve a random civilian that would dare to insult him back in the time he was hailing from.

In short words, Markus's attack wasn't aimed at hurting the man physically but at insulting his ego. By showing him how easy it was for the former saint to reach his face, something that most of the cultures across the entire world would grow to consider one's most honorable part, Markus only wanted to enrage the man.

Not because he wanted to turn this place into a slaughterhouse. Markus did what he did, aiming to make the fight easier for Yelna down the line.

After all, when compared to the former hero, he was but a weakling.

”How dare you...” the youthful man asked, raising his furious eyes at Markus. ”Just when the heck did you grow the balls to strike my handsome face,” he uttered through his teeth, circulating his energy at the greatest pace that he could.

At the same time, the world around man started to warp. It was as if his energy was so potent that the very fabric of space was unable to hold it any longer, making it twist and warp in order to accommodate the overreaching mana in the air.

'No, that's not it,' Markus thought, keeping a close look at the man and everything that at least seemed to be connected to him. 'His energy isn't even that great,' he thought, unable to stop himself from comparing the guy ahead with the other man that he knew to be capable of wielding an extraordinary amount of mana. 'When compared to Layn, he is but a child in the dark... So how the heck can he cause effects like those?' Markus was puzzled by the situation, but that didn't mean he believed to have anything to worry about.

Just like one wouldn't consider a circus' claun a threat only because they knew some tricks, Markus couldn't look seriously at this joke of a mage no matter what kind of tricks he had up his sleeves.

After all, tricks are just that. Pitiful tricks. In the face of an overwhelming might and skill, they were nothing.

”HOW DARE YOU?!” The man finally lost it, screaming the question from the bottom of his lungs.

”Just like that,” Markus countered without care, sending another slap in the direction of the man's face.

This time, the connection between the magic that Markus absorbed and the mana of the Emperor was too weak to carry the true force of the attack. But it was still more than enough to change where the effect of Markus' slap ended up at.

And once again, the face of the Star Emperor had to receive a huge dose of humiliation when Markus slap reached his other cheek.

”As you can see, we have more than enough means to deal with you. So let's think together what choices do you have right now,” Markus said with a wide smile as he opened his arms wide. For a moment, he looked like some kind of saint attempting to take all the sins and troubles of the world on his own shoulders in order to carry them all on his own.

”The itch of your face is proof that we can reach you. No matter how fast, how agile, or how strong you are, you cannot match my strenght,” Markus said as if it was the most obvious thing under the dome of the skies. ”And that means you are nothing more but a pest in the eyes of my wife,” Markus added while pointing his hand at Yelna.

”That's what you want to believe in,” the star emperor replied in a calm voice. In the short window that Markus used to speak up, this man managed to calm his senses and look with a cool head at the situation in front of him.

'Impressive,' Markus thought, stopping the corner of his mouth from raising in satisfaction. 'It's nice to have an opponent that's competent enough to stay calm in the fight,' he commented in his mind before shaking his head and looking at the man again.

”Look, I will be honest,” Markus announced while crossing the arms over his chest. ”Ever since your first bout with Yelna, my wife,” Markus said before making sure that the man would understand that both Yelna and wife referred to the same person, ”this fight was already settled,” Markus announced, refusing to go into the details.

”Do you take me for an idiot to believe that?” The man asked as his face darkened up a bit.