Fight Back

"..." it was unknown if Renir fell unconscious or he just stayed silent.

"Let me tell you something..." Ernanfo shook his head, "my daughter will become the ruler of this world someday."

Renir's body twitched so Ernanfo continued.

"If you are just going to always be that pathetic, even if you're crazy strong, there is no way you can be with Imee!" he mocked before he took a stick of cigarette inside his martial uniform. With a flick of his fingers, he created heat that became fire just from the friction. He did such an amazing action, but for him, it was nothing to be surprised about.

After taking a smoke from the stick, Ernanfo continued, "I don't know why the boss wants you, other than your ridiculous strength. He said you know who he is..." he blew out the smoke from his mouth, "However, until we aren't able to confirm if you are truly who he was searching for, I cannot give you his name. Boss's name can never be leaked...

I could've just pictured your face and give it to him but I guess he also wanted to see you personally."

He became talkative as Renir lay on the ground.

"I know where you came from. The world of Gantlet... that's why you're this strong, right? If not, I would be very pissed. I worked my ass off for more than forty years. Every day was just like torture." his face had an expression of bitterness but then relaxed when he continued.

"But when I met Imee's mother, I escaped this shithole when I was young. However, reality hits back. I was so irresponsible... at that time, I thought that once I left this gang, I left it for good... but I was so~ stupid...!" his voice became deeper, "Because of that mistake, the [STATOS] targeted us, the only group that could oppose Fellnigh..." Ernanfo's eyes were blinking numerously from time to time, "Sasha disappeared that day."

"So I came back here to train again so I could protect my daughter, also, to be under the protection of Fellnigh. I know full well how I was overprotective of my daughter but I need to keep her happiness a priority. I trust that lovely girl... but, do you know how I felt when I was betrayed by that trust? When an unknown and random boy suddenly appeared so close to her one day... you know that feeling?

You think you're enough for her? You couldn't even hit back... You're this strong but I saw that my disciples were all uninjured."

Ernanfo walked towards Renir with fast and big strides, clacking his wooden sandals onto the ground.

When he reached him, he slowly crouched down near Renir after he took a smoke and continued, "Do you like my daughter?.. of course, you do, who wouldn't like her? She will be the ruler of the world someday... But, there will still be people who will oppose her. Really strong people. People that I couldn't hope to reach. Say... if you couldn't even hit back without getting desperate, do you think you can kill someone? That is a very basic thing."

"...."

"You know,"

Ernanfo sighed, "strength is not what matters the most, but it's the will to win, to take the victory." he sharply said, "And in the real world, you have to kill to win... so do you still think you have what it takes to be with Imee?"

After a momentary silence, Renir's head began to move before pushing himself up, his head still down, and his knees supporting him.

"But you are Imee's father... I wouldn't fight you, Sir." he weakly said.

"Yes, sure, I am her father." Ernanfo stared at the blank space as he took another smoke, "But I am obstructing your way. I am beating you one-sidedly, you could've at least fight back... seeing you hold back on me really pisses me off.

Imagine, working your ass off for decades to protect your daughter only for a kid who stole that daughter to hold back for you." he sighed again.

"...."

Ernanfo's eyes rolled down to Renir, "Who is Imee to you? Is she just your type? Depending on your answer, your head might roll on the ground without its body."

"....." Renir silent for a little bit longer and finally answered, "She's a childhood friend," with a pause in the middle, she continued "my supporter, my benefactor, the only one who was there when I had no one... the one who knows who I truly am, the one who accepted that me... the only one who made me really happy, and..." his last words were so quiet, it was inaudible.

Ernanfo sat down on the ground, cross-legged, "What was that?" he pointed his ears towards Renir.

"... and she's my crush..." Renir's voice was still low but it was audible enough for Ernanfo to hear it and mocked;

"Crush? What are you. a twelve-year-old? Just say it, you love my daughter?"

Renir didn't reply with words and could only nod.

"... Geez, you're a shy one." and for the last time, Ernanfo sighed, "... But as long as you don't have a will to fight back, you can't even get near her, understand?"

"....."

Ernanfo repeated it again and again, however, Is Renir really just a coward with strength?

Of course not!

"If it's fine..." Renir then lifted his head and looked at Ernanfo's eyes, "... I will fight back, Sir."

Renir is the only one who survived Gantlet and escaped!

He is the man who took on the Giganslik and won!

He is the man who fought the Water Sentinel underwater and ate it whole!

He is the man who took a step forward and tried to befriend the demon marionette none could even think about approaching!

In short, Renir was just trying not to be rude to his love's father!

Seeing a vigorous pair of eyes, the edge of Ernanfo's lips unnoticeably lifted. With a gust of wind, he disappeared in front of Renir and reappeared a few meters away.

"Don't you dare hold back, kid, it's insulting. And if I'm insulted, I take it to the grave. I might not approve you to meet my daughter, you know."

He waited for Renir to stand up and as soon as he saw the kid was ready, Ernanfo deeply inhaled, faint steam coming out of his body, and his nerves popped out from all over his body.

Using all his force, he kicked the floor. Time slowed and the ground which he kicked collapsed as it turned into fragments, and worse, dust that exploded away from the sheer force along with a gale of wind as if they were shot from a firearm.

Speed faster than before... a speed that his direct disciples had yet to see and along with it was all his force concentrated into his right fist. All his power, weight, and momentum projected into a single point. One of the most devastating attacks created from the accumulation of techniques from his profound martial arts:

Piercing Mortality!

That fist was reflected onto Renir's eyes. In front of death, he did not blink.

BOOM!!*

The whole land in which the dojo was built momentarily trembled so strong that some disciples lost their footings. This trembling was felt even a hundred meters away...

"Wh-what was that?" Greg turned around as he got out of the wooden gate of the dojo.

Some wanted to ask if their Master is fine but that would be a very dumb thing to say. That earthquake definitely must've come from that Master of them.

"I wonder sometimes if Master is really human or not..." Bardock quivered.

Then after that momentary trembling, the ground shook even further as they saw ground collapsed, swallowing the buildings and dojos on top.

"I-it's collapsing..." Rea pointed at the obvious.

"EH?!!!" the disciples panicked but they couldn't do anything about it.

The ground only stopped trembling after a little while. The neighboring houses and the people living in it did not think of the earthquake as man-made, that thought never came into their mind. They didn't also felt it came from the infamous and mysterious dojo in their neighborhood, they have no such senses. They just thought it was strange that there was an earthquake, sometimes so weak that it was unnoticeable, one after another. However, none panic as it was just a series of small quivering on the ground until they heard a loud explosion and felt the ground tremble.

Was it a bomb?! Everyone thought who heard it.

Back at the dojo, the earthquake finally stopped and the ground eventually settled.

After a moment of silence, Greg rubbed his head and sighed, "I guess Master did it this time. Come on, we need to clean this up."

He was shocked that he still underestimated the man he looked up to, however, at the same time, it wasn't that surprising.

The others followed him until they were stopped again by yet another explosion that made a cloud of dust covered the caved ground and stones and rubbles flew tens of meters high.

Greg and the others ran towards that explosion thinking it was their master as they saw him climbed up.

However,

They all stopped, speechless. Their eyes were shaking along with their hands and feet.

They saw their Master's eyes closed, his unmoving body was on the back of the youngster they fought earlier.