Chapter 205 - Elle Again

'Why did Rynold do that?'

That was a question that Neana asked herself angrily so. She didn't expect Rynold to be so calm in this situation, especially considering his rather prominent facial expression. Neana thought there would at least be some signs of Rynold getting pissed.

However, he was as calm as the ocean after a storm.

For the most part, Rynold was just that. Calm as his tone and expression had so clearly dictated. Despite that, though, Rynold had to force himself to act this way. He was slightly upset. Anybody that's been insulted would've been the same.

But, Rynold knew if he acted maliciously. That, if he showed some sign of fighting back or anger, Elle would've used that to deny what Rynold needed. And, if anything, Rynold knew how much Elle loved being in power. It was this particular social dynamic that she had often enjoyed.

"Heh."

Elle scoffed with an air of superiority around her. It was then and there that Neana felt like punching her. But seeing Rynold's more than sincere expression made it seem wrong to do so.

After much careful consideration, Elle reluctantly nodded with a smug expression on her face. She was wringing out what she could with her dominance in the situation. It was clear that the arrogance had gone into her head.

"Okay," Elle said in a more than disgusted tone, "But you have to... beg for it."

Rynold eyes widened in slight retaliation. Luckily, Rynold had his head down, so Elle didn't see it happen. At this point, Rynold knew that she was making the most of Rynold's situation.

Regardless, Rynold was more than willing to comply.

"P-please," Rynold said as he kneeled, still facing down. "Grace me with this kind favor. I'll be in your debt."

Thinking it was enough, Rynold remained on his knees. He didn't look up to see the smug look on Elle's face as it would infuriate him if he saw it. Rynold was only going along with this to have a smoother experience getting into the camp.

However, it was something that only Rynold thought as Neana had something else in mind.

Looking at Rynold on the ground like that, Neana could only think of this scenario as disgusting. There was no other word that would describe it. Rynold was sprawling on the floor, injured, to ask for this bitch in front of him for some help. And, apparently, the two even shared some history.

Neana felt like she was intruding here. It was as if the two had some unspoken relationship in the past that Rynold never talked about, and, looking at it now, he definitely had good reason not to.

To which, Neana wasn't quite sure what she should feel in this situation.

Should she be disgusted by the fact that Rynold was being a pushover? Or, should she be offended by the girl's sense of pity directed at Neana? Maybe, she should be defending Rynold at this particular situation.

All of this had been a peculiar turn of events that Neana couldn't wrap her head around.

"Good, good," Elle became satisfied by Rynold's attitude. Hell, she even thought that Rynold had become docile after all this time. Following this, Elle moved to the front of her desk and stood over him. It was nothing other than a power play. And, what she did next asserted her dominance even further.

Arms crossed, Elle slowly raised her leg. And, without rhyme or reason, Elle slammed the same leg down on the back of Rynold's head with extreme force. It was brutal. But Rynold didn't move at all and took the blunt of the hit completely.

"You see this guy? He's so useless that he's begging for my help," Elle announced as she drove her heel down on Rynold's skull. Then, she turned to Neana, "I feel so sorry for you. Really, I do. Anyone that would've fallen for this trash deserves better. You're better off without him."

That said, Elle shoved Neana to the ground. It was enough push Neana over the edge of what she could tolerate.

"Bitch!"

Neana lost it. She didn't like what this chick was trying to pull on Rynold the first time. And, after seeing this happen right in front of her, Neana's dislike turned to pure hatred. In other words, she was about to do something that felt right by her.

Without wasting another breath on the broad, Neana raised her hand. In doing so, a magic circle appeared in front of her. The hostility directed at Elle was more than enough to count as a threat.

Elle, surprised by the sudden revelation, took her foot off of Rynold's head. She stepped back as an instinct and wisps of fire appeared on both of her hands. Not only that, but the soldier also reacted accordingly. He took a step forward and approached Neana in a steadfast pace as if ready to annihilate Neana at a single moment.

But, before anything could happen, a sense of omen entered the atmosphere. Before Elle could attack Neana, before Neana could summon her golems, before the soldier acted against Neana, an intense pressure came about the room.

All of it came from one source.

"Hah. Hahaha. Hahahahaha!"

Rynold suddenly started to stand up while ominously laughing like a mad man. At a glance, it looked like Rynold had officially lost it. That, he had taken so much shit in such a short span of time, Rynold had become insane.

But, that wasn't the case.

"You haven't changed, have you?"

Rynold turned to Elle with an intense pressure that would've made anyone scared out of their wits. But, with Elle's stubbornness and pride, the pressure only irritated her. That is, if Rynold was only going to end it there.

"You know what? It would've been fine if you just messed with me," Rynold said with his voice progressively getting deeper.

"But, you had to go on and insult her."

The pressure that Rynold let out spiked significantly.

"Maybe I should've just left you to die back then."

His Mana Gauntlets expanded to Strength-form, fists closed and ready to break through bones.

"I should've just left you be back then. I shouldn't have given you the spellbook. Looking back at it right now..., god..., All I feel now is regret."

Taking a step forward, Rynold let his Mana run wild. His blood was boiling. Anger flushed through his brain as his adrenaline pumped through his system.

"But, I can absolve that guilt right now. Can't I?"

That said, Rynold lunged forward, fist first. He was going on the offense. There was no doubt about it. And, in doing so, the soldier that had been standing by moved forward to intercept Rynold. Which, as anybody would know, was an undoubtedly a bad idea.

Bang!

"Well, looks like somebody's stupid enough to defend you still."

All it took was a single punch. Rynold didn't even put that much effort into it. And the guy was still thrown to the side of the room. The force of the punch was strong enough to put a man-sized crater in the wall. The sound was even loud enough that it reached the outside.

"Looks like help's coming soon," Rynold noted the sound of the other soldiers rushing to the scene before turning back to Elle. "Unfortunately, there's going to be nobody here to help."

With Rynold closing in on her in a slow and threatening pace, Elle did the only thing she could've done in this situation. She flung the balls of fire at Rynold in an attempt to stop him.

But, it didn't do anything.

"Was that supposed to hurt?" Rynold asked Elle as he stood within arm's reach of her. And, seeing as how her attacks were of no effect, Elle fell down to the ground in complete fear.

The situation had now reversed. Rynold was now the one who was looking down on Elle. And, Elle was the one looking back at him in fear and terror.

"P-please," Elle called out in the hopes of appealing to Rynold's sense of morality. Her voice was noticeably weak. There were no signs of her superiority or arrogance anymore. And, in its place was utter fear and terror. She was on the verge of sobbing.

Before she could say anything else, though, Rynold grabbed Elle by the neck and lifted her off her feet. And, as Rynold stared at her with dangerous glare, he spoke.

"Where's all that pride now? Where's the arrogant and narcissistic bitch gone? Aren't you going on and on about how I'm what? What's the word you called me? Huh?"

Rynold controlled his strength very carefully at this point. He squeezed Elle's neck with enough force to cause pain but not enough to kill her off. That said, his eyes narrowed as he proceeded to speak.

"You could've left it at me. All of your insults and acts of aggression. I won't fight back. You could've even humiliated me all you wanted. Beat me to a pulp. But, the very moment you offended someone I care about is the moment you signed your fucking death warrant."

Elle closed her eyes and thought she was about to die this way. Because of her own mistakes and arrogance that it had led to this point. She was going to die disgracefully because of her superiority complex. It was none other than a consequence of her actions.

But contrary to her expectations, Rynold let go.

"Are you guys okay?" Rynold asked as he turned his attention away from Elle and focused on Neana and the child. Despite the display of dominance and power, Rynold's intentions were something else entirely. He, for the most part, didn't want to kill anyone in cold blood.

"Y-yeah..."

Neana was still in a daze from what had just happened. Rynold completely reversed the situation without breaking a sweat. And, he did so without losing sight of what was important.

"What about you, kid?"

"I," the child answered before swallowing a mouthful of dry saliva. "I'm fine."

It appeared that the pressure Rynold gave off got to the child. So much so that he was visibly trembling. Rynold had scared the crap out of the kid.

"Er...," Rynold awkwardly spoke out, "I'm sorry about all that. I got carried away. Certainly didn't mean to scare both of you. I'm really, really sorry."

He then turned to Neana with a sense of guilt in his heart. Rynold didn't think that she would've gotten mixed up in all of this. And, with his lack of insight in the situation, Rynold was clearly wrong.

"It's fine," Neana said to Rynold, her tone of voice betraying her words. "We should probably get out of here before any of the other soldiers rush into this place."

"I'm sure we don't have to worry about any of that," Rynold confidently said, without a shred of doubt in his words. "Isn't that right, Elle?"

Elle looked up as soon as Rynold spoke of her name. Her face was distraught, and her hair was a mess. Despite those things, though, Elle focused on Rynold as the anger bubbled in her heart.

"Why don't we start over?" Rynold calmly suggested while his Mana Gauntlets still showed its full prowess. "I need your help to get into the camp and spend the night. Probably get cleaned up in the process too? What do you say?"

The question was an obvious threat. Rynold didn't even bother to hide it anymore at this point. And, even if he did, there wasn't a point as his intentions were made clear. But, instead of answering right away, Elle remained silent as she glared at Rynold.

While waiting for a response, the sound of soldiers' footsteps soon reached the outside of the building. They had the place surrounded, trapping Rynold and the other two inside the building.

Despite knowing that, however, Rynold was still calm. In fact, he even felt somewhat confident.