Custos' Rage

Ralph watched as Custos approached him. A hint of fear was developing in his chest. Custos had the look of a devil in his eyes. He wouldn't let it slide. Not after everything Ralph had done to Eliisabet. It was a death sentence.

"You're upset because I hurt her?! Come on! If I had killed her without exacting my revenge, you'd still be mad!" Argued Ralph, backing away in fear.

"You said it. Either way, you'd be food for the vultures. Get your hands up. I'll teach you why you should never lay a finger on her."

Ralph clenched his teeth in frustration. His body was screaming at him to run. It was the only way to survive. However, his pride wouldn't let him.

"I'm not afraid of you! You're just one guy! I'll kill you too!!"

Ralph lunged forward. He curled his hand into a fist, throwing a powerful right hook. Custos scoffed at his attempt, easily dodging it. He then countered with a swing of his arm, slamming the edge of his knuckle into Ralph's nose.

Ralph winced in pain. He staggered backward, holding his nose. He could smell blood. His nose had been shattered with a single punch.

"You're a dead man!!"

He attacked Custos wildly. He threw two punches— both whistling right past Custos' ears as he effortlessly dodged.

Custos countered with a painful punch to Ralph's gut. Ralph staggered backward, holding his stomach and gasping for air. However, Custos wasn't finished. He slammed his knee under Ralph's chin for a nightmarish uppercut.

Ralph's vision went blank for a short moment. He had almost been knocked unconscious. He reopened his eyes to find himself lying on the ground.

"Get up. We're not finished," demanded Custos.

With blood dripping from his broken nose, Ralph picked himself up. As soon as he stood up, Custos kicked his feet, causing him to fall over again.

"Didn't you hear me? I said get up."

"F*** you!!"

Ralph threw himself up as fast as he could. This time, the punch was covered in hot flames. Custos easily caught his arm, negating the flames with his plasma. He then twisted Ralph's arm, causing it to snap like a pile of twigs.

Ralph couldn't help but scream in agony, holding his arm tightly.

"Aagh!! F***!! MY ARM!! MY F***ING ARM!!!!"

Custos silenced Ralph's screams by slamming his fist into his mouth. This knocked out a couple of teeth, causing Ralph to fall over, half-conscious.

Despite this, Custos still wasn't done. He grabbed Ralph by the hair and pulled him to his feet.

"P-please..! No more!! I'm sorry for hurting her!! I promise to stay away from her!! I'll never come near her again! Just please don't kill me!!!"

"It doesn't matter what you say now. You're becoming a corpse whether or not you want to."

With a loud snap, Custos broke Ralph's neck. He then dropped his body to the ground with a soft thud and walked away.

"Custos..!" Called Eliisabet weakly.

"Tsk! Look what that bastard did to you..! Come on, get up. I'll carry you."

"Wait... What about you..? Are you okay? You had a fever when I left you!"

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. My neck still burns a little but that's all there is to it."

Eliisabet looked at Custos' neck as he picked her up on his back. There were still traces of the black miasma lingering around it.

"What about Avic..? Is he okay too?"

"I don't know. As surprised as I was to see him, I didn't have time to check on him since I realized you were missing."

"I see..."

Custos then looked down at Chaz who was lying motionless at his feet.

"This is that guy from before. What is he doing here?"

"He was trying to protect me from Ralph... But he was defeated while trying to help..."

"I see..."

"You have to help him too! If it weren't for him then I would have died before you got here!"

Custos remained silent for a short moment as he observed Chaz.

"No, we leave him here."

"What? Why? He saved my life, Custos!"

"He did but that could have just been because he was planning to take your scrolls after he defeated Ralph. You shouldn't trust others so easily just because they helped you. Some people simply want to get close to you because they want something in return."

Eliisabet had her doubts. Chaz seemed to have helped her out of the kindness in his heart. She didn't sense any malice or ill intentions from him.

"Sigh... Don't give me that face, Eliisabet. Since he saved you, I can't completely overlook his actions. I'll hide him somewhere safe for the time being so that when he wakes up, he won't be in any imminent danger."

A few seconds later, Custos hid Chaz in a thick patch of bushes, perfectly keeping him out of sight. This put Eliisabet at ease.

"What are we going to do now..?" Asked Eliisabet softly.

"We're taking the scrolls we currently have to the finish line. Since Valves is here, that makes the situation a lot bleaker. I don't want him near you so I think we should leave, whether or not we have enough scrolls to make it to the top 50."

"Valves bit Avic on his neck too... He even said that he smelled Valkyrie's scent on him... It's a lot to take in."

"Valkyrie too, huh..? Damn it... Just what are they after..? Well, in any case, we're not about to play hero. As soon as we exit this forest, we should head back to Initium and lay low for a while."