I Became A Side Character Fated To Suffer-Chapter 46:Petty Bastard

"I don’t mean that...Please leave me..AHHH!"

Trying to escape,huh. But they had already committed, and now they were paying for it.

"You chose this," I said quietly, almost lazily. "Don’t start regretting it now."

The shouting faded into broken breaths and scattered steps.

The ground was littered with bodies while some were groaning, most already gone as their bracelets activated. I stood in the middle of it, chest rising steadily, blood running down my arm, and knuckles throbbing but I wasn’t slowing down.

Also the blood wasn’t mine.

A few of them still stood at the edges, staring at me like they finally understood their mistake. I looked straight at them, unmoving, and tilted my head slightly.

"...What?" I let out a faint scoff. "That’s it? All that noise, and this is all you had?"

I took a slow step forward.

"...Come on." My lips curled slightly. "Don’t tell me you’re done already."

As I was moving back, the ground suddenly slipped, and a mad, mud-born rhino burst out from beneath, making me scream—

"What the fuck?"

A rhino... from mud...

"Now that’s a usual sight..." I muttered, barely finishing before it thrust its horn straight at me. I jumped, grabbing the horn mid-charge, using it as a pivot. My body flipped over it in one smooth motion, and with all the force I could muster, I slammed it down into the ground, the impact kicking up dust and shaking the surroundings like a small explosion.

The creature thrashed once then stilled.And just as I landed, I felt a sharp swooshing sound cutting through the air.

I reacted instantly.

CLAAANGGGG!

A sharp metallic screech echoed as a thin, razor-sharp blade appeared out of nowhere, aimed straight at my neck. I barely managed to pull out my own blade at the last microsecond, stopping it inches from my throat. The force behind it was insane and my arm trembled slightly from the impact.

Then my eyes widened.

From the point where our blades met... I saw it.

Compressed energy.

"Fuck!" I tried to pull back, but it was already too late.

BOOOOOM!

The compressed aura detonated instantly, the explosion blasting outward with catastrophic force. The ground cracked beneath us as the shockwave sent everything flying. .

I was thrown back, my body spinning mid-air but I forced myself to stabilize, landing on my heel and sliding back as dust and smoke swallowed the area.

I exhaled sharply, swaying the smoke aside with a flick of my arm and there he was.

Walking out of it.

Completely fine.

"Can’t believe you reacted to that," he said, his voice low, his expression twisted into something downright heinous.

I stared at him for a moment before letting out a faint scoff.

"So this is what you’ve been waiting for... waiting for me to be worn down by everyone and then attack." My grip on the blade tightened slightly as I looked straight into his eyes. "As a swordsman with a Mystic... aren’t you ashamed?"

The air grew heavier.

This guy...

Reed had repeatedly warned me about him.

Unlike Sunta, this was a crafty motherfucker. His Mystic wasn’t flashy, it was his swordsmanship itself. Pure, refined, and deadly. He had already awakened aura at a young age... and that last attack..

Aura detonation.

That was some high-level shit.

And now...

He was standing right in front of me.

"I don’t fucking care who you are... but how dare you disrespect me and take my position."

My steps faltered hearing this.

"What?" I rubbed my ears, casting a look of disbelief. "Can you repeat that again? I think I heard something stupid."

"You dare defy me—!" Theasre roared loudly, veins popping, which only made me frown deeper.

"What the hell, you shithead... did you really think of yourself as some young master?" I shot back, snorting. "Did someone crown you while I wasn’t looking, or did you just wake up delusional?"

Instead of answering..

I heard a crunch.

The moment his foot shifted,he vanished.

A sharp chill ran down my spine. I twisted my body instinctively..

CLANG!

His blade met mine again, and sparks burst out as his blade appeared from my blind spot, cutting straight for my ribs. The force behind it pushed me back half a step, my boots scraping against the ground.

Fast.

Way faster than the others.

"Not bad," I muttered, rolling my wrist slightly. "At least you’re not completely useless." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

I barely had time to breathe before he came again.

A flicker—

Another strike.

Higher this time.

I raised my sword in my left hand steadily and deflected it, but the angle was wrong. The impact slid along my blade and cut across my shoulder, drawing blood.

"Tch..."

So he wasn’t just fast.

He was precise.

I stepped back, creating distance, but he didn’t give me any.

He stepped in.

No... he was already there. His blade thrust forward again, aiming straight for my throat.

"Die, you bastard—!"

"I am the son of the Mercenary King... a trash like you doesn’t deserve to be king!" Theasre spat, his voice filled with twisted pride.

I twisted sideways, barely avoiding it, and drove my knee toward his stomach but he blocked it with his elbow, the impact dull but controlled.

"Mercenary King?" I scoffed mid-motion. "So what..You inherited arrogance instead of skill?"

Then..

I felt it again.

That pressure.

Compressed.

My eyes snapped to the contact point between us.

"Again—?!"

I pushed off him instantly—

BOOOOM!

The explosion went off between us, the shockwave blasting outward. This time I was ready. I slid back, absorbing the force with my feet digging into the ground as dirt scattered behind me.

He didn’t move much.Just a small step.

Like the explosion didn’t even matter.

"...Annoying," I muttered, rolling my shoulders slightly. "Do you always rely on cheap tricks, or is that your entire personality?"

He tilted his head, that same twisted expression still on his face as he saw me coming out uninjured.

"Tch... still standing?" he sneered. "Cockroach."

"Yeah," I smirked faintly, raising my sword in my left hand again. "And you still talk too much for someone who hasn’t done shit."

I was about to clash again when a sudden boom echoed through the air.

My head snapped toward it.

A pillar of light shot up near the mountain, tearing through the sky.

My eyes narrowed.

"They have already reached there... and here I am playing with a kid..."

"Fuck."

For just a moment,I was distracted.

And that was enough.

"Get him!" Theasre shouted.

"Huh?!"

I turned back and saw them.

A dozen chimpanzees..no, summoned beasts bursting out from the trees, leaping straight toward me from all directions.

"What the hell—?!"