Rogue Villain-Chapter 210: Stormcaller

"Hey..."

"Yeah?"

Ackster didn’t look at Dala as he answered. He continued looking at the spectacle he had conjured, anticipating the rain and lightning that would soon shower Diaga Island.

"..."

"Yeah...?"

But when Dala didn’t say anything, Ackster repeated himself as he turned to look at her, instantly noticing her fiddling.

"Take it."

Ackster’s eyes opened wide.

"You mean Stormcaller?"

"...Yeah."

Ackster hesitated.

"Okay. I won’t refuse. But as long as it doesn’t make you change your mind, can you tell me why?"

Getting Dala to part with Stormcaller willingly would make it a whole lot easier on him than trying to take it by force. It would also make him a criminal and a wanted person if he stole the weapon. He had been prepared for that until he arrived at the Diaga Arena and saw Dala carrying it.

Stealing it from Dala Storm and robbing the Storm Hall, a gathering of the evidence of the Storm family’s heroic history, were two different things. Robbing the Storm Hall wouldn’t be easy since the Storm family had guards around it. But as a nation and a family that believes in strength and merit, if he managed to do it, he could be considered to have earned it.

And if he won against the Diaga Island’s champion, he would have been invited to the Storm Hall’s deepest parts, where the trident was supposed to be. After that, he just needed to be quick about it and skedaddle off the island.

But stealing Stormcaller from Dala, while meritorious, would also be a personal affront to Dala and the Storm family since she’s still young and weak.

"It fits you better."

"You’re willing to give me your family’s legendary weapon just for something like that?"

Ackster couldn’t believe it, and the paranoia he had managed to suppress since his arrival at Matar reared its ugly head. He took a step back with a skeptical expression souring his face.

Dala noticed the sudden change in Ackster’s mood. It surprised her since it was far from what she had expected. But then again, she didn’t know Ackster. She didn’t know how he thought other than in battle. She knew his habits, which leg he favored, his preferred method of blocking, and how he often offered to trade blows. But she didn’t know what trauma he suffered from, what had happened to his other arm, or what made him tick.

But she still found it weird how suspicious he got so suddenly.

"What? Is it that hard to believe? If you don’t want it, give it back."

"I didn’t say that. But yes, it’s hard to believe. Besides, won’t your family mind it if you give away Stormcaller like this?"

Dala shrugged, no longer pressing Ackster.

"Not really. It isn’t the first time Stormcaller has chosen someone outside the family for a while. It always comes back to us. My family will understand. Well, maybe not my brother. You might need to watch out for him."

Ackster was still doubtful, but it didn’t seem like Dala was lying.

"Oh, and don’t tell anyone this, but that spark I created in the ring is the most I can do. It’s practically impossible for me to reveal Stormcaller’s true power. Just take it and have fun."

"...Alright."

Dala’s older brother had tried to create trouble in the original story so that part Ackster could believe. Of course, since he crossed the line, The Hero disposed of him without Dala ever finding out what happened.

Ackster held on to Stormcaller while watching Dala’s face to see if she would regret it. But Dala continued looking at the increasingly turbulent sea. He decided to let it go. He had gotten what he came for—experience and Stormcaller. And it had gone off mostly without a hitch. There was no reason why he shouldn’t be satisfied.

When the cold water droplets began trickling down, Dala broke her silence.

"What are you going to do now?"

"Ask if you have an umbrella, maybe."

"You won against the champion, me, and it seemed like that’s what you came to Matar for."

"That’s true."

"You also got Stormcaller."

"Apparently."

Dala looked at Ackster, who nonchalantly refused to open his mouth. But Dala was nothing if not stubborn.

"You can stay here, you know?"

"You mean...?"

"Yeah. It fucking sucks to admit, but at the rate you’re progressing, you’ll surpass me eventually, even if only in pure combat ability, thanks to your ridiculous stamina. Until then, you’re one of the few who can fight me on equal grounds. It would be beneficial for us both if you stuck around so we can continue sparring. What do you say?"

Ackster couldn’t say he hadn’t expected the offer. With how much the two of them had fought and developed by fighting each other, it was only natural to continue since it would help them both get stronger. Ackster himself would have considered broaching the subject if he didn’t have things to do, such as becoming strong enough to stop the end of the world.

And while he could get stronger and hone his martial arts by dueling Dala, there was a limit to the efficiency. Just like Dala had started learning his habits, moves, and patterns, Ackster had started learning Dala’s. Rather than getting better and winning, it was more likely that they would rely on their knowledge and understanding of the other in a fight.

They would fight better against each other. They would also slowly deepen their understanding of themselves. But they would learn to fight against each other and improve their anti-Ackster or anti-Dala fighting skills. Against others, that kind of development would only be detrimental.

Ackster had already gotten as much experience as he could from Dala and the other fighters of Matar. If he wanted to further his understanding of both the Unimportant Whatever Arts and martial arts in general, he needed a more varied pool to dive into.

"I’ll take your silence as your answer, then."

Dala sounded a little disappointed, but she also knew it wasn’t too good to get hung up on a specific fighting style or person. She would just have to get stronger by fighting others and then show Ackster that he won by a fluke the next time they met.

"Before I go, how about one last round?"