Chapter 62: Eliza’s Reconciliation

Before I can even steady myself to take a look at my surroundings, a discomforting groan has already sounded:

“Ugh, why are you still here?”

I don’t even need to look at where it came from to know who the owner of that noise was. “Buzz off, brat. Do you think I wanted to follow you?”

“Why wouldn’t you?” Answers the bratty angel. “When you’re graced with the glorious presence such as myself.”

“You mean getting my eardrums bleed out by excessive screaming? Sure, let me grab some plugs first.”

Winds howl from my side, and a fist flies forward at a blistering speed. With the electricity from Gold Rush coursing in my mind once more, I manage to turn around just in time and catch the incoming punch, the collision between the latter and my palm sending shockwaves through the field.

Now that I finally have time (and heightened analytical senses), I take a glance over the field the two of us are in. A regular empty lot, filled with all sorts of different training dummies, surrounded by four cobblestone walls reminiscing of the fort we were stationed in.

“Now that’s a mean accusation you just made. Isn’t this your castle’s training ground?”

“What? No, you imbecile!” The girl, flustered that her surprise attack was stopped so easily, once again let out a deafening shout. “This is Heaven’s Gate… or at least, a room in Heaven’s Gate. It simulates the environment in our minds and chooses the best outcome.”

“Well isn’t that a swell home field advantage for the child?”

“Shut up!”

The girl throws out another punch from her remaining arm. However, just as I expected, aside from the monstrous strength, the punch is simple and easy to predict. In fact, I could just dodge it easily without even using Gold Rush. But for someone like her, just dodging isn’t enough.

I use my hand holding back her fist to push her away, disrupting her center of gravity. With her shoddy posture and her momentum put on her other side, the girl soon trips and falls, making the perfect opportunity for me to further put her down by delivering a punch straight to her stomach.

For just a fraction of a second, my mind hesitates on whether I want to hit her with a powered-up punch or not. But I soon let Gold Rush run rampant, giving my all in this one strike. For a sheltered, whiny girl like her, a thorough lesson is needed.

I let it rip and hit her with full force. The impact of her body against the ground sends even the castle walls rumbling, but the soft soil somewhat saves her from a completely broken back. The old man’s Gift assimilated too well on her, though, so much that I don’t think I hear any cracking bones even with that punch.

The girl springs back up still filled with life, and she’s seething with rage.

“How dare you!”

“If you got something to complain about, then at least get a punch on me first,” I grin, cracking my knuckles. An inexplicable feeling arises in me. Clearly, she’s an enemy that I need to beat, but seeing her squirming to fight back somehow gives me… joy? A sense of nostalgia, even?

“… Is this how you felt, old man?” I mumble. “Well, color me surprised.”

As the words leave my mouth, the girl rushes back in with her full force. Her wings propel her with the strongest wind they can muster, while the girl readies another punch like a shooting star.

But given her speed like this, it’s another easy dodge for me.

This time with just a simple sidestep, I manage to get out of her way completely, and a pat with my palm redirects her punch to the side again. The girl, this time, realizes this, but her sudden stop to avoid plunging herself into the wall results in her losing her balance and falling forward again.

“Damn it!” Letting out an enraged shout, the girl changes her direction and attacks once more.

Still full of openings, but of course, one can’t learn that fast in just moments.

I duck to avoid her punch, and from the momentum do a sweeping kick. Getting her to fall over is easier than taking candies from a baby at this point. Once again, the girl is down. And once again, she relentlessly continues.

“Let me hit you damn it!” She rages, throwing another punch into the air.

“You’re a couple decades too early to hit me, lassie.”

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“Watch me!”

The girl struggles to continue her assault. It seems like even if the Gift itself is incredibly powerful, there’s still a limit to how much she could use it. Well, this puts into perspective how ridiculous the old man was, at least, but it makes sense too. She’s only received her power just minutes ago, after all.

I almost feel sorry for going all-out… Nah, I’m not sorry at all.

I take a deep breath and take a step back, electricity cackling all over my body. This time, she’ll sleep for a while.

As my fist flies forward, our eyes meet.

In that moment, it’s as if time had stopped. From the look in her eyes, I can see… anguish. Rage. Insecurity. Such complex emotions from what seemed to be just a sheltered princess.

“Don’t look at me with those eyes!”

Her shout snaps me back to reality. In that instance, I hesitated, and now I’m paying for the consequences. Her fist manages to land on me first, and for the first time, I’m sent flying away to the opposite wall.

Compared to what the old man used to do to me, however, it’s still nothing. I manage to regain my ground in no time. However, the girl wastes none of her time either, and rushes towards me once more.

“All this time! Everyone looks at me like that!” With each shout, her fists land forward.

“Sure thing, Eliza! That’s alright, Eliza! You’ll do better next time, Eliza! Do you know how hard it was when you had a sister a thousand times better than you? Do you know how hard it was to get nothing but fake smiles saying that you did your best?

Did you think I didn’t try? Did you think I didn’t work hard? I did! I did everything I could! But it was always Sis! She got to do all the Royal’s training! She got to travel the world! She got Galatine! And what did I have? Empty praises! I know people are disappointed in me, but why would they not just say it?”

Her hits grow faster and faster, but at the same time, they carry much less weight than they did before. At this point, I can’t even call them punches anymore, just pounding from a crying child, craving attention.

Well, she is still a child after all. Acting out like this is just natural to her. But then again, dealing with her is a lot easier now.

No more hesitation. She wants this kind of attention, after all.

I break through her assault and deliver, this time, a full-powered punch.

The girl is sent flying. The wall crumbles down against the force of impact, while the girl is buried within a pile of rubble. However, like the extreme durability the old man once had, she gets up almost immediately, badly hurt, but nowhere near incapacitated.

“Why did you have to hit me so hard? Don’t you know it’s not nice to hit a lady?”

Yup, that’s the kind of reaction I expected. But it’s alright. I’m sure this is the first time she has had the chance to vent out her frustration, after all.

“Well, what are you gonna do about it?”

“I… I’ll make you pay!”

“Then come at me, Eliza, Second Princess of England, and new Archangel Raphael!”

The girl’s eyes beam with a glitter of joy, as she realizes it’s the first time someone has actually respected her for something she had done. Struggling to hide a satisfied smile, she shouts in return:

“Here I come, Demon’s chosen!”

I take a glance behind me, at the line written on the wall. Fight to the death or settle it peacefully, huh? While her type isn’t the one to settle things peacefully, I don’t think we’ll be killing anyone any time soon.

I wish we could have done the same thing too, Raphael... Father.

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