A Certain Itch

Edrick took off his bag and threw it away, repeatedly firing more arrows at the approaching red figure.

Even though the Guardian was moving at top speeds, it still managed to block and deflect nearly every arrow. As for the few that managed to slip past its defences... It was almost comical how little damage they actually dealt, only stabbing into the creature’s flesh in the most shallow manner possible.

They didn’t even stay planted in its skin at all, soon falling off without even drawing blood. However, Anoteros wasn’t discouraged. The very fact that some arrows had managed to strike its body was proof that the Red Guardian’s defences weren’t infallible. It could be hit, and as such, Edrick only needed to hit this thing hard enough to deal damage.

The best way to do so was by targeting areas that were notoriously feeble. If Edrick's arrows could somewhat get lodged through its skin, then they could certainly deal damage to its eyes.

Such sensitive areas were naturally the most heavily guarded by the Red Guardian though, so Edrick decided to drop his bow. Toxins wouldn’t work either, as he only had poison that needed to be ingested… Venom wouldn’t work either, as the wounds were too shallow. They didn't reach any blood vessels.

Instead, Edrick brought out his Kanabo and channelled Oni Smash through it.

Although the strength of the special attack was far from exceptional, it did shatter the ground toward a target, and even if it didn’t deal any damage, it ravaged one’s foothold--This was exactly what happened to the Guardian.

Its–Or now that Edrick was getting a better look–His feet did not meet solid ground as the soil beneath him exploded upward. As expected, the blast itself didn’t budge the creature, but the Red Guardian sank into the hole created by it.

Since he had been running at full speed, the result was him falling against the ground face-first, ending all of his momentum in an act utterly lacking in grace. This seemed to hurt him a little bit as small cuts manifested over his face. However, he was still very much unharmed in the grand scheme of things.

Now, the distance separating Anoteros and the Red Guardian was far less, allowing the young noble to get a better look at the features of this creature. He had heard a lot about him by now... A unique being, defender of the secret realm, some sort of agent that made sure the will of this realm was respected.

He had been told that the Guardian resembled a red-skinned orc, and although he had never seen any kind of orc personally, he had seen some illustrations. This fellow did indeed match the appearance of some of the larger orc species.

Though he lacked tusks entirely, and had a full head of dark hair that reached nearly down to his waist. His face was rough around the edges, his eyes full of a certain clarity.

The Red Guardian’s skin was a bright shade of red throughout his whole body. He wore clothes you would expect from such a being, dressed in garments crafted from the local beasts. Though he didn’t seem to believe it necessary to wear anything above his belt, leaving his muscular chest exposed.

For some reason, Edrick immediately noticed that his nipples were the same colouration as his skin, making it look like he had none at all.

Also, there was something odd about his belly button.

It just didn't look right. It was as though this wasn’t the mark that the Red Guardian had been born from a mother, but that whatever had given birth to him had done their best to imitate the shape of a navel.

There was indeed talk that the Red Guardian was unique, a being crafted by the realm itself as a way of self-defence, and to Edrick, the strangeness of its bellybutton seemed to confirm that theory… That, or whatever species the Guardian was from had some odd shape for this.

Standing only about twenty meters apart, Anoteros looked down at the Guardian. The being--although tall--Was still shorter than the noble scion by about ten centimeters... He also had a very compact physique, and was much less wide. So from a glance, the human looked physically stronger than the orcish creature.

But of course, this was not the case. Edrick was a powerful human with an enhanced physique, but a human nonetheless, whilst the Red Guardian was from an unknown species that clearly possessed a body that operated on a different level compared to that of a human.

Although humans were stronger than most would give them credit for, they were indeed quite the squishy species overall. Therefore, even though he was in possession of an incredible body that had been augmented through various means, Anoteros did not believe that he could challenge the Guardian in a contest of strength.

But it wasn’t like he needed to.

The Red Guardian marked a pause. He still wanted to head for the temple--But although driven by a single wish, he still retained high intelligence and understood that Edrick was intentionally getting in the way.

The young noble didn’t look anything like the typical human, and due to his bloodline, he had the presence of a bestial lord.

“Hey, do you speak, buddy?” Edrick took up a stance like he was going to fight, but spoke a friendly question.

“Me… Speak little your tongue”

Edrick blinked. He hadn’t actually expected the Guardian to have an answer.

“Oh, that is fantastic! Listen, I don’t mean to annoy you or anything. In truth, the guy inside isn’t really my ally, but I have to put up a front for a while, especially since he is basically immortal right now”

“I… Mortal?”

“Unkillable”

“Nothing is… Unkillable…”

“Considering this mess of a world, I feel like this statement is provably wrong... But I don’t mean literally invincible, I mean that he has a destiny or fate that will sort of bend reality around him if you try to kill him before the proper steps are taken- So in truth, even if I let you in, you won’t be able to kill him”

“...Me… Not believe”

“That’s fine. Why don’t you want anyone inside that temple?”

“...Temple of… My god…” said the Guardian, waving his arms at everything around him.

“Oh, a temple to the realm?”

“Yes”

“Are you afraid that he’ll desecrate it somehow? Don’t worry, he won’t do any of that. He’s here to pay respect to the realm, or at least, that's what he told me” Edrick smiled, and the Red Guardian frowned.

“I… Have wasted enough time… Out of the way… Now”

Edrick cracked his neck.

“I am afraid that won’t be possible- Do you have any idea how bored I have been? I haven’t had a proper fight in ages. Can you imagine having all of those supernatural abilities, but never getting to use them in full? I have an itch to scratch, and you look just about like a good opponent to do exactly that”

The Red Guardian growled, but soon enough, even the stalwart being showed an expression of surprise.