Chapter 134
Chapter 134
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Fistfight
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Rophuk completely changed his attitude after failing to contain that momentary burst of anger.
"Is this planet really that important to you? Hypocritical and disgusting. Even when your life is on the line, you defend these native scum and try to deceive me?"
He, who had been especially kind to me alone, now showed a ruthlessness that bordered on cruelty. It felt like he was severing every bit of mercy he'd extended up until now.
"Rophuk, I just wanted you to reconsider... I-I didn't mean to make you this angry. I really just hoped you'd think it over one more time...!"
"Then let me give you my answer right here. I'm not changing my plans. This planet and that moon—I'll end them both with my own hands."
Even as he focused on completing the cannon, Rophuk began hurling words that outright denied my wishes and beliefs.
"What? Give the planetary natives a chance? Don't make me laugh. Living things don't change that easily. You can tell just from how stubbornly you're clinging to your ideals right now. This place will never change. Not in months, not in years—it'll be the same! Nothing gets resolved. It's history repeating itself!"
Even his artificial voice couldn't hide the fury. Rophuk vented his rage at me without pause, all while hammering away at his cannon.
Beside the massive cannon slowly taking shape, we shouted at each other. There was no give, only raw emotion directed at one another.
"Boy, want me to tell you the one and only way to resolve everything? Get stronger."
Thud—
Rophuk smashed his fist into the cannon's outer shell. The heavy impact echoed with a metallic ring, filling the temple interior with an ominous sound.
"Looks like you still haven't figured it out. With that temperament and those skills, you'll never accomplish a thing. Fine then—how about a proposal to fix that rotten mindset of yours?"
Rophuk seemed to have made up his mind. The blue engine lights swirling around him created an eerie atmosphere, and I could almost feel space itself warping.
"If you can beat me by force, I'll abandon my plans immediately and hand over Ember. I'll promise to destroy only the moon and leave the planet alone."
"Wait... you're serious...?"
The blue glow began to shift to red. Rophuk activated his combat engines and pointed his index finger at me.
"...Of course I'm serious. Come at me properly, oh savior of the planet. If you truly want to protect this place and thwart my plans, then take it with that feeble fist of yours."
He towered at least two heads taller than me,
and his body was loaded with dozens of lethal weapons.
High-performance armor plating and synthetic muscle fibers that human flesh could scarcely dent let out a chilling whine as they advanced toward me. Rophuk carried a [resolute will] that set his inner sanctum boiling.
I shrank back before him, desperately trying to sort through my tangled thoughts and emotions. There was no reason for me to fight Rophuk here, and I didn't have even the slightest chance of beating him.
Zero.
Not even a remote possibility. If Rophuk truly meant to kill me, I'd be reduced to a lump of meat in seconds.
"Calm down first. If I've made you angry, I apologize. But we don't need to oppose each other like this. Rophuk, instead of resorting to violence like this, we can resolve our conflict through dialogue—"
But no matter what I said, Rophuk didn't stop advancing. I backed away, trying to put distance between us, but...
"Why act surprised now? Ever since you arrived on this planet, your fists have always come first, haven't they? I was just showing a little consideration."
Rophuk ignored my words entirely
and drove a metal fist into my unguarded abdomen at a speed that tore the air itself.
Thwack!
My mind blanked out for a moment before snapping back. It might have been better to just pass out, but my stubbornly returning consciousness screamed from deep within my body, throwing a fit.
One more hit, and I'm dead.
Among all the women I'd encountered so far, few had ever truly tried to kill me.
They'd capture me to make me their husband, or treat me like a living pantry, or keep me alive indefinitely just to torment me...
But Rophuk was different. Was this how fights between men were supposed to be?
No ulterior motives—just pure violence fueled by the intent to strike me down.
"Kuhk— Hngh, heuk..."
I curled up on the ground, clutching my stomach. My insides were already mangled from that single blow, yet Rophuk strode right up to my pathetic, trembling form and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Remember this pain well, boy. Maybe there are values in the universe that transcend strength, but in this wretched place where you and I dwell, nothing surpasses [strength]."
Then he hauled me up and forced me to my feet. Standing abruptly after such a gut-wrenching shock wasn't wise, but Rophuk had no intention of waiting.
Crack—
This time, the fist slammed into the spot just below my shoulder blade. The blow dug so deep it felt like it pierced bone, and my body flew backward, unable to withstand the impact.
"Aghk— Hraaagh—"
My bones shattered. I could tell without touching. It wasn't just cracked—it was splintered into pieces, leaving my arm useless.
"D-don't... come... closer..."
In a haze of spinning pain, I gripped my door cutter and aimed it at Rophuk, but he seized my wrist and crushed it.
Crunch—
"Aaaargh! Fuck! Let go! Let gooo!"
Only now did I realize how restrained he'd been all this time. When he committed to combat in earnest, he became an overwhelmingly formidable foe.
"Is that all you've got? Boy, what exactly do you plan to achieve with such pitiful power?"
He lifted my wrist until our eyes met, shining the cold, unchanging glow of his lens lights into my face as he asked.
"Disappointing. Good intentions without strength end up this pathetic. You can't protect anything—not even yourself—yet you meddle in others' affairs with that soft heart of yours."
My limbs thrashed in agony, pounding futilely against Rophuk's solid frame in a bid to break free, but it felt like my fists would shatter instead.
This was helplessness. The same powerlessness I'd felt repeatedly on this planet now dominated my heart once more.
"Can you really achieve the future you desire with such feeble strength? You can't even scratch me, the one standing in your way, yet you dare spout such nonsense?"
He was right.
That made me even angrier.
Clang—! Bang—!
I hammered my fists into Rophuk's chest,
and pummeled his face dozens of times.
"Iik! Iiit...!"
My fists would surely break first,
but I swung desperately, tears welling in my eyes, refusing to stop.
"Hit harder. It won't kill me. Come at me with resolve to die. Prove that all those heroic tales you told weren't just empty boasts."
Rophuk and I,
hearts and minds growing feverish, clashed without cooling down.
"Pathetic! If that's all you've got, die here. I see no mercy in sparing you any longer, no reason to bother."
My finger bones were already pulverized. But I wrapped the outer layer with Alraune's bark, reconstructing the severed muscles inside bit by bit, and kept targeting Rophuk's face.
"Grk..."
But even the surge of adrenaline and neurotransmitters couldn't mask all the pain and helplessness. No matter how hard I struck, Rophuk didn't budge, meeting me only with cold stares that asked if this was all.
I couldn't even swing anymore. Just looking at my bruised, broken fist was agony. Like an egg against a rock—it was inevitable, in a way.
"Y-you promised... If I win, you'll drop all your plans... and help me..."
Yet the words spilling from my mouth were nothing but unrealistic, foolish pleas.
"Fine... I'll let you win... Keep your promise..."
My trembling fist,
but I swung it once more at Rophuk's chest.
Thud—
It barely grazed him, but searing pain shot through my entire body. Every cell screamed at my brain: stop, you'll die, please spare me.
...But we didn't stop.
Rophuk now released my wrist entirely, taunting me to strike properly. He didn't counterattack, just stood silently, observing my ugly struggles.
Tang— Ting—!
The gruesome clash of bone and metal rang out endlessly. I didn't want to fight Rophuk, but if this was his way of conversing, I had no intention of refusing.
"..."
Rophuk prolonged this tedious torture for what felt like dozens of minutes. Or more precisely, I was torturing myself, and he merely watched in silence.
"..."
The lights flickered. What was he thinking, staring at a weak creature like me—one who ignored words, disobeyed orders, didn't know its place, and meddled recklessly on its own whims?
"Don't butt in where you don't belong next time. You might put both of us in danger."
The older of the brothers said. Deep inside their small cave hideout, an unnamed native girl wheezed softly in her frail sleep.
"...Got it."
"I'm not blaming you. But this girl's different from us. If her tribesmen come looking and spot us, you think they'll let us go? Thank us for watching their kid?"
They were close brothers who'd never truly fought,
but times like this always sparked a minor squabble.