Proof Of Strength

Vivian was petrified due to fear.

'Why am I so unlucky? I walked into his trap without knowing.'

The air around her changed indicating that they were in the vicinity of the Puppet Maker.

Vivian could see the signs of her previous battle remaining on the ground. The deep gullies and the shredded pieces of the tentacle-like branch were visible to her from where she was standing.

It was already too late to escape.

"Ohh, is this the place where you found that monster?" Raymond arrived before the butchered tree branch that was wiggling on the ground.

Raymond was disgusted with the slimy thing that was still moving even after being cut down from its main body.

To add more to his disgust, the pieces that were wiggling randomly, started to move towards him instinctively.

It was as if they could sense there was a source of nourishment nearby and their bodies moved accordingly.

"Ewww, gross!" Vivian who was too scared to talk finally opened her mouth in repugnance.

Her stomach churned at the thought of falling prey to such a monster. It was one of the worst possible ways to die.

And even after death, her body would be used to fool others and turn them into puppets.

It was even scarier than death to someone like Vivian who didn't want anything bad to happen to her people.

"Gross, indeed."

Raymond agreed with her and kicked the nearest piece of flesh to the side.

"Now, mind telling me where this monster of yours is?" He looked around and found nothing out of the ordinary among the trees surrounding them.

Everything looked as it should be.

"Hah, stop acting! Don't think I am clueless about your intentions!" Vivian scoffed. She was stalling for time and slowly gathering her mana.

"What? Be serious, I am here to help you find evidence!" Raymond looked her up and down. She had been acting strange after he refused to tell her about his affinity.

"Don't tell me, you think I am behind this?" Raymond felt like punching her face as she nodded to confirm his assumption.

"You fool! Run away from here if you think I am planning to harm you!" Raymond spat and released her arm from his hand.

"Hmph, you will attack me from behind if I try to run away—"

"Watch out!" Raymond yelled but Vivian was slow to react. Before she could realise what happened, a branch was rapidly heading towards her torso.

-Splat!

Raymond jumped between her and the branch and punched out just in time. The branch exploded due to the force, sending bits and pieces everywhere.

Its mucus-like fluids and bits of flesh landed on Raymond's clothes which made him gag. The stench wafting off of its bodily fluids was unbearable.

"You…you protected me?" Vivian was shocked beyond belief. Not only did she fail to see the branch, but she couldn't even tell when he got in front of her.

Never mind his speed, how was he able to destroy that branch so thoroughly when one of her strongest attacks was barely able to destroy some bits?

She knew he was physically stronger than her but she never thought it would be this absurd. Puppet Maker's tentacles were extremely tough and it needed a lot of strength to break it.

"Didn't I give my word that I will keep you safe? I will never go back on my word!"

'As long as it doesn't involve money.'

Raymond, even though half of his body was covered in mucus, appeared really cool in her eyes as he said those words.

Vivian blushed and looked away. Her face felt hot because of all the running she had done.

-Screeeeech!

A horrible screech echoed out in the forest as the Puppet Maker roared in pain.

Instantly, the trees nearby started to shake and their branches started to intertwine to take the shape of a hammer.

"Looks like this puppet maker has a bunch of Treeman for minions," Raymond said as he looked at the big wooden hammer that was in the making.

His hands were itching to destroy some things from the morning, so he let the trees do their thing.

He was in no hurry to finish off the opponent.

"It's a good thing that these fluids are not acidic or else my clothes would have been destroyed." Raymond checked his clothes to make sure they weren't melting due to the fluids.

"Ahh, what are you doing? Destroy that thing before it is completed!" Vivian shouted and hid behind Raymond for protection.

At this point, she was willing to believe that Raymond had no ill intentions towards her since that was all she could do.

Even if she ran she wouldn't be able to outrun him.

"Hey, stop pushing me!" Raymond didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

This girl was strange.

At one point she was accusing him of groping and then started to call him the puppet maker's partner in crime. And now, she was pushing him towards the Treeman and ordering him to finish off the hammer.

'Make up your mind, dammit! Either hate me or like me. Don't do everything at the same time, it's confusing as hell!'

As Raymond was cursing in his mind, the giant hammer was completed. Unlike Raymond, the Treeman beasts didn't wait for him to prepare. They swung the hammer right towards his head, intending to crush it like a watermelon.

Raymond smirked and headbutted the hammer that was coming for him.

-Crack!

"You are mad!" Vivian screamed in horror and covered her face. She didn't want to see his head splattering against the wooden construct.

However, instead of hearing the sound of squelching, she heard the cracking sound of wood breaking.

She peeked through the gaps between her fingers and her mouth opened wide in shock.

She had to bite down on her inner cheek to stop herself from screaming.

The wooden hammer had visible cracks on it that were spreading like a spider web. Right before her eyes, the gigantic hammer was being shattered just like her worldview.

Raymond was paying no attention to what Vivian was doing. His smile widened as the Treemen shook in pain.

Unlike the Puppet Maker, a Treeman didn't have a mouth, so it was unable to shriek like a banshee.

"Haha, now you decided to come out!" Raymond laughed and caught the slimy branch that jumped on him sneakily from behind.

It was really slippery and impossible to hold on tightly when it started to wriggle in his hand. Raymond felt like he could hold onto it if he used mana but he was reluctant to do so.

Why waste his precious mana when he could take care of it easily?

Thinking along those lines, Raymond twisted the branch that was slowly slipping from his hand. The branch also coiled itself around his forearms instead of trying to escape.

It was trying to bite into his flesh.

The sucker cups opened, showing the rows of sharp teeth hidden inside. Those teeth tried to latch onto his arms.

-Screeeech!

The Puppet Maker roared as its teeth were destroyed upon exerting themselves on his skin.

Raymond didn't wait this time, he pushed his legs into the ground until they sunk into the surface soil and pulled the branch hard.

A painful scream filled the air as Puppet Maker was uprooted from the ground.

Raymond manoeuvred his arms in an arc and the tree monster was flipped in the air with its head upside down.

The Puppet Maker was not willing to back down as it sent the rest of the Treemen towards Raymond.

But Raymond was prepared for its counterattack and used the Puppet Maker as a club. Using his legs as a pivot, he turned around and slammed the Puppet Maker against the Treemen.

Vivian's jaws hit the floor as she ducked under the onslaught of Raymond. He was using the mighty Puppet Maker as a weapon to beat down the Treemen.

It was almost poetic.

The Puppet Maker was being used as a puppet to destroy its minions.

"Take that, bastards!" Raymond shouted and threw the monster towards the few remaining Treemen and dusted off his hands.

Only the Puppet Maker was still able to stand on its legs or roots perhaps?

Vivian was unsure what to call them. They were definitely roots but acted as legs and allowed the monster to move freely.

"You never wanted to bring the evidence, did you?" Vivian asked Raymond who was looking at the Puppet Maker struggling to stand up with amusement twinkling in his eyes.

"Haha, why do you need evidence when you can destroy the source of the problem?" Raymond shrugged. "Anyways, it should still be fine if we inform the villagers after taking care of the monsters."

Raymond somersaulted and avoided the volley of branches that were shot towards his legs by the Puppet Maker.

"Cute," He snickered at the monster and landed on the branches with an axe kick that broke like twigs due to the force.

"Besides, I don't think anyone will complain that I didn't keep it alive,"

"Ye-yes, you're right…" Vivian nodded her head like a chicken pecking at rice.

The Sooner the monster was dead, the better it was.

"In that case, let me finish it right here and now!" Raymond disappeared from his spot and appeared above the Puppet Maker's head.

-Doomsday Punch-