Chapter 15—Little Secret Of Nath

She quickly stood up and threw a kick at Valor; directly to the abdomen, But he reacted quickly and guarded the kick with his hands. In exchange, he slid three inches away from the initial position to kill the force.

"I heard that there would be a competition here, The young anspirings of the other towns will travel to rafffvet." she said when she got up on her feet

"You mean those from Hotrock, steel heart, And wintstones?" he asked and she nodded before she attacked with a punch, He Avoided by leaning on the right before he punched her on the abdomen.

"I'm not planning to go, It's too time-consuming for my tight schedule, I'll join some if I needed the prize." He replied before steam came out of his nose.

"Thirteenth breath, Thirteenth move"

He then extended his feet and tried to kick her on the chest but she replied by grabbing his ankle, locked his position, and moved her feet to kick him in the direction of the dingling nuts.

"That's nasty." Harden on the side couldn't help but grunt in pain, imagining how painful it will be.

But Valor rotated horizontally and kicked her on the face, this made her take two-step backwards and spit blood. But instead of grunting painfully, she smiled and rushed to him seriously.

He who was already serious readied his stance, before she punched and fired bullets simultaneously; showing him the power of double wielders—The technique of her family.

He kept on defend by slashing bullets that came near—While building momentum as his steam stack increases. His every attack rose in power as time passes by, and his speed quickens with his every breath.

Rein and the spectators noticed this ability of Valor quickly, "This magic body of Valor, is like that of a locomotive train. It fastens and gains momentum as time passes by. But as all locomotives are, they cannot keep on accelerating nor remain at full speed every time. It'll explode if it reached its limit." Elizabeth at the far end of the room analyzed.

"Thirtieth breath, Thirtieth move."

With the thirtieth move, Valor is now steaming hot. He began to attack, the first one left a crack on her mechanical arm while his speed is now barely noticeable.

"Shit! That made my hand numb!" She exclaimed when she felt the gravity of that attack.

"Thirty-first breath, thirty-first move!" he lept to the ground with his knife aimed at her neck.

His voice is now louder in volume, while steam emission doubled and the next attack made Rein feel fear—something she hasn't felt in a while.

She quickly defended with her now cracked mechanical arm, while the hunting knife traveled faster than the slash before.

With a loud bang! The crack largened with the knife's momentum, her mechanical arm was nearly destroyed by the collision and was deemed barely usable. She wore a pained expression but remains her cool, as she quickly aimed her shotgun at his chest and fired quickly while he's on air, This made the steaming body of Valor fly away three meters; Before he landed with both feet on the ground.

"Thirty-second breath, Thirty-second move." He again pronounced when he landed on the ground, leaped running, and closed the distance of them immediately.

Rein who had just taken off her mechanical arm panicked under the sight of Valor's knife, she quickly grabbed the ends of her gun and used that to catch Valor's blade.

But the riffle was quickly halved and her guardless neck was revealed, the hunting knife quickly traveled that path—fast and precise, she's dead in real battle if this happens.

Valor who knows she already lost quickly turned off all of his power, His steaming body vanished, and the buff before freed away from his body. With this, he felt better as the strains were removed, no more feeling of exploding anytime.

He quickly loosened his grip on the knife for safety, making it fall to the ground. before patting her shoulder.

"That was a great match." He said smiling at her before he bowed and went to his knife, Sheathed it back and left her still shocked.

"Damnnn... That was great boy." Harden came with amazement in his eyes, slightly envious about Valor's path.

"Looks like that's it." Elizabeth said a bit disappointed, That was a good fight. She can attest to that.

Also seeing her daughter learn about the dangers of this world is great, This way she'll have the desire to become stronger, Stronger than the initial best she thought. Becoming stronger than Valor would be her first goal.

"Just wait, I'll build stronger and better machines for you." She said regaining her spirit when she finally got over her loss.

Valor smiled and replied, "I'll be waiting for your machines then." A tint of teasing tone can be heard.

She smirked, Took her scrapped weapons, and said to him with a fighting aura in her eyes, "Just wait then, I'll create a set just for you."

"I'm flattered." He said with a smile before he looked at the two who are now walking to them, "That was a great fight, better than two ferals fight."

Valor smirked with his mother's regard, Used to her usual jokes. They stopped to their kids before they said to them their plans.

"By the way Kids, Your aunties will go out tonight so I will place all the responsibility on your older brother, harden." Charlotte said before looking at harden with a smile, Elizabeth also smiled at him and said, "Just one-night sweety."

"So you just want me to babysit?" He quickly went to the point, Not beating around the bush, "Glad you understand Har, Okay goodbyeee..." His mother answered with a devious smile before the two middle-aged women walked away laughing.

"Hell, I didn't even agree yet!" He said troubled, clearly he doesn't want to babysit the two.

The usual occupants of the Lustrave's manor are now at the kuruuk forest to exterminate goblins, So there are no adults that can manage the house, Beside the old guard of the manor.

He grunted and scratched his head, "Damn, I also have plans tonight." He said looking at the two middle-aged women, slowly vanishing away from his sight

Valor beside him smiled with a stare, "It's sister Veronica isn't it?" He asked him teasingly. The two has strange chemistry since they met five years ago. Harden went to the church to get rid of his curse he got at the woods, and sister Veronica did his healing.

"Veronica? No, No way..." He denied with obvious lies, Valor's smile largened before he spared Harden from work. "You can go you know, we're not eight years old anymore. I'll even call the group for a night over if it will assure you."

Har doubled think before he thanked Valor, "Really!?... Then thank you very much...Now, I can go and shop at uneventful night." He still denied his relationship with the sister.

He then walked out of the room excited, A bit expectancy is mixed on his face.

"Damn, I had never seen him this excited." Rein commented while she looked at her brother with a smile.

-----

"Nath, Don't go to the grass please, You'll get bruises!" A maiden's Voice echoed in the garden, while chuckles of a boy can be heard. In the property of the church, the two can be seen standing on the gass with different plants surrounding them. This is the orphanage's garden where kids is taught to love nature and harness fruits and veggies.

"But this butterfly is just so beautiful Sis, How about I call it Veronica?" Nath in his ninth year replied with an innocent smile. "Why?" the Sister asked, already knowing the answer.

"Because it's beautiful like you! Hehe." he compared them with a cute chuckle, while she smiled and thanked the heavens for giving them this sweet boy.

She was looking at the bright smile of Nath when she heard a voice behind them, "Hey Nath! You shouldn't be there, you'll get a bruise you know. It would be a trouble to heal you again." Sarah with a basket of laundry shouted from the door, stood barefoot on the concrete floor of the church.

"Hey! I told you I'm doing the laundry this week." Veronica said when she saw the laundry Sarah's carrying.

"You'll do the laundry on your date? Are you really that much of a housewife already?... We know he wouldn't mind it but be presentable you know. You'll end up losing your lover at this rate." Sarah said when she heard Veronica's words, Insisting to do the laundry for her sake.

"I'll also watch Nath, So don't worry and enjoy going out with all your heart's content." She added before setting foot on the garden, before she went to the wall where a faucet is found.

"Hays... Alright then, Make sure Nath doesn't hurt himself okay, granny and other staff aren't here at the moment." She said and went into the house, Sarah then continued opening the faucet before placing the powdered soap.

Nath on the flowers took out a jar, before he captured the butterfly with the flower it's latching on. Enclosing the two art pieces of nature within the cylinder glass.

"Hey Nath, Can you pass me the wooden board?" Sarah asked the boy, He happily obliged after he hid his jar on the grass. He then went back to get the jar and quickly ran to the orphanage's hallway. "Hey! No Running!" Sarah shouted when she saw him running.

But he didn't heed and ran to their room still, With three double beds perpendicular to the left wall— His bunk is at the third bed, the lower one. Here also lives his brothers, not blood related but brothers.

No one's here except for him, probably cleaning the house and are all doing their house works. So he quickly ran to the last bed and crawled on his bunk to the other edge where the wall is found, He then lifted the edge of his futon, and the small ventilation on the wall was revealed.

He then opened the screen of the ventilation and the metal pipe inside was seen, going on, it connects every room of the house. He smiled before crawling in that ventilation pipe; his nine years old body fits perfectly for him to crawl.

He then used the string he attached to the screen to close the vent from behind, before crawling in the vent with a warm smile.

With just four crawls, He crossed the wall but he didn't stopped. Ten more crawls and he arrived at a square hole on the metal ground. Another room is found below, It's an abandoned one, Below the concrete ground is a recess room—abandoned by the previous owner. He found this room two years ago, till now he isn't caught yet.

He went out the bottom hole of the pipe using the stair he set before, And the four by three by two meters large room was seen. Here are shelves of books and portable blackboards are left dusted, It seems like an old study room.

"Dark Anatomy."

"Theory of chimeras."

"Two hearts and the living dead."

"Neuro transplant"

He passed these opened books lying on the ground; obviously banned, as when one looks at the ink, they can quickly identify it's blood. He then arrived at the old table, here are pickled specimen of animal organs and tissues, An electricity wire, and cube batteries.

"Mantises eyes, Bunny's tissues and muscles, chicken feathers, Rabid's teeth, bullfrog's tongue, Crabs legs, three scorpion stingers, poison glands, then Hallucinogen wings of this butterfly! Yey! My creation is now completed." He counted the ingredients before he looked at the jar where the butterfly still silently lies.

He placed the jar on the table before looking at the other glass, in the solution of salt. Floats a monster inside.

It has a main muscular body, as big as that adult rabbit. covered with feathers, has six thick crab feet, sharp teeth, Three modified stinger as the tail, And the bulging eyes of multiple mantises. then next is the wings he'll attach to the back, not to make it fly, but to have the power to induce hallucinations. Nath giggled excited as he is about to complete his creation at last, so he took out a stick and poked the monster. Surveying if the preservation technique worked.

Not in his sight, The butterfly suddenly looked at the monster in the glass of solution. With that sight of a lifeless body, Hair like limbs came out the butterfly wiggling, With an excited screech coming from the tentacles of the butterfly.