Comparison
Nathan instantly recognized the view as the one from atop the Triangle. He narrowed his eyes for a moment before patting Smith on the shoulder and pushing him through the doorway, quickly following him.
"Good. That's useful. It sounded like there were about seven guys, but only one of them seemed strong. Make a door to the edge of the Triangle and I'll toss them through. Okay?"
Smith nodded with a serious expression. They were dealing with a matter relating to the city's safety here. He couldn't afford to fail.
Nathan grabbed Smith and jumped down the hatch he had made, making sure not to make a sound. The plan to ambush them from behind would be a failure if they were detected before they could attack, after all.
The invaders had already left the first room, but Nathan could hear their footsteps and chatter from the hallway. He looked at Smith and gestured at the door.
Nathan left the room with his presence concealed. As soon as he left, Smith opened the door from within and created a doorway to the top of the Triangle at the edge. Anyone who walked through it would plummet to their death.
It was one of Smith's fears and a horrible way to die. But it was a matter of saving the city. A few sacrifices were necessary. He steeled his resolve and waited patiently.
Smith didn't have to wait long before a person with a black leather jacket came flying and passed through the door. The person themself didn't even know what happened. Suddenly, they were outside the Triangle, plummeting to their death, their shrill screams doing nothing to give them the ability of flight.
Unfortunately, their screams reached the doorway and alerted the rest of the group of invaders, but not before Nathan managed to grab two by the scruff of their necks and pull them back, finally tossing them through the doorway.
The remaining four turned around and raised their arms.
However, Nathan's eyes only saw one tall person at the back who had black hair and red eyes. Dark smoke flowed around his body.
"Demonspawn's shit bug of loser street."
Rotgi flashed a forced smile as he recognized Nathan.
"I can't say I'm surprised to find you here. You always find the nastiest stains in the weirdest places."
"I guess you know a lot about nasty stains."
Rotgi's black smoke billowed out of him, and his subordinates stepped back with terrified and pained expressions.
"I knew today was going to be a good day when I woke up. You're in for it now, you little brat."
Rotgi strode forward, picking up speed with each step he took.
Nathan grinned and matched his stride. He wasn't the same scrawny beanpole he had been during their last encounter. He had also picked up the useful Sky Piercer Codex. Rotgi would be in for a surprise if he thought the fight would be as one-sided as it had been last time.
As soon as he was within reach, Rotgi flung his fist forward in a wild haymaker, trying to use the most of his momentum. Nathan raised an arm and blocked the strike, using his momentum to glide forward on the smooth floor and sucker punch Rotgi in the stomach.
Rotgi's smoke cushioned the blow and saved his breath from escaping.
Rotgi was taken by surprise, to say the least.
Nathan was faster, fiercer, and stronger than last time. Rotgi had a hard time believing it was the same person.
But that wasn't the only reason why he was surprised.
Last time, Nathan had remained unaffected by the negative emotions and pain the smoke inflicted. This time, Rotgi felt like the smoke didn't even manage to infiltrate or affect Nathan.
Nathan wasn't ignoring the overwhelming flood of negative emotions this time because there weren't any such emotions. He didn't feel any mind-numbing pain or heart-breaking despair.
Compared to the Sky Piercer Force, Rotgi's black smoke, the essence of his Demonspawn's Touch skill, was far inferior.
The only thing that gave Rotgi a fighting chance was the quantity. He had enough black smoke flooding out of him to both attack and defend against Nathan's Sky Piercer Force.
It was difficult to say that they were equal. But their powers somewhat neutralized each other.
The only thing they could use to fight each other were their hand-to-hand combat skills.
Rotgi was good. His skill was powerful, but it could only show its full potential when Rotgi fought someone in melee combat. He was a villain famous for brawling with one of the city's top heroes, the Duster. He had also grown up moving from the slums of one city to the slums of the next before finally settling in Avalio.
Fights and brawls marred every step of Rotgi's life.
However…
There was no comparison.
Rotgi was on the level of being an infamous villain in a city with thousands of citizens.
Nathan had the entire world, save for one person, cowering beneath him.
He had risen to that spot through his combat and his ability to make the most of his skill. But his skill had nothing to do with combat. It gave him insight into the lives of his rivals and rival candidates.
Sure, it helped him since he knew who he was fighting and what they could do. But knowledge didn't mean shit when a split-second's stray thought could decide the line between life and death.
After Nathan's first punch, Rotgi stepped back to reassess since he was clearly dealing with an enemy that was different from what he thought. Setting aside how he challenged Nathan in the first place, that was his first mistake.
Nathan stepped forward, staying close to Rotgi. He threw another tight punch toward Rotgi's abdomen. Rotgi blocked with his palm.
Nathan reached out and grabbed the wrist Rotgi handed him on a silver platter. In one smooth motion, he wrapped himself around Rotgi's arm, spun around, and yanked Rotgi over his shoulder, finally slamming him into the floor hard enough to make a dent.
Rotgi's smoke wasn't enough to cushion the blow, and he got the air knocked out of him. But if that had been enough to defeat him, he wouldn't have gotten his nickname or as far in life as he had.
Rotgi forced his lungs to calm down as he got up before Nathan could take advantage of the position he had set up.
That was his second mistake.