Chiron understood a great deal, but Heracles, blinded by rage, was incapable of thinking much at all.
He wanted nothing more than to beat down the bastard who'd dared to speak such arrogant words.
At this moment of madness, even beating him to death meant nothing.
The instant his fallen body hit the ground, his muscles tightened like a spring touching bottom, instantly rebounding. Legs raised, he launched himself at Rovi once more.
His tightly clenched fist ignited with tangible mana, blazing blue like surging thunder.
In a flash, radiant brilliance burst forth, and Heracles was already before Rovi.
Whoosh… whoosh…
Wind, mixed with rain, fell cool upon his face.
So Rovi grinned.
"With just this level, you think you can touch me? With that irrational fist, completely consumed by your own blood?" Rovi effortlessly dodged.
Merely a slight shift, missing by the narrowest margin.
Yet he had only evaded the fist from the front—Heracles, leaning forward from his momentum, clenched his other fist and swung it forward, violently erupting once again.
Even though reason had been drowned by rage and blood, the young demigod retained terrifying combat instincts.
The first strike had been a feint.
If Rovi relaxed slightly after dodging, the next blow would surely strike.
But unfortunately, Rovi had never once relaxed from start to finish.
No—more accurately, from the beginning to now, he'd never seriously taken a guarded stance at all.
"You're too weak, Heracles!"
Rovi lifted his hand, palm open, and calmly captured the incoming fist. Like an ox sinking into mud, the surging mana shattered instantly, collapsing and dissipating as though ground to dust. Strength powerful enough to shatter mountains simply vanished—Rovi lightly squeezed Heracles's fist, much larger than his own open palm, and then fiercely… swung!
BANG—
From fist, to arm, to shoulder, neck, chest, stomach… Heracles felt like he'd endured not just one, but multiple impacts all at once.
As Rovi released him, Heracles instantly crashed into the earth.
"Hmph—hahaha! A fist without reason—what could it possibly strike? Charging recklessly like a wild boar—you belong in the mud, chewing dirt!"
Rovi glared coldly, relentless.
"Cough, cough, cough…"
Heracles turned over painfully, coughing hard.
Blood dripped from his mouth, his resolute features pale, eyes blank and lost… Clearly, Rovi had knocked him clear out of rage and back into his senses.
Above, the clouds dispersed slowly, leaving only faint sunset rays.
"I lost…"
"Lost? Hmph—hahaha! Do you really think you're qualified to say you've lost?" Rovi sneered contemptuously, mimicking 'Gilgamesh' to perfection. "Only battles have winners and losers. Only clashes driven by your own will count as battles. And here—between you and me, does this even count?"
"Do you qualify? You think you're worthy? Worthy of what exactly?"
"No—you are not."
"A wild boar controlled purely by instinct belongs snuffling in filth, not charging about."
"You…"
Heracles's eyes widened slightly. As an illegitimate son of Zeus, though he disliked his power, he couldn't deny the arrogance it instilled in him.
Heracles had always considered himself strong. Even Chiron acknowledged this strength—it was enough to challenge gods themselves.
Yet now he had lost, thoroughly humiliated.
The just-calmed rage surged once more, divine blood boiling violently.
He snapped again.
"ROARR!" Another furious roar, animalistic—
"Who the hell are you roaring at, your mom?"
"?"
Heracles froze, utterly dumbfounded. This blunt, straightforward insult—he'd never heard anything like it.
"Dumbstruck? Hmph—hahaha! Can't even handle or comprehend such basic insults? What's the point of you even learning to be a hero? You should just go home and eat bran!"
"You…"
"You thick-headed idiot."
"You…"
"You absolute dumbass."
"…" Heracles finally ran out of words.
Chiron, who'd been nervously watching from the sidelines, was now equally stupefied.
He… just scolded Heracles back into sanity?
Back when Heracles had first been sent to him, he often fell into rages due to the divine blood within him. Even now, Chiron mainly used gentle persuasion to calm him…
"Big man, why so fragile?"
Rovi sneered.
He finally realized—being himself felt so much better.
Nothing beats genuine cursing!
Heracles remained completely stupefied, utterly at a loss. He would undoubtedly remember this moment vividly, never forgetting it for the rest of his life.
Yet Rovi turned his gaze towards Chiron…
Gulp.
The heroic centaur mentor involuntarily swallowed, growing nervous.
Surely the Sage wouldn't also hit him? Surely he wouldn't scold him, too?
Fortunately, he'd overthought it.
"Come, come, Chiron, let's get back on topic." Rovi waved, flashing a smile he considered gentle—though it made Chiron's heart tremble slightly, like facing a parent who'd just disciplined their child.
But that lasted only a moment.
The mentor of heroes naturally possessed the bearing of heroes.
"I want to become a hero. I hope you can teach me how. I'll even address you as Teacher Chiron."
You, a hero? You might as well become a god outright.
Of course, Chiron didn't dare voice that out loud.
"Although this is our first meeting, you are the guiding beacon on my path," Chiron said solemnly. "It would be proper for me to address you as 'Patriarch.'"
"That's no problem."
"From now on, you call me Patriarch, I'll call you Teacher. We'll each use our own titles. No interference."
Chiron: "?"
Am I the strange one, or is it you?
What do you mean, no interference?
But seeing Rovi's expression, Chiron found no words.
Rovi was entirely serious.
He truly wished to become a hero.
"That's settled, then! Hmph—Bwahahaha!" Rovi let out a mysterious laugh.
At any rate, he'd accomplished his goal here.
Satisfied his urge to curse, and also his urge to fight.
Now, he could comfortably proceed with his grand career of seeking trouble.
"Ugh…"
Heracles, collapsed on the ground, convulsed slightly, then fell silent.
He'd fainted.
Not due to injury, but simply exhaustion caused by the violent rampage of divine blood in his body. He'd recover after resting briefly.
Yet those words Rovi had said echoed endlessly in his mind.
A monster controlled by blood, devoid of reason…?
---
T/N: BWAHAHAHA!
...
im back, did a poll on my patreon on the new schedule and releases for webnovel so yeah
beep boop