"What's so funny?" he asked, puzzled by my laughter.
"Come on, really? You think just because you have some powers, you get to kill others without consequences? What a joke," I scolded him.
But, if I'm being honest, my thinking was kinda messed up too. The only thing setting us apart? I'm overpowered.
"Okay, let's break down your logic here. If humans are so beneath you, why the need to stay in the shadows? Gifteds aren't exactly running the show. Torching one building doesn't scream superiority. A fighter jet loaded with napalm could pull off the same stunt," I mentioned casually, tapping my in the air finger to drive home the point.
At this point, I was just messing with him, aiming to stir up more irritation before making my final move.
His reaction was a mix of frustration and anger, evident in the squinting of his eyes. The flames around him flickered, as if mirroring the hatred burning within him.
"Gifteds are more superior," he shot back.
After I laid out the obvious, he seemed kinda speechless. Honestly, I've already figured out why they aren't calling the shots. It's just that there hasn't been anyone strong enough to take on the sheer number of humans and their cleverness.
A single nuke could wipe out anyone, even me, no exceptions.
"Really? I thought 'gifted' meant like, autistic or something. Maybe a name change would be smarter? How about 'awakened'?" I fired back, throwing in a mockingly thoughtful look.
I couldn't help but chuckle at my own jokes, fully aware that it would only fan the flames of his anger.
The system kept buzzing with notifications, showering me with EXP. It was a long-established fact—the stronger the individual, the more EXP I'd gain. This encounter was turning out to be quite the lucrative venture for me.
"Cut the crap. What's your price for her?" he demanded, clearly aware of his limits as long as his girlfriend was under my control.
I took a moment, pretending to ponder his question.
"Let me think. My handsome face is now messed up because of you, so you should compensate me," I said, adding a nonchalant tone to my response.
After seeing my actions, the flames around him dimmed a little. But I could tell that he was still cautious. Only an idiot would lower their guard at a time like this.
But my next move shocked him.
I slowly controlled Kim Soo-Min to float towards him. Seeing this, the flames around his body started to retract, as he didn't want to risk burning her.
As she inched closer to him, the flames in his hands finally extinguished.
"Soft," a sinister smile appeared on my face. The moment his hands touched her, her body jerked for a moment, and blood splattered all over the place as she exploded from within.
Blood rained like a shower, and his body was now bathed in it.
"W—What did you do?" he stuttered; his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Wait, are you blind?" I played dumb. "Didn't you see her going kaboom?" I burst into maniacal laughter at his reaction.
"You're dead!" His emotions ran wild, and his transformation began to unfold again.
This time, things cranked up a notch. The fire in his body went full-on blue, and like my Astral projection, he shot up to 4 meters tall. It was like the flames were his own personal exoskeleton.
'This wasn't in his skill list, so it means that this skill far out levels my Mind Eye,' I muttered to myself.
No doubt, seeing something like this was a shocker, but I've got a bunch of skills up my sleeve to counter him.
"DIE!" He roared in anger, the sky turning bright as he flew towards me like a missile. The distance between us was so short that he appeared before me in a blink of an eye.
Next thing I knew, his fist tightened, and he unleashed a fiery punch, so hot that every metal nearby started to melt away.
BOOOOOOOOOM!