Epicurus smiled as girly pop music started playing in the background.
His life force then doubled...
Yes again.
"Kiss Kiss Kiss."
The bass dropped.
Mr. N's face twitched, annoyed, "The music, it's an extension of his life force, meaning we're already in his range.
Mr. N focused his core node, breathing in heavily, the grey matter in his brain bubbling.
Solomon opened his coat, revealing his weapons, ready to fight. He chose from 1 to 30 tools in his arsenal.
Then suddenly the music stopped. Epicurus remembered something vividly.
The God Stick...
This was to be a fight for the God Stick.
I love fighting.
More than anything.
It was the only thing I was good at.
Only someone who understands what it feels like to fall in love with their craft will understand what I'm feeling.
Whymzel, Osprey, Allen, they're all fun fights. Winnable fights, no doubt, but still fun.
'Regardless, I should wait until the presidency battle to wipe all 3 of them.'
A fight with Mr. N is not fun; it is just annoying. I'll be fighting schizophrenic attacks and hallucinations. It's going to destroy my tempo, and I won't be able to reach my peak.
"I might lose this," he thought. Epicurus was showing his maturity.
Mr. N breathed in deeply, thinking, "He'll be here soon. I just need to buy a little more time. No shot Epicurus has better physicals than Dreyfus. And his speed can't be that much faster than Osprey, I can take him, and I can hold him; I just can't make any mistakes."
Epicurus slowed down. He picked up his "fake" crown from the floor.
And so the man who looked like he was made of gold finally spoke out loud.
Epicurus looked sentimental "I can see it, N. There is a place in your perfect world for evil people like me. People with perverted fetishes for violence dressed up as justice."
"We see it all the time. Before humans even evolved and figured out how to use more of their brains. Cops turn off their bodycams and arrest civilians a little harder than usual. Maybe break a bone, kick them while they're down. An aptitude, an appetite for violence."
"In a perfect world, these things don't exist."
Epicurus stared at his crown. He was calm, his life force, his bloodlust soaked back up into his body. He was calm. Solomon was finally at ease.
Epicurus continued: "I spoke with Mori a few weeks ago. And he had a point, this world is spinning too slowly, it's changing so slowly, and I'm not perfect, I don't know what made me this way. But to survive, I simply decided that instead of questioning what is, I'll accept and move on."
"Do you think that makes me a loser, N?" Epicurus's eyes flashed red. His Life Force flexed like a muscle; it was as if thick smoke consumed the area.
Almost like you were trapped underwater, deep, deep into a pool.
"It makes you human." Mr. N looked nostalgic, thinking about his own humanity. "I always respected you. I knew you'd claim Canada, with or without Jeremiah. It is unfortunate how things have to turn out, though."
Mr. N stood down, suppressing his intentions. You could tell he was no longer interested in a fight, neither was he interested in getting God Stick from Mori's corpse.
"Send your best fighters to fight me in the Presidency battle. You'll need far stronger than Osprey. Well, actually, don't, if you want to win, that is. I am only number 6 after all..."
Epicurus jests, as he walks away, his cape vibrating in the wind.
Epicurus calmed his breathing as his anxiety seized fire.
He looked at his phone as he remembered the notes from his superior.
Elite Guard Rank 2: "2 fighters you must not engage. Dreyfus the Impaler, Elite Guard Rank 1, and Mr. N. As Konopleva told me, his real name is Issak EldritchHorror."
"Edgy I know, but do not find out why."
Solomon calmed his breathing, looking at the corpses of Roy and Petera, alongside the pathetic state Vera and Kage were left in. Still unable to move, they were nervously shaking on the floor as if their nervous systems had been wrecked.
Even Solomon's own trained lieutenants behind him, had their Life Forces exerted to the maximum, in an effort to defense themselves from Epicurus's energy, yet they felt invisible in the presence of Epicurus.
It was as if everything around him was being swallowed whole by the aura of that man alone.
Solomon commented, "That's the Elite Guard Rank 6 for the President? I am a goldfish in comparis—"
Mr. N cut him off. "Don't compare yourself. It's only natural the President's Elite Guard are more powerful than ours. More resources, more time, more experience. But leave that to me."
Mr. N rolled his eyes, looking at Osprey's body. He removed an earring forcibly out of his own ear, then forcibly clipped it onto Osprey's earlobe.
"For now, let's save what we can."
As Mr. N glanced over at Vera and Kage, "Get up and help us."
They nodded