Let's bury the hatchet

'I used too much strength' frowned Alex as he looked at the aftermath of his punch.

Talia's collision with the wall created a massive crater in the arena wall, causing her to lose consciousness.

She was the only participant to have fallen unconscious; the others were gravely injured, but none lost consciousness because the body of a level 4 was quite sturdy.

'She is definitely going to nag me when she wakes up,' sighed Alex again as he approached Talia, who was being healed.

"How is she ?" Asked Alex as he got near.

"She was pretty injured, but we healed her external wounds and gave her a potion for the internal ones, so she should be okay now" replied one of the healer.

"Hmm, I see. Take good care of her then," said Alex as he turned to leave, only to suddenly come to a stop.

"What is it now?" asked Alex of Amelia, who stood before him with a reproachful look.

"Did you have to hit her with so much strength? Did you want to severely hurt her?"

"No, I simply miscalculated," replied Alex, trying to slip past Amelia, knowing that whatever she said next wouldn't please him.

As he expected...

"Wait, won't you carry her to the resting room? She is in this state because of you in the first place" said Amelia.

"Sigh, Amy, there were many participants who lost and were even more injured than Talia. However, did you see their opponents being the ones to shoulder them to the resting room?"

"No"

"Then why should I do it ?"

"Because you are compassionate, you will carry her, right?"

Alex's first thought was to respond with a 'no,' but seeing the look Amelia was giving him, he sighed, then turned around with an annoyed expression and went to pick up Talia."

"Yes, I was certain you would do it, you are so kind~" Said Amelia with a teasing smile as Alex picked up Talia.

"Yeah, right" grumbled Alex as he walked toward the resting room.

"Don't take too long, my fight won't last long, so you might miss your one if you take too much time" shouted Amelia to Alex.

When her opponent heard what she said, his lips twitched, but he kept silent, knowing that her words might hold some truth.

Although he wouldn't disparage himself when it came to his strength, he knew that if monsters like Amelia and Ector or Alex didn't collide with each other and became his opponents instead, he wouldn't surely make it to the semi-final.

Meanwhile, Alex nodded his head and exited the arena.

"We will now start the semi-final stage!" Exclaimed Adrian.

"Are the both of you ready ?"

Amelia and her opponent -Silas- nodded in unison.

"Then, start!"

***

As the battle between Amelia and Silas began, Alex entered the resting room. He walked toward the bed in the room and proceeded to place her at the end.

The instant he placed her on the bed, Talia's eyes snapped open. Their eyes met, and then Talia slowly looked down, noticing Alex's hands on her.

'F*ck'

"Ahhh..." Talia released a loud scream of fear while hastily distancing herself from him.

"You disgusting pervert! What were you trying to do to me in my sleep!"

"...."

As Talia was cursing him, calling him a pervert, Alex just stood there with a blank expression.

'What were the chances that she would wake up at the exact moment I placed her on the bed?' wondered Alex

'Whoever is causing this situation, you will pay for this!' vowed Alex.

He entertained the thought of ignoring Talia and just leaving. However, knowing her big mouth, he was sure that if he left before clearing the misunderstanding, within a few hours, he would be known by the whole family as a molester and a rapist. He definitely didn't want that.

"You piece of shit-"

"WOULD YOU FUCKING CALM DOWN?"

His sudden outburst caught Talia off guard and she shut her mouth.

"I didn't try to do anything to you while you were sleeping, I brought you here to rest because you have fallen unconscious after my blow"

"Oh... I see" replied Talia, realizing the situation.

The room then fell into an awkward silence, with none of them knowing what to say.

"Well, I will go" said Alex, not supporting the awkwardness.

"W-Wait!"

"What is it ?" Asked Alex with raised brows as he turned back.

"T-Thanks"

"Hoh, I never thought I would one day hear you thanking me, now that I think about it, why do you hate me so much?" Asked Alex.

"As if you don't know" replied Talia with somber expression.

As she said, Alex was indeed very aware of the reason why she hated him.

'Hah, I was really a little asshole back then, thought Alex with a chuckle as he recalled the events that led to his relationship with Talia to deteriorate.

After it was revealed that he had a trash talent, Alex had become mood was always down and others kids constantly making fun of him certainly didn't help his mood to get better.

At that time, the only ones who supported him were his close family, among theses were Talia.

Back then, she wasn't as busty as she is now, and her chest was, well, nonexistent. She was a sweet girl that everyone liked because she never even swore. She was very kind to Alex, always trying to please him because at that time, she had a serious crush on him, even though he was her cousin.

One fateful day, she decided to confess her love to him and his answer crushed her heart.

"Sorry Talia, but you are flat. I don't like flat women"

She had prepared herself to be rejected, but she thought that the basis of his rejection would be something along the lines:

'I can't be with you because you are my cousin!'

However, his reply really crushed her.

At first, she felt disappointment, then sadness before becoming enraged.

"You asshole!"

Alex was pretty shocked because he never heard her swore, at that moment he realized that he fucked up, so he tried to calm her down, but then something happened.

Talia awakened her abilities at that moment.

The calm pond of water near them suddenly became turbulent, and water tentacles rose in the air.

Before he could understand what was happening, the water tentacles surged toward him, engulfed him, and formed a bubble with Alex inside!

'F*ck, I can't breathe; she is going to kill me!' thought Alex with dread.

A few seconds passed, and Alex started to drown in Talia's water bubble.

At the moment he thought that all hope was lost, Ava appeared and touched the water bubble. When she did this, the water forming the bubble separated, and Alex was saved.

"Cough cough cough..." Alex coughed violently when he was saved from the water.

It wasn't until that moment that Talia snapped out of her trance and quickly rushed to Alex while apologizing.***

"Don't approach me, you psycho! You nearly killed me!" Shouted Alex.

Seeing the rage in his gaze as he looked at her, tears welled up in Talia's eyes, and she fled away while crying.

Alex immediately regretted his words and wanted to apologize, she was indeed on the verge of killing him, but he knew that it was an accident. However, Talia was nowhere to be found.

He didn't manage to see her until two years later.

The day he saw her again, his mouth nearly dropped to the ground as the 'flat' Talia was no more, she carried with her two enormous pair of boobs.

"What are you looking at, pervert?"

When he heard her talking to him like that, he realized that it was not just physically that she changed, but also mentally.

However, at that time, Alex, who didn't tolerate insults, didn't let anyone insult him and do nothing. Instead of apologizing for what happened two years ago, he retorted by also cursing at her. From that day on, their relationship became one marked by bickering each time they saw each other, despite Ava and Amelia trying to reconcile the two of them.

'What a mess' sighed Alex.

"Hey"

"What ?" Asked Talia.

"Let's bury the hatchet"