With a deep breath, Gerald calmed his raging mind and his face returned to neutral expressionless.

"Alright, I have heard enough," he casually said and like lightning, his hand gripped the Elf by the collar.

"What-?"

With a twist of his hand, he pulled her closer and flipped her around, and then gave her a powerful kick in the ass. She was blasted out of the house and flew into the dark storm, landing face-first in the mud and skidding along the ground like a soft turd.

"My house, my rules! And foul-mouthed assholes like you are not welcome!" Gerald declared with a mocking grin. This arrogant Elf actually thought she could spit in his face and he would just take it. What a joke!

"You-!" She hissed while glaring at him. "A human insect dares to attack-!"

Before she could finish her words, however, Gerald jumped at her, gripped the back of her head, and pushed it back down so her whole face sank into the ground.

"Who's the animal rolling in the mud now, huh?! Ready to apologize yet?" However, his expression stiffened as he felt the Elf on the ground push off the ground with immense strength. His entire bodyweight did nothing to stop it.

"Why you little-!" the Elf growled, and a blade glistened in her hand.

"Oh shit!" Gerald exclaimed. "10X Gravity!"

Boom!

Mana surged around him, and they both sank into the ground, with the Elf losing balance and falling face-first into the mud for the third time.

"Ugh!" she groaned and struck the ground with her free hand. Slowly she stood up like some undying monster and glared with killing intent.

"Holy shit, how strong are you?!" Gerald exclaimed in shock.

"Despicable human! Enough of your tricks, die!"

Pow!

Ilyana Falle struck him in the jaw with her fist, and Gerald was immediately flung backward in an arc. The increased gravity was nullified in that instant.

Gerald groaned as he landed, and shock was clear in his eyes. This girl was strong! Extremely so!

He slowly got back up and spat out some blood. "Damn, nearly lost a tooth!" Luckily he reacted in time and protected himself with magic.

"Haaaah!" But the time for respite was already over. The mad Elf rushed at him and jumped, with both hands holding the blade and aiming at his chest.

"Guh!" Gerald gripped her hands and stopped her attack, however soon his arms began to tremble as she was slowly beginning to overpower him.

"Elemental Avatar!" he roared, and Mana surged, empowering his entire body. He started pushing back.

Realizing she was losing her advantage, the Elf quickly ducked down and swiped at Gerald's leg with her own. He fell and she jumped on top of him. They started rolling on the ground and grappling for the blade in the mud.

Then suddenly, the ground shook, and a roar resounded through the forest. Even the raindrops froze for a split second in the air, before falling back down.

"What was that?" Gerald queried as they both froze at that moment.

"Sssh!" The Elf covered his mouth while sitting on top of him and trembled slightly. Fear was evident in her eyes and her eyes darted from one place to another, seemingly in search of something.

Seeing her panicking like that, Gerald got a brilliant idea. "Stop squirming so much on my crotch, either do it properly or get off!"

Bam!

Immediately after the teasing words left his mouth, a fist came flying at his face. Luckily he moved his head out of the way, otherwise, he would probably end up with a broken nose despite the Elemental Avatar's protection.

"You bastard!" Ilyana hissed through gritted teeth and tried to stab him again.

Gerald, however, gripped her hand, pulled her closer to himself, and then rolled over with her in his grasp and landed on top. With the maximum exertion from his physical body as well as magical enhancement, he was just about strong enough to overpower her.

He held her hands tightly, not letting her make any sudden moves.

"Release me!" she growled. "How dare a mere human do this to me! Who are you?!" She tried to free herself, however, she was stuck.

Gerald grinned at the opportunity and solemnly said, "I, am death incarnate! Hahaha!"

Roar!

A sudden roar came from the mist, and the ground shook even harder. It was now trembling in constant intervals. It was as if something colossus was slowly walking not far from them.

"Ssssh! Are you crazy?! Be quiet," the Elf girl whispered with a pale face. "You will get us both killed! Release me right now!"

"Not until you say sorry for what you said," Gerald retorted. What did he care if some monster came? He could just fly away, no big deal. Although, if she remained stubborn he would soon run out of Mana and would have to escape either way.

That would be embarrassing.

"In your dreams!"

"Fine then, guess we'll just have to wait and see what monster roams this woods. I'm curious what it is, I might just call for it… Hey you, big guy!" Gerald shouted towards the source of the sound.

"Wait, no! Stop, I'm sorry! I'm sorry I insulted your friends, just don't call it over, please! I'm too young to die!" the Falle Elf girl quickly voiced with a pale face and she was quite visibly terrified.

"Good, good!" Gerald nodded. "Then what do you think about me? How do I look?"

"You?" The Elf blinked rapidly a few times. "You are as ugly as eve- Euh… I mean…" As Gerald gave her a displeased look and took a deep breath to shout, she realized her mistake.

"Wait! Uh, what I meant to say is… Others might think that all those scars make you look ugly, but I think it just makes you look more mature and manly! A brave warrior who's not afraid of a fight, and it's extremely attractive! The facial disfigurement isn't even that noticeable, I mean…"

"Alright, shut up! You are terrible at bootlicking!" Gerald groaned. "Consider yourself lucky you have a pretty face or else I wouldn't hesitate to turn you into fertilizer!" He scoffed and released the Elf. But even before she could fully calm down, a scroll escaped his hand and flashed brightly.