I don't own Re:Zero or any of the characters.
Confrontation
Ian stepped into the clearing and stopped as Garfiel turned back toward him. Garfiel had knocked on the door of the house Ian and Rem were resting in and had asked him to take a walk. Ian had known instantly he was just trying to get him alone so he could have a "discussion" about Ian's Witch Miasma, and sure enough, as soon as Garfiel turned, all pleasantness or neutrality was gone from his face, leaving nothing but rage. The rage grew, however, as Rem stepped up beside Ian.
"Thought I told ya t'come alone!" Garfiel snarled.
"And I did," Ian said. "Rem followed me all on her own."
Garfiel's eyes narrowed. "Fine. I'll deal with both o' ya! Ya think y' can just walk 'round like no one knows? The Witch's Miasma on you is so strong I could smell you from a hundred meters away!"
"I know," Ian said, unclipping his sword belt and passing it to Rem. "I'm not a member of the Witch's Cult. I actively oppose them, and intend to kill one specific member. However, you won't believe me until you calm down, so first I'm going to beat you into submission. Then I'll tell you again that I'm not a member." He activated his magic, focussing most of it around his hands, but keeping enough to keep up with Garfiel around the rest of him.
Garfiel's eyes burned with rage, but he grinned, crouching and readying himself. Then, he exploded forward. Ian met his charge, ducking around his fist just as Garfiel's lead foot landed. Ian's fist exploded into Garfiel's face, but he only staggered back a few steps.
"Decent power," Garfiel smirked. "Just what I'd expect of a member of the Witch's cult!"
"Not a member," Ian said, ducking outside of Garfiel's next punch, then slamming a half-dozen strikes into him, sending him staggering away.
He followed, only for Garfiel's foot to crash into his side. He skipped backward and ducked under Garfiel's foot, then slammed his fist between Garfiel's legs, launching him into the air. He launched himself after him, deflecting Garfiel's next strike and punching him, the force this time sending him exploding into the ground. Ian raised an eyebrow and landed lightly a short distance from Garfiel, who stood, snarling angrily, legs still trembling from Ian's cheap shot.
"You have a Divine Protection related to touching the ground," Ian surmised. "That's how you made a localized earthquake, which was more like a wave, by tapping you r foot, and why you're vastly more powerful and durable on the ground. It's also why your legs have stopped shaking already despite being on the receiving end of a junk punch."
Garfiel's eyes narrowed a little more. "Not bad. Ya know yer shit."
"I've been forced to learn to pay agonizing amounts of attention when I fight recently. Something like that is a type of information that's easier to pick up than most of what I learn in a fight. Learning to predict someone's strikes within the confines of the first battle against them is much harder."
"Sounds it," Garfiel nodded. "Course, a member o' th' Witch's Cult could prob'ly do it."
"The average member if basically cannon fodder," Ian said. "And the Sin Archbishops all have powers that make anticipating someone's strikes pointless. One in particular is literally invincible."
"Bet I could beat him," Garfiel smirked.
"I've fought against him, and I promise you, he'd kill you before you knew he'd even attacked," Ian said flatly.
Garfiel narrowed his eyes. "Don't look down on me!"
He shot forward, but when he moved to punch Ian, Ian dropped, slamming a fist into the ground and setting off an explosion of Wind Magic directly below Garfiel, launching him into the air. Then, he jumped, drilling a dozen punches into Garfiel before blasting him back up into the air. As he repeated the process again, Garfiel caught his last punch and contorted his body around the blast of Wind Magic, flipping to the ground before flinging Ian. Ian flipped, landing on a cushion of Wind Magic before setting his feet on the ground lightly.
"Not bad," Garfiel said, wiping a trickle of blood from his lip, only for Ian to see the split had already sealed. "Been a long time since someone challenged me like this."
"Enough for you to speak like a normal person, it would seem," Ian smirked.
"Just gettin' serious for once," Garfiel smirked.
He rocketed forward, but Ian had grown tired of their game. As Garfiel moved to punch Ian, Ian dropped, sweeping his legs out from under him, then spun himself with his magic, drilling his right fist into Garfiel's Solar Plexus. As Garfiel flew, he lost consciousness before he hit the ground. Ian stood, walking over to him with Rem, and nudged him with his foot. After a moment, Garfiel stirred, then groaned.
"I don't believe it," Garfiel groaned.
"It was a stacked fight from the beginning," Ian said. "But no one's going to know about it because I don't want to have to make up excuses for why you attacked me in the first place. As far as anyone knows, you're still the strongest here, and you are powerful. The problem is that you're not the most skilled I've ever fought."
Garfiel nodded. "I'll believe that y'aren't a member of the cult, too. Y'd have killed me if ya were."
Ian nodded. "If you smell miasma on Subaru, too, it's not because he's a cult member. He's just in the same position as me. We got on their bad side and their stink doesn't wash off."
Garfiel nodded, pushing himself up. "I'll hand it to ya. You're stronger than me."
"No," Ian said, shaking his head. "You're stronger. I'm just good at figuring out what my opponent will do before they do it. Without that ability, you'd have beaten me."
Garfiel nodded. "Even, then."
Ian nodded, accepting his sword belt back from Rem and buckling it. Then, the three of them headed back toward the village.
"So," Garfiel said, grinning at Rem. "Yer sister with th' pink hair-"
"Hands off," Ian interrupted instantly.
"What was that!?" Garfiel growled.
"I said, keeps your hands off her," Ian growled. "Your eyes, too, while you're at it."
"What, ya got a claim on both sisters?" Garfiel asked.
"No, but you can't have her," Ian said. "If you prefer, we can fight over it in the middle of town where everyone can watch."
Garfiel growled angrily before crossing his arms and fuming silently. Ian smirked and nodded, all three remaining silent as they made the rest of the trip to town.
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