Strongest Superhuman System

Chapter 98: I'm Glad You're Safe

Raven dashed closer to Mark and immediately lashed out with a flurry of punches. Mark didn't bother dodging around most of them because he knew that even if they hit him, there would be no damage done. Instead, he stretched out and tried to grab Raven in a hold, but Raven was able to duck under it and flip back before Mark could get her.

Raven landed in a crouch and narrowed her eyes at Mark as she noticed something about him.

"You're holding back, aren't you?"

Mark ignored her words and rushed in for another confrontation. He lashed out with two punches, and Raven closed her guard and tried to tank the punch, but her eyes widened as an intense pain shot through her hand once one of the punches hit!

"Gah!"

Bam!

Raven didn't even dare to try and block the second one as she immediately fell backward and tried to kick Mark's legs out from under him! Mark took a step back to avoid the kick, and he reached down to grab Raven by her shirt, but Raven suddenly slid through his legs and performed an acrobatic move that baffled Mark for a moment!

Her hands wrapped around his legs, and she contorted her body upwards to wrap her legs around his neck before pulling with all of her strength!

Bam!

Mark's back slammed into the ground, and Mark quickly rolled to the side and got back to his feet as he brought his hands up for another charge. But he saw Raven watching him curiously as she stood with her hands by her side. She was looking at Mark like he was a specimen she was analyzing, and Mark wondered what she could be thinking about. After some time, Raven finally spoke.

"I can tell that you're holding back."

Mark sighed and shrugged, and Raven licked her tongue again as she brought her hand up and glared at Mark.

"Are you looking down on me? Do you think that getting some new power-up will make you that much stronger than me? I already told you, didn't I? Your punches are useless if they don't hit. So come at me with everything."

Woosh!

Raven charged in again faster than before, and Mark was forced to sidestep a kick to the shin as he deflected a punch from her that would have taken out his right eye.

"I said fight me, you brat!"

Raven shouted at Mark as she lashed out with an elbow strike that slammed into his sternum! Mark felt some breath leave his body, but he was back under control in less than a second, and he stopped the second elbow strike and pushed Raven back!

"Raven, wait. Let's talk."

"It's teacher to you, bastard!"

Raven dashed in again and ducked under Mark's guard to land an uppercut on his chin, and Mark brought his head back and easily allowed it to ghost past his chin. Mark could tell that Raven was no longer playing around, and she was really trying to incapacitate him. He decided that enough was enough.

Mark grabbed her shirt faster than she could rush away, and he flipped her over his body and slammed her back into the ground!

Boom!

"Ugh!!"

Raven's back throbbed in pain as she felt the air leave her lungs, and she felt Mark's weight leaning on top of her like a mountain! She couldn't move her body even if she wanted to at that moment, and she swallowed heavily as she looked up into Mark's eyes with a deep stare. She was breathing heavily, and she could trace the individual lashes above Mark's eyes with how close they were.

"I can't not hold back against you, Raven. Some things happened that you wouldn't understand, and now I'm much stronger than before. If I don't hold back, I could really kill you accidentally. I'm sorry I went against our rules. I just couldn't leave those people to die while I waited for other superhumans to arrive."

Raven was one of three people who knew Mark's identity before he revealed it to the public, and Raven made Mark promise her that he would not go out to fight against Anima whom he knows he cannot beat.

Raven didn't want Mark to go out there thinking that he could start a fight against any monster he saw. Even though Mark was strong, there were monsters in this world that would make Mark look like nothing in comparison and it would definitely be the end of his life if he challenged them.

Raven was very indebted to Mark because he was the reason why her father's gym stayed open even after everyone else in the area closed down their businesses and left.

Raven always leaves one day of the week open for Mark to come here and train alone without any other students around since Mark didn't want anyone to know his identity, and she was in charge of Mark's training, but Raven knew that the training that she used to give Mark would not cut it anymore.

Raven was curious about what caused Mark to suddenly become this much stronger, but she wouldn't pry. She didn't want personal feelings interfering with her teaching, so she always maintained a student-teacher relationship with Mark. She would have to change his training regime because of this increase in strength.

"Aren't you going to get off me?"

Mark felt Raven struggle under him, and he gently got off her and watched her stand up and begin taking off her gloves. The fight was over as far as she was concerned. She walked past Mark once she was done taking off her gloves, and Mark just watched her closely.

"There's no training today. I'm going to have to adjust your schedule to accommodate your new strength. You can have the week off."

Mark grinned. He was glad that Raven did not pry too much into what happened.

"Thanks, Raven."

"Tsk! Don't go thanking me just yet, I'm still pissed at you! You don't understand how worried…"

Mark waited for Raven to finish her sentence, but Raven couldn't finish it as she just paused. Raven frowned and turned her head away with her hands on her hips.

Raven was going to tell Mark how worried she was when she watched his fight on the news. She was terrified that he would die against that calamity class, and she was happier than anyone else in the world when she saw him win the fight. But she didn't say that to him. Her pride wouldn't let her.

"Just come back in one week. I have an idea of how strong you are now, so I should be able to make a training regime for you by then. But if you ever do something like this again, then it is over between us. I don't care if I lose the gym, I won't have blood on my hands because you want to feel the thrill of fighting a stronger opponent."

Raven said this as she started to walk back into her room, but she paused just before she entered and called Mark in a much calmer voice. Mark answered her with a hum, and Raven eyed him closely for a moment before she finally spoke.

"I'm glad you're safe, Mark. Thank you for coming back alive."

Kacha!

Raven quickly closed the door behind her once she was finished talking, and Mark smiled and shook his head at his teacher's tsundere attitude. Couldn't she just come out and say that she was worried about him? Mark had not spoken to Raven that much in the time that he knew her.

There was always this distance between them because Raven wanted to keep their relationship as only teacher and student without bringing friendship into it, so Raven finds it hard to express her worries or annoyances to Mark without using it as some form of teaching opportunity.

Mark knew that she cared about him, but with the ways she was always acting towards him, you would think that she was a cold-hearted woman who didn't give a damn. It was only moments like these that gave him some hope in her humanity. Mark took off his gloves and called out to Raven to tell her that he was leaving.

There was no response from Raven, and Mark just grabbed his things and began jogging as he left the gym. He needed to go see Salazar in the NSA before going back home to meet Arit and Talia.