People are looking at us. This is a somewhat busy street. Of course we’re gonna stand out when we’re staring each other down in the middle of it.

  Just who is this guy? I don’t wanna make a scene, but I can’t exactly back down. Not after he told me to stay away from Galene.

  “You think I’d cut ties with her just like that? Who do you think you are?”

  This blonde guy… Is he a demon? I don’t see any horns on him. Is he hiding them? I don’t think that’s it… He looks very human… In fact, his face seems a bit familiar…

  Arghh! Dammit! Why didn’t I pay any attention to guys in the game?! This dude’s totally a character, isn’t he? Who was he? “Are you working with the demons?”

  “Hah! Don’t say such things in public. You’re gonna give people the wrong impression.” The few people who heard my question hurried their step, afraid to get caught in something dangerous.

  I don’t think they need to worry. It’s not like he’s going to attack anyone in the middle of the street, right? He’s not even hiding his face or anything. Just arrogantly looking down on me… One hand in a pocket.

  He had a long, dark coat on with two coattails. The coat flew open with some dark pants to match. That style with the swept-back hair looked a bit arrogant. Is he someone important?

  That might work out in my favor. If he has a reputation to maintain, I’m probably not in danger. He wouldn’t cause a scene out in the open. Unless he doesn’t care…

  “Everything I do is for the betterment of humanity. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for you. Her growth is hindered just by being close to you. She won’t gain anything from staying in a backwater country like Ebrilyon. You’d better cut ties with her if you know what’s good for you.”

  He’s threatening me now… Why? He’s mad that Galene returned to Ebrilyon? How is that any of his business? In the game, she does head north not long after the quest with the wolves, but that happened of her own volition, didn’t it?

  Not to mention, the more the story progresses, the more unpleasant situations she ends up going through. Humans taking advantage of her, making her do bad things for their own gain. She never loses sight of herself, but it’s one burden after the other.

  Was all that actually orchestrated? Is that what this guy wants?

  “How is that going to help humanity? Or anyone for that matter? You just want to take advantage of her. I’m not falling for anything you say… You’re an enemy.”

  I rested one of my hands on my sword. The energy we were giving off was enough for people nearby to hesitate to approach.

  “You should really keep your mouth shut if you don’t know what you’re talking about.” He let out a sigh. “I wasn’t planning on fighting anyone today, but…”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  *Clang!*

  His hand slid from his pocket and flew in a straight line as a punch. Electric sparks shot out when I blocked, sending tiny tingles through my hands. The impact sent us flying into a nearby alley.

  Even though he looked unarmed at first, there was a piece of metal around his finger. Like brass knuckles. The sparkles spread across his hand, covering it entirely before turning into a normal metallic glove.

  “There!” He drove his fist forward some more, breaking our clash. In that pause, he punched both fists together, and more sparks showed up. The new sparks covered his other hand until another glove formed.

  A pair of gauntlets… That’s his weapon, huh?

  “If you insist on standing in the way of our plans, I’ll personally deal with you before you can interfere. Last chance to back off. Cut ties with her and disappear.”

  No way in hell I can cut ties with Galene at this point. Not after I got her to agree to help me… Can’t let this guy do anything to harm her.

  “Get lost! I may not know what you actually want, but I know one thing, you’re an enemy. I’m not letting you do as you want.”

  “Ahahahahahaha! So be it!” He ran forward and started swinging his fists. Block, block, Slash Flurry! Bolts of lightning shot out from each impact, cracking the ground and nearby walls.

  The flurry pushed him back, but he quickly moved forward again, kicking off a wall for leverage on his next punch.

  This isn’t too bad. At least when compared to fighting Galene. If I hadn’t pushed myself so hard against her, this would have been over already.

  Parrying Strike! I hit the gauntlet from below, and his arm flung backwards. Dash forward while he’s exposed, and…

  “Static, open!” His fists accelerated towards each other and bumped. The top of one hand hit the bottom of the other. I was swinging for a solid torso hit, but a blade made of lightning appeared as he stretched his arms.

  “Lightning…” How great…

  My attack was blocked, but he was still pushed back. Burst Dash! He’s clearly no pushover… Guess I don’t need to hold back. Heart Piercer!

  He moved the blade around to block the thrust. The way it moved with his fists was as if his fists formed a circuit. Is that how his skill works?

  “Nghh…” But even though he blocked, he still received some damage. That’s the way Heart Piercer works. “Ahahahaha… You know how to handle yourself, don’t you? Alright… Let me show you what I can do… Static, crash!”

  The hand on top slid down the electric blade, and he gripped it like a normal sword. From above? Parrying Strike! “Guhhh!” The strength of his blow was a lot, even with my skill behind my blow. I could have handled it if that was all, but… “Ahhhrgh!” The lightning that shot from the impact shocked me.

  Gotta step back. I moved out of the way of the swing with Agility Burst, but even that wasn’t perfect. “Grrr!” A field of static pulsed around the place of impact when his blade hit the ground, hitting me again.

  “Now for the finishing move. Static, impact!” With his fist raised, he closed the gap for a quick combo.

  Finishing move? You wish… I’m not going down that easily… Even if I have to blow through all my MP. Slash Flurry, Butterfly’s Wings, Parrying Strikes!

  Every time he swung, I blocked with one, two, three, however many swings were needed to stop him. It got the job done, but it didn’t improve my position at all. Each impact created small pulses of lightning. The damage from which was quickly chipping away at me.

  “Ahhh!” “Run!” “It’s an attack!” “What are the guards doing?” “They’re on their way!” Our fight was creating a bit of a panic for the average citizen. The back-and-forth of the push-and-pull spread destruction around a few streets, and the whole neighborhood was panicking now.

  “Tchh… Out of time…?” Talks of soldiers on the way caused the guy’s face to twist with annoyance. No matter how much he tried, he wasn’t able to get through my defenses. Not with the time he had. “Fine!”

  He wrapped it up with a final, stronger punch imbued with all his anger, locking me into a backwards slide.

  “Can’t finish you off right now, but don’t think you’re safe just yet. If you continue to stand in our way, we’ll meet again one day. You won’t be as lucky next time.”

  With a quick turnaround, he took a step forward and jumped. High enough to get to the rooftop and disappear.

  The civilians watching off in the distance whispered to each other. What happened? Is it over? Are we safe? They were still on alert, but the fear was quickly subsiding. And they were not the only ones.

  “*Inhale…* Aaahhhhhh!” What the fuck?! Who the fuck was that?! He was seriously out to get me! One wrong move and I would have been done. “What the hell…”

  This area’s a mess now… The lightning opened cracks and fends everywhere. There are small pieces of rubble all over the place… Am I gonna get in trouble for this?

  Also, ‘we’ll meet again one day’…? Why? Why did there have to be another we’ll-meet-again idiot? What is this luck? Ayumu was enough as is. We didn’t need another one…

  “Iroha!” People were calling for guards, and with the commotion, it was only a matter of time before they arrived. In front of a group of soldiers was Flanne, who rushed toward me as soon as she saw me.

  “What happened here? Why are you in this state?” Roughed up. One of her hands immediately rested on my shoulder, and she looked around for injuries. Just in case.

  This is awkward… We were just together not long ago, and now this? But I’m glad she’s here. I’m not getting away easily, though, am I? Sigh… Where do I start….?

  “This might be hard to believe, but it’s not my fault…”