Small fry... small fry... small fry... what the hell? I was running through the dark city in the direction that was given to me by that poorly hidden ninja when a man dressed in white robes jumped in our path, laughing like a maniac while waving a wand in the air.

“Ha ha ha! You will now feel the wrath of Kha-!?”

I was already bored of that line, so I used his face as a stepping stone to launch myself in the air, avoiding the small group lying in wait for me around yet another corner. Brook was having no trouble keeping up with me, and kicked quite a bit of ass herself without breaking a sweat. To be honest, she looked way cooler than me, since she fought like a warrior while I just kind of kicked people out of my way in annoyance while trying to stay on track.

“Master, I think this is it.”

We approached the largest, most fantastically decorated building in sight, one that obviously belonged to some eccentric noble with too much money. A massive white-and-gold dome rose up in front of us completely smooth with the exception of the massive blood-red double-door entrance and a relatively small bulge on the top, I tried not to think about it, but with the bulge on top, which was likely some sort of penthouse apartment, made the entire thing look like a gigantic white boob.

Brook, who had come up next to me, looked for a moment to examine the building, then turned her attention to her own chest. She began patting her small breast self-consciously, and I took that as a cue to approach before something really awkward happened that would destroy the confidence I had worked so hard to build up on the way here.

We approached the suspiciously unguarded front entrance, remaining cautious while preparing for yet another inevitable surprise attack. I signaled Brook to wait outside, feeling the air shift around two people inside, one sitting up high while the other stood readily in front of him, and assuming this was the final bad guy moment. I pushed the large door open, the metal hinges smoothly carrying the door inward with barely a sound, and revealing the man I was looking for sitting in a large red room.

The nobleman sat comfortably behind the creature that most likely held the title of “commander” or “captain”, since it had been chosen for the final battle, but to me it only looked like a mini-boss. Green muscles bulged under a solid white armor, axes that were bigger than me gripped in each of it’s hands as it attempted to stare me down.

“Ha! You thought you could disrespect me and get away with it? Do you know who I am!?”

That same cocky voice emitted from the nobleman behind the general, dressed in an expensive red robe, and gripping a golden scepter in his right hand. Behind him was a large green banner displaying the image of a white ring with strange engravings on it hovering over a black flame. It was familiar, but I honestly didn’t care why since my attention was currently focused on the nobleman.

“No, but I bet you’re gonna tell me.”

I found it a lot easier to speak now that there were only three other people in the room, rather than thousands of eyes watching me from every direction.

“I am th-... how dare you insult me, you filthy worm!”

Wow, that took him even longer than I thought it would. I had hoped he would just skip over his dramatic speech and just bring out Ella, but that was probably just wishful thinking. I saw his rage burn for a second before he took a deep breath and calmed down enough to speak his monologue. Maybe annoying him will speed it up.

“I am the noble known as Balmetta’Ikarah, Descendent of The Lame God!”

“Okay.”

“I am the richest and most influential man in Balm’ak, so any and all that stand in my way end up dead or bowing in respect!”

“Okay.”

“I have even taken Grace Divilet, also known as Balm’Takah, The Chosen One of The Gods as my fiancé in recognition of the influence I have over this world. It is said she has the power to take down entire countries using the pure white magic she receives directly from Moria, the god of life! Now, she belongs to me, becoming my property just as this girl is to you. Have you fallen into complete desperation yet, or do I need to continue?”

“Not really, just tell me where my friend is so I can kick your ass.”

My boredom was quickly being replaced with irritation as soon as he referred to one of my friends as “property” yet again. I began weighing the option of ending this now, and tearing the building apart until I found Ella, but decided against it since this building was ridiculously big. Not to mention it would likely collapse on the elf before I found her, and she would have no way to defend herself.

“Don’t think that beating those thugs I hired outside makes you so tough! I told them not to kill you because I wanted you alive! Do you even know what’s standing between you and me!?”

The lame god descendant threw a temper tantrum at my bored response, abruptly standing before indignantly shouting angry explanations. My attention turned back toward the mini-boss, who was clad armor with dark green skin peering up from underneath, it’s lips curled up into a sadistic grin as our eyes met.

“It’s an ogre! The greatest warrior race the surface has to offer, known for their brutal eradication of the dwarves, and the conquering of multiple other races including many sky-dwellers! Your chances of victory are ZERO! Now listen to what I have to say before I-“

“Ikarah! We have to go before...”

A voice interrupted the noble’s monologue yet again, this time coming from a small red door off to the man’s right, which had been flung open in an urgent manner. Standing in the doorway was the bunny-eared girl from before, her big eyes wide as they settled on me while her voice slowly trailed off.

“Moria damn you, woman! I told you to guard the girl until it was time! What in the name of the gods are you doing here!?”

The chosen one didn’t move, her eyes locked on my every movement as her hands gripped the white staff in preparation of a fight. Her expression was off though, changing between fear and embarrassment as her eyes looked me up and down, clearly seeing something I didn’t. The nobleman grit his teeth in frustration, slamming the bottom of the scepter down on the arm of the chair he was previously sitting in with a loud booming noise, reverberated off the walls of the red room.

Bright golden light erupted from the staff, followed by a wave the strange energy called magic that washed over my body as I sensed yet another figure abruptly appear out of nowhere. The bright light slowly faded from my vision, revealing a surprised elf chained in pulsing red cuffs sitting directly in front of the nobleman. Ella’s hair was wild, uncombed since she had gone to bed just a few hours ago, however, this did not keep her from twirling it around in her fingers when she saw me. The nightgown we bought for her a couple of nights ago hid nothing underneath it from me due to the way she confidently sat with her knees spread far apart. I should tell her to pay more attention to these things, but I’m pretty sure saying something like that would only encourage her to do it more often, making sure I would be there to see it.

“Fine! The reason I wanted you to come here, rather than forcefully bringing you here myself, was because I wanted you to fight for this girl! Now that you’ve come so far, you will still lose something important to you anyway, but you will choose what!”

The noble’s words were less calculated now as he became flustered, pointing the scepter, which was apparently some sort of summoning device, directly at me in anger. Yeah, he probably wants me to give up my hat for Ella, since I said the hat was precious to me, and that’s what he initially wanted anyway. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the reason he attempted to but the girls from me, but money has little sway over someone that still hasn’t learned the currency. How should I deal with this guy... I suppose I could just jump up there and kick his face in, but that seems too simple for someone that was such a huge pain in my ass, and I don’t really want to kill him unless I have to. Ah, I suppose I could break this false security he’s constructed around himself, then go from there.

“Your hat, or the girl... it’s your choice.”

Called it. Though I doubt he is planning to actually let us go after I make my decision... how can he have such a twisted smile when his plan is so painfully obvious? It wasn’t even well made, I probably could have brought a ranged weapon and shot him from here, unless this relatively small ogre is more agile than he looks, or just decided not to come. What if I was as big a douche as him, and decided coming after Ella was simply not worth it? Those lame ninjas couldn’t track Godzilla tearing through the town, much less a person dressed in dark clothes in the middle of the night. Stop chuckling already, it really pisses me off.

“Brook, you can come in now.”

I turned my head slightly to the side, signaling to Brook that I was ready for her to enter, and initiate the beginning of my plan to break this jerk. The door creaked behind me, and I felt the girl’s small body cut through the air, rapidly approaching where I was currently standing.

“What? A little girl? Why would you bring a little girl into a fight like this?”

That’s okay, I didn’t expect this dense noble to recognize her, however, the look on his general’s face indicated instant recognition, and an intense fear. Brook closed in, placing herself to my left while keeping her usual emotionless expression up, displaying her apparent disinterest in the situation. Metal clanged against the ground as the ogre backed away, dropping both of it’s axes as an unsteady finger pointed in the girl’s direction.

“A-A-Ak M-Maru! You d-didn’t say anything about Ak Maru being here!”

The ogre’s voice shook, a result of it’s trembling lips that desperately flapped as the armored ogre swiftly began to retreat, foolishly turning it’s back to the two of us. Brook leaned in, brushing her arm gently against mine while watching the frantic creature in front of us lose it’s confident facade, and run away.

“Master?”

“Go ahead.”

Instantly, the former Ak Maru dashed in pursuit, kicking off the ground to gain momentum for a complete three-hundred and sixty degree turn before bringing her heel to the side of the ogre’s face. A loud crack sounded as the metal armor bent around Brook’s foot and transformed the contained head to a projectile, flying to the other side of the room, then deeply embedding itself in the wall. The silver-haired girl landed softly, followed by the armored corpse, heavily collapsing on the ground with a series of scraping and thudding as the armor fell apart.

The both the bunny and the noble stared in shock, complete silence filling the room. I began walking forward, all eyes focused on me, which made my steps feel a bit awkward, but that didn’t really matter at the moment. I walked past the corpse, allowing Brook to join me, and straight up to the elf-girl expectantly waiting for me with her chained arms stretched out in front of her.

“He he he... you’re such a badass.”

Gah... please don’t tease me, I already feel weird enough being the center of attention. I reached out, gripping the edge of one of the cuffs before crushing it in my hand, being careful not to damage Ella’s wrist. I paused for a moment, then repeated the same thing on the her other hand, completely freeing her from bondage, and removing the noble’s last remaining leverage against me. That was even less climactic then I was expecting.

“D-Don’t just stand there, do something!”

I was a bit relieved something broke the silence, but the screeching voice of the noble shouting desperately at the white-haired bunny-person to his left gave me a slight headache, and only fed my irritation. This guy just needs to shut up, I wasn’t planning on killing him as long as Ella was unharmed and he didn’t put himself in a situation where I needed to, since I really don’t want to deal with the repercussions of killing a rich and influential person, but he just keeps talking. The bunny girl turned her attention to me, cautiously watching my every move while bringing her white staff to bear while allowing the perfect mixture of fear and focus to glaze over her eyes.

She is definitely an experienced fighter that likely knows how to effectively utilize her weapon and deal a decent amount of damage, not to mention the incredible speed I witnessed a couple of days ago would probably be enough to land a couple of solid blows against me. However, now that I’m prepared, I can probably dodge whatever she decides to throw at me, and anything that does hit will probably not do very much damage. I would still prefer to leave without fighting her, but I also want to get a few hits in on the noble hiding behind her... ah, well. I suppose I’ll just swallow my anger for now, since killing him would pull more people’s attention in my direction, and leave this girl fiancé-less.

Oh, crap! This girl is probably financially dependent on this guy, and killing him would make me responsible for her well-being too! I absolutely can NOT deal with another one, the two girls I have already drain me of most of my social energy, and adding another beautiful girl might just push me past my limit. Damn it, this is hard. His face is just so... punchable, and he was such a jerk to my friends, not to mention his massive boob-house nearly caused a traumatizing interaction between me and Brook.

Though, while they are troublesome and require more energy than I could ever hope to give, Ella and Brook give me something much more valuable than any amount of money, power, or fame... I’m not alone, and even though I don’t know them very well, I can tell they are very good people despite their histories, or even current circumstances. Ella is a bit overconfident and childish, but she isn’t like this noble, which could have happened very easily thanks to her doting father and stunning appearance. Brook has obviously had a very hard life, and I’m sure she’s lost more than I could ever imagine, but instead of letting pain consume her, she decided to dedicate her life to helping someone else become happy.

To be honest, I have no idea what would happen if the bunny-girl became my responsibility or even what kind of person she is, but I do know that she is marrying this noble for a reason, and killing him would only make me feel better at her expense. There is no way to justify it since Ella is fine, and it’s not like he should have to pay for crimes he intended to commit, but never got the chance to follow through.

I sighed, putting my arms around Ella’s shoulders before lifting her up to a standing position, letting the tension fall away along with whatever remained of my hostility. The chosen-bunny-girl-with-weird-white-magic-and-a-name-I-keep-forgetting stopped, surprised at the sudden change of pace in my movements, and a small amount of curiosity peeked through her battle-hardened eyes. I turned my back to them, and began walking away while keeping my arms around the pouting elf’s shoulders, though I did so more to restrain her from letting out a barrage of destructive magic than anything else. Brook read my intentions before quickly jogging over to my side without hesitation or asking a single question, and the three of us continued to move straight towards the exit.

“Fuck! I bought you for a reason, woman! What use do you have if you won’t even fight!? If I wanted a pretty girl that just stands around, I would have bought a concubine! You’re too far expensive to just stand there, so DO SOMETHING!”

The nobleman shrieked behind me, meting the bunny-girl, who’s name I just remembered to be Grace, his anger exploding out in a flurry of insults and demeaning realities that she simply accepted without any retaliation. A dull thump of flesh colliding with flesh sounded from the direction of the two, a blow from the noble’s closed fist landed hard on his fiancé’s face, and bringing a halt to my peaceful-ish exit. I could feel the air shift behind me, and noticed the girl straighten herself with a slight trace of hesitation in her movements.

I sighed, the anger that had been boiling inside me until now had just faded mere seconds ago because I thought killing this loser would only bring trouble to everyone involved, particularly the bunny-girl. However, this same loser decided as I was walking away, to take those reasons and completely disprove them, followed by an action that renewed my dissipated anger and then some. I took my left hand off Ella’s shoulder, then gently placed it on Brook’s soft, silver hair, pulling them back slightly to catch their attention.

“Go wait outside.”

I whispered to them gently, then turned away before Ella could argue, and faced the couple that were now across the blood red room, both standing next to each other as the noble cradled his right hand. I heard the grumpy elf let out a “hmph” before dramatically stomping out of the room to the safety of the early morning awaiting her just outside. Silence once again dominated this headache of a room, broken only by the sound of my light footfalls colliding with the wood-like floor as I slowly approached with clear intent to kill.

The noble was the first to turn his attention to me, his irate expression melting away to one of fear and panic as he began to realize what I was planning on doing.

“H-h n-... now! Do it now! Get him, damn it! Do it or else Moria will revoke your power and title as Chosen One of The Gods for letting me die! Do what you were made to do, damn it!”

More venom spewed forth from the Lame God’s Descendant as he became more desperate, saying things I didn’t really understand, but I’m sure were having a large impact on the girl. I continued forward at the same speed, remaining wary of the bunny-girl’s movements to avoid an actual fight, while maintaining a slow, but inescapable pace. I am going to kill him, and he knows it, but can do nothing to stop it.

The girl turned in my direction, physically unharmed by the attack, but glassy eyes revealed the full extent of the damage that was inflicted during the encounter. Eyes really are a window to the souls, but thanks to my new abilities, I can also feel what she feels if I focus hard enough; a mix of negative emotions flying around in her stomach, beating the shit out of her from the inside out. I don’t know how much I can help with that, but I can at least cut off a major supplier of these feelings, and free her from whatever political bondage she might be in.

I locked eyes with my target, the anger inside me boiling over as my mind opened to the world around me, allowing me to feel and manipulate all of the science-based forces that lay stagnate, submissive to the strange energy of this universe. In this world magic holds most people down, but my body passively manipulates my own gravity to keep me in place without my conscious intervention, kind of like a heartbeat. I wonder what would happen if I took this stagnate force of nature and pushed up on the things around me, negating the effects of the magic? Let’s find out.

Without breaking my pace, I accessed the seemingly useless force and pushed up on the things around me, except the couple of course, and found that my hypothesis was right. I continued forward, watching their shocked eyes gaze around the room as curtains, chairs, candles, even their clothes began to drift, caught up in a power they could never understand. I didn’t remove my eyes from the noble, but was aware of the girl readying her staff, and bracing for my impending attack.

“I’m going to kill you now.”

Only fair to let him know, I suppose. I was now closing in, only about a dozen feet away from the couple as the anticipation grew, and the objects around the room began falling to the ground, one by one until I was about an arms distance away from the two.

Grace made the first move, lunging at a speed most couldn’t even see while swinging her staff around at the side of my head, forcing me to bend backward and let the object pass over me. Energy coursed through me, causing everything around me to move in slow-motion, and I noticed an odd engraving in it her staff that stuck out from the rest as it passed, a black word that simply said “Tana”. I don’t really know what that means, but it doesn’t matter right now. The world resumed to normal speed, and the girl flew off behind me, landing softly despite being thrown off-course, freezing in place as her eyes settled on the two of us.

I reached out to the cowering jackass, placing my palm on his mouth and wrapping my fingers around his cheeks to hold him in place, leaving his eyes uncovered so he could see me clearly. Muffled shouts and screams came from my hand as the noble began to kick and flail wildly, his attacks succeeding only in breaking a couple of his bones, which simply perpetuated more screams, snot, and flailing.

“You really need to learn when to shut up.”

With that, I felt the world around me, reaching up far into the sky with my mind, then connected the writhing creature in front of me with a random spot I had chosen just outside the city, and about two miles up. A white light flashed, and I felt the noble disappear from my hand to a far away place high in the sky, where I proceeded to multiply the intensity of the force pushing down on him by about a thousand.

A distant boom came from just outside the town, rattling the windows and causing a small amount of dust to trickled down out of the roof and onto the ground next to me.

Ah... I think I might have overdone it a bit...