[That I can not allow!]

“Then bring it on!”

A whip with two ends.

An ability I haven’t seen yet.

Spacious storage room with only one box with whatever they are shipping left in this room.

And I had to sta-

“Hah!”

CRACK

What the hell? He didn’t even let me think of a way to advance! And that whip is moving faster than I could react, hitting me right on my right shoulder.

[ARGH!!!]

BOOM

Damn… crashing against a wall that can withstand this much force does not go well with my organs. And especially with that weird whip.

I could dodge just in time but it was as if vanishing for a moment mid-movement.

Is that his abi-

“Is that all you got?”

[Fuck!]

This fucker won’t let me rest for just a moment, moving his whip on and on as I try to dodge them. But if I can fully dodge half of them then the other half always touches my body at weird places that my ability can’t find a connection with.

It’s as if he is just moving his whip with no real goal in mind!

I bowed down as I saw the two ends of the whip going for my head and used all of my strength to push off the ground, catapulting right into him.

His body was tall but not well built while his hair was longer than his arms, which were already longer than mine.

So speed was my only option or else he would reach me faster with anything that he could pull out of his ring.

And thankfully, I was faster than him. Within a hair’s breadth, I could swing the two daggers simultaneously, cutting his left arm that tried to punch me mid-flight while stabbing his left shoulder.

But just as I passed him, I felt something grabbing my right ankle. Looking down, I saw the whip curled around my right ankle, stopping me from going any further.

“Disappointing.”

BOOM

Shit! If I can’t find a way to predict his whip, I won’t be able to do anything against him not to mention the moment Frank returns from upstairs.

Come on, Laith! You’ve done this before!

I stood still as I stared right at his whole body. My eyes focused on his eyes while my full attention was on his entire body. I had all of my concentration on his every move.

And as my concentration grew, I perceived everything as if time got slower and slower.

Look at his biceps.

Look at his shoulder muscles.

Look how his centre of gravity shifts slightly.

Look at everything!

And nothing will stop you!

The whip is going to hit the left side of my head.

Exactly where my forehead starts.

The second end will try to hit the same place but his movements are a bit off so it would go for my left cheek instead.

[Hm!]

CRACK

SWISH

Using Skia to guide the whip away, my eyes were all on Finn as he moved his whip, breaking the sound barrier each time and creating more sonic booms with each swing.

But I continued to read his muscles, blood vessels, nerves and Will. I can’t see them fully but my mind was so focused on him that I felt like I hallucinated him with all his arteries, nerves and Will pathways laid bare.

And so, he rained down hit after hit as I dodged, deflected or redirected his whip with Skia, not letting Finn out of my sight for even a second.

His eyes flickered slightly, most likely because he has stopped hitting me. And I realised that the less I got hit, the faster I got.

It wasn't just because his hits obstructed me. No, it felt more like something was bounding itself to my body.

"Tech! Just get hit already!"

Let's test it.

BOOM

Argh! Right on my chest? Give me a break and let me cry for a bit!

Uff… this hit… threw me off way more than the other ones before but now I can confirm it.

There is something coiling around my body. There is Will but the entire thing isn't pure Will. But whatever it is, it may have a duration, giving me the chance to break free.

A wide swing from the right that's about to hit my hip. If I just jump and guide the whip away from me-

“I won’t let you!”

PACK

What?

How… did he… do that?

The whip which was headed for my hip initially moved in such a weird way that it hit me on my head, throwing my hood back and leaving my black hair with gold and dark green strands on full display.

That my hair is open for him to see may be an important thing in itself but it is not the main point of my current worry. Because I can’t think about concealing my identity when I’m dead.

If I don’t understand how he just changed the trajectory of the end of the whip. I must have read his movements almost perfectly!

What did I miss? His Will is so clear to see so what could be the missing piece!

Think, Laith! Think!!

The ends are coming again! And just like at the beginning, I dodged half of the attacks again while the other half always hit some random place on my body.

Over and over and over.

Blood would slowly start to spill with me taking hit after hit while Finn was worsening his wounds with swing after swing.

But if this keeps going on, I will definitely die! I can’t just continue to stay defensive!

I have to act. And I just have the plan to do.

Fangs!

Summoning the little blades while faking the summoning with my ring, I let the 25 blades hover over my arms, guided by my Will. And with one last fierce look at Finn, I pushed off the ground even if I get hit by the whip.

BOOM

Creating a slight crater, I dashed right towards the enemy in front of me.

“Hmpf!”

The things coiling around my body became heavier, making my movements sluggish but no matter what, I must reach him.

No matter the hits taken.

And soon enough, sliding on the ground, I reached Finn with the two daggers in my hand and the 25 blades around my arms.

I could repeat what I did last time and cut him again but that would only prolong a fight I’m bound to lose in that sense. He can drink potions all while swinging his whip while I have to concentrate on dodging.

So I burst out my Will with the 25 blades towards Finn, cutting through or over his body multiple times.

“You little-”

PACK

While holding my balance with both of my hands, I kicked his chin right from underneath, pushing Finn slightly upwards. But before he could gather his balance again, spinning slightly, I kicked him with the backside of my other foot on the side of his head.

Finn tried to push further away with my kick but letting him go just now would be stupid on my part.

And I won’t fight this fight stupidly.

So having the thrown blades cut off his path, I forced him to return right towards me. And especially at the moment when I threw my next punch.

And then the other punch.

A palm attack.

And redirecting his fist before going for the ribs.

A kick to the knee.

And a spinning kick to the groin.

This went on and on, letting Finn not even take a single break. With every move I did with my hands, the blades would follow along, injuring my opponent even more. With every kick I would land, the blades would make the existing injuries worse.

And slowly, a flow started to appear in my mind. A line of gold, only visible to me, started to appear in my head. It was like a painting of unrecognisable structures.

But when looking not in detail but all together, this painting would only mean one thing.

This is how I will win!

[Hah!]

BOOM

Finally pushing with both of my fists at his chest, Finn flew all the way to the wall, almost crashing into it if not for the whip holding on to the empty shelves.

“Ha… ha… ha… you are good, boy…”

[I had a great teacher.]

I didn’t really take that compliment to heart. He was that enemy that tried to kill me so even considering to take that compliment would be an insult to my own intelligence. And even now, letting him catch his breath was out of the question!

[As if I’d let you!]

“But it’s already too late!”

What!? My body! It…

“Now you feel it, don’t you? Haaa~... now you feel that your body is completely constricted.”

What is the meaning of this! How come I can’t move? It was such a weird feeling but I can tell something.

This wasn’t from the outside.

“If you are as clever as I believe you are, you should have already caught on to my trick…”

What’s going on! My body is moving on its own, looking straight at the face of the man that brought me into this state.

“My ability is to control threads of wind. That’s how I was controlling the whip or held you back by coiling wind around your body.”

Step by step. Each one pushing my nerves to the limit. I had to get out of this. There would be ways but…

“And as you can tell, having wind threads not only in your muscle and nerve system but also your Will pathways helps out a lot. Can’t feel your Will, can you?”

He was right. My Will felt blocked. It shouldn’t be possible for someone to block out another person’s Will.

Well. it was possible. But not by someone from the families. So this left me with one last piece of information.

[Hm-hmpf!]

“Oh, I’m sorry. I totally forgot that I restricted your speaking as well. Here… Let me help!”

No! My mask! This fucker took my mask. Revealing my identity was the last thing that could have happened! Shit!

This may be the worst outcome ever. Not only did I get caught, but now my face is revealed. Even if I beat him, there is no guarantee that there is no hidden camera here.

But that is for later. I can look for the footage and delete it, hoping that it would not reach the hands of the Peltros but that is all for later. So I stopped shying away. My gaze was now fully focused on this bastard's face. And that had a reason.

“You pieces of shit work together with the cults and sects.”

“Oho. You seem to have been educated as well. Which would only make me ask from whom? The lone hero is already out of question. The Association Director? The Sword breaker? Guardian Angel? Come on… tell me.”

“Puh!”

“I see you have quite the tenacity…”

I spat right on his face. Haaa~... felt great! Even if his expression was not as I expected.

But still, the fact that there is only one way to affect another person’s Will, which is by sacrificing a soul to make a potion or artefact, is there. This meant that in one way or another, he too had someone sacrificed for something in return.

And this fucker must have used the soul on his weapon. Integrating his ability with the artefact, he not only restricted my physical body but also the energy inside my body.

But I had to keep cool. Just keep cool, Laith. No use panicking on something like this. It will only make my decisions worse.

And besides, I still have that. But before anything happens, at least get some information.

“So you guys started to use artefacts of the soul eaters. Why would such prestigious families side with them?”

“Oh, you have no idea how advantageous we are just by siding with them instead with the Association. Artefacts that can block your enemies Will, potions that can fill you with more energy and so on. That alone is something that the Association and the guild will never be able to offer us.”

“That fucker consumed a soul while we were fighting?”

That’s why he was good for one last round even after shooting so many shots at my face! That son of a bitch ate a soul! A potion crafted while using a soul to nurture it that in the end can help create more Will for a short period.

Those greedy bastards have already finished that? Gramps said that with all the interruption of the Association and the guilds, they would need at least 300 years to finish it.

Unless…

“So the families that sided with the evil sects and cults finished the soul potion for them in return for advantages that the Association would never think of offering.”

“Oh? Quite smart of you to come to this conclusion. But for you to come to this conclusion, you’d need information that even a mid-ranking member of the Association would know… who are you really?”

“What do you mean, ‘who are you really?’? As you can tell, I am me.”

“Don’t try to play with me. Where do you know that piece of information.”

“From an old wizard with a very long beard. Old fucker stole my phone the first time we met and used his cane to knock me down on all fours every time I tried to get up.”

His voice during the later part of the conversation was nothing but ice cold. I could tell that either he was really good at keeping his cool or that something was tempering his emotions. Either way, that didn’t last for long as the moment I mentioned the wizard, I could see a slight rage inside his eyes that was directed right at me.

SHING

Pulling a [Common] grade knife out of his ring, he held it against my throat to which I just calmly stood there.

I mean, I can’t really move but that wasn’t something that scared me at the moment. And besides, I can’t wait to see his reaction to this.

“Don’t play with my patience, brat. Or you might miss some parts of your body.”

“Oh, god! No~! A [Common] grade knife! My weakness~. Yeah~, right!”

“Are you that desperate to kill yourself?”

“I’m more desperate to see where you are going to hit me with that little child. Spoiler alert! It won’t even scratch my bo-”

SHI-CLANG

“Have some patience and let me finish! Rude bastard. As I was saying, this little one can’t really scratch me.”

“You brat! Fine! You want to die so I’ll fulfil your wish!”

Now taking out a far more powerful [Uncommon] grade weapon, his two-end whip, he was about to swing it when he stopped mid-motion.

And that was simply because he saw something he thought would be impossible.

My hands moved.

While my whole body was paralysed.

My hands moved forward while I pointed my index fingers to the left.

“To your left!”

“What?”

VUUM

A wave of Will.

Black with slight gold and dark green in it.

And within that Will, 25 blades flew right at that bastard’s body, creating even more cuts all over his body while the blades rotated around his body like he was engulfed inside a tornado of blades.

You might be wondering how I did that. Well, to explain that, we have to go back a little. At the time I realised how to warp with my weapons to be exact. Because it was then that I mentioned to Granny Akiko that all my weapons that were stored inside my soul are actually part of it and have part of my whole Will tank in them. If I have all my weapons in my soul together, then I’d be able to use all my Will from my body.

But if they are outside, part of my Will stays with them where I can manipulate them regardless of distance, connection

Or hindrance.

So blocking my pathways may be blocking my Will inside my body, but not the Will inside Fangs or Stalker.

So I could move my body by actually moving the armour around my body all while Fangs was the weapon that was currently turning Finn into shredded chicken.

“HA!”

VUUM

But I knew this wasn’t going to be enough to keep him as the wind around his body exploded and threw every last blade away.

“That’s it! Die!”

Very generic villain line before their fall. Let’s see if this is just as generic!

The bastard was swinging his whip with the might of his whole body and I could tell that this would be a lethal injury the least with all the hindrances that were currently blocking all of my movements.

But I can see all the pieces at their designated point.

I have to say, creating that little crater may not be how I do my dashes, but it was the perfect disguise for the last piece.

“You lose.”

ZIIP

SHIING

“AAAAAARRRRGGHHH!!”

A trail of blood.

Black energy with gold and dark green tinges.

Violet lightning crackled slightly behind his back.

And me already over his head with Skia still in my hands and some blades around my arms.

All while he lost those arms of his.

He was howling in pain. Currents must be going through his body right now as he lost two arms at the same time.

And me?

I was smiling like the madman Gramps trained.

Hiding one blade inside the ground and letting it jump out at the right moment was the best decision I made in this fight. I had to use Stalker’s Will to warp myself to the 26th blade but it was worth it.

Landing softly behind him, I didn’t even hesitate to cut his legs as well, making him fall flat down on the ground.

But there was no change in his scream. He was already screaming with all that he got so how should he be able to scream louder.

I kind of wanted to enjoy this victory a bit more but there was not enough time.

I have to scan the room with the Will I have left inside Fangs while I took every part of Finn and the last chest that stood in the corner to myself.

Moving around was very hard with only Will moving my armour and thus me but I had not much time left. This fight was already too long to not be unnoticed and I am currently unable to deal with Frank as well. I have already pushed myself to the limit today.

I may as well faint now from all the Will exhaustion…

“AAAAAARRRGGGHHH!!!”

“Oh, shut up!”

PACK

Hitting him at the side of his neck, I got him unconscious. Thankfully…

Getting my mask back on my face, I was ready to warp now and with Fangs hovering all around the room, I did in fact not find any camera or artefact that could imitate a camera.

Great! Now time to g-

BOOM

“Who is there!”

Shit! Frank just had to return! And why the hell are you kicking the door in, you idiot!

But it was already too late. Finn’s limbs and the last chest were inside my ring while I had already taken Finn’s unconscious body on my shoulder.

[Good to see you again, fucker.]

“You again?!”

Seems like, unlike Finn, this idiot is too hot-headed. But that’s why it is so fun to play with him.

[Anyway, I’ll be late for my train! See ya!]

“Don’t even think about running aw-”

ZIIP

Sorry. Couldn’t hear you with all that warping around before landing on the rooftop of that one high building I was before entering the construction site.

[Seems like I can slowly move. Either his ability is retracting or the weapon itself wasn’t infused with a strong soul. Either way, it is good to feel my body slowly again.]

THUD

Falling down on my butt, I let myself lay down on the rooftop while hiding every bit of Will I had, even calling Fangs, Stalker and Skia back.

“Huuu~...”

I was physically tired. I just want to return back home and take a long bath before sleeping like a log but I knew that there was something, or someone, I had to deal with first.

Taking out my phone, I saw that it has been two hours since the start of the mission. Efficient? Or just lucky? I think I’ll go with both.

But I had to call Big Sis Ange to tell her that I was done.

But she kept me waiting for at least ten minutes. She may be busy but I had no other way to report since I wasn’t directly under the Association but her personal agent.

[Yes. Do you need anything before starting the mission?]

Took a while but she finally opened the call.

“It’s done.”

[Already? What did you find out.]

“I got both the information and the cargo but in the process had to fight with one of the Peltro servants and have him incapacitated next to me.”

[I’ll send a member to your current location right now to pick your founds up..]

“No. send them to my home. I don’t want to have someone find a trail so I’ll warp there with the servant.”

[Alright. Good job. Give the member the body and send me a report later.]

“Alright. See you.”

[Yes. Bye.]

Colder than usual, kept her words as generic as possible and the conversation was shorter than I thought.

Isn’t Big Sis Ange usually excited to hear how I did certain things? Or was she not alone?

If she wasn’t alone, I can only imagine the political stress she is currently having from all the executives.

Greedy old bastards… although Big Sis is truly stronger and more capable than any one of them, all of them together is a thing she can’t really shake.

The Director position may be the highest point but the Association works more like a republic than a monarchy with one person not being the true and only ruler of the organisation.

Anyway, time to go.

ZIIP

Back inside my forge next to Stahl…

Finally…

If it wasn’t for this asshole in my hands, I swear I’d already be inside the bathtub.

“Back al-AH! What happened!”

Well… seeing a limbless person in my hands must have been a sho-

“Are you hurt?”

THUD

“Let me heal your wounds a little.”

Wow… she just made me drop the limbless person without any hesitation. Should I be honoured that she cares about me that much or scared that she cares about me that much?

“First, I’m fine although tired. And second, I’ll have to wait for the member to come and pick him up.”

“Oh…”

Disappointed that you can’t heal me? Thanks but I’m good. Don’t want the crazy girl to have her hands all over my body, even if it can heal my wounds.

KNOCK KNOCK

The member must be here. Taking the unconscious bastard over my shoulders, I proceeded to the door where a blond-haired man with the physique of an athlete.

“Lieutenant Leonard Baumgartner.”

“Oh! You remember me! Great to see you again! Although I can’t seem to understand something.”

Uh… I think he is curious about something…

I don’t want any trouble with the Association but some stuff I am unable to give away.

“Why are you hiding behind a mask with such a handsome face? Wouldn’t women jump at you left and right if they knew that this face was hiding behind their hero’s mask?”

I believe they would faint for fear rather than to try and jump at me. And what the hell?

“Laith…”

“Ooooh~! I get it! Already taken, huh?”

“Huh… eh… no… Laith and I ar-”

“Yeah, you could say that. You know, don’t want anyone else but my dear here.”

Why the hell are you so shy when trying to say that we aren’t a thing?

And why the fuck was that bullshit coming out of my mouth so smoothly?

“Then I shouldn’t keep you two out of bed anymore. You know, the night is you-”

“Yes! It was nice to see you again, Lieutenant. But I think I should get back to bed. Here!”

Giving him the body, with all four bloody limbs, I hurriedly tried to end this uncomfortable conversation.

“Alright! See you soon!”

“Yeah…”

CLICK

“See you soon…”

Sighing, I closed my eyes and tried to calm down.

Somehow more stressful than the fight. And I just want a shower now…

“Honey~!”

“What the-”

Argh! This harlot must have heard my sentence only as she wanted to. Now pouncing on me with that dangerous body of hers.

“Get off me!”

“But come on~! Let’s go to bed together!”

“I’ll take a bath first, thank you!”

“Then let’s bath together~!”

“I’ll take a bath alone first, thank you!”

Do I really have to do that?

Her hands were going all over the place. My chest, my stomach, my back, my butt, my …

ZIIP

Nope! I won’t let her do that, even if it means using Will to warp towards Keyser that was currently on the coffee table in the living room.

“But honey~!”

“No! You know exactly why I don’t want any of this!”

Don’t give me that look. Don’t even think about giving me such a sad look! I said don’t!

“Haaah… fine! Today, I’ll let you off the hook since you are that tired today. But be warned that the next time, I won’t let you off that easy.”

Yeah yeah… sure…

If you could catch me.

Taking a relaxing bath while downing a potion to help myself heal, I went to bed before it was too late. I still wanted that last month of school life.

And even if the extra weight over my chest was disturbing, I soon fell asleep with no more pain going through my body.

The first mission was a success… in my eyes.

I really hope that it was a success.

—

“So you are telling me the masked fucker was in storage thirteen and took a limbless Finn with him? And by teleporting?”

“Ye-”

CRACK

A bottle of expensive alcohol was thrown at the servant who stood there taking the bottle right to the face. It didn’t injure the servant as much as his clothes becoming stained by the red liquor.

“imbecile! Can’t you even take care of one person! And only a second level at that!”

“Sir, the person was at least level four.”

“What did you say?”

Walter’s eyes widened as he heard the statement Frank just did.

The masked man did actually advance two levels in such a short time.

And actually stole a chest of their ‘goods’. This was unacceptable. It was already obvious that he was either in a Guild or working secretly for the Association so them having the chest is only a ticking time bomb for the Peltros

“Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! What the hell are we supposed to do now!”

“Calm down, Walter. You are turning the room red again.”

“But brother! How am I supposed to stay calm when our plan is about to get ruined by that fucking cunt!”

“But he didn’t really ruin or plan.”

“What do you mean?”

“Here. Take a look.”

Giving Walter a piece of paper, his brother Niklas, leaned back into the chair with amusement in his eyes.

He knew.

He knew that someone was going to come to storage thirteen and take his servant and the chest with him.

His eyes filled with a light that was unexplainable to most people but that was what he liked about them.

He loved it to be unpredictable. That no one could tell his next move.

That he knew what his opponent’s next move would be is something he is grateful for even if his father despises him for not having the family traits.

“What the hell! It was him? The skinny piece of shit I beat up a month ago?”

“Oh? You know him?”

“He came to the dojo Frank uses as a disguise to stay out of the Association’s eye. The day I tried to get into the dojo and impress that bitch Gina. He should have been that unfortunate shit that would get beaten by me with no effort but he landed a hit on me with that weak body of his using just a stick.”

“You went too easy on him, young master.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that he landed a hit on him which I find quite interesting. And you are sure he wasn’t awakened at all.”

“Yes. The way he looks right now makes it more obvious that he is awakened but in that state? Never!”

“I see… got a name?”

“I don’t know. But he is most likely in the same school as the bitch.”

“The one guarded by the lone hero…”

“But young master, the lone hero especially said that the moment we mess with his students, we are dead.”

“That is if he is capable of killing us.”

“What are yo-Oh! Hehehe~. I like your thinking, brother.”

The two siblings stood up at the same time with psychotic smiles on their faces. They were ready to cause chaos.

And this chaos wouldn’t just benefit them but also their father.

“Let’s go! We have much to prepare.”

“How many days, brother.”

“Friday will be the day. Anything after and our efforts will only be in vain.”

“Alright! Frank! Let’s go!”

“As you wish, young master.”

The two siblings soon left the slightly lit room with their wine covered servant following closely behind them. Heading straight to a certain place in the mansion, they were about to create chaos once again.

And they did all of this with a smile on their faces.