The bell tower strikes once more. Startled by the sound, birds take flight over the city. An angelic-looking woman with long blonde hair dressed in a luxurious cloak stands with her hands clasped together next to an old, wooden cart and a horse at the base of the bell tower. As she murmurs to herself a subtle prayer, a ray of sunlight casts over her.

She looks up toward the sky with a gentle smile. “Thank you, Lord Ludwig, for another blessed day.”

A man calls out to her, “Hey there, miss!” She turns to see three shady men in robes approaching her.

The thinnest one slings his arm around her shoulder. “Wow, you’re even prettier up close. Want to come hang with us? I like your robe. Which family are you from?”, says the thin man with a sly grin on his face.

“P-please let me go..” mutters the woman. She clutches onto the necklace hidden underneath her clothes.

The bulky man circles around them and begins playing with her hair. “She looks like she’s about to cry. How cute!”

She knows her build is tiny, but she can’t stand people like them, who constantly target lone women. It makes her want to throw up in her mouth. The woman closes her eyes and whispers “Lord Ludwig, forgive me.” as she clenches her fist. Before she can slug them with her fist, A threatening and irritated voice comes from behind the group of men.

“What are you doing?”

Everyone turns to look and finds a black hooded man standing behind them. “I don’t want to cause any trouble. Leave or else. Last warning.”

“Get a load of this old man”, laughs the thin man. He walks up and puts a hand on the hooded man’s shoulder. “Listen, old man, you should leave before yo- “

Before the man could finish his sentence, the hooded man slaps the foreign hand off, grabs the thin man’s head, and flings it downward in a blink of an eye. The ground shakes as the man slams into the pavement. Everyone stands in silence and awe from the impact.

“Wow, he’s fast. It seems like he wasn’t joking about the ‘last warning’.” thinks the woman.

“W-what?! Who do you think you are, you bastard!?” yells the bulky man. He dashes towards the mysterious stranger and launches a powerful strike, aiming at his head. The hooded man casually pivots his body, dodges the strike, and drives a devastating knee into the thick man’s abdomen. The blow sends a shockwave throughout his body, causing him to drop to his knees and gasp for air.

The hooded man turns to face the last opponent. The last man quickly pulls out a small pole from his robe. His eyes are trembling with anxiousness, but his calm stance was that of an experienced fighter. “You’re pretty good. Who are you?”, asks the shady man with a forced smile.

The hooded man calmly walks toward the shady man in silence; He wastes no time on idle chatter.

“Not much of a talker, huh? Not that it matters much. I’ll show you what happens when you mess with us!”

He launches into the air and extends his arms over his head. The hooded man drops his center of gravity, waiting for the right moment to deflect the incoming attack. The shady man lands just shy of his opponent. The missed attack drops the hooded man’s guard. The shady man looks up with a twisted smile; a sudden blinding light shoots upward. The hooded man’s eyes widen as the beam approaches; before it could puncture his skull, he cocks his head to the side as the ray of light cuts his cheek.

A single stream of blood drips down his face. He wipes his thumb across his cheek to clear the blood, but a new stream takes its place soon after. The hooded man jumps backward to gain distance; he clenches his jaw and clicks his tongue in disappointment.

“How do you like that!?”. The shady man laughs maniacally, “That’s what you get!”. He stands up straight, twirling his pole that is now longer than before. A glowing white-ish, yellow aura extends the pole and shapes the tip into a spear. He points the tip at the hooded man. “Afzal Gwynevere, remember that name as I send you to the afterlife! Give my regards to Lady Eleena for me!”, shouts Afzal as he charges forward once again.

The hooded man takes a breath and lets out a deep sigh as he slides his foot back. He whips open his cloak to the left and reveals his weapon, a katana, resting on his hip. His hand patiently hovering the handle.

Afzal thrusts his spear forward. The hooded man looks up and the sharp glare in his eyes meets Afzal’s gaze. A red glint gleams from the hooded man’s eyes. He sidesteps diagonally as the speartip aims at his chest. Draws his blade and a black blur slices upward, and cleaves the spear into clean halves. Shifts his weight to the side and digs his elbow into Afzal’s rib cage, sending him flying into the side of a building.

The sound of the metal rod hitting the stoned floor echoes throughout the surrounding area. The hooded man stands up straight and sheathes his katana. As the hooded man approaches the woman he rescued, he shouts over his shoulder, “It’s safe now! Let’s hurry and get out of here before the guards show up!”.

The woman, still in shock from what just transpired, frantically asks, “W-who are you?!”.

The hooded man looks at her and pulls his hood halfway down. “It’s me, Leor. The hired-help.”

A tired Alden pops out of the shadows of a nearby building. “Hey, Miss Ceri. Let’s get a move on, shall we?”.

Leor hops into the cart. He reaches out a hand to Ceri, and pulls her up into the cart. She hops into the coachman’s seat, grabbing the reins.

“Hey, what about me!?”, cries Alden.

Leor loudly exhales through his nostrils, while pulling Alden up. With the crack of a whip, the horse marches forward.