Part 9

26 minutes had passed since he ran from the hospital. Haruko didn’t have his phone, so he had no idea. He couldn’t tell because he didn’t have his phone with him at the moment.

He ran as far as his legs could take him.

"Double cheeseburger combo, no lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, or onions," a man shouted out behind the counter of a chicken and burger restaurant."

"Right here!" Haruko shouted as he walked towards the counter.

He decided to get something to eat since the girl he rescued pretty much ate his pre-birthday burritos.

The man grabbed the container of food and placed it in a plastic bag.

"What kind of soda do you want, boss?"

Haruko leaned to his left to look at the see-through fridge of soda behind the counter.

"Mmmhh, let me get an orange soda, please."

The man walked to the fridge.

"Orange, right," the man said as he opened the fridge.

"Yup," Haruko cheerfully replied.

The man grabbed the orange soda and placed it in the bag.

"Ketchup, hot sauce?"

"Just ketchup and a fork, please."

"Anything else?"

"Yes, can I get two thighs and a mac and cheese?"

"Sure, no problem."

Haruko watched as the man put the extra items in the plastic bag and handed it to him over the counter.

He grabbed the bag and exited the restaurant to begin walking back to the hospital.

~Son, they shook ‘cause ain't no such things as halfway crooks. Scared to death and scared to look, they shook cause ain't no such things as halfway crooks. Scared to death and scared to look. Living the life, that of diamonds and guns, there's numerous ways you can choose to earn funds~

Haruko's voice broke through the quiet night.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

A light breeze began to pick up outside.

As he was crossing a red steel bridge over a river, he stopped at the halfway point. There were no people or vehicles passing by on the bridge.

Despite everything that happened, it was a peaceful night. This whole nightlife outside was new to him; usually he would be playing his video games without paying attention to the outside world.

Everything was quiet now.

Haruko turned to look beyond the bridge.

The Manhattan skyline

The biggest attraction in the city is something that people would pay hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to get a look at and take photos of. A lot of people didn’t come into the city to see the birthplace of hip-hop or its various airports. Manhattan was the core of the city. All the major business and dealings within the city took place there.

Aoi.

The Water Crystal Guardian

His thoughts were on the girl.

(Someone really ordered a bounty on a girl.) Haruko thought as he continued to look at the skyline.

(And for what, her power?)

He started to get angry.

(Those magicians or spellcasters whose very existence or abilities deviate too far from the natural laws of order have their lives forfeited.)

Haruko clenched his fist tightly.

(My leader has his own reasons for wanting the girl.)

Haruko closed his eyes.

(You heard him; there are multiple people after me, after my power. They will never stop coming after me……. You………. were the first person that was kind to me since I got here. It was the reason I didn’t want you to get caught up in this, but…..but you.)

He opened his eyes to look at the city skyline once again.

(Under the protection of the city, she can be safe from those who are after her; I’m pretty sure that was something we both want.)

"Would she truly be able to be safe under the protection of the city?"

Haruko raised his bandaged arm to get a look at it; he stared at his palm.

(And what kind of help can you offer her with your body the way it is?)

"Whatever protection she gets is probably better than what I can offer her right now."

As much as he didn’t want to admit it—or maybe he was lying to himself from the start—he couldn’t save her, not like this.

He hated himself for being so weak.

Everything was quiet.

Too quiet.

Haruko began looking around the bridge.

It was deserted.

No people or vehicles passed through on the bridge.

Haruko could hear nothing; it was as if the bridge was a closed-off space.

(What the hell is going on?)

"So, you finally noticed?"

Haruko jumped at the sound of the voice.

A shredding sound broke out on the bridge, breaking Haruko's contraction.

It sounded like metal was being dragged along the ground.

Footsteps.

Loud footsteps.

Louder than they should be.

That was the next sound he heard. The sound of the steps echoed out on the open bridge as if the person were walking through a large, open hall.

They were coming closer to him.

Haruko took a few steps back.

"You can run, but you won’t get far."

Haruko paused.

"It’s a triple-layered barrier spell, weaved on top of each other—no small feat, I’ll have you know. Individually, they were designed to keep regular people away from magicians battles and allow them to carry out business in secret so that people don’t get involved.

A female voice broke out.

Despite not seeing the source of the voice, Haruko could hear it clearly, as if she were right next to him.

Haruko frantically began to look around for where the voice was coming from but found nothing.

Something caught his eye.

There was a woman approaching him.

She was dragging a thin, maroon-colored spear on the ground.

"Had Eduard done this earlier, we wouldn’t be in this situation, but now we don’t have to worry about anyone intruding on this, now do we?"

There was a loud silence as Haruko stared at the woman just a few feet from him.

The woman raised the spear, pointing the tip towards Haruko.

He gulped.

"My name is Elora Demetriou."

She swung the spear to her side.

"Your executioner."