The man in the rubble was dusting himself off as if he hadn't been sent flying just a few moments ago.

"Who the hell are you?" Shouted someone. Surprisingly it wasn't Elizabeth but Ezekiel who said this.

The bald man soon responded.

"Sorry pal, but my date's with blondie over there."

"Cut the shit dumbass, who the hell are you?"

He then sent a barrage of small rocks and pebbles around him at the baldy using his magic. The bald man just blocked protecting his face as this was more harassment than an attack. Just as he put down his block, to presumably bad mouth Ezekiel and his attack, he saw Ezekiel standing in front of him.

Ezekiel lightly slapped the man's cheek.

"Still gonna be silent?"

Saito gave a laugh.

"Hahahaha, I didn't know the adventurers' dregs had anyone decent within them. Especially two at that. Do you want a name? Sure I'll give ya. It's not like I'm gonna let you guys leave anyway."

Saito then cracked his knuckles and continued.

"Names Saito though if you want to refer to me properly, call me Father or Priest Saito. But I don't mind if that blonde over there calls me daddy."

Ezekiel seemed as though he was gonna stare a hole into the man with the nasty glare he was giving him.

"A priest? Here of all places? What the hell is going on?"

"Heh, it seems like I was underestimating you shits. How sloppy was that bastard Daniel, if you know this much?" He then gave a sigh and scratched his head.

"A priest?" Elizabeth wondered.

("Although it isn't impossible I don't wanna use my divine powder fighting both these guys. The real pain will be leaving the country. Guess I have to go for a good ole command and conquer strategy.") Saito thought to himself.

He then shouted to his men:

"Oi dipshits spread out and take 'em out!"

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The men who were taking their time inching away from Elizabeth when she was distracted by Saito then burst out into a sprint. While Ezekiel was looking at the runaways, Saito made his way to Elizabeth. He seemed to make a barricade between the men and Elizabeth.

When he was about to support Elizabeth he saw the team they were with being attacked.

("Did they get around that quickly? No, did we predict less than there was around?")

Elizabeth shouted to him as she blocked a strike from Saito.

"Help them out, I'll be good here!"

Ezekiel clicked his tongue.

"This shouldn't take more than five minutes." He responded before running to help the four they brought with them.

Now the two were, in terms of combat, separated from the others. Elizabeth jumped back to gain some distance between them and they started circling each other.

"Hehehe, whores are nice but it's something else to break in 'strong' girls like you."

"I must say, I expected more from the elite of the cult. Is taunting people the only skill you have?" she responded while looking quite unbothered.

"Don't worry, I'll make good on them when I win."

Elizabeth then struck him with her blade and he managed to parry it. Well, that isn't quite right. Regular skin would have a layer of it sliced off like a chef cutting prosciutto if someone else attempted what he did. His skin also had a silver-like substance form on it when he parried her blade. Although she was thrown off balance by the parry she was able to throw a punch at his face with her open hand and send him a few feet back.

She stared at him like a lumberjack would at a tree he planned to chop down.

"I see. Magic that involves metal, no, steel."

"Yep." He openly admitted.

"But what's that information gonna do for you sweetcheeks?" He continued.

"I've heard of swordsmen in the east being able to cut steel without the use of magic or ki. Who would have thought I would be able to try this out for myself."

Although one might have been discouraged by it she noticed he had a small slice on the parts of his arms he had earlier used to block her sword.

As soon as he noticed what she was talking about the battle started in earnest. His fists were coated in metal and he threw a barrage of punches.

She did her best to avoid these but the few that grazed her gave small bruises from the friction of her skin and the steel hands rubbing.

She managed to get a clean strike on his stomach but the steel covering it was the only reason he hadn't been sliced in two.

He tried to grab the arm that held the sword but she quickly let go and performed a (albeit somewhat sloppy) roundhouse kick to Saito's head. As he was pushed back she managed to grab her sword before it fell. Due to how much resistance she felt in the kick, he probably used steel to protect his head.

They sized each other up for a moment before continuing the battle.

Saito then rushed her with a tackle. She easily dodged to the side but it seemed he was counting on this. He then held out his hand as if he was summoning something. Even though this was brief, it did catch her attention. She jumped into the air to avoid whatever was coming.

("Are surprise attacks all the rage nowadays? Have a taste of your own medicine.") She calmly thought to herself.

She soon realised something when she looked down, however. Nothing was there.

("Wait a minute what the hell i-")

Before she could realise it, Saito had grabbed her leg. With a thunderous boom, she was slammed into the ground.

("I was hoping for her to turn around or something but this is way better than I expected.") Saito thought with a grin on his face.