Ezekiel watched in trepidation as Saito approached.

He could feel his heart rate rising and the sweat that gathered over him looked comical. He knew it would only take a moment for the monster to arrive yet he had to fight against every instinct urging him to run away. This was the second time in his life Ezekiel had felt this level of fear from an opponent.

It took all the willpower he had to stare this monster into his eyes. If he for any reason took his eyes off him it wouldn't even be a question of if he would die.

("What changed? Why does fighting him feel so hopeless right now?")

He wondered to himself as he observed Saito's 'serious' punch. He was barely caught by the blow yet he sent spinning through the air into a tree.

On impact, he coughed up blood and staggered. He still had enough time to see Saito right in front of him swinging again. He moved himself to the side and felt one of his dreadlocks being ripped out.

The sheer force of the punch had torn it from his scalp.

This wasn't intentional and that fact made Ezekiel almost consider giving up. In his current position, he tried something all men were weak to. A punch to the nuts. The blow landed but it did nothing to delay his next attack. It was almost impressive how ineffective that attack was.

("Are you fucking kidding me!?")

He moved Saito back but the punch that grazed his chest felt like it tore all the skin on his chest off even with his armour on. It took every ounce of willpower he had to muffle a shout of pain.

'Fortunately' the only thing there was a nasty bruise but he didn't have the time to check. Saito aimed another one of his incomprehensible dark beams toward his face.

In that moment every moment of his life flashed before his eyes. His first meeting with Mr. Bentley, all his escapades and his old profession, him forming his guild and finally meeting Tibaut.

("I guess this is an appropriate ending for someone like me. Is this some sort of divine punishment?")

Just as he was accepting his fate, the beam suddenly disappeared. Rather the thing forming the beam was gone. In place of Saito's finger was a knife. It was Ezekiel's. Saito had a look of disappointment on his face. He then aimed his entire hand and formed an even larger beam that was moving in pace with the girl in a hoodie who was running through the trees.

"Sideshows should know their goddamn pla-" but before he could he heard something behind him.

As he looked he saw the woman who he had thrown previously swinging her blade. It was aimed almost surgically towards his neck.

By the time he acted on this information, the blade was already touching his neck. If this were any other opponent it would have been over. But this was no regular opponent.

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He quickly swung down the elbow of the arm that was aimed at what he believed to be 'fodder' and delivered an almost otherworldly elbow to Elizabeth's abdomen.

The force with which she impacted a nearby tree almost uprooted it. The sword had cut almost halfway through his neck and exposed both his spine and a dense layer of muscle yet he still stood tall.

What he did not realize was that this detour had given enough time to Ezekiel to pick up his knife. As long as he dragged him close quick enough for him not to react he'd win. Yet when he tried, Saito didn't budge an inch. He soon noticed a strange atmosphere around the demon. It was almost as if the air around him was being blown out of a furnace.

("No way? I was this close. Did he realize how to counter me or … is he doing this unconsciously!?")

Whatever the answer was, he could no longer affect Saito.

He didn't let that bog him down and instead approached.

By telling time he had decided and committed to this action Saito had already turned around. When he aimed his knife at Saito's already weak neck the last thing he could have even predicted happened. Saito moved his head to headbutt him. He did his best to move his head back and reduce the blow but it sent him flying away like a pinwheel.

The wound on Saito's neck seemed to have increased but at the moment he was the victor. He looked at Ezekiel, who was tens of meters away and slowly approached. Ezekiel was out cold. It was a miracle his face was in one piece but that was all. Within the next few moments, he would be killed by Priest Saito.

As he closed the distance a girl fell from the trees and stood in front of Saito. It was his guildmate Lily. Her legs trembled as the monster grew ever closer. Tears filled her eyes as she took out a throwing knife and held it in a fighting stance.

She muttered prayers under her breath as the distance grew smaller and smaller. She closed her eyes, maybe in an attempt to not witness her own death. She heard the footsteps grow ever louder and tensed her legs in an attempt to charge him. Then a voice shouted out and a sword soon followed.

"You bastard!!!"

He caught the sword and looked at his accuser unimpressed. It was Elizabeth and she wasn't looking too hot. She was clutching her side and half bent over. She wiped some blood off her mouth and walked closer to him.

He gave a sigh, dropped the sword and turned around to approach her. Poor Lily who had attempted a last stand fell to her knees with tears rolling down her cheek.

"I will admit, you may have been too much for my former self to have handled but what can you do now?" He asked as he came closer and closer.

Elizabeth simply breathed heavily while limping towards him.

The man shook his head and continued.

Now it wasn't as though Elizabeth didn't actually have a plan but the aftermath of it would be difficult to hide.

("If I use my magic in my current state, at best I would have my arms obliterated and in the worst case I might just die.")

She remembered the words her goddess had given about not dying to the point of embarrassing her but she felt it would be quite necessary in this scenario.

("They might figure out I'm a Saint.")

If this info were to get out, it would change her life for the foreseeable. She could either become someone's pawn in her current state or have assassins target her while she was still weak.

("Who cares? So what if they figure out I'm a Saint? Is a Saint really the type of person who would her friends, no, any lives be trampled on for their own convenience!?")

As she convinced herself, she then quickened her pace and they were soon within arms reach of each other.

Saito then reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin. He put it on his thumb and looked ready to flick it into the air.

"Alright blondie, let's see if you can do something worth remembering."

She then prepared herself to use her magic.

An uncomfortable amount of time passed before Saito flicked the coin into the air. When that coin fell to the ground her life as she knew might be entirely over. Just when things were looking up it had to take a turn like this. The path to her goal was just now starting to become visible yet she no longer was able to follow it.

As she was thinking of what to do if she was able to kill him something odd struck her.

Why hadn't Saito thrown the coin yet?