??? POV:

I splayed my hand as I manipulated the air to pull him closer toward me. His body lurched forward—my knife, ready to meet his neck when he lightly tapped my hand away, rolled inwards and pushed my chest back with the palm of his hand.

‘Tch. I guess that scumbag, Brunaulf, expected this newcomer to be quite the big deal.’

I dashed in again, manipulating the air currents around the blade, making it sharper. I needed to cut through his Ki armour in order to deal some real damage.

My hand flickered as I drew dozens of lines over his body in an instant. He wouldn’t get out of this attack without taking any damage.

“!”

‘No way...’

His body left several afterimages behind as he dodged each individual strike before stepping into the pocket. His fist sunk deep into my gut as I flew backwards. I used the momentum from hitting the ground to flip back to my feet which skidded to a halt.

‘Who the hell is this guy?’

I had already ruled out Lyon due to the injury I saw him with. Despite his fake bravado, to not show the pain he was in while he left my flat, I knew he was hurting. From what Marina had described, his injury would need more than a week to recover from.

I took a deep breath and pulled out another knife from my back pocket. I manipulated the air around my body as I cut through the wind, arriving in front of him in a matter of seconds.

The two knives in my hand intersected across his body as I spun around and followed through with a kick to his chest.

‘Tch. No blood.’

His top had a cross-shaped tear in the middle, but there was no wound. I cocked my head to the side and stuck out my arm. My two fingers flicked forwards, inviting him in again, but he didn’t seem to fall for my taunts.

‘It's fortunate...’

We traded blows in the middle of the street. My knives whistling through the air as they searched for their target.

His reflexes were simply outstanding. There were times when he dodged an attack by a hair’s breadth, only to counterattack within the next second.

‘The mission’s changed. I don’t need to kill you anymore... Brunaulf will arrive soon.’

I felt my determination waver as I began to commit less to the strikes I was throwing at him. He seemed to sense the half-heartedness in my attacks and responded by knocking both my hands away. His hand shot forward to grab my mask as I hurriedly kicked him back.

‘Close.’

He appeared in front of me again, no longer aiming for my body, but for the mask covering my face instead. I didn’t understand what his intentions were nor did I like the uneasy feeling beginning to rise in my chest.

‘Why isn’t Brunaulf here yet?!’

His hand flew past the side of the mask, ripping off a large chunk of the fabric and exposing my cheek.

‘...Have I been played?’

A sudden thought crossed my mind as I increased the distance between my target. If Brunaulf wanted to get rid of me, he could be using this guy.

But why?

It wouldn’t make sense unless he was planning to turn this guy into an assassin. Unless... He was planning on replacing me.

‘In that case, my services would no longer be needed.’

I wasn’t convinced—it seemed a bit too far-fetched, yet Brunaulf still stubbornly refused to show up.

‘It might be better to knock the target out while I wait.’

I adjusted my mindset and changed my stance as I charged back in.

***

Lyon POV:

‘She is good, but it seems like her mind is elsewhere.’

I avoided her flurry of strikes and stepped back. I assumed she was waiting for someone to appear since she started taking a passive approach to this fight.

However, I was also waiting for someone—for Brunaulf, but he had yet to show up. It had been around 10 minutes since our fight had started and still nothing.

‘She can’t handle me, so what are they waiting for exactly?’

I observed her stance change and felt the intensity of her attacks return to their original state, no, it was more than that. However, I still knew that she was buying time.

‘If Brunaulf won’t show up, I’ll just take her with me instead.’

It wasn’t the ideal scenario, but it was better than nothing. It would be wise to remove her mask as I had planned to earlier.

‘Alright. I’ve got what I needed.’

I entered the Ghost stance and she immediately backed off. The lines of optimal attacks entered my vision and my hands flickered.

‘Right Shoulder. Wrists. Left ribs and... Solar plexus.’

I stepped forward and struck her right shoulder. Her hands rose to defend against the next incoming strike, but my knuckles had already struck the nerves in her wrists, forcing her fingers to unravel as the two knives dropped to the ground.

I twisted my body as my fist collided with her left ribs breaking through her Ki armour and lifting her up into the air slightly.

“Keuk!!”

She let out a pained moan while I struck her solar plexus with precision, forcing her body to crumple to the dark pavement in an instant.

‘...’

She gasped for air while coughing everywhere. I watched her trembling hand hover over her chest as her breathing became more erratic.

I felt a little bad.

I reached down to take off her mask when she grabbed my wrist. The moonlight finally managed to find its way through the black clouds; illuminating the street below as a sign of its temporary victory. I saw her amber eyes shimmer, no longer hidden by the shadow her hood cast.

My heartbeat quickened.

Her hand moved up my wrist and rested on my cheek. She pulled the mask down, revealing my face and I saw her eyes visibly shake.

‘I-It can’t be...!’

My eyebrows curved inwards slightly as I looked down at her in disbelief. I needed to confirm the truth, so I bent down and... pulled her mask off.

***

Len POV:

I looked away as my mask dropped to the ground. I didn’t want to see his face.

“L-Len... Why?...”

I bit my lip and remained silent. What could I even say? The food and necessities I bought for Marina all came at the expense of others—of other people’s lives. I was no different than the rest of the trash who lived here.

He placed his hand on my cheek gently and turned my face towards him. I looked into his deep blue eyes that were calm, yet fierce like the ocean.

I watched his lips form a pained smile before parting.

“I understand.”

My eyes shook at his words. He understands? How can that be? He should hate me... I... I just wanted to cry. I wanted to let it all out. I was sick and tired of all of it.

“!”

His arms wrapped around me tightly as he pulled me in close. I bit my quivering lip, struggling to hold back the tears that pooled at the corners of my eyes.

“It’ll be alright. Trust me.”

The lid on my closed heart opened and the tears I was desperately holding back, spilt over against my will. I cried my eyes out as I rested my head on his shoulder; my fingers gripping his back tightly.

Neither of us said another word. He just gently rubbed my back as we held each other under the moonlight.

Once my tears had dried up, I finally let go. It was kind of embarrassing, holding onto someone and crying for so long, but it felt good at the same time. A weight had been lifted off my chest and I felt like I was in a better head space.

‘Still to think he could fight like that...’

*Clap, clap, clap*

I spun my head to the side and my heart dropped instantly. I saw a masked man staring at me gleefully in the distance as his two hands constantly struck together repeatedly.

His eyes were curved into two half-crescent moons while his applause had yet to cease. Dozens of Organization members dropped down behind him while Lyon stood up in response and faced him.

“My, my, my! What a show!~ The number one assassin of District 4 cried her eyes out over a boy she just met a couple of days ago!~”

I heard snickering from different angles as an uneasy feeling swept over me.

‘Marina...!’

I was about to get up when Lyon put his hand out to stop me. I didn’t know what he had in mind, but that scumbag Brunaulf had been watching me since the beginning.

My fists shook with rage while I looked at his damn punchable face.

“You must be Brunaulf.”

His eyebrows twitched as he heard Lyon call out his name.

“The newcomer knows a few things...Then I’ll give you a choice. Kill Len and save the retar—”

I opened my mouth to speak, but before the words came out Brunaulf’s head snapped back. My eyes widened only to narrow as Brunaulf cocked his head to the side seemingly unaffected by the attack.

“Watch your mouth.”

There was a hint of anger in Lyon's voice while I studied him carefully.

‘So he can manipulate the wind? No, that’s not right. I never saw him do that during our fight.’

I discarded those thoughts for now and glared at Brunaulf. He really was planning on replacing me, but what choice did I have at the time? I couldn’t fight them all off while keeping Marina safe—that was too much for me.

“Ok, ok, let me finish this time. Kill Len and save the THING or... We kill you both?~ Ah wait, I need to take YOU in alive, but...”

His eyes flickered towards me as the corners of his mouth rose, forming a wide smile that could be seen through his mask. I had seen that disgusting leer so many times; it made me sick to my stomach.

“I’ve been dying to have some fun with Le—"

The startling sound of the air snapping in front of me was followed by several bodies crashing to the ground behind Brunaulf.

“...Wow. You really are pretty good?~”

Brunaulf's demeanour changed as he partially released his Ki. His smile had vanished somewhat a while ago and his eyes narrowed while he examined Lyon.

‘That was Lyon's doing?’

I was able to see it clearer than before, but it was still incredible. I looked up at his face and saw an expression I couldn’t describe. His fists were clenched tight and he stood slightly in front of me.

“We can fight, buttt, you’ll lose the retard. I’m not stupid you know, what do you think is happening to her right now?~”

I gritted my teeth as my anger exploded but Lyon signalled for me to not move. I couldn’t just sit still for much longer—now wasn’t the time for this, Marina was in danger.

“Brunaulf.”

Lyon's voice changed. It took on a heavy tone that stiffened the surrounding atmosphere. Even Brunaulf flinched slightly after hearing his name called.

“Don’t get cockyyy~”

Brunaulf quickly regained his composure while I watched Lyon walk towards them slowly. Each step he took felt more intimidating than the last and then, he opened his mouth and spoke.

“Please don’t die on me.”