[Skill: Spatial Manifestation lvl 5] (Domain)

[Skill: Phantom Fingers lvl 8] (Art)

[Weapon: Cursed Tanto]

A 20 inches screen of what looked like a hologram screen flew beside Pauli. A bunch of notifications popped up on it. Pauli didn’t spare a glance to the screen. Instead, his eyes were locked on a dreamy looking female. Her black hair was as straight as a ruler. Every strand gracefully fell, spreading on her shoulder like a curtain of black diamond. It was long enough to reach her prominent behind. Her bangs flopped naturally, parting right in the middle, revealing sharp yet feminine face. There was a small mole slightly below her lips. It was only a dot of black, but it was no less intriguing than the others visible touches. Her milky skin was wrapped just loose enough with a pastel blouse. She was no other than Haiga, the unexpected guest in Pauli's home.

Pauli whole body got tensed, heart banging in his chest, as he wait for Haiga’s consciousness. His Japanese dagger, Cursed Tanto, was on standby. The blue hamon on it glittered. At any moment, he was ready to launch a single sure-hit attack on Haiga who was standing with both her eyes closed tight.

As his anxiety raising, Pauli watched two green emerald eyes opened before him. There was no trace of magical aura from them. Unlike Haiga’s, burning blue aura evaporated out of his eyes. This informed Pauli that Haiga had no offensive nor defensive skill on standby.

Haiga’s eyes moved scanning around the area. Her perplexed expression indicated that she didn’t have a single clue on what had happened. In fact, she was just passed out when she saw her reflection on the mirror. Minutes ago, she wanted to fry ‘nobody’ in a boiling pot of oil. Now, she woke up standing in the middle of a coliseum-looking building.

They stood facing each other on a wide platform, surrounded by rows of empty seat. The coliseum was huge. The platform alone was 50 meters wide. The design was also pleasing to the eyes, with a subtle terracotta tone washing over it.

Haiga had zero artistic skill, but even she knew that the building was a real work of art. Merely standing there gave shivers to her slender body, as if she could hear the cheers of audiences echoing in and out of the building. It was no less than real in Haiga’s eyes. Little did she know, the only thing that was real in the building was her and Pauli.

A moment ago, Pauli had activated ‘Spatial Manifestation’, a skill capable of creating an imaginary space. He forcefully brought Haiga into his imaginary space to avoid the worst case scenario. His spatial manifestation was a rare skill that only few people could use. However, the level was relatively low. On level 5, he couldn’t bring physical being inside. Thus, although Haiga appeared with her body intact, it was only the pseudo manifestation of her real body. Both of them were just the consciousness. In the physical world, Haiga was actually sleeping on the bed, and Pauli was sitting beside her. Of course, Haiga was unaware of this.

In normal circumstances, bringing any being inside the space cost extraordinary mana point. The more powerful the being was, the more mana point it cost. In this case, Haiga was deeply unconscious. She was also fairly weak, even one of the weakest human Pauli had ever encountered. Even then, it cost 1500 mana points to bring her consciousness here.

What is this place? Haiga was too busy admiring the view, she didn’t saw Pauli was preparing his stance.

“I don’t know how, but it must be destiny that I found you before those military dogs did.” Pauli lowered his stance, held his Tanto close to his left stomach, and…

[Skill: Cheetah Agility lvl 7] (Speed)

Hatred was reflected in Pauli eyes. Haiga saw it and grew even more bewildered. She saw Pauli as a goofy type of person from the way he spoke. In addition, his eyes were gentle. What she saw right now was far from those descriptions. Anger and sadness clouded his bright features. His eyes got darker by seconds. It was obvious that the center of all this negativity was Haiga. The tip of the Tanto confirmed that as it glowed 10 meters from her, screaming for blood.

“Wait! I don’t mean any harm.” Haiga raised her arm in front of her, trying to gesture Pauli to stop whatever his means was.

“But, I do.” He kicked the ground and flew 22 m/s straight to Haiga.

In Pauli mind, a 0.5 second attack would be enough to hurt Haiga. She was a pure human after all, no magic, no strength. It would be ridiculous to believe it wouldn’t. So, he did his assassination thrust.

Thinking it would be done instantly, Pauli was left speechless. Competing with Pauli’s speed, Haiga had grabbed his right hand just before the Tanto pierced her chest. Her eyes were calm. Pauli couldn’t recognize Haiga in that expression. Like Haiga, Pauli also kept his impression of her. He had concluded that Haiga was annoyingly kind and a little big-mouthed. But the Haiga here was expressionless and efficient. She spared no extra movement in catching Pauli’s right hand which was why Pauli was caught off guard. He thought Haiga was frozen because her brain couldn’t keep up. In reality, Haiga had observed his movement and waited for the attack even before he launched forward.

It was an error on Pauli's side. He failed to analyze the situation. However, it was obvious. Who would have believed if the no-strength, innocent-yet-annoying looking girl had such a move in her pocket?

Pauli speed attack was a child’s play in Haiga’s eyes. Please kept in mind that she didn’t underestimate his skill. Haiga had been a captain of a special unit force before. Fighting gangsters, criminals, and terrorists were her everyday job. Thanks to her extremely fine martial skill, she was appointed as the head instructor to teach her juniors some fighting moves. It was only natural for Haiga to be able to react to the attack.

Fortunately for Pauli, Haiga was a newcomer with no knowledge of magic. Haiga's martial skill alone would be enough to put Pauli on edge. But this was a world where magic was glorified.

Two seconds after Pauli’s failure, his Tanto disappeared with blue smoke. With no time lag, the Tanto reappeared on the hold of his left hand with the same blue smoke. Haiga's eyes were wide open, feeling amaze under the pressure. It was indeed a beautiful move.

As long as the ‘Phantom Fingers’ was activated, Pauli was able to manipulate whatever in his hands was. He could teleport one item from one hand to the other hand. If the marked item was blown over, he could called it back to his hand. Although it didn’t gave Pauli any physical nor magic attack point, it was a befitting skill for him.

Pauli then swayed his Tanto towards Haiga’s face, but Haiga quickly bend down and secured a distance. If she was late even a half second, her face would be cut and its curse would be inflicted.

That weapon is dangerous. Years of live-threatening job, her instinct was spot on. It was indeed dangerous. 1 cm of cut could cost her 30 seconds of paralysis, what a terrifying disadvantage to have in a fight.

Pauli charged another ‘Cheetah Agility’. Rather than waiting like before, Haiga was in her stance. In an instant, Pauli reached her. She bend down to avoid the Tanto. Pauli thought she was dodging his attack. But Haiga was actually preparing. She sprang upward, hitting Pauli with her stone head on his stomach. That forehead of her was actually strong.

Pauli had set his physical defence to always on, but that didn’t nullify the pain he received. The attack blurred his vision for a second. Haiga took that as an opportunity to kick the Tanto. It threw the Tanto out of Pauli's reach.

“Don’t be modest. You can really kill me in a second, can’t you?” Haiga tried to keep his breath steady.

“You’re smart.” Pauli smirked. He hugged his stomach, as if it may flop to the floor.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Haiga was right. Pauli was indeed being modest. He restrained himself from fatally wounding Haiga.

“It looks like I really am different from those dogs.”

Those dogs? Haiga’s eyebrows furrowed.

Pauli looked Haiga in an amazement. That jet black haired girl was actually impressive. He was busy studying Haiga’s attitude that he just realized, his beloved Tanto was now in her hand. One of the weaknesses of ‘Phantom Fingers’: once the marked item was in someone else's grip, the item would not be able to be called back.

“Stop this bullshit. What’s your problem, sir?” Haiga dropped to the floor, indicating that she wanted no more fight.

“After the Crown Prince was brown, he was cursed.” The pain had gone, and Pauli started to reveal some information to Haiga. But his anger was still there. Haiga knew Pauli may started his madness again. That was why, although she was sitting, she didn’t let her guard down.

“What’s that have to do with me?”

“The curse prevents the Prince to do any magic. It was a major deficiency for a Crown Prince. An Empire as big and as influential as Orrientera Imperium needs a powerful ruler. Of course, this is really confidential. Only some individuals know about it.”

“Like I say, I just got here. I know nothing of this prince of yours.”

“That son of a bitch is not MY PRINCE!” Pauli snapped. A waved of energy bursted out of him. Haiga flinched in silent.

“Understood, sir!” She quickly fixed her mistake.

“The curse will be broken if the Prince is to marry the 17th Sakka of the Empire.”

Haiga, not wanting to offend Pauli again, kept silent despite her fazed expression. She was smart to conclude that if she wanted him to give her more information, she needed to stop talking.

“A Sakka is a being sent by the God to strengthen this Empire. People see it as a blessing. Every Sakka possesses extreme power, incomparable to commoners like me. There are 16 of them ever recorded in the Empire's history. Each of them testified that they died, met someone, and then sent here in that exact someone’s body. Familiar with the story?”

Yes. It was Haiga's very own story. She had died. She met ‘nobody’. Instantly, she had appeared in a different world with a body identical to that of ‘nobody’. She was now a female with bold face features, serene emerald eyes, and full lips. Her body was a masterpiece. Whatever she did, she wouldn’t be able to hide her define curves and busted chest. The once a manly man was now a woman who was constantly emitting sultry aura. She was the very definition of a mature beauty.

“That’s why I am a female now. ‘Nobody’ wants me to marry him?” This question never left her head. She was mentally exhausted from this crazy ride to another world. But knowing the pieces started to make sense, a little burden was lifted from her shoulder.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about. And I don’t care. You’re the future empress. That’s a fact.” Pauli walked toward Haiga. He gritted his teeth to help him stay calm.

“Sir? How do you know that? You said it was confidential.” It was a genuine question. How could a poor-looking man living in the outskirt side knew something only royals knew?

“That’s not important. What important is you.” At this point, Pauli was squatting in front of Haiga. Their nose was close to each other. Haiga could feel the intense stare of Pauli creeping on her face.

“The royals are waiting for the faithful day when their savior fall from the sky. This should be a big news. 7 days and 7 nights of party wouldn’t be enough. But you see. I hate those Yugenheim blood lines. I want them all rot in hell. If you’re the future Empress, you should rot in hell too.” Pauli words were washed in horror. Haiga could see that there was no lie in his words. But Haiga being Haiga, she was fearless.

“Who’s gonna marry who? Fucking hell.” She stood up, folding her hands on her chest. Then feeling awkward because of the two mountains there, she placed her hands on her waist instead.

“Look, sir! I am here to do something. I have my own trouble. I don’t give a shit about that Prince.”

“You’re the 17th Sakka! A sacred being, destine to be the Empress. You think I’d believe your words? Now you now what's up. I bet you'll run to the capital to save yourself some status. Living lavishly in that damn palace!”

A sudden urge to punch Pauli’s face rose, so she did.

“Calm down a bit. I am in trouble myself. ‘Nobody’ may throw me into hell for eternity if I can’t do my job. As much as I want to be someone important, I will not marry him. Although, my job would be easier if have a connection to the big names, I won’t do it. Why? Because somewhere here,” She pointed to herself, “I am still a man.” It was the softest way Haiga had ever spoken during their encounter. Pauli noticed it and started melting his anger. Although Haiga always felt bothered when he had to follow people’s emotion, she was very good at reading the atmosphere, thus incredible in dealing with emotion. She knew that Pauli was angry, but he was also a soft-hearted person. All this time, he was actually waiting to choose what to do to her.

“What do you want me to do to prove it? Isn’t it a good opportunity?”

Haiga’s punch was nothing to Pauli’s physical defense, but it was punched with honesty that it hurt more than a brute force punch. He just stood there rubbing his cheek.

“I don't want to marry that Prince. If he's cursed, then he stays cursed forever.” She declared.

Pauli’s dim face brighten a bit. He would do anything to make the Yugenheim blood lines suffered, even if it meant death.

“Then, promise me you would not marry him.”

“Sure!”

After the short reply, both Haiga and Pauli were washed with light for a moment. Haiga had no way to know it, but a promise bond had tied both of them together. A promise that cost Paul his life force.

“Ah!” Pauli dropped with his hands on his chest.

“Hey!” Haiga caught him.

“You better not break it. There is a spell in your heart right now. If you break it, say goodbye to your husband,” He said while panting.

“Jeez. No need to go that far with a curse in my heart.”

“Quiet. It cost me 20% of my vitality, forever.”

“Vitality?”

“Meaning, It won’t restore to 100% anymore.”

Still holding to Haiga, Pauli inactivated all his skills. Their pseudo bodies scattered into pieces of light. Haiga looked panic as she didn’t know that her body was only a manifestation.

“Hey, old man?”

“We’re going back.”

“Huh?”

----

Haiga jumped to sit from his bed. Scanning around the area, she realized that they were inside the house again.

“What was that?”

“My spatial manifestation.” Pauli opened his eyes.

She waved her hand. “Alright. No need to explain.” She was exhausted.

“What was your name again?”

“Haiga.”

“Haiga, I am sorry for the trouble.” Pauli lowered his head in courtesy.

Haiga. That name was given to me by mother, her son. Now that I am a woman...

“From now on, I won’t use that name again.”

“Hm… You’re right. If it's a man's name, that name is not going to fit you.”

They fell silent for a moment.

“How about you give me a name? I am not good with names.”

“Me? Well…” Pauli closed his eyes, focusing to find a name befitting to such beauty. Names after names, and he stopped searching for another after he stumbled into something, wondering if it was the right one.

I guess this is it? Right? He smiled, opened his eyes to meet Haiga’s.

“Sheena.”

“Sheena?”

A long pause after that, Pauli furrowed his eyebrows. “You don’t want it.”

“No,” She said bluntly.

“Then, look for yourself!” He was visibly annoyed.

“Hahaha. I was joking. Sheena. It’s a good name.”

“This brat,” Pauli murmured.

Looking at the two of them speaking, anyone would see that they were no longer in heat of anger nor confusion. From this point on, Sheena was the name of the unexpected guest in Pauli’s home. For him, she was his salvation. All this time hating on Yugenheims, He finally met a savior.

Just when they had lighten their mood a little, Aria barged into the room.

“Where were you guys? I was worried when I found barrier around the house and can’t get inside!” Aria's smile was wide, despite her claim.

“Your face doesn’t look like it.” Pauli turned to Aria.

“Ah! You won’t believe this, father. We’ll be getting wedding’s blessing soon. Her majesty, the 17th Sakka had arrived this morning. They had the ceremony in the Holy Forest.” Aria’s tone was exuberant. The excitement kicked her in the face.

But the other two people in the room were pale. They looked at each other. Their eyes were ready to pop off.

----