"What scum," I whispered coldly. My gaze lingered on the corpse of the man before me.

Something flew toward me. The whistling sound made me suspect an arrow. Mere handbreadths from my face, it stopped. With a clatter, it fell harmlessly to the ground.

"Don't bother me. I'm in a bad mood." Dismissively, I waved my hand through the air. In my mind, I envisioned a tidal wave and a raging inferno. And in the next moment, everything burned.

A massive blaze swept over the scum. The flames danced gleefully, consuming everything in their path. I heard screams. They didn’t last long.

Bright red flames licked toward the sky. Everything they touched turned to ash. Wood or flesh, it made no difference.

A sickening stench hit me. The smell of burnt meat and singed hair.

"Disgusting," I muttered in annoyance.

A few seconds later, the fire subsided. "Oh, you survived," I noted expressionlessly.

One person remained standing. Nothing was left of the others. Not even ash. His hair was completely burned away, leaving only a bald scalp. His clothes were gone as well. Blackened wounds bubbled across his body.

In his hand, he clutched a massive tower shield. He must have used it to block the flames.

----------------------------------------

"What the hell," I muttered in awe. My eyes followed the stranger’s movements with hope. The sight of the raging inferno left me frozen in reverence. I could hardly believe my eyes. Maybe—just maybe—he could win.

But their leader was far stronger. My sister would have defeated the ordinary rabble as well. Yet against him, she had no chance.

"I have to warn him."

I shook my head. He briefly glanced in my direction. His cold eyes seemed to pierce through everything and everyone. And in that moment… his gaze rested on me.

"Strange. I don’t think he’s hostile toward me." Despite those eyes. He seemed… untouchable. As if he stood above everything and everyone.

As if to confirm my assumption, he snapped his fingers. Instantly, my bonds crumbled.

I collapsed heavily onto the ground. Desperately, my fingers clawed at the gag. "Watch out, their leader is much stronger—"

I gasped in shock. The last of the barbarians had used the stranger’s moment of distraction. He was already behind him. A monstrous greatsword came crashing down, ready to claim his life.

Boom.

A loud explosion. Dust swirled through the air, obscuring my vision. Frantically, I tried to make out something—anything. Slowly, two silhouettes emerged. One was kneeling before the other.

A sudden gust of wind swept the dust away.

I gasped in surprise. The stranger had the bastard by the throat. His eyes bulged, his body flailing in panic as he struggled to break free.

With all his strength, he pushed against the stranger, trying to tear himself away. It shouldn’t have been a problem. He was far more muscular.

And yet, the stranger’s muscles didn’t even tremble.

A shiver ran down my spine. How can he be this strong? He seems more like a ranged fighter... I thought.

He cast another meaningful glance at me. Despite the goosebumps forming on my skin, I met his gaze. I wasn’t afraid. No, not in the slightest. The slight trembling was just excitement. Or so I tried to convince myself.

"Do you want to kill him?"

My eyes widened in surprise. His voice, it was so pleasant. Friendly and pure, it caressed my ears.

With a voice like that, he could have been a singer. I wonder what he looks like… The thought flitted briefly through my mind.

I needed a moment to process his words, so captivated was I by him.

"Should I kill him?"

I didn’t really want to. But then… Thoughts of my sister flooded my mind. A searing rage gripped me. Because of him, she had almost been violated. He had beaten her. He wanted to sell her.

Shakily, I got to my feet. My eyes gleamed with bloodlust.

In that moment, I heard a snap. The stranger had already broken his neck.

"Why?" I whispered, more confused than angry.

"Because you would have regretted it," he answered calmly. His soothing voice echoed in my thoughts.

As if waking from a deep sleep, I realized what I had nearly done. My cheeks flushed red.

"Thank you," I whispered.

He merely nodded. His gaze fell on my sister. Then on the man’s neck.

"I hate spiders," he muttered.

"What? Spiders?"

He cast a glance at me, as if he had momentarily forgotten my presence.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Yes, spiders. They belong to an organization called Black Widow. In case you didn’t know, a black widow is a type of spider."

"But how do you know that?"

Suddenly, he tossed the corpse toward me. With a startled squeak, I jumped back.

He ignored my reaction. "Look at the neck. The red cross is their organization’s symbol."

After a brief inspection, I spotted it, just as the stranger had said. A blood-red cross was hidden on the back of the man’s neck.

"The Black Widow hunts heroes and sells them. The higher the hero’s rank, the higher the price they fetch," he explained, utterly unfazed.

"Isn't that a problem for you? They might come after you."

"It’s not a problem. Enough talking. We’re leaving."

"Where are we goi..."

Before I could finish, my vision blurred, along with all my other senses. Even my thoughts slowed.

----------------------------------------

"Why do I always have bad luck? I thought I’d spend the whole weekend training."

I looked at the two women. They were lying on a makeshift bed. Their chests rose and fell steadily, almost in sync.

Neither of them had been seriously injured. At least not physically.

I had treated their wounds as best as I could, using bandages and healing herbs.

Even though my ability was extremely powerful, it still had its limitations. For example, I couldn’t heal them. It was because I couldn’t directly alter their bodies.

So, in order to put them in this state, I had to apply various methods. Disrupt the sound, block the light rays, and reduce the oxygen levels enough to render them unconscious, more or less.

The older of the two began to twitch. I had already removed the external influences. I just didn’t want them to know where we were now.

A little uncertain, she brushed a golden strand from her face as her gaze flickered for a moment. Her hair, which fell in gentle waves over her shoulders, caught the light and shimmered like liquid gold. Her facial features were well-formed, with high cheekbones and a delicate nose, giving her expression an air of elegance.

Her sparkling blue eyes seemed almost like two glittering sapphires, clear and deep, as if they could penetrate the thoughts of others. Her silky skin had a soft, warm tone that accentuated her natural beauty even more. Despite the delicacy of her appearance, her slender, athletic figure betrayed that she had not led an easy life. Her movements were graceful, her posture upright, as if she carried an unconscious vigilance within her.

As soon as she spotted me, she flinched. Her gaze darted around the room. Upon seeing her sister, she visibly relaxed.

Slowly, she sat upright. There was an unmistakable, boundless gratitude in her eyes. Even I could recognize that. And that, despite people skills not being my strong suit.

In the next moment, I froze.

She seemed to notice my change in mood. Anxiously, she whipped around but found nothing.

"What’s wrong?" she asked in a panic. Her voice sounded extremely uneasy.

I cleared my throat, embarrassed. "Um, sorry. It’s just... well, the cobweb behind you."

"Huh?" A hearty laugh followed. "Seriously? You roast those bastards like it’s nothing, but a cobweb throws you off?"

“There could be more,” I added. The thought of the dust and dirt stirred a deep sense of discomfort in me.

She couldn’t hold back any longer. She started laughing so loudly that I flinched.

“She clearly doesn’t grasp the danger of a cobweb. If you’re not careful for a moment, there could be three.”

A few moments later, she had calmed down a bit. “By the way, my name’s Mayla. May I know your name?”

“Call me whatever you like.”

“Well then, Mister Law Enforcement.”

“Now she’s getting cheeky,” I complained. The thoughts of a relaxing weekend had now completely vanished.

Those bastards didn’t even provide any outlet for frustration. “A dragon or something would be just right about now,” I cursed inwardly.

“And what happens now?” Mayla asked curiously.

Good question, I thought. Unfortunately, I wasn’t entirely sure myself. The situation seemed a bit complicated. No doubt, they would need to stay here for a while. At least until Mayla’s sister was in a condition where she could be useful.

“But then what? I’m afraid these bastards won’t leave her alone. They’re quite vengeful after all.”

I still remembered their behavior very clearly. Because once, I had struck down someone from their leadership ranks. Ever since, they had been trying to catch me. Countless of their followers had fallen by my hand.

Her trusting eyes looked up at me. They painfully reminded me of someone else. Before old feelings could resurface, I locked away that memory.

“Good question,” I answered. “These scoundrels are very persistent. Even if you stay here for a while, they will keep hunting you.”

Her shoulders slumped in defeat. After a few moments of silence, she desperately asked what they should do now.

“What should I do? How far am I willing to go for them?” I knew a bit about this organization. The key thing was that I knew who their leader was. He was one of the S-rank heroes.

A faint echo from the past whispered in my mind.

“Take care of the weaker ones.”

The words of an old friend. A memory I had long wanted to bury. Yet it kept resurfacing. Maybe I should finally let go of the past. Maybe it would be wiser not to look back.

"But what’s the point? I knew very well that I would never do that."

"I'll take care of it," I promised her.

Her eyes widened. "How?"

"Cut off the head of the snake, and the body will die too," I explained calmly. Once my decision was made, there would be no turning back. In my opinion, once a decision was made, it had to be followed through. No matter how difficult it would become.

"I don't know much about the Black Widow," she started, "but what I do know is that it’s led by an S-Rank Hero. That’s also why nothing is done against them. The man you just killed was barely at B-Rank, and even there, he didn't hold a high position. I'm really grateful for your help, but you really shouldn't do this."

----------------------------------------

She paused.

"Did he just smile?" I wondered, confused. I wasn't entirely sure. He seemed to not fully understand the situation. I decided to try to dissuade him from his plan.

Even though my heart fluttered slightly from his caring, I couldn't allow a suicide. "But what should we do then?" She pushed the thought aside for now. "Someone who's so strong, yet still kind, shouldn’t be wasted like that."

I opened my mouth again. At that moment, the order freak interrupted me.

"You really don’t need to worry about me," his voice sounded almost amused.

"I think you don’t understand how strong he..."

"The problem isn’t his strength. There are two reasons why I haven’t killed him yet. First, because he’s the head of the red-light district. Killing him could lead to massive unrest. His subordinates might even go completely out of control.

The second reason is personal convictions. What makes me any better than them? After all, I force my decision upon them with violence. Am I really that much better than them? So, don’t worry. I’m stronger than he is."

----------------------------------------

"Shit." There was a loud bang. The table shattered under my fist. "Again. Another loss." With blood-red eyes, I stared at the bearer of the message.

"Should I kill him? No. That would be a waste." I slowly began to calm down.

"Who killed them, and where were they killed?"

"They were killed near the border of the first district. And as for who... well..."

"I killed them." A new voice suddenly interrupted. I spun around. My hand shot forward. Too late.

Boom.

A brutal punch hit my stomach. With a deafening roar, the wall of the house shattered. The fresh night air mixed with the smell of tobacco hit me. It tickled my nose.

"Ouch," I growled. My heartbeat quickened. My fists clenched. The tendons stood out. "Now I’m really pissed."

A few meters away, I spotted the attacker. His robe billowed in the wind. I couldn’t make out his appearance due to his mask. The tip of a longsword pointed at me.

"You seriously dare to attack me? One of the most powerful people? You must want to die," I barked at him.

He remained unfazed. As if I were a small, insignificant fish.

"Who is this? Do I know him? Is he an S-rank?" All questions I would soon find out. I just had to knock him out.

His sword gleamed dimly in the light of the oil lamps. A delicate pattern ran along the shaft of the sword. Two intertwined serpents, trying to devour each other.

His sheer presence seemed to overwhelm me. As if it were telling me I had already lost. I shook off the feeling. "Probably just a skill."

"So, you've caused us so much trouble."