Kyle quickly picked up the knife, that the masked man had dropped. The masked man also took out anothere weapon. It were the gauntlets he was wearing. He pressed a button placed on his neck area and after that suddenly many sharp iron needles appeared on the man's gauntlets. This made Kyle a little fearful of the masked man. Suddenly the voice of the boy again reverberated in Kyle's head.

"Don't worry Kyle just focus on the power I had awakened and mix it with your magic essence and then let it flow into the knife in your hand."

Kyle followed the instructions of the voice immediately and after that the knife in Kyle's hand started shining with a bright coral color. Kyle then stepped up towards the masked man and swung the knife in his hand. The masked man tried to block it with his gauntlets. But the strength of Kyle's attack was just too powerful for the masked man to handle. Kyle's attack broke his gauntlet's and sent him flying.

The struggling man fell completely still after that. He'd been knocked out. Kyle

confirmed that the man was unconscious before standing up.

"H-Have to escape..." he muttered.

Kyle staggered forward on wobbly legs, then nervously glanced around at his

surroundings. How would he explain this situation to anyone? He was nearly

frozen with fear. Then, Kyle caught sight of the unconscious girl who was still

sleeping...

◇◇◇

It was still morning.

Those with proper jobs would have left for them long ago, but barely any of

the residents of the slums had proper jobs, so the streets were still deserted.

Kyle carried the unconscious girl over his shoulder as he dragged his feet through

the slums; though he wasn't injured, his feet still felt heavy. The dress the girl

was wearing stood out too much, so he covered her in the sack she was

originally in.

How did it end up like this? Why did this have to happen to him? Anger at the

unfairness of the situation boiled inside of him, but he didn't have the time to

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release it right now. He didn't even know where to go. He just continued to

walk forward until he eventually approached the entrance of the slums.

"Y-You! Hold it right there!"

The sound of a young girl shouted at him from nearby, but Kyle failed to realize

she was talking to him and kept walking.

"I'm telling you to stop!" she said, grabbing at Kyle forcefully. She seemed to be trying to take the little girl that Kyle was carrying.

An-Annora! Please wait!"

"Alice, hurry and grab Eira!"

"Y-Yes!"

The one who had called out to Kyle was Annora, one of the people he met at the

entrance of the slums earlier. The other four were also here. Their hooded

robes were much more plain and shabby compared to before, but the voice and

height were definitely the same. Annora pulled the girl she called Eira off of

his shoulder angrily.

"Hey you. Let go of Eira, now," Alice ordered in a cold voice. Kyle relaxed

his grip and let her take Flora from his shoulder.

"Eira! Eira!"

Annora desperately cried out the name of the girl in Alice's arms.

"Stay calm. She's just passed out. William and Collete— please look after

Flora."

Alice checked Eira's condition calmly and left her in the care of the other

two.

"Y-Yes!"

"Understood!"

William and the girl named Collete both nodded and took Eira into their arms;

Kyle watched the scene unfolding before him with detached, emotionless eyes.

"Hey, you!" Alice shouted, glaring at Kyle.

She drew her sword in one smooth motion and pointed it at Kyle's neck, but

Kyle didn't even flinch. He couldn't feel any killing intent behind Alice at all,

unlike the man who had tried to kill him just now. But Kyle wasn't exactly

processing the situation in a calm manner. If anything, he had lost interest in

everything.

"Explain what happened," Alice ordered.

Kyle shrugged and tried to walk away without a care. But— "Hold it!" Annora said as she cut in front of him.

"It's dangerous!" Alice shouted in a panic.

But Annora ignored her and slapped Kyle's face — hard. The sound of the

resulting smack echoed around them, and the shock of the impact returned Kyle

to the present.

"...Huh?"

A sound of confusion spilled from his lips. He didn't understand... Why was

Annora angry? Why had he been slapped when he'd found the girl they were

looking for? His cheek throbbed with pain as he stood there, bewildered.

"Don't just stand there in silence. Answer me! You lied to us, didn't you?

What were you going to do with Eira?"

Annora released a barrage of accusations at Kyle. He really couldn't

understand what she was saying...

He could feel something swell up within his throat.

"Huh?"

Kyle glared at Annora with an icy gaze.

"...!"

Annora flinched. Her hand moved instinctively and rose up to slap Kyle again.

But this time, Kyle grabbed Annora's hand and stopped her. Annora's cute

face twisted in ugly frustration as she raised her other hand instead. Kyle's other

hand moved to catch it, now holding Annora back with both hands.

"Let go of me! You're disgusting! It stinks!" Annora yelled, but Kyle didn't let

go.

Then...

"Release her," Alice said coldly, once again pointing the sword at Kyle's

neck.

Kyle shot her a glare before slowly releasing her hands. Sure enough, the

instant Annora was free, her hand came up once more to slap Kyle's face with

as much strength as she could muster. Kyle followed her movement with his eyes, but did nothing in particular to block it.

But this time it was cought by that small boy who had stayed silent till now he whispered in Annora's ear in low voice "Don't attack him sister he's dangerous."

After listening to what the small boy had just said Annora put her hand down. The way she looked towards Kyle was also changed. In her eyes now there is little fear.