"Ah, Alpha kitty, you have business here too~?" His tone was infuriatingly casual and carefree. If my opponent wasn't Kai, my entire spirit would've been diminished from having my attack blocked by a scabbard.

"What are you doing here, KAI?!" I gritted my teeth, applying more pressure in my attack, hoping that I could break through. But, this man was still only defending himself with one hand.

"Calm down, aggressive feline. Are your maternal instincts kicking in? Keh!" With one sweep of his scabbard, he tilted my katana to the side. The force was strong enough to drag me along.

Shit! He's stronger than the last time I fought him.

"Ah, is that you, Mary? Wait... was it Mary?" Despite the fight at hand, he dared to proceed with his comical shenanigans. "Well, whatever. More importantly..." He hung his scabbard over his shoulder and fixed a grin. However, the pressure he radiated was everything but calm. "Are you guys planning on getting in my way?"

"Yep, yep. It's me, Maria. Nice to meet you again, old man," Maria retorted with an irritated smile. "Good to see that you haven't kicked the bucket yet."

"O-Old man? But I'm only 27! If I'm old then so is Alpha!" He defended himself dramatically.

These two...!

"Kaaaaaai!" I threw another attack while he was occupied. In response, he stepped on my blade and pointed the edge of his sharp scabbard at my throat.

With his passive skill, [Offensive Defense], he could attack sharply using the scabbard while the blade was still sheathed, treating the scabbard like an unsheathed blade. So, I had to halt with his scabbard at my throat.

"Tut, tut, tut. Since when were you the type to resort to such underhanded tactics, sly feline?" He backed away, not taking advantage of the opportunity he created as if he could do it any number of times.

"[Omen of the Fallen]" I immediately borrowed all of the strength and hope everyone in the Faction had for me. "I don't have time to deal with you, Kai!" I lunged at him and threw a horizontal slash, but he jumped.

"Master is right. Sorry, old man." Maria attacked him from above. I used my Omen to shoot several black spikes from below.

"Gosh. Two kittens trying so hard~" He easily parried Maria's attack, and switched their positions with a slick maneuver, forcing me to stop my attack. "Allow me to requite those feelings. [Infiltrate]" He then disappeared from our sight and reappeared behind me.

"Fuck!" I swiftly turned around and blocked, but his attack was still heavy despite missing the dedicated target. Fortunately, most of the residents didn't live in brick houses, so it didn't hurt that badly crashing into nearly a hundred of them. "Hah..."

He's still toying with me.

I didn't use my Omen to defend me from the attack because I wanted to use it to return to the battle. Maria wouldn't survive long on her own. I quickly snapped my fingers and appeared in my Omen's location.

"You're back, kitty. It's not snack time, y'know? So, how about you go back to sleep?" He dashed to me, but his momentum was interrupted by Maria's explosive petals. "Isn't that a bit dangerous for a lil girl to handle?"

"Geh!" Maria couldn't help but wince in pain after he dug his pommel in her back. She collided with the ground, causing cracks to rise on the surface.

"[Infiltrate]"

Shit! He's going behind me again.

I turned around and threw a slash at my shadow.

"What are you doing?"

Did he teleport behind Maria's shadow? Fuck!

"Since when did you have the arrogance to look down on me, haughty kitty?" He quickly made his way to me.

I continued my horizontal slash, tilting my legs to extend the attack to 360°. In response, he jumped and threw a vertical kick to the back of my head.

"Ah...!" Before I knew it, my head slammed against the ground, causing me to temporarily lose consciousness.

"Phew..." He increased the distance between us. "Get up, kitties. I know that isn't enough."

He is right, but that's because neither of us wants to fight this monster!

"Alpha kitty...?" He called out to me in a disappointed tone.

Unfair... how unfair of him.

I got up completely fine.

"Ah, there's my kitty."

While he was distracted by me, Maria launched a surprise attack, but with Kai's [Trace] skill, he could already see it coming. With that passive skill, he was always capable of pinpointing the presence of people within a certain radius, no matter which stealth skills they used and how fast they were going—the detection was always accurate. His senses were altered to match the enemy's speed to grasp their precise location. But this didn't mean that he gained the physical capability to react.

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"Ke! Just drop dead already, old man!" Maria struggled clashing with his scabbard.

"Now, now, that's not something a princess should be saying, hmm?"

"Shut up! [Cherry Blossom]"

"This trick again? Gosh." He ruffled his hair.

"Master!"

What she is doing is pointless. Kai is the worst matchup for her.

"Don't worry! In respect of your futile attempt, I won't move a step! I'll take your strongest attack. So, come at me!"

Yeah, except he's a freak...

I jumped back a safe distance and used my Omen to shield me just in case.

"Go to hell, old man!" The tree exploded.

"Hup!" Kai swung his scabbard up, applying enough air pressure to cast the explosion aside, sending it Maria's way.

"H-huh? Eeeeeep!" Maria simply looked dumbfounded as the explosion made its way to her.

Fuck! So, that is what he was after.

I quickly sent my Omen to block the attack for Maria.

"You're wide open, Alpha kitty~" He lunged at me, aiming for my gut with his pommel.

Blocking with my katana won't be enough, I'd get knocked back. Should I risk dodging? Or parry his attack? No, both are impossible!

"Kuh..." I closed my eyes in fear and defended with my blade, but he stopped his attack before it reached me. My eyes fluttered open in confusion.

He immediately jumped away, followed by explosions. However, I was protected by several petals.

Nice one, Maria!

I looked her way as she regrouped with me.

"Are you okay, Master?"

"Yeah. Thanks to you."

"Well, I can't have you saving me every time." She chuckled.

"Maria," I called out to her with a serious tone while analyzing our surroundings.

She shrieked at my sudden change in tone, but quickly regained her composure, answering: "Y-Yes, Master?"

"We need to create an opening to escape."

It was a reckless suggestion. His [Trace] skill wouldn't allow that to happen. Furthermore, he's not using his Derivative Stance yet which would apply the [Trace] effects and more across the entire Faction, making escaping his radar impossible. But I wanted to make sure that brat was okay before I dealt with personal matters.

"Are you sure, Master? Weren't you always obsessed with fighting him?" Maria tilted her head quizzically.

"The nation comes first."

His Majesty thinks highly of that brat, so I can't afford to let him die here. As much of a pain as it is to let such a good opportunity slide, I need to prioritize the safety of those I can.

"Are you done with your strategy meeting? Can I attack now?" He yawned and then quickly returned to his usual arrogant grin.

"Yeah. Sorry for keeping you waiting. Let's do this. Maria!" We ran together, closing the distance bit by bit. "I'll rush in. Help me defend. I'll create an opening. Use that opportunity to find that brat."

"Hehe~! You don't have to tell me."

Now that I can leave the defense to Maria...

"Become my power, [Omen of the Fallen]" The dark mist wrapped itself around me, empowering me even further, and discarding the defensive stats.

Lastly...!

Despite all of our plans and preparations, he stood in the same spot with that grin of his.

I'll wipe that grin off your face, Kai!

I sheathed my katana.

"Signature Move: [Unbeknownst Execution!]"

"Oh~? I'll take on your strongest too!"

He is right. With his [Trace] ability, my overwhelming speed would be pointless. While he wouldn't be able to match my pace, he can defend in advance.

Leaving Maria behind, I stood in front of Kai after taking a single step. I instantly attacked all of his pressure points with the pommel of my katana, but his tough skin prevented any of my attacks from reaching that far into his body.

Whatever! Next step!

I stepped behind and lunged at him once more, unsheathing my katana. However, my blade failed to cut his neck. I jumped back, deciding on my next course of action.

"That tickles, kitty." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Did you scratch me with your claw? How feisty~"

I failed to deal any damage, but Maria successfully went past us! All that is left is to keep him at bay. I say that, but it's mainly him just letting me.

"It must be tough looking after a weakling," he tried sympathizing with my situation. "But, you don't need to hold back now." He grabbed the hilt of his katana. Was he finally going to unsheathe it?

"I do it because I want to. Don't lump me with you, 'traitor'."

"Traitor, huh?" He mused before looking my way. "You say that, but you keep on chasing me. Are you a... tsundere?"

A feint string of blush ran across my face at his implication.

"W-wha... don't be ridiculous, Kai!"

"Ke-hahaha! What's with that reaction?!"

This idiot...

I averted my gaze bashfully but stole glances at him through my eyelashes. "And what if I am...?"

"Let's get back to fighting, kitty."

"You dummy!" I recklessly threw attacks non-stop at him. "Dummy! Dummy! Dummy! Dummy!"

"Hey, what's with this childish outburst? Is this why Mary doesn't call you 'old lady'? Keh!" He blocked all of my attacks and kicked me away. "Speaking of Mary, who did you send her to? Are you protecting the mastermind of all of this mess? If so..." He tilted his head. "I might have to abandon you here, kitty."

Protecting the mastermind? Seriously?

"Kai, are you doubting my devotion to this nation? I can't let that slide." I tightened my grip on the hilt of my blade, taking offense at his accusation.

"Then, you have nothing to hide, right?"

"What are you on about?" I eyed him skeptically.

"Well, I only gave Mary leeway because I thought you got yourself in some dangerous, shady business. But, if that's not the case, then you don't mind me meeting this 'person', right?"

While there normally wouldn't be any problem because that brat isn't a threat to the nation, the problem is that Kai wants to meet him. He is the type of person to talk with his blade, so I fear how that brat might act. He'll end up getting killed. Although, I'm sure Kai would stop before it came to that, I don't want to deal with that brat sulking.

"[Derivative Stance: Everlasting Rain]" He began while I was absorbed in my monologue.

"W-Wait, Kai!" I approached him, but I knew I couldn't do anything about it.

"[Domain]"

The radius of his [Trace] increased tremendously, easily being able to cover an entire Faction(min: 14,000,000 km²; max: 80,000,000 km²). Furthermore, it now embraced the Faction with a nauseating murderous intent that threw everyone within range off balance and possibly put them into a state of fear. If weak enough, they could even lose consciousness.

"St...op... Kai!" More than half of the people in the Faction probably fell unconscious. Maybe it was for the best.

Heavy... the atmosphere feels so heavy.

"Hm, found two suspicious people. I'll be heading there now. Byeeeee~" He waved before quickly sprinting to his destination.

I'm sure he could've just used [Infiltrate] to get there. This dummy is leading me.

Finding no reason in staying here, I tried keeping up with him.