Stefan looks around him for any signs of life but all he can see are withered buildings. He starts walking through the ravaged city. He finds what used to be a coffee shop, on it there is a poster about the circus coming to the city.

"I guess they rescheduled their arrival. Anyways, I just need to find the boy, then uh, stab him, I guess? Then that's it. Should be simple enough." said Stefan in his mind as he took a look at the photo again.

Stefan puts the photo in his pocket once more and continues walking. Suddenly, loud sirens start roaring all over the city, Stefan suddenly spikes up and looks around him quickly, but he sees no potential threat. Suddenly, Stefan hears a voice yell at him.

"Get down!"

Stefan quickly draws his sword out and stands in a blocking stance, a giant bullet hits his sword, Stefan gets knocked back a good distance. While in midair, he's suddenly picked up by a mysterious man.

"Who the- let me down!" said Stefan as he was struggling out of his grasp.

"Shut up! Do you want to die? That bullet was five times the length of your fist."

Eventually, they reach an alley with a slight shadow.

"What are they?" said Stefan, scared.

"Military police. At least that's what I call them. They're an organization hidden from the public eye, I'll explain more later, but they're here to wipe the city." said the man.

"Where are we even-"

"Ssshhh" said the man as he looked dead into Stefan's eyes.

A few seconds pass and a horde of what seems to be soldiers pass by them.

"Now, let's go. And quicker this time. My name is Nicolas by the way. And no, I don't bring anyone gifts if you're wondering."

Nicolas gets up and starts sprinting. Stefan is surprised, but gets up and starts running after him. After several minutes of running, they finally reach a building. Upon analyzing him better, the man is tall, with short shaved hair.

"Come on, over here." said Nicolas as he went over to the side of the building and jumped into it.

Stefan follows Nicolas, Nicolas turns on the lights. It looks like an abandoned boxing gym.

"Whoa… this place is something else." said Stefan.

"Yeah, I try to keep it looking like it's abandoned so no cop will ever suspect that I'm sleeping here. Say, how experienced are you? You were able to parry that 50 mm caliber bullet like it was nothing, even if you were knocked back a little." said Nicolas as he walked to Stefan again.

"You look old, how are you so fast?" asked Stefan, curious.

This question angers Nicolas slightly but he quickly calms down before speaking once more.

"I'm in my mid 30's, you're a rude kid. And my past is a complicated one." said Nicolas.

Stefan is intrigued by his statement about the "complicated past".

"Could you tell me more about it? I hardly ever lose myself in details." said Stefan.

Nicolas exhales deeply before speaking again.

"I'm an ex light elementalist. By that I mean, my element broke when I was fighting the military police and now I can't use my element at all. For my entire life. But I kept my physical attributes." said Nicolas, a bit ticked off.

Stefan instantly got confused.

"Elementalist? What's that? And you broke your element? Did the police do that?" asked Stefan, extremely curious.

Nicolas grows a bit pissed off and takes a deep breath then rubs his forehead a bit before speaking.

"You're giving me a headache. How are you even this powerful without even hearing about elementalists? Do I really need to be your personal encyclopedia?" said Nicolas with a prickly tone.

Stefan becomes embarrassed and anxious for what could be coming next from Nicolas. He realized that if he kept going to make him mad Nicolas might just smack him.

"So, do you know anything about fighting or you're just a random brat with a slab of iron?" asked Nicolas.

"I'm… actually here to kill someone… not you, please don't get the wrong idea." said Stefan.

Nicolas seems surprised, but keeps a cold sight.

"Mhm, is that so? Who did they send you to kill? An ant?" said Nicolas.

"Actually, no, I don't even know how to spot my target in the first place…" said Stefan as he handed the photo given by Cat to Nicolas.

Nicolas takes the photo slowly then looks at it. After a few seconds he gives the photo back to Stefan.

"Yeah, you're dead. Dead as hell. You're better off killing yourself not gonna lie. That guy is hands in hands with the military police. For such a young fellow he's one devil in all words and meanings. Who even got the idea of sending you?" said Nicolas with a warmer tone.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Stefan saddens as he puts the photo back in his pocket.

"Well, it's hard to explain… it's a floating white cat that creates all sorts of funky machines, one of his creations for example is my hoodie." said Stefan with a worried tone.

Nicolas' eyes widened instantly upon hearing that.

"The cat sent you? What the fuck did you even do? Does he want you gone or something?... Is that hoodie special? I can tell that sword is something else." said Nicolas, intrigued.

"Well, yeah, he said this hoodie is a power storage or something like that." said Stefan.

"Power storage? Elaborate." said Nicolas as his eyes slowly widened.

"I'd rather keep the information private, I don't know if Cat would be too happy to just give away info about his creations." said Stefan with a low tone.

Nicolas slowly nods as he listens to him.

"Hmm, what a fool, the cat is one hell of a crafter. I can't even imagine the power I'd have with that hoodie. I'll firstly tire him out and when he sleeps I'll steal it." said Nicolas in his mind.

Nicolas suddenly kicks Stefan in his belly and pushes him back.

"Fight. Train. You'll never beat him if you can't even handle me." said Nicolas as he slowly raised his arms.

Stefan squeals a bit from the kick, but quickly recovers then draws out his sword holding it in his left hand. Stefan goes for a clean stab, Nicolas kicks the blade and parries it. Stefan regains his posture then swings his sword. Nicolas jumps and dodges it then kicks Stefan in the face again, knocking him on the floor.

"Sluggish, come on." said Nicolas disappointed.

"Owh, you shut it, my speed can't compare to light."

"You better make it then. Like this you're nothing."

Stefan gets up and puts his sword on his back then raises his guard up.

"Close quarters? Sure." said Nicolas with a smile as he raised up his guard as well.

“Cat said that even if I get hit, I will be able to copy his power, I just need to survive his blows.” said Stefan in his mind, before launching a jab at Nicolas.

Nicolas dashes away from his punch and punches his liver then kicks him again. Stefan growls in pain, but stands up quickly and catches his breath. He raises his guard again and goes for a jab once more, Nicolas dashes again, but this time Stefan dodges his blow, Stefan quickly locks his sight onto Nicolas’ head and lands a blow in his jaw. Nicolas quickly recovers before Stefan would land another hit, grabs his arm and neck then slams him into the ground.

“You insolent prick!” said Nicolas with an angry tone.

Stefan tries to choke his neck as well, but it’s useless, so he rushes and gouges his eyes. Nicolas quickly lets go of Stefan and goes back a few steps.

“You fucking retard, ugh, you’re so fucking lucky I’m an elementalist, otherwise you’d be so dead right now.” said Nicolas as he slowly let go of his head after rubbing his eyes a little.

Stefan still stands on the floor, darting into Nicolas’ eyes with an insanely spiky sight, not saying a single word. Stefan slowly gets up from the floor and swipes the dust off him. Nicolas looks at him, almost speechless.

“Do you think this is a joke? You mute fucker!” said Nicolas as he dashed and hit Stefan right in the face, knocking him back into the wall.

“He surely hits harder than Orange, that felt personal. I don’t care though, if I can’t even defeat him, what will I do against that boy, or even worse, the military?” said Stefan in his mind as he got up again.

Stefan draws out his sword and strikes a stance, taunting Nicolas. Nicolas falls for the taunt and rushes Stefan. Nicolas goes for a punch, Stefan parries it with his sword then kicks Nicolas. Using the wall, Stefan jumps and tries to slam into Nicolas with his sword. Nicolas swiftly dodges his blade, then proceeds to roundhouse kick Stefan in the head, knocking him down, together with the sword out of his hand. Stefan grunts as he tumbles over the floor. He clenches his teeth and rubs his forehead a bit, not long before Nicolas grabs his head and headbutts Stefan right in the nose then delivers him a powerful right hook which knocks him back again.

“Why won’t you bleed?! What are you even made of? Huh?!” said Nicolas as he went over to Stefan and picked him up by the hoodie.

They both look into each other’s eyes with sheer hatred, right in that moment, Stefan spits in his eye. Nicolas lets out a scream and lets go of him. Stefan takes the chance and punches Nicolas right in his chest. Nicolas wipes his eye a bit then smiles.

“Try again, you got me warmed up.” said Nicolas in a teasing tone.

Stefan smiles as well, since this is going just as he planned. Stefan starts punching Nicolas at full force, barely moving him back a little.

“Come on, are you pushing me or hitting me? Heh, kiddo.”

Stefan gets pissed off from that statement and kicks him right in the nuts. Nicolas falls down on his knees for a brief moment as he lets out a scream of pain.

“You’re gonna pay for this soooo badly, just you fucking wait… argh, fuck you, God…” groaned Nicolas as he was trying to stand up.

Stefan quickly rushes to his sword then goes behind Nicolas, he lifts it up and is ready to execute him. Nicolas keeps groaning on the ground and swearing at Stefan.

“No, I still need him for now. I’m alone.” said Stefan in his mind as he put the sword on his back.

Stefan pushes Nicolas down to the floor with his foot.

“Oh, come on, I didn't even hit you that hard.” said Stefan with a smirk.

“You, fuck off already! I ain’t giving you nun to eat today.” said Nicolas madly.

“I don’t even eat anything, I never feel hungry or thirsty, hah.” said Stefan proudly.

“You’re a real deal, are you? You’ll go far, kid, trust me. Ugh, just, stop playing those shitty tricks. They’re not going to work on everyone, alright?” said Nicolas as he slowly got up.

“Are you willing to talk more now? I suppose my target is an elementalist as well. Am i right?” asked Stefan curiously.

“Yeah, that boy is an elementalist as well. A dark element user. A dark elementalist. The dark element allows you to track down other elementalists, so I guess that’s why the military police had mercy on him. As far as I know he’s within those ruins as well. He’s much more likely to find you than the opposite way.” said Nicolas.

Stefan nods and rubs his chin a little.

“Mhm, what about the thing you mentioned earlier, about your element breaking, what happened?” asked Stefan.

“Ah… that, the military police found me recently, I thought I would be able to take them out by myself since I used to be a high ranker, but those guys really aren’t to be underestimated. Basically, the way you break your element is by using it too much in a single run. Forcing yourself beyond your biological meanings. Kind of like plucking a tree from its roots.” said Nicolas.

“Mhm, seems fair enough.” said Stefan.

“Do you ever sleep? You said you don’t eat or drink.” said Nicolas.

“Yeah, I do sleep for some reason. I guess I still have my human limits.” said Stefan.

“Sleep is necessary to clean up bad thoughts from your brain and not fall into depression and such.” said Nicolas, trying to look smart.

“You’re one hell of an old man for the way you talk.” said Stefan

“Shut up! I told you I’m not old!” said Nicolas.

“To be fair, I don’t even know at this point. I feel like I could fall asleep anytime, but at the same time I feel ready to be a one man army.” said Stefan.

“Well, you could go and try to sleep. There are beds in that room over there.” said Nicolas as he pointed towards the room.

“Yeah, thanks. I’ll go and try to sleep.” said Stefan as he went over to the bedroom.

Once Stefan reaches one of the beds, he flops onto it and quickly falls asleep, with no blanket, no pillow, no nothing.

“Ah, yes, just as I planned. Now it’s time to put my plan into action…” said Nicolas to himself in a malicious way