It was another cold night in Libretãnhya. A criminal walked the streets, smoking his cigarette and looking at two women walking hand in hand.
"Tonight will be the night..."
The man smiled mischievously, following them discreetly for a few minutes. When the women turned into an alley (which would probably be the quickest route to their homes), the criminal's hands trembled with pure sexual desire, now being the perfect moment to advance on the women.
"Shhhhhh..."
Suddenly, his neck was wrapped in a very thin line, beginning to be suffocated by someone. The criminal tried to scream for help, but nothing came out of his throat, until his eyes rolled back due to the lack of oxygen in his blood and he fell to the ground, unconscious.
***
Opening his eyes, the criminal began to understand his situation...
He was in a closed room with several other men, who, like him, were tied to a chair and were also criminals.
Suddenly, the door opened and a man covered in a black cloak and a mask covering his face entered the room, speaking in a cold, emotionless voice.
"Welcome."
He placed a bag on the floor, containing *thousands* of Lynes. Then, sitting in a chair, the man in the black cloak cleared his throat.
"I'll be blunt with you, I'm bored and decided to hold a tournament."
He slapped the Lynes on the bag.
"You will fight to the death for this money. If you try to join me, I will kill everyone here."
Despite being criminals, the men shivered, but they remained silent and afraid to say a word.
Then the man in the cloak stood up and, with a dagger, cut the ropes binding the men to the chairs. But, unfortunately, a brave man tried to attack the man in the cloak. He just held the blow, and quickly and calmly, he put his hand inside his mouth and dislocated his jaw.
"Ahhhhhh!!!"
The man fell to the ground, screaming desperately. The other criminals looked at the robed and masked man with terror and fear. Despite their numbers, they were powerless to defeat him.
"Anyway, I want you to be so kind as to let me know when you're done."
Then the robed man punched the criminal he had recently captured. The criminal turned to return the blow and ended up hitting another man, triggering a collective fight while the robed man left the room unnoticed.
***
Time passed, the room was covered in blood, leaving only the recently kidnapped criminal. His body was badly injured but conscious, and his gaze fell on the bag, which was unprotected.
A victorious smile appeared on the man's face, as he tried to grab the bag without warning. As a result, he felt his neck being wrapped around the same line, and slowly his body began to be lifted upward.
The criminal's desperate gaze fell directly on the mask of the robed man, who was upstairs, holding the line.
"I ask you to let me know when you're done with your massacre, but you weren't a good man; you deserve to be killed."
Then the criminal's last breath was spent staring at that empty mask.
The robed man released the body and walked away from the scene. Removing the mask, he revealed Slady, who had dark circles under his eyes from his "work" as a criminal killer.
"Are the girls okay?"
He thought.
***
Arriving at the library in his casual clothes, Slady found the place dark and empty. As he approached the room, he saw Shaphira and Elisa sleeping together, comfortable with each other.
"Will I have to make a room just for myself?" Slady thought.
He drapes his overcoat over his chair at the bench and, untying his hair from its ponytail, lies down between the two young women, testing it out.
Noticing that they didn't mind, but rather embraced him upon sensing his presence, Slady simply closes his eyes, preparing to rest after a cold and tiring night.
***
The next day, Slady was sitting at the library bench, working on his computer.
Shaphira and Elisa, who had finished their training, were on the couch, with Shaphira lying on Elisa's lap, who stroked her hair while they watched TV.
***
"Most of our Special Investigators claim that these criminals had a turf battle, ending with everyone being killed,"
The journalist says, showing the image of the criminals who were encouraged by Slady to fight to the death.
***
The two young women watched the scene, a little stunned, then turned to Slady.
"Dad, have you seen the news?" Shaphira asked.
"There must have been a fight in a building under construction between criminals," Elisa asked.
Feigning surprise, Slady got up and sat beside them.
"What exactly is the fight about?"
"They say it was over territory," Shaphira asked, placing her feet on Slady's lap.
"That doesn't surprise me; human greed always causes chaos. But you shouldn't worry. If it doesn't affect innocent people and us, it doesn't matter," Slady said, casually massaging Shaphira's feet.
The two young women nodded.
"Even if they come for us, we'll protect ourselves!" Shaphira asked.
"Yes, I won't let anyone cruel hurt us, Slady. I've become strong for this." Elisa said in a more serious tone.
Slady seemed pleased with the two young women's growth; it gave her a sense of success.
"I know that more than anyone."
Gently, Slady placed Shaphira's feet on the floor, standing up and stretching.
"Anyway, Elisa."
"Yes?" Elisa said, looking at Slady.
"You seem ready to receive something I've wanted to give you for a while."
The two young women were curious, especially Elisa. She stood up and looked Slady straight in the eye.
"What did you propose to me?"
Then Slady turned his back and went to his workbench, where he pulled out a sword, the sword Raizer used.
"Back when your father was a Destruction Hunter, he used this blade to invade the Inferius and defeat the Renkai Creatures. Now, looking at your strength and maturity..."
He kneels, extending his arms with the sword in his hands. Elisa felt like a heroine receiving her most powerful weapon from her master.
"Slady..."
She gripped the sword firmly, feeling the Renkata blade beneath her fingers.
"I've always wanted to use it one day..."
Slady didn't even have time to get up, as Elisa jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly.
"Thank you!"
"Hmph!"
Slady felt how strong the young woman had become even at 15, patting her on the back.
"Right..."
"I didn't know you were so good at making things more... epic, Dad."
Shaphira said, standing next to Elisa, also wanting to see the sword she'd received.
"I just wanted to over-dramatize it." Slady crossed her arms.
"Did it turn out well, by any chance?"
"Yes, it did," the two said in unison with a low chuckle.
"Perfect then."
Slady turned to walk away, but was pulled back by Shaphira.
"And what will I get?"
"Now you've screwed me," Slady thought.
"We're still trying to understand your Renkai Energy, Shaphira. I understand it might be difficult, but if you manage to better manipulate your power, I'll try to give you something."
Slady placed her hand on Shaphira's hair, stroking her furry ears.
"Okay..." She pouted and turned to Elisa.
"Shall we see how you'll do in our training with that sword of yours, Elisa?"
"Sure, let's go."
Elisa smiled fondly and looked at Slady.
"Thank you for giving me the sword, Slady. I'll make sure you don't regret your choice."
Then the two of them leave the library to train together. Slady lets out a deep sigh.
"Finally, some time to myself."
He sits down at the library bench and starts fiddling with his computer, accessing a book sales and rental website he had recently created.
***
At the home of a woman who had purchased two romance novels from the website, her doorbell rang. As she opened the door...
"Good morning..." Her eyes widened when she saw Slady, holding the two books.
"Miss Jaiyun?"
"Yes, it's me..." She turned to let Slady pass.
"You scared me, sir. I thought I'd run into a murderer."
She placed her hand on her chest, catching her breath.
"Hm..."
"Is my outfit intimidating? Well, considering that with this coat, I could be carrying several weapons, and my size is considerably... small? Maybe I am intimidating," Slady thought.
"I'm no murderer, dear. I'm just a librarian with good taste in clothes." Slady gave a fake smile.
"Hehe, you really have great taste..."
Strangely, being more daring, she walked up to Slady in a sensual and seductive manner, placing her hand on his chest and feeling his toned muscles through his shirt.
"I don't have the money right now, can I pay you another way?"
She smiled mischievously and seductively.
As she placed her books on the table and felt the touch on her chest, Slady just stared at the woman.
"..."
Soon, the woman felt guilty and walked away, handing over the amount of Lynes she needed.
"Sorry."
"Don't do that again, it's weird."
Slady stopped smiling and returned to her neutral expression, taking the money and leaving the house.
"I just wanted to train to have a more agile body for my fights, not to have sexual relations with a woman..."
Slady thought.
Knowing the young women would be training for a while, Slady would take the opportunity to hand over the other books they had recommended.
***
In the library, or rather, near the library, Shaphira and Elisa were practicing their moves. Elisa was practicing the blood magic she had awakened some time ago, fusing her sword with her magic.
Shaphira, lacking complete mastery over the Renkai Energy, was in her demonic form, advancing relentlessly toward Elisa, but always careful not to hurt her.
The ground was completely cut, Elisa using her blood magic to try to shape her blade and make it more lethal. Shaphira used the Renkai Energy to strengthen her body, becoming more lethal and larger.
But this made Shaphira lose control of her mind...
"Shit!"
Elisa began to take the fight more seriously, parrying Shaphira's claws with Raizer's sword.
As she slashed the air, sharp blood shot toward Shaphira, inflicting several cuts on her. But the Renkai Creature didn't stop attacking. Realizing her lack of strength and skill, Elisa closed her eyes, fearing the attack Shaphira would unleash when she opened her mouth to bite her with her sharp teeth.
"Sister..."
Suddenly, Shaphira felt a wave of water wash over her, looking up at the sky and noticing Victoria, who was flying on a small wave of water below her feet.
"I knew Slady had a dangerous creature inside her house..."
She descended to the ground, staring at Shaphira's demonic form before her with a serious look.
"But this is far beyond what I imagined."