"That dress is very beautiful..." Reiko whispered as she looked at a shop window.
Beside her was a 14-year-old boy who simply nodded at what his aunt said.
'Damn, I should be at home studying, but it was impossible to contradict my aunt.' Shinka's eyes looked comically like fried eggs.
"Come on, Shinka, I have to try this on," she said as she ran into the store.
Shinka just sighed wearily and followed his aunt without paying much attention.
The boy had on his shoulder what looked like a heavy shopping bag with several boxes and other bags in it.
And although he was currently occupied, he was still training without anyone noticing.
[Magical Sense Lv.22]
The boy had been constantly using his Magical Sense skill since he started practicing it just a few days ago.
'Currently, the waves emitted from my position are somewhat difficult to detect... At least, that's what I want to believe.'
There was also the fact that his skill could now extend about 5 kilometers from his current location, though he didn't usually use it that widely.
Until that moment, he hadn't noticed any peculiarities. He hadn't had any contact with another magical being.
Shinka was beginning to think that really, only Kuoh had weird things.
"Shinka, how do I look?"
"You look fine, Aunt." Shinka responded wearily, giving her a thumbs up.
"Oh, come on. Tell me your honest opinion." She said while pouting.
"Ahhhh. I mean it, Aunt Reiko." He gave in to the situation; a ghost wanted to leave his body with its last breath.
He let his senses wander through the mall.
He heard the sound of video games in the distance with his enhanced senses.
'An arcade...? I wish I were there.'
'Anything but this torture!'
And as if the world responded to his thoughts, his heart resonated strongly.
The boy stood stunned for a few seconds.
"Hey, are you listening to me? Are you okay?" Reiko started making gestures at the boy.
"Ehh... Oh yes. Suddenly I feel the need to go to the bathroom," he whispered.
"Really? Well, go. I'll keep looking around here."
"Alright, I'll be back quickly!"
'I hope!'
Shinka nodded at his aunt's words and upon leaving the store, along with the bags, he activated his Magical Reinforcement and Invisibility skills.
A drop of sweat ran down his cheek.
Shinka ran swiftly through the mall to the exit, and once there, changed his direction drastically.
'There's something. Something very close.'
The boy was concerned about people's safety.
In one of his probes, he finally sensed something.
It wasn't a weak signal of faint magical energy.
He received a signal of energy that was slightly less than his in quantity but clearly represented a danger to normal people.
While running, Shinka arrived at what looked like an abandoned warehouse. Almost half-destroyed, as if from a fire years ago.
He squinted his eyes as he looked at a specific point in the place, and there he saw it.
What he saw was a woman lying on the ground, but only from the waist up. The other part of her body was hidden among the rusty containers.
Shinka knew what it was, and he knew that the only option he had to ensure that thing didn't bother anyone was to finish it.
'Well, this will be my first real fight.' He swallowed, genuinely worried.
'Even though I have the advantage, there's a chance I might not return home today...' He looked at the shopping bag he had and knew he couldn't fail.
He took a determined breath.
The young man extended both hands, and two large energy spheres formed in them. He aimed at the demon's head.
'Here I go!'
WHOOSH!
They flew at high speed, but before they could impact the demon, it caught them in its hands and stopped their advance.
'Even if you stop them...'
With a movement of Shinka's hand, the two spheres exploded instantly, causing the demon some pain.
"RAAAAARG" The monster roared angrily, and swinging its head, with a creaking sound from the old containers, its full body became present.
"What...?" The boy was speechless.
'Disgusting.' He felt nauseous just seeing it; he almost wanted to face the monster with his eyes closed.
The other part of the monster was like that of a giant snake. It was somewhat different from what he saw in Kuoh, but not completely.
At least he knew it was the same species as the one he saw before.
With an abnormal agility for a 5-meter-tall creature, its body moved quickly to where Shinka was.
The monster was about to use its tail like a whip and strike Shinka with force, but he agilely jumped back, dodging it.
'My agility has really increased drastically... One thing is to read it in my stats, but another is to experience it.'
BOOM!
BOOM!
Two energy spheres struck the monster's face but didn't do too much damage.
'Maybe this will be harder than I anticipated.' Shinka sighed while agilely dodging the monster's attacks.
As the boy jumped from side to side, the monster seemed to tire and looked directly at Shinka as a macabre smile formed on its lips.
'Could it be...?'
A drop of sweat ran down the boy's cheek as he remembered a magical attack the monster he saw in Kuoh had used.
The creature seemed to take in a strong breath, and opening its mouth, a beam of light ready to be expelled began to be seen.
Shinka's eye contracted upon seeing the scene.
'If that thing hits me, I'm dead.'
[Accelerated Thinking Lv.24]
In a fraction of a second, Shinka scanned his entire surroundings, and moving his hand agilely, Shinka aimed at some heavy chains holding several giant containers on the warehouse ceiling.
[Grasping Magic Lv.16]
WHOOSH!
Before the creature could launch its powerful magical beam, it looked up.
The sound of metal falling and colliding with each other caught its attention, only to discover it was about to be crushed by tons and tons of metal.
BOOM!
Everything fell on top of the creature.
A cloud of dust rose several meters, obstructing vision, but it was quickly dispersed.
Seeing how he finished off the creature, something came to his mind.
'Is this how Furuta felt when he killed Rize?'
Shinka observed the barely visible corpse of the creature on the ground.
"Disgusting..." the boy whispered before turning around.
He felt his hand tremble slightly.
But, at the moment Shinka turned his head to leave the place, the gleam of a weapon's blade illuminated his vision.
'Is that...?!'
Just centimeters from splitting his face in two, a strange glow formed around him.
WHOOSH!
Shinka took a strong leap backward to create distance.
"Wait a moment! I think there's some misunderstanding here!"
At the moment his feet touched the ground, he perfectly saw how two figures lunged at him, each with a sword.
"We do not negotiate with demon worshipers!" They said in unison.
The two swords descended vertically to cut him in half.
Frowning, Shinka gently took both swords between the tips of his fingers.
He had discreetly used Grasping Magic to avoid cutting himself while trying something tricky, and once both were in his hands, he forcefully squeezed the flat sides with his fingers.
"I would like to know where you get the idea that I'm a demon worshiper."
For a few moments, the boy's eyes flashed an intense blue.
"The magical power you have says it all," said one of the two.
Both were girls who seemed about the same age as Shinka. One had short white hair with deep blue eyes, while the other was blonde with honey-colored eyes.
They both wore a white tunic with a cross brooch, and between the uncovered parts of the tunic, he saw armor similar to medieval gear.
[Status.]
[Name: Shizumi & Kaede Namikawa.]
[Race: Humans.]
[Titles: Saint Sisters.]
[Health: 60/60]
[Mana: 500/500]
[Magical Power: Low. (Supernatural)]
[Attack: Low. (Supernatural)]
[Defense: High. (Human)]
[Speed: High. (Human)]
'I win.' A fleeting thought passed through the boy's mind.
"I still don't understand what you mean. The power I have, I obtained on my own," he said, being totally honest.
"Stop lying!" A strike almost hit him.
BOOM!
Shinka kicked her in the stomach, and before he could do the same to the other, she managed to break Shinka's grip on her sword.
"Shizumi, are you-?"
"Watch out!" The girl shouted while trying to get up.
CLANK!
The sound of metal against metal was heard.
Shinka's hand in a claw shape had struck the girl's sword forcefully. Both were repelled from each other.
Before Shinka could try to hit her again, she launched a slash.
SLASH!
"Bastard, you'll pay for hitting my sister." Kaede lunged at Shinka.
"I-I promise you I'm the first one who doesn't want to hit another human, but you're trying to kill me!"
Shinka agilely dodged the slashes with a backflip and, taking momentum, made a big leap.
"Shut up! I won't lower my guard just because of those words."
'These girls won't calm down on their own.'
In mid-air, he quickly joined his hands and launched several magical spheres.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The spheres were hit by the flat side of the sword and exploded without hurting anyone.
Once Shinka's feet touched the ground, a blue aura illuminated him fiercely and his body disappeared in an instant.
"Too fast!" Shouted the girl who was still on the ground from Shinka's kick.
CLINK!
The sword made a metallic sound upon impacting Shinka's mana-reinforced fingers.
Before the girl holding the sword could counterattack, Shinka's body disappeared.
CLINK!
CLINK!
CLINK!
CLINK!
Several consecutive hits were heard; Shinka was completely besieging the girl.
'Damn it, I can only block his strikes!' Kaede thought while swinging her sword forcefully to stop Shinka's advance.
'Last hit.' Shinka clenched his fist and reinforced it with Grasping Magic to take the sword's edge and stop Kaede's attack.
CLINK!
'I win.' Shinka thought while holding the sword's edge between his fingers.
"Shit!" Kaede couldn't help but curse her luck upon seeing the boy break her guard.
Shinka's other hand tensed, in a claw shape, about to deliver a strong blow to Kaede.
SLASH!
Before he could land the blow, the sound of wind being cut entered Shinka's ears.
With a slight movement of his head, he managed to dodge a thrust from the huge sword that was about to kill him.
The sword sank into a metal container, making it impossible for the girl to quickly pull it out.
"Are you both ready to talk calmly now?"
"We will purge all evil from the earth!" She said, preparing to make a move.
'Damn it, I feel bad hitting a woman!'
Seeing that Shizumi was momentarily disarmed, Shinka struck Kaede hard, sending her flying several meters.
"You damn bastard!" The girl's sister had had enough.
Before Shizumi could take the sword again, Shinka's body was covered in blue, and he stole the sword from in front of its owner.
The girl watched in horror as Shinka's hand rose before her and the gleam of the blade threatened her life.
The girl swallowed.
Shizumi assumed she would die at that moment.
'I can't even run. That guy is a speed monster... Are these really my last moments?'
Shinka's right hand, along with the sword, descended agilely.
'I need to intimidate them a bit!'
Shizumi closed her eyes to meet her end.
CLINK!
Sparks flew a few centimeters.
Shinka frowned upon seeing that his sword had been stopped by Kaede.
[Natural Fencing Lv.1]
'You won't touch her, damn bastard!' Shouted the girl.
Midway through Kaede's sentence, Shinka had disappeared again.
"It sounds bad for you to say so many foul words, you know?!"
"Above!" Shizumi seemed to have better perception than her sister.
CLINK!
The two swords clashed again. Shinka's slash had descended from the sky.
Kaede felt her knees buckle as she blocked the blow.
'He has no idea how to use a sword. And he wasn't aiming for a vital point either. Could what he says be true? But it's impossible; there's no human capable of using magic of such a level without an affiliation!' Thought Shizumi.
Still in the air, Shinka's body disappeared in front of the sisters.
"Right!"
CLINK!
'Even if he's bad with a sword, he makes up for it with his immense strength!' That was the sisters' conjecture.
'Even so, my technique...'
"—Is superior!!"
CLINK!
Before Shinka's body could disappear again, Kaede took advantage of an opening and struck Shinka's sword.
The boy's guard opened, and Kaede saw an opportunity to end the fight with a single slash.
The blade approached Shinka's neck at a dizzying speed, and before she could make a fatal cut, his hand lit up.
A magical circle formed.
CLINK!
Kaede's sword struck something resistant, making her recoil.
A small transparent blue square had prevented her perfect cut.
'S-She really almost killed me...' Shinka fell into genuine contemplation.
'Did she really almost kill me over a misunderstanding?'
In that instant, he understood that he almost lost everything because of the whims of two young girls.
Both girls were frozen by the situation, and Shinka was decisive.
'Even if I can't be as ruthless as you, I won't be so gentle anymore!'
He extended his free hand and, using Grasping Magic, took hold of the two unsuspecting girls.
"AH!" Both screamed, trying to escape the magical grasp.
Once both were immobilized, the beam of light connecting Shinka's arm to the bond tying the sisters disappeared.
Still, neither of them could move.
[Binding Magic Lv.17]
Another beam of light extended from Shinka's hand and took Kaede's sword.
"Now I want explanations," Shinka said, genuinely angry, as he approached where the girls were.
"We will not negotiate with demon worshipers!" Kaede shouted angrily.
He clenched his jaw.
'If I just say I'm not a demon worshiper, they'll keep insisting on the same thing... Maybe I'll get more information if I just play along.'
"Then, fine." With feigned calm, Shinka pointed one of the two swords vertically towards Kaede's head.
If he loosened his grip, it was over for her.
"Shizumi, right? Your sister doesn't want to negotiate, but I suppose you do."
Shinka's eyes turned deep blue again as he inspected Shizumi.
The pupils of both girls contracted.
Shizumi swallowed, but before she could give any response, something prevented her from speaking.
'Another one?!' Something made Shinka worried.
The sisters thought they would really die when they saw how both of Shinka's swords moved quickly.
CLINK!
Shinka used his two swords to defend himself, but they still broke his defense with a single blow.
Another sword had struck him.
The user, an adult man with a trimmed beard but with the shadow still showing and blond hair. He looked Asian but with Western features.
The man wore an outfit similar to that of a priest, in white.
"I thought you were slacking off when I saw you took longer than expected, but I see you really found a monster."
[Unable to use Magical Inspection skill. The target far surpasses the user's skill level.]
A drop of sweat ran down Shinka's cheek.