9. An unexpected night.

I was once told that life can surprise you in ways you could never expect.

It teaches you to understand that no one hits as hard as life.

I didn't expect anything incredible when I put my mana into that sphere.

Maybe it would be water, maybe earth, maybe air, or maybe no element at all.

I came from a world where I reached the peak of strength without the need for magic, only with the sword and technology.

I had thought that in the worst-case scenario of being without mana, I could dedicate myself to a multitude of things that I would have wanted in my old life.

Being a chef, adventurer, actor, etc.

A life without strength would easily kill me because of the many powerful and cruel beings in this world, but it would also allow me a freer life without responsibilities.

A lonely life, with no one to worry about, no one worth hurting to get to me... no one to die for me.

Without the responsibility of having other people's lives in my hands, without having people's blood on my hands.

I would have wanted that quiet life where I could just live in peace and die when it's my time.

Power has a price.

It was something I learned the hard way, if I had power and talent, I could stand out, and I could get whatever I wanted in this world.

But standing out... getting on someone important's radar, what if that someone didn't have good intentions? Even the people I would consider friends wouldn't be spared from them, I would have to go back to that cycle of having to take care of others from a target on their back.

To protect them all, I would have to be the strongest.

So, in some corner of my mind, there was that small hope of not having the responsibility that comes with power.

I would have been calm if I didn't have that responsibility, being off the radar, off the fame, etc.

That would have been a good restart of life.

But who would say that life wanted to screw me over like this?...

.

.

.

When I woke up, the first thing I saw was a white ceiling and unfamiliar curtains.

I was in the infirmary.

Recalling all the previous events, I looked like a puppet with the strings cut.

I just got up and went home with a blank mind.

As I walked, I heard someone calling my name, but my mind was so disturbed that I couldn't process anything and I just looked out of the corner of my eye at a blond hair as I continued on my way without any specific place.

Finally, my aimless walk led me to a park.

I sat on an empty bench, as time passed, my mind was slowly regaining its clarity, until I finally took a deep breath and calmed down.

'let's see... I'm screwed is an understatement at this point.

'If I have the lightning affinity... it would be impossible not to attract attention, my quiet life would be over before it even began, the first thing that comes to mind is that I would be hunted, the lightning element did not appear in any character until the last update of the game.

Since it does not exist, it is easy to assume that humans would do whatever it takes to mass produce this talent through offspring...

'Ha, at first glance one would say, rejecting fucking every day, every man's dream right?

'I wish it were that, it's not even close, the humans of this world already have a lot of history with inhuman experimentation, the first thing they would do would be to put me in a machine and suck me dry, it would be the tip of the iceberg, the second thing they would do would be to test the limits of this talent, they would do very creative experiments with my body to see the qualities and limitations of my magic and worst of all... I would be denied freedom until I die, it doesn't matter that I am a student of All under the tutelage of the director, the people of the palace will do whatever it takes to obtain my body illegally, and that is only if the king does not make it legal, worse still, they could send me to other continents of other races of which I do not know their ways of experimentation, possibly they would use me with an excuse that my body will be for a greater good in the name of world peace.

The reason for all my shock is based on everything I know about the history of this world.

500 years ago, there was a great war with all 4 races together against the demon god.

The demon god was the father of the demon king and a being who wanted world domination, his troops were beings of darkness, blasphemous to those who see them, beings who sold their freedom for their pagan desires, finally becoming beings without conscience, only the need to destroy.

Most were dark demons, demons who obtained part of the power of the demon god and went mad, there were also demons of different types, such as vampires, succubi, etc.

But there were also beings of other races who fought for him, there were 4 generals of the demon god, although I still have no information about them, it is said that each one had legions of armies and all the generals were powerful beings.

The war was so brutal that it shook the world, changing the climate with each battle, and countless deaths of all races left behind.

It is said that the world was about to be extinguished by that war, when it was believed that there was no way to win the war, 4 unknown heroes of each race entered the battle, along with the emperor of the humans, the 5 heroes were able to equalize the battle and seal the demon god in the end.

The books relate that each hero had a different affinity and a power that could move the sky and wipe out armies alone.

The elf hero had an affinity for air, he moved at the speed of sound, his magical variant was also the "void" which was a variation of the wind, and he was able to leave only a hole where there once was a city.

The dwarf hero had a variation with metals, according to legends, with a stomp on the ground he pulled swords out of the ground so hard that they could withstand the breath of dragons, and the swords of said metal changed the course of the advance of the enemies, the swords that this dwarf created as a blacksmith is currently relics, many of them lost, and those who obtained his swords became legends.

The demon hero possessed jet black flames instead of the normal red, capable of burning dragons and never being able to go out, there are areas in the world that have aftereffects of his flames, it is said that just by passing near them it feels like being close to the sun.

Each one has its legends and they are worshiped in their respective continents, even here in the empire there is a part of the palace that has the statue of the human emperor king.

It is believed that their variables are not something that they are born with, and it is believed that each of the heroes has been training for years, they use that argument to motivate the children to try hard, but it really doesn't matter how much they train, they will have to spend decades training and studying to understand the meaning of their elements since it depends on the level of understanding of the users.

There are also certain unknown variables of magic, the so-called non-elemental magics, which are less powerful and rarer to find, but there was certainly a higher chance of getting non-elemental magic than what I got.

According to the academy brochure, the human emperor had 3 elements at the beginning, the wind and ice elements.

At the end of the war, he was blessed with the attribute [Light of the Goddess], although one may think that it is similar to the normal light that the saint uses, its firepower is not.

Legend has it that the goddess herself came down to earth and gave the human emperor 2 gifts so he could help in the battle against the demon god, the first was said power [Goddess Light] could only be used with her second gift, the famous sword [Excalibur], the gifts suited the king of that time perfectly, since he was a unique human, he did not have a greed for power like other humans, rather he had a greed for justice and well since he was known as [the king of knights], he went to war to fight with his armor and sword, he fought with pride and courage and finally they won.

The king came from a small place, which after the war he dedicated to unifying the other small towns and finally created the Neum empire, finally, the emperor died years later, and the sword Excalibur was lost along with its magic since none of his offspring inherited it.

Unfortunately, I don't have any knowledge about him because of the game, they were supposed to make his story and even many players wanted their playable character to be created from him, but they had no idea how to revive a character who died 500 years ago.

But well, if he had obtained something from those heroes, it would have been fine, even the light of the goddess would have been fine, after all, he would obtain the protection of the church by obtaining such an element, and there would be no problems if it were the jet flames, the metal or even the void, I could say that it was lucky, since, although there was 0.1%, there was the probability and it would be something, although incredible, not impossible, but he...

Ha... one last hero was missing, the human hero.

The human hero was the rarest of all the 5 heroes, as there was never a similar case, the 5th hero had the lightning attribute, it was not a variation of some basic element, it was a lost element, he appeared with it once in the entire history of the earth and never appeared again.

Legend says that this hero appeared out of nowhere, his place of origin was not known, nor his family, nothing, legend says that he appeared as a ghost and after the war he disappeared from the books, there were no reports of him, nor a family or anything.

Not much was known about his magic either, it is said that, unlike the other heroes who went with troops to the different battlefields, he always went alone and did not leave a demon alive, therefore, no one knew the extent of his power.

And now it turns out that I am the one who has the lightning affinity, there is no logical explanation for this, therefore, there is no way to explain why I have this magic.

'I feel like my whole life is going down the drain and there's no turning back, should I get out of here? To some town far away from everything, well, maybe that's the only way I can-

I felt someone sit down to my left, along with a feminine sigh, which interrupted my monologue, I looked to the left and saw her.

A beautiful girl... red eyes, long white hair, and a pair of black horns pointing forward, she was clearly a demon, but the combination of white hair and red eyes along with her resemblance far superior to the image in the game told me who this girl was.

Aiko Evilness.

I forcefully calmed my mind when I realized I was about to panic.

'Damn, is this having emotions? Something that affects you besides being inevitable... What a nuisance, whatever, let's think about the immediate matters...

'What is she doing here? She should be with the police searching for her mother until midnight without success... Wait a minute, at what point did it get dark?

Cutting off my line of thought, Aiko spoke to me with dead fish eyes, like a broken doll that went into automatic mode.

-Did you see my mother?

I really... didn't want to be sarcastic with a person in her situation, but she forced me to do it, upon hearing that question, I could only roll my eyes and answer sarcastically.

"How can I know who your mother was? I don't even know who you are

'Damn, my sister's training to keep away pretty bitches came out unconsciously

As if she was used to those cruel words, she nodded and continued to detail her mother to me.

- My mother has the same appearance as me, unlike my white hair, hers is black, she is this tall and her horns are shorter than mine-

My mind was too tired of my situation to follow the conversation, I was thinking about my shitty situation and this girl wanted me to help her when I have no means or strength to help her.

Unintentionally, a cold voice came out and I can guess that my face is stoic at the moment.

"Excuse me, I came to rethink my life and I'm barely here 5 minutes, I didn't see anyone with your description

Aiko's expression worsened with my words, but even so, the kindness in her voice was still noticeable amid all the anxiety and worry.

- ...I see, sorry for asking, I'll keep looking.

As she stood up with wide, cloudy eyes, I looked at her current physical state, her feet were shaking from exhaustion and her voice was hoarse along with her red eyes.

'She was in poor physical condition at the start of the game, and worse still, there is absolutely no one who has helped her... an innocent being, ha... I guess I can at least do this

'Why don't you call your father and ask for help? Maybe he can help you

She, as if she hadn't thought about it, spoke again.

-...I thought about it too, but I didn't want to bother him, they told me that if I worried him for nothing, it could cause a diplomatic problem and many innocent people would die.

'What did they say to this girl to make her believe such nonsense? Or is it just her kind side that doesn't wish anyone's death? Now I understand how she was fooled so easily, she's like a little rabbit walking in a snake hunting space.

"Not telling your father and not finding your mother would cause a lot of diplomatic problems, or do you think your father won't do it?"

- you're right, sorry, my head is still in a mess I can't think clearly, I'll contact him now.

I wondered how I could communicate with the demon king if they were a continent away, luckily I didn't look stupid asking that because she took out a sphere from a storage ring. After shining for a couple of seconds the face of a white-haired man appeared and the first thing he said when he saw his daughter was

- how are you my dear most beautiful spring candy-

Hearing her father's kind words, the heart that was holding in all the pain was released and caused the girl to scream as she cried.

Aiko screamed with tears in her eyes.

- father! Please help me, mom is lost.

The happy voice quickly became serious and spoke calmly

-... breathe dear, breathe and tell me.

"You see Daddy, I was...

'how well they get along

I thought while listening to them, the explanation was the same as in the game.

Aiko's mother knocked out her bodyguards with a device that would leave them in their rooms for a few hours, and then they put on hats to cover their horns and walked to the academy, on the way they tried all kinds of human food, then in the park, Aiko got an urgent urge to go to the bathroom and they separated, while her mother waited on a bench, she would go to do her business.

When she left the bathroom, a girl who was there screamed when she saw Aiko with her horns in the air, which caused a small uproar since demons were not so common even in Neum, she spent a while trying to calm the girl down, but when she returned, her mother was gone.

She searched everywhere, but only received looks of contempt from others, until a policeman took her to the police station where they kept her there for hours, when she realized that they were not really interested in helping her she returned to the park and asked every person who passed by about the whereabouts of her mother, with each minute her heart was getting more desperate until she found me.

The demon king listened to everything in silence, when Aiko finished, she could be seen on the other side of the thoughtful ball.

-um

'What nerves of steel

As I watched, I couldn't help but marvel at the great mental resistance of the demon king, it was known from the game that the demon king was able to surrender to the humans to see his wife and daughter safe, that's why I thought he would lose his composure the moment he heard about the kidnapping, but now he seems like an old dog facing a diplomatic situation, indicating that he has a way to fix the situation.

'I wonder what measures the demon king will take now that his hands are tied.

- I suspect that this was the work of a group of human traitors

- What do you mean? But if Miss Naomi said that-

- Listen to me, honey, I know it must be hard to believe, listen to me, I know that your mother and Naomi are best friends, but in the human realm they are not a united group like us, seeing that your mother was not waiting for you outside the bathroom, and since you could not find her even with the help of the police, a group of human traitors must have kidnapped her without Naomi's knowledge, the question would be why do they want your mother, her mana core perhaps?

'Good analysis, it is known that Naomi promised to give protection to Aiko and her mother, not only as friends but also for peace, but it is not something new that there are arrogant humans who want war thinking that they can win, their is nothing wrong with helping a girl find her mother faster, surely she will call her minions and save her.

As I decided to help Aiko a little, I told the demon king the answer I was looking for.

"And if they really want your core? And they only captured her as bait to lure you into a trap?

The demon king's accumulated anger was released against me at that moment.

- and who asked for your opinion, despicable human-

The magical energy was felt despite not being here, the crystal ball even began to crack, but Aiko spoke, stopping the Demon King's anger in its tracks.

- Father! He is the one who advised me to call you, please behave

-... excuse me, daughter, I went too far.

- I understand, now, please, could you explain to my father what you mean?

"Well, I mean that, although your wife's mana core might seem tempting...

-...

'I thought he would yell at me, this lightens things up.

"The truth is that it is more possible that they want yours, that is why they captured your wife to set a trap for you.

'You don't need to know now that they plan to torture her to find your weaknesses.

-It can't be that they make such a stupid plan, it won't work.

'The arrogance of the strong I suppose

"Normally it would be like this, but tell me...

I stretched out my hand towards Aiko and made a sign with my finger, I changed my tone of voice to arrogance along with a cold look.

"If instead of my finger, there was a knife and if instead of being alone here, I had the great nobles as my backer, and I demanded that you give me all your treasures in exchange for your daughter's life, could you assure me that you would not give in to my threat, despite having your daughter's life in my hands?

-Huh?

-...

Aiko was baffled by my instant change of attitude and the demon king was silent, his silence confirmed to me that I was right, this man was weak before his family.

"That's what's happening now, they'll use your wife to get to you, I don't know what plan they have, but they're not stupid enough to attack you, one of the 4 legendary heroes if they weren't sure of winning.

'After all, humans like to dominate what can't be dominated, that's their way of evolving.

'So I suggest you get in touch with this girl's guards and put them into action.

-...

After saying that, I returned to my position and waited silently for them to finish their business and leave, Aiko was regaining the sparkle in her eyes as if thinking there was a solution to her situation, but the Demon King's next words took away all hope.

-I just tried to contact the guards, but their communicators were destroyed, those communicators are tied to them, indicating that they are dead.

'dead, I should have guessed, I don't know if Naomi will be able to move, from what I understand she is in a very delicate position, and any movement of hers could make the nobles of the council try to reduce her influence, in the game if Kiriko failed many missions that have to do with the country, Naomi would lose her academy, I don't know how long Naomi will have to wait to receive permission to move, the problem is that they will move Aiko's mother to a zero zone and if that happens, there will be no way to find her in any way without moving the great nobles for information, in the game Naomi could never find Bianca after having been moved to a Zero zone

-I have no other choice, kid, you're from All right? So you must have something, Aiko, use the radar to locate your mother, take that child, I'll talk to Naomi so she can reach them and HEY, YOU HUMAN, IF MY WIFE DOESN'T SHOW UP, I'LL TEAR THE FLESH OFF YOUR BODY AND THEN I'LL BRING THE-

Aiko turned off the communication ball, as I watched the sphere turn off, Aiko turned in my direction and spoke to me

- Please, I know you're a total stranger, possibly even useless in battle, but you belong to the same academy as me and I don't have anyone and I can't do it alone right now, my mind is a mess with every second that passes knowing that my mother may be being moved further away from me, I beg you, in the name of the Evilness, do you promise to help me? I beg you with my life

'How direct it is, but well... what should I do?

I silently looked at this girl who had tears in her eyes, as if she was placing the rest of her hopes on me, my heart felt strangely agitated at her situation, it feels strange to have emotions, but there is still something more important.

'Let's see my options, if I help her, I would definitely get a favor from the famous demon king, known as the hunter and creator of artifacts, I would also get a good first impression of one of the future Kiriko girls and the little princess of the demon clan... the disadvantages would be having a high chance of dying, since my body is not trained for battle, it would be like hitting a rock with an egg, I could also get on the radar of that old man, one of the king's council, which is a huge disadvantage compared to getting an artifact...

As I was preparing myself a way to say no, I silently looked at Aiko, seeing a girl's longing to see her mother again... I forgot about the pros and cons and my mind was filled with only one thought.

'After all, this girl is just a child who wants to see her mother again, what kind of bastard would I be if I refused to help an innocent child when I could do so?

'Ha... this time it must be different, here we go.

I looked at Aiko and raised 3 fingers

"I'll do it in exchange for 3 things

- I'll do anything, please!

Aiko smiled as if she had won the lottery, she approached me, accidentally showing her big breast, she brushed against me when she grabbed my hand between hers, my mind was a little out of its mind at the softness and the good smell that suddenly hit me

The image of a beautiful girl who clings to you as if she were seducing you is a strong blow, but the worst thing is that she does it unconsciously.

'Don't tempt me please, how annoying to have the body of a boy full of hormones.

I cleared my throat and made a sign for her to move away, then I explained what I wanted.

"I need a mask, I don't want anyone to know that I participated in this, I could be attacked later, the second is a reward after this, and third... never, you will mention this to others except your father who will reward me, is that clear?

I spoke very seriously about the third part, I didn't want to get on the radar in any way, luckily for me, as the tent was closed by my request hoping that I didn't have any attribute, and the examiner had left before I could put my hand, no one should know what happened in that sphere, at most the few who saw it would think that I have the water element because of the blue color, and that's how I want it to stay for the moment.

Aiko nodded seriously at my 3 requests

- I got it, please help me.

'How innocent, he lacks a lot of growth in relation to the adult world.

I thought with irony before hitting Aiko's forehead with a finger, she let out a cute cry and asked me bewildered

-ouch

- why are you hitting me!?

I decided to gift her some information about the world

" you are too innocent, what if I was one of them? You should make me sign a mana contract before agreeing so easily, imagine that I tricked you the same way your mother was tricked.

Tears formed in the corners of Aiko's eyes as she began to tremble.

-but I can't think straight, I'm scared

aiko spoke as she held her arms and trembled.

'I guess it must be the fear of being alone against the world, it's sad, but it's inevitable, I have to wait for her to calm down to move forward.

I sat down next to Aiko again, I didn't hug her, because I didn't know her, I could only soothe her the only way I knew, sigh and explain things.

" ha... it's normal to have it, and for that, you need to learn from your father and not lose your composure, it's not that he isn't afraid of losing his wife, seeing how he got when I put my finger on your neck, he must be scared to death if something bad happened to his wife, but he still managed to think clearly. If you don't face the fear, it will block your mind and if it blocks your mind, you won't be able to act at the moment you need to, carve this into your mind, and your enemies will never expect you to recover, they will try to kill you if they see the opportunity.

After a few moments, she nodded silently, and then I asked her for a mana contract.

From her mana ring, she took out a mana contract, and we signed that, in exchange for helping find her mother, she would make her father give me a reward. I didn't think she needed her to put something as serious as not telling anyone, since the punishment for non-compliance would be losing something depending on the quality of the contract, in the worst case a person would lose their life for non-compliance.

So she just agreed not to tell a stranger about the secret and I decided that was enough after we both signed, the contract caught fire and turned into some kind of mana form that entered our bodies at the same time.

While she touched her storage ring as if looking for something, I spoke.

"Aren't you afraid that I'll betray you? It says there that I should only find your mother, right? Nothing more

-I'm not afraid, you said you would help me, you promised right?

"... you're right, I promised to help you

While I was thinking about how to move with this weak body, she surprised me.

-I have ways to temporarily increase someone's strength.

She said that while taking out a beautiful black full-face mask, with space for the eyes, there were blue lines on the sides that matched my eyes, I put it on and received a black katana from her.

-That katana and sword are a set, I'll explain it to you on the way.

I thought it would be a simple katana for defense, but seeing as she is the daughter of the demon king, nothing she has should be simple.

"Do you have any way to find your mother? I guess there must be one.

-Yes, we have this thing that is like a family heirloom, it allows me to locate whoever has demon blood, it is set to find demons, if I put my blood in it, I can locate my mother, but I didn't want to take it out because I didn't trust the police, but with you, I shouldn't worry, after all, we signed a contract.

'Although she is innocent, she is not stupid, an artifact to locate demons, if it falls into human hands it would be like a perfect weapon for spies, or knowing where the demons will attack, depending on its limit, it possibly has enough range for an entire city, in battle knowing where your enemy is is an advantage, not bad.

While she was putting blood in the artifact, she also confessed to me that she hadn't taken it out before because she was confident that she could find her mother with the help of the police, and thinking that she was close, she decided that it was not necessary to take it out.

Minutes later the compass showed us that The mother was a few kilometers from our position, I remember that on the map of the city that I read, that area was deserted, there would be construction projects in that place, but for now it was an area of ​​vegetation.

I borrowed a carriage and drove where the compass indicated, but at some point, we reached land where horses do not reach and we had no choice but to run for at least 30 minutes.

'if Aiko had not taken out resistance potions I would have already fallen from exhaustion, I must train this body.

Finally, we arrived at an abandoned warehouse, strangely the place seemed empty, there were no signs of life, even so, I could not let my guard down, I looked at all the corners before entering, it was strangely quiet, there were only boxes in the place, the only light was at the back of the place that came behind a door, I could already guess that it was a trap, that's why I had the sword ready.

Before opening a door, as if it were a warning of danger, memories of the game came to me.

When Aiko discovered her father's death, in the cinematic, the entire area where she was at that moment ended up charred by his flames that got out of control, my sister didn't tell me anything else because she said that the screen went black for a moment and skipped to the next scene in which it was the hospital.

I would have ignored that scene if it weren't for the similarity of this situation.

'There are cases in which the awakened go crazy due to very strong emotions, one of the reasons for the creation of All, and if...

I stopped dead and turned to Aiko.

"Give me an advanced health potion and wait here.

-What? Why? We're close.

"There may be traps, so I'll go in first to check the perimeter, if I end up falling into a trap the potion will help me and then I'll make a signal for you to enter.

Aiko nodded, so I gently opened the door and quickly entered, then locked it with the bolt.

It was a spacious wooden room, the only light present was a spotlight that was above a woman tied to a chair.

"ha... the selfishness of mankind never ceases to amaze me, it's the same then and now

There was a smell of fish and iron in the air, in front of me on a chair covered in dried blood.

was a woman with her head down, clothes in tatters, cuts everywhere, her fingers were in the wrong positions along with her nails, and on a small table were instruments of torture stained with blood, if it weren't for the small movement of her diaphragm, I would think she was dead.

'This woman endured 2 months in this situation, without revealing anything about her loved ones, truly an admirable woman.

I was mesmerized for a moment by this mother, not by the torture scene, but by her great determination...she decided to live in this kind of hell for 2 months rather than betray her family.

'Huh?

I felt something falling down my cheek when I touched it with my hand, it was a tear.

'How strange, I don't remember shedding tears for some stranger, maybe it was water, but oh well, we need to move.

I quickly silently moved the instrument table away from the light and approached the woman assessing her physical condition.

'Her skin is pale from the loss of blood, she won't hold out much longer.

I pulled the cork out of the bottle and very carefully lifted her head, her lips were cut and her tongue was cut out.

'They were too exaggerated to be the first day, unless...

I moved my gaze slightly and noticed vials of medicinal potions already used.

'The humans have not yet created the healing potions, they are not hers since Aiko has her mother's storage ring... a conspiracy?... what the hell am I sticking my nose into?

Although I put the vial in the woman's mouth, I realized that she showed no signs of taking the potion, only this remains.

"Your daughter is waiting for you to come back.

After she said that, as if a bit of will came back to her, she took a sip of the potion, then 2, and so on until she finished the whole potion, quickly the wounds on her body began to heal at an incredible rate.

'What a great medical advance of the demons, only they together with the humans in the middle stage of the game developed the potions, not even the elves with the aloe from the world tree.

After a few moments, the woman opened her eyes weakly, a voice of supplication came out of her throat, and the first words she let out were.

- Where is my daughter?

The closed-door opened forcefully and I heard a scream

- Mommy!!!

Aiko ran to her mother and hugged her gently, as the potion took effect, there would be no problems with the movement, but, even so, she must be mentally tired from the torture, she must get out of there.

Unintentionally I stayed looking at that scene with nostalgia, I remembered how one of the few beings who gave me love in my childhood was my mother.

'The scene was recent, so the torturer must be-

At that moment I felt a cold on the back of my neck, I didn't have the strength to block the projectiles with my sword, without having any other option I ran towards the mother and daughter hugging each other and I stood in front of them.

*plop

I saw the frightened eyes of the mother and daughter looking behind me, and a feeling of pain that reached my back.

I turned my head and saw a man with daggers in his hands, a rough-looking man... and bald.

'I read that in anime, bald men are powerful, this guy isn't broken, right?

As if killing my desires, a hoarse and cold voice came from the bald man.

- B-rank assassin, Mark Tones, stay away from my target, child, it has nothing to do with you.

The man threatened me while releasing his bloodlust, Aiko's legs began to tremble and her eyes showed fear, the mother hugged her daughter more tightly.

-I give you one last chance, get out of here, I'm not interested in children, only in despicable demons.

'um... get out of here, or stay to die... what should I do?

I was injured, with no way to fight, and with an assassin who surpassed me by at least 4 ranks in front of me... should I escape or not?

'Even if I don't admit it, it's checkmate, right? My death is assured

I was in a critical decision, if I left here, the plot would return to its course, they can't kill Aiko, and she knew I had no strength, so I don't lose anything, but if I leave... I won't be able to sleep in peace knowing that I let a mother and a daughter get into a living hell.

-Remember Ren, you must keep your promise

My sister's voice was heard in my ear as if she was speaking to me despite being in another dimension.

'Ha... not even after I've died can I reject my sister, well, if I have to die for a promise, I will die.

In silence, I adjusted the mask and the sword, in my mind I thought about activating both artifacts, and while I did, I spoke to the bald man in front of me.

"I'm sorry, I made a promise, and if one of them dies, a guy will kill me."

The man sneered at my decision, retracting his legs as he said in a mocking tone.

- As you wish, kid.

The bald man lunged with his daggers in my direction.