Encounter

"Hey Leo, Hurry up, the captain is calling us. He needs us at the scene of the explosion."

"Wait, Matt. Look at there. There's someone running towards us."

Leo pointed his hand in a certain direction. As they squinted their eyes, they could see the figure of a woman getting closer and realized it was a frantic civilian waving their arms in distress.

Concerned, Leo and Matt exchanged glances before rushing towards the person to find out what was wrong.

"What happened, miss?" Noticing the blood stains on the woman's clothing, both of them raised their guards up."

"He-help me. A man, No, A monster. He barged into our house and forced us to... forced us to play a sick game of his.

"Help us. My father is currently with the man." Her weak, hoarse voice quivered as she struggled to explain the horrifying situation.

Leo and Matt exchanged glances and asked the pitiful woman a question. "A monster? A monster can't enter this place, miss. The gates are guarded by the other guards, so I am pretty sure that no monster can enter the town."

"No... no. You don't understand. He's a man, but he's more like a monster. Please help my father!"

Leo and Matt exchanged another glance at each other before speaking. "Miss, calm down. Can you please lead us to your house?"

I nodded in response to their question. But as I was about to lead them to our house, a man appeared behind Matt.

Blood sprayed into the air as the man stabbed his dagger into Matt's back.

My heart raced with Horror as I watched the man charge and stab the other guard, Leo.

Leo let out a cry of pain and collapsed to the ground. I froze in fear, unsure of what to do next.

The man slowly made his way toward me. A familiar, sinister smile could be seen on his face.

"Do you want to know what happened to your father?" Adrian grabbed the woman's face and stared into her eyes.

"Do you want to know?" The woman's sobs grew louder as she shook her head in disbelief and fear.

"If you hadn't pulled that little stunt of yours back then, one of you might still be alive."

"Don't worry, I will end your life swiftly. Close your eyes now."

But before I could stab her, I felt a Cold metallic object touching the side of my neck.

Its sharpness sent a shiver down my spine. I slowly turned my head to see a figure standing behind me.

"Get away from her."

The faint light of the moon illuminated his features.

An overly handsome face with chiseled jawline and eyes as cold as snow. His presence radiated mystery, and a huge amount of peak D rank mana was swirling around him.

Seemingly lost in thought, I stare at him as my expression darkened.

'It's him... the leader of the twelve seats on the original timeline.'

'The one who reduced the peak rank demon in that state.'

I couldn't help but feel a mix of fear and awe in his presence. The stories of his strength and ruthlessness from the original timeline flooded my mind, making me question if I stood a chance against him.

He was the sole reason why the war with demons came to a temporary halt on the first timeline.

The Demons proposed a temporary truce because he demolished armies of demons left and right. And he didn't bring an army or a companion with him.

He just fought different armies alone. That's why he got the nickname The Lone Hero Under the Heavens.'

"Get up." His cold voice reverberated into the air, disrupting my thoughts.

I pushed the blade of the sword beside my neck with my dagger and rolled sideways. I unsheathed my sword and got into a battle stance.

I once again looked at the person Infront of me.

His cold expression suggests that he doesn't think of me as much of a threat.

'Arrogant.'

Wielding the sword in my left hand, I charged at him. As our weapons clashed, I could feel the overwhelming power behind his sword.

I attacked more fiercely, but he just blocked and reflected my attacks with ease.

'Damn it! if only my right arm is in good condition.'

As we clashed for another round, I realized that the person with whom I am fighting is not taking it seriously and is just toying with me.

I tried to use the demonic stare, but my mana is already drained.

My stamina slowly depleted, and I gradually descended into the depths of exhaustion.

Each swing of my sword became weaker, and my movements grew sluggish.

Despite my best efforts, it was clear who was the victor from the start.

Accepting my defeat, I knelt and let go of my sword. I looked up at him and smiled. "You're already at the beginning level of C rank, right?"

'He's already an early C rank, he's concealing his rank... He fooled the whole world in the first timeline. Everyone thought that he was just a D rank when he defeated that B ranker.'

Ignoring my comments, he slowly approached me. "You used a device to conceal your C- rank aura."

I stared into his eyes, feeling the cold blade touching my neck. "Looks like this is the end."

"Edward. That's my name. What's yours?"

"My name... My name is Adrian."

"A smile can be seen on his cold face as he raises his sword, ready to sever my neck. I closed my eyes once again, waiting for the cold embrace of death.

Blood sprayed into the air. 'The warm blood... I can feel it on my face.'

I opened my eyes to find that the man in front of me, Edward, had stabbed his sword into his leg. Confusion washed over me as I realized that Edward had spared my life.

"Escape now." he said as he looked at me with a cold expression, not minding the stab wound on his leg.

I hesitated for a moment, torn between my instinct to flee and my curiosity about Edward's sudden change of heart.

Despite the pain in his leg, he stood tall and unwavering, urging me to take this opportunity and escape before it was too late.

As I passed by him, he tossed me a vial containing a purple liquid. "Drink it. Your mind is not in the right state." I caught the vial and studied it for a moment, unsure of what to expect.

Dragging my exhausted and injured body, the distance between us widened. As I started to flee from the scene. I heard the voice of Edward calling out to me, "I'm not your enemy."

I turned my back and looked at him. "what?"

"I'm not an enemy, Adrian."

The moon above is still shining on his overly handsome face.

When I looked at him, he appeared to be a salvation angel glowing in the dark. I turned around once more and began running towards the gate.