I am only a Novice Contractor

With a jolt, Ryan recognized her as the woman he'd bumped into earlier in the supermarket. But now, gone was the polite smile.

Her face was contorted with rage as she glared at the stone spirit.

"Inir!" she shouted. "I ordered you to eliminate Boulder, not chat with some novice boy!"

Ryan's eyes widened as realisation dawned. This woman was Inir's contractor. She had sent the wind spirit to assassinate Boulder, and now their plan was unravelling.

Inir's playful demeanor vanished instantly. "My apologies, Mistress," the wind spirit said, its voice now cold and sharp as a winter gale.

Boulder roared in outrage, the ground beneath them trembling. "Treachery! You dare to hunt me?!"

In an instant, the uneasy calm shattered. Boulder lunged at Inir, while the wind spirit whirled into a frenzy, razor-sharp gusts slicing through the air.

The woman raised her hands, purple energy pulsing as she prepared to join the fray.

And there stood Ryan, a novice contractor caught in the middle of a battle he never asked for, with powers he barely understood.

As chaos erupted around him, he had a split second to decide: run, fight, or try to stop this madness before someone got killed.

And he did-

Ryan found himself backing away slowly, his eyes fixed on the unfolding battle.

He didn't run, but rather sought shelter behind an overturned car, his curiosity overriding his instinct for self-preservation.

"Inir, Gale Force Protocol!" the woman's voice rang out, clear and commanding.

The wind spirit responded instantly, condensing into a tight, swirling vortex. "Understood, Mistress," it hissed.

Boulder, the rogue stone spirit, took a defensive stance. "You hunt me like a common beast," it rumbled, a note of resigned anger in its voice.

Ryan watched, his expression a mixture of awe and detachment.

The synchronization between the woman and her spirit was impressive, he had to admit.

A twinge of envy flickered in his chest - his own attempts at spirit arts were clumsy at best.

The battle raged on, a symphony of elemental fury. Inirr's wind blades sliced chunks from Boulder's rocky hide, while the stone spirit's massive fists created tremors with each impact. The woman danced around the periphery, her purple energy flaring as she cast support spells and issued commands.

"Huh," Ryan muttered to himself, "so that's what a real contractor looks like in action."

As the fight progressed, Ryan couldn't help but feel a hint of sadness. The raw power on display was incredible, yet it was being used for destruction. The parking lot was in ruins, and he could hear distant sirens approaching.

Boulder was weakening, its movements becoming slower and more labored.

The woman seized her opportunity.

"INIr, Cyclone Terminus!" She shouted, her voice tinged with triumph.

The wind spirit whirled into a frenzy, forming a massive tornado that engulfed Boulder.

The stone spirit roared in defiance, but its cries were drowned out by the howling winds. Fragments of rock began to peel away from its form, drawn into the vortex.

Ryan watched, his face impassive but his eyes reflecting a mix of emotions. It was fascinating, in a grim sort of way, to see such power in action. Yet he couldn't shake a feeling of unease.

With a final, thunderous crack, Boulder's form shattered completely.

The pieces of the once-mighty spirit were scattered to the winds, leaving nothing but dust and pebbles raining down.

As the tornado dissipated, the woman stood triumphant, Inir swirling calmly beside her.

She brushed a strand of hair from her face, surveying the destruction around her with a satisfied smirk.

Ryan emerged from behind the car, his clothes soaked and his expression unreadable.

He looked at the settling dust where Boulder had stood, then at the woman and her spirit.

"Well," he said, his voice flat, "that's one way to handle a dispute".

The woman turned, seeming to notice Ryan for the first time. Her eyes narrowed as she took in his faint green aura.

"You," she said, her voice sharp. "The novice from earlier. What are you doing here?"

Ryan shrugged, gesturing vaguely at his scattered groceries. "I was shopping. Then... this happened."

As sirens grew louder in the distance, Ryan found himself standing amid the wreckage of the parking lot, face to face with a powerful adept contractor.

He had just witnessed the death of an ancient spirit, and he wasn't quite sure how he felt about it.

One thing was certain: his quiet evening had taken a turn he never could have anticipated.

Ryan stood there, his expression a mixture of weariness and mild curiosity.

The woman's eyes narrowed as she studied him, her gaze calculating and cold.

"You saw everything," she said, her voice low and dangerous.

Ryan shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant despite the unease growing in his stomach. "Look, I was just here for some groceries. I'm not looking for trouble."

The woman took a step forward, her purple aura flaring ominously. "No witnesses," she muttered, almost to herself. "No loose ends."

Realisation dawned on Ryan's face.

He raised his hands placatingly, taking a step back. "Hey, wait a minute. I'm not going to say anything. I'm just a novice, remember? Who'd believe me anyway?".

For a moment, it seemed like she might reconsider.

But then her expression hardened, and she gestured to Inir. The wind spirit swirled around Ryan, creating a barrier of cutting air that prevented his escape.

"I'm sorry," the woman said, though her voice held no remorse. "But I can't take any chances."

Ryan's eyes widened.

He opened his mouth, ready to plead, to bargain, to say anything that might save his life.

But before he could utter a word, the woman closed the distance between them in two swift steps.

There was a flash of purple energy, condensed into a razor-sharp blade around her hand.

In one smooth motion, she plunged it into Ryan's abdomen.

The pain was immediate and overwhelming.

Ryan gasped, the words he wanted to say dying in his throat.

He looked down at the ethereal blade protruding from his body, then back up at the woman's face.

Her expression was impassive, almost bored, as if she were simply taking out the trash.

As she withdrew the energy blade, Ryan collapsed to his knees.

He pressed his hands against the wound, green energy flickering weakly around his fingers as he instinctively tried to heal himself.

But he was a novice, untrained, and the injury was far beyond his meager abilities.

"Why?" he managed to choke out, looking up at the woman who had so casually decided to end his life.

She didn't answer. Instead, she turned to Inir. "Dispose of the body. Make it look like an accident."

As Ryan's vision began to blur, he saw the wind spirit advancing towards him. His last thoughts were a jumble of regrets and disbelief.

He had only wanted to buy some groceries, to live his unremarkable life.

Now, he was dying in a ruined parking lot, a victim of a conflict he barely understood.