009

"That dress is very beautiful," whispered a beautiful woman as she looked at a shop window.

Beside her was a young boy of 14, who simply nodded at what his aunt said.

"Come on, Shinka, I have to try that on," said the aunt as she ran into the store.

Shinka simply sighed reluctantly and followed his aunt.

The boy had on his shoulder something that looked like a heavy shopping bag with several boxes and other bags in it.

And although he was currently busy, he continued training without anyone noticing.

[Magic Sense Lv.22]

The boy had been constantly using his magical sense ability since he started practicing it just a few days ago.

Currently, the waves emitted from his body were more difficult to detect, or at least that's what he thought.

There was also the fact that now his ability could extend about 5 kilometers from his current location, although he didn't usually use it in such an extended way.

So far, he had not noticed anything peculiar. He had not had any contact with another magical being.

Shinka was beginning to think that maybe it was just Kuoh that had strange things.

"Shinka, how do I look?" asked the woman.

"You look good, aunt," Shinka replied simply.

"Oh, come on. Give me your honest opinion," she said, pouting.

Shinka opened his mouth to respond, but suddenly his heart resonated strongly.

The boy paused for a few seconds.

"Hey, are you okay?" His aunt began to gesture as if greeting the boy.

"Yeah, I suddenly feel like going to the bathroom," he whispered.

"Eh? Well, go. I'll keep looking around here."

Shinka nodded at his aunt's words and, upon leaving the store, along with the bags, activated his magical enhancement and invisibility abilities.

A drop of sweat ran down his cheek.

Shinka ran quickly through the mall to the exit and once there, changed his direction drastically.

'There's something. Something strong very close.'

The boy was concerned for the safety of the people. In one of his probes, he finally sensed something.

It wasn't a weak signal of weak magical energy.

He received a signal of energy that was lower than his own in quantity, but that clearly represented a danger to normal people.

As he ran, Shinka arrived at what seemed to be an abandoned warehouse.

Almost semi-destroyed by what seemed to be a fire that happened years ago.

He closed 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 floor, but only her upper body could be seen. Her other body part was hidden among the rusted containers.

Shinka knew what it was, and he knew that the only option he had for that thing not to bother anyone was to kill it.

The boy extended both hands, and two large energy spheres formed in them.

From where he was, he aimed the two energy spheres at the devil's head.

WOOSH

They flew at high speed, but before they could impact the devil, it grabbed them in its hands and stopped their advance.

With a movement of Shinka's hand, the two spheres exploded instantly, causing some pain to the devil.

"RAAAAARG!" The monster roared angrily, and with a head swing, an explosion emitted by the old containers, its entire body became present.

"What?" The boy was speechless.

The other part of the monster was like that of a giant snake. It was something different from what he saw in Kuoh, but not completely.

At least he knew it was of the same species as the one he saw before.

With an abnormal agility for a creature 5 meters tall, its body moved quickly towards where Shinka was.

The monster was about to use its tail as a whip and strike Shinka with force, but he agilely jumped back, dodging it.

BOOM

BOOM

Two energy spheres hit the monster's face but didn't do much damage.

'It's going to be harder than I anticipated,' Shinka sighed as he agilely dodged the monster's attacks.

As the boy jumped from side to side, the monster seemed to tire, and looking directly at Shinka, a grim smile formed on its lips.

A drop of sweat ran down the boy's cheek, remembering a magical attack that the monster he saw in Kuoh had caused.

The creature seemed to inhale deeply, and opening its mouth, a ray of light ready to be expelled began to be seen.

Shinka's eye contracted at the sight.

'If that thing hits me, I'm dead.'

[Accelerated Thinking Lv.24]

In fractions of a second, Shinka scanned his surroundings, and moving his hand quickly, Shinka aimed at some heavy chains holding several giant containers on the warehouse ceiling.

[Grip Magic Lv.16]

WOOSH

Before the creature could unleash its powerful magical ray, it looked up.

The sound of metal falling and clashing together caught its attention, only to find that it was about to be crushed by tons and tons of metal.

BOOM

Everything fell on the creature.

A cloud of dust rose a few meters, hindering the view, but it was quickly dispersed.

Shinka observed what was barely visible of the creature's corpse on the ground.

"Disgusting..." the boy whispered before turning around.

As Shinka turned his head to leave the place, the glint of a weapon's edge illuminated his vision.

Just inches from splitting his face in two, a strange glow formed around him.

WOOOSH

Shinka leaped back to take distance.

As his feet touched the ground, he perfectly saw two figures lunging at him with a sword each.

The two figures lunged vertically to cut him in half.

Frowning, Shinka gently took both swords between the tips of his fingers.

He had discreetly used grip magic to avoid cutting himself trying to do something complicated, and once both were in his hands, he forcefully squeezed the flat sides with his fingers.

For a moment, the boy's eyes flashed with an intense blue.

Both were girls who looked to be about the same age as Shinka. One of them had short white hair and deep blue eyes, while the other was blonde with honey-colored eyes.

Both wore a white tunic with a cross brooch, and between the uncovered parts of the tunic, he saw armor similar to medieval armor.

[Status.]

[Name: Shizumi & Kaede Namikawa.]

[Race: Humans.]

[Aliases: Holy 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.

BOOM

Shinka kicked one of the two people attacking him in the stomach, and before he could do the same with the other, she managed to release his grip on her sword.

"Shizumi, are you-?"

"Watch out!" The girl shouted as she tried to get up.

CLANK

The sound of metal against metal was heard.

Shinka's claw-like hand had hit the girl's sword forcefully. Both were repelled.

Before Shinka could try to hit her again, she made a slash.

SLASH

"Bastard, you'll pay for hitting my sister." Kaede lunged at Shinka.

Shinka agilely dodged the slashes with a backward somersault, and gaining momentum, made a big jump.

In mid-air, he quickly joined his hands and threw several magic 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 fiercely illuminated him.

"Interesting," he whispered calmly, and his body disappeared instantly.

"What?"

"Very fast!" The girl who was still on the ground from Shinka's kick shouted.

CLINK

The sword made a metallic sound as it struck Shinka's fingers reinforced with mana.

Before the girl holding the sword could counterattack, Shinka's body disappeared.

CLINK

CLINK

CLINK

CLINK

Several consecutive hits were heard, Shinka was completely assaulting the girl.

'Damn it, I can only stop his blows!' Kaede thought as she swung her sword with force to stop Shinka's advance.

'Final blow.' Shinka clenched his fist and reinforced it with grip magic to grab the edge of the sword and stop Kaede's attack.

CLINK

'I won.' Shinka thought as he held the edge of the sword between his fingers.

"Shit!" Kaede couldn't help but curse her luck when she saw that the boy broke her guard.

Shinka's other hand tensed, in a claw shape, he was about to deliver a strong blow to Kaede.

SLASH

Before he could strike, the sound of the wind being cut entered Shinka's ears.

With a slight movement of his head, he managed to dodge a thrust with the immense sword that was about to kill him.

The sword plunged into a metal container, making it difficult for the girl to quickly retrieve the sword.

Seeing that Shizumi was momentarily unarmed, Shinka struck Kaede hard, sending her flying several meters.

"Damn it!" The girl had had enough.

Before Shizumi could pick up the sword again, Shinka's body was covered in blue, and he stole the sword from the owner.

The girl watched in horror as Shinka's hand rose in front of her, and as the gleam of the edge threatened her life.

The girl swallowed nervously.

Shizumi assumed she would die in 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, moved swiftly.

Shizumi closed her eyes to meet her end.

CLINK

Sparks flew a few centimeters.

Shinka frowned as he saw that his sword had been stopped by Kaede.

[Fencing Lv.1]

"You won't touch her, you damn bastard!" The girl shouted.

Halfway through Kaede's sentence, Shinka had disappeared again.

"Don't move!" 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 weaken as she stopped the blow.

'He has no idea how to use a sword...' Shizumi thought.

Still in the air, Shinka's body disappeared in front of the sisters.

"Right!"

CLINK

'But he compensates with his immense strength!' It was the conjecture the sisters had.

'Even so, my technique...'

"It's superior!"

CLINK

Before Shinka's body disappeared again, Kaede took advantage of a momentum and struck Shinka's sword.

The boy's guard opened, and Kaede saw an opportunity to end the fight with a single blow.

The edge approached Shinka's neck at a dizzying speed, and before she could make a fatal cut, his hand glowed.

A magic circle formed.

'Magic?!' Both sisters thought at the same time.

CLINK

Kaede's sword struck something resistant, making her step back.

Both girls were frozen in place, and Shinka seized the moment.

He extended his free hand and, using grip magic, caught the two girls off guard.

"Ah!" Both screamed, trying to break free from the magical grip.

Once both were immobilized, the ray of light connecting Shinka's arm to the bond holding the sisters disappeared.

But still, neither of them could move.

[Binding Magic Lv.17]

Another ray of light extended from Shinka's hand and took Kaede's sword.

"Now I want some explanations," Shinka said as he approached where the girls were.

"We won't negotiate with devil worshipers!" Kaede shouted angrily.

"I understand." Calmly, Shinka aimed one of the two swords vertically at 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.

Both girls' pupils contracted.

Shizumi swallowed nervously, but before she could give any response, something prevented her from speaking.

'Another one?!' Something made Shinka worry.

The sisters thought they would really die when they saw how both of Shinka's swords moved quickly.

CLINK

Shinka used both swords to cover himself, but they still broke his defense with a single blow.

Another sword had struck him.

The user, an adult man with a mustache and blonde 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 when I saw that you took longer than you should have, but I see you really found a monster."

[Impossible to use magical inspection ability. The target far surpasses the user's ability.]

A drop of sweat ran down Shinka's cheek.