Chapter 12: Urban Legend

"Hmm, strawberry flavor!"

On his walk home, Ryuji couldn't help but recall the sweet taste from earlier, a satisfied grin spreading across his face. He had wanted to push things a little further, but Miko, shy as she was, clearly wasn't ready for that yet. Ryuji didn't mind. These things were better taken slow. After all, it was only the second day since they met what's the rush?

"This is the life!"

He sighed contentedly, not caring if any passersby heard him. He had finally gotten a girlfriend after crossing into this new world, and even better, this world was full of beautiful girls.

"Well," he thought with a chuckle, "I want them all!"

Ryuji saw no reason to limit himself. He wasn't going to make difficult choices between the girls he liked why bother when he could just become strong enough to have them all? His new goal: become so powerful that no one could question him.

---

Miko's home wasn't far from Ryuji's place only a ten minute walk. He wasn't in a hurry to get home, and maybe, just maybe, he'd run into something interesting on the way back.

As if on cue, a desperate cry for help echoed from a nearby alley.

"Help! Someone help me!"

Ryuji stopped in his tracks. "That worked fast," he muttered to himself, a bit surprised. He'd been expecting to find something interesting on his walk, but he hadn't thought it would happen so soon.

It wasn't likely to be anything supernatural, since ordinary people couldn't see those things. Could it be some kind of pervert?

Either way, Ryuji figured he should check it out. It was, after all, the way he needed to go to get home.

---

Kato Megumi was having a very unlucky day. It had all started earlier that afternoon when, due to some club matters, she had ended up at the school playground. There, she witnessed a fight and had tried to quietly sneak away using her usual low sense of presence, but to her dismay, she had been spotted. Thankfully, the handsome boy from earlier hadn't attacked her.

Still, she thought her day couldn't get any worse. But now, as she walked home, her entire worldview was about to be shattered.

"What... is that?"

Megumi had been walking quietly, minding her own business, when she heard a strange sound, like the gnawing of an animal. Curious, she turned her head, and what she saw froze her in place.

There, not far from her, stood a dog-like creature nearly two meters tall. Its head was bent low, its sharp teeth gnashing at something on the ground. It wasn't food.

No. It was a person.

For someone who had always prided herself on her calm demeanor, Megumi found herself utterly terrified. Her heart pounded in her chest as she covered her mouth, stepping back slowly, praying she wouldn't be noticed.

Clink!

But fate was not on her side. Her foot kicked an empty can on the ground, the sound echoing through the quiet alley. Despite her low presence, it wasn't enough to escape the creature's attention this time.

The dog-like monster, covered in blood, slowly lifted its head.

"What... what is that?" Megumi's voice trembled. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized that, although the creature had the body of a dog, its head was disturbingly human. The combination of animal and human features was grotesque beyond belief.

"Human..." the creature hissed, a sinister grin spreading across its human face as it locked eyes with Megumi.

Panicked, Megumi turned and ran.

The monster didn't charge after her immediately. Instead, it followed at a slow, deliberate pace, savoring her fear.

"The scent of fear... Delicious, so delicious!" it taunted, enjoying the chase.

"Help! Help!" Megumi screamed as she ran, her feet pounding the pavement. She didn't know why the monster hadn't pounced on her right away, but she wasn't about to stick around to find out. The sun had already set, and the streets were eerily quiet. She was all alone.

Until she spotted a figure up ahead.

"Huh?" Her heart leaped in hope. It was a person!

As she got closer, Megumi recognized him it was the boy from earlier. The one she had seen during the fight at school. Her relief was short-lived though, as she quickly remembered who he was.

"Run! There's a monster!" she shouted frantically as she approached him.

"Monster?" Ryuji raised an eyebrow. He had thought this might be some sort of pervert situation, but now it seemed like something even more interesting. His curiosity piqued.

Seeing Ryuji stand there nonchalantly, Megumi thought he didn't believe her. She grew even more anxious. She wasn't a fast runner to begin with, and she could feel her energy waning. Her foot caught on a crack in the pavement, and she stumbled, about to hit the ground hard.

But instead of feeling the cold, hard pavement, she felt herself fall into a warm embrace.

Blinking in surprise, Megumi looked up and saw Ryuji, who had caught her just in time.

"T-thank you..." she stammered, her voice soft and shaky.

"You're welcome," Ryuji said with a smile, gently helping her back onto her feet.

"Successfully contacted target: Kato Megumi! A golden entry has been triggered. Do you want to load it?"

Another entry? Ryuji grinned. As expected, it always triggered with protagonists. He had tried to activate the system earlier with the three bullies from school, but it hadn't worked. Now, though, it seemed the system only worked with important characters.

He wondered what kind of special ability he would get from Megumi.

"There's another human!" the monster's voice growled from behind, snapping Megumi back to reality. She turned, her face paling as she saw the human-faced dog slowly approaching.

"Run! The monster's coming!" she screamed, desperately tugging on Ryuji's arm, but to her shock, he didn't move. She couldn't even budge him.

"Is it real?" Ryuji muttered, finally laying eyes on the creature. It was indeed a strange one, with the body of a dog but the face of a human. His first guess was right it was some kind of supernatural being.

"But," he mused, "ordinary people shouldn't be able to see something like this. How can she?"

Ryuji glanced at Megumi, who didn't seem to have the ability to see spirits or supernatural entities like Miko did. It was strange that she could see this monster.

Seeing Ryuji's calm demeanor, Megumi felt slightly more at ease, but the monster behind them was anything but calm.

"Don't you dare compare me, a noble urban legend, to those filthy, lowly monsters!" the human faced dog snarled, clearly insulted by Ryuji's offhand comment.

Then, with a vicious growl, it lunged at them.

Ryuji smiled as the creature charged. Without hesitation, he raised his hand and simply waited for the perfect moment. Just as the monster closed in, he moved with lightning speed.

"Too slow," he muttered.

With a single, powerful strike, Ryuji knocked the creature to the ground. It let out a pitiful whimper, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

"Is that it?" Ryuji scoffed, disappointed at how weak it was.

Behind him, Megumi stood frozen, eyes wide in disbelief. What had just happened? Had Ryuji really just defeated that terrifying monster so effortlessly?

Turning to her, Ryuji smiled again. "You're safe now," he said softly.

Megumi could only stare, her heart still pounding.

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° Starting With Real Madrid

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