A blur smashed through a wall as a young woman with brown hair looked down forcefully to see her beloved scarf being stepped on, pinning her movements.
Her face jerked to the side as a blow from the young man hit her cheek.
'His punches,' Crack, a rib popped out and cracked from the blow from her side. Recovering, the black fist tried to punch the young man but was countered with a left cross and pushed away by a kick.
'Damn it, his punches are not as strong as mine but he is a bad matchup for!' Her thoughts were cut off as the chain on her collar jingled and found herself soaring in the sky and hitting the ground.
Off to the side, Ryuu watched the beatdown that Ren committed on the level four assassin. 'To think that Ren is only a level 2,' Ryuu thought, wincing as she saw Ren use the black fist like a weighted edge to smack some throwing knives from the black cat.
"Wait, the black fist is a level four and Ren is just close to a level three," Ryuu thought out loud. Looking at the black cat and black fist, she was able to see them with the red outline around their bodies.
Remembering one of her late captain's words, she looked at her co-worker in amazement.
'Listen up Ryuu. Mages are the most dangerous on their bases. This is because they have the advantage of setting up the defenses of their bases,'
It seems like she did underestimate Ren Cruz.
She could only watch as the young man jumped to the sky, his form illuminated by the moon. The chain grew and followed his pattern as he spun around gathering enough momentum to slam the black fist to the ground.
All the while, his orange scarf never held him back, rather, it danced with him as he moved and fought brutally.
"So that's why I'm feeling weaker," The black fist said, standing up, she spat out a glob of blob and looked at the scarf-wearing teen.
"..." Ren said nothing and once again formed a spere on his hand. The black fist immediately fell to the ground, panting hard.
'He's draining the black fist of her falna!' Ryuu looked at the black fist. Knowing that Ren Cruz had this, she looked at the black cat only to freeze at the sight of her other coworker, a rather drowsy Anya.
"Nya, So noisy, nya," Anya said with a yawn, wiping her eyes as she stood in front of the black cat.
"What? How did you?"
"Are Mew Ryuu and Ren's enemy?" Anya asked coldly as she looked at the black cat
"Because if you are," Anya looked at the black cat, eyes turning serious as she charged. Seeing that she was surrounded by the black cat, she used her spear and swung it around her body.
'She has a longer range than me nya,' The black cat thought before freezing up and falling to her knees. 'My strength is fading nya,' She was about to move when suddenly, the ground shook.
The two cat people looked at the ground to see Ren's foot on the black fist's shoulder. The brown-haired woman was now embedded several inches to the ground, spiderweb-shaped cracks on the inches deep crater.
"It seems like you're reaching your limit," Black fist said with a grin, a drop of blood leaking from the side of her face.
Ren seeing her reaction sighed and jumped back. Being faster than him, the black fist grabbed him by his leg, pulled her close, and launched a punch that grazed his jaw and created a deeper crater than Ren's kick.
Looking at the black fist with eyes wide in surprise, Ren quickly formed a rune, having the same effects as a flashbang, and kicked off the black fist.
"Rennya!" Anya shouted as she went by his side. Ryuu, worried for her co-worker merely stood in front of them, the blades are drawn in a reverse grip.
"Fuck, I got too cocky and I'm too fucking rusty in hand-to-hand," Ren said, standing up as he massaged his dislocated jaw.
"You... Dislocated your jaw to avoid the damage?!" Black fist said, looking at Ren in surprise.
"Of course, if that hit connected outside this place, then I would have to eat soup until I get it fixed," Ren said, holding Ryuu's shoulder, forming a healing rune around her.
"I should have used pankration on you," Ren said with a sigh. "But nope, my dumb ass had to stick with striking because you made me remember the thrill,"
"Cruz, your hand," Ryuu said, looking at the hand on her shoulder. Noticing that he was holding her for longer than he intended, Ren pulled his hand back, blushing a bit from Ryuu's attire. What? he was a hot-blooded teen, of course, he would look.
"Sorry about that, but, I'm useless now," Ren said with a sigh, the runic barrier trapping them broke, and suddenly, blood escaped his nose.
"It's fine, you did well," Ryuu said looking at Ren. "If it weren't for you then I would be in big trouble," Ryuu then nodded to Ren.
"That's right, nya! Just leave it to us," Anya said with a smile, twirling her golden spear.
"Hoh, it seems like this would be a lot more trouble than it's worth," The black cat said with a sigh. Planning to run away, she yelped as the collar got tighter on her neck.
"Sorry, but just because I'm useless does not mean I won't try to stop you," Ren said with a smile, holding his hand out. His spear soared through the air and landed on his arm. Using it as a crutch, he smirked at the two attackers of their new home. "The only way for the two of you to escape is to kill me," Ren announced proudly before dropping on his knees.
"What?! We are having a serious talk after this Rennya!" Anya said, looking seriously at the tired young man.
"Anya is right, Cruz," Ryuu said towards her only male co-worker.
"Fine, but keep those two out first before Mia comes back," Ren said, looking at them. Looking at the ruined shop, the trio shivered in horror at the sight and the punishment Mia was gonna give to the trio.
"Ryuu, the black fist is a brawler, she prefers her upper body more, target her legs, if she can't use them she can't generate most of her force," Ren told the elf who nodded. looking at the black cat, Ren analyzed her as quickly as he could. "Anya, that cat is most likely a speed and dexterity type fighter, her main knife has poison, and she has those clones. Keep her away using your spear," Ren ordered the brown-haired catgirl.
"Understood,"
"Got you, nya"
The waitresses answered with a smile, going on their stances. Looking at the glowing eyes from the black cat, Ren let out a shiver before reaching into his pouch and produced a mind potion.
"It seems like I need to use it. What a pain," Ren said silently as he chugged the potion and threw it at one of the black cat's clones.
Ren watched Anya and the black cat talk with each other and chuckled.
"MY BOOBS ARE BIGGER, MEOW!" Anya announced proudly, puffing her chest out. That made Ren burst out laughing at the black cat's reaction, before smirking.
"I who is about to awaken," Ren chanted, silently, runners starting to surround his body as he closed his eyes.
"NO WAY! YOU- VANA ALFI!" Ren heard the black cat call Anya that title. What he heard next made his heart drop a bit. It was the first time he heard Anya be so sad. HE just wanted to hug her tight.
Focusing his magic, and forming runes around him to hide the presence of Ren continued to chant.
"Oh, this is a first," A familiar, yet older voice called out. REn soon found himself standing on top of a floor filled with a lot of corpses and pools of blood. Looking up, Ren saw a figure whose face was shadowed by the throne he sat on. A dragon-shaped throne and a familiar-looking wolf by his side.
"Who are you?" Ren awed before feeling his knees gave in to the pressure the man effortlessly laid out.
"You already know who I am. I ask, why art thou here?" The man asked, still sitting on his throne, dark, familiar eyes looked at his own.
"I want to protect my new home," Ren said, making the man's eye quirk in curiosity, "I want the power to protect Ryuu and Anya," Ren called out before he felt his body get launched back and for the pain to erupt. He found himself on the regular world.
"Cruz!/Rennya!" Ren heard Ryu and Anya call out. Why does it hurt? It hurt to move, his body, felt so hot.
"Well, such a shame, it was lucky for us to hire these level fours and level five," An old dwarf saic proudly as several people dressed in armor, wielding weapons.
"That's!" The black fist said, looking at the one that was level 5. She knew it was a very special person, it was after all the legendary, Lord of the night, a pinnacle level 5 from Evilus. He was supposed to be blacklisted from Orario.
Suddenly, a shadow, landed in front of the girls, holding a spear, his clothes were torn, left arm hanging limply. It was Ren Cruz, who seemed to have recovered from the blow.
"Well, well. A young man wishing to be a hero? Too bad for you kid, we have you outnumbered and out leveled," The dwarf announced happily, licking his lips. "Not only we can get rid of Gale, but Vana Alfi, Black fist, and Black cat as well,"
"I am the man, blessed by a nameless God," Ren chanted, stabbing his spear to the ground and forcefully yanked his arm into place. "Paving through countless trials, a wanderer of the unknown cosmos,"
"Stop him!" The dwarf shouted and two of the level fours charged at Ren. As if knowing what they were about to do next, Ren swiped his hands while he chanted. A pillar of blue flames erupted, giving the two some high-degree burns.
"Never once retreating, I seek not eternity, for it is a curse," Ren chanted as he formed more barriers of flames.
"M-multiple concurrent casting?!" Ryuu announced in shock as she watched her co-worker use multiple magics to push them away. Suddenly the level five broke through the flames only to be pushed back by Anya.
"Ryuu, help me get these guys off Rennya! You two, we will have a truce first!" Anya announced. That snapped the trio off from their stupor.
"That right, if you wanted to kill us, then you should have brought more," The black fist said, as she and the black cat, along with Ryuu started to fight off the level fours and small fries.
"I hereby announce," Ren said, his voice becoming older and wiser. "I reject this sky and all I surrounds, for this is not thine world. For I, who is about to awaken," ren once again chanted, spinning his spear on one hand before stabbing the blade on the ground. "Am, the man who rose through mountains of corpses and oceans of blood," A bright light erupted from the spear, blinding everyone in the area before falling to their knees at the pressure that came from the one inside the light.
"Ren!" Ryuu shouted in concern about her co-worker. He might have been a perverted idiot, but she had come to see him as her friend.
"It seems like your last hope suffered from an Ignus-" What he was gonna say was cut off as the area around them changed. they were now trapped on countless chains surrounding them and preventing escape. The chains suddenly aimed at the smaller fries before.
"this form, is very nostalgic," A voice from the pillar of light said was it died down, to reveal a more mature version of Ren Cruz, hair slicked back with blood. All his injuries started to disappear as a sword formed on his hand. "Right, Wahrheit?" Ren said, looking at the sword.
"Rennya?" Anya called out to her friend. Ren(?) hearing her, merely looked away from her sword and smiled at her,"
"You must be the Anya he told me about," Ren (?) said with a smile. "He was quite adamant in making sure the two of you were safe,"
His kind words and demeanor made Anya blush. She had taken a liking to the young man and it was rare for him to smile at her this warmly.
"Huh? I don't know who you are but you're dead!" The level five said, raising his ax before freezing up.
"You do know that interrupting others is not a good attitude, right?" Ren(?) asked, moving towards him slowly. He reached in, grabbed his spear, and walked past the lord of the night. Touching his hand, Ren(?) effortlessly yanked it off. Dropping it off the ground, the man behind him imploded quietly.
"This magic, it seems like going here is productive after all," Ren(?) said, twirling his spear on one hand gracefully with enough skill that it calmed the water's surface, making all the others around him shiver lightly. "Apologies if I might be a bit rusty, but," Ren(?) said as he stabbed his sword on the ground and used his right to hold his spear. "I'm more used to handling a halberd,"
"You might have just killed the lord of the night but-" A gasp from the black cat was heard before the man stopped. He felt himself get hoisted up in the air and for the air in his lungs to escape.
"You talk too much," Ren said lazily as he saw the man impaled with a chain that rose from the ground.
"I... did not even notice," Ryuu whispered, looking at the back of the young man she had worked with, no longer sure.
"I'm tired of people trying to destroy the places 'I' care about and see as my home," Ren(?) said with a sigh. "So, I'm giving you a chance, bend the knee or face your demise,"
The five watched as a few of them ran away while the rest charged. The remaining level fours charged at the girls while Ren(?) sighed and shook his head. He threw his spear on the air, and summoned a chain on his hands with a bladed edge, and used it to impale those who tried to escape. He never said anything about not hurting them. Ren sighed as he looked at what was left of his attackers. They were all impaled and hanging on the chains save for the one impaled from the gut through the mouth.
"Well, since the interlopers are taken care of," Ren said, cracking his neck with a smirk as he cracked his knuckles,. "shall we dance, Damen?" Ren said, going on a fighting stance, making the black fist smirk and pound her fists together.
"You bet!" She said with a smirk, excitement numbing her fear for the young man.
"Well, since that guy is losing steam, I might as well, connect the bounty," The black cat said, brandishing her blade,
suddenly, the earth shook making Ryuu and Anya sweat nervously. The two started to shake in fear at the familiar aura of rage that emitted from the owner of the shop.
"HEY... DUMBASSES, WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? WHOSE BAR IS THIS? HUH, ANSWER ME," The damage around the bar was minimal, and the warehouse where the food was stored was quite controlled with Ren's runes. Anya's ears, dropped flat on her head in fear as she grabbed her spear, using it to support her,
Anya went in front of Mia to try and calm her down but. She was sent crashing to the ground with a crater from Mia's punch.
"Well, we're fucked. Hey boss, I'm back!" Ren said, his slicked-back hair, now falling properly and he fell flat on his face.
"Oh, welcome back Ren," Mia said with a smile aimed at his brother-disciple, nodding at Syr, to take him away. The silver-haired girl smiled as she dragged Ren back into the bar. Mia meanwhile just roared in anger, cracking her knuckles for the beatdown,
May and others watching inside the bar hugged each other as they prayed.
"WE'RE NEXT NYA!" The girls shouted as they looked at each other.
Three days after.
Ren sighed, as he walked to the kitchen with a crutch, his arms crossed while listening to Mia explain the rules and her laws towards the new staff members of the hostess. He did not look good, after all, he suffered an Ignus Fatuus and a direct blow from a level five. He should have been dead by now, but. His only lasting injuries were his arm in a cast, a limp on his leg, cracked ribs, and more, although, they would easily be taken care of by his runes.
"Lucky for them," Ren said with a smile, pushing him off the wall lightly, fixing his muffler and scarf, walking away silently with the grace of an assassin, melding to the shadows, he arrived at the courtyard and looked at the word stabbed on the ground. Removing his glove, Ren held the handle of the sword, effortlessly holding the Zweihander up.
"Zeige Dich, Wahrheit," Ren whispered, watching as the blade sang on his hand. The blade fell off to reveal a more slender, and shorter blade. The heavy and larger blade stabbed on the ground soon transformed into a wolf cub. "It's nice to meet you again and to have you by my side, Wahrheit," Ren said with a smile, kneeling in front of the cub and watched as it jumped on his shoulder and nuzzled his cheek.
Ren smiled as he let go of the blade and watched as a tattoo of a sword and a wolf appeared on his right upper arm. Securing the cub on his shoulder, Ren walked towards the pub, eager to have some meal in his stomach.
It seems that he will no longer be alone anymore.
