Multiple people barged into the cavern after blowing the far side of the tavern. Dust settled around them, creating a new atmosphere inside.
The disco lights that had annoyed Haruo had turned off and were replaced by the light from the outside. Illuminating the tavern from the inside out.
Many of the students screamed at the explosion; their fear was visible.
The student who was nearest to the unknown group backed away slowly, making a run for it when he was at a safe distance.
Getting close to the exit, he sprinted as fast as he could, but as he was just inches away from the handle, he tripped and bumped his head on the wooden floor.
"Huh..?"
The boy had tried to move his legs, but there was no response whatsoever. He felt liquid clothing his clothes, making way to his palm.
Slowly, he lifted his hand to his vision to investigate. A deep crimson color painted his entire hand, dripping slowly to his forehand.
His breathing began unsteady, and he lowered his gaze only to see that his legs had been cut off to his knees.
"H-his l-legs.." One student called out.
He screamed in terror, with many of his classmates joining his scream.
They all scattered around the room, running around like a group of guinea pigs. Only Ena and Haruo remained calm despite the situation.
Sharp metal footsteps faded into the tavern, louder than the screams of the students. Having a different vibe from the rest of the group, both Haruo and Ena raised their brows slightly as they saw another faint silhouette appear through the thick dust.
The silhouette raising its hand; a gunshot broke through the screams, and made everyone divert their gaze toward the strange group once more.
"You kids sure are noisy, aren't ya?"
The gunshot cleared the surrounding smoke that hid him and revealed a man. A cigarette hung from his lips. His hair was tied into a small man bun. His predatory gaze made the whole tavern shiver in his sight.
His attire was leather, ragged, and beaten up. Anyone can recognize a bandit anywhere.
"We hit the jackpot, boss; many of them students here are from a high family." One of the underlings said.
"By the time we are done with them, we'll be swimming in gold!" The underling added.
"Really? All I see are pests, but money is money, I guess." The captain said, puffing a cigarette.
The captain heard muffled groans and unsteady breathing at the far side of the room and saw a kid with his legs severed. The kid closed his eyes when he saw the captain staring directly at him, telling himself that he was only dreaming or imagining things.
"Who did that?"
"Well, I did, sir. He was trying to—"
He was shot in his leg, making him kneel slightly. The underling groaned in pain as he held the part where he got shot. The captain walked to his front and crouched to meet his level.
"Are you mad? Who would want a severed kid?"
The underling hurried to explain himself, but the gun was already to his forehead. His eyes widened while wandering it to the gun before his captain. Smoke escaped the captain's lips before a loud bang, another one embracing death's arms.
"What do we do with goods?" The captain spoke to his subordinates.
"To keep them safe, sir…" They all responded.
"Why?"
"Cause they are valuable."
The captain then puffed the cigarette one more time before placing his firearm on his leather belt.
"See, it ain't that hard, innit?"
He redirected his gaze toward the "Valuables" and assessed them one by one. He saw that each one bore the same expression until he met the last two.
Their eyes filled with sparks and only resolution; one had an endless calm that resembled a lake, while the other had a drowning storm that showed no mercy.
After evaluating each one carefully—the bartender included—He grabbed a nearby chair and sat on it, waving his hands at his subordinates, gesturing an order. The subordinates nodded at each other and positioned themselves in different corners of the Tavern.
"Everyone, line up! Anyone who refuses to comply will get punished!"
As Haruo was about to stand, Ena stopped and stood first.
"Don't get in my way." She muttered.
Both stared at each other for a moment, then he sat back down. Ena steadily walked forward while the whole tavern had set their gaze on her. He stood face-to-face with one of the underlings and stared him down.
"What, are you deaf or sum? I said Get in line."
The subordinate's vision collapsed and fell to the ground. He contemplated what was happening before he rolled over and saw his own body without his head.
"What…?" He said before he rolled his eyes with his body collapsing sideways.
The subordinates then widened their eyes. And armed themselves; one of them charging at her with a blade. Ena was quick and disarmed the man before piercing through his neck.
She then threw the body at one of the subordinates who had a gun pointed at her. And throwing her small blade at them. Multiple of them surrounded her and charged simultaneously.
Ena dashed into one of them and jumped over their face, using it as a springboard to lift her. During her ascent, she had grabbed the man's sword, using it to sever their heads in a single swoop.
She faced the captain, throwing the sword at the girl who had another gun, penetrating her skull completely and attaching it to the wall.
The captain whistled for entertainment with his face glued to the ceiling. During the fight, he hadn't directed his vision once, and yet he gave her an impressed look.
"Impressive, I was kinda bored even since I got here. But after seeing the fight, my boredom had completely washed away… It was fun, but you're going to have to line up Poppy."
Ena scoffed at his comment and returned the glare that he gave her.
"If I listened to bitches like you, wouldn't that make me one as well?"
"What makes you think you aren't one already?"
"Well, I don't really need to ransom kids to get what I want. Besides, if I were in your position, I would've had better subordinates and not random guys pretending to be one."
He quickly drew his gun and shot multiple rounds at her. She quickly equipped one of her hidden blades and deflected each one with ease. As she deflected the last one, she planted her foot on the ground and blocked his attack.
"You're better than you look, kid. But it's to know all these skills were wasted on you."
"Thanks, I know I already knew I looked good. Speaking of looks, I bet you're popular among ugly kids; that's really the only place where people could find you attractive."
She then flicked her other hand, revealing another blade; her blade whistled through the air, and she directed it to his neck.
The captain ducked and prepared a punch to her abdomen. Ena raised her knee, blocking the blow, but the force still lingered and launched her near the bar.
She crashed into the counter, and tiny bits of planks flew as she did. She took her time to recover, but the captain didn't allow her to rest and shot more bullets towards her. She dodged each one—Popping bottles of champagne behind her.
She flicked her entire shoulder and threw a blade at him. He tilted his head slightly, dodging it slightly, but left an open wound on his face.
He diverted his sight back to the counter, but saw that she was gone. He felt his head make contact with an object before it shattered into pieces and poured massive amounts of champagne on him.
"Did I scare ya?"
She took this chance and put all her strength into a slice. Only to be met with a barrel on her face.
"You're skilled, but not experienced enough to be on my level yet."
She closed her eyes and prepared herself. But nothing came, only a muffled thud and metals falling.
She opened her eyes and saw Haruo cleaning his sword with a cloth. Near her lay the corpse of the captain; his corpse lay frozen with his head severed.
"You almost had him; if you hadn't let your guard down, you would've won."
Ena took a glance at his sword and questioned: "Where'd you get that? That doesn't look like what the bandits had."
"Mana storage." He replied.
"You're a master?"
***
"Master", one of the rankings of the mana proficiency caste, or martial rank. These rankings show where you are and how efficient you are with mana. There is a maximum of 8 ranks.
1. Amateur: Beginner
2. Novice: Basic understanding of mana
3. Intermediate: Unlocks internal & external control
4. Expert: Mastery of external control
5. Master: Achieves mana storage
6. Grandmaster: Unlocks Qi
7. Vanguard: Ability to mix Qi & mana
8. Overrank: Perfect control of Qi & mana
Each signifies how efficient one is with mana; many jobs these days require mana. Putting it in your resume and ID is crucial to finding any type of job.
***
Ena sighed and fixed her posture—Standing upright. She took a glance at her classmates; most were still in shock, while some were injured either before the fight or during it.
"You said how I'd notice you, right?"
Ena silently walked forward to the kid who had his legs severed, his eyes nearly giving out. He had lost a ton of blood; Haruo could tell he had lost his vision cause of it. He groaned silently with his face pale as he lay helplessly on the ground.
Haruo wondered what Ena was going to do, watching quietly on the sidelines. Haruo took a second, realizing how she had grown suspicious of him. He recalled what his master had said.
***
Just a day before. Haruo stood with elegance, his back just inches away from the door of his master's office.
"Alright, I'll allow it. Besides, I already thought about whether you were already doing it anyway."
"I give my thanks, I'll take my leave now, my lord."
Haruo turned to face the door and turned the knob, opening it. But as he took a step, he sensed his master raising his hand. He turned around once more to greet his master.
"What is it, my lord?"
"You sure have good awareness, don't you?" He chuckled. "I forgot to tell you something about Ena. She's a prodigy when it comes to combat. She is talented in many ways, but her main aspect is her ability…"
***
The muscles of the severed kid's leg began to move. Even his bones began to regenerate. His legs slid through the floor, reattaching themselves to the kid's knee. The boy had regained his vision and looked around at his injuries.
They were nowhere to be found, he cried on the spot. He was so close to meeting death that it was given that he would be thankful for this second chance.
"An SS rank ability… Blood manipulation?"
Haruo's eyes widened slightly as she gave him an example of her ability.
"Did my dad tell you that? Y'know, I never really gave my ability a name, so I just called it blood manipulation since that was the first thing that came out when I used it."
"So that means…"
She rolled her eyes, as if she already knew what he was going to say.
"Yes, I know you're wearing another skin mask. I knew all along, but I couldn't really tell what you look like, only your anatomical structure."
***
Two hours had passed since then, and they had returned to the manor safely. Before they exited the tavern, Ena healed each of her classmates, then left with Haruo following behind her.
He had already taken off his disguise and washed his hair to remove the pigment of the hair dye.
He washed himself in a bathroom where servants usually washed themselves. He wore comfortable clothes before walking to the room that was assigned to him. There, he saw two beds, and one of them had Taiyo lying on it.
He patted a towel over his head and dried it carefully.
He sat on the edge of his brother's bed and caressed his hair before taking a deep breath and allowing himself to rest for the day.
"We don't have to worry about anything anymore," Haruo muttered to himself.
He muffled his own footsteps before he went and lay down on his bed. He shut his eyes and embraced the warmth of his bed.
***
Smoke filled the room, and Haruo sensed it instantly, waking up. He hurried to sit up immediately and ran next to his brother.
He pressed his two fingers on his brother's neck—feeling a slight pulse from his touch. He tugged his brother awake, but there was no response whatsoever. He was unconscious.
Screams outside his room filled the silence. He went to investigate, but before he could even touch the door, it had turned into flames, causing more smoke to enter.
The manor was on fire.