She collapsed into his arms, her hair spilling over his shoulders. Slady knelt down, turning her over. She opened one eye, coughing, apologizing for being a burden. He denied it, asking her to explain what had happened.
She was lost. On a dangerous mission. And now... she was in that condition. She tried to beg for something, but her words distorted between groans, her hand trembling. He held her, tightening his grip, giving her permission to trust him.
She slowly closed her eyes, her muscles still tense. Her final whisper was a plea for him not to hurt her, before her body became heavier.
Slady remained silent for several seconds. He looked at himself, covered in stains. He pressed his lips together. Lowering his face, he pressed his ear against her chest.
Thump... thump...
Slow, weak.
The only thought that crossed that man's mind was one:
Time equals life.
***
The sunlight struck the covered eye. He blinked, seated in a chair. Stretching slightly, a small tear escaped from his eye. The woman before him remained lying down, covered from the chest downward. Her breathing was steady. He pressed his head against her chest once more.
Thump, thump, thump...
His own muscles relaxed.
Suddenly, her breathing stopped. He raised his head. Her eyes were half-open. His first reaction was to explain himself. He had not hurt her, he had only been checking her heartbeat. And if the nudity made her uncomfortable, he had seen no other option. Her wounds had been... lethal.
She did not respond, only stared at him. Gradually, however, her cheeks flushed red. She sat up in bed, covering herself. Quietly, she thanked him, but also asked him to leave the room.
He nodded. Just as his hand touched the doorknob, he hesitated. Turning around, he asked if she wanted coffee. She nodded slowly.
Later, she smoothed the skirt of her dress, whispering about the incredible quality of the stitching. She had never seen a male tailor before. He claimed he had learned over time. However, that was not the main issue. He needed to know who she was and, especially, what had happened to her.
She looked away, adjusting the upper part of her clothes, covering her chest even more. She said she had been on a mission... he interrupted her, already aware of what she did. What interested him was what had happened during the mission.
She answered directly: she had fought a Destroyer. She said she was strong enough to battle one, but that night, she had not been well. Slady calmly observed her face. Her eyes shone with melancholy, and her fingers clutched the bedsheet tightly.
He questioned the reason for her condition. She gripped the sheet even harder. It was personal. He understood. Slady crossed his legs, resting his chin against his mechanical fist. During that brief moment, no words were exchanged, only the wind howling through the window, filling the silence.
She abruptly raised her head, asking for a phone. He handed her his own cellphone. She dialed a specific number and glanced at him while holding it to her ear.
It was a moment of privacy.
***
In the other room, Slady lay down. Shaphira, in her demonic form, watched him while grooming herself. He casually commented about the unexpected visitor, causing the fox's tail to bristle. He asked her to remain calm. He would not allow anyone to see her, she only needed to stay in the room. The Renkai Creature simply continued licking herself clean.
Amid the sounds of Shaphira's tongue sliding over her fur, a knock echoed through the library door. He walked over, wondering who had come to bother him. Upon opening it, he saw the woman standing at the entrance. Beside her stood a man twice his size, muscular... and dressed only in a tank top and common pants. Slady took one step forward and, at the same time, the two embraced each other, apologizing repeatedly. One claimed he had gotten angry over something stupid, while the other answered that she had been too demanding.
With that, Slady slowly walked toward the stairs, his arms behind his back. The two noticed him. The woman gave a faint smile, but the man remained serious. Politely, he asked her to wait for him in the forest. She nodded, giving him a kiss.
The two men were left alone.
The larger man walked toward the smaller one. The tip of the sword at his waist emitted an energy that made the appliances tremble. Gravity itself seemed heavier, as though trying to force him to shrink.
The man stopped directly in front of him. His muscular chest nearly tore through his shirt. His blue eye sparked with energy, and his white hair almost floated in the air.
His formal words contrasted sharply with his intimidating aura. It was a direct and simple question: was he the man his wife had spoken about?
Slady, feeling saliva slide down a throat dry as a desert, coughed and answered yes.
The muscles in the man's arms stiffened, veins as exposed as the nipples outlined beneath his shirt. He gripped the sword's handle, the blade nearly disappearing into pure energy.
Then, without waiting another second... he knelt down, held Slady's mechanical hand with the delicacy of a knight before a princess, and thanked him. Slady was his hero.
It was as though Slady had been transported into a magical world. He was the golden-haired princess with the delicate body. And that man was the blue-eyed knight with enough strength to topple mountains beneath untouchable beauty...
He shook his head, coughing repeatedly, and said it had not been anything important. The man, smiling without showing his teeth, took a notebook from his pocket, wrote something down, tore out the page, and handed it over.
A number.
He declared that Slady could call him for any help, and that he, Faller Noughter, a Hunter of Destruction, would gladly assist him.
Once again, he thanked him for saving his beloved. He would never forgive himself if something had happened to her. Slady nodded several times, asking the man not to repay him so intensely. Faller slowly nodded and turned away, saying goodbye with more politeness than the casual nature of his clothes suggested.
Slady remained alone, holding the number.
He folded the paper and placed it inside a drawer.
***
At the Libretãnhya Criminal Investigation Department, Rin Yuang sat on her bed, her hair messy. She looked at her phone and sighed.
She stared at herself in the mirror. Muttering quietly, she reminded herself it was the final day of leave. She wondered why she felt so exhausted. She touched her own chest, tight with pressure. She remembered when she had nearly surrendered herself to addiction. And it had been that man, that cursed man who had also knocked her unconscious, who had stopped her. She knelt down, her bare thighs touching the cold floor, sobbing.
She hated feeling hesitant, but why? Why could she not investigate that same man? Why... why did she feel that she could die?
However, her thoughts were interrupted by a rope tightening around her neck. Her eyes widened. She struggled. Looking upward...
It was him.
The man stared at her coldly.
But he also apologized for the fear.
He tied the knot and released her. She tried to free herself, but her strength faded quickly. She could no longer groan, only stare into the single visible eye of the man, who knelt before her, touched her face, and said he would repay her for the nightmares. For nearly falling into drugs. He would cure her.
His voice grew lower and lower. Her vision became blurrier. Her face turned purple...
Until everything faded away.
Slady stood up. He looked at the clock. It marked exactly midnight.
And at that hour...
Slady entered a dark room. He switched on the light, only a lamp. He sat in a chair and dragged it toward a refrigerator.
And inside were two containers.
Two brains.
Two names.
Rin Yuang and Roger.