Swoosh!
"Whoa, pretty fast, old man."
Alistair ducked, narrowly avoiding a slash aimed at his throat.
"Hmph! Youngsters are always unreliable. Kidnapping someone shouldn't take this long," a grey-haired old man in round sunglasses said, skidding past Alistair and wiping a short blade.
"Hey, Gramps! This big guy isn't normal. His Weapon must be physical enhancement, and his recovery is insane—he literally squeezed bullets out of his gut. I can't take him," the brown-haired boy argued, rubbing his bruised jaw.
"If bullets leave a mark, his defense isn't absolute. Use your head. The organization didn't give you that thing as a souvenir," the old man snapped, rapping the boy on the head.
"Tsk. Fine. You handle the giant. I'll grab the target." The boy pulled a miniature sword charm from his pocket. It floated and transformed into a full-sized longsword in seconds.
"Ms. Momokawa, right? Should I take you by force, or will you come quietly? The big guy is busy with Gramps. No one left to protect you." He swung the sword with a flourish. It would have been cool if his face wasn't swollen from Alistair's punch.
"Auntie? You lack manners, brat," Hwa said, her eyes turning cold as she pulled another handgun.
"You're twice my age. 'Auntie' is accurate," the boy shrugged.
"A sword that changes size? Is that it? That's useless," Alistair said, looking at the sword. "Mysterious" items usually had limited, specific traits. Since it could grow and shrink, its other powers likely revolved around that. But Alistair already had the Monkey talisman for transformation; this was redundant.
Clap!
"Hey, Gramps. Sneak attacks are a bad habit." Alistair caught the old man's wrist, looking annoyed.
"Good reflexes, boy. But show some respect to your elders. Your opponent is me! Don't get distracted!" The old man's hand twisted unnaturally. His fingers tapped Alistair's wrist in a specific pattern. Alistair felt his arm go numb, and the old man slipped away.
"Huh? That's strange. I can't heal it?" Alistair used the Horse talisman, but the numbness remained.
"Oh? Confident in your healing, are you? But I didn't just 'hit' you. I've altered your physiology. You'll likely stay that way for life. Not even Ms. Momokawa can fix that." The old man stood with his hands behind his back, seemingly unafraid of a counterattack.
"Interesting." Alistair examined his left arm. "You 'remodeled' my anatomy?"
The skin where he'd been tapped was slightly wrinkled. Alistair could feel the internal muscle structure had been twisted. It was only numb rather than useless because Alistair's body was so robust.
"Oh? Not just brawn, but brains too? I'm surprised you can even lift that arm. To figure it out so quickly... impressive." The old man looked at him with newfound respect. "Such talent is wasted on them. Join us. I can guarantee you'll reach your full potential in our organization."
"First off, I'm not with them. I'm just here for a tour. I like Ms. Momokawa's ability. As for you guys... you tried to kill me as soon as you showed up. That pisses me off." Alistair straightened his left arm.
"It was a test. Only the strong or the talented can join us." The old man smiled, but his eyes narrowed. No Weapon User had ever fixed his "Remodeling." To his body, the altered parts were now "foreign matter" that the original body would naturally reject. He only remodeled himself during combat to avoid permanent damage. How was this kid standing there so calmly?
Crr-ack!
Alistair's arm twisted visibly, the muscles writhing and snapping back into their original positions.
"Ah, that was a bit of a nuisance," Alistair said, stretching his hand. The numbness was gone.
"What?! Your Weapon isn't just physical enhancement? You can remodel flesh too?! Impossible!" The old man was thunderstruck.
"Weapon? You mean your unique toys? Sorry, I'm not a 'Weapon User'," Alistair shrugged.
"Liar! A normal mana sigil couldn't do that! Unless... is your magic itself 'Flesh Remodeling'? Is your strength just a result of a remodeled body?" The old man began to sweat. To keep a body in a remodeled state without rejection was unheard of.
"Rejection? You just have to force it to fit." With the Sheep talisman, Alistair could force harmony between soul and flesh.
"Easy to say. No matter. We'll just take you back for research," the old man barked, taking a combat stance.
"Whoa, research? Scary. Hey, Gramps, before you 'capture' me, can I borrow those sunglasses? They look cool."
"The glasses? Heh... Wait—WHAT?!"
The old man went to adjust his shades, only to find his nose bridge empty. He looked at Alistair, who was already holding the round glasses, examining them.
"Oho! These are nice." Alistair put them on. At six-foot-seven with the vest and shades, he looked like a proper badass. He nodded in satisfaction.
"How... so fast?" Fear began to creep into the old man's heart.
Thud!
The sound of a body hitting the pavement drew their attention.
"Huh?" Alistair turned to see Hwa walking back, dragging the brown-haired boy by his leg. He was leaving a trail of blood behind him. She was still chewing her Pocky.
"You killed him?"
"No. He might be useful. Kids have weak wills; I'll keep him alive for questioning. Why aren't you done yet? An old man like... wait, Meisai? You're here too? They really put a high price on me this time. Did they find something critical?" Hwa looked surprised to see the old man.
"Is he famous? Wait, why is he running?" Alistair watched as the old man, Meisai, turned tail and bolted into the forest without a second thought. His legs were visibly "remodeled" for speed.
"What did you do?" Hwa looked at Alistair suspiciously. "He's the bane of close-quarters fighters. I've never heard of him retreating from a melee."
"Me? I just stole his glasses. Look, do I look handsome?"
"Not bad," Hwa admitted. In her thirty-odd years, she hadn't seen many men who could pull off that look.