The market of Kertarimba Village turned tense. The body of the Bhayangkara knight that had been split in half still lay on the ground. Blood flowed across the dirt pathways of the market. Many villagers panicked and ran after witnessing what had just happened. Merchants fled, abandoning their goods, while screams filled the air.
Meanwhile, Sancaka stood silently in the middle of the chaos with a black gunblade in his hand. His red eyes stared at the Bhayangkara knights who had begun surrounding him. Daiva was still hiding behind a wooden crate while watching in fear.
"He killed a knight!" one of the knights shouted.
"Capture him now!" another yelled.
Several Bhayangkara knights immediately drew their swords. Then suddenly, Sancaka smelled something. A strong scent of herbal liquid. Sancaka slightly turned his head. Standing on top of one of the market crates was a long red haired girl wearing a flatcap. Her clothes were green, filled with straps used to carry medicine bottles. A large sling bag hung from her body. Black gloves covered both her hands.
And most noticeable of all, the smell of medicine came from her. The girl smiled widely while spreading both her arms.
"Finally!" the girl said. "I found another chosen individual!"
Sancaka narrowed his eyes. "Who is she?"
The girl took a deep breath as if preparing for a dramatic entrance.
"My name is..."
Her sentence was cut short because nobody paid attention.
SWUSSH!!
Sancaka instantly vanished from where he stood.
"FLASH CLEAVE."
His body shot forward at incredible speed toward the nearest Bhayangkara knight. A black slash flashed through the air, followed by blood spraying everywhere. One knight immediately collapsed with his chest split open.
"Careful! He's attacking!"
CLANG! CLANG!
Several knights counterattacked immediately. Sancaka moved wildly, spinning his gunblade before firing bullets.
BANG!! GUNBURST SHOT.
A small explosion slammed into a knight's body, sending him flying into a fruit stall. Another attack came from the side. Sancaka dodged before smashing the opponent's face with the handle of his gunblade.
BRAK!
The knight's nose shattered, followed by a heavy punch to the stomach.
"CLOSE-QUARTER BREAK."
The opponent's body instantly collapsed while vomiting blood. Meanwhile, the red-haired girl still stood on top of the wooden crate. Her smile slowly disappeared.
"Come on… I haven't even finished introducing myself."
Nobody paid attention to her. Everyone was too busy fighting. That made Alfa look irritated.
"How rude."
She finally drew her sword. A blue alchemical liquid was poured onto the blade.
SSSHHH—
Cold vapor emerged from the surface of the sword.
"In that case, I'll show off my abilities," Alfa said.
One of the Bhayangkara knights charged toward her. Alfa immediately swung her sword.
SLASH!
The knight's arm instantly froze. Ice rapidly spread from the wound.
"What?!" the knight shouted in shock.
CRACK!
The ice shattered together with the flesh of his arm. The knight screamed in agony.
Alfa smiled with satisfaction.
"Alchemy Edge. Look at that, one of my specialties," Alfa said. "Do you like it?"
Now everyone finally started looking at her, including Sancaka. Alfa immediately became more confident. She stood proudly on top of the wooden crate while pointing at herself.
"My name is ALFA!" Alfa shouted loudly. "Survivor of the Osko Village extermination!"
Then she pointed at her own red hair.
"This red hair is proof!"
"I will kill every Dharma in this world!!"
Then Alfa burst into loud laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA..."
…
…
Everyone went silent.
Even the Bhayangkara knights stared at her strangely.
Sancaka only looked at her expressionlessly.
One villager whispered quietly.
"…What was that?"
Then,
"Tokek… tokek…"
The sound of a gecko echoed from the roof of the market. The silence became even more awkward.
Alfa smile slowly disappeared, and her face turned red from embarrassment.
"I even wasted time practicing that last night…"
She finally realized she was terrible at making dramatic entrances. What should have felt threatening instead became awkward. Alfa hurriedly tried to change the atmosphere.
"Anyway, just die already!" Alfa shouted.
She grabbed a medicine bottle from her bag. But suddenly
PLOP.
A bird flying above the market dropped its waste directly onto Alfa hand. Alfa froze. Her eyes slowly widened. Her hands trembled.
"Bird droppings?" Alfa muttered.
She looked at the greenish white stain covering her glove, and her breathing instantly turned panicked.
"No no no no…"
Her entire body trembled violently.
Even though she was still wearing gloves, she panicked horribly.
"MY HANDS ARE DIRTY!!"
Alfa immediately jumped down from the crate. Then, in an instant, she ran out of the market while frantically cleaning her hands using bottles of medicinal liquid. Everyone became silent again. The market returned to complete stillness. Sancaka and the Bhayangkara knights stared at one another.
There was a pause for several seconds. Then the battle resumed.
"KILL HIM!!"
The fight exploded once more as Sancaka dashed forward.
FLASH CLEAVE!
A fast slash cut through a knight's light armor. Blood sprayed everywhere.
BANG!!
GUNBURST SHOT blasted one knight away, sending him crashing through a merchant table. Two enemies attacked simultaneously. Sancaka spun his body.
SLASH!!
One knight's neck was severed instantly. His black left hand grabbed the face of the other opponent before smashing him into the ground.
BRAK!!
The market transformed into a sea of blood, accompanied by Sancaka's increasingly cold gaze.