Then, two people wearing white cloaks emerged from behind a burnt down house.
Reiji had his back turned to them as one of them asked in a feminine voice.
"How long did you know we were following you?"
Reiji didn't answer for a moment. He just stood there, looking down at the burnt piece of wood his foot had uncovered.
"It's because this village's first inhabitants wanted to be away from the world, to live their own lives. Sure, it was drawn on the map but it's placed in such an unforgiving location that no one cares about."
Reiji spoke about why the village was forgotten.
The other person sighed and spoke.
"You're coming with us."
It was a deeper, rougher voice, that of a man.
A man and a woman clad in white. Based on their lifeforce they don't seem to be carrying any weapons, since they aren't preparing to reach for anything on their person.
Reiji finally turned but didn't fully face them, barely seeing their faces under their hoods. Their eyes were covered up but from what he could tell neither of them had any battle scars.
His gaze moved from the woman to the man in a slow and relaxed manner.
"...Or what?"
Reiji's response was laced with anger because he felt like he was being treated as some child, being told what to do and where to go.
"I'm not a child and I already have a place where I want to go after this."
"...Try not to kill him."
The man whispered to the woman and took a step back, causing Reiji to fully turn towards them in an agitated manner and drop the pouch on the ground.
The man seemed almost carefree when the woman opened her mouth and spoke in a whispery tone.
"We are but feeble beings flailing in the wind."
The word wind stood out, mainly because instead of being whispered, it felt like it carried supernatural power.
It echoed through the forest loud enough to cause birds to fly away, for snow to be pushed away from her as if the gentle wind suddenly became a hurricane.
Reiji was immediately disoriented by how loudly the word was said, his ears ringing.
In an instant he got blown back by intense wind, lifting him meters into the air and crashing him into a tree.
For reference, a normal human would've had their spines crushed on impact but to Reiji it was something that could be walked off.
After hitting the tree he fell into the snow, the wind knocked out of his lungs.
He lifted his face from the snow and gasped for air. In his panic he didn't even notice the man walking closer, or maybe he did but he ignored it because he couldn't breathe.
After regaining his breath Reiji lowered his head, taking deep breaths.
Once the man was close enough, he lifted his foot and brought it down.
Reiji hid the fact that he could breathe just fine well. Well enough that the man wasn't expecting for Reiji to roll to the side, avoiding the foot that came down with enough force to cause the snow to shoot into the air.
Getting up on his feet, Reiji didn't pull out any of his blades, worrying that if he got blown away, he would stab himself by accident.
"So, who are you two? Is it ridiculous to call what she did magic?"
Reiji asked, trying to stall so he could recover for longer, since his back was still aching from the impact.
"Who we are doesn't matter and it is not for us to decide if we are allowed to tell you."
Said the man in a flat tone, walking over to Reiji.
"At least I know you work for someone, an organized group maybe?"
The man hesitated for a moment.
Reiji purposely said it to try and make the man lose focus.
With lightning-fast speed Reiji threw a punch directly at the man's face with his right fist.
His fist connected with the man's face, but to Reiji it was as if he punched a wall, not a human.
The man's head jerked back slightly before Reiji delivered a punch to the ribs with his left fist, but to Reiji's surprise the punch did land but the man didn't budge.
In fact, it hurt his knuckles more than the man's ribs.
Reiji looked up at the man's face, finally seeing his green, cold eyes, staring down at him like he was a rat.
Reiji quickly avoided the fast blow that came from the man's right fist and jumped back.
I think I'm fast enough to dodge his attacks if I keep focus on his lifeforce. But what about her?
Reiji didn't have to look at the woman to confirm her location because he sensed her lifeforce, he didn't see it.
The man ran forward, closing the gap faster than Reiji could move away so on instinct, he threw a punch.
The man avoided Reiji's attack and punched his stomach.
Reiji flew back from the force. He had prepared a counterattack, lifting his knee to try to hit the man but he was too slow and because of that he was currently laying in the snow.
He groaned as he slowly got back up only for the man to step on his back while he was on all fours, nearly crushing Reiji under his boot.
However, Reiji didn't relent and slowly started pushing himself up.
"My strength exceeds that of my enemies."
The man's voice rang out with power, and it echoed through the forest, but not as loud as the woman's voice.
Wind didn't come this time, but it's like the man's power magically increased and Reiji's chest was suddenly pressed down to the ground.
"Agh!"
"You are nothing!"
Screamed the man before Reiji twisted his body and used his right elbow to hit the man's Tibia and Fibula, knocking his foot off and allowing Reiji to get up.
Reiji then grabbed the man's head and hit it with his knee over and over, drawing a little blood.
Reiji stopped and looked back at the woman, judging by her lifeforce, she was about to use that same attack.
He then felt pressured around his left leg and looked down, seeing that the man had a death grip on it.