Lilith wielded her jet-black katana with strength but also slashing with light hand movements, tossing a number of swings in short succession. Amid the resulting dust clouds in the yard, Lilith’s rapid swings only created the sounds of metal clashing, its pitch dampened.
The dampening was the work of the NPC, who parried Lilith with a katana of his own, sheathed in an ash brown scabbard. As they zoomed across the yard, the NPC kept a defensive stance.
“You have gotten a good bit faster,” The NPC casually commented. “I can also see improvement in the way you’re wielding your sword.”
Despite his compliment, Lilith visibly gritted her teeth in anger. Saying I’m improving yet being so composed to speak casually!?
As steel continued meeting steel, Lilith responded to the NPC’s words by twisting his katana to the side and following up by striking low at his gut. Although her ploy of steering his bladed instrument off course was a success, Lilith’s head recoiled backwards immediately after.
In a quick act of reflex, the NPC repositioned his sheathed sword and smacked Lilith’s jaw with it, all before her sword reached its target. This packed enough of a punch to displace wind and cause a dust cloud larger than what Lilith mustered up previously.
“Ugh!” Lilith, whose wind was knocked out of her, grunted as she staggered backwards, the NPC simply watching.
“And you’re sturdier too!” The NPC continued his string of compliments. “Your physical stats improve faster than most…especially your durability it seems.”
“Urgh…compliments are not what I want to hear!” Lilith retorted. “If you say I’m improving, why can I not land a single hit on you!?”
“Hmm, you should keep your focus on just improving, instead of wanting to land a hit on me,” The NPC replied. “The path to growth is usually a long and arduous process, but you are being greatly accelerated with high level training and being put in many dire situations thanks to the developer. You may have access to accelerated growth, but you still need to elevate step by step.”
“Elevating step by step…isn’t enough! Nathan is in such a terrible state, and Ada won’t stop until she’s gotten rid of us!” Lilith voiced her frustration. “I have no idea if…he’ll ever wake up…but I have no hope of being his only protector until he does.”
A solemn air of silence was granted by the NPC, though it lasted for a moment after witnessing the dejected Lilith sheathing her own katana with her black scabbard.
“Hmm, what’s wrong?”
“There’s no hope for me to protect the one person I care about…if I settle on a step by step elevation,” Focusing her gaze to the ground, the dejected Lilith muttered. Her words weren't the main focus, but what captivated the NPCs attention was the amethyst glow which appeared and resided beneath her sheath. “Steady improvement isn’t enough either…I have to do everything I can to protect him!”
Hissing against the leather sheath, Lilith drew her sword out. As her blade motioned across the air, a crescent wave of pure amethyst purple was brought forth and hounded the NPC.
Unperturbed by the crescent lumination drawing in at speeds faster than bullets, the NPC simply placed his hand in the way. Like shattering glass or more akin to a grenade exploding and releasing shrapnel, the wave shattered itself upon impact with the NPC’s hand, projecting amethyst shards all over his body.
Lilith’s own actions roused a jaw dropped shock on her face, dumbfounded as the amethyst shards disintegrated into nothingness. From the tip of her forehead to the palm which she held her katana with, Lilith had broken out and was suddenly stricken with sweat.
“Huff…huff. W-What…What just happened?” With bated breath, Lilith questioned. “What did I…just do?”
“I’m just as surprised as you…pleasantly surprised, that is,” The NPC replied. “You had such a skill in your moveset…what a sharp wave and sharp shards those were.”
“I…remembered watching those action shows…with Nathan. The ones where they’d shoot beams from their swords,” Turning her visibly red face away, Lilith admitted. “I guess…huff…I got really motivated…because of that.”
“I see…how imaginative! That does play a big part in your blessing’s growth,” The NPC complimented. “Having a good imagination on your own blessing will grant you a wider view of it after all.”
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Huff, Huff…I’m just glad…I managed to hit you…even if it wasn’t effective,” Lilith muttered with a slight smirk. “I feel…a little better about myself.”
“...You should feel better. All you need to do is recall what you felt, and I’m sure you’ll master that new move,” The NPC remarked.
“Huff, huff…I understand,” Lilith replied as she plopped herself on the ground. The only thing on my mind was protecting Nathan. “Let’s take a break…that last move definitely took a lot out of me.”
“U-Uhm…hi, L-Lilith.”
Springing forth from the ground she laid, an air of familiarity was felt by Lilith towards the voice, barely above a whisper, and fleeting in the wind. Lilith opened her mouth, but no words left it, as if Lilith’s brain short circuited. She blinked, once, twice and several times rapidly, gazing with eyes full of confusion at the most unusual guest: Olivia Gray.
“O-Olivia? You came here?” Finally remembering how her brain worked, Lilith questioned. “What’s up?”
“Well…Uhm, I figured…it’d be good…for you, um, if you’d have…someone…to talk to,” Olivia’s awkward words unfolded at a sluggish pace, as if counting her words. Her body language was no better, as Olivia skillfully eluded Lilith’s gaze, all while frantically fidgeting her hands in the process. “I don’t think…it’s good…if you stay with…those depressing thoughts…I mean…that’s if you want…”
“H-Huh? You came so I can talk to you? I don’t mean to be offensive, but you don’t strike me as the type to go out of her way to do something like this,” Lilith responded, her words causing Olivia’s gaze to be captivated to herself. It’s as though the actions between the two women were swapped, as Lilith suddenly shied her gaze from Olivia, clenching her sheathed katana. “Also, thanks for your consideration…but having someone to talk to…is the last thing I need…right now.”
“I-I understand. T-The truth is…the developer warned me…to become useful,” Olivia admitted. “I thought…coming here…would make me…useful.”
“...What?”
- * * *
Amid New York, its streets filled with the slow moving river of metal creeping along in the daylight, there was a rather unruly black sedan. Without a flicker of hesitation, this sedan weaved between lines of cars. Its reckless actions forced all to obey - fellow cars overtaking each other was not a risk that could be explored. They instantly broke up and ceased driving in pure fright.
Horns of defiance were uttered from annoyed drivers, but it was all for naught. Nothing stopped this driver - he was ruling the streets. Who was this driver, you might ask? Well, none other than a Zack filled with ecstasy and excitement as he drove.
“Damn it! Who the hell is that madman!” An enraged driver yelled as Zack flew past him.
“Heh! Try using your horns louder! Maybe it’ll stop me!” With a clear rush of adrenaline as he sped, Zack mocked the disgruntled drivers.
“You’re a bit too giddy to be driving, you know,” Zack had brought company with him. With folded arms and narrowed eyes, Rose, who received the passenger princess title, remarked. “But, you’re pretty good at avoiding traffic I suppose.”
“Uh, yeah, haha. I’m just trying to get us to the destination you want as fast as possible, but I’m not really sure what we’re doing, to be honest,” Relaxing his elated facial expression, Zack admitted. “You said we were going to meet some guys for some drug deal, or some shit?”
“Yeah, well, more accurately, We’re meeting some bastards who potentially could manufacture drugs for us. Although those shits deserved it, the Silverdust gang’s loss means the Blueblood’s drug production took a hit,” Rose replied. “The director sent me to verify if these new guys will be any good.”
“Uh, then why am I even here?”
“Tch, I doubt it’ll be necessary, but I thought you could be my bodyguard!” With a sharp, blunt change in her voice, the visibly flustered Rose stated. “A-And…I like hanging out with you as much as possible! Is anything wrong with that!?”
“N-No, I just wanted to know! There’s nothing wrong with that!” In his frantic effort to calm her, Zack quickly responded. “I-I like being with you too, Rose!”
“...Hmph, whatever,” Shifting her facial expression from Zack’s eyesight, Rose muttered with red, flushed cheeks. “Let’s just get this stupid shit over with so we can go home.”
- * * *
After driving for what seemed like an entire hour, the car had eased to a stop. What loomed directly ahead was their destination, and it was by no means grand. No signs, nothing of any interest, just a bland, gray warehouse with a single entrance. Its dull design warranted no attention from outside onlookers, nor was it interested in looking for any.
“Wow! This is, uhh…something?” Disembarking their vehicle and observing the infrastructure, Zack awkwardly said.
“Pfft, did you expect a luxurious building or something? This is the place both parties agreed to meet up,” Rose remarked before taking a step towards the entrance. “Stop dawdling and let’s go.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Rolling her eyes at Zack’s remark, Rose presented herself in the warehouse’s interior. Zack’s eyes immediately twitched at the flickering, fluorescent ceiling lights, dust covering the bulbs. Stacks and shelves of metallic crates loomed in the back of the warehouse, decorating the concrete flooring with long shadows.
Rose never concerned herself with the fixtures, but instead at a sight more pressing. Half a dozen men, all donning black suits and ties, stood in small clusters. Some leaned against the crates, and some against the walls, but their cold gazes all pierced at the new guests.
“Ugh, can’t anyone see that the lights need changing–oh,” Shielding his eyes with his right hand, Zack muttered before he too matched his gaze with the men. “Yikes…guys are here…Uh, no one heard me, right?”
“Oh, you are here, Ms. Thatcher,” Paying no heed to Zack, one of the individuals spoke up. “It’s about time…you showed up. My name is Xavier–”
“Yeah, yeah. I don’t care about that. I didn’t expect a damn audience in this meeting, but here we are, I guess,” Disregarding Xavier’s greeting, Rose responded with folded arms. “Let’s just get on with this. Show me what you’ve got.”
“Hmph, of course…I’m sure we’ll be useful to your organization.”