[Randall's POV]
Clank.
That… that was definitely a good sound.
The attacker, staggered, took a few steps back. "Who the fuck…?"
As for the lady, she opened her eyes slightly. Her light-toned body trembled considerably, which only enabled the dark trails to extend further. "T-thanks… But who are-"
"Please retreat to a safe zone, Miss." No choice but to cut her off. We really lacked the time for questions. 'And besides, there's no need for her to know who I am…'
"Y-yes! Thanks!" She darted off immediately, still clutching the grand wound that she acquired. Towards the southwest, specifically.
Meanwhile, the demon first swung horizontally his short-reach weapon. Nothing that my Ego couldn't handle. The ugly yet satisfying sound of an attack being deflected reached my ears.
Miasma revolved around my left hand, consolidating into a solid hexagon. Its natural instability made it prone to breaking out of my control at any moment, but…
The power it held matched its intensity. Or maybe even surpassed it.
It blasted a large cloud of pollen in the demon's direction. His eyes widened for a sliver of a moment. But with the speed that the hexagon gave the spell? That was more than enough.
"Agh!" The raider shielded his face with his off-hand, a second too late. "You little…!"
Leaping backwards drove him up to the air, and down onto the ground. Two large trails of dirt spammed the sliding, followed by the incessant tears in the air, caused by the ruffian's knife-swinging. "Damn it, this hurts!"
His hand almost rubbed his eyes once, but stopped himself at the last second.
… Noise all around me quieted down. Houses went up in flames, just like the temperature heating up my body.
Blue mist fluttered around my weapon's blade, strengthening it greatly.
The demon's swings grew wider and wider. Lunging forward to land a killing blow wouldn't be impossible… No, it wouldn't even be tough.
'..... To think Anne and Jack can see this as an easy choice.'
Shivers ran down my back. Chaos returned to blast my ears again, and the warmth from earlier dissipated.
Back to reality, the raider attempted to open his eyes multiple times, but pain shut them off quickly. Silently, I stepped forward.
At one point, he overswung the knife slightly. As it returned to the center…
One well-timed strike disabled that maneuver, whilst keeping his weapon outside the center. With that secured, I rushed to launch a kick with my left leg, aimed towards his unguarded knee.
The demon fell down. But only the follow-up attack, a fist straight to the nose, truly put him out of commission.
'That…'
I guess even a weak blow can knock someone down if it's well placed.
"Wait!"
'Hm?' That voice came from a few houses towards the left. It didn't sound positive, either.
I glanced at the body. '... It was a straight knockout. He'll be asleep for long enough.'
Yeah. Should be.
Hence, I ran towards the voice I heard earlier. The focus of destruction far down enabled me to get there uninterrupted, again.
In front of a house with a wrecked door, a well-dressed demon confronted a bandit holding a knocked out civilian. Both wore brown clothing, but the differences rose at a fairly early and obvious point: The formalities of the former, when compared to the combat uniform that clad the raider, overshone the visible combat pads.
"Regal, what do you think you're doing?!" One demon glared at a bandit holding a body. An unmoving one.
"My job, duh. Piss off and go back to your snotty base in that poppy-looking forest before I kick your ass back into that shithole." Claws rose from the bandit's arm, before plunging onto the body.
He ran off seconds later towards the conflict zone, leaving behind the well-dressed one.
".... Damn it, fucking idiot." He, too, left the area, but in the opposite direction.
Neither of them really minded the scene they left behind. Staring at it brought up a particularly concerning train of thought.
Once, I heard that huskies' severe fear of showers came from evolution. For a very long time, they'd live in cold areas, where falling into water meant an almost assured death. Their genetics assimilated it, leading to most of them being the way they are.
Applying a similar logic to Earth's humans not having the concept of "murder," naturalized… Our species' position as an "undisputed Apex Predator," only came after extended periods of being prey. Killing each other back then was severely detrimental to the species.
… If that is true, then why? Why can they act like that? Why can they be so indifferent to the act of killing a fellow member of their species, when they clearly have more than enough sentience and self-awareness?
'They should have evolved enough… Right?'
… What if they already started out as the "Apex Predators"?... Or worse yet, what if they didn't evolve?
"No, no, that's insanity. It's clearly… Impossible?"
If that were to be the case… Then why did that place exi-
Thump–
Just as I was, unconsciously, walking towards a corner, a blue figure bumped onto me, knocking me down. It fell in a similar fashion. 'No more thoughts, this is dangerous!!'
I did my best to get up, but my opponent was a tad faster.
"Don't you-... Eh? You're still here?"
The spiky bat, its oceanic appearance cruising alongside the waves of light, stayed centimeters away from my head. Cen-ti-me-ters.
'Wait, this is…?'
Rodion?
"Why haven't you left? You had a chance back then… Ugh, whatever…"
His grip… faltered. So did his gaze.
"... If you're wondering, I'm not with them."
The arms held on to his Ego. Nothing changed about their appearance, but the security shown by their grasp left tons of power to be desired judging by those recent faces…
"How can I trust you? Anyone could be a threat."
'He's still faltering, but if I screw up, I'm sure he'll be perfectly willing to attack me…'
My win condition revolved around avoiding that scenario. Not because I'd lose against him, but rather… A fight had the potential to catch the attention of more people. Most of which would probably kill me on sight.
"Walk ahead until you go past the second house. Turn left, and you'll find an unconscious bandit that I took the time to knock out."
The hostility slowly boiling up only intensified his glaring. Being unable to defend myself properly also turned out to be quite inconvenient.
"I can guide you there!" Those words carried some hesitance, but I only caught them a few seconds too late.
"... Lead the way."
So I did. He walked around 2 steps behind a demon with raised hands (in other words, me,) all while keeping his bat on top of my left shoulder.
This changed the moment we reached the spot I mentioned, as he had to put it down. The same didn't apply to his guard, but this looked enough like a win…
"I told you, didn't I?"
He scoffed in response. Yet, nothing was said in words. 'It happens-'
"Oi. Can you keep an eye out for this guy? I'll pay you when I return to get him."
Ah, wow. "Do I look like a caretaker now?" Bits of laughter slipped past my scarf. The spectre didn't receive them well.
"It won't be long. Just let me be done with this raid, and you'll get your cash."
… Ok, maybe I could get behind that deal. "Sure thing. Be careful, though. I'd appreciate it if my client didn't die so soon."
That got me a free angry stare. I guess he doesn't appreciate my sense of humour.
… Either way, I grabbed the unconscious raider and carried him to a safer spot, still nearby. As I stepped on the grass, thoughts arose, silencing the screaming.
'... I'm not Superman, or any sort of hero who could save millions. Far from it. However!'
That day, I saved a woman. That's meaningful, especially for me. "She's the first in this "third life," of mine… And I'll make sure she's the first of many more."