Lucian and Hoshiguma moved through the back alleys with practiced ease, heading deep into the Slums.
The place had been renovated by the locals into a full maze. An entire district of illegal constructions stood here like some kind of urban miracle.
Lucian only counted as half a local—he could never claim to fully understand the layout.
But even after being away for years, Hoshiguma navigated the twists and turns like she lived here yesterday. Lucian couldn't help being impressed.
"Hoshiguma, do you have an antenna inside that white radish on your head? How do you still remember all these routes?"
"Want to know?"
Her lips curled in a cocky grin. "Every brick in this place is stained with the blood I beat out of someone. Every mafia that ever hired me got swept down the sewer by the Rat King. I'm the only one left."
Lucian made a face. "Ugh. That's really unsanitary."
Hoshiguma wasn't a native of Lungmen—she was an Oni who once drifted here from the East.
Oni were famous for their violent strength. People in the East avoided them, and foreigners even more so.
But that same violence made them extremely popular with the underground mafia at the bottom of society.
Hoshiguma's wanderer nature and her simple loyalty to anyone who gave her shelter meant she once worked as muscle for groups resisting the Rat King.
In the Slums, she had never once lost. No matter how many thugs ganged up on her, none could injure her.
But the small groups she helped were a different story.
The Rat King was a kindly elder to Lucian, but ruled the Slums like an absolute monarch.
Thanks to Hoshiguma, many reckless little gangs dared to disrupt the balance—and the Rat King crushed all of them.
He didn't like people like her, who had the power to break his equilibrium and wouldn't obey anyone. His ideal Slums didn't need such unstable factors.
So Hoshiguma said deliberately, "If the Rat King finds out you're still hanging around me, he's going to think less of you."
"Didn't he want you to marry into his family? Lin Yuxia's a cute girl. You don't wanna have a litter of little mouse-Sankta with her?"
Lucian imagined it for half a second. "Sankta-mice… what would that even look like?"
If Yuxia sprouted a Halo and Light Wings, it might be cute—but also extremely weird.
Terra had many races, but a Sankta cross-species hybrid that broke reproductive barriers? No way.
Lucian laughed and shook his head. "Who I want to be with is my own business."
"I don't dislike Yuxia, but seeing her as a woman doesn't feel right. She's more like a little sister. If Mr. Lin thinks less of me because of that, honestly, good. Maybe he'll finally let me go."
"Hmm… a 'little sister', huh." Hoshiguma gave him a pointed look.
She knew full well how Lucian treated Swire.
Last time he nearly went all the way with her in a hotel room—they practically made it to the finish line.
Swire and Yuxia were Childhood Friends, same age, inseparable before high school. The kind of close where they could literally share one pair of stockings.
To Lucian, it seemed Swire was acceptable—but Yuxia wasn't.
But all it would take was the right opportunity.
This man didn't realize how many women he'd attracted. Sooner or later, one of them was going to stab him over it.
Hoshiguma muttered, "I guess I'm an exception, huh? Brothers are brothers no matter how things change. This idiot would never think anything weird about—mm."
"What was that?" Lucian glanced at her.
Hoshiguma grinned and slung an arm around his shoulders, her tone like a wise, overbearing big sister.
"Listen, kid. Settle down with a woman already, will you? I wanna hold your kid sometime soon."
Lucian's smile died. "Then go have one yourself… and stop calling me 'kid'."
He took it as one of Hoshiguma's usual jokes.
Talking and reminiscing, the two eventually walked into an abandoned-park-like clearing.
Bricks, sand, and broken furniture were piled everywhere, surrounded by the walls of deserted buildings—a forgotten pocket inside the noisy city.
Hoshiguma stretched her arms. "How do you wanna fight? If you want a real match, you can use both Gun and blade."
"No thanks. Using a Gun will draw Mr. Lin's people."
Lucian cracked his knuckles, excited. "Besides, I wanna see if my blade can break Hoshiguma's Hannya."
"Big words, brat."
She laughed proudly, then slammed her massive shield into the ground.
Hoshiguma never used a sword or blade. Her weapon had always been this colossal shield—Hannya.
Carved into its front was the snarling face of the famous Eastern Hannya demon: said to be born from a woman consumed by jealousy.
Hoshiguma herself didn't seem the jealous type, but a demon woman wielding a demon-faced shield had an overwhelming presence all the same.
Lucian summoned his own weapons.
His Halo flashed. Light Wings spread behind him, and seven red Originium blades—each a different size—materialized around him.
Hoshiguma blinked, curious. "So this is Rhine Lab's newest tech. Interesting stuff."
"What makes them float?"
"Normally you'd implant chips all over your body and brain, then control them with movement and Brainwaves," Lucian said.
"But I'm… a bit different."
He grabbed the two longest floating blades like single-handed swords.
The others drifted around him with eerie, almost living motion.
Lucian grinned, showing off. "Just like El doesn't need her hands to fire her Gun, I can control Originium Weapons directly with my Halo."
"That's why Rhine Lab lets me freeload. I get good weapons, they get useful data. Win–win."
"Hmm…" Hoshiguma didn't sound impressed.
She wasn't fond of high-tech weapons—like an old lady who refused to use smartphones.
She drew a line in the dirt with Hannya, then stepped forward.
"Come whenever you want. If you can push me back past this line, you pass."
Lucian smirked. "Don't underestimate me, Hoshiguma. And this is boring—we should bet on something."
"If I win, you'll get Inspector Ch'en drunk next time and call me over. Deal?"
Hoshiguma snorted. "You little brat. Trying to loot Ch'en's corpse? Ran out of ink for your 'magic stick' and looking to refill it?"
"It hasn't run out! It'll never run out!"
Lucian waved his hands frantically. "I'm just trying to get a few photos for blackmail. Croissant told me Swire's phone number alone could sell for a fortune. Drunk photos of Ch'en could buy me a house."
"But I'm not a monster—I won't take anything indecent. And you can check them afterward. Inspector Ch'en's a real beauty already—even her blushing face would be incredible."
"......Oh? Is that so?"
Hoshiguma's aura changed.
Her smile grew brighter—too bright. Her golden eyes no longer contained a shred of warmth.
She spun Hannya—its sharp metal edge slicing through the air like that of a blade.
"Is that so? Ch'en's a beauty, huh? Doesn't even need to show anything, just her face is enough to captivate you? She's that pretty? Funny, I must have missed that."
"Uh—uh…?"
Lucian shrank back as his floating blades trembled. "H-Hoshiguma, calm down."
"I just meant Ch'en Hui-chieh never smiles. Always stiff and tense—it must be exhausting."
"The part about selling the photos was a joke! I just want to tease her a bit… A-Alright, how about this: If I win, you take a private photo of Ch'en for me. Or even just a regular police uniform one! I trust your taste—no matter how you shoot her, it'll look amazing!"
"Quiet."
Hoshiguma spoke the single word.
She grabbed Hannya's handle and stopped its spinning instantly.
Her smile turned dazzling—dangerously so.
"Lucian. Since you call me 'big sis', let me teach you something."
"When a man reaches your level of scumbag, every day he survives is a mercy from women!"