Thel swung his knife, the blade only a finger's breadth away from Noen's eye.
Noen squeezed his eyes shut.
— This is it.
He's going to hit me.—
But before the blade could reach his face, something completely unexpected happened.
A shadow fell from above.
A figure leapt down from the rooftop edge of the alley, moving with the elegance of a predator and the force of a falling boulder.
Before Thel could react, a precise, brutal kick struck the side of his neck.
WHAM!
Thel's body was hurled sideways, smashing hard against the wall next to them, then collapsing half-unconscious to the ground. Knives dripped out of his hands and dissolved into watery droplets as they fell.
Noen's eyes widened.
He stared at the man who had seemingly fallen straight out of the sky.
— Wait… a colorful shirt… flowers in all kinds of colors… — Noen thought, confused.
— Rhuven? He wears stuff like that.—
The man hadn't turned around yet.
He stood with legs wide apart, hands on his hips, as if waiting for applause.
"Rhuven? Is that you?" Noen asked hesitantly.
The guy turned around.
It wasn't Rhuven.
Not even close.
In front of him stood a tall, slender guy with an extremely oval head, shaved so smooth it gleamed in the light. His face was full of energy, almost childlike.
He beamed at Noen.
"Hello, boy! Got yourself into a bit of trouble here, didn't you? Hehahaha!"
His laugh was light, cheerful, almost musical.
"Rhuven told us you were strong. Are you not? Hehehaha!"
He didn't say it in a threatening or angry tone — more like someone sharing a joke only he understood.
Noen blinked.
He didn't know what to feel.
He was still half dead with fear, exhausted, confused… and now this.
"Wait… you know Rhuven? Are you part of the Black Synod?"
The man made a small hop, as if someone had just complimented him.
"Hehehaha, indeed I am, my boy! My name is Saevin! Hehehaha!"
He gave a small bow, like an actor finishing his performance.
Noen said in a slightly annoyed, strangely baffled tone,
"Wait… you're not telling me this is the Black Synod's uniform, right?"
He stared at Saevin, completely confused.
Saevin spread his arms as if Noen had just complimented the most beautiful thing in the world.
"It is! Don't you like it? I think it's wonderfuuuull! Hehehahaha!"
He spun around once, letting the colorful flower patterns of his shirt flutter as if it were some royal robe.
Noen blinked, almost annoyed:
"Anyway… could you please remove the knives here?"
"Oh! Of course, of course, my boy! Hehehaha!"
Saevin snapped his fingers — an unnecessarily dramatic gesture — and pulled the two knives out from beside Noen's arms and neck.
He stuffed them into his comically oversized pocket.
Saevin then turned toward Thel.
"Then let's take a closer look at this guy, hehehahah—"
"Watch out!" Noen shouted immediately. "He can turn his tears into knives! Who knows if he is really unconscious! "
Saevin froze for a moment.
Then raised an eyebrow.
"Knives from tears?"
He laughed. "Hehehahaha, now that's a funny mini god power! Hehehaha!"
Noen stared at him.
— Dude, you could take this a little more seriously… I nearly died here! —