"Agh!" I yelled out.
I stood there breathing in and out heavily before grabbing my head with my hand.
I remember what happened, I was shot. But I didn't have time to process it any further as I heard footsteps approaching me quickly.
"I'm gonna cut your head off, you wanna-be comedian!!!"
"!!!"
Alerted by the man's yell I reflexively dashed back to avoid his blade.
This situation... There's no doubt about it, I went back!
Not giving me a moment to breath, the man keeps wildly swinging his blade at me.
I didn't have any time to worry about what just happened. I needed to focus on the situation happening right now.
And the first thing I needed to watch out for is the blade. Close dodges aren't going to be enough this time. We've already seen that even the smallest of cuts can do.
I can't afford to let the blade touch me even for a bit, or I'd end up paralyzed and be an easy target for the next man. I have to win flawlessly this time.
As I continued to dodge his attacks, I noticed something.
Strangely enough, after the previous confrontation, this one felt easier now.
I can time my dodges better this time around. All of his swings ended up hitting nothing but air.
It was as if I was predicting his every move.
"I've already seen this, and this, and even this!"
That's when I realized that I've already memorized his blade's movements. Down to the smallest detail.
Whoa... I'm awesome!
I said in my mind.
Feeling his frustration, I anticipated his wide swing and threw him to the ground like before and put him in a chokehold.
"I've seen everything..."
Just like before, the man punched my side, but wasn't able to hurt me that much. Until finally, he lost consciousness and his hand went limp.
It was a clean victory this time around, but I wasn't out of the woods yet. I knew that the man's partner will undoubtedly get out of the van.
Before that happened, I immediately stood up and dashed toward the van and grabbed the girl who was inside to make a run for it.
I sprinted as fast as I could to reach a crowded place as I carried the trembling child in my arms.
I ran harder than I ever had before. As I came close to reaching the corner to escape, a large cloud of smoke appeared in front of me to block my way before solidifying into the form of the man in the green jacket to deliver a strike.
"Ugh!"
I fell down on the ground, being careful not to let the girl get hurt.
When I looked up, I saw the face of the other man who was sitting behind the driver's seat.
His expression was showing a mild annoying towards me.
"I'd admit, you surprised me there, boy... But I believe that's quite enough."
How did he catch up to me so fast?!
The smoke I saw... Was that his perk?!
Clicking my tongue I yelled at him.
"Just why the hell are you doing this?! She's just a kid!"
"I have no time for your questions. Nor anytime to deal with your self-righteousness."
The man said as he reached into his jacket. Knowing that he'll pull out a gun, I let go of the girl and quickly stood back up to grab the man's hand, preventing him from taking anything out before headbutting him, making him stumble.
"Argh!"
He grabbed his nose that was now bleeding.
Seeing this, I tackled the man down before telling the girl to run away. But try as I might, she wouldn't budge. Her legs were shaking uncontrollably as she was still shell shocked.
With a mix of anger and annoyance, I raised my voice towards her.
"DAMMIT, I SAID RUN!!!"
My yell snapped her out of her panicked state as tears formed in her eyes before she ran away crying.
"How cute..."
While I wasn't paying attention, the man took advantage of my slight shift in focus and slipped his hand away to strike, pushing me back and loosening my hold enough for him to stand up
"Argh!"
I quickly stood back up to return a strike of my own.
But unexpectedly, my fist went through the man as his body transformed into smoke, making me hit the wall behind him instead. I let out a yell as I grabbed my hand from the pain.
Seeing that I was distracted, the man hit me again, making me stumble and lean on the wall.
"I must admit, you're pretty good yourself!" The man told me, his voice sounding full of anger.
Realizing that I was cornered, I covered my face to block as I was hit by several combinations of punches and kicks.
"But you're still lacking in several areas!"
I successfully blocked the strikes but made a fatal mistake on my part as I focused too much on defending my head that I neglected my body.
Taking advantage of my weakness, the man hit my stomach with his knee, making me buckle and fall on my knees from the pain.
I clutch my stomach before being kicked down again. My glasses, falling off as its frame snapped from the force of the kick.
I curled up into a ball on the ground while the man repeatedly stomped on me. Most of his hits, being aimed towards my head.
"This is what happens to immature brats that want to play hero! You helped that girl, but failed to protect yourself! Are you proud of yourself now?!"
The main yelled at me as the anger from his voice flowed out.
He didn't care about the girl anymore. All that mattered right now was to vent his frustrations on me after I damaged his pride.
But despite then pain, I calmly watched his movements while trying to block his hits.
Just wait, he'll go for a wide swing soon... I feel it...
THERE!
The man tried to finish me off with a full powered stomp to my head. Unfortunately for him, that stomp was slow and I was able to roll out of the way.
Without skipping a beat, while still laying on the ground, I grabbed the leg he used to stomp on me and wrapped my limbs around it, making him stumble off balance.
[Jiu Jitsu, Ankle Lock!]
This was the move I was aiming for! With this, I can break his ankle and he won't be able to-
"Huh?"
As quickly as I grabbed his leg, I felt it disappear into thin air as it turned into smoke.
I laid there confused, before looking up to see the man's enraged face.
"Did you really think you'd win with that?!"
"!!!"
Seeing my face that was wide open, the man kicked it hard and knocked the wind out of me.
It took every amount of will power I had left not to get knocked out.
My vision was hazy, my ears were ringing and I was disoriented.
The man pulled on my uniform's collar as he prepared to take his frustrations out on me again. But this time, I didn't have the strength to defend myself anymore.
Despite getting so close, I still didn't win.
I knew that I was going to get killed again...
To whoever's out there, if I do loop back, I'll try to do better... So please, just one more time...
"You're dead, boy."
I desperately tried to block but was too slow.
The man threw his fist full of bloodlust towards my face, making a crunching sound as flesh and bone violently collided.
Without any shred of pity, the man hit me again and again and again...
Each punch, pushing me closer and closer to the brink of death. The fact that I was still somehow conscious was a miracle.
It was as if I was still holding on to a sliver of hope.
As he drew his fist one more time, both of us were sure that this last hit would kill me. He had decided that he would put all of his bodyweight into the strike to guarantee it.
But before he had the chance to swing, a familiar voice spoke from a few meters away...
"...Aran...?"
Hearing this, I opened my swollen eyes as much as I possibly could to see...
Despite my vision being blurry, and the rain obstructing the view, I still recognized him.
That golden—blonde hair...
It was Elio.
__________________________________________________
A few minutes earlier....
Elio was for Aran to get back to the table for them to eat together. As he sat there quietly, he noticed that Aran forgot to bring his umbrella with him.
Seeing that it was raining hard outside, he decided to look for Aran, assuming that he must be taking shelter outside.
Before doing so, he asked a nearby waitress to watch over their food while he was gone.
Despite being intimidated by the boy's appearace she still agreed.
And so, Elio went to find Aran.
Walking through the street, he noticed a little girl with a red backpack hiding fearfully with tears in her eyes. Worrying a little, he decided to approach her.
"Hey, are you alright?" He asked softly
But as the little girl saw his eyes, she started to shiver in fear and cry even harder.
Being the experienced older brother that Elio was, he knew exactly what to do when dealing with younger children.
Taking out one of the stuffed toys he hid in his pocket, he spoke with a high pitched tone, pretending as if the toy was talking to the girl.
"Hello! I'm Snowball, the magic Polar Bear! What's wrong, friend? Little kids shouldn't be out this late alone!"
As the girl's attention shifted towards the toy, she calmed down enough to tell Elio what happened.
"B-bad men tried to take me with them! I was so scared!"
The girl said before she started to bawl out, crying.
Realizing just how serious the situation was, Elio's heart dropped as he continued to ask more questions.
Abandoning his Polar Bear act, he spoke in his normal voice, but in a soft, comforting way that an older brother would have.
"I see... It must've been scary... Do you know where these bad men are? How'd you manage to get away?"
"In—sniff, the parking lot b-behind the store with the giant earphones... A kind big brother helped me get away..."
The little girl said as she continued to cry, snot filling her nose.
"Big brother?"
"Y-yes...! Please help him!"
The little girl said as she buried her face in her palms and cried even louder.
Trying to calm her down, Elio patted her head and smiled gently.
"Alright, I'll help him. I Promise."
Seeing the sight of the two, a nearby traffic guard approached Elio and the girl to ask what was going on.
The moment Elio turned around, the traffic guard flinched as he made eye contact with him.
Seeing him, Elio asked the guard for a favor.
"Sorry, I don't have much time to explain! Can you watch over this girl for me?"
A bit nervous, the guard fixed his hat before saying "Sure" as he looked at Elio.
"Thanks!"
Elio said as he got into a runner stance.
The next moment, there were blinding flashes of static electricity emanating from Elio's legs before he dashed away in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a loud thundering sound.
The traffic guard and the girl were left stunned as he instantly disappeared from their sight like a bolt of lightning.
Running through the city streets, Elio ran up the walls to avoid the risk of running into someone.
"Behind the store with giant earphones... She must've been talking about the music store in 5th Street... I need to hurry up."
Lowering his center of gravity, Elio sped up as he increased the output of his ability.
"Over there!"
Jumping down, he landed behind the wall leading up to the parking lot.
Taking a deep breath, he walked around the corner and saw the gruesome and violent sight of a man pummeling someone repeatedly to the point where his face was bleeding and swollen.
As the sight of this, he felt a chill run down his spine. Despite that, he knew that he needed to help.
As he approached the man, his heart sank.
Despite the boy's face being swollen, Elio still recognized him.
It was the face of someone who despite Elio's intimidating appearance, still treated him kindly and willingly became friends with him.
"...Aran...?"
Seeing the sight of someone he considered a good friend be cruelly beaten to near death, Elio's initial feelings of fear were overpowered by anger as he tightly balled his hands up into a fist.
Gritting his teeth, he warned the man with aggression in his voice.
"Let him go now!"
"Huh?!"
Letting go of Aran's collar, the man threw him to the ground, making Aran hit his head. Seeing this, Elio's anger intensified as he cracked his knuckles.
"Ahahahaha! You seem to be misunderstanding something. This bastard attacked me and my partner first. So I would appreciate it if you were to walk away as if nothing ever happened-"
Before the man could say another word, Elio instantly closed the distance between the two of them to deliver a strike as quick and powerful as a lightning bolt.
The strike was so fast that the man had no time to react and flew several feet before crashing into a wall.
His nose was broken and his teet were shattered beyond belief.
The battle was over in less than a second.
This was Elio's ability. To enhance his physical abilities to the extreme with his power to control electricity.
Ever since he was young, many people tried to pick fights with Elio. But in every altercation, he always won. Finishing battles before the opponent even had time to react.
With his ability to move as fast as lightning, a nickname was given to the boy by the local delinquents.
[The Thundering Demon]