Liz exhaled roughly.
“I always thought I was doing what was best for my little sister. But here, in this place...” She swallowed her words momentarily, shifting her gaze to the burned-down orphanage. “I was everyone’s big sister.”
“And?” Dalitz asked, visibly irritated.
“And I’m going to protect everyone’s home,” she declared. “I won’t let a man like you take it away!”
He laughed. “Pathetic. I’ll eradicate every last pest from the surface myself.” He swung the scrap wood directly over Liz’s head.
I have to dodge. Liz knew that, but her body wouldn’t move, and her eyes involuntarily closed.
Yet the moment of impact never came.
Tentatively, she opened her eyes, and saw a man, with black hair and dressed in a cloak dark as night, blocking the piece of wood with his right hand. She knew that back, those shoulders—it was a boy she’d once known, now grown taller than her.
“Glad I made it,” he said. “Ran like hell using Enhance Legs, but it was worth it.”
“Zenos? Why?” Liz breathed.
“We’ll talk about that later,” he answered simply before taking a step toward Dalitz. “You know, back when we lived here, Liz was always protecting the rest of us.”
As the eldest, as their older sister, she would jump in front of the children to protect them. But now that boy, who back then had been far too small, was the one standing before her.
Turning his familiar face to her, Zenos said, “It’s my turn to protect you, Liz.”
***
On the outskirts of the slums, in the western mountains, Zenos faced the man who had once been the director of the now burned-down orphanage. He was still pale as a corpse and just as slender as the healer remembered him, but now had two out-of-place muscular arms sprouting from his back, writhing as though in search of prey.
“Ironic to confront you here of all places, huh?” Zenos asked.
“Who the hells are you?” Dalitz demanded, brows furrowed.
“Huh? You seriously don’t remember me? I was here for a while too. Damn.” Liz had said his name and everything!
“Hmph. An orphan whelp. I only remember those who were useful to me—” Dalitz cut himself off, looking Zenos over. “A black cloak. I see. So you’re the healer Liz mentioned. The fake ‘ruler’ of the slums. What a farce.”
“Uh, I mean, that’s on you for assuming, so...”
Dalitz stepped forward, his gaze betraying no emotion. “What does a measly healer want from me? I thought Liz had failed to enthrall you.”
“I’m not enthralled or anything. Normally I stay out of trouble, but this time I came of my own volition.”
“You’ve come all this way to die? How commendable.” Dalitz used the arms on his back to pick up a sturdy piece of scrap, swinging it effortlessly. “You think a lowly healer can do anything?”
“You’re right. I’m a lowly healer. I’m not a combat specialist, and I’m not used to being on the front lines.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I came here because I owe Liz, not because I have a personal grudge against you— Wait, no. No, actually, I have a giant grudge against you.” Thinking back, this man was the reason behind the harsh conditions of Zenos’s childhood. “But if you’re good, let Liz go without a fuss, and scurry on back to your underground, I’ll leave you be.”
“Absolutely not. Do not give me orders, boy. You say you were at my orphanage? Show me some respect. I’m the king of this place.”
“Sorry to say, but nobody ever taught me how to show respect. If only there had been adults around here to do that.”
Dalitz stopped, brushing his hair back, his face expressionless. “You said your name is Zenos, right? You see, I don’t like being out in the open.”
“What a coincidence! Me neither.”
“I believe, as someone from the Black Guild especially, I shouldn’t be even hinting at my face, appearance, name, or even existence. Being known is a disadvantage in and of itself.” His voice dropped lower, and he crouched slightly. “Meaning, I can’t let you walk out of here alive.”
“Liz, stay back!” Zenos yelled, covering the older woman just in time to take a powerful blow to the back of his head.
Amid the scattering shards of wood, Zenos turned around, unharmed.
“What?” Dalitz asked, frowning slightly. “You’re fine? But how? Aren’t you just a healer?”
“Just a plain ol’ healer, yes.”
“There’s no such thing as healing magic to nullify damage. What’s happening? Do you also know protective magic?!” Dalitz picked up scattered debris one after another, lunging forward with powerful strikes.
Some Zenos dodged, some he caught with his bare hands, but either way he remained unscathed. But since the impact still traveled internally, continuing to take hits wasn’t wise. And, of course, “You know, getting beat with a stick is bad for my mental health. It reminds me of when I lived here,” he quipped. “Enhance Legs.”
A pale light wrapped around Zenos’s legs, and with the enhancement spell boosting his abilities, he closed the distance in an instant, thrusting forward with an empowered punch.
“Ugh!” Instinctively, Dalitz arched his upper body, and the punch only grazed his shoulder. Nevertheless, it seemed quite effective, as it sent him leaping back a significant distance. He gripped his shoulder, grimacing in pain. “What was that?! Did you just use enhancement magic? What in blazes are you?”
“Like I said, I’m just a healer.” But now that he thought about it, the adults at this place never had listened to the kids.
