City street, north side of Cardio City.
The late afternoon sun slanted between tall buildings, casting long, deep shadows across the grimy pavement. The air smelled of exhaust, damp brick, and distant refuse.
Liam moved with silent precision, a shadow among shadows, followed closely by a girl with long, shimmering blue hair that caught the fading light. They darted from doorway to alley mouth, their footsteps barely whispers on the concrete.
"You sure make a huge mess, huh, Liam?" Narcisa murmured, her voice low but carrying a note of dry amusement. She adjusted the strap of her small bag. "You better protect me properly."
"Yes, I'm aware of my responsibilities," Liam replied, his voice a calm counterpoint to the tension thrumming in the air. His eyes scanned the intersecting alley ahead.
They pressed flat against a cold brick wall as heavy footsteps approached. A Serpent's Slaughter member lumbered past their hiding spot, his gaze sweeping lazily.
"They're not here!" the man called out gruffly to unseen companions further down the street.
"Alright, let's check another place," a distant voice answered.
Liam's shadow pooled at his feet, thickening into a hand-like shape. It shot forward silently, clamping over the man's mouth. A brutal twist, a muffled gasp, and the body crumpled. Liam dragged it to a dented garbage bin and heaved it inside.
"Clean as usual," Narcisa said, crossing her arms. "Do you even need my help?"
"What I'm worried about are not people like them," Liam said, already moving toward the next intersection.
"Huh, I guess that makes sense," Narcisa said, keeping pace. "Someone like that new member then? A guy named Noah or something?"
"Exactly," Liam said.
They halted at a branching path. Voices echoed nearby—sharp, urgent.
"Hey, Bob suddenly disappeared!" a Serpent's Slaughter member shouted. "And he didn't pick up his phone!"
"Did he ditch his job?" others asked.
"Wait, I think I heard his phone ringtone," one replied.
They followed the sound, stopping at the garbage bin.
"Inside the garbage box?" they gulped.
An idea began to form in their minds.
"Open it up," the oldest member ordered, nudging a younger man forward.
Slowly they opened it and then they saw the corpse.
"It's Bob! He's dead!" he said in panic.
They were so focused on the garbage box that they didn't notice Liam appeared behind them.
When they looked back, Liam's hands—covered in darkness—pierced three chests in quick succession. Hearts stopped mid-beat.
"Three more down," Narcisa said. "Not bad."
"But there's still plenty of them," Liam said, wiping blood from his fingers.
"This is why you should add more members," Narcisa said, waving a dismissive hand. "So you don't need to bother with small fries like them. Especially because I'm here." She emphasized the last word.
"But I hate the idea of letting just any random person join us," Liam said.
"Yet you're okay letting a suspicious guy like Noah join?" Narcisa said. "You have a stupid standard."
Liam offered a faint, almost imperceptible smile. "I guess I am."
"Hmph! Do what you want then," Narcisa sniffed, turning her head away.
The sharp clatter of multiple boots on concrete echoed suddenly from both ends of the alley they stood in.
"Their allies are here," Narcisa stated, her playful tone vanishing.
"From the sound of it, they come from all sides," Liam assessed, his posture shifting subtly into a defensive stance. He positioned himself slightly in front of Narcisa. "I guess I need to fight them all directly now."
"No choice then," Narcisa sighed, the sound resigned but not fearful. She took a deliberate step forward and placed her palm flat against Liam's back. Her voice dropped, imbued with quiet power. "I assign you as my knight."
A soft, pure white light blossomed where her hand met Liam's jacket. It spread rapidly, engulfing his entire form in a gentle, luminous aura that pulsed once, then settled, clinging to him like a second skin. The air hummed faintly.
"Thanks," Liam said. He flexed his fingers; power thrummed visibly within the light surrounding them.
"Forget it," Narcisa said, crossing her arms again, though her eyes held a fierce protective glint. She retreated a step behind him. "Just end this quickly."
"Will do," Liam replied, the white aura flaring slightly as the first Serpent's Slaughter member charged from the left, swinging a heavy pipe.
Liam moved. It was less a dodge and more a blur. His fist, wreathed in white light, connected with the attacker's jaw. The impact echoed like a gunshot. The man flew backwards, crashing into a dumpster before he hit the ground.
The other members emerging from both alleys froze for a split second, shock registering on their faces.
"Attack him!" a brawny man near the front yelled, recovering first. He lunged, a switchblade gleaming in his hand. Liam sidestepped the clumsy thrust with effortless grace.
The first attacker groaned, pushing himself up from the dumpster. Blood streamed from his shattered nose, but his eyes were dazed yet determined.
"You okay?" an ally near him asked, wary.
He answered with a grunt and a shaky nod, wiping blood on his sleeve.
"Don't hesitate!" the brawny man roared, regaining his comrades' attention. "He's Liam, the leader of Joker Roulette!"
"Damn, look below him!" another voice shrieked, pointing at the three bodies near the garbage bin. "He already killed three of our men!"
Liam was surrounded. Six guys prepared to attack, and he needed to protect Narcisa behind him.
Why Liam needed to protect her was not just because she was an important member of Joker Roulette; it was because of her power.
Narcisa's power is called White Knight. She can assign someone as her knight. People who get assigned as a knight will gain a boost in their offense, defense, speed, stamina, and even regeneration.
So, even a normal person will become super strong when assigned as her knight. In theory, her knights can keep fighting forever because their stamina will keep being replenished, and their wounds will keep healing.
The only downside is that as a knight, they need to protect Narcisa at all costs. If she gets hurt, the damage will be transferred to all her knights as well.
In other words, if Narcisa dies, all her knights will die too.
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