Ryuji was willing to believe in the so-called passionate spirit of an anime protagonist....especially that of a shoujo manga heroine.
People often said the heroes in battle manga were the true "cheat code users," but in reality, those steadfast, love-driven heroines in shoujo manga could pull off miracles just as absurd.
If Ryuji remembered correctly, the girl standing before him had been someone quite extraordinary in her past life....
Something about manipulating time and space, wasn't it?
How nice, he thought, watching the determined expression on Usagi's face, nodding to himself with quiet approval.
"I used to have something like that too," he muttered under his breath and then remembered how that skill had been nerfed by the damn developers.
He couldn't help but complain inwardly. The déjà vu was just too real.
A player triggers a bug, the system freaks out, bans their ability and then promises "compensation" that turns out to be complete nonsense.
So where was his compensation?
If it's not instant and satisfying, what kind of compensation was that supposed to be?
"Well then," Ryuji said aloud, "I've seen your passion. Starting tomorrow, after school, you'll come to my place for training. Makoto knows where I live. Don't overthink how she knows, it's just a coincidence that I happened to move there."
He glanced at Makoto and the other Sailor Guardians nodded, but their worried glances toward her didn't go unnoticed.
Makoto, who definitely had something on her mind, tried to keep a serious face. Inside, though, she was thrilled. That "hero saves the beauty" feeling was intoxicating.
If the others hadn't been there, she might have thrown herself into Ryuji's arms right then and there. After all, he had saved her twice now!
Twice.... Ryuji had shown up right in time.
"All right then, I'll walk you girls home," Ryuji decided.
Even though the World Power had been heavily wounded and the physical form it had painstakingly built had dissolved, there was still some danger left.
But before he could move, Rei stepped forward.
"That won't be necessary. We still have some things to discuss among ourselves."
After she finished speaking, she realized a moment later how defensive that sounded, and immediately bowed in apology.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Ryuji. It's not that we don't trust you, but we really do have matters to discuss."
Usagi scratched her head, confused.
"What? But I'm so sleepy… Didn't we already settle everything?"
Before she could finish, Rei quickly clamped a hand over her mouth.
Then, with an apologetic smile, Rei looked back at Ryuji.
"I really am sorry, Mr. Ryuji. We just need to have a short internal discussion about today."
"I understand," Ryuji said, giving an easygoing OK gesture.
He wasn't offended... in fact, Rei's composure made her even more interesting to him.
This girl is indeed the mature one.
Besides, though their energy was depleted for now, the five of them still had enough transformation power to escape if needed.
And with his current sensitivity to the World Power, Ryuji could ensure their safety from afar.
After all...
"I left something behind this time."
He wasn't quite sure how his sword aura had embedded itself into the essence of the World power,but it had. And he could trigger that aura in an instant whenever the World power reappeared...a safeguard for the girls.
Unfortunately, the World power had vanished who-knows-where for now. Otherwise, he would've made sure to teach it a painful lesson.
Still, Ryuji watched as the girls walked off together and from a distance, he discreetly tailed Makoto all the way to her home before finally turning back.
He couldn't help it... those girls were simply too important.
And yet…
"In the end, I didn't even get the so-called reward."
He grumbled as he unlocked his front door.
But the moment he stepped inside, he was stunned.
There were burglars inside his house.
And worse, they were holding Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki hostage!
Ryuji recognized Sonoko immediately. After all, any girl walking beside Ran Mouri with that trademark headband and short hairstyle could only be Sonoko Suzuki.
He saw everything clearly: in his living room, a typical-looking thug held a kitchen knife pressed against Sonoko's throat. Ran, meanwhile, was lying on the floor, bound tightly with ropes, her mouth gagged.
"What the hell…?"
Ryuji was stunned for a moment, but his body moved faster than his thoughts.
In a burst of superhuman speed, he appeared right in front of the burglar. The man didn't even have time to react and his instincts made him drag the knife toward Sonoko's neck, but he was nowhere near fast enough.
Ryuji's hand shot out, catching the blade mid-swing. A split second later, his fist crashed into the burglar's face with brutal force, sending the man flying across the room.
But at the same time, something that shocked Ryuji happened.
The fruit knife had cut his hand.
At a strange, almost perfect angle, the blade had slipped through his defense...slicing open the skin of his palm and drawing blood. What shocked him was something like a fruit knife shouldn't be able to cut his skin.
"How… how is that possible?!"
Ryuji stared in disbelief at the blood spilling from his hand. His instincts kicked in, he tried to use Life Return to heal the wound but it didn't work.
Some unknown substance lingering on the wound was blocking his regeneration.
The world is interfering with me?!
That chilling thought made his expression harden instantly.
Sonoko stood frozen, staring blankly at Ryuji's cold, sharp expression. Her heart skipped a beat and then started pounding wildly.
Ryuji didn't notice her reaction. Acting on instinct, he raised his injured hand, intending to burn away the strange residue with his Dragonfire. But before he could do so, Sonoko caught sight of the hideous gash across his palm.
"Your hand!" she gasped, panic rising in her voice. Without hesitation, she grabbed his hand tightly, her grip trembling.
"Ran! Call an ambulance quickly!" she shouted.
Ran, still tied up and gagged on the floor: "???"
"I'm fine," Ryuji said flatly. "No need for an ambulance."
He gently pulled his hand from Sonoko's grasp. Dragonfire flickered across his skin, golden-red light licking at the wound.
Under Sonoko's stunned gaze, the torn flesh began to knit itself together until it was perfectly healed, as if the injury had never existed.
Ran's eyes widened in pure disbelief as she watched from the floor.
"Are you okay, Ran?"
Ryuji let out a quiet sigh of relief once the wound on his hand had fully healed. He crouched down beside Ran and began untying the ropes that bound her but as he leaned closer, something caught his attention.
A small detail.
Ran's ear… now had a piercing.
"You're wearing earrings?" he asked subconsciously.
But before she could answer, a strange message suddenly flashed through his mind.
[System Notification: Your reward has been delivered and received.]
~~~~~~~~~~
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