"Huh… huh… damn it, that guy is persistent." He glanced back and saw no one. He walked slowly to the damp alley wall, then leaned against it, panting. He took a bottle of mineral water from his jacket pocket and chugged it greedily.
"But that doesn't mean he can catch me, an experienced thief," he said with a smug, triumphant smile.
He glanced at the two white phone boxes beside him. "Lucky me. One trip out, and I score two of the latest iPhone models. And of course, they're not connected to iCloud yet." He smiled again.
"With the money from this sale, I can buy that 'stuff' again and survive for another month."
He pulled off the hood of his jacket and his mask. "But running around in the winter is still pretty hot, huh."
"Oh? I thought you would have run much farther."
Suddenly, he heard an unfamiliar voice that seemed to speak right behind him.
THUMP!
He immediately stood up, snatched the two phone boxes, and prepared to flee. But when he turned, he saw the alley in front of him was a dead end.
He clicked his tongue.
"Tch. You're pretty good to have chased me this far. I think I've run almost two kilometers from that phone store," he said with a displeased expression to the young man in front of him.
He pulled a knife from his coat pocket and brandished it. "You shouldn't have chased me. You've made a big mistake. You should have just let the phones go. That way, you'd only lose your phones. But now… you're going to lose your life too. Too bad, dying here, you kid."
He lunged forward, aiming the knife straight at the young man's neck.
His eyes narrowed. Not dodging? Is he in shock from my sudden move? In the end, he's just a kid. He smiled faintly.
KREEEKKK!
CLACK!
"Huh?"
What happened?
He immediately jumped back and saw his trusty knife… broken in two. He saw the broken pieces of his knife lying next to the young man's feet.
Did I just hallucinate? I'm sure I hit his neck, and at that moment… the knife suddenly broke? He directed his gaze to the young man who was now smiling coldly.
"No! That's impossible! There's no way a soft human neck could break a knife made of iron!" He immediately shook his head in a panic. "It must be this cheap knife! Tch, useless piece of junk! It shatters just from cutting a kid's neck!"
He threw the knife handle to the ground, then pulled out another knife from his left pocket.
"You can't hurt me with that trashy knife, you know."
"Only a Level 70 Mythical-tier weapon can hurt me. And that's if I deliberately deactivate my Barrier skill, like I did with you just now." Arthur tilted his head slightly, pointed at the thief with his finger, and smiled coldly.
"So… what do you want to do now, little thief?"
"What are you talking about?!" the thief shouted.
"Spouting nonsense like that won't save your life here!"
"Die, kid!" He lunged forward again, this time aiming his knife at the young man's heart.
Arthur didn't dodge, just stood there.
Then…
KREEEKK!
The same thing happened. The moment the tip of the knife passed through the fabric of Arthur's jacket and was about to pierce his skin, the blade suddenly shattered into pieces, as if it had hit a very hard stone surface.
A look of disbelief spread across the thief's face. He couldn't believe there was someone in this world who could withstand a knife stab with their own body. He backed away slowly.
"Impossible… impossible! This impossible thing can't be happening! You… you must be wearing a layer of iron under that jacket, right?! Damn it!"
He swung his fist at the young man's face.
"Eh."
Arthur caught the arm easily, gripping it tightly, and looked at the thief with a displeased expression. "I think you've had your fun attacking me, haven't you? Now… it's my turn."
CRACK!
Arthur twisted the arm easily, pulling it until it broke and tore from its shoulder.
"AHHHHHH!"
A loud, painful scream escaped the thief's mouth. He grimaced in pain, trying to cover the gaping hole in his shoulder. Blood flowed profusely, making him dizzy, nauseous, and in immense pain.
Arthur threw the arm onto the snow-covered ground, then looked coldly at the man who had robbed him. "This is what happens when you steal from others. You're lucky you ran into me. If Emma or any other resident of Avanheim had been the one to carry out this punishment, you would have suffered greatly."
"I have no interest in torturing the weak. Just die here." Arthur raised his hand.
So… this is the end…. Not too bad. He didn't know what the young man in front of him was going to do, but he knew he was going to die. He looked up. The moon was shining brightly in the night sky. A final snowflake landed on his face.
His brown pupils dilated for a moment. "So… this is death…."
SWISH!
BOOM!
The sound of a strong gust of wind passed by his neck. His head flew into the air, then fell onto the snow-covered ground.
Arthur looked at the damage caused by the spell he had just used. A horizontal gash was carved into the wall behind the thief, not penetrating the wall, but leaving a long, deep scratch.
"Wind magic is very impressive." The spell he had just used was a weaker version of Lily's Ninth-Sequence Magic: Horizontal Wind Slash, which was Wind Blade, a Sequence 5 wind spell.
Arthur walked over, bent down, then picked up the scattered iPhone boxes from the ground and put them back in the plastic bag he was carrying. He stood up and looked at the headless corpse.
"Fire."
He walked away from the alley. Behind him, orange flames burned the blood, body, and head of the thief until only ash remained.
Arthur walked out of the alley, while behind him, a commotion could be heard from inside the building due to the spell he had just used. At the end of the alley, he saw Emma and Lily already waiting for him.
"Didn't I tell you guys to just wait there?" Arthur said helplessly.
"Even though it was your order, My Lord, I could not obey it." Emma stepped forward, her gaze serious.
"This is for your safety. What if something had happened? If that were the case, I would have no face to show the other residents of Avanheim."
"Is that so? But was it necessary? After all, the person I was chasing was just an ordinary human," Arthur replied, a little awkwardly.
"It was still necessary, My Lord," Emma answered firmly.
"Well, if you say so, alright." Arthur then bent his body and looked at Lily. "And you, Lily? Don't you have anything to say to me?"
"Nothing, My Lord!" Lily replied enthusiastically. "I knew that lowly human couldn't do anything to you. Emma worries too much. She should have more faith in the power of a Supreme Being."
"You hear that, Emma," Arthur said, patting Lily's head.
Emma snorted angrily, then finally said.
"I know."
"Alright. Since the problem is solved, we should go get something to eat."
"Food! Food!" Lily smiled excitedly.
Arthur nodded happily at Lily's adorable behavior. "Oh, by the way, Emma," he said, now in a serious tone. "After we return to Avanheim, you are to immediately gather all the Floor Guardians to the Throne Room on the Ninth Floor. There's something I want to discuss with all of them regarding Avanheim's plans."
Emma's expression was stunned for a moment, then she replied in an equally serious voice.
"Understood, My Lord."
"Good. In that case, let's find the nearest restaurant."
By the way, I was quite surprised by my physical strength just now. Who would have thought, I only intended to pull his arm as usual, but it ended up being torn from his shoulder. That was really unexpected…
Arthur looked at his palm as he walked. So strange. In the game, I don't remember my character as a mage having super physical strength like that. Is it because the physique of humans in this world is too weak? Or is it because the physical strength of this body is just too strong as a Fallen Angel?
That's right. Come to think of it, ever since I became Arthur Leonhart, I've felt an incredible physical strength. I can hear sounds from thousands of kilometers away, and my vision has also improved tremendously, to the point where I can see very distant objects clearly. The same goes for all my other senses.
Let's see… I want to be sure.
Arthur glanced to his right and left. The streets were still crowded. Police sirens were heading toward them, and people were starting to crowd around the narrow alley. Damn it, no chance. In that case, you're forcing my hand.
"Fifth-Sequence Magic: Illusia," he said softly.
Emma immediately turned her head, sensing the activation of magic. "My Lord, why are you using an illusion spell?"
"It's… there's something I want to try," Arthur replied with an awkward smile. Illusia was a spell that would disguise the sound and appearance of the object it affected. For example, a destroyed wall would look like a normal wall to others.
Arthur looked at an empty building next to the sidewalk. This will do. He faced the wall, took a deep breath, pulled his right hand back, and then punched the wall in front of him with the strength and speed of a normal human.
Emma and Lily looked at him strangely. When Arthur's fist hit the wall…
KABOOM!
The wall behind his fist cracked, then crumbled to pieces. The cracks spread throughout the building, and half of the structure collapsed.
"This is…." Arthur looked in shock at the destruction he had just caused. I only channeled a little bit of physical strength. But… it can still cause this much damage. Just how strong is my physical strength now?
"My Lord, what are you doing?" Emma looked at him strangely, her hands on her hips.
"Oh, sorry. I saw a rat crawling on the wall and wanted to kill it, but I didn't expect to destroy the wall. Hahaha…." Arthur laughed awkwardly, his hand scratching his hair.
Emma narrowed her eyes suspiciously, then sighed. "Whatever. We should go to a restaurant. Look at Lily's face, her drool is even frozen." She pointed to Lily, then wiped the drool from the corner of the little girl's lips.
"Thank you, Emma," Lily said with a happy smile.
"Lily, you're thirteen now. You should start minding your image. Remember, the image of a Floor Guardian also represents the image of Avanheim and Lord Arthur," Emma advised with a caring expression.
"I know," Lily replied with a pout.
Seeing the two of them, for some reason, Arthur felt a warmth in his heart. He took Lily's and Emma's arms.
"In that case, let's go find a restaurant!" Then, he ran with them.
"Wait, My Lord!" Emma shouted in a panic.
The effect of the Illusia spell on the building was released. And instantly, the scene of its destruction was visible to the people.
"Whoa, what happened?"
"That's weird. I'm sure that building's wall was fine just now."
"So mysterious."
"Strange incidents are starting to happen a lot in Tokyo now."
"Really? Why is Japan becoming like America now?"
"After my business trip is over, I'm going home."
"Me too. For some reason, I have a bad feeling about this country's future."