The two men stumbled out of the guild, both gasping for breath after the powerful blows they had received from Haruka. They staggered, trying to regain their balance, their breaths short and uneven.
Suddenly, one of them stood up, his face full of anger:
"Who dares to treat me like this? I am one of the King's guards!"
Inside her, Haruka whispered angrily:
"Tsk... King's guard? King's guard? I'm tired of hearing that word! Don't you know anything else?"
Meanwhile, the other man, breathing heavily, glared at Haruka.
"Who are you, coward?! Show your face if you're brave!"
At that moment, Haruka filled herself with confidence and replied in a deep, fake voice, imitating a man's tone:
"I am... Justice Man! I have come to bring peace to this place!"
The first man laughed mockingly:
"Justice Man? Ha ha ha... Lucky for you, I am a merciful man. If you beg me for your life and kneel at my feet to wipe them, I might consider forgiving you."
Haruka took a fighting stance and answered in a manly, fake voice:
"In your dreams!"
She then moved quickly, advancing toward the two men with steady steps.
The atmosphere around Haruka was chaotic, the battle raging around her. Flames of magic spells erupted from the two men. Haruka dodged and blocked attacks with her flexible body, but fatigue crept in with every passing second.
The bright light from the spells crossed with one of the men's swords, almost piercing her chest if she hadn't dodged at the last moment.
They were stronger than she expected, even in their drunken state. How could they possess such power?
As she avoided their swift attacks and deadly strikes, swords passed close to her face, and each magical spell caused explosions on the ground around her.
Then, in a moment of confusion, one of them struck with a power that took her by surprise. A heavy blow to her body pierced the cardboard costume she was wearing, almost revealing her face.
"Oh, damn it!" she thought. "If this continues, I'll be discovered. I need a weapon!"
While dodging the attack, her eyes scanned the area quickly. She knew time was against her. In a far corner, she noticed a wooden broom leaning against the wall.
"There!" she thought to herself.
But before she could move toward it, suddenly, without warning, lightning struck violently.
The lightning hit Haruka, shaking the ground beneath her feet.
"Ahhhh! What is this?!" she thought. Unbearable pain coursed through her body. The lightning entered her as if consuming her, burning her from the inside. She felt her bones disintegrate, her heart nearly stopping. Sharp blood escaped her mouth before falling to her knees.
"I can't... this pain... it's unbearable!" Her thoughts were chaotic; every part of her body screamed in agony. The lightning penetrated deep within her, gradually destroying her strength, leaving her in unbearable weakness.
Her limbs grew heavy, and the pain was so severe she almost fell. Yet her eyes did not lose their sparkle, and she continued thinking in a soft voice: "I can't give up here... I must fight."
"No!" Emma shouted with all her might, her eyes wide in fear, watching Haruka being brutally beaten. But before she could approach, Sora grabbed her tightly.
"Stay away!" Sora whispered, her voice low but firm. "What would you do? You'd kill yourself too if you tried to intervene."
But Emma trembled inside, her gaze fixed on Haruka, who was nearly collapsing from the powerful strike.
"What can you do?!" Sora responded, tears streaming down her face. "You're weaker than all of us! If you intervene, you'll die too!"
Meanwhile, one of the men raised his sword high, freezing everything around him. His face was full of malice, his mocking smile growing wider as he aimed his sword at Haruka, who was unable to defend herself due to the pain.
In a cold tone, he said, "Your game is over, clown." Then he lifted his sword higher, ready to strike Haruka's head in the final moment.
Haruka moved from her spot quickly and landed a powerful punch to his face, shouting, "Damn you!"
The man lost consciousness from the force of the blow.
The other man suddenly attacked her with the same lightning strike, but she dodged, saying, "Do you think I'm stupid to get hit twice?" She then kicked the other man and landed another punch on his stomach.
Haruka stood there, catching her breath, saying, "I-I won..."
But her joy was short-lived. Something unexpected happened. Suddenly, another person appeared out of nowhere, moving like lightning.
Haruka said, "W-Who is this? Wait—does he want to punch me too?" During the block, he kicked her, and she was thrown two full meters from her original spot. "Damn, he's incredibly strong... I can barely feel my hands," she thought, looking at him.
He wore a blue uniform, similar to the men who had attacked her, but his clothes were more neat and elegant. His hair was orange and his eyes gray, but he looked extremely serious.
The person stood in front of Haruka and said, "As my duty, I am the Commander of the Royal Guards and one of the High Mages. I arrest you for obstructing the Royal Guards' duties. Your sentence is death."
As he spoke, the two men gradually regained consciousness. Seeing him, they stammered nervously, "W-What's happening here? If he finds out we were playing around... we'll be stripped of our knighthood! W-Wait, he'll believe us if we say we were doing our duty, and she was obstructing us..." They smiled slyly.
Haruka laughed and responded, "Obstructing your work? When did the guards' job become harassing and abusing citizens?"
In a low, cold tone, he said, "Harassment? Assault?"
He looked at the two men with sharp eyes and said calmly, but filled with authority, "Is what she says true?"
The two men pretended to be asleep.
He added firmly, "Answer me immediately!"
The two men stood up instantly, fearful. "It's not like that! Everything she says is lies!"
Haruka added, "Lies? Are you going to believe two drunk men?"
Shouting, they said, "W-What... how..."
The man spoke in a terrifying voice, "So, instead of working to protect the kingdom, you were here playing around and scaring the citizens?"
The two men gasped in shock, their eyes full of fear. Sweat poured down them as they stammered, "We... we're sorry, we just wanted to drink here before returning to work."
The orange-haired man looked at them sternly and said calmly, yet terrifyingly, "Just drinking?"
Suddenly, he disappeared from his spot as if merging with the air, appearing behind them in an instant. He then pushed his knees forcefully into their stomachs, causing the two men to fall unconscious immediately.
He bowed seriously and said, "I apologize to all of you for their behavior. I will take the necessary measures to punish them. I will demote them, and I'm sorry for the punch and rush."
Haruka smiled gently and replied, "It's okay, thank you."
After that, the man left.
Once he left, Haruka removed the cardboard she had been wearing, muttering, "Oh, that was really hot... I didn't expect fighting in this thing to be so difficult."
Everyone in the Magic Guild was astonished. They discovered that this small girl had defeated these two mighty men without fear. They began gathering around her to celebrate.
Suddenly, a man approached and placed his hand on her shoulder:
"You have great courage, young lady."
Others began cheering:
"Welcome to the Magic Guild!"
"What an amazing scene! How were you so strong when you hit them? How can you be this powerful?"
Haruka felt embarrassed and replied uncertainly, "Oh... yes, about that..."
At that moment, Sora approached and said anxiously:
"I need to treat you... your wounds..."
Before she could respond, Haruka gradually lost consciousness and soon collapsed into Sora's arms.
Meanwhile, the man who had just left was holding his hand, opening it for his assistant, and asked, "Does your hand still hurt?"
He answered slightly.
The assistant said, "Honestly, I was surprised. I can't believe she managed to block your strike."
The man said, "She was really strong. I wanted to fight her more, but I wonder, in her fight against those two fools, why didn't she use her magic?"
The assistant smiled and replied, "Either she's strong enough not to use it except in emergencies, or she's foolish and confident enough to think she's strong without magic."
The other man continued, "Or maybe she doesn't have it at all."
He looked at the assistant, laughing. "How is that possible? Are you crazy?"
The other man looked at his hand, thinking, "I didn't feel any magic when I touched her... Who could she be??"
To be continued…