The market of Peleria buzzed with life, filled with merchants' shouts and the rumble of carts.
But everything froze when Arata collided with a massive man wearing a white fur coat.
> "How dare you touch me… I, Vice-Vassal Harvey Lapis-Lazuli?"
Panicked, Arata raised his hands.
> "I-I'm sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going and—"
A sharp smack.
The world tilted.
Harvey had slapped him with inhuman force. Arata flew to the ground, gasping for breath.
> "Is this how your parents taught you to apologize? Come back here, on your knees!"
Trembling, Arata bowed.
> "I apologize, my lord…"
Harvey placed his hand on Arata's shoulder — a loud crack echoed.
Arata screamed.
> "When you apologize, you kneel!"
Onlookers gathered, horrified, frozen in silence.
Arata clenched his trembling fist.
> "It's always the same…"
Flashback.
A small red-haired boy, alone in a schoolyard, beaten by other children.
His inner voice echoed:
> "I wanted to be as strong as Gojo Satoru or Escanor… but this world teaches me every day: people like me deserve nothing."
Back to the present.
Arata rose. His arm hung limply, but his eyes blazed with fire.
> "I'd rather die than keep obeying you!"
Harvey squinted, cold emanating from his body.
> "Then die, you filthy dog."
The two charged at each other.
But before their fists collided, a deafening boom rang out — BOOM!
Harvey was thrown against a wall.
Before Arata stood a man in a red hood, his fist still smoking.
> "Buddy, you held up well. Now, let me handle this."
Arata, still dazed:
> "W-who… are you?"
> "Me? Let's just say I hate people who crush the weak.
Let's keep the damage minimal, Rastaban."
A voice from above — another man, hooded in yellow, watched from a rooftop.
His eyes glowed, each a different color, in the rain.
---
Harvey slowly got to his feet, his face bloodied. His breath became misty.
> "You shouldn't have interfered."
The temperature dropped sharply.
A crown of ice formed above his head, spinning in a blue halo.
> "Tremble before the majesty of the cold. Ice Crown: Polar Fall!"
Columns of ice erupted from the ground, exploding into deadly spears.
But Rastaban, calm, advanced step by step — each movement precise, each breath measured.
His steps melted the ice around him.
> "Wrong move.
Cold… has no power against darkness."
A wave of black energy surged from his fist, shattering the ice like glass.
He slipped behind Harvey, placing his hand on him.
> "You freeze everything you touch… but you forget that cold is fear.
And fear… I devour."
A black light exploded.
Harvey screamed — the ice engulfed him, then turned against him, cracking with a terrifying snap.
His body froze from the inside before collapsing.
Rastaban pulled his hood back, impassive.
> "Vice-Vassal or not… justice is earned, not imposed."
Arata, on his knees, stared, stunned.
> "Y-you're… incredible…"
Rastaban gave him a cold, almost fraternal glance.
> "Don't get carried away, kid.
That was just a lackey. The real show hasn't even started yet."