The two stood facing each other, locked in a tense standoff.
"Commander Shaka?"
When Old Maize saw Shaka was injured, worry crossed his face. Shaka stood firm in front of Old Maize and the others, his gaze stubborn as he faced the attacker.
The black-robed woman raised her wooden sword, her voice cold but tinged with hesitation: "Get out of the way!"
"No." Shaka met her eyes without flinching. "I know you're not someone who kills without reason. Give me a reason to let you hurt them!"
"They deserve to die!"
Her voice remained harsh, but her words sounded forced as she repeated: "This has nothing to do with you, please step aside!"
Sensing her resolve softening, Shaka spoke calmly:
"They're ordinary merchants, just working to make a living! There's no need to wipe them out completely."
His words seemed to reopen an old wound. Her voice grew hoarse, but she stood her ground:
"None of this is your business, get out of the way!"
"No way!"
"Get out of the way!"
"No way!"
The tense, menacing scene suddenly felt like a child's argument, freezing in place for a moment.
Shaka took a deep breath and said firmly: "Today, I will not let you hurt anyone here!"
She gripped her wooden knife tightly: "Why?"
Hands on his hips and head held high, Shaka declared confidently: "I can't stand by and watch innocent people die in front of me. That would insult the sword of justice and the wings of justice behind me!"
How stupid to put my hands on my hips during a fight...
Alise...
A strange sound came from beneath her black robe as if something had struck her deeply.
I'm being lectured again...
Alise, do you think I've disgraced justice too? Have you come to punish me at last?
"Hmm?"
Shaka tilted his head, confused by the sound but before he could react, the wooden sword came crashing down toward him.
Damn it can't win the argument, so you attack instead? No fair!
Flames ignited in Shaka's hands as he threw a punch at the back of the blade.
"Oni-yaki!" A spinning uppercut deflected the sword away.
Both moved quickly, but Shaka used flame propulsion to boost his speed even more.
"Stop!" Shaka shouted. "I can feel your knife trembling!"
"Shut up!"
"You must be in pain inside there's still a way back!"
"So noisy!"
"Would your family and friends want to see you like this? Be reasonable!"
"Fool!"
The fight stretched on for over ten minutes, shifting from swordplay to hand-to-hand combat. Shaka felt as if his opponent was deliberately guiding his movements. Meanwhile, the emblem of justice glowed behind him, and his abilities climbed steadily.
3000, 3100, 3200...
His base stats were quickly approaching those of a typical Level 3 adventurer.
As they exchanged blows, Shaka's strikes grew stronger and his speed gradually matched hers. In contrast, the black-robed woman became more hesitant and uncertain with each passing moment.
The battle had reached a stalemate.
At that moment, Shaka seized an opening and roared: "Sword, come!"
Whoosh.
The rusted blade burst back into flames and reappeared in his hand.
"Cut!"
A flying slash, wreathed in fire, tore through the air and struck her mask, igniting it.
The black-robed woman tapped her feet against the ground repeatedly, pulling her cloak over her face as she retreated quickly.
Shaka pounded his sword against the earth, gasping for breath. The prolonged high-intensity fight had drained his stamina, forcing him out of his focused "zone" state and leaving him exhausted.
The woman stood at a distance, head bowed and still. Her sky-blue eyes watched Shaka—not with hatred anymore, but with nostalgia. Shaka even spotted a faint glimmer in them...
Was she crying? How could that be?
They stared at each other until she seemed to recognize something in his gaze. Her lips moved slightly beneath her mask if Shaka had been closer, he might have heard the name she whispered:
"Alise..."
A moment later, the black-robed woman turned and fled, her figure flashing between tree branches until she disappeared from sight.
Shaka let out a huge sigh of relief and collapsed onto the ground, completely worn out.
Old Maize rushed over, grabbing Shaka's hand and showering him with gratitude:
"Oh, thank you so much, Commander Shaka! If not for you, we'd all be dead!"
"I knew I was right to trust you. I'm so glad I asked you to escort us! Rest assured your reward will be more than satisfactory, I swear it on my life!"
Shaka paid little attention, instead looking directly into Old Maize's eyes:
"Go check on your men. See who you can save, and tie up the rest. I don't believe everyone here is innocent!"
Ryu's target had been clear the Phoenix Merchant Guild. If they were truly innocent, she wouldn't have targeted them so relentlessly.
Old Maize's expression froze for a second before he tried to respond: "Well..."
"Or is she actually targeting you?!" Shaka narrowed his eyes.
"Oh, how could you say that! I'm a law-abiding citizen!"
Old Maize shook his head frantically, straightening his rumpled clothes and pulling out a comb to fix his hair. He turned to his subordinates:
"Come on! Drag out anyone we don't know! Don't cover for them they're the reason we almost died! Quick, catch those rats!"
Soon, three seemingly honest but wounded laborers broke from the crowd and tried to run.
As expected... Shaka thought to himself.
Just as they were about to give chase, the sound of galloping hooves echoed all around them.
A striking blue-haired woman on a fine horse appeared before the group, accompanied by more than twenty knights in uniform. All wore elephant-trunk masks except for their leader, and they exuded an air of strict discipline.
Before anyone could react, the knights had already caught all the would-be escapees.
The Ganesha Familia? Aren't they the city guards? Why are they outside the city?
Shaka wondered aloud as the blue-haired woman dismounted. With a wave of her hand, the guards set up a perimeter, cordoned off the scene, and began checking the identities of the deceased.
Shaka waited quietly, unsure how to start a conversation until a masked guard returned to whisper in the woman's ear.
Her brow furrowed, and her sharp eyes swept over the dozen or so survivors as she spoke calmly:
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Shakti Farma of the Ganesha Familia. We received word from the gods that remnants of the Dark Faction are posing as a caravan to infiltrate the city. I apologize for any inconvenience."
"Men! Tie Them up!"
"Ah?"
Shaka looked completely bewildered.
What's going on? Wait...
He remembered the goddess's warning: Hermes could hold grudges... and might use underhanded tactics against him. He'd thought Ryuu was the only threat, but now...
Shaka looked at the guards surrounding him and understood everything.
Realizing resistance was useless, he let them bind him tightly. Finally, one guard lifted the back of his shirt and shone a magic stone lamp on him.
After a moment, the lamp glowed with an unusual color.
The guards' eyes narrowed as they called out: "Captain, he's a adventurer!"
"Keep a close watch on him! He could be the cadre mentioned in our intelligence!"
"Yes, sir!"
Shaka was carried away by five burly men, his expression helpless. Slung over one man's shoulder, he squirmed like a maggot as he tried to argue:
"Hey! Hey! Don't you care what just happened here? So many people died! Even if you suspect us of being with the Dark Faction, this was no internal fight we're clearly the victims! You can't treat me like this!!"
His words were logical and supported by evidence, but Shakti remained unmoved. In desperation, Shaka decided to speak up: "Hey I'm reporting a black-robed figure who attacked everyone! You've got the wrong person!"
Shakti's eyebrows twitched: "He's too noisy gag him."
"Hey, I'm from As... Waaaaa!" Before Shaka could finish, a guard sealed his mouth with duct tape.
Silence fell.
Shakti remounted her horse and rode over to look down at him: "We'll talk about this when we get to the station!"
"Take him away!"