So he was trying to escape. Before Kiyoka could lean forward to pursue him, Godou rushed ahead and closed in on Eugene.
“You’re not going anywhere!”
Even Eugene couldn’t stop himself from looking a bit panicked. Nevertheless, Godou grabbed Eugene’s arm and twisted it behind him.
“Ngh…!”
“No use putting up a fight, Eugene Wood. You can’t even best me, let alone our commander here.”
As he endured the pain from his twisted arm, a cold sweat beading on his forehead, Eugene looked up at Godou.
“Ha-ha-ha. Go ahead and threaten me all you like; there’s nothing scary about you now. You’re not menacing at all… When I last saw you, just before you returned home, you looked like a keenly sharpened blade, ready to cut at the slightest touch. When did you turn into such a spineless wimp? Please, do tell.”
Godou didn’t respond to the man’s taunts and tightened his grip on Eugene’s arm.
“Ngh… Ow!”
“Who cares if I’m a wimp. I’m satisfied with who I am right now. I don’t have to listen to your crap.”
“Hmm, I wonder… Have you taken your revenge yet?”
Godou’s eyes widened. Even as he writhed in pain, Eugene’s laughter echoed quietly.
“Ha-ha, I was right—you were after revenge. The truth is, at first, I didn’t care about you at all. Everyone used to tell me you were a worthy rival, but it was laughable, watching you enjoying yourself without experiencing any hardship.”
“…”
“But then one day, you changed completely. It was only for the short time before you returned to your homeland, but you suddenly transformed into a bared blade, with every pointless frivolity scraped away. I found it so appealing…it made me think this new you finally had what it took to compete with me.”
Kiyoka listened to Godou and Eugene’s conversation as he waited for his opportunity to intervene.
All of a sudden, a strange air began to float in, and Kiyoka went on guard.
Who’s doing this…?
The fragrance again. This time the saccharine smell that almost made his nose numb was accompanied by a white mist, which began to permeate the area.
Out of the corner of his eye, Kiyoka spotted what appeared to be a butterfly made out of light, floating toward him.
He immediately drew the short sword he kept in his clothes and sliced the butterfly with a single stroke. A scrap of paper fluttered down onto the pavement.
A familiar.
Just as he realized what was happening, several more of the light butterflies appeared, flying about the area, and the white mist and saccharine smell began to thicken.
“Godou!”
Kiyoka sensed danger from this mysterious attack.
Godou seemed to return to his senses after Kiyoka called his name, but right as he did, he coughed violently and let go of Eugene’s hand. Looking closer, Kiyoka realized that an especially thick mist had enveloped the area around Godou.
Eugene was free from Godou’s grasp. Kiyoka rushed forward in an attempt to prevent the man from escaping, but the thickening mist completely obscured his vision, and the strong smell irritated his nose and mouth no matter how hard he tried to fight it.
“Cough, cough… Wait!”
Despite his coughing fit, Godou also attempted to stop Eugene, but his efforts were in vain.
Eugene quickly dissolved in the mist, disappearing completely.
The mist thinned shortly afterward, and there was no sign of Eugene or the light butterfly familiars. As if it had all been but a figment of their imagination.
“Dammit… Sorry, Commander. I let him get away.”
“No, this is on me. I failed to notice someone else was intervening.”
That fog was definitely the work of another arts practitioner, not just Eugene.
With its pungent fragrance, the mist disrupted one’s movements far more than regular fog. It likely wasn’t poisoned, but like a tear gas bomb, it seemed capable of temporarily incapacitating an opponent.
Kiyoka was sure the helping hand had been sent by a comrade of Eugene’s, hiding close by. It could have very well been the work of the witch Miyo had talked about, Diana.
Their arts weren’t exceptional, but…
The arts one used spoke to the quirks of the caster. Arts created with both ingenuity and whimsy were almost always the sign of a formidable practitioner. If the practitioner here was indeed Diana, then she could prove a confounding foe to deal with.
“…Argggh! That guy seriously ticks me off!” Godou shouted, tearing at his hair.
Eugene held down his aching arm as he fled, heaving a sigh of a relief.
He still felt a dull, throbbing pain in the arm Godou had twisted behind his back. What tremendous brute strength.
How disappointing, Godou. You have that tepid, coddled look on your face again.
Godou’s movements were even more polished and refined than they had been the last time Eugene saw him. But his sharp edge was gone. For better or worse, Godou had grown comfortable with battle and had turned into a respectable adult with the ability to control his own emotions.
Even though it was laying bare one’s feelings—for the sake of one’s desires and objectives—that made confrontation such an adrenaline rush.
How depressing.
Eugene thought toying with Godou would have been more enjoyable.
For him, Godou was hardly a worthy rival. The man was simply a good way to kill time, an inferior Gift-user in every way.
“My, my, that’s a good look for you, Eugene.”
“Diana.”
At some point, the slender women, smiling and clad in a jet-black dress that melded into the night, had appeared right next to him.
“I think some words of gratitude are in order, no? If I hadn’t intervened, you wouldn’t have been able to escape.”
“Ha-ha-ha, please, you must be joking. I could have managed my flee even without your help.”
“From where I was sitting, you seemed to be in quite a bit of danger… You weren’t stuck daydreaming, were you?”
Diana, cocking her head to the side, was being a bit more childish than usual. It was plain as day to Eugene that she enjoyed seeing him in danger.
“You needn’t worry. If I feel like it, I can get myself out of anything.”
“Hee-hee, I pray you aren’t simply making excuses.”
“That aside.”
Interrupting their conversation, Eugene peered into the darkness behind Diana.
Blanketed in the night, the outskirts of the city were dark even with the gas lamps around. The deep, thick blackness swirled behind Diana as well, but for a few moments now, Eugene had sensed an unfamiliar presence within.
“Who might this be?”
“Right. I was actually just thinking about introducing you. Come here.”
With Diana’s simple phrase, a lone man emerged from the darkness.
He had the subdued facial features characteristic of the people in this country, but he was tall, with his back hunched over.
His hair was gray, and his eyes were clouded, dark and murky. He had unkempt facial hair, the same gray as on his head, and he didn’t appear to have very good hygiene.
The man fixed his hollow gaze on Eugene.
“You see, this man is collaborating with us. He said he wants to do something fun.”
“Fun?”
“Yes. Despite how he may look, he’s capable of all sorts of things, so I’m sure he’ll prove useful.”
If Eugene was being honest, judging by the man’s appearance, he was a poor match for Diana. To start with, he didn’t seem the type of person who would normally have cause to be involved with her. Where in the world had she picked up this suspicious man?
Few people would use an unreliable tool they were handed simply because it “might work.”
Godou aside, they would need fighting power to battle the head of the Kudou family, but Eugene decided not to count on this man.
After inwardly making his decision, Eugene approached the man.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, um…”
“Takao. Just Takao. Call me that.”
The man introduced himself with a startlingly earnest look on his face.