“Hey, hey, heeey...don’t be violent with Haring’s friends, eh? She looks so scared, she’s going to wet herself. How about a little tact?”
“...If you don’t cut that out—”
The moment Haring was about to grab the follower, he was stopped by an ominous snap. This was followed—a second later—by the sound of the knife hitting the ground, and the man who had thrust it out looked down at his hand where the knife was supposed to be. An arm dented in the center, and bent where it shouldn’t be.
The pain struck him as soon as he connected the dots, and he collapsed to the ground.
“Ee...m-my arm! It’s...it’s...”
“Well, what’s wrong with it?” asked Yuri as he held up his sack, looking down at the flustered man. “I was just trying to hand my bag over... Why, you’re the one who asked for it,” he chuckled, jostling the bag around playfully.
Unrest spread among his men, and the demon in sunglasses calmly looked at Yuri.
“Well aren’t you special... What’s your deal, kid?”
“That’s what I should be asking you. We obtained these materials in the dungeon, so if you want them so badly, shouldn’t we have a duel?”
“A duel...? Now that’s the craziest thing I’ve heard all day.” After raising a laugh that was like sandpaper to the ears, the man held out his left arm. “You mean—you want to fight me? The great and mighty Navie?”
Navie brandished his arm, waving it around as if to taunt him. The Proof that accompanied it was set with the glimmer of a purple gemstone. The same rank as Elias: Adamant.
“Yes, I’m surprised mix-blood trash like you has the sheer gall to blather such nonsense as dueling me. Even Haring over there knows better, eh?”
While Navie laughed hard enough his cheeks were on the verge of tearing, Yuri felt something clasp his shoulder.
“...Give it a rest, brat. Unlike the Beheader, this guy doesn’t fight fair,” Haring quietly warned him, looking him straight in the eye.
But Yuri returned a wry smile, brushing off Haring’s hand.
“I suppose you’re right. He definitely doesn’t look like the decent sort, but...”
Yuri reached out and grabbed Navie’s left arm. He glared at the man, putting power into his grip.
“From what I’ve heard so far, I find you extremely unpleasant. It isn’t just your attitude, I can’t forgive that you’ve wounded Ms. Eleanor. The way you look down on Mr. Haring is rather irritating.”
As he clenched harder, a creaking, jarring sound began to come from the arm.
“Pull a weapon, and we won’t be joking and jeering no more... That’s what Mr. Haring taught me. What I’m trying to say is, if you want to fight, get to it already—Mr. Piece of Shit.”
Yuri glared at Navie, making no attempts to conceal his rage. All the while, Navie kept a calm watch over him. Eventually, he forcefully swung off Yuri’s hand.
“I see...the rumors were true. He really is an interesting kid.” Navie spat the words before turning on his heels. “Hey, you lot, I’ve lost interest. We’re leaving.”
“S-Sure...but, we’ll need to carry—”
Right after one of his tag-alongs pointed out the man with the broken arm, the fallen man’s face was covered in pitch blackness. As he was shrouded with a darkness that seemed to wriggle like a living being, he began to thrash and writhe, without a sound escaping his mouth.
“I said we’re leaving... That means no more fooling around.”
The man on the ground was now violently convulsing, but the darkness covering his face showed no signs of fading away. Finally, when he had soiled himself and his body had stopped moving entirely...the void dissipated, swirling up in the direction of Navie’s hand.
“You fool! You got done in by a pipsqueak! Someone carry off that idiot!”
“Eeep! Y-Yes sir!” In accordance with Navie’s order, the unconscious man was lifted, taking care to guard his broken arm.
Before they left, Navie flashed his red tongue as he turned.
“I’ll have a fun game planned for you, mix-blood.”
At the end of his words, Navie and his men were enveloped in a pale light. Once they were completely gone, Yuri picked up the sack that had been left on the ground.
“Here, Mr. Haring. It’s your share.”
“...Tsk, don’t need it. You keep it.”
“I won’t. Please take it.” He continued obstinately thrusting the bag out at Haring. “This is the proof of our efforts, and a precious reminder of the time the three of us spent together. That’s why you’re the only person who can take this bag.”
Haring gave in, slowly reaching out toward the bag.
Once he confirmed that Haring had received it, Yuri turned to Eleanor, who was crouched on the floor. “Are you alright, Ms. Eleanor?”
“Yes! I perfectly fine!”
“But there was blood coming from—”
After saying that, Yuri realized something was off. There was no wound where the tip of the knife had grazed her.
Eleanor proudly puffed her chest. “Fufu—this is secret ninja art, startle enemy with fake blood technique!”
“You mean you were acting!?”
“Use blood bag to startle enemy, and in moment of surprise, cut them straight in two!”
“No, we’re the ones who were startled here!”
In the midst of that exchange—Yuri suddenly heard a laugh. He glanced to see Haring covering his face, his body shaking.
“Good grief...guess I’m the idiot for gettin’ all worked up,” Haring said, and lightly patted the two of them on the head. “I’m returnin’. There’s a chance they set up an ambush in the purgatory district to settle the score, so you two wait a bit before goin’ back.”
After operating his Proof, his body was clad in a pale light.
“Thank you, Brat.”
And, with such waning words, Haring was gone.