‘Why is he here?’
Zich wasn’t happy to see him. Not only did Zich have a bad impression of him, but Glen was also someone Zich thought was especially suspicious. Yet, Glen’s expression seemed to indicate that he was just as surprised as Zich.
‘Is this guy related to the kidnapping incidents?’ Zich thought and wished for it to be true. Only then would he be able to beat Glen until he was half-dead and torture him to extract information for good reason.
‘I don’t think the case would be solved that easily though.’
The shadows were the first priority right now. Zich turned around to track down the shadows.
“Where are you going!”
Whoosh!
Zich hurriedly raised Windur as Tornium came his way.
Crash! An explosive sound rang in the area again. Zich glared at Glen menacingly. “…What are you doing?”
“That’s what I want to ask you! Where are you running away to!”
“Running away?” Zich never held such a foolish thought like running away in front of a fight. He detested things like throwing away an opportunity for revenge in the future for the sake of protecting one’s pride; he much preferred the method of becoming stronger and paying back his opponent multiple times later. There was a reason why strategic retreat was even a thing. Yet, these things only mattered when Zich was on the losing side.
‘It’s not something I should hear from a person who hasn’t even ripened his potential yet.”
It really was sweet coming from a guy who had only barely managed to beat him after gathering all kinds of geniuses in the world before the regression. Zich glanced at the alleyway. The shadows were gone now. Even when he tried to detect their presence, he couldn’t detect one clearly. Zich stared above him. Lyla was hovering in the air. By flicking his head, he asked her if she tracked them, but she shook her head. Then, she pointed at Glen.
‘She was also too focused on Glen.’
They had lost them. It wasn’t guaranteed that the other person would chase after their target if one of them got into a conflict. It was Lyla’s mistake, but Zich understood.
‘Since she lacks experience, it can’t be helped.’
Furthermore, even though Glen’s interference had been the cause for losing their enemy, if one considered how the shadows disappeared from Zich’s detection in that short period of time, it was easy to see that the shadows had considerable stealth skills.
‘Ah, what a disappointment.’ Zich sighed. He had lost the clue to solving the case right in front of him because of a sudden interference. Zich stared at Glen who was still glaring at him fiercely.
‘All right. If he doesn’t have a good reason for blocking me, I will beat him up.’ Zich thought that, but he changed his mind immediately afterward. ‘He can’t have a good reason for blocking me. He’s the one who attacked me first.’
Zich fixed his grip on Windur. ‘I should just beat him up. Since I already got attacked first, it’s a good enough reason for me to do that.’
Zich had many doubts about Glen; of course, they could simply be misunderstandings but…
‘So what? It’s his fault for creating so many misunderstandings.’
“Huh? Now that I see you more carefully, that sword. Are you perhaps…!” It seemed like Glen was saying something, but Zich was not paying attention anymore. His next action was enough of an answer.
Whoosh.
Windur sliced through the space.
“What…!”
Crash!
Tornium blocked Windur.
‘Hm, slashing against Tornium. It gives me a weird feeling.’ However, Zich was only locked into these sentimental feelings momentarily. He immediately threw away these uncharacteristic feelings and began to move boldly for the purpose of crushing Glen.
Clang!
With Zich’s increased pressure, Tornium bounced off. Then, he laid down the sword on its side and swung it.
“Kuh!” Glen backed away. Windur chased after him, and Glen hurriedly blocked it with Tornium.
Crash! Another explosive sound rang out again.
‘His skills have become much better than the last time I saw him.’ Even when he was angry, Zich could objectively assess his opponent. ‘As expected of someone who received the hero title before.’ However, that didn’t mean all was well with Glen.
‘But what’s up with his mana?’
The mana that filled Glen’s sword was uneven and irregular. Zich knew that Glen wasn’t someone who lacked mana control. Including the time they briefly met before and of course the time before the regression, Glen’s mana control had always been stable.
‘Did he take something?’ Perhaps, that was the reason why he failed to make the mana completely his. Nonetheless, that was Glen’s problem to deal with.
Clang! Clang!
Zich continued to swing his sword. Glen managed to struggle against Zich’s attacks, but his movements soon became dull.
Punch!
“Kuh! Zich’s feet struck Glen’s stomach. Glen groaned; his face scrunched up like he was in great pain.
‘Huh?’ At that moment, Zich felt a clear uplifting feeling.
‘Why do I feel so good?’
He felt as if a giant stone that had been pressing down on his heart was removed. His heart felt much lighter now. In a way, it felt like he was walking on a paved road after sludging through a muddy path where the mud reached up to his thighs. Glen clenched his teeth and swung his sword again.
Clang~
Zich intertwined Tornium with Windur’s branch-like blades and pulled it. Glen’s arm was pulled along the way and his torso was exposed. Zich swung his fist and aimed for Glen’s face.
Punch!
“Kuh!” Glen’s head swiveled backwards.
‘Ahahahahaha!’ A burst of laughter exploded inside Zich’s mind. If they weren’t in a fierce battle right now, he would have rolled on the dirt floor while clenching his stomach. The edges of his mouth twitched out of control.
‘Wow, this is fun!’
Now that he thought about it, before the regression, Zich had gritted his teeth, hoping to land a punch on Glen’s face at least once. Now, this was the opportunity. The shadows he had missed seemed long gone in his mind now. Zich swung his fist again. Glen tried to move Tornium, but it was interlocked in Windur’s blades.
Punch!
Glen’s face twisted backwards. Blood spluttered out of his lips.
‘His teeth are strong.’ Zich was disappointed that he couldn’t see any teeth between the blood. ‘Well, I can make sure to see them.’ After all, it was an easy task to beat a person’s face up until their teeth broke off.
Zich tried to swing his fist again, but Glen wasn’t such an easy opponent to be hit by the same attack three times. He successfully took out Tornium from Windur’s grasp.
Crash!
Their swords collided again. Glen’s attack became more menacing than before. His battered and bloody face was probably the reason for his change. However, Zich also had no thoughts about letting go of such a delightful opportunity.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
Two swords continued to strike each other. Punches and kicks were also exchanged intermittently. However, only one person was getting bruised and bloody.
‘Heeeee!’
Zich let out a low laugh as he stuck another punch in Glen’s stomach. He really liked the heavy feel of his fist as it landed on Glen’s body. If he could, Zich wanted to spend all day just beating up Glen Zenard. Unfortunately, that was impossible. The enormous collision of mana was already causing significant damage around their surroundings. Walls blasted off and railings were cut off. People were running away in all directions. This was only natural as they were both extremely strong.
However, they were currently in a city, especially during a time when security was tight from the serial kidnapping incidents. Security guards and soldiers learned about Zich and Glen’s fight and quickly ran towards them.
“Stop!” Soldiers came inside the alleyway and pushed their spears towards Zich and Glen.
Zich withdrew his sword, and Glen also took a few steps back. However, his sword still faced Zich. Glen’s appearance was a mess. Even though he didn’t receive any serious injuries, it was clear that Zich had thoroughly beaten him up. His handsome face was puffed up all over, and even his blood veins were visible. It also seemed as if his bones were broken since he walked strangely.
Zich felt very refreshed by Glen’s appearance. The fist that beat the hell out of Glen still throbbed in exhilaration.
‘Should I sleep today without washing my hands?’ The sensation was thrilling enough for him to think random thoughts like this. However, unlike Zich’s playful inner thoughts, the situation on the outside was extremely serious.
“Explain your situation! No, we’ll first capture you two. Immediately throw away your weapons!”
The soldiers pushed their spears a little further as Zich and Glen seemed to be following their directions. Zich threw a badge towards them.
“…This is!”
“My name is Zich. I’m a Karuwiman Honorary Knight, and I’m currently helping the mayor and Count Dracul to investigate the serial kidnapping cases that are happening in this city.”
The badge that Zich threw was a type of identification badge given by Count Dracul to all those who worked to ensure the city’s safety.
“While chasing after the culprit, that person hindered. So you just have to capture him.” Zich pointed at Glen who was looking at him with a puzzled look.
“…What did you just say?” Glen murmured to himself.
Zich quietly repeated what he said to Glen. At least for the rest of the day, Zich thought he could be kind to Glen.
* * *
A fierce battle had occurred in the middle of the city. Even though a part of the back alleyway was destroyed, it was actually a miracle that only the back alleyway was destroyed, considering Zich and Glen’s strengths. Many soldiers and people leading the missing people investigation, including Joachim, gathered around where Zich and Glen fought.
The captain of the security forces alternately listened to Zich and Glen. Even though the captain had always shown a confident and self-assured presence while interrogating possible culprits, he didn’t impose his authority to get information from them. No, it was more accurate to say he couldn’t.
One person was a Karuwiman Honorary Knight and had close connections with Count Dracul and the other person was also a Karuwiman Honorary Knight. Zich explained the whole story to the captain. However, he mixed in a few lies when he explained why he attacked Glen. Rather than a personal grudge, he explained that he thought Glen was trying to protect the culprit. Zich also added that he had met Glen before, but he thought he had no choice but to attack Glen since Glen really looked as if he was protecting the culprit.
Likewise, Glen’s excuses were also similar. He was patrolling the alleyways when he saw a shadow that seemed to be the culprit of the famous missing people cases going around the city these days. In order to capture the culprit, he followed behind but Zich suddenly jumped out and looked like the shadow’s comrade. Of course, he recognized Zich later on, but Zich was already attacking him by that time, so he had no choice but to fight back. Both of them had clear identities, and they had their own reasons. Their reasoning kind of sounded like excuses, but it was not enough to further interrogate a Karuwiman Honorary Knight. Moreover, Glen stepped forward and said he’d take care of all the damages and payments, so it seemed as if he wanted to peacefully end this matter.
“It seems as if this incident happened because of a simple misunderstanding.” The captain said to Zich, “So I think it’ll be best if the both of you reconcile and peacefully settle this matter.”
After saying this, the captain of the security guards glanced at Zich.
Zich asked, “What did he say?”
“Ah, he said he’ll definitely be able to reconcile. On the other hand, he apologized for misunderstanding you, and he said that this whole incident happened because of his shortcomings.”
‘That’s how Glen wants to end this.’ Considering Glen’s righteous image, people might think that he was humbly admitting his mistakes and wanted to take responsibility for all the damages. However, since Zich was suspicious about Glen’s good image, he thought Glen might be performing an act.
‘Well, it’s not bad for me.’
“That won’t be a difficult matter to do. Let’s do that.” Zich had already let out all the frustrations and annoyance for missing the culprit at Glen.
‘I still regret it though. I should have hit him a few more times, like at least for the whole day.’
Zich also wanted to end the incident like this anyway; it was time for him to realistically settle the situation. The captain gathered the two of them in order to arrange a reconciliation. Zich and Glen stood still while facing each other. It seemed as if Glen had used potions to heal himself since his appearance had returned to normal. However, since he wasn’t able to change into new clothes, there were still obvious traces of his complete defeat. Zich’s mood rose one level higher just by seeing Glen’s appearance.
“Since we both seemed to have misunderstood the situation, let’s resolve our resentment here and move on.” Zich cheerfully put forth his hand.
Glen held Zich’s hand and said, “…Yes. It’s my fault that I misunderstood and swung my sword at you first.”
“I guess you’re well aware of your mistake.”
“…”
Zich and Glen’s handshake was very brief. They soon let go of each other’s hands and turned their backs without looking back.