Asashi walked along the city's sidewalk, beside the grossly unkempt streets littered with dirty Coke bottles and various indistinguishable plastics haphazardly piled together, showing no signs of ever being picked up. It was a rather bleak sight, especially as homeless people lay beside the brick walls of buildings, with nothing more than a few stained blankets that had likely never been washed since their purchase.

  He often wondered exactly how it had all come to this point when seeing such a mess.

  War was definitely a big factor, and surely, no one could ignore the damage caused by monsters as well, but in his opinion, they all seemed inconsequential to the real issue.

  Greed.

  The people with the most power wouldn’t care that others were starving and dying unless they, too, were living in those dire circumstances. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. All of them lived lavish lifestyles, and with it came a detachment from being able to sympathize with those who suffered.

  And the worst of all…Even he was a product of that.

  As he walked, he grew more and more used to the horrible sight. Although he didn’t live as extravagantly as others, he could never truly sympathize with these people unless he succumbed to their lifestyle as well. He was precisely what he despised, and being self-aware of that was truly sobering.

  Scrawny and malnourished people looked at him with disdain and hatred as they judged his clean and expensive black trench coat, and worst of all, he didn’t even offer them a glance of sympathy before walking past them.

  It wasn’t because he didn’t care… not at all. It was simply because he was ashamed.

  Asashi sighed as he took a right at the road’s intersection, finally walking down a sidewalk where no people eyed him with contempt—at least none that he was aware of.

  I’m extra agitated today, he thought with a frown.

  The meeting with Chief Kira and Storm unsettled him, especially Storm’s odd request for Yami’s information to be removed. Obviously, the AOK didn’t have the power to erase someone’s documents, but they did have connections with the government, so arrangements could surely be made. What truly troubled him was the person making the request—and exactly why.

  Storm had mentioned that he simply wanted to rewrite the wrongs of his creator, which in this case was Yami, yet Asashi couldn’t help but feel he had an ulterior motive.

  The problem was, no matter how hard Asashi tried, he couldn’t muster up a well-grounded theory of what it was.

  On the surface, the request was quite blunt and simple. It was to reduce the chances of the public being aware of Yami’s background and, on top of that, to save his family from the shame. It was reasonable, especially coming from a person like Storm, who had been a victim of Yami’s treacherous experiments.

  Then why do I feel so uneasy? Like… Storm is hiding something? Maybe I’m looking too much into it. It could very well be that I simply dislike Storm’s attitude, Asashi thought.

  At least, that’s what he hoped.

  At that moment, Asashi felt his phone buzz in the pocket of his trench coat. He sighed, hoping it wasn’t from work again. Pulling out the thin, transparent phone, he paused when he saw the name that was calling him.

  It was Jen.

  He frowned, realizing she must want to talk about what had happened to her husband and, most of all, what he had done. If Asashi had to guess, detectives must have shown up at her door to investigate whether she had any involvement in Yami’s crimes, and in the process, they likely briefed her on the current situation just as they had done with him.

  So, did he really need to answer the call at the moment?

  Asashi knew he was going to have to talk to her about everything that had happened sooner or later, but he didn’t know if he had the confidence to face her just yet. He was still processing the dire situation himself, so he didn’t know if he could be the anchor that Jen needed him to be.

  He silently stood on the busy sidewalk, staring at the incoming call as crowds of people walked past him. Some cursed under their breath that he was blocking traffic, but Asashi made no effort to move away. As he contemplated whether he should answer or not, the incoming call disappeared, making him sigh in relief. He didn’t want to deal with it now. Maybe he’d call her back once he got home—

  His phone buzzed again before he could put it back in his pocket, making Asashi narrow his eyes.

  “For the second time?” he whispered to himself, seeing that it was Jen again. “Fine… I guess I’ll just get this over with.”

  With a reluctant swipe of his finger, he answered the call.

  “Um, hi, Jen. Listen, I know you probably have a lot of questions right now, but rest assured that everything is being taken care of—”

  “…help.”

  Asashi froze when he heard Jen's weak and frail voice over the phone. Instantly, his heart seemed to sink to the bottom of his stomach, and his brain whispered to him that something was wrong.

  “Jen?” Asashi asked, panic settling in. “Jen, are you okay?”

  …

  “…just please, come…”

  Her feeble voice was muddled with sobs as she pleaded for his help.

  “Fuck it all…” Asashi cursed under his breath, breaking into a run.

  A group of teenage girls chatting with each other yelped in surprise as he charged through them, the force of his thrust making them flail to the ground. Asashi could hear them swearing at him, but he didn’t care one bit.

  Eyes glowing a blue hue, he activated his sense, feeling his muscles strengthen and tighten with every breath he took. His stamina improved as well, the thumping of his heart stabilizing even though he was running at full speed.

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  “Jen!?” Asashi screamed through the phone. “Jen, are you still there?!”

  The call was still ongoing, yet he didn’t hear a single peep from her. He wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad sign.

  On one hand, it meant that whoever harmed her wasn’t there anymore; on the other, it could mean that they had already finished their job and left. Both were terrifying, but Asashi wasn’t even sure if that was the case yet. Perhaps Jen had passed out due to her sickness, which she had told him about a few days ago.

  Yes… that has to be it. She probably needs help since she’s sick. Of course, I’m most likely overreacting. Asashi gritted his teeth as he pushed through the crowded sidewalk. So then why is there a pit in my stomach?

  He knew the answer to that.

  He had saved people from monsters and taken countless lives in the world war when the AOK had joined the government to defend the country—he knew the difference between the agonizing screams of people when they were at death’s door and those that were not.

  The helpless, frail voice of someone being torn to shreds. The trembling, panicked words of someone held at gunpoint as they cowered in fear.

  After hearing every imaginable scream a human could conjure, he had an unpleasant feeling that Jen’s plea meant she was in danger from something far worse than just sickness.

  Whichever it was, he was about to find out soon as he navigated through a familiar neighborhood.

  The apartments and houses that lined both sides of the street weren’t luxurious, but they were noticeably cleaner and well-kept—something many envied.

  Thankfully, the crowd of people thinned out, making it easier to run and maneuver toward his destination. Asashi stopped at the street’s intersection, whipping his head left and right, scanning the area. He cursed under his breath, realizing he wasn’t sure if her house was on the right or left side of the street.

  He wasn’t exactly certain why he was suddenly blanking out, but maybe the stress was getting to him; usually, he was quite good at suppressing it.

  “Fuck…” he muttered, then shook his head. “Gut… please don’t fail me now.”

  He veered left, straight into the street, causing cars to brake to a halt and angrily honk at him.

  It’s a good thing cars nowadays have sensors and automatically stop before they hit someone, he thought as he lunged across the street to the next sidewalk, barely taking two steps to reach the end.

  An old lady waiting at the light almost fainted from shock as he soared over her head and landed gracefully in a crouched position, like a pouncing panther. Wasting no time, he straightened up and dashed forward again, sometimes leaping over people’s heads when he was certain he could land safely without crashing into them.

  With every jump and landing, Asashi heard audible gasps from the crowd, but he ignored every single one of them.

  He was usually mindful not to cause a disturbance whenever he hunted monsters because he didn’t want to deal with people. But right now, he couldn’t care less if someone saw him as the devil.

  His eyes widened as he noticed familiar buildings and shops beside him while he ran. Thankfully, his gut hadn’t failed him yet.

  Up ahead, to the right of the street, he saw Jen’s building come into view. He grinned as he leaped right over the street with an arch, dodging passing cars with surprised drivers and landing on the opposite sidewalk.

  Asashi dashed for what felt like a long minute before arriving at a cozy, gated two-story house. The moment he opened the gate, he froze, his eyes locking onto the right side of the building—

  The window had been broken, with shattered glass scattered across the lawn. Asashi gritted his teeth. His intuition had been right—someone had intended to harm Jen.

  He hurried to the broken window and leaped through it, landing inside the kitchen and dining room of the home. Except for his glowing eyes, no lights were on, casting an eerie and grim atmosphere over the house.

  Although he doubted a bullet could pierce his skin, he cautiously pulled out his Sense gun from its holster beneath his trench coat—just to be safe. Asashi crouched and moved quietly out of the kitchen, his dress shoes barely making a single tapping sound. He passed the house's entryway and stairwell, hiding behind the wall that separated the living room.

  With both hands on the gun, he prepared to shoot. There was someone in that living room.

  He knew it.

  A normal person wouldn’t be able to, but with rigorous training, he could pick up Sense Energy being expended from someone’s body in real time. This skill was an essential qualification to be a Silver-ranked Knight and above.

  Whoever was in the living room was eerily quiet, as if they knew he was there. A nervous droplet of sweat dripped down the side of his forehead as he sighed inwardly.

  God, I never ask you for favors because you seem to hate me quite a lot, but even so, if I may be selfish for a moment and ask for your protection, at least just this once… Asashi prayed silently to himself.

  He wasn’t sure why he did—after all, he wasn’t really a religious man—but yet, for some reason, the sudden pressure weighing down upon him was more frightening than any monster mission he had embarked on. It was almost similar to…

  Storm’s fear-inducing skill.

  Asashi clenched his gun and took a silent breath. Then he lunged into the living room with the speed of a cheetah.

  The force of his pounce sent him flying straight toward the wall, but before he could crash, he caught himself with his left foot and ricocheted off it, bouncing back to the living room entrance. That gave him just enough time to catch a glimpse of who was inside the room.

  Asashi paused, lowering his gun with a sigh. Then, he casually walked into the living room, realizing that there was no danger anymore.

  A familiar slim silhouette sat on the couch, her arms wrapped around a small boy, her head leaning down to kiss his forehead. Asashi’s eyes darkened as he looked at the unconscious pair.

  It was Jen, holding her son in her embrace.

  Jen’s hair was disheveled, and her body was covered in more wounds than he could count. When his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, he noticed dark red blood plastered all over her, staining the couch in the process. Sen’s white hair, once pure, was now dirty with scarlet and reeked of iron.

  “How…” Asashi whispered to himself, half hoping Jen would respond, “did you get so hurt?”

  Jen was gifted with Touch, and even though she had never pursued becoming a Knight, her strength was still far above average.

  Was the sickness to blame? Could it have weakened her body this much? Or was the enemy even stronger than he expected?

  Asashi moved toward Jen and noticed her phone lying in a puddle of blood on the couch, the call with him still ongoing. He grimaced and pressed the hang-up icon.

  “It’s okay. I’m here now.” Sliding his arms beneath Jen’s body, one near her head and the other by her feet, he lifted her up as she continued to clutch Sen. He didn’t struggle to hold her, thanks to his Sense, and for that, he was grateful. If he hadn’t been gifted with such power, he would never have been able to save his friends and family.

  With Jen and her son in his arms, he rushed to the door, but before he could open it, a faint whisper murmured.

  “There…” Jen whispered weakly, her eyes barely opening.

  “Jen,” Asashi grimaced, “save your energy.”

  “…There was a robber… a-and Sense weapon, and… and I… weak. I… I fought off…”

  Jen struggled to form a coherent sentence, but Asashi understood what she was trying to say.

  “It’s okay. You don’t have to explain,” he reassured her, carefully opening the door while balancing her body.

  A robber with an illegal Sense weapon had broken into her house, and she had tried to fight him off, but it had been hard due to her sickness. Asashi had already pieced that much together from all the hints.

  “You’re going to be alright,” he told her, inspecting her and Sen’s wounds further.

  Most of the blood on Sen seemed to be from his mother by the looks of it, and Jen’s wounds, though severe, looked treatable with proper care. However, it would be a far different story if she didn’t have Touch.

  “Is Hana…” Jen whispered. “Is Hana still... at preschool?”

  Asashi assumed Jen hadn’t picked her up yet, but her mind seemed too foggy to remember.

  “I’m sure she’s safe. No need to worry about her,” Asashi said, trying his best to keep her from stressing. “Let’s get you and Sen to the hospital.”

  It would be quicker to go there on foot than wait for an ambulance—especially with his speed and agility.

  There’s one thing I’m still confused about, Asashi thought to himself as he walked toward the gate. He turned his head back, narrowing his eyes at the right window of the house before shaking his head and leaping over the gate.

  If the window had been broken into…Why is there no glass on the inside? He looked at Jen and her son before he dashed at full speed to the hospital. Was it truly just a robber?

  Remember.... Remember....

  Chapter 14– happy birthday to me in 14 years.

  That reminds me. If he recalled correctly, his house was broken into shortly after his father's "death." He didn't remember that day much. Everything was just a blur. Which was strange, considering he remembered quite a lot from his childhood. But from what his mother told him, a robber broke into the right side of their window, smashing it and sneaking in without much stealth.

  Book2/ Chapter 3– Friend

  What if I’m wrong, though? What if that was just a freak accident? she asked herself. However, her common sense instantly refuted that. Sen’s gaze grew colder and colder as the years went by, and his malevolent presence became ever so noticeable. Jen couldn’t deny what had happened anymore. She had already done that for years.