...But Rio was busy being taken aback by the change to his body; just when he thought the light flowing from him had increased, his body suddenly felt lighter. His senses were sharpened — not only had his vision and hearing improved, but a sixth sense he normally couldn’t feel had awakened too. It was exactly as the girl had described: the light flowing from him had been used to strengthen his physical abilities and his body. He had been half-doubtful and couldn’t understand the logic behind it at all, but he knew it was possible, thanks to the girl’s support. Because of that, he now knew the basics. It wouldn’t be too hard to maintain this state now, and he could probably do it by himself next time, too. While he still didn’t know who the girl was or what the light did, his first priority right now was the killer before him. At this point, approximately ten seconds had passed since Rio dodged the man’s knife. The man had been gradually closing the distance that Rio was trying to create, but when Rio came to an abrupt stop, he halted too, and watched Rio suspiciously. Rio gathered all of his fighting will as he observed the masked man. Suddenly, the man changed his words to some kind of spell.
“Augendae Corporis!”
Rio’s eyes widened as the man’s body was momentarily bathed in the light of a geometric circle. The faint light that until now had been leaking from the man’s body suddenly increased in volume. It was no match for the amount that was flowing from Rio’s body, but it was enough for Rio to be wary of. In the next instant, the assassin closed in on Rio and swung his knife at an inhuman speed.
He fully intended on ending the battle with that one strike, but Rio’s tracking ability and reaction speed had been enhanced, making the man’s movement appear so slow to Rio’s eye. He was able to easily evade the attack. The feeling of his enhanced abilities astonished him; he shifted his torso to the side and the man’s knife swiftly slashed through empty space. With his shorter reach, Rio had to take a step forward to hit the man in the stomach with the palm of his hand.
“Gwahah?!”
The strong impact to his abdomen made the man yell in pain. He must have been around 80 kilograms, yet he was easily blown away. The force behind Rio’s one attack was unimaginable for a child.

Barely landing on his feet, the man’s consciousness nearly slipped away... he couldn’t understand what had just happened. Falling to one knee, he stared at Rio in shock. Then, he desperately scrambled back to his feet and stepped towards Rio once more, thrusting the knife forward sluggishly. However, Rio grabbed the man’s extended arm by the wrist and twisted it painfully.
“Gah!”
The pain in his wrist caused the man to drop the knife. Rio then toppled the man off-balance and easily threw him to the floor. His physical abilities had really improved. Rio’s weak and childish frame could bear a weight that should have been impossible for a child to carry. It was strengthened exactly like the girl had explained earlier. He couldn’t feel any burden on his body.
“S-Shit... Damn, brat... What the hell are you...?” he grunted his resentment towards Rio. The man broke his fall with a roll, narrowly avoiding being knocked out.
“Hah... hah...”
Rio gasped for breath where he stood. His heart was still racing as he looked at his own hands in astonishment. After a moment, Rio turned his gaze towards the man glaring at him in the dimly lit room. He could see the look from behind the mask that the man was giving him — it was filled with hatred. Rio wondered what the man was thinking as he stumbled to his trembling feet once more.
He still wants to fight?!
Horror fell over Rio’s face. The man should have been covered in injuries by now... he shouldn’t have had any stamina left to stand up. So why did he keep trying to? There could only be one answer: the man wanted to kill Rio with his very last breath. Why the man had to go that far, Rio had no idea. He didn’t want to know. But if the man was trying to kill Rio, then Rio would—
With an irritated huff, Rio pressed the man’s face against the floor.
“Guh...” the man groaned.
Rio climbed onto the man’s back and grabbed his neck with both hands. If he put a little strength into his fingers, he could probably strangle the man to death.
But his hands wouldn’t stop shaking. Even when he tried to squeeze his fingers, they shook.
He couldn’t kill him. He wouldn’t. Even though the man had tried to kill Rio, Rio couldn’t bring himself to kill him. Rio hesitated for a beat, then...
“Damn it!” he yelled, slamming the man’s head against the ground.
The struggling man fell completely still after that. He’d been knocked out. Rio confirmed that the man was unconscious before standing up.
“H-Have to escape...” he muttered.
Rio staggered forward on wobbly legs, then nervously glanced around at his surroundings. How would he explain this situation to anyone? He was nearly frozen with fear. Then, Rio caught sight of the unconscious girl who was still sleeping...
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