Reginn vs. Kaizer

Reginn descended from the sky and landed gently on the cracked street. He skipped his morning class as he sensed a strong presence and thought it to be another hero, but he had now found 3 whole new heroes.

     "What a pain... Who do I have to kill to stop all this?"

     "You do not scare me stranger, leave and I may spare your life!"

Reginn was now truly ticked off. He just wanted to end this quickly, but someone was just too eager to die for that.

Orchestra wondered if Kaizer was brave or stupid, but she knew that was a mistake as she could sense a terrifying aura around the boy. However, perhaps Kaizer's confidence was not baseless, as her talent was basically unstoppable.

     "⌈Dichotomisierung⌋!"

Without any warning, Kaizer used her skill, but his blade just swung in the air, unable to find its target. Reginn tapped her on the shoulder, standing behind her which caused her to use her skill again.

     "⌈Dichotomisierung⌋! ⌈Dichotomisierung⌋! ⌈Dichotomisierung⌋!"

No matter how many times she used the skill, the blade never reached Reginn. He was just far too fast. However, this did cause a considerable amount of collateral damage, destroying the open area to an unrecognizable degree.

     "Did you really think that I would let that filthy blade of yours touch me?"

     "Kuh... ⌈Dichotomisierung - Wind Blades⌋!"

This time, the blade sent out multiple gusts of air. Reginn dodged these mana-concentrated air vacuums which hit the building behind him, destroying it. Poda-Bruss and Orchestra were both under the building and Poda's quick reaction time saved their lives. However, Reginn did not pay them any mind.

He displayed his right hand in front of Kaizer, calling for her attention, then into a fist as he smiled. This was a threatening gesture, not one a predator shows to its prey, not a soldier to their victim nor a murderer to the soon-to-be murdered. He revelled in the fear of others, he could smell it. The atmosphere so pungent, palpable with this sense of dread, which made the devil within him glee. Kaizer was frozen, unable to leave and truly defeated. Her pride and sense of identity were destroyed, having been toyed around. The difference between their strength was far greater than the difference between her strength and an ant's. She regretted how she would die so quickly after being reincarnated.

     "Shit... Only if I chose a stronger vessel..."

Reginn extended his index finger and gently placed it on Kaizer's forehead. This was going to be the end.

     "Wait!" Poda-Bruss shouted "The sword is possessing an innocent girl! You need to destroy the sword"

     "...Huh, the sword eh?" replied Reginn as he casually removed the sword from Kaizer's paralyzed hands.

The colour of her hair and eyes returned to normal and she collapsed to the floor exhausted. However, Reginn did not catch her, instead letting the pavement smear her skin.P oda-Bruss quickly came to bring her to safety and fed her some water he had in his pouch. He also pulled out some emergency supplies to tend to her few wounds. While she was tired and slightly injured, she would survive this experience.

     "Ho? Are you trying to possess me?" said Reginn to Kaizer in her sword form "Good, keep trying"

Since Reginn had a natural immunity to mana, it'd be impossible for Kaizer to possess him. The process usually went that the possessor would push their mana into their victim, overwhelming their mana supply and taking over their consciousness. The exact mechanic processes of this consciousness transfer were unknown, which is why possessions were rare even among the most knowledgeable sorcerers. However, against an opponent with a lot more mana or against those who are immune to mana, the efforts would be futile.

     "Hey," shouted Reginn toward the pair of heroes tending to Cynder "can I keep this?"

     "O- of course, as long as you keep it safe" replied Poda

He believed that Reginn was fit to secure the sword since he seemed immune, more than anyone else. He knew that he himself was susceptible since he was affected when just touching the sword. In the future, he vowed to be more careful in situations like these. Though, even if they wanted to retrieve the accursed blade, he doubted they had the strength to pry it out of this stranger's hands.

     "Well, I gotta get back to my classes, see ya," said Reginn as he walked away

Orchestra and Poda watched as Reginn faded beyond the dust cloud created by the destruction. This monstrous stranger left as quickly as he came, but at least the problem was resolved for now.

     "We should return this girl to her guardians immediately," said Orchestra

     "Yes, I'll take care of that"

     "No," replied Orchestra, grabbing his wrist "We will take care of that"

And so the two walked away from the carnage, toward the inn to ask if anyone knew Cynder's parents. Soon they were on their way to bring her home.

     "Thank you," said Poda "for saving me"

     "Heroes do as heroes do, I was just looking out for a comrade"

Poda smiled. Back in his time, he had many rivals but not many friends. Of course, he had those who respected him and took his orders, but no one knew him like his king. The king was not just considerate of him but actively looked out for him. This made Poda even more royal to the kingdom, perhaps without his king, he would be much more bitter. He imagined that if they were not a king and a guard, they would be best friends in the army. Just two brothers living life. Orchestra reminded him of the old king. It was clear that she was his king's descendant as she shared many mannerisms and ideologies.

He was glad that he was resurrected. Now he had a chance to repent for his sins.

After they returned Cynder, they decided to hit the road once more. They heard a rumour from Cynder's family about the current hero, Siege's secret hideout. Siege was an illusive hero, rarely contacting the public and the king. He simply did his job efficiently and left as swiftly as he came. This location was indeed just a rumour but they decided to check it out anyways. The location was nearby so it wouldn't be a waste of time even if it turned out to be fake.

Orchestra was excited that they had their first real battle after the resurrection. Truth be told, she never really fought anyone other than the demon lord so this was a special experience. It was a bit disappointing how the red-haired boy just appeared and stole the show, but it was a great day nonetheless. She was now looking forward to future encounters and meeting new companions.