At first, I froze, wondering if there was an accident outside my house. It there was, then I should hurry and dial the emergency hotline, calling an ambulance in. I wasn't well-versed in first aid and healing magic, but I should go down and see what I could do.
"Damn it…"
I barely got the curse off when there was yet another thunderous crash, followed by several explosions.
…nope. That was no accident. Someone was fighting outside my house and unleashing spells at each other.
Drawing back the curtains, I peered out of the windows. There was a group of people chasing a single girl for some reason. The girl, for some reason, was dressed all in white. A pristine white dress, a short skirt, and a grand cloak billowing behind her as she ran. Her pursuers were hurling fireballs, icicles, lightning bolts, earth spikes and wooden lances at her as they chased, but she dodged them magnificently. Occasionally, she would spin around and slashed the magical projectiles with a glowing sword, cutting them down before they could hit her.
As usual, nobody in the neighborhood poked their heads out. They were already used to the constant violence that erupted outside my house, every time I was running away from my own assailants bent on abducting me, and they were wise enough not to interfere. They probably would call the military (since the police weren't equipped enough to deal with professional combat mages), but that was about as far as their involvement got.
Nobody was stupid enough to stick their heads out in the middle of a fight between superhuman monsters, after all.
On the other hand, I wasn't an ordinary human. I was a mage as well. While the pursuers seemed pretty professional, I couldn't just leave the poor girl on her own. She was slowly being overwhelmed, her escape route cut off as a new group descended on the opposite of the road, flanking her. More magical projectiles were launched in her direction, forcing her to step back and slice through them.
"Huff…!"
Perspiration dripped down her beautiful face as she gazed from left to right. Her swordsmanship was peerless, on par with Cecilia or even better. Her moves were minimal, yet elegant, tight and efficient, deadly and impenetrable. I could see her executing a series of slashes that rendered an entire bombardment of fire and lightning harmless.
With just her sword alone.
Suddenly, I was reminded of the Armament Ba Qi that Teacher Fielding told me about. Furthermore, her movements seemed very familiar somehow…as if I had just fought against someone using the same techniques only recently.
But…where? Who?
I shook my head. That didn't matter. What mattered was what I should do. I wasn't sure if I should get involved. How did I know the girl was the victim? For all I knew, she could be a criminal, being hunted down by agents of the government, and getting arrested. Of course, they didn't seem intent on arresting her, not with that level of bombardment and spells. They were obviously trying to kill her.
The point was, regardless of how beautiful the girl was, I couldn't just jump in and take her side without knowing the actual situation. If she turned out to be some psychopath who had just committed mass murder somewhere, then obviously the authorities would be trying to capture her by force, and bring her down by killing if necessary. This wasn't some anime where a beautiful bishoujo automatically qualified as the good person and everyone trying to kill her was the villain. I needed to get my facts right before getting involved.
But I wasn't going to find out by cowering at home. If the girl did indeed turn out to be a victim, my conscience would never let me live it down if she died right outside my house. Besides, I wasn't in much danger. I was literally inside an impenetrable flaming barrier set up by Dad. The worst case scenario, I could just dive back in and hide inside while they got incinerated trying to break in. The flame barrier was left active…and was even strengthened by Dad before he departed for his overseas mission. Just to be sure.
Hastily leaving my room, I hurried downstairs and toward the courtyard. Striding toward the front gate, I yelled as loudly as I could, "what the fuck is going on!? Do you have any idea what time it is?! Why are you making such a ruckus?!"
Okay, I was aware that I was the last person who should be complaining about noise, but that was the best way of getting involved without actually getting involved. I mean, seriously, did you expect me to straight up ask them, "hey, who's the bad guy and who's the good guy?"
Like hell they would reply to that.
I did get my reply, though. Just not in the form I expected.
The men in suits and sunglasses (honestly, why the fuck were they wearing sunglasses at night? to look cool? How stupidly impractical) didn't even say a word, and they immediately flung fireballs, icicles and lightning bolts in my direction. They clearly intended to kill me or silence me, for no other reason than I complained about the noise.
Okay, at least I knew who the bad guys were.
The magical projectiles slammed ineffectually against the barrier and fizzled out immediately. I couldn't help but laugh in glee at the shock written all over their faces when they witnessed their failed murder attempt.
For that alone, I was going to kill them.
The girl, on the other hand, was behaving opposite. She glanced at me frantically, her sapphire eyes sparkling worriedly and her long, silver hair flying behind her head.
"Get back in the house!" she shouted. "They're after only me! Don't get involved!"
"Who are they?" I demanded. "Assassins?"
"Does it matter!? Just get back in your house!"
She gritted her teeth as she swung her sword, spinning around to deflect the magical projectiles from both directions. A strand of silver hair drifted away as an icicle came in too close for comfort, but she dodged it splendidly while slicing apart a fireball. The men in suits were closing in on her, and she readied her stance, getting ready to fight them off from both directions.
"Can't do that, lady," I replied as I left my house. Several of the men in suits immediately swiveled toward me, launching whatever deadly spells they could, but I conjured Scutum Sobiescianum to knock them away. "This is my neighborhood. No one starts a fight here without my permission."
Then I completed my summoning spell. I had already started on the casting ever since I witnessed the pursuit from my window, and thankfully I had remained in the vicinity of my house this entire time, so I had all the time in the world to safely cast my summoning spell.
"White Tiger, wipe them out."
A lightning storm crackled and blasted across the entire district, knocking scores of men off their feet. Being professionals, however, a good number of them were able to evade, jumping back to avoid the devastating web of electricity. Unfortunately for one side of them, a massive White Tiger had landed in their midst, maiming them and tearing them apart. Screams filled the air as the men in suits scrambled quickly to deal with the new threat.
On the other side, Aries, Taurus and Capricorn materialized to form a wall of horn and muscle between the girl and the men in suits. As expected of professional mages, they didn't back down and immediately bombarded the poor trio, bathing them in destructive mana. They wouldn't last very long, but I didn't need them to.
"Follow me," I instructed the girl, grabbing her hand and dragging her toward my house. "And don't let go of my hand unless you want to be burnt to a crisp."
"Eh? What? What's going on?!"
The girl gaped at me, but we were through the front gate and in my courtyard, safely behind the fiery barrier. At the same time, my trio of Constellation spirits winked out, finally overwhelmed by the professional mages. White Tiger fared a lot better, but with reinforcements arriving behind him, even he wasn't going to last much longer as well. I quickly dismissed him as well.
"After them!"
As one, the men in suits charged into my house, ramming into the barrier and tumbling right into the courtyard. Every single one of them didn't hesitate, throwing themselves into my dad's territory in a furious attempt to get the girl.
"…!"
The girl tried to spin around to face them with her sword, but I kept my grip tightly on her wrist and pulled her back.
"I told you not go let go of my hand."
"But…!"
"Just shut up and watch!" I snapped.
The girl wanted to protest further, but a spark caught her eye. Turning around, her jaw dropped when she saw the entire group of pursuing men in suits catch fire. Shrieking and bellowing, they fell onto the grass, which for some reason didn't catch fire (because the enchantment recognized them as friendly objects), their bodies ablaze.
Rolling about for a few seconds, their entire bodies engulfed in roaring flames, they screamed before they were incinerated completely, leaving nothing more than piles of ashes and soot behind.
"Oh, I'm going to have to clean that mess up," I complained. The girl continued to gape in disbelief and I pulled her gently.
"Come on. Inside here. Once you're in the house you'll be safe."
Turning toward the door, I spoke to the runes carved into the porch.
"Recognize this person as a guest, please."
They glowed, and then I let go of her hand. The girl rubbed her wrist absentmindedly before sheathing her sword. She turned to stare at me.
"Just who are you?"
"Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking others for their names?" I replied.
"Ah…my apologies." The girl lowered her head, her silver hair spilling over her shoulders and running toward her back. I noticed a few tears on her formerly pristine white dress, and a few scrapes and bruises. Evidently she didn't get out of the chase unscathed.
"Inside," I repeated, jerking my thumb inside. "We'll get your wounds treated, then you can talk. Maybe tell me why those men were chasing you."
"Yes." The girl followed me inside the house. After taking a seat on the couch, I brought a first aid kit to tend to her injuries. As I placed plasters on her scrapes, she didn't even wince. Clearly she had a formidable mental fortitude.
Taking a deep breath, she bowed her head.
"Thank you very much for taking care of me." She was about to ask for my name again, but she hesitate, remembering my rebuke from earlier. "I am Kureha Franklin."
"Richard Huang," I responded. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Kureha."
Inside, something trembled. Did she say Franklin? Her family name was Franklin? A faint memory of one of my most formidable opponents drifted to the surface of my mind. Shawn Franklin, who had bravely faced down Yuan Dao Yue Guang's wrath before he was mercilessly killed.
"Are you…perhaps from the Franklin family?"
"That's right." Kureha nodded, her face tinged with sorrow. "One of the ten great families, and the bloodline famous for producing the most skilled swordsmen and swordswomen in the Global Federation." She placed a hand on her well-endowed chest. "I am the eighty-ninth inheritress of the venerable title 'Sword Saint'."