On the main street near the exit of the town connecting with the arid zone, a fifteen-year-old boy walked towards a pretty girl.
"Have you heard the last news?"
The girl looked displeased when that guy interrupted her. She was thinking about something important, and that guy interrupted her out of nothing.
"I am not interested. Leave me alone."
She felt that the boy was another of her fans. Although they were bothersome, they usually obeyed when she asked them to leave.
"Don't reject me this quickly. The truth is that Soul-eating Eagles are coming to this town right now. The exits are closed so they can eat us. We need to flee soon from this town. My friends made a plan to escape, so we wanted to invite you to join us."
Contrary to the girl's expectations, the boy didn't give up.
"Mixing truth and lies. I already know that they are going to another town. although it is possible that they come here next, it can't happen until tomorrow, given the habits of the Soul-eating Eagles."
The girl was already informed about the topic.
"Tomorrow is still soon! We need to make preparations, or we will all die!"
Although the boy had exaggerated a bit, it was true that there wasn't a lot of time left to flee from the town.
"No need. I don't fear those beasts, and if I want to flee, I don't need your help. Leave me alone."
She was starting to get annoyed.
That girl was Eini, and she could just flee flying at any moment she wanted.
However, she didn't fear the Soul-eating Eagles when they were still Level 9 Mortal. Although they were a level higher than her and also superior in number, she was sure that she would be able to kill some without problems. If the numbers were too high, she could just flee.
She had been pondering about if going to hunt those Soul-eating Eagles or not. She feared that they appeared because the guards pursuing her had disturbed them, so it would be partially her fault.
"You need to come with me! The town where they are is too poor! Those fools wouldn't be enough to satiate the Soul-eating Eagles!"
The girl looked at the guy with disdain.
"What do you know about souls? How can it be that they have bad souls just because they are poor? You are the only fool here."
Although the people of that town were rather skinny due to not eating much, that didn't have any effect on their souls. The Soul-eating Eagles didn't move from their position for a day after eating souls, so it didn't matter the amount of flesh that they ate.
"Shut up and come with me! Let's flee while those fools are eaten."
The guy lost his patience and was about to grasp Eini's arm.
However, before he could do it, he felt that something hard had hit his face, and he was knocked to the floor.
"The next time I hear you insult the honest people of that town, or I saw you intimidating a girl, I will feed you to the beasts."
The person who had punched that guy was Shiba. He was running to the arid zone when he overheard the conversation. Moreover, he recognized the voice of the girl, and since she had helped him with the scammer, he felt like returning the favor while punishing the guy.
The punch had been with Earth Armor covering his fist, so the damage that the guy received was quite big despite the guy being a Level 7 Mortal.
At that moment, Eini was flabbergasted. She didn't expect that the other person with the Fake Origin Path would help her.
Of course, she didn't need any help because she could beat that guy even without using skills. It was just that she was trying to not rely on violence while being on the main street. However, when the guy was about to grab her, she was ready to kick him in some delicate parts, so that someone that stupid couldn't have kids in the future.
When Shiba helped her, Eini expected that Shiba would try to establish a conversation with her since she was quite famous, and her looks made that all the boys of the town were attracted to her.
However, she was surprised that Shiba just said a single sentence before continuing to run.
"I paid you back the favor for helping me with the scammer."
She had helped him mainly because she hated the scammer, and she found indignant that a second person with a Fake Origin Path was going to be scammed by the same person.
Thus, she didn't feel that she had acted to help Shiba, and she wasn't expecting anything in return.
"Well, he seems different from the others."
While she was looking at Shiba run away, the guy who had been punched managed to stand up.
"I will kill that guy, but first, you are coming with me. You don't have a choice in this. Disobey me, and your life will be a hell!"
The guy felt that his face had been ruined, but at least he wanted to finish his mission to kidnap Eini.
He was a member of the criminal gang that ruled the night on Border City. He had the mission to trick Eini to follow him, and when she was lowered her guard, she would be assaulted by all the members.
However, he was still too young, so once he was angered, his cover was blown up and showed his true nature.
"Hell will be your life if you survive."
While speaking to the guy that threatened her, Eini followed her previous plan and kicked him. However, since that time he had threatened her, she used the Skill called Flame Kick.
The guy didn't expect something like that, but the pain and the sensation of being burned were too much for him to endure.
"Help, she wants to kill me!"
He shouted in despair, but no one tried to help him.
The rest of the people on the street had heard how he had threatened the girl first, so everyone felt that he deserved it.
Even some members of his gang mixed among the rest of the people in the street decided to ignore him.
If they were to rush there and help him, not only would their identities be discovered by the rest of the citizens, but it was also possible that the girl would leave them in the same state.
Eini looked like a cute little girl who wouldn't harm anyone, but she was a renowned beast hunter, so it was obvious that she wasn't weak at all. That was also the reason they wanted to use a ploy to trick her instead of attacking her directly.
After literally putting the guy on fire, Eini turned towards the direction Shiba ran and saw him make wings appear on his back and leave the city.
"It seems that he is planning to stop those Soul-eating Eagles. Let's follow him."
Since she felt that maybe it was her fault, she couldn't let someone else do the whole job for her.
With that thought in mind, she created a pair of flaming wings and flew in the same direction as Shiba.
The people in the main street were already shocked after seeing how Shiba started to fly, but they saw that Eini did the same seconds afterward made them feel that they were in a dream.
That day not only they heard the news about beasts that weren't seen since ancient times appearing, but two kids also created wings and left the town flying.
Some of them hit themselves to check if they were dreaming, but it really hurt, so they needed to accept reality.
While they were shocked, the guy managed to extinct the fire on his body, but he was seriously injured.
If someone didn't help him, he would die in some hours. However, even if he survived, his life had already been ruined. No one in that town had the capability to heal him perfectly, so it was a fact that he would never recover completely from the burns leaving him with an unsightly appearance. Moreover, it was difficult to say if he would even be able to walk again. Even if he survived, he would be a cripple.
There was no way a woman would be attracted to him after that, but even if there was such a woman, as a man, he already received lethal damage. Given where the fire started and that kick, it was easy to know the results.
Shiba's punch broke some of his teeth and deformed his face, but that was still in the range that could be healed with enough resources. However, Eini's attack had been merciless.
"If I survive, I swear that I will do my utmost to ruin their lives. Even if I die, I will turn into a resentful spirit!"
He couldn't contain his rage.
"Then, it is better if I don't leave a soul behind."
After hearing those words, the soul of the man dissipated, which also made that his body died.
Lina knew that it wasn't probable that the guy could turn into a resentful spirit, but she didn't dare to bet since she wasn't an expert in curses. However, destroying his soul was an infallible method.
The rest of the people just thought that he died for his injuries, so Lina's action wasn't noticed at all.
"I should follow those two. I don't know if they would be able to win against those beasts, but it would be a good training for them anyway. At least they should be able to flee."
Lina immediately followed Shiba and Eini.
As for the dead guy, the guards discovered that he had a conflict with Shiba and Eini, so they decided to say that he was a wanted criminal and treated it as a merit.
Although it was true that he was a criminal, the guards weren't sure about his identity. However, given the potential that Shiba and Eini had, they wouldn't be on bad terms with them for a dead man, and given what the testimonies said, that young man sought death with his actions.
Moreover, Shiba was under the protection of the Lord of the town, so even if he killed someone without reason, he wouldn't be blamed for it. Anyway, he only punched the guy, so everyone believed that Eini was the one who killed him with that Flame Kick, but since the young man had threatened her before and the Lord of the town also wanted to be on good terms with Eini, there was no way she would be blamed.