The pebbles under Harley's boot crumbled when she took a single step forward and spoke.
"Use whatever form you want, it doesn't matter. I've calmed down, so I won't kill you but, I'm still going to make you feel a world of pain. Are you ready?"
Hades sighed, slothfully and shook his head.
"Not yet. Give me a second."
He first cracked his knuckles, then leaned his head to the side, cracking his neck. Letting in a breath, he reached both hands up, towards the sky, stretching all the muscles in his back and shoulders.
"Ah, that's a lot better."
"So. Now are you ready?" Harley asked.
Hades went on to shake his head once more.
"Nope. I think I'll take my leave for today. It was good talking to you. See you later."
His words showed that he had confidence that he could escape. This triggered Harley into grinding her teeth together and angrily speaking.
"As if I'd let you just walk away. I'm done giving you prep time. I'm bringing you in..."
Every muscle in her legs tightend and the floor behind her cracked as she dashed forward.
"...now!"
She threw a single punch towards Hades's face. Just before it could hit him, he vanished. The surrounding area grew quiet as Harley stood there, holding her fist out. She wasn't surprised or confused. Harley knew exactly what happened, Hades had made his escape by using one of his skills.
"Oh, he really did it. He escaped me, again!!!"
___________________
"Tag and Jump. This skill really comes in handy. It's a shame that I can only use it once per week." said Hades.
When he disappeared, he was teleported to an alleyway. This was the result of his skill [Tag And Jump]
Part one of this skill allowed him to place an invisible tag on an area. Even living things could be tagged. The second part of the skill can only be activated when a physical attack is about to strike him, only then he can instantly teleport to a tag.
Hades walked over and sat down against a wall, directly next to a dumpster.
"Using that skill really makes me exhausted every time I use it. I guess I'll have to sleep here for tonight…."
The sharp stench of garbage found it's way up his nose.
"....this is nasty. I've got to find some place to stay tomorrow."
___________________
Finally arriving at home, Katsuya opened the door and walked in.
'All the injuries I got from that fight have already healed but, my endurance is near zero. I need to relax.'
He walked into the Kitchen and boiled a pot of water then steeped green-tea bags into it. After standing by for a while, it was finally done. He added some sugar to his cup, before walking over and letting his body slump onto the couch. He was usually busy running errands, clearing dungeons and fighting monsters most of the time, so it wasn't until now that he noticed how lonely the home atmosphere felt. It was silent. There was no talking, no sound of water running as someone took a shower or as his mother washed the dishes. There was no always breakfast, lunch and dinner, ready to be eaten. There wasn't the constant annoyance of his sister and there wasn't the reminder "Throw out the trash" every friday. It was just dead silence. Only months ago, this was his ideal life, being an adventurer, living with almost no restraints. But, this isn't how he imagined it at all.
The steamy scent of tea filled the air as Katsuya breathed it in and let out a sigh.
"I wish there was someone to talk to." he said out loud, followed by a thought.
'Too bad Sora's still recovering since she was basically destroyed earlier'
A smooth warm breath touched the back of his neck and the voice of a young man spoke.
"Well, then talk to me."
The hairs on Katsuya's body shot up. The couch was thrown over when he jumped to his feet and turned around with full speed.
A man with spiked red hair and purple eyes was standing there with a slight grin.
Normally, if it was a close friend or family member, entering the house unannounced wasn't an issue but, Katsuya had never seen this man in his life. This stranger seemed rather relaxed and confident breaking into someones' house.
"Who are you supposed to be?" Katsuya asked.
A second person walked out of the halfway and revealed themselves.
It was another man, one with blue hair and different colored eyes. His left eye was red while the right one was purple. But the thing that stood out the most was the white-bandages covering the lover half of his face.
The second stranger had no dialogue, only standing in silence.
"So there's two strangers in my house." said Katsuya before going on and asking "Who are you guys and what do you want?"
The man with the spiky red hair smiled and winked.
"Don't ask questions, just go to sleep."
The request from the stranger was awfully strange and unexpected, leaving Katsuya to just stand there, unsure how to respond.
[Waring: You are under the effects of a unique skill]
'What? A unique….skill?...'
Katsuya suddenly began to feel light-headed and dizzy as he kneeled down. His vision grew blurry with each second. The last thing he would see was the emotionless stare from the second stranger. in front of him. Eventually, the dizziness became too much to handle and Katsuya lost conciousness.
Thump.
"That took longer than expected. He must have strong will-power." said the stranger with red hair.