As Folorunsho engaged the hooded figures, he could not help but remember one of his training sessions with Diane. On that day, she had inquired about his style of fighting.
"Francine mentioned you were an archer," She said.
"I mean, I can use a bow, but that's not my speciality," He replied. "I mostly take one with me whenever we have quests in the Tru Forest so I can attack from range,"
"So you are not formally trained in any form of combat?"
"Nope,"
"You're more of a blank slate than I was hoping for, but that does more good than bad for me," Diane commented. "I can't teach you anything too impressive due to how early in your training we are, but I can make sure you can adequately defend yourself,"
Diane had clearly done an excellent job as Folorunsho decimated the oncoming kidnappers. He could feel the Revel course through him as he landed kicks and threw punches, staggering those on the receiving end. Had he been fighting alone, he could have gotten out of there without any issues. But he was not fighting alone.
Whenever he went in to attack, Folorunsho made sure to have Lola at arm's length. A hand lunged forward and grabbed the woman by the wrist. Before it could pull her away, the freelancer quickly landed a punch to the arm's elbow and kicked the owner in the face. Three separate attacks came in simultaneously as he struck them, but Folorunsho quickly ducked under them and swept the attackers off their feet. Folorunsho heaved as he took down one more hooded assailant. The majority had been dealt with and the remaining seemed too scared to continue their attack. As the freelancer thought he could take the opportunity to make his escape, one of the hooded figures came soaring in to fight him.
"It's him!" One of the figures said. "The freelancer he hired!"
This hooded man was unlike the rest. He fought with skill and ferocity that could not be compared with the mediocrity of those he worked with. Folorunsho tried his best to parry and evade his attacks but to no avail. The man's movements were too swift for him to react quickly enough. What's more, was the effect that his attacks had on him. Every time the hooded man made contact with a certain part of Folorunsho's body, the Revel Flow in that area became disrupted and he could no longer maintain the reinforcement there, making his hits do more damage. It was some sort of acupuncture technique, but Folorunsho was very aware of the fact that things like that would not affect Revel Flow the way this man was. His hits made it difficult for the freelancer to perceive if he was using Revel or not.
Folorunsho tried to sweep the man off his feet but he simply flipped over it and landed a flying knee on the freelancer's face. He immediately followed up with a flurry of blows too fast to react to. Each strike weakened Folorunsho's reinforcement so much that it was holding on by a string.
The onslaught became too much for Folorunsho to handle. The man punched the freelancer's guard open and followed up with a roundhouse kick. Folorunsho wheezed as all the air left his lungs. He could no longer muster his Revel to reinforce himself. As soon as Folorunsho's knees touched the ground, the other hooded figures rushed over to Lola and grabbed her. The woman struggled against her grip but it was no use. It had all been for nought.
Or so it seemed. As if on cue, a bright light flashed in the air from a heavy-duty hovercraft. The vehicle's doors slid open and several men dressed in black and blue wielding batons and firearms rushed over to the hooded figures.
"It's the cops!" One yelled.
All of the kidnappers scattered, leaving Lola and Folorunsho behind. The skilled hooded figure lingered for a while, his sharp amber eyes looking down at Folorunsho. Eventually, he took his leave as well, clearing the distance faster than all the others. The police managed to apprehend a handful of the hooded figures but the majority of them managed to escape.
The hovercraft returned to the station in Meiden where the mayor was waiting for them. The leader of Meiden was a short and tubby man, with his extravagant clothes barely holding in his folds. His thick head sat on a layer of fat instead of a neck. His pace was pudgy with his eyes and nose so far in it made it difficult to believe he could see or breathe.
"Lola, my dear darling!" The fat man cried as he rushed over to the young woman. "Look at what they did to you! Those miscreants will pay dearly for this!"
"I'm fine, Papa," Lola said. "It's all thanks to this freelancer,"
The mayor turned to face Folorunsho, his eyes squinted. The young man just smiled and waved.
"All in a day's work sir," He said.
"All in a day's work yet it is night and my daughter's ransom still had to be paid," The mayor scowled. "If it hadn't been for the commissioner's genius idea of putting a tracker in the briefcase we would have never have found my daughter, yet here you are riding the tailcoats of someone else's efforts. As to be expected of a vagabond,"
"Papa!"
"It's fine," Folorunsho said. "As long as Lola is safe, then we're both satisfied, right sir?"
"That is the most intelligible thing you've said all night. Come, Lola, we must take our leave,"
The mayor took his leave, while his daughter waited a while, her eyes meeting Folorunsho's.
"I'm sorry about him," She apologised.
"It's fine," He said. "You get used to it in my line of work. At least he didn't call me a wandering vagrant or some other shit,"
The young woman let out a small laugh.
"I never did catch your name,"
"Folorunsho,"
"Well, Folorunsho," Lola smiled. "I hope this won't be our last time meeting,"
"It could, but if you ever need me, you know where to find me,"
Folorunsho gave a small bow before taking his leave. Lola's eyes lingered on him as he walked away until her father's voice turned her away, and when she looked back, he was already gone.