Arcadia

Converged Paths

"What do you intend to do, mister?" asked Yura.

"Didn't I make myself clear already? Step out of the way, and I will gladly leave after seeing through that thing's execution." The robed man continued his approach, which prompted Yura to step forward and point Lucent Heart at the him.

"Unauthorized hunting won't be tolerated." Yura stood firmly in place, unwavering. 

"What foolishness. Among the few members of Arcadia blessed with the sixth sense, you people just had to band together and defend these dirty things. They are not even worthy of our acknowledgement."

"Step back or I'll have to stop you by force," threatened Yura. He's just like those people in Dreadnought. 

Ren, meanwhile, was eyeing the robed person intently. While Yura was concerned about the killing, he was more concerned about something else.

The robed man put his crossbow up and aimed it at Yura, much to her surprise. Her grip on the rod loosened a bit, when she heard Ren's loud and clear voice. "Binding Chains!"

Ren tossed out some talismans. As Yura has seen before, magical chains rose out of the ground, surrounding the robed man. He quickly reacted and let go of his crossbow while jumping back. 

"Yura, let me handle this," asked Ren, who put his hand on the girl's shoulders, gently shoving her aside. 

"W-what are you doing?" asked Yura. 

"Tch! I can't take on the two of you at once..." In a move of seeming desperation, the robed man revealed a vial from under his robe. 

A bomb? Ren swiftly swung his hand out for another round of Binding Chains. This time, he caught the target.

The chains wrap around the robed man, he opened the vial and released a large cloud of purple smoke. Ren was forced to cancel Binding Chains and focus on a magical barrier around him and Yura.

The smoke eventually cleared, and the robed man was left dead on the ground. His arms were sprawled out, and his eyes left a hollow stare towards the night sky. 

"T-this... is just like what we saw earlier. The news! Ren-senpai..."

Yura deactivated Lucent Heart and looked at both the robed man who commited suicide. Then she switched to the one they tried to protect. The latter has died as well, with parts of his body slowly turning to ash, mostly stemming from some magical energy on the projectile shot at his body.

Ren did not bother correcting Yura about honorifics. In fact, he did not even talk. Instead, he took the crossbow then grabbed Yura by the hand. 

"W-wait? Why are you..." She felt her hand loosen up as Ren held onto it. It's been her first time to come in contact with him like this, and...

"Snap out of it. We must get out of here. We don't want to be caught on the scene."

Ren's serious tone got Yura back into focus. "O-of course.." 

It was unnervingly quiet, and their footsteps remain the only thing that can be heard. This would remain so until Ren and Yura made it to the sidewalks. Having left the vicinity of the incident, the two slowed down and immediately blended in with the other people.

It was only a matter of time before the sound of people's shouts filled the air. There was no doubt about it. They were scrambling towards the site of the murder.

Ren managed to stay really calm about it.

It's alright, we didn't really use any irregular magic that will tip anyone off, did we? I-it's just Binding Chains and... Yes! Nothing to worry about! There isn't even a stain of blood and such and...