Muscle Memory

The girl's limbs were trembling in fear as she cried, watching the group of men come closer.

"P-please. Don't hurt me."

She turned to run, but was stopped by a man, blocking the path out of the alleyway.

Before she could do anything, the men were already grabbing her and softly stroking her hair.

"What nice skin ya have." said one of the men.

Next, the others followed with their own creepy words.

"You have beautiful, soft skin."

"This is gonna be fun."

The girl tried to shake them off, but the men overpowered her without challenge.

"Please!.. Someone!" the girl shouted in a last effort, hoping someone would hear her plead for help.

Nobody came.

One of the men covered her mouth so that she wouldn't yell anymore.

Finally, the girl accepted her fate and calmed her muscles. There wasn't any reason for her to keep fighting, she had lost hope.

"Yeah. That's more like it, now stay quiet."

Tmp...Tmp..Tmp…

A loud, study pair of shoes echoed in the alleyway as Louis's spoke, tiredly.

"Okay, okay, fine. I'll help. Just stay relaxed, I'll handle these guys for you."

Even if he didn't want to come, he still came anyway. It was just in his instincts as a former 'Royal Knight'

But most of the reason was simply because he really couldn't shake the feeling of guilt.

"Now, you thugs just leave the girl alone. If you do that, I'll let you guys walk away." said Louis.

"I'll handle this." said one of the men.

He was awfully muscular and tall, truly a scary guy.

"Step aside." Louis demanded.

"Shadup!"

The man's bulky arm twitched and covered in an orange light.

'Oh, I see.'

Louis smirked as he saw the many deadly arms. It was being covered in a type of enhancing magic. Getting hit by something like that would be fatal for almost anyone.

"Hah. It looks like you're leaving me no choice. I will use my power magic too de-"

Swoosh. Swoosh.

Louis was given no time to finish as the man swung a punch at him.

Boom Crackle.

A cloud of debris filled the air, blocking sight as the ground had been splintered.

The girl stood in horror. She just witnessed a man die, a man who tried to save her.

"..NO!!" She cried.

"Aye, shut it. Unless you want to end up like that man."

The wind shook as the cloud of debris was swiftly cleared.

The group of thugs stood in shock as Louis stood without any sort of injuries. It looked as if he wasn't struck at all.

"What?!"

"How?!"

The thugs gasped.

Louis pointed at them and smirked with confidence.

"You thugs chose the wrong day to commit this crime. Now, you meet me, the most powerful man in the kingdom. I am the secret weapon."

'The Secret Weapon' was a nickname given to the most powerful man of the kingdom, a man who once lifted a whole town by striking the ground.

"Huh?!!"

"Are you serious?!"

"Ah, man! Our luck went bad?!"

Each of the men were terrified and became drenched in sweat.

Louis laughed at their fear and lifted his finger into the air.

"Here, I end your lives with a magic beam."

The thugs covered their heads and tightly closed their eyes. In terror, they waited for their death, but nothing happened. They looked at the man they feared.

Louis scratched the back of his head and gigged.

"Naw just playing. I'm not actually the secret weapon. You see, one of my abilities is to have an easier time convincing people. Come on, you guys actually believed me?"

"What? Then how didn't you get hurt by my attack?"

Louis lifted his finger and explained, "Actually, it was just a simple absorbing spell. I would've been screwed if you actually hit me."

Still, the thugs of the alleyway stood in surprise. Clearly, they didn't pass any magic classes. If they did, they wouldn't be so surprised by a simple spell.

"If you don't know about that, then you're all noobs at magic-stuff." said Louis.

The men looked at each other and nodded. Now that they knew that their opponent wasn't really anyone special, it would light work. Each of them pulled out knives and rushed at Louis, who stood calmly.

His lifted and smashed his knee into one of the men, sending him unconscious.

Smash!

From the side ,a knife came straight at him. Louis easily kicked it into the air and slammed his opponent's head into the floor.

Slam!

With a plain expression, Louis looked at the last thug standing. Instead of running, the man held his knife tighter and charged at Louis.

One slash, Louis easily moved aside.

Another slash, Louis leaned back.

The thug pulled his knife back and thrusted it at Louis's face but missed by an inch.

"Just sit down."

Louis's fingertip was suddenly covered by a red light as he flicked the thug's forehead.

Flick! Thump!

That was the last one. Each of these criminals laid unconscious.

Louis held his hand into the air, looking in amazement.

'Woah..I wasn't sure if I knew how to fight after 5 years. I guess the muscle memory is still there.'

He looked to the side and saw that the girl was nowhere in sight. She had taken the earliest opportunity to escape.

'Wow, she's smart. Wasted no time.'

Now that he had successfully saved someone from something bad, it actually brought a sense of peace into mis mind.

'This does feel better than ignoring it. Maybe I would've been guilty for awhile if I didn't help. I guess I still have instincts from being a Royal Knight.'

He was starting to think, 'Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to take on the mission after all. But, I know for sure I'm a little out of practice. My old self would have handled these guys in a single second.'

Louis looked at the limply fallen thugs in the alleyway.

"I...just hope I didn't kill them."