A Person I Would Kill For

"Why go through this much trouble to tail us?" Louis asked.

And by that, he meant why bring 3 S-rank bodyguards. From the enemy's perspective, 1 would surely be enough. So why were they going overboard with it?

Playing with the tip of a knife, Joel responded, "To be fair, I thought you might've just gotten really lucky when you fought the men at the gate. But, I was able to tell you had some combat skill. When you left that room in ruins, along with the corpses of the other henchmen, that's why I realized you're not an average person."

Louis placed his hand on his hip, replying with a sigh, "Nope. My strength, mana and vitality are as average as they come."

Joel's footing intensified as a twig under his heel snapped.

"Even so, none of our forces have been able to come close to besting you. You certainly have some abilities helping you out, though It's not apparent what those may be. That's why these two women by my side are cancelers. One cancels your ordinary active abilities, while the other is able to cancel passive abilities."

Louis stepped back, surprised. Someone having an ability to cancel Passive abilities was unheard of. If Louis had to guess, he would say they were bluffing, but his hunch told him that it was the truth.

"What?... A canceler that stops passive abilities?"

Assuming that it's all true, Louis would be unable to resurrect if he died. As for Joel, he would still be able to use any abilities at his disposal. It was a dilemma that made even Louis a bit frightful. The only way to win against them was to somehow catch them off guard.

Joel took a step forward, "That's right. From this moment on, you are no more than a simple target."

Stopping him from coming any closer, Louis held out his hand.

"Wait! I have a small question."

"What is it? Hurry up, I don't want to waste any more time than needed."

Louis replied in a confident tone, "My abilities and passive abilities are blocked out. But, there's nothing stopping me from using magic, is there?"

"Enough stalling! Here I come."

Joel charged forward, ready to thrust a knife forward.

Meanwhile, Louis stood calmly. Though he was out of mana, he was always prepared for something like this. That's why he kept a couple different runes in his pockets. Most people wouldn't dare to do this as runes costed wealthy amounts.

Pulling one of them out, Louis shouted.

"Bad move. I'll use your momentum against you. DEVASTATING PULL!"

A forceful ripple of wind lifted Joel off his feet, pulling him forward at great speeds.

Louis pulled out another rune, this was specifically for enhancements.

"Bone Shocking Force!"

His entire hand was filled by a mystical blue light. One powerful swing, Louis shoved his knuckles into Joel's chest.

The bodyguard was launched back, all while a shocking force traveled through his bones.

ZZZZZ

Louis let out a sigh.

"You know, I was getting scared by the fact you were S-rank. But looks like you dropped pretty easily."

"..It wasn't smart of me to charge in for a melee fight. I should've just started off with magic as well. However, it is amazing you can still think fast considering your weakened state. I don't want to risk losing a 1 on 1. So I'll have some help. I'll be kind though, I'll leave Stella alive for now. If you somehow kill us all, you're free to leave. If you die first, Stella also dies."

Joel gave the two women behind him permission to join in. But first, they made sure to deliver a firm strike at the back of Stella's neck, putting her unconsciously on the floor. They couldn't risk her interfering or running off.

Bmp! Thump!

"Wait! That's not fair! It's a 3 on 1 now." Louis testified.

"Tough luck." said Joel, as him and his two companions lifted their palms, aiming at Louis.

If Louis didn't move fast, he was going to be blown to smithereens. Louis spirited away, jumping side to side.

Blasts of light followed behind, exploding across the ground and splintering trees.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The bodyguards chased after him, while he traveled off-path into the darker parts of the forest. It was an unfortunate place for them to lose sight of Louis as there were many craters, trees and bushes for cover. At this point, Louis could be anywhere. It would be a hard place to navigate for Joel and the other 2.

"Let's split up. Be careful, he's obviously trying something." said Joel.

"Understood" Both women replied.

All of them summoned an orb of light to brighten the darkness as they all ventured in different areas.

Seconds passed until it had been five whole minutes.

It would seem as if Louis had already escaped, but Joel knew that wasn't the case as he could still feel his presence lurking.

"Oh, will you come out already? Do you take pride in hiding." Joel shouted.

But only the sound of crickets replied.

'Where is that coward hiding. I'll regroup with the other two. Maybe they have an idea where he's hiding.'

Joel followed the aura of the other 2 bodyguards until he reached an area of the forest where he had sensed them. But, they didn't seem to be in sight.

"Huh? I could've sworn that their aura led me here. Where are they?"

Joel peeked behind one of the trees and froze, both of his partners were laying on the ground. But why were they resting at a time like this? That was the issue, they weren't resting. They were lifless and blood had soaked their clothes from stab wounds.

"What the?.... No…."

The sound of crickets suddenly went silent. Why?

It was a hint of danger. Whenever something dangerous is close, nearby forest animals and bugs go quiet to avoid detection. But what were they hiding from.

The feeling of someone behind sent chills down Joel's spine. He spun around and held out his hand to cast a spell, but was too late.

Shank!

A blade had already pierced through his stomach.

A violent bloody cough flew from Joel's mouth and his body went limp. But he wasn't dead, his limbs were just in shock, while his conscious was confused.

"You...would even kill women?" Joel asked.

"I wish I didn't have to. But when me and a friend are in danger, I get serious." said Louis. His face was serious, and his posture was firm, even for being weakened.

He pulled the blade from the bodyguard's stomach, letting him fall back against a tree trunk.

"....You...are pretty stealthy….you bested three...S-rankers with just you stealth...consider...me impressed."

Joel's body went pale and it was clear that his soul was gone from his body.

The fight was won and each of the body-gaurds were defeated.

But, Louis didn't do it all effortlessly. When he engaged against the other 2, they had landed multiple attacks on him, opening fierce wounds.

Blood fell from Louis's face, nose and mouth. His clothes had been torn and there were many slashed across his arms, legs and back. If anyone saw him, they would say he was second's away from death. Which was true.

Trying to make his way back to Stella, Louis's knees became weak and he stumbled on the ground. His blood slowly flooded out, until his life-force was fully gone....

His death only lasted seconds before he stood up once again. His body healed and his wounds closed.

"Yep...I would've definitely died if those cancelers stayed alive. resurrection is my plot armor."

After lifting the unconscious Stella from the path, louis walked the entire way back to the mansion. Once inside, everyone looked at him with utter concern and shock.

"WOAh! Louis! Are you okay?" Diane asked.

"Louis! What happened?!!!" Indigo asked.

"You look like you survived death!" Leo shouted.

They all noticed Louis's battered clothes that had lots of dried blood on the. Not only that, there was dried blood all over his face.

"I'm alright. I'd appreciate it if you could put this girl in a bed. As you can see, she's unconscious." said Louis.

Everyone was too concerned for him, that they hadn't noticed the lady he was carrying until now.

Diane and indigo stood hesitant from seeing this stranger.

"But...who is she."

Louis sighed and reassured them that it was safe to trust her, "Her name is Stella. She was helping me get some information, but we ran into some issues."

Which was obvious at this point, considering looks.

"Yeah, I got it. I'll put her in a room." Leo walked over, lifting stella over his shoulder before taking her away.

One issue settled, Diane focused on Louis.

"You should get some rest as well."

"I can't. I have to go handle something very fast."

"But you're injured!"

"My wounds have already healed. I'll be back in an hour. I promise."

Louis opened the door and left.

Rain began to fall heavily from the sky, drenching his hair and clothes within seconds.

'If that Jess guy really thinks that Stella is an assassin, he'll be coming for her eventually. I don't doubt that. It's not a part of my job to do this, but...I need to put him down.'

Louis was going to find his way back to Jess's house. Once he was there, he was going to put an end to Jess and whoever got in Louis's way.

Louis had his own reasons why he was overprotective when it came to those he held dear. Never again, will he let someone close to him die from his lack of skill or action.