"Hardening."
My fists turned from skin to enamel. A set of bones started to surround the one in my hand. I had an exoskeleton around my hand. They weighed more than my sword.
Under the bright light, I stepped into the alley.
"Just stop, already…" I opened and closed my fist a couple of times to check how well they worked. I cringed looking at 4 vermin attack a young girl.
"What?" One of them looked back and put an impressed look on his face. "Oh, look at the size of this guy. What do you want? If you want a chance at her, you have to pay us you know?"
"Shut up, you sick shit." How could someone be so abhorrent?
I strengthened my senses, I could see every twitch in their muscles. I could hear their breaths.
'They don't deserve to get out of this alive.'
"Sick shit?! Oi Oi… Be careful about who you're saying this to." The ugly man who was the first to grab her- stood up and pulled out a knife from his pocket.
"Say, do you have a wife and children?" I asked while meeting his eyes. Another burden to my soul wouldn't be good.
The gang in the back continued to do their stuff. But I wouldn't let them get too far. If I let them defile her, it won't be much of a rescue, would it?
"What does that have to-" I used my agility to jump right in front of the man and bent down so that our eyes met.
"Do you?"
"I don-" That was enough of an answer.
Without wasting a second, I punched the man right in his chest. So hard that I felt the bones inside his torso crack. His lungs exploded and he vomited out his blood. The man's breath stopped on the spot. Dead.
I grabbed him before he went flying off swung him around and threw him at another gang member.
"GGAAARRRHHH!" The member I aimed at got thrown back by the impact.
That was enough to get the rest of the gang's attention. They had the gall to look at me as if I was a nuisance after what they were doing. How dare they?
"Hello." I waved at them a little, face straight and emotionless.
"You little!" The man who put chloroform on the girl let go of her garments.
The next second, one of the members ran and tackled right into me. His face was buried in my abdomen.
But he was so weak that I would've had no problems taking him on even before I met the deity. So I just stood there as his legs flailed around on the ground trying to push me.
"Do you have a wife or kids?"
"FUCK O-!"
I used my hardened elbow and hit his nape. The base of the neck caved in, his eyes rolled back into his head. A fountain of blood broke out from his nose. His broken vertebra slowly slid against my torso. Dead.
Before he could fall, I grabbed him by the shoulder, swung him around and threw him at the third member.
"You really shouldn't have been doing this. I don't even feel the slightest bit bad about killing you all in cold blood."
This was my first time, but I felt almost psychopathic while murdering these bitches.
The third man was too scared to come to me, so using my agility, I went to him instead.
"!!" The poor man didn't even have a chance to react.
"Are you married? Or a father?" I asked. There was reluctance in the man's eyes. He was nowhere as confident as the first two.
"N-No. BUT WHY DOES THAT MATT-!" I punched his stomach so hard that he fell down and emptied its contents and some blood.
The stone floor started to get dyed scarlet.
I kicked him to turn him so that he was lying on his back. His eyes were red and about to come out, he was crying. He didn't even have the air to plead for his life.
I continued to look him dead in his eyes.
Before I stomped his liver into mush.
Dead.
One more to go.
'Doesn't look like this one will be too hard.' I turned towards the final prey. The last man fell back on his ass and started to crawl behind until his back hit the wall.
"YOU KNOW YOU ARE GOING UP AGAINST? IF BOSS FINDS YOU YOU ARE DEAD!" He yelled. Like a dying dog.
I slowly walked over to him as the ground under him got soaked.
When his visage showed an appropriate amount of fear, I kicked my leg right on the wall right next to his head. He flinched with little tears welling up in his eyes.
'Well, he was an easy character to break.'
At this point, it felt like I was having fun with this.
"I WILL- I will-" This one had the room to plead.
"Do you have a wife and children?" I put my head next to his ugly mug.
"I! I! I DO!" He gave in after looking at his gang's dead bodies. "I HAVE A WIFE! AH AND I ALSO HAVE A CHILD AROUND YOUR AGE!"
"Well, they'll be turning into a widow and an orphan now." I grabbed his face and was right about to smash it into the wall.
"NOOO! I CAN GIVE YOU ANYTHING!" He shouted and I stopped right before contact. The man opened his eyes to see what was going on with a certain hope. He thought he survived. "Ehehe."
'Striking a deal with me, huh?' Fucking retard.
Just as a smile started climbing his face, I smashed his head into the ground. Brain splattered everywhere.
Dead.
My first time killing humans wasn't all that bad. Maybe because I didn't consider them humans anymore.
"Now… onto the next part." I went over to the girl who was lying on the ground, naked and shivering. I grabbed her chin and pulled her face up. Her eyes were broken. She was just a step away from fainting. "Tch."
I rested her on my knee and pulled my shirt off, wiped the chloroform and tears off using it before I dressed her up with it.
Of course, the shirt was so big for her that it was practically a dress, so I tied the bottom up between her legs to stop any exposure. Even from this close up, she looked like a kid. I patted her shoulder.
Her life was going to be hell from now on living in secrecy. But at least it would be better than if I hadn't intervened.
'Let's get out of here.'
"NOOOOOO! THIS MAN KILLED 4 PEOPLE!" Suddenly, someone from a higher floor shouted. "Someone call the boss!"
"Shit."
'THAT REACTION WAS TOO QUICK! Is this what I get for saving a girl?' It was only a matter of time before the guards showed up. I needed to do something quick. With the easy part of offing 4 weaklings over, the gravity of the situation dawned on me.
No matter how much stronger I had gotten, I wouldn't be able to take the town on by myself.
Hearing the loud noise from upstairs the girl started shivering even harder.
'I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!'
I rubbed her back before picking her up from the middle of the shirt like a suitcase. She was light.
"I LEFT YOU ALONE FOR 10 MINUTES! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!" Vivi rushed in front of the alley.
"Nothing, just got in a little scuffle." Her face became empathetic after looking at the girl in my hands. "Here, catch." I threw the girl and she picked her up like she would a baby. I looked around while pacing out of the alley past her.
Vivi grabbed my chainmail.
"I know you're a bitch, but don't throw he-" I pushed her hand off.
"Guards are coming. Take her and run outside the city." I fixed my chainmail before getting on the main street.
From the back, I heard the sound of synchronised footsteps. They were already here.
'HOW ARE THEY SO QUICK?!'
There was no way I could escape while carrying the little girl- But Vivi could. But even Vivi wouldn't be able to carry both of us together.
TCH!
"What?" Vivi looked at me trying to understand the situation.
"You don't need to know, just follow my orders. Go full speed, and don't stop." I pushed her down the slope.
"Go! Go! GO!"