Chapter 76 : Yuki's debt to Madame Yuna

Salomé held out her hand, serious as a bailiff in the middle of a seizure.

— You can give me the money directly, I'm going to give it to Madame Yuna.

Yuki stared at her.

— I... I don't actually have any money.

— What?! Salomé narrowed her eyes. — So how do you plan to pay? Were you trying to run away again?

Yuki raised his hands to the sky, sighing loudly, looking deeply overwhelmed by his own existence.

— There's another stand not far from here... I'll offer them a service. I don't know... doing the dishes, cleaning stuff... Enough to quickly grab some cash.

— Very good idea! said Salomé, clasping her hands, radiant. — I'll come with you.

— Yeah, let's get this over with quickly. If I want to get rid of the glue that you are, I have no other choice...

— Huh? she said, outraged. — Well, mister, if you had paid earlier, the "glue" that I am according to you wouldn't be here!

Yuki blew out loudly, turned around, hands in pockets, dragging his feet like a punished kid. Then, without her seeing it:

(Pfff... it's weird, but... I like this little one.)

Sequence of stands: Yuki's chore

Stand 1: dishes.

Yuki scrubbed bowls in a basin, looking dead inside. Salomé, sitting on a stool, watched with arms crossed.

— Scrub harder, you left marks.

— Shut up, I didn't sign up for cooking tutoring.

— If you had done that from the start, you wouldn't have had to put up with me.

— And if you were deaf, I would have peace!

Stand 2: floor cleaning.

Yuki dragged a dirty mop, frowning. Salomé followed him like a unionized supervisor.

— There's still a stain there.

— That's your reflection on the floor!

— That means I'm shining! Thanks!

— ...I'll put you in the basin with the bowls, you want?

Stand 3: garbage disposal.

Yuki balanced a huge bag of trash on a plank, ready to fall.

— Are you sure what I'm doing is legal?

— Yes. Madame Yuna will be proud! You're progressing fast in your reintegration.

— I'm not a criminal, DAMN IT!

— You stole a pie.

— ONE! ONE VERY SMALL ONE!

End of the evening

In a quiet alley, the hanging lanterns flickered in the wind. Yuki counted the coins in his hand.

— 423 GKM... Tch, I even have too much.

He handed the money to Salomé.

— Here. Take this. And STOP PISSING ME OFF.

Salomé opened her mouth to reply, but...

BOOOOM!!!

A violent explosion shook the place. The light flickered. The shockwave threw Yuki and Salomé against a wall. They rolled on the ground, a little dazed.

They found themselves lying side by side on the cobblestones, dust still suspended in the air.

— Are you okay? asked Salomé, a little worried. — Is everything in good condition?

Yuki sat up, shook his head.

— Tsss. It takes more than that to get to me...

— I was talking about the money. I hope it didn't burn? It would be really unfortunate if you couldn't repay anymore.

Yuki stared at her, eyes wide, then threw his arms up in the air shouting:

— DAMN IT, SHUT UP ABOUT THIS BUSINESS! IS THAT ALL YOU EVER TALK ABOUT?!

Salomé made a small gesture of innocence.

— Well, it's a matter of principle.

They turned their heads toward the source of the explosion. A black cloud rose above a burning building, and smoke spiraled into the sky.

— What the... ? whispered Salomé.

— An attack? An assault?...

They exchanged a look. Then Yuki clenched his teeth.

— Tell me it's not your fault again.

— I was going to say the same thing, thief.

The smoke thickened. A figure slowly emerged.

A long black coat flapped in the gusts. A wide-brimmed hat masked the upper face, but the beak of a plague doctor mask in tarnished ivory gleamed in the shadows. He held a dark cane adorned with a skull with empty eye sockets. From his body exhaled a black and purple mana, like an enraged mist, heavy with menace.

— Well, well... he said in a deep, almost singing voice. — Look who we have here?

Yuki, on alert, fixed his gaze on the stranger.

— Who's this hell cosplayer? Another market lunatic?

Salomé narrowed her eyes. That mana... something was off. It was as if the air around him twisted in pain.

The mysterious man tilted his head:

— It doesn't matter, you know. I'm just going to... kill you.

He tapped his cane once on the ground.

The smoke dispersed in a flash.

Shadow spikes shot out of the ground, sharp as razors.

Yuki jumped back.

— WHAT THE HELL IS THIS CRAZY THING!?

Salomé rolled to the side, a shadow claw grazing her ribs and neatly slicing a lamppost behind her. It collapsed, cut like a sheet.

— His attacks cut through space... she breathed.

— Not just space, watch your mind, replied Yuki. — I felt a mental cut there... creepy.

The enemy struck again with the tip of his cane.

A wall of shadows spread like a black wave and crashed onto the buildings.

Three buildings were sliced clean, a skyscraper split vertically.

— He's no joke... grumbled Yuki.

He held out his hand. The molecules around him began to vibrate.

— Atomic manipulation... precision mode activated.

Luminous particles gathered in his palm.

Yuki pointed two fingers at the man.

— Targeted decomposition: piercing ray!

A beam of atomic energy pierced the air, whistling like a quantum drill.

But the man in black calmly raised his cane.

A spiral shadow blocked the attack, making it dissipate like mist.

— Not bad. But too slow. he replied.

Behind him, an army of shadowy figures emerged from the ground.

Shadow soldiers, armed with shapeless blades and pupil-less eyes.

Salomé let out a battle cry and charged at them.

— I'll deal with these things, Yuki!

She leapt into the air, spun, and landed in the middle of the soldiers.

A punch sliced through the air —

— KILLER MAN PUNCH!

The shockwave pulverized ten shadow soldiers.

A column of compressed air shot to the end of the street, sweeping away the black carcasses.

Yuki, on his side, decomposed the air into micro-explosions, dispersing the waves of shadows around him. But every time he destroyed one form, another appeared.

— You're summoning them continuously?! Got cheat codes or what?!

The guy didn't answer. He advanced calmly, straight at him, as if every move was planned.

Salomé jumped again.

— KILLER MAN PUNCH: FLAME VARIANT!

Her fist ignited, and this time the shockwave was charged with a violent blaze. The soldiers burned, screaming in a forgotten language.

— Now, Yuki!

— Roger that!

Yuki contracted the space around the guy, trying to compress matter atomically.

— Atomic compression: Nuclear Lock!

But the guy planted his cane into the ground. Chains of shadows burst forth and tore the compression apart.

Then he raised his arms. A storm of swirling shadow needles formed around him, aiming at Salomé this time.

Salomé spiraled away, her legs hammering the walls, then struck again:

— KILLER MAN PUNCH: THUNDER VARIANT!

A punch streaked with lightning struck in a straight line.

The man blocked. Stepped back. For the first time, he was unbalanced.

Yuki smiled, panting.

— We're hurting him... keep going!

Salomé landed smoothly beside him, her fist smoking.

— He's not so cocky now, the scarecrow.

But suddenly, the man in black planted his cane one last time into the ground.

All shadows vanished.

Silence fell. A cold wind blew.

Yuki frowned.

— He's stopping? Why now...?

Salomé steadied her stance.

— He's preparing something.