"Is it you three idiots again!? I'm sick of you! Jason, Aug, take care of those two. I'll cut down that mage!"
Bill's voice echoed through the narrow alley, heavy with hatred and impatience. His face was twisted by a mix of frustration and greed, like a cornered animal that had finally found a violent way out of its problems.
The instant the trio moved forward, Gido and Kaval reacted immediately. Their blades slid out of their sheaths with a sharp metallic sound, and both stepped side by side, forming a defensive wall in front of Ellen, blocking any direct path to her.
Their stance was firm, feet planted solidly on the ground, muscles tensed to their limit.
Ellen, for her part, showed no hesitation at all. Her reaction was almost instantaneous. Even before Bill's first steps echoed against the stone, she had already raised her staff, her blue eyes focused and serious as she began to recite her spell.
Kaval clenched his teeth, his gaze hard and resolute.
"If I can't even protect my own companions…" he muttered, his voice filled with conviction. "…then I'm nothing but a disgrace as a captain!"
Gido nodded silently before speaking firmly, without even looking back:
"Don't even think about touching Ellen or Arthur."
'Seriously, you really don't need to get yourselves involved,' Arthur thought as he picked up one of the skewers of meat he had bought earlier and started eating.
'This is starting to look more and more like a circus performance,' he added mentally.
For Kaval and Gido, this wasn't just another street brawl. Bill, Jason, and Aug were not weak opponents. They were criminals accustomed to fighting dirty. A single mistake could mean the end for all of them.
Ellen's spell was not instantaneous; she needed some time before it was ready. And during those precious seconds, Gido and Kaval had to endure the full pressure of the three enemies' assault on their own.
Swords collided violently.
Sparks sliced through the air as blows were exchanged in a fast and brutal sequence. Jason and Aug attacked relentlessly, forcing Gido and Kaval to retreat half a step at a time.
Several seconds passed as they traded strikes.
Arthur, who had been watching the drama until moments ago, finally sighed, clearly bored.
"Enough of this pointless act."
At the exact moment Jason and Aug lunged forward to deliver decisive blows, something completely unexpected happened.
Suddenly, golden chains appeared out of nowhere.
They burst forth from the air and, in the blink of an eye, wrapped around Jason's and Aug's bodies, binding arms, legs, and torsos with crushing force, instantly halting their movements.
It happened so fast that Gido and Kaval didn't even have time to think—they acted purely on instinct.
Both swung their blades, which easily struck Jason and Aug.
The two strikes pierced through the enemies' defenses and tore open deep wounds in Jason's and Aug's chests, blood gushing out immediately.
Bill froze at the sight.
The world seemed to slow down as his eyes widened, watching his two partners being defeated.
What…?
Where the hell had those chains come from?
None of this made any sense.
He had fought Ellen and those two before. He knew their abilities well. None of them possessed magic or any kind of weapon like that.
Cold sweat ran down his forehead.
This wasn't supposed to be happening.
It wasn't supposed to end like this.
No way.
Bill's gaze slowly shifted… until it stopped on Arthur.
The boy was standing there calmly, eating a skewer of meat, his expression far too peaceful for someone in the middle of a deadly fight.
"It's him…!" Bill snarled. "It was that brat! He did this! This is his doing!"
Despite being a complete scumbag, Bill wasn't stupid. His combat experience was real, and his instincts screamed at him in that instant.
At the same time, behind Gido and Kaval, Ellen's magic finally reached its peak and she was about to cast it.
But then, at the most critical moment…
Bill moved.
"It was you!" he shouted, charging forward. "This is all your fault, you damn brat!!!"
His target was clear.
Arthur.
Ellen, Gido, and Kaval reacted at the same time when they saw Bill rushing past them.
"Damn it!" "This is bad!" "Watch out!"
Bill laughed.
A hysterical, triumphant laugh.
He had done it.
If he captured that boy as a hostage, everything would change. He could escape, negotiate—maybe even turn the tables.
But then…
He saw Arthur's face.
There was no fear. No surprise.
Only a smile filled with pure disdain.
In that instant, Bill felt a chill run down his spine.
He wasn't looking at a helpless rabbit.
He was facing a dragon.
Without any exaggerated gesture, golden portals opened around Bill.
And then… four swords were fired at him.
The blades pierced Bill's body without any resistance at all, tearing through flesh, bone, and organs as if he were made of paper.
His body collapsed to the ground with a dull thud.
Ellen, Gido, and Kaval were completely frozen.
None of them managed to react immediately.
After a few seconds, they swallowed hard and, almost at the same time, turned their eyes toward Arthur—particularly to the expressionless, indifferent gaze with which he watched Bill's corpse on the ground, as if it meant absolutely nothing.
Ellen was the first to sigh, breaking the silence. She walked up to Arthur and lightly punched his shoulder.
"You should have warned us that you didn't need our help," she said, smiling a bit tiredly.
After a brief explanation—very superficial, it should be said—the group finally cleared up the "misunderstanding."
—xXx—
"I feel like an idiot now…" Ellen sighed, scratching the back of her head.
Then she carefully looked around, making sure no one was nearby, before stepping closer and speaking in a serious tone:
"You have to promise me you'll never show off like that again!"
Kaval and Gido nodded vigorously, agreeing without any hesitation.
Arthur watched the three of them for a moment… and then smiled.
"I refuse."
"…" "…" "… "
The answer hit them like a bucket of cold water.
The three stared at him, completely speechless.
"Forget it… I give up," Ellen sighed, but soon broke into an enthusiastic smile. "How about you join the Free Guild and become part of our party?"
"She's right," Kaval added. "Join us."
Gido crossed his arms and finished:
"Don't be fooled. The Free Guild has a lot of influence. Our headquarters are in the Kingdom of Englassia, and the guild leader, Grandmaster Yuuki Kagurazaka, is extremely famous."
Arthur froze for a fraction of a second.
Yuuki Kagurazaka?
That's not a Japanese name…?
Wait, I recognize that name.
The pieces finally fell into place.
'I think I finally know what world I've ended up in…'
Ellen grew even more excited upon hearing the name.
"Arthur, you might not know this, but he's one of the famous people summoned from another world! You know the legendary heroine, the Conqueror of Flames, right? She was his master!"
Oh… fuck. I was right.
I'm in Tensura!
"Join the Free Guild and become our partner. You might even meet Grandmaster Yuuki soon!"
'Wait a second, if I'm the protagonist, what happened to Rimuru?' he thought, confused.
"Very well. I accept joining the Free Guild," Arthur said.
"Really!? That's great!" Ellen exclaimed, hugging Arthur tightly and burying his head in her modest chest, completely lacking any sense of personal space.
Arthur simply sighed.
'…I've ended up in a pretty chaotic world…'
(End of the chapter)