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In a dark alley…
A punk-looking guy named Endo stood there with two buddies, all of them grinning as they stared at the small girl with glasses, who was curled up in the corner.
He pulled out what looked like a real gun—actually just a really realistic toy—and pointed it at her, waving it around."Yo, Asada, we're kinda broke lately. Mind lending us some cash?"
The short-haired, cute girl with glasses clearly didn't want to.But the second she saw the gun, her whole body froze up. Her mind went blank, her body trembled, and she couldn't even stand straight.
Her face went pale with fear. She huddled in the corner, shivering so hard she couldn't even speak.
Endo grinned even wider.Bingo. His investigation was spot on—Shino Asada had a major trauma from when she killed someone with a gun as a kid.Just seeing a gun that looked like the one she used back then would make her go completely weak.
"Heh, so since you're not saying no, I'll take that as a yes? C'mon, it's not like we're asking for much—just 20,000 yen. That's about what you made from your part-time job, right? Don't worry, we'll pay you back... when we've got the cash. Hahaha!"
His two goons laughed too, staring greedily at the bag Endo snatched from her hands.
Meanwhile, the girl with glasses covered her mouth, struggling to breathe.
Of course she knew they were extorting her. There was no way they'd actually pay her back.But just seeing that gun… it took her straight back to a memory she wanted to forget forever.
When she was little, she and her mom had accidentally walked into the middle of a bank robbery. Amidst the chaos, the robber had dropped his gun. Young Shino, terrified and panicked, had picked it up—and pulled the trigger.The bullet went straight through the man's head. Blood sprayed everywhere.
That moment left a scar on her soul.
And now, someone had dug up her past and spread it around school.
Everyone—even the teachers—kept their distance like she was a monster. People whispered and pointed, calling her a murderer.
And now this Endo creep suddenly showed up to blackmail her.
As she listened to his disgusting voice, Shino's heart filled with helplessness and sadness. She wanted to fight back, but she just couldn't.
She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself, breathing in and out, trying to shake off the nightmare gripping her.
But she underestimated just how evil some people could be.
Endo looked at her terrified, helpless face and licked his lips.
"Asada, since you're helping us out with cash, why don't we walk you home too? I know you live alone, right? Heh... Even if you're a killer, you're still pretty damn cute. Why don't we have a little fun, huh?"
He glanced at his two pervy friends, who exchanged sleazy grins, and then reached toward her with a filthy hand.
His intentions were crystal clear.
But just before he could touch her—BANG!
A brick slammed right into his skull. Endo didn't even have time to react before collapsing to the ground, screaming.
The other two tried to move, but the next second—WHAM!—they both got hit square in the nuts by a massive force.
"Aaagh!"
Both of them dropped to their knees, faces twisted in pain as they hugged their groins, tasting the sweet agony of a shattered manhood.
Before they could even cry out properly, the same brick came crashing down again—WHACK WHACK WHACK—three clean hits to the head.
Skulls are fragile. And those hits knocked all three of them out cold.
The one who had just shown up—Andrew—heard everything these scumbags said.No doubt about it, these guys were absolute trash.So there was no need to go easy on them. Brick therapy it was.
After taking care of them, Andrew turned to look at the girl in the corner. She was gasping for air, trembling all over.
"Hey… you okay?"
From the way they were calling her Asada, Andrew instantly recognized her.
Shino Asada—from Sword Art Online. One of the heroines. A girl with a tragic past and a kind heart.
He'd only gone out to buy something, and just so happened to run into her getting robbed—and almost assaulted.
Shino looked up at him, eyes still dazed, but with a glimmer of light returning.She hadn't expected anyone to step in to help her. Not someone like her—a "murderer."
"I-I'm okay... thank you. But… Endo and the others… they're not dead, right?"
Even saying the word "dead" made her whole body flinch.
The trauma hit her again like a wave. She struggled to breathe, anxiety taking over.
Andrew quickly stepped up and gently wrapped an arm around her, softly patting her back.
"Hey, hey, calm down. They're just knocked out, nothing serious. Breathe in… now out. Slowly."
Hearing that they were still alive helped her calm down. She followed his instructions and slowly regained control of her breathing.
After a while, she finally settled down.
Andrew let go and walked over to Endo's side, picking up the fake gun.
"It's just a toy. A model."
Shino clutched her chest, letting out a long breath."I figured... but still, I have a strong reaction whenever I see this model. It's… the same type I used back then."
She never expected Endo to be that thorough—he had actually found out the exact model of the gun from her childhood incident.He'd even had a toy version made just to mess with her.
If this guy in front of her hadn't shown up when he did… she didn't even want to think about what could've happened.
She quickly bowed."Thank you so much for helping me. I'm Shino Asada, from Mizutaka High nearby."
She bowed deeply again, then said seriously, "We should leave quickly. If someone sees them like this, we could be in trouble."
But Andrew waved it off."You go ahead, Asada. I need to make sure these guys don't come after you again."
"You don't wanna keep getting harassed, right?"
"Oh, and here—this bag and wallet are yours. Don't forget them."
"Huh? But… you… I get it."
She was surprised he wanted to stay and deal with the aftermath, but since she couldn't really help, she nodded and agreed.
"Um… can I know your name? I want to repay you somehow."
She looked at him with hopeful eyes.To her, he was like a prince out of a fairytale—showing up right when she was at her most vulnerable, saving her from a nightmare.
She didn't want to just let him disappear without even knowing who he was.
Andrew gave her a small smile and waved.
"Name's Andrew. I go to Seijo high Academy. Now go on home, Asada. We can talk about 'repayment' later."
He wasn't stupid enough to say something like "no need to repay me." He wasn't doing charity work.
"Okay… then I'll get going. Really, thank you! Thank you so much!"
Shino took a deep breath, bowed again, and walked out of the alley, her legs still a little shaky.
Andrew narrowed his eyes as he looked down at the three unconscious scumbags.
If you don't pull up the roots, the weeds grow back when spring comes.He had saved Shino Asada, and from now on, she would be one of his people.
Which meant… these three? Couldn't be left alive.
But how could he deal with them without leaving a trace?
As he thought, something flashed on his Demon Development Panel.
[Killing red-named enemies will unlock magic power and awaken your basic abilities.]
"Magic power?"
His eyes lit up.
Without a second thought, he gripped the brick again—and silently brought it down on the heads of the three red-named scumbags.
As their lives ended, Andrew felt a strange, powerful energy flow into him—absorbing their wicked souls.
No hesitation. With magic power now running through his veins, he could finally use a mage's abilities.
He flipped his palm over—and a dark, demonic flame ignited in his hand.He dropped it on the corpses.
Within seconds, they were reduced to nothing—not even ashes remained.
Brushing the dust off his hands, Andrew picked up his shopping bag and calmly walked away.
"..."
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