Thel swung his knife, the blade only a finger's breadth away from Noen's eye.
Noen squeezed his eyes shut.
— This is it.
He's going to hit me.—
But before the blade could reach his face, something completely unexpected happened.
A shadow fell from above.
A figure leapt down from the rooftop edge of the alley, moving with the elegance of a predator and the force of a falling boulder.
Before Thel could react, a precise, brutal kick struck the side of his neck.
WHAM!
Thel's body was hurled sideways, smashing hard against the wall next to them, then collapsing half-unconscious to the ground. Knives dripped out of his hands and dissolved into watery droplets as they fell.
Noen's eyes widened.
He stared at the man who had seemingly fallen straight out of the sky.
— Wait… a colorful shirt… flowers in all kinds of colors… — Noen thought, confused.
— Rhuven? He wears stuff like that.—
The man hadn't turned around yet.
He stood with legs wide apart, hands on his hips, as if waiting for applause.
"Rhuven? Is that you?" Noen asked hesitantly.
The guy turned around.
It wasn't Rhuven.
Not even close.
In front of him stood a tall, slender guy with an extremely oval head, shaved so smooth it gleamed in the light. His face was full of energy, almost childlike.
He beamed at Noen.
"Hello, boy! Got yourself into a bit of trouble here, didn't you? Hehahaha!"
His laugh was light, cheerful, almost musical.
"Rhuven told us you were strong. Are you not? Hehehaha!"
He didn't say it in a threatening or angry tone — more like someone sharing a joke only he understood.
Noen blinked.
He didn't know what to feel.
He was still half dead with fear, exhausted, confused… and now this.
"Wait… you know Rhuven? Are you part of the Black Synod?"
The man made a small hop, as if someone had just complimented him.
"Hehehaha, indeed I am, my boy! My name is Saevin! Hehehaha!"
He gave a small bow, like an actor finishing his performance.
Noen said in a slightly annoyed, strangely baffled tone,
"Wait… you're not telling me this is the Black Synod's uniform, right?"
He stared at Saevin, completely confused.
Saevin spread his arms as if Noen had just complimented the most beautiful thing in the world.
"It is! Don't you like it? I think it's wonderfuuuull! Hehehahaha!"
He spun around once, letting the colorful flower patterns of his shirt flutter as if it were some royal robe.
Noen blinked, almost annoyed:
"Anyway… could you please remove the knives here?"
"Oh! Of course, of course, my boy! Hehehaha!"
Saevin snapped his fingers — an unnecessarily dramatic gesture — and pulled the two knives out from beside Noen's arms and neck.
He stuffed them into his comically oversized pocket.
Saevin then turned toward Thel.
"Then let's take a closer look at this guy, hehehahah—"
"Watch out!" Noen shouted immediately. "He can turn his tears into knives! Who knows if he is really unconscious! "
Saevin froze for a moment.
Then raised an eyebrow.
"Knives from tears?"
He laughed. "Hehehahaha, now that's a funny mini god power! Hehehaha!"
Noen stared at him.
— Dude, you could take this a little more seriously… I nearly died here! —
Thel's eyes suddenly shot open.
He was still lying on the ground, leaned against the wall, but his gaze was instantly sharp, full of rage and furious hatred at having been taken down so "easily."
He saw Noen and Saevin standing a short distance ahead.
They were talking, not paying attention to him.
Completely unaware that he had woken up again.
Thel narrowed his eyes.
There was still a single tear on his cheek.
Only one.
Just enough.
It condensed… pulled itself together… and became a single knife.
He jumped up.
So fast it looked like a brief flicker in the air.
In one fluid, brutal motion he grabbed Saevin from behind by the shoulder, yanked him around, and pressed the knife to Saevin's throat.
So close that the blade brushed his skin.
Noen couldn't keep up.
"Saevin!!" he shouted.
Thel pushed the knife harder, ready to strike.
But Saevin moved.
Just one simple, precise motion:
He grabbed Thel's wrist and twisted it in one controlled snap.
Not slow.
Not fast.
Just… efficient.
Thel's body was pulled along, twisted, forced forward.
"A—AAAH!!" he screamed as pain shot through his arm.
The knife dropped from his hand.
Saevin bent down immediately, picked it up, and slipped it into his oversized pocket.
Then he turned Thel into a hold with the same calm movement, a hold with no chance of escape.
No unnecessary force.
No exaggerated strength.
Just firm.
Unshakable.
Thel struggled against the grip.
He kicked, writhed, tried to shove — all in vain.
"Quick, Noen! Rip his head off!"
Noen froze.
"What?"
"I said you should finally kill him!"
Thel writhed in the hold.
He loosened himself slowly, millimeter by millimeter, his muscles trembling with fury and exertion.
Saevin clenched his teeth.
"DO IT NOW!!"
But Noen…
Noen did nothing.
He stood there like he was nailed to the ground, his body shaking, his breathing shallow.
He just stared.
— Kill… kill him? Thel? M–my best friend? —
"I…"
Thel yanked at Saevin's hold.
Another pull, and he was seconds away from breaking free.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!"
Saevin's face — moments ago loose, neutral — turned suddenly dark.
Ice cold.
Noen barely managed to breathe.
"I…"
He closed his eyes.
One second.
An eternity.
Then he screamed:
"I CAN'T DO THAT!!"
He yelled it with squeezed eyes, trembling voice, as if it tore him open from inside.
Saevin… went silent.
His grip loosened, just a fraction — but it was enough.
Thel felt the opening.
He tore his arm free.
A wild, distorted sound erupted from his throat — not a word, just pure hatred.
And in the next breath Thel charged at Noen.
His footsteps thundered through the narrow alley.
Dust swirled up.
The world seemed to narrow, to focus on this single moment.
Thel leapt…
but he didn't get far.
Before he could even get close to Noen, Saevin shot forward, grabbed Thel by the leg while he was still mid-air—
And slammed him brutally down.
Thel hit the ground with full force.
The chin first.
A dull, sickening crack echoed through the narrow alley.
Noen's eyes flew open.
He could see the pain on Thel's face as his head snapped back and he lay there on the asphalt, breathing harshly.
Saevin stood over him.
He still held Thel's leg as if it were nothing more than a loose piece of cloth.
And then…
Then he looked at Noen.
That stare.
A deadly, piercing stare, as if Saevin was looking straight through Noen's soul.
A chill ran down Noen's spine.
That gaze was not of this world.
Slowly, Saevin reached for Thel's head.
He lifted it up as if it were much lighter than it should've been.
Thel hung limp.
He was already too injured to fight back.
Only a faint, rough breath escaped his throat.
"Thel…" Noen whispered, broken.
At that moment, Saevin pulled one of Thel's knives from his pocket.
No warning.
No announcement.
A single, swift strike.
Noen didn't hear a scream.
Only the rush of air, then—
A dull thud on the ground.
Something rolled.
Noen's body seized up.
His breath stopped.
His eyes widened.
The head.
Thel's head.
It rolled until it almost touched Noen's knee, then slowly came to a stop. Blood splattered onto the wall, onto Saevin's clothes, onto the ground.
Saevin had not looked away from Noen for even a single moment.
Not at the strike.
Not at the fall.
Not at the rolling.
He stared at Noen directly.
Unchanged.
Unmoved.
Noen's legs gave out.
He collapsed.
He fell to his knees, then slid down onto the ground, supporting himself with trembling hands.
His body shook — not from cold.
From something far worse.
"Thel…"
The word barely escaped.
His fingers dragged across the ground, searching for something to hold on to, but there was nothing.
He sobbed, gagged, lost all control.
Tears mixed with dirt, his forehead pressed against the asphalt.
His best friend.
Dead.
His girlfriend.
Dead.
And both times…
both times he could only watch.
"AAAAHHHHHHHH!!" he screamed, choking on his tears.
He pressed both hands to his face, desperate, broken.
Saevin stood over him.
His gaze was still fixed on Noen.
Then he spoke quietly:
"This is the only solution…"
Noen barely heard him.
His ears were full of his own ragged breathing.
He still layed on the ground, unable to move.
Saevin continued, calmly:
"When a human receives power from a minigod…"
He paused.
"…he can never be the same again.
He will forever be in—"
"HOW WOULD YOU EVEN KNOW THAT?!"
Noen screamed.
He lifted his head, tears, snot, dirt on his face, his voice torn, broken.
His chest rose too fast, too hard.
He could barely breathe.
"YOU HAVE NO IDEA!!"
He gagged.
His voice cracked.
"M–MAYBE THERE IS A CURE OR SOMETHING!!"
Saevin's face twisted.
He roared back:
"DO YOU THINK WE'VE NEVER TRIED?!"
He released Thel's leg and took two sharp steps toward Noen.
"YOU HAVE NO IDEA!"
He now stood directly in front of Noen.
The alley trembled under his voice.
His silhouette seemed larger, heavier — like a storm tightening around a single point.
Noen raised his arms to shield himself.
He trembled, gasped, cried.
And Saevin, his voice rough and vibrating, snarled:
"YOU HAVE NO IDEA, NOEN.
NOT THE SLIGHTEST!"