Chapter 16: Debut
Asher Himmel
February 13, 2011
Outside the Capital, Eternity
We spent hours thinking of possible combinations to make up for each other's weaknesses. I had great physique and stamina, a result of my super strength and solid light disguises, but I was weak to magic that altered the senses and caused harmful effects on the environment, such as damaging my air supply or causing me to go blind. We also discovered that fire and lightning could hurt my body, and cause me a lot of pain.
Lactura, on the other hand, was a multi-faceted mage. She could fight in melee, and at medium range with throwing weapons and spells. Her only disadvantage is that her body is fragile, making her very dependent on her armor and she needs to be concentrated to cast her spells. While she told me that she could heal herself automatically as soon as she is wounded, her concentration is affected in the process.
It was curious how one had what the other lacked. In our tentative formation, I would act in the front line taking damage and incapacitating people in my range while Lactura would remain behind providing support with her throwing weapons and magic.
It was 12 o'clock, so we used the Teleport crystal to go to Lactura's house because she wanted to take a bath. In the meantime, I turned on the TV. The Capital's programming was quite varied. There were many extra channels of local production. I even noticed that the police had an official channel, which made me very curious so I turned it on.
On the channel, there was a sign that warned about the criminals that were incarcerated in real time. There were a lot of arrests. Below the sign was a QR code, which I scanned with my cell phone. In the QR code, there was a video from the Minister of Police.
{"Helpers for Peace" program}
{In Eternity, there are many superhumans, which results in a high crime rate that the police cannot supply, so today, you can help us. Every day we will publish a list of crimes with the information of the place, and a respective reward, waiting for your help in solving and arresting the criminals of the place. Let's fight for a safe Eternity}
- They basically decided to leave their own justice in the hands of civilians. It's very obnoxious," said Lactura as she walked towards me.
-Yes. A criminal wouldn't hunt down another criminal, and civilians would rather live in terror than do justice or even be of help. The mini-market experience taught me that.
-But this is an interesting proposal. We could take advantage of the situation to make a big impact without the need to fly over the city in the afternoon.
-But I have no intention of profiting from the misfortune of others," I said concerned.
- There's the magic. We will capture the criminals and create a favorable public image but we will not accept money in exchange for the assignments, or even going further, we could use the money to help the victims- Lactura explained carefully while drying her hair with wind magic.
-It sounds pretty good. I'm going to download the list to start from today. You finish getting ready while I cook some lunch," I said as I headed for the kitchen.
Inside Lactura's kitchen, I saw a lot of dirty dishes and dishes in the sink. Besides, there was a lot of charcoal on most of the dishes.
-Lactura, is this your first time living on your own?
-Yes!
-I said as I grabbed some liquid soap and a sponge.
At first glance Lactura looked like a very confident and proud girl but I could tell that those emotions were not her whole person. She was a more complex person with many mysteries. But one thing she could not deny was that her heart radiated light in its own way.
Lactura Noir
February 13th, 2011
Home
As I finished getting ready, Asher had lunch ready. Aside from that he had cleaned my kitchen from top to bottom. He seemed very used to living alone.
-Did you live alone before you moved to the capital?
-No. I lived with my grandfather in the Borders but I had to take care of him as he was suffering from senile dementia, so I learned to do everything at home. If you want, I'll teach you in our free time.
-I would appreciate it..." I whispered quietly with some embarrassment.
Even though my family abandoned me, Thomas always took care of me. He always helped me until his unfortunate end. Being with Asher caused me a kind of peace, because I felt protected and understood. It was as if fate had brought him at the right time, to help me walk a path to freedom.
-I downloaded the list. It was huge.
Asher showed me a document with a huge list. Approximately 300 crimes had happened in the course of this day alone. I could understand why the police had so many difficulties. From drug trafficking to assaults, with respective evidence and pictures of the culprits, as well as a classification, which established the difficulty of each case. The more stars, the greater the danger and the greater the reward offered.
-When we finish eating, let's get started.
-Which ones will we do today?
-We'll do everything," I said as I stared at Asher.
Although it sounded crazy, I was confident in my abilities and above all, in the star of the day; Asher.
Asher Himmel
February 13th, 2011
Capital, Eternity
Lactura and I were flying through the city to our first case. A young adult couple with a criminal record was assaulting everyone who passed a certain street. They were not stealing or making any profit in return, which suggested they were doing it for the sheer pleasure of feeling superior. The crime was rated 3 out of 5 stars, so we had to be careful.
Being close to the street in question, I descended. I left Lactura in her armor on the ground, while I slowly descended as I changed my hero costume to a hooded tracksuit and covered my face.
The plan was to pose as a civilian to make a surprise attack while Lactura waited in the distance, as we didn't know the abilities of that pair.
I walked the rest of the distance to the street. There was dried blood on the walls. I walked for 5 minutes in the street until the criminals in question appeared. A white-skinned man with red hair, 6'2" and a black woman with blonde hair about my height. She fit the description in the police report.
-Hey, to enter this street, you need to ask for permission," said the woman.
-I kept silent.
-Disrespectful boy, Avdul, show him a nice dream," said the woman.
The red-haired man summoned a flute, and started to play it. The sound was simply horrible, I felt the world spinning around me. My heart started beating fast, causing me a stabbing pain, to which I responded by using my [Aegis Wings] to create earplugs with solid light in a stealthy way.
I pretended to fall to the ground writhing in pain, as the black woman chanted spells over it and then kicked my face. After a while, the man joined in. They both had a perverted grin on their faces.
-You like that, don't you? If you lick my foot, maybe it will stop me," said the man as he pulled his foot out of his shoe to put it on my face.
They were a couple of sadistic perverts who loved violence. They felt like gods as they abused others. I wasn't planning to let them off the hook after that.
I stood up from the ground, alerting the couple, who quickly jumped back, putting themselves on guard. At that instant, I activated assault mode, turning the tracksuit into my hero costume. Without a moment's pause, I lunged at the woman, hitting her in the face so fast that she was unable to react.
The man, not understanding what was happening, exploded in rage and tried to use his flute, to which Lactura threw a dull stone knife at his throat. Taking advantage of the gap, I slammed the man to the ground until he fainted.
The black woman was still conscious, waiting for a breakthrough to try to escape, but as soon as Lactura realized it, she threw a metal chain at her, immobilizing her. Then she activated a spell
xx Spark xx
A tiny golden ray was born from Lactura's fingers, and traveled through the chain, causing the brunette woman to convulse and faint.
When we finished with the criminals, we tied them up with the chains. Lactura stuck a note on the couple's foreheads with a curious text.
{From today, the city has new protectors. The police failed them but we will defend the weak from crime. Sincerely: Regulux and Steel maiden}
-It's interesting your nickname "Steel maiden".
-That's the kind of woman I aspire to become. A lady of steel who can withstand adversity without breaking along the way.
-I understand. Just remember, underneath the steel of your armor, there is a girl with a big heart. Even if your skin becomes metallic, don't let that heart be lost.
-I'll take that into consideration," said Lactura as she used the magic in the Teleport crystal to send the criminals to the nearest Police Department.
Before we started our hunt, Lactura marked 10 Police Departments that we found along the way. So the only trip we would take would be in search of the criminals.
- It's still early, let's keep giving it our best Ash-.
I activated my wings, took Lactura and flew through the skies looking for the next criminal.