Chapter 17: Interrupted

(Kanzaki POV)

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" I inquired, my nodachi poised near his neck.

"Just a guy with a mustache," the man replied, turning to reveal a comical fake mustache affixed to his face.

'What faction is this guy from? Is he also after Index?' I pondered.

Earlier I accidentally injured Index because someone surprisingly destroyed her Walking Church (Index Outfit).

And now a clearly suspicious man was observing as Stiyl attempted to recover Index.

Before I could question him further, I was taken aback by his compliment. "Beautiful," he stated.

While compliments were not foreign to me, the sincerity in his eyes caught me off guard.

They held such clarity and purity, devoid of the usual lust or appraisal that typically accompanied such words. It was as though he spoke the truth without any ulterior motives.

"Thank you?" I accidentally replied, feeling confused.

'Does this guy not understand his situation? Well, I appreciate his compliment, but business is business,' I thought to myself as I asked him once again.

Even with the pressure I was exerting as I asked for a second time, the man's response remained unchanged, further fueling my frustration.

Weirdly enough, such words would not normally trigger such emotions from me, but this man seemed particularly hateful for some reason.

'Some kind of mind ability? But why? Why would someone use an ability to provoke animosity?' With confusion gnawing at me, I wondered why this man was employing such tactics against me.

Nevertheless, I needed answers, and for now, I would simply capture him.

With a swift swing of my nodachi, I aimed to cause minimal harm, just enough to easily subdue him.

'Is this guy not a fighter? Why is he just standing there?' I asked myself before my attack just simply passed through his body.

'Illusion?' I questioned, continuing to slash at the man as I attempted to discern the nature of his power.

'No, it isn't an illusion. Intangibility? Such a power exists?' I speculated, pausing my attacks after several waves of slashes.

With a grin, the man said, "Are you done? It's my turn now, right?"

'Space ability!' I guessed the nature of his power as a spear materialized in his hand.

'Eh? Why is he so slow?' I questioned silently as I observed his sluggish movements.

With a thrust, I saw the spear aimed at my stomach, which I intended to easily deflect with my nodachi. But as I attempted to do so, the spear effortlessly phased through it.

'Danger,' my senses warned as I instinctively leaped backward, only to discover a stab wound inflicted on me.

'His power is peculiar. That attack lacked force and considering my physique, it should have been possible to inflict such damage. Is it the weapon? No, I don't sense anything special aside it is a well-made steel spear.' I assessed with a sharp gaze, re-evaluating the threat posed by this individual.

With a few slashes that did nothing, I saw the man swipe his spear vertically.

'The spear should turn tangible the moment of attack? So I need to parry it perfectly.' As the man's movement was slow with a clear lack of spear mastery, I easily parried the attack, or so I thought.

To my surprise, I found myself backing away for a second time, a slight slash wound visible on my face.

'How is he doing this?' I questioned with confusion, gazing at the man.

Realizing that parrying was futile, I abandoned the idea and focused on dodging instead.

The man continued his erratic stabbing and swinging, clearly displaying his lack of knowledge in spear handling.

However, as time passed, I noticed a gradual improvement in his technique, which surprised me once again.

But after a few minutes, his face clearly showed how tired he was, and he resorted to using the spear as support to stand.

'Weak physique, barely learned how to use a spear, but is intangible and with attacks that could ignore defense. This is weird, really weird,' I mused, assessing the peculiar combination of abilities displayed by my opponent.

"Hah, I give up. Fuck, this shit is hard to use." With a tired mutter, the man complained.

"So, care to answer me now?" I asked, moving closer towards him as he slumped down on the roof.

"I'm telling you, I'm simply a guy with a mustache," he answered proudly.

"Sigh, do you expect me to bel-"

Unable to finish my sentence, I abruptly defended against a huge slab of concrete from my left.

"Hey, hey, hey, I finally found you, you bastard. Do you honestly think I'd let you slip away that easily? Huh?!" After the attack, I heard an angry thuggish voice coming from a white-haired man standing a few meters away from us.

"FFS, What have I done to you? Why are you so persistent man, I simply walked in on that stupid alley?" The moustashed man said as he stood up and gazed at the white-haired man.

With a click of his tongue, the white-haired man summoned a storm of wind and debris, directing it towards both the mustached man and me.

'??? Why is this guy aiming at me too?' Kanzaki questioned inwardly, her mind racing to comprehend the sudden assault directed towards her.

With swift reflexes and honed combat instincts, she began deflecting the attacks.

It became evident to her that the assailant was not merely targeting her because of her proximity to his main target; rather, he was purposefully aiming at her too.

Determined and vigilant, Kanzaki focused on defending herself while remaining alert to the intentions of her assailant.

After the onslaught, the white-haired man said, "Good really good, hahaha."

"Fuck you!" The moustashed man said as he flipped his finger at the white-haired man before disappearing.

'He got away, huh? I still don't know what faction he came from. I need to go search for index, the time is running out.' I said inwardly as I noticed that Index was now missing as Stiyl was lying down defeated.

But as she turned to leave, she heard the white-haired man's voice taunting her, "Oi, oi, oi, are you telling me you're ignoring me too, you bitch?"