He reached out to touch her, and she stepped back. Then he signaled to one of his men who was holding the boy. That man raised a knife to the boy's neck.

But before he could do anything else, the edge of a sword thrown from afar cut through his neck and separated his head from his body.

Everyone turned toward the source of the strike. There where Jevan was sitting. Jevan stood from the chair and brushed the dust off his cloak.

Jevan raised his hand, deliberately muttering aloud, "First rule: anyone who entered the restaurant after me is not allowed to move." The moment he spoke the words, transparent chains shot out from his glove, wrapping around the men's bodies and locking them in place. Their eyes bulged as they struggled in vain, while Jevan advanced slowly.

He stopped at the headless corpse, bent down to pick up his blood stained sword, glanced briefly at the blade, then lifted it as he walked toward their leader, who had begun shouting in a trembling voice despite trying to sound steady:

"You bastard, what have you done to me?! Do you know who I am? How dare you?!"

Jevan cast him a brief look before bringing his sword down on his head in a swift strike. The head separated from the body and rolled across the floor until it struck one of the tables, sending the nearby patrons scrambling back in terror.

One of the men tried to beg or scream, but Jevan's blade cut him off. Panic spread among the rest; their crying and wailing rose like children's. Only David and Liam tried to keep a steady face.

Jevan walked up to David, who shouted in defiance:

"Do you know who you're messing with?!"

Jevan stopped in front of him, then pulled back his hood and deactivated the mask's effect that distracted from his features.

"Yes, I know. But I don't think you do."

He cut off his head in a single blow, then turned to the rest and began taking their weapons. When he finished, he canceled the activation of the Law Authority, restoring their ability to move. The moment they felt freedom, they bolted for the door, shoving each other out like terrified rats.

Jevan began searching the bodies. He found three daggers, two swords and about three silver coins. He gathered them and placed them on the counter table, then left the restaurant.

…

Silence filled the place. No one dared speak until a man sitting in the corner muttered aloud.

"Wasn't that the masked man from the rumors?"

They exchanged uneasy looks. For years strange stories had been circulating in the lower districts about the Masked Man. Some mocked them, but the people of the middle districts, who dealt frequently with supernatural forces, believed there was some truth behind the rumors.

Fidel, the young cook, stood frozen in place until he left. Then she rushed to the waiter boy, Fermin, to support him and check his injuries.

"Are you all right?!"

But the boy ignored her question. His eyes were fixed on the door Jevan had exited through.

"What… was that?"

Fidel shook her head, unsettled.

"I don't know."

Meanwhile, the men of the "Claw" gang fled from the restaurant, running through the streets with faces stripped of all composure. Some stumbled and fell but quickly got up and kept running. They had come to the district to collect protection fees and find some amusement, but instead they found themselves facing the Masked Man.

Everyone in the gang had heard about him — about him storming taverns used as information hubs, killing everyone inside. Even Vice President Mork himself had warned all the factions about him.

They reached one of the taverns where Edmund, one of the gang's assimilators and the man responsible for their faction, was sitting. They rushed to him, babbling every detail of what had happened.

"Where is that Masked Man?! How dare he touch my followers?!"

But his shout was suddenly cut off when he felt a sword blade pierce his chest. He looked down in shock to where the blade protruded from between his ribs.

A quiet voice whispered behind him:

"I'm here."

Those present turned in terror to find Jevan standing behind Edmund, pulling his sword from his body. Some of the men tried to raise their weapons, but Jevan had already taken them.

Before Jevan could attack them, Edmund had already stood and began attacking Jevan, driving him back with force.

Edmund's body hardened until it was like stone. Jevan tried to push him back, but his opponent's massive weight stopped him. He retreated, and as he did Edmund's fist came for him, but he dodged at the last moment. The punch smashed the table behind him to pieces and then cracked the floor beneath it with its power.

Jevan raised his palm, preparing to impose a new rule, but Edmund didn't give him the chance. He lunged at him violently, preventing him from speaking.

Jevan bent sideways, evading the strike, but Edmund kept pressing him without mercy. Jevan realized his opponent knew the secret of his glove the system piece that gave him the ability to impose laws. That knowledge wasn't by chance; Grivus himself, the man with an old scar from a previous encounter with the Masked Man, had told him. Edmund hadn't forgotten that day, and now he was trying to avenge his boss.

He hadn't expected to run into his enemy in this place, but now that he had, he wouldn't let him leave alive — especially after he had killed some of his followers.

Jevan drew his sword and thrust it at Edmund, but as soon as the blade touched Edmund's skin, it shattered. Jevan's eyes widened in shock. Edmund took advantage of it and punched him hard in the chest. Jevan was hurled backward and slammed into the tavern wall, dust raining from the ceiling.

Edmund charged at Jevan with a powerful attack. This time Jevan leapt up, using the splinters of the broken table as support, dodging the attack and landing lightly behind his opponent.

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