We left behind the alley where Ares and Arni Duratan were having some serious skinship, and before we knew it, we were near the massive stadium of Bairn.
Since it was late evening, of course, the stadium was completely dark and empty. The important thing was, the door wasn’t locked.
“Shouldn’t the door be locked?”
I asked a bit uncomfortably, and Rin’s eyes sparkled as she pointed inside.
“Want to check out the nighttime stadium? We used to go to places like cemeteries for courage tests back in the day.”
“……That was mostly you.”
While Rin usually watched us from a distance or cheered us on, there were times when she would take the lead, especially when ghosts or spirits were involved.
Whether the kid was strong-minded or favored by the God of Death, I didn’t know, but under Rin’s leadership, we often did courage tests at nearby cemeteries, abandoned houses, and caves.
Peeking through the entrance, I saw a corridor leading inside, and with all the lights off, it felt like entering a cave deep in the mountains.
“Huh? Daniel, let’s go!”
“What, sure.”
Feeling slightly disturbed by Ares and Arni just now, I went inside with Rin. There’s probably nothing to see anyway, so we would be out quickly.
As we stepped into the darkness, our conversation turned into trivial chit-chat rather than a courage test.
“By the way, if you’re dating Arni, does that mean you’re going to become the son-in-law of the Duratan family?”
“Well, that’s how it is, but isn’t it a bit early to be thinking about marriage?”
We were just 18-year-old students.
In Ares’s case, he wasn’t flirting with other girls anymore, but who knows when people’s feelings might fade or when breakups happen.
“From what I saw earlier, it looked like they were doing even more than that, though?”
“……Ugh.”
My stomach turned.
I’d seen with my own eyes that Ares and Arni had already crossed some lines.
While I accidentally caught a glimpse of their beautiful bodies, honestly, I didn’t feel great about it.
“Ahem.”
Clearing my throat, I looked around, but Rin was staring up at me intently. Her big eyes seemed to want to read something from me.
Then came her unexpected, embarrassing question.
“Do you want to do it too?”
“……What?”
“Ever since I saw you looking upset after seeing Ares and Arni, I thought maybe you didn’t want to lose to Ares.”
“No, it’s not that.”
You know that feeling when you see a family member being charming with their significant other?
Being that Ares and I grew up in the same village for at least 10 years, it was just uncomfortable to see him so open with his affection.
Rin looked around. Of course, there was no one here, and since no light came in, even if someone was, they wouldn’t be able to see past the darkness we were used to.
Rin slowly approached me.
“Shall we?”
“No, I said no.”
Before I knew it, I took a step back, and since we were standing side by side in the corridor, my back hit the wall.
An eerie feeling crept up.
Thinking about it, maybe it was a mistake to come into a pitch-black place with Rin, who handles the power of darkness?
“Let’s do it.”
Rin’s breath quickened.
As she moved her coat aside, a dull purple light started to seep from her chest; her eyes seemed to glow straight ahead.
RAMPAGE!
Not the typical Rin, now she was starting to be overwhelmed by the imprint. In this state, I couldn’t distance myself carelessly, nor could I stay too close.
You never know when she might go wild.
It wasn’t like she was going to rampage like in her past life, wiping out everyone around her to raise an army, but who knows what she might do?
“I just saw, I can follow along. C’mon, let’s do it.”
“No, wait. You’re being controlled by the imprint! Get a grip!”
I shook her by grabbing her shoulders, but she just wore a mysterious smirk.
“I’m the one who controls the imprint.”
In that moment, two voices came from Rin’s mouth, one was definitely Rin’s, but the other one belonged to a different woman.
The surrounding darkness started to stretch and slither, readying itself to come alive. Those writhing shadows were prepared to do anything for their master.
Light and darkness, basic components of this world.
One of them was on the girl’s side.
“Daniel, here, no one can see us. So it’s fine. Close your eyes comfortably and trust me with everything.”
“Get a grip! Rin!”
She looked completely different from before.
Waiting for me to forget Eris and while being considerate, Rin’s attitude was totally different now, almost lurking with greed.
“The darkness is always beside you.”
“Rin!”
I shouted while hoisting up my mana and tried shaking her vigorously, but nothing worked. We needed light; we needed some light.
I’ve gone too deep into the darkness!
Having seen her handle the imprint perfectly lately, I had gotten a bit lax.
I quickly turned my body and dashed outside. I needed lights or lamps. I had to clear away the darkness engulfing her.
“Where are you going?”
The wall twisted and hands reached out.
To be precise, the darkness that cloaked them tried to ensnare me.
Black hands appeared from all directions.
No matter how much I tried to read their movements and dodge quickly, I was still human.
If the entire corridor space tried to squeeze me, I couldn’t escape.
Ugh!
The darkness wrapped around my arms and legs. I struggled to get free, but I couldn’t run away.
“It’s okay, my Daniel.”
Now Rin’s voice was replaced by someone else’s, their voice was more distinct than hers. A voice I’d never heard before from a woman.
I couldn’t stop Rin, who approached with a chilling whisper. Just as the moment dread surged up, wondering what would happen next…
“What’s that?”
A voice came from the entrance.
It was a group of male students from Pales Academy, holding portable lamps as if they hated the darkness to an extreme.
It was unfortunate for the darkness, but no matter how massive and deep it was, they had no choice but to retreat against just one little candle.
The darkness that wrapped around Rin and me, before we knew it, returned to its original form, pushed back by the light.
“Whoa, are you two doing it all the way out here at the stadium?”
“Looks like a couple with some insane libido.”
“Isn’t that the goddess we saw earlier?”
“That dude’s missing an arm? So unfair, man.”
It was Anton Signir’s gang from Pales Academy. Especially the one in front, Anton, had his hands in his pockets and scowled at me.
“Even if you’re missing an arm, you’ve gotta handle your business, right?”
I couldn’t pay any attention to their excessive jeers and accusations. I just stood up and approached Rin, and she looked like she was regaining her senses, fear spreading across her face.
“Da-Daniel! Just now…”
“I know, I know. Don’t worry, it’s okay.”
I hugged Rin to reassure her, and she sniffled in my embrace for a moment. Behind us, Anton’s gang was yelling annoyingly, but I couldn’t care less about that.
Calming this trembling girl was my utmost priority.
“Let’s go back for now. We need to calm down a bit. It’s too dangerous here.”
“Okay, got it…”
With one hand around Rin, I headed outside. Then, Anton’s gang surrounded us, grinning.
“Hey, let’s enjoy the good stuff together.”
“Hey, how can you guys hog it all?”
“Came to smoke but ended up with free show.”
“We’re a bit rough around the edges compared to you weaklings.”
Great.
If they were trying to provoke me, they succeeded spectacularly.
“You filthy rats!”
I glared at them, baring my teeth, and they hesitated, taking a step back.
Even if I tried to let it slide, they wouldn’t let me. My fist was already buried into the face of the guy who had been leering at Rin.
Thud!
With just one hit, he crumpled and fainted. The others rushed at me without hesitation.
“Right hand! That punk’s focusing on the right hand!”
“He’s putting on a show just because there’s a girl here, and now he’s getting wrecked!”
I stepped in front of Rin, extending my right hand intentionally. They were aiming their punches at it, but…
Thud!
“Ow!”
The guy who hit my splint on my right arm winced and retracted his hand. When I kicked him in the gut, he struggled and clutched his stomach.
The rest followed the same fate.
Not in the mood to hold back, I punished them a bit rough, and just like me, several of them ended up with broken bones.
Only Anton, the leader of their gang, was left. But instead of coming at me, he was just staring blankly at Rin.
Thud!
I socked him right in the face and stepped out.
From behind, I could hear the moans they had craved for. Unfortunately, they were coming from their own mouths, unable to endure the pain.
Ugh…
“Ugh, this hurts too much.”
“You monster, ugh!”
The gang of Anton was sprawled out at the entrance of the massive Bairn stadium, groaning, each trying to compose themselves, overwhelmed by pain.
All of that from just one person.
And that one person had totally wrecked them, even with one arm broken and now unable to use a hand. If this got out, Anton’s gang would find it tough to keep their standing at Pales Academy.
They had no excuses or defenses left.
“Anton, you okay? Some of the guys are hurt badly. What do we do about this?”
One of Anton’s right-hand boys asked. Usually, their leader would be throwing a fit and blaming everyone, but today he was strangely silent.
Especially with blood streaming from his nostrils.
“Oh, this is insane.”
“Huh? Anton?”
Ignoring the blood, Anton was remembering the girl from just moments ago.
The beautiful face illuminated by the light, like a treasure found in the darkness. The mix of tears and longing created a scene that made any man want to embrace her.
“Ha, damn it.”
Anton was the type who had had relationships with several girls before.
A delinquent with masculine looks and rough talk who, despite all that, had a sort of popularity among women as the classic “bad boy”.
“Is this love?”
It was somewhat out of the blue, but he found himself starting a genuine first love.
