Dugu lifted his sword off the brothel owner's body and sheathed it on his back. As he gazed at the corpse in front of him, he recalled something important.

Oh no, I forgot to ask him about Coco! Too late for that now.

He looked upwards. Many beautiful young women, in various stages of undress, were looking down at him from the second-floor balcony. Coco wasn’t among them.

He hollered as loud as he could. "Coco!"

After a moment of silence, a red-haired woman raised her hand. "Um... mister?"

"Yes?"

"Are you looking for the new girl? She's in there." She pointed to a room on the second floor.

"Thanks!" Dugu hurried up the stairs to the room.

He found a girl, naked and covered in bruises, on the bed inside. Her face was battered beyond recognition.

He put a blanket over her body and kneeled at the bedside. "Coco?"

One of the girl's eyes was swollen shut. The other one opened ever so slightly.

She slowly turned her head toward him and spoke with a weak voice. "Are you Dugu?"

He nodded. "Let's get you outta here."

"It hurts too much to move."

Dammit, I'm out of potions.

The redhead, who had directed him to Coco's room, kneeled beside him. "I can help."

She placed both her hands over Coco's body. "Mending."

Her hands emitted a green glow.

Coco's bruises shrank, and her face became less swollen.

The redhead lowered her hands. "How do you feel?"

"I feel much better now, thank you." Coco sat up.

Dugu turned to face the redhead. "Are there other injured girls here?"

She shook head. "Just her at the moment. They save the worst beatings for the newcomers."

Coco wrapped the blanket around herself. When she tried standing, her knees buckled.

He caught her. "Take it slow. I'll be your crutch."

He put her arm over his shoulder and helped her out of the room. As he walked down the stairs with her, he noticed that the other women were following him.

Once he reached the base of the stairs, he turned around. "You're all free now. Go home to your families. There's no need to wait for me."

Some of the women walked around him, toward the exit, but most of them remained standing.

"What are you all waiting for?" His brows drew together.

The redhead approached him. "We have no homes to return to."

There were many words of agreement from the crowd of women behind her.

I can't just leave them here. But what am I going to do with them? Maybe I can just pass the problem to someone else.

“Follow me. I know a good guy who can take you all in."

Coco turned to face him. "You mean Master Hupo?"

"Precisely."

"He's the best! We can use all the help we can get at the restaurant!"

I guess she doesn't know that Chicken Castle was burned down.

Coco's enthusiasm was infectious. The other girls began excitedly chatting amongst themselves.

"Alright, we better get going then. It's already dark outside." The sack of money by the stairs caught Dugu’s eye. "I need two of you to carry that sack for me."

The two women closest to the sack picked it up.

He's probably going to need that.

Dugu sensed danger from above. He pulled Coco toward him, and leaped away.

Something from the ceiling crashed onto the spot where he and Coco had stood a moment earlier.

***

There was no doubt in Dugu's mind that the assailant was a master level fighter. Only a master level fighter could have hidden from his honed senses and struck with enough force to crack the marble floor. If he’d moved even a second later, then he and Coco would have been splattered all over the floor.

"Wow, you actually dodged it! Guess you really did make this mess. This is going to be so much fun.” Although the bottom half of the assailant’s pale face was covered by a black scarf, Dugu could tell that he was smiling - tiny wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes.

Dugu glared at him. "Who are you?"

The assailant combed back his spiky silver hair. "My name is Prometheus. Who might you be?"

Dugu recalled hearing the name from the brothel's owner. "I'm Dugu. You work for the owner of this place, correct? Well, he's dead, so why don't you take a hike."

"True, he pays me to hang around here, but I'm not doing this for him. I'm doing this for me.”

I'm not sure if I can beat him in a fight. Maybe he'll leave if I give him the sack of money.

"If it's money you want -"

"You still don't get it, do you? Let me phrase it for you in words you can understand: I want to tussle with your muscle." Prometheus clanged his fists together, which were covered in black metal gauntlets.

Doesn't look like this wacko will leave.

Dugu looked at the crowd of women and then at Coco, who he held close to his body.

I can't fight freely with them here.

"Hmm? Oh, I see. Don't worry, they can leave. Wouldn't want them getting in the way of our fight." Prometheus winked at Dugu.

Good, he seems to only be interested in me.

Dugu turned toward the redhead. "What's your name?"

"Rebecca."

"Rebecca, I need you to take Coco and the other girls out of here.”

“What about you?”

“I'll join you all shortly.”

"Be careful." Rebecca took hold of Coco’s arm.

The two of them walked out of brothel, followed closely by the rest of the women.

As he’d promised, Prometheus didn’t pursue them.

Dugu activated [Sensory Boost], which augmented all his senses. Against a master level opponent, he couldn’t afford to hold back.

He unsheathed his sword. "Let's dance."

"I'm dying to see your moves." Prometheus lowered his body.

He shot towards Dugu with explosive speed.

Dugu slashed, but his sword was parried by Prometheus's gauntlet. He slashed again and again, but was parried each time. His focus didn’t waver. Slipping up for even a single moment could mean death, such was the intensity of a master level fight.

But Prometheus laughed hysterically the whole time. "Oh boy, you're good!"

Dugu wondered how Prometheus could have the mental capacity to fight, talk, and laugh at the same time. They exchanged blows at such a high speed that their movements appeared to blur together.

He didn’t understand why Prometheus met each and every one of his blows head-on. It would have been much easier for Prometheus, who was much faster than he was, to dodge. A master level fighter should know that.

Amidst the flurry of slashes, Dugu noticed that his sword was being chipped with each blow.

What are his gauntlets made of? Adamantium? If this keeps up, my sword will break!

Dugu leaped backwards.

Prometheus didn’t pursue him.

They were back where they’d started, except Dugu was breathing heavily, while Prometheus didn’t look tired at all.

I haven’t fought such a strong opponent in a while. He may be even more powerful than Thrax.

He began to feel the side effects of using [Sensory Boost]. His head felt like it was going to explode. He endured the pain, because he knew that deactivating the skill would mean certain defeat. Without it, he wouldn’t be able to keep up with Prometheus's lightning fast movements.

Prometheus shook his head. "Tired so soon? The fun just got started."

"Sorry to disappoint you."

"You look like you could use a break. Why don't you take one? While you rest, I won't lay a hand on you, I swear."

"You serious?"

"Dead serious."

Since Prometheus had kept his word earlier, about letting the women go, Dugu decided to trust him. Moreover, his body was begging for rest. He deactivated [Sensory Boost] and supported himself on his sword.

Prometheus threw a dagger at him.

Dugu barely dodged it by tilting his head.

Prometheus pounced at Dugu again, but this time, without [Sensory Boost] active, Dugu wasn’t able to dodge the attack in time.

"Just kidding." Prometheus slammed his leg into Dugu's side with tremendous speed and force.

Dugu was sent flying, crashed onto his side, and rolled across the floor. After he stopped rolling, he hoisted himself up with his sword. He felt throbbing pain in his flank and found it difficult just to stand.

I should've known better than to trust this wacko. I guess I don't have a choice - I have to use it.

He took out the small bottle that Thrax had given him for use in emergency situations. Although he had no idea what was inside it, he thought it was worth a try. After all, what did he have to lose?

He gulped down the concoction. It burned his tongue and the back his throat on its way down.

Seconds passed, by nothing happened.

He filled the bottle with cheap liquor?

"Dammit, Thrax!" Dugu threw the bottle away.

Prometheus laughed. "Who are you talking to? And they say I'm crazy."

Dugu's heart began pumping hard and fast, as though it was about to leap out of his chest. The pain in his flank diminished while his energy and focus spiked. His vision and hearing became crystal clear, as if [Sensory Boost] was still active. Overall, he felt amazing.

He knew he needed to end the battle quickly. Whatever had been in the bottle had boosted him mentally and physically, but there would be a price to pay once it wore off. Everything had a cost. The human mind and body couldn’t maintain such an elevated state for long.

He realized that, even with his temporarily boosted abilities, he wouldn’t be able to defeat his opponent in a head-on fight. Although they were both master level fighters, Prometheus was much stronger and faster than he was. Prometheus didn’t even seem to be fighting him seriously.

If I can't beat him in a direct fight, then I'll have to attack him indirectly.

Dugu dashed toward the exit.

Prometheus sighed. "They always run."

He pursued Dugu.

When Dugu reached the broken door, he scooped it up with his sword, hurled it at Prometheus, and then threw his sword in the same direction immediately afterwards.

Prometheus tore the flying door in half. "You think that'll sto-"

As Dugu had hoped, Prometheus's guard was down. The sword struck him, sent him flying, and impaled him against the wall at the other end of the brothel.

Dugu's mind and body began shutting off.

What was in that drink?

He blacked out.