Held was bleeding from the knife wounds he had received from Lume's strike. It wasn't anything too serious, but it was still bleeding heavily.
— But if that wasn't your real power… then what is?
The soldier asked seriously, staring at the criminal in front of him. The man, full of muscles, didn't seem to be bothered by the wounds on his body. It was as if nothing had happened to him. The serial killer, for his part, just smiled slightly and began to speak:
— My true power… is that everything that enters this cloak becomes an item of determination!
That information caught Held's attention. He thought for a moment as he pulled the knives out of his body and held them in one hand.
— Interesting… I'll make sure that gets updated once this mission is over.
As he said that, Held crushed all the knives in his hand, destroying them completely as if they were nothing. Lume, in turn, returned to that confident, arrogant smile. The serial killer genuinely seemed to be enjoying the situation.
— You're really interesting. This is turning out to be quite fun!
As the killer said this, he quickly reached into his black cloak with his right hand, pulled out another handful of knives, and threw them at the soldier, unleashing another deadly rain of blades. Held, however, deflected and shattered them in mid-air with his steel club, not only defending himself but also attacking "the night killer, Lume," with a horizontal swing aimed at the man's abdomen, putting enough force into it to split the criminal in two.
Lume dodged with an acrobatic backflip, narrowly avoiding the attack, and immediately pulled a sharp machete from his cloak, launching another blade attack toward the military captain—this time aiming directly at Held's face. The muscular man reacted by catching the blade and snapping it in half with sheer force, stepping back a few meters in the process.
— Tch. You're so damn annoying!
Held said this as his club began to change. It looked like the head of a snarling animal was forming at the tip—specifically the face of an angry dog. This caught the serial killer's attention, but he didn't have much time to think. Right after the transformation, a powerful bark erupted from the club, the force of it launching the tall man away and shattering the windows of every "abandoned" building on that street.
— The eighteen-day mission. First day: The Hound of Devastation.
Held said this, referring directly to his first military mission—a mission that helped him grow in power and better utilize the capabilities of his special ability, which was directly tied to determination.
Lume was thrown to the ground by the attack but quickly stood up, adjusting his hat and brushing dust off his clothes, clearly surprised.
— Incredible! So the rumor is true—"Captain Held absorbed the abilities of his enemies during the eighteen-day mission using his determinations"? This gets more interesting by the second!
Lume said this excitedly as he pulled out a strange weapon. At first it looked like a sword or a multi-bladed knife, until he unfolded it, revealing it to be a five-bladed weapon shaped like a star. The killer hurled the massive "shuriken" at Held, kicking off another frenetic clash. The captain dodged it by sidestepping, only to be surprised again by Lume's sudden approach—he had closed the gap to within ten meters and was now throwing a storm of star-shaped blades at the soldier.
Held responded by destroying all the projectiles and used the momentum to launch a counterattack. But his strategy was interrupted—the giant five-bladed weapon was returning like a boomerang, forcing Held to jump to avoid it and prevent damage.
"I almost got sliced by that weird weapon!"
Lume seized the moment while Held was airborne and distracted. He caught the spinning star in mid-air and threw it back at the captain with a twist, adding rotational force to increase its speed. Held had to dodge again, which gave Lume the perfect opening to close in, wielding a single-handed axe in an attempt to behead the soldier.
Noticing the approach, Held jumped backward to avoid the fatal strike. He tried to counterattack, but before he could swing his club, he heard a faint sound—the slicing of air. It was the star-blade, returning again. Using his great strength, Held swung his club behind him, shattering the weapon just before it hit. Then he leaned forward and delivered a downward strike at the serial killer.
To defend himself, Lume pulled an umbrella from his cloak, opened it, and spun rapidly, deflecting the entire force of the blow into the ground. The ground cracked beneath him, but he remained unharmed.
— Oh… that was close. I could've died without this umbrella!
Lume said as he closed the object and tucked it back into his cloak. He resumed the offensive, throwing more blades at the captain. Held dodged them with fast, precise movements worthy of a professional athlete. After avoiding the blades, he had his "dog" unleash another bark like before, but this time Lume escaped by using his hook weapons, latching onto a building and swinging away just in time.
"This fight's really starting to get dangerous… I need to come up with something quick."
The serial killer thought as he threw his axe at the lawman, using that brief moment to craft a plan.
"Uuuhh… I think I've got an idea."
He twirled his thick mustache and began running along the rooftops at full speed. Held, of course, deflected the thrown axe and watched the blonde criminal fleeing.
— Trying to run?
Held muttered, noticing fresh wounds appear on his body—side effects of his "eighteen-day mission" technique:
"The wounds suffered in combat will reappear when using the day they were received."
But he didn't have time to worry about that. He jumped into pursuit across the rooftops, following the criminal as he dropped into an alley and continued walking calmly.
"What the hell is he planning?"
Held wondered as he followed him into the same alley and emerged onto a familiar street.
— Where are you, you bastard?
The long-haired redheaded soldier looked around until he spotted Lume waving at him from the street. Without thinking, he charged and launched a series of heavy blows with his club. Lume dodged them with relative ease, until one swing forced him to leap into the air. Held noticed… but was shocked. Lume seemed to be floating.
"He can fly, too?!"
Held thought, but after a sharper look, he realized Lume wasn't flying—he had used one of his hooked weapons to latch onto something, and was now standing on the tight cord. Feeling the cold night wind, Lume spoke calmly:
— Wow, feels like a strange storm is coming.
As he spoke, he pulled out around a hundred knives—fifty in each hand.
— You know, I'd lend you that umbrella… but I don't think we have time.
He threw the knives into the air, leaned forward, and shifted his hand posture.
— But I hope you can handle this drizzle. It should pass quickly!
In a confident tone, the serial killer pulled both hands downward, sending the knives falling. Held tried to block with his club, but the knives changed direction midair and struck his body—Lume was controlling them with threads attached to the blades, giving him complete control.
"That blond bastard is toying with me!"
Held thought, being pierced by some of the blades. Meanwhile, his club began to transform again—this time into the shape of a harpy eagle, complete with wings and the head of the giant bird.
"The eighteen-day mission. Fifth day: Goddess of the Winds!"
As Held finished channeling this ability, powerful winds suddenly changed direction, blasting all the knives away and knocking Lume off the wire, sending him crashing hard into the ground.
— I won't be as easy to kill as the first person you murdered!
Those words from the military captain triggered something in the terrorist—almost like a memory lapse. He picked up one of the knives that had landed on the ground.
— The first person I killed?
Lume muttered to himself as he stared at the slightly blood-stained knife. The light from a nearby streetlamp reflected off the blade, bringing long-buried memories to the surface…