"This is the person you want me to go with, alone, to the Black Gem Casino? What rank is he?"

"Rank C," Jiro replied calmly.

"Rank C?" Kira repeated, her voice rising. "Do you even understand what's at stake? The Black Gem Casino isn't some backstreet fight club. There are B-rank and even A-rank hunters working for them. If we're discovered, we'll be surrounded and killed before we can even escape."

Jiro met her eyes. "Don't let appearances fool you. He may be ranked C, but if you and I fought him together right now, we'd both lose."

Kira blinked, a disbelieving laugh escaping her. "You're joking. You have to be."

Jiro shook his head. "No. That's precisely why I chose him."

Kira looked back at Raito, longer this time, her gaze narrowing as if trying to see what Jiro saw. "You don't look like much," she said quietly.

Raito stepped forward, his eyes locking onto Kira's.

"What do you mean?" he said calmly. "The weak one here is you. And please, don't slow me down. I would've preferred to do this alone."

Kira's eyes narrowed. "Watch your mouth, you rank C. He still a newbie. Jiro, you must be joking when you said if you or I fought him, he'd defeat us. When he's only rank C?"

"Well," Raito said with a faint grin, "at least I'm not like you, scared. Whether it's rank A, B, or E, I don't care. I don't lose."

Kira scoffed. "Jiro, where did he get this confidence from? I'm sure he's never even heard of my name."

She turned back to Raito, her voice sharp. "Since you talk so much, I'll just have to put you in your place. How about a spar?"

"Fine by me," Raito said, a smile tugging at his lips.

A woman stepped out of the nearby car, head bowed, holding a sheathed sword. Kira snatched it from her hand, eyes gleaming.

"You know why people respect me?" she said. "Because when I attack,"

Her sword gleamed as she drew it, the metal ringing through the yard.

"they can't even see me."

She dropped into a stance. "Let's start."

"Fine by me."

Raito raised his arms. In an instant, two daggers materialized from thin air, curved, black edged, humming with energy.

Jiro's eyes widened. "What just happened?"

Even Kira faltered for a second. Where did that weapon come from? she thought, but shook it off, tightening her grip on the sword. I don't care. I'll make him regret talking to me that way.

"Hey, you two," Jiro called out, frowning. "I think this is a bad idea. Save your energy for the infiltration."

They ignored him.

Both stood facing each other, air still, tension coiling.

Then Kira moved.

She vanished.

Her speed tore through the ground, wind bursting behind her. She closed the distance in a blink, blade flashing toward Raito's chest, just fast enough to draw blood, not to kill. A teasing strike.

But Raito didn't move.

And then he was gone.

In the next heartbeat, a sharp thud echoed.

Kira's eyes widened as pain shot through her stomach, Raito's kick slamming her back several meters before she skidded to a stop.

She gasped. What just happened?

He kept up with me?

Her breathing steadied, eyes trembling. No, not just kept up. He dodged me. And countered.

Only S-rank hunters, or a handful of A-ranks, can follow my speed. That's my specialty, but he…

Raito smirked, stepping forward. "What's wrong? Getting scared already? I haven't even started yet."

"You bastard," Kira hissed, clenching her sword. "That was just luck."

"Well, come on," Raito said, his grin widening. "If you think it was luck, then this time, I won't even move. Do your worst."

Kira's jaw tightened, fury flashing in her eyes. "You're really asking for it."

She dashed forward again, this time at full speed. Her body blurred, sword gleaming under the sunlight as her boots cracked the marble ground beneath her.

"System: deploy defensive skill."

A mechanical voice echoed in Raito's mind.

[Skill: Shield Activation.]

A shimmering green barrier erupted around him, rippling with mana like a living wave.

Kira's blade struck first. Then again. And again.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound multiplied into a storm, each strike a blur of motion too fast for the eye to follow. She moved like lightning, her sword flashing from every angle, over ninety slashes within three seconds. Sparks exploded against the emerald barrier.

And yet nothing.

Not a crack. Not even a dent.

Kira gritted her teeth. "What is this?"

She spun, pivoted, and drove a final kick into the shield. The impact rippled through the air. Still, the barrier didn't waver.

Her breath came hard, her eyes widening in disbelief.

No way. Ninety strikes in under three seconds and it didn't even break? If this guy is really rank C, something's wrong. He's not normal.

She leapt back, distancing herself, sword raised defensively.

Across from her, Raito's expression shifted. The grin faded into something colder. Focused.

Kira's heartbeat quickened. She could feel it, his aura rising, the pressure thickening the air.

He's about to move.

Raito raised his dagger—then, in the blink of an eye, he was already behind her.

What—?! Kira sensed him at the last second and tried to leap away. She twisted her body midair, rolling and swinging her blade toward him in one sharp motion.

But Raito moved with ease, bending his body just out of her strike's path. In that instant, he caught her wrist, twisted it sharply—

Clang!

Her sword fell to the ground.

Before she could recover, his leg struck out, sweeping her off balance. She staggered, then crashed onto the floor.

Raito stepped forward, his dagger now pointed straight at her head.

Kira froze, her eyes wide. How… how was he able to move like that?

Just now—I couldn't even keep up with his speed. That's impossible. What is he? Is he… an S-rank?

Raito smiled faintly.

"Sorry if I was a bit rough on you," he said. "I don't really like sparring with ladies."

He stretched his hand toward her.

Kira hesitated, then grabbed it. Raito pulled her up effortlessly, steadying her.

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