Seraphim is a Bystander

Raw Hostility

 
“...Huh?”
Yuna let out a strained, fearful voice as she caught sight of the man in black. Of course she would—someone who’s afraid of even basic training wouldn’t be able to stay calm around a person who looks like they kill for a living.

“Oh? What’s a child doing in a place like this? Where’s your mother or father, hmm?”
The man in the black cloak spoke in a gentle tone, like someone addressing a lost child on the street. His voice sounded male, but beyond that, I couldn’t tell much. Despite his kind voice, he made no effort to hide the dagger in his hand—one stained with something red.
“We came to see the flowers. My mom told me the roses in the courtyard were really pretty.”

I deliberately answered with a childlike tone, hoping to gauge his response. I stepped forward slightly, putting myself between him and Yuna. Behind me, I could hear her quick, uneven breaths.
“I see. As you can tell, these roses are quite spectacular. I got so caught up admiring them, I nearly forgot what I was here for.”
As he spoke, the man began to approach us at a slow, deliberate pace—still not bothering to conceal the blade. So he really is planning to kill us, huh? It's hard to tell for sure since I don’t feel any hostility or bloodlust from him, but maybe he’s [N O V E L I G H T] just underestimating us because we look like kids.

“What about you, mister? What brings you to this hotel?”
I asked while subtly moving my hand behind my back, slipping a knife into my palm—just in case. If he attacks, I need a way to respond. The best-case scenario is that both Yuna and I get out of here and reunite with Master safely.
“Me? Just a bit of work, that’s all. And what are you two here for?”

So he dodged the question. And now he’s prying into ours. If I give him the wrong answer, will it make things worse? And even if he attacks, can I really handle him with this knife I’ve barely used before? Maybe I should forget about hope and just prepare my scythe from the start…
“Well, my mom and dad are at a… kaishoku? Some kind of meal thing, so we got bored.”
As soon as I said that, the man stopped walking. What was that? Did I say something wrong? Did he notice the knife?

He stood still, still showing no signs of hostility, but now clearly hesitating about something.
“Hm. This isn’t in the contract. Not sure how to proceed here.”
He muttered, lost in thought, but just a few seconds later, the entire aura around him shifted. Unlike Master’s pressure during training, this was cold and real—like having a blade pressed to your throat. That shift carried unmistakable killing intent.

“Ah—!”
Behind me, Yuna let out a short gasp and collapsed. I couldn’t even turn to check on her. I knew—if I took my eyes off this man for even a second, we’d never make it back to the banquet hall.
“Hmph. Looks like this is someone else's screw-up. A shame, but I’ll have to erase you here.”
“!!”

He continued approaching us, still slowly, still with that awful calm. So it’s come to this—there’s no avoiding a fight. The only saving grace is that he doesn’t seem to consider us a threat. If I time this right, maybe I can at least send a report to Master.
“Hup!”
I threw the knife hidden behind my back at him, then poured energy into my ring to summon my scythe without waiting to see if the blade hit its mark.

“Oh? Now that’s a rather bold little one.”
Looks like I caught him off guard—good. The scythe formed in my hand, and I stood firmly in front of Yuna, trying to shield her from harm. With our comms still active, I opened my mouth to report:
“Master! I’ve encountered an unidentified hostile in the courtyard!”

“Oh? So you’re on the security team. I admit—I didn’t expect that. I was careless.”
“If you could just stay careless until someone comes to help, I’d be very grateful.”
“That depends on your skill. Try your best to survive.”

As he responded, he finally raised his dagger from a relaxed grip to a combat-ready stance. That alone made the pressure around him even heavier. Even though I was still on the line with Master, I couldn’t process the sound of his voice anymore—my entire focus was locked on the man in front of me.
“Well then… shall we begin?”
“...!!”

His tone was calm—almost bored—but his next move wasn’t a feint or a slow approach. If not for all the bizarre advice Master gave me during training—stuff like “don’t just look at the tree, see the whole forest”—I wouldn’t have recognized what he did in time:
He threw the dagger I thought was his only weapon at me—and in that same instant, he drew another one and charged.