Jon almost felt his heart skip a beat, seeing the familiar features of another human.

It had been six months since the last time he had seen another human being. Six months since he was dragged into this System Introduction. Six months since he had left his home and six months since he had last seen his family.

Although statistically the should be at least a handful of other humans within this small realm, Jon did not think he would meet one quite so soon. In fact, he did not consider the possibility that the one who had taken Avahni would also be a-.

"Put her down and I won't kill you," Jon re-exerted the control he possessed over his Fragment Of Mind, clamping down any emotions related to shock or surprise.

Whether the person in front of him was human or not, it did not matter.

They, or he rather, had taken Avahni.

Getting her back was the only thing that mattered right now.

The smile on the blonde-haired man's face widened, tightening his grip over the unconscious lutin in his arms in an attempt to aggravate him. The man half-glanced down at Avahni's limp figure, letting out a small tsk as he shook his head from side to side.

"Damn, you really don't beat around the bush do you old timer? What are you, ex-military? You definitely don't sound like a police officer, I can tell you that much," the blonde-haired man chuckled, glancing to the space directly behind Jon and whistling, noticing Eis' presence through the shadows and gloam.

His blue-eyes roamed all over the figure of the winter demon spirit, causing Schwarz Eis to bare her teeth at him, manifesting a frozen-longsword using Licht Weiss.

"If you want to keep those eyes of yours, I suggest you keep them to yourself, boy," Eis said, causing the man to raise an eyebrow in response.

"You taught one of them English?" He could not help but ask.

Before Jon could respond, he noticed something stir in the shadows behind the man. An enormous elephant-sized figure emerged from the darkness, standing behind the man who had taken Avahni protectively.

It's voice masculine, but coarse. Giving Jon the impression that it was much older than he initially suspected.

"No, Theodore," both Jon and Eis narrowed their eyes at the unfamiliar voice, "That winter demon spirit is just like me. A summoned existence."

"No shit?! A babe like that can also be a summoned companion!? Damn, no offensive Itsumade, but I did not luck out in that regard," the man, "Theodore" laughed, biting his lip as his eyes continued to roam across Eis' form. The disgust that flashed across Eis' face did nothing but encourage his behaviour.

Seeing the man's face, alongside his name caused a nostalgia-shaped soap bubble to burst forth from within Jon's Sea Of Knowledge. For a moment Jon thought that he had seen this man before, but the feeling was squashed beneath a stray wisp of knowledge natured spiritual energy.

[Mine Is The Black Erasure Of Knowledge].

The feeling did not go unnoticed by either Jon or Theodore, the latter raising an eyebrow, nodding his head as his smile grew wider.

"You felt that did you? Have not been able to assess that specific effect quite yet, but it is nice to know that it works," Theodore grinned, watching Jon's expressionless visage remain undisturbed.

His Sea Of Knowledge churned, trying to produce more foam-like thoughts from memories and experiences colliding together. Remembrances of the name "Theodore" crashed against all the memories of "blonde-haired" men, hoping to produce a new thought from within his mental construct.

Regardless of his control over the Sea Of Knowledge, every time Jon tried to summon a thought relating to this man it would vanish, as if he were trying to catch smoke with his bare hands.

"I was worried that I would not be able to test out the effects of my Fragment Of Mind until after the System Introduction concluded. Interesting don't you think?" Eis glanced towards him, muttering a single thing through their inherent connection.

"Fragment pathway," she said, causing a sinking feeling to appear within Jon's stomach.

Although Jon could only guess its effects having similarities with either concepts of "forgetfulness" or "obscurity" seeing that he could not summon memories relating to this man.

"At first I was just interested in the Memento Source Fragment that you had obtained, but knowing that you are human just made you a whole lot more interesting… What did you say your name was again?" Theodore asked.

Knowing that Lethe would cause instances of [Falsehood] to appear whenever he lied, Jon told him the truth.

"Jon. Just Jon," he replied.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

The blonde-haired human rolled his eyes, muttering something beneath his breath. The Quiet Death Of Light And Virtue behind him stirred, wisps of blood natured spiritual energy and dark natured spiritual energy wafting off it as if a foul-stench clinging to a corpse.

"Human. Give up the Memento Source Fragment in your possession and we'll consider giving you back the woman." Itsumade said, causing his summoner to raise an eyebrow, peering at him with a strange expression on his face.

"Wait, I thought you said that we would keep her, and kill them as well? Didn't you say that-. Oh see what you were trying to do there," Theodore showed a slightly regretful expression, causing his summoned companion to sigh, shaking his head in annoyance.

Jon took a step forward, prompting Theodore place Avahni in one arm, manifesting a summoned knife and placing it against her throat. Both Eis and Ru Luan Di furrowed their brows at the action, the latter glancing towards Jon, noticing that he did not take another step.

"Not a single step further thank you. Not unless you'd prefer her back in multiple pieces. I'll be making the demands her old man," said Theodore, using the tip of his knife to slash a few strands of Avahni's hair onto the ground.

Said Asherah-Shamrock Hair dissipated into tiny motes of wood natured spiritual energy, causing her kidnapper to hum, intrigued by the small light show.

"Interesting," said Itsumade, not knowing what manner of fragment had manifested such a mutation. The blood-night acerodon glanced towards Schwarz Eis and Ru Luan Di, raising an eyebrow at the presence of the former.

Theodore, noticing the changes in his summoned companion, tilted his head backwards and towards the enormous bat. It's four ears twitching, sniffing the air before grinning, showing two rows of pitch-black fangs.

"Girl. The scent of She Who Whispers Winter And Wrath, clings to your flesh. Are you her descendant?" Itsumade asked, causing Schwarz Eis to furrow her brows hearing the Title of her ancestor.

Raising her chin, Eis responded in a tone befitting the White Lady Of The Winter Castle.

"And what of it?"

Both Jon and Theodore shared a glance, seeing their summoned companions interact with one another. The emotions contained within Schwarz Eis and Itsumade spilling over into their masters, resulting in the corners of Theodore's mouth to widen.

Blood natured spiritual energy started spilling out of the Quiet Death Of Light And Virtue. The ambient spiritual energy around the blood-night acerodon grew turbulent as the enormous bat stamped its claws into the ground, shaking the very earth beneath their feet.

Itsumade stood up on his hind legs, baring his fangs at Jon and Eis.

"Then it seems the System has blessed me this day."

"Theodore." Itsumade did not glance down at his summoner, conveying his emotions through his mental connection. The blonde-human furrowed his brows for half-a-moment before shrugging his shoulders.

"I guess negotiations have broken down. I did wonder what makes you special old man. Perhaps I'll find out after poking through your corpse for a little while," Theodore smiled, meeting Jon's gaze before-.

[First Lie: Phantom Dream].

He threw Avahni straight up into the air.

Jon did not even realize what he was doing, stepping forward as his eyes remained locked on the figure of his friend. Any thoughts relating to Itsumade or Theodore had been overshadowed by the thought of Avahni getting hurt.

He did not even notice the burst of lie natured spiritual energy that flashed through the eyes of his fellow human, grinning as he launched himself forward, prompting both Schwarz Eis and Ru Luan Di to scream at him from across the forest.

""Jon!"" the two of them exclaimed, watching as the Knight Ranked human flourished the knife in his hands, slashing forward while activating a familiar fragment within his Knife Mana Core.

[False Knife Art; Vein-Severing Slash].

Theodore slashed the space right in front of him, manifesting an arc of knife natured spiritual energy. The construct lingered for more than half-a-second in front of him before launching forward at a speed that almost matched a mortal firearm.

The sound of a high-pitched whir echoed throughout the forest, reminiscent of a knife cutting through air.

Jon did not realize what was happening, reaching his arm out in order to catch Avahni before she hit the ground. The exact moment his hand came into contact with her arm her figure vanished, nothing more than a "lie" that Theodore had created.

The image of a slashing wave of spiritual energy replaced Avahni, [Monstrous Intuition] urging at him to duck. The control Jon possessed over his physical body was incredible but still paled in comparison to the strength of a true Knight.

His Minerva-Sagacity Eyes reflected the image of the approaching projectile, slowing down its movements as his spiritual energy surged into over half-a-dozen abilities all at once.

His Fragment Of Marrow, Fragment Of Heart and Fragment Of War all screamed at him, overloaded beyond the point of return on his spiritual energy investment. The combined effects of his three physical enhancements were not enough, Jon activating his Fragment Of Superbia and exploding with an incredible amount of spear natured spiritual energy.

[Helel].

The effectiveness of all the abilities with his Enhancement Trait exploded, doubling under the presence of his Helel-Testament Pride strengthened through the effects of Princeps Of The Wandering Mutation.

Jon's hair, even with Lethe obscuring his appearance, turned a sinless-white as a seven-pointed halo appeared above his head. Theodore, will all the advantages a Knight possessed over a Mortal barely managed to react to him throwing the Spear Of Verdant Cedar at him.

Itsumade swung one of his arms at Assail, disrupting the Fragment Of Spear mid-flight, sending it far off into the forest somewhere. The blood-night acerodon feeling the presence a conceptual mutation, stepped forward, his fangs barred towards the man with the seven-pointed halo.

Theodore furrowed his brows, seeing Jon's form saturated with an extraordinary amount of spear natured spiritual energy and ice natured spiritual energy. Yet despite these unfamiliar Mana Cores that he had integrated, he could not help but detect the faintest wisp of-.

"You picked Knowledge too old man?" The Murder Of Temperance And Humility grinned.

Jon did not respond, causing Theodore's grin to widen.

He was no longer holding onto Avahni's unconscious form, noticing that Itsumade now gripped her figure in one of its claws. Jon did not even need to turn his head, knowing that Eis had stepped forward, Ru Luan Di still perched on her shoulder.

Ignoring the eventual consequences of his Fragment Of Superbia, Jon raised the Thulian Spellspear, pointing it at the human standing across from him.

"I promise. I'll make it painless," he said.

Theodore grinned, noticing another instance of [Falsehood] appear in the corner of his vision.

"I promise I won't," he responded.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.