"Never steal again? Never! Screw that!!" The kid retorted in an angry fit.
"Then, I won't give you your wallet back," Lyrian retorted without hesitation.
Ounis was a witness to all of this, not saying a word as his head simply went back and forth as if he were in front of hit-the-mole.
"So you do have it then... fight me for it, you idiot!" The kid yelled, clenching his fists.
"Agree to the rules of the duel. If you don't steal again in your life, only then will I fight you."
As Lyrian said this, the kid began to shake with anger. In a low tone, he spoke, "Who the hell do you think you are?"
Lyrian didn't say anything, allowing the boy to continue.
The boy spoke slowly. "You don't know me. I bet you don't know half of the struggles that real peasants have to go through... orphaned kids, you couldn't possibly know our struggle."
At this moment, although the boy's eyes and face showed a ruthless anger, he began to tear up.
Lyrian's gaze remained very stoic and calm as he looked at the boy.
"I have my reasons for stealing. Hell... for my reason, I'd steal from the emperor!"
'Being orphaned huh. I guess now, I know both experiences; being orphaned, and also having two loving parents.' He thought to himself.
"Your reason is that important huh..." Lyrian asked out loud, as the boy firmed his stance.
"Of course it is! I know you've probably never felt the feeling of starving, but to save my baby sister from going through that, I'd steal from the gods themselves. There isn't anything I wouldn't do to never hear her stomach rumble again."
Lyrian noticed the determination in the young boy's eyes and couldn't help but respect it.
"But... now that she's gone, I need that money to stay afloat while I look for her. It's more important to me than just cash." The boy added in a lower tone.
"So it's for family huh," Lyrian said, beginning to walk away from the crowd and out into a more empty piece of stone ground.
The boy hesitantly followed him as Lyrian ordered it, "Follow me."
Now the three stood alone about 50 feet away from the more busy markets.
"Boy... if you really care about your sister, then get a job," Lyrian said outright.
"What?" The boy was slightly shocked to hear this. It was such basic and stupid advice, that he--for some reason--didn't expect to hear it come out of Lyrian's mouth.
"You don't think I've tried? Jobs are not given to those like me. There are an infinite amount of workers who are better fit for everything. I can't read or write, let alone go a formal job."
"If that's the case, then I'll help you out."
The boy was slightly taken aback to hear this.
"If you lose, you won't ever steal again,"
As Lyrian said this, the boy interrupted, "I already told you! That's not going to happe--" However, he too was cut off.
"But! I'll give you a head start. Since you say you can't work, I'll give you enough money so that you won't starve for a whole month. That way, you can clean yourself and get a job. After that, use that money to look for your sister."
The boy was taken aback to hear this. He was speechless for a few seconds.
Even Ounis was shocked, 'Why is he going so far for this random kid?' He mused.
"A win-win situation huh... why should I believe you?" The kid retorted.
"Why should you not?" Lyrian said back.
"Fine! But know that the money in that wallet that you have is double what you're saying you will give me if I lose, so don't expect me to go easy!"
Lyrian smirked slightly on hearing this. After a few seconds, Ounis announced the start of the duel.
"Begin!"
As he did, the kid immediately dashed forward--unsheathing an iron knife.
He swung at Lyrian fiercely, not holding back even a bit.
'So he's serious.' Lyrian thought to himself, stepping out of distance of each of the boy's attacks.
He attempted to attack, but the boy somehow noticed this and quickly backed off.
'Huh... keen intuition.' Lyrian said in his head, slightly impressed.
At that moment, the kid thought to himself, 'What the hell was that!? It was way too scary! I felt like a sudden meteor summoned in front of me in a split second. This kid... he's no joke. He's way too strong to beat.'
The kid suddenly closed his eyes.
'Oh? Is this a technique?' Lyrian mused.
While the kid thought, 'It's been a while since I've used this... I've had this power from when I was born and I don't even know how, but still, I haven't gotten used to using it.'
His eyes flew open, as a slightly purple haze covered over them.
Lyrian was slightly surprised to see this, 'Magic? No... I don't sense any. Then, what is that?'
The kid lunged forward at that moment. He was much faster than before.
He made his way to Lyrian and threw his knife at the cloaked boy, but his attack was abruptly stopped.
Lyrian grabbed his hand and then slapped him in the face.
At once he was thrown to the side like a rag doll. He rolled and tumbled on the ground for a while until crashing into the back of a shop.
As he coughed, he attempted to stand but wasn't able to. A bit of blood dripped out of his mouth, and the purple aura over his eyes was gone.
'How didn't that work... It's never failed me before! Damn it... that power has been nothing but a curse!' He mused disdainfully.
"That was impressive. You even surprised me with that. Tell me, what did you do?" Lyrian asked, walking closer to the boy.
The boy looked at him, and without any reason to lie, he said, "I don't know what it is, but I know it's called Black Merge."
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