Edge

Simon dangled a cigarette from his mouth, his hands shoved deep into his coat pockets. However, his pace was slightly slower than usual.

Suddenly, he stopped.

Ryan almost ran into him.

“What is it?”

Simon didn't answer. He just raised his head slightly and looked toward the end of the street.

Someone was standing there—a very tall person, nearly two meters tall. A long black coat draped down to his ankles. The gas lamps couldn't illuminate his face, leaving only a blurry silhouette visible.

They were about forty meters apart.

The night mist grew thicker, and the low wail of a ship's whistle from the direction of the East Docks echoed slowly. Gas lamps hung on both sides of the street, their dim yellow light torn by the mist into blurry, concentric halos. Puddles reflected the lamplight. As the wind blew, the entire street felt as if it were submerged in some turbid dream.

The Edge-man stood in the middle of the street. He didn't speak, nor did he attack immediately, but just stared quietly at the two of them. His pitch-black eyes were devoid of any emotion, like a butcher looking at meat on a chopping block.

Simon tossed his cigarette butt into a puddle. With a soft hiss, the ember went out.

“Don't get too far from me in a moment.” His voice was very quiet.

Ryan nodded. Deep within his left eye, the Lantern's glow began to flow.

The world gradually became clear. The direction of the wind, the footsteps, the breathing, and even the sound of water droplets hitting the ground in the distance were infinitely magnified.

In the next second, the Edge-man moved. He didn't charge; instead, he took a single step forward. Just one step, yet his figure suddenly appeared ten meters away.

Ryan's pupils shrank. Too fast. This wasn't a normal run, but some kind of explosive movement.

Boom!

Stone bricks shattered, sending fragments flying. The Edge-man's second step had already fallen. A sharp whistling sound tore through the air, and pale bone blades slid out from his sleeves like a beast baring its fangs.

At the same time, however, Simon moved as well. A cane suddenly appeared in his hand, and he struck it hard against the ground with a loud bang.

This was the first time Ryan had seen Simon truly fight. The man was instantly filled with vitality, his movements astonishingly fast. His black silhouette collided head-on with the Edge-man.

Boom!

Their first clash kicked up a massive spray of water. The nearby gas lamps shook violently. Ryan couldn't even see their movements clearly, only a continuous blur of afterimages. Bone blades and the cane clashed repeatedly, sending sparks flying in all directions as a harsh, grinding screech echoed down the street.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

After three consecutive clashes, the two retreated simultaneously. Simon took four steps back, while the Edge-man took three. The gap wasn't large, but it certainly existed. The Edge-man was stronger.

Simon spat out a breath and cursed under his breath, “Fucking troublesome.”

The Edge-man didn't respond. Leaning slightly forward, he vanished again in the next second.

This time, his target wasn't Simon, but Ryan.

The bone blade ripped through the air, a pale arc slashing straight toward him at a ridiculously fast speed.

Yet Ryan didn't retreat. With the Lantern's glow fully active, the entire world seemed to slow down for an instant. The trajectory of the blade became clear. He tilted his body, shifted his steps, and dodged.

The bone blade brushed past the tip of his nose, the sharp rush of air even severing a few strands of his hair. The Edge-man visibly paused, seemingly not expecting Ryan to evade the strike.

In that very instant, Simon struck from the flank, his cane slamming hard toward the opponent's temple.

Boom!

The Edge-man raised his bone blade to block. Sparks exploded. Ryan lunged forward at the same time, kicking hard at the opponent's knee.

Boom!

Ryan's kick landed solidly on the side of the Edge-man's knee joint. If a normal person took this hit, their leg would have snapped, but the sensation that traveled back felt like kicking a piece of steel wrapped in flesh.

Bang!

The Edge-man's body only swayed slightly. In the next moment, those pitch-black eyes locked onto Ryan.

Danger. Extreme danger. The hairs on Ryan's back instantly stood on end.

But before the Edge-man could strike, Simon closed in once more. Sweeping his cane, he aimed straight for the neck. The Edge-man was forced to turn and block.

Clang!

The bone blade clashed with the metal cane. A screeching grind pierced the night air, scattering a shower of sparks.

Ryan finally noticed something. The thing in Simon's hand was by no means an ordinary cane. Its outer wooden shell had cracked, revealing a dark silver metal structure inside. Certain patterns were even faintly engraved on the shaft; it was clearly a weapon designed specifically for combat.

Boom!

Simon flicked his wrist, and the tip of the cane thrust out fiercely, stabbing straight at the Edge-man's chest. This strike was incredibly fast, almost forming a straight black line.

But the Edge-man was even faster. His body bent backward to an unbelievable degree, his entire upper body nearly touching the ground. The tip of the cane grazed past his chest, and in the next second, the pale bone blade swept upward in a counter-slash, aiming right for Simon's abdomen.

It was too close to evade.

Slash!

Blood splattered. Simon let out a muffled groan and retreated violently, the hem of his coat instantly stained red.

Ryan's pupils contracted. The wound wasn't deep, but it had indeed connected.

The Edge-man didn't pursue him. Instead, he spun around abruptly and charged at Ryan again. He could tell that the truly troublesome one was Simon, but the easiest to kill was Ryan. Eliminate the weak one first, then deal with the strong one. This was the most logical choice.

Boom!

The stone bricks shattered as the Edge-man instantly crossed a distance of over ten meters, the bone blade swinging down toward Ryan's head.

The Lantern's glow in Ryan's left eye swirled frantically. Time seemed to slow down once more. The trajectory of the bone blade, the direction of force from the shoulders, the shift of the center of gravity in the waist—all of it became clearly visible. He took a sharp half-step back, turned his body, and dodged.

Boom!

The bone blade hacked into the ground, shattering the stone bricks into fragments. Yet the Edge-man's attack was far from over. The moment the first strike landed, a second bone blade shot out from his other arm in a horizontal slash!

Ryan's heart seized. Too fast. Unavoidable.

Just then, the Lantern's glow deep within his left eye erupted. His vision flared for a split second.

In that instant, he saw it. Not the bone blade, but a minuscule pause in the Edge-man's movements. It was the unavoidable gap that occurred during the transition of force.

Ryan didn't think. His body lunged forward on instinct, practically pressing against the bone blade as he dove into the opponent's chest.

Boom!

His shoulder slammed hard into the Edge-man's chest, and both of them lost their balance simultaneously. The Edge-man was visibly stunned for an instant; he hadn't expected anyone to fight like this.

And in this very fraction of a second, Ryan raised his left hand, stared directly into the opponent's eyes, and unleashed the Lantern's glow.

Buzz—

The Edge-man's movements suddenly ground to a halt. It was only for an instant, incredibly brief, but for an extraordinary being, an instant was more than enough.

In the distance, Simon raised his head, and something seemed to light up in his eyes.

In the next moment, Ryan saw the power of the Heart aspect for the first time. There was no light, no fire, nor any visible anomaly, yet the Edge-man's body shuddered violently, as if he had suddenly beheld something unimaginably terrifying. His movements slowed drastically, and for the first time, a flicker of emotion appeared in his eyes.

It was shock, an utter disbelief, as if something had been forcibly crammed into his mind.

“Now!” Simon roared.

Ryan retreated instantly. At the exact same time, Simon had already rushed close. His cane transformed into a black blur, crashing down with a boom!

Boom!

The Edge-man raised both arms to block, but was still forced down to one knee. The ground cracked, the puddles exploded, and a massive sheet of water sprayed into the air. For the first time tonight, the Edge-man was truly on the defensive.

Simon panted heavily. His wound had stopped bleeding, but his face was turning pale.

“See that?” He glared at the Edge-man, a cold sneer tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Your head... isn't as tough as you think.”

The Edge-man slowly rose to his feet, his chest heaving. Speaking for the first time, his voice was as raspy as scraping blades.

“Heart.”

“Lantern.”

“No wonder.”

The night mist rolled, and the gas lamps swayed continuously. In the distance, the port's siren wailed again, low and drawn-out.

Ryan slowly backed up to Simon's side, his breathing ragged, his forehead drenched in cold sweat. That sudden burst of the Lantern's glow just now had drained nearly most of his mental energy, but the effect was clearly excellent.

Simon wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and lowered his voice. “Not bad. Better than I expected.”

Ryan stared ahead. “How much longer can he fight?”

Simon remained silent for two seconds, then cursed, “How the fuck should I know? A mad dog like this doesn't operate on normal human standards.”