Second World

Spring Crown was laughing his ass off with silent laughter by the side. Jack glanced at him annoyingly. That guy was obviously enjoying this.

Still, this Evan guy pissed him off even more.

"You won't blame me if I kill this clown, will you?" Jack asked Grace.

Grace just shrugged.

"Haha. I might be a priest, but I'm a master fencer before I was transmigrated into this world," Evan laughed. "Your overconfidence, sir, will be your ruin!"

"Right back at you, moron!" Jack exclaimed, but then he stopped. He had a feeling he had heard what he just said before, except he was the recipient. He couldn't quite remember when.

Spring Crown had been ushering everybody back to give the two some space. Not that he thought the fight would last long to need wide space. He just didn't want someone to accidentally block his view when the duel started.

"If you are so eager to die, I will fulfill your wish," Jack said.

"Both of us have two shields left. How poetic. This is fated. For after this duel, Grace will only have me to look at!" Evan declared.

"Can we start now? I find you even more annoying than John, and that is a testament," Jack said, brandishing his wrench.

"I am always ready," Evan adopted a fencing pose with his shortsword.

Spring Crown self-appointed himself as the referee. He came between the two and uttered, "Ready? No? Well, it doesn't matter. Let the duel begins!"

Jack walked over casually after Spring Crown's announcement. Evan was no martial artist. Jack could see from Evan's small movements in a glance. He might claim to be a fencer but the way he twirled the shortsword around while waiting for Jack to arrive also showed that he was not an expert swordsman.

"En Garde!" Evan shouted before he trusted the shortsword at Jack when Jack came into range.

With how Jack was walking casually toward Evan, everyone except those who knew Jack thought he was underestimating his opponent. They expected the shortsword to sink into Jack's body and showed him what it meant to be careless in combat.

Yet, the shortsword passed by Jack's body with just an inch between them. Jack had swiveled his body to the side just as the shortsword came. He did so by simply stepping one of his feet to the side. His intermediate sword's heart let him predict Evan's direction of thrust with perfect timing. He was not yet at Arthur's level where he could predict all attacks performed using swords but he was getting there.

Even when Evan had not yet processed the fact that his thrust had missed, Jack's wrench already came to the side of his head. The impact made him lose vision for a second. When he could see again, he felt that the world was spinning.

Then he felt a second hard impact on his head and he fell to the ground.

'I… I am dead…!' He thought. He couldn't see properly.

When he came to, he saw people crowding around him. "I'm not dead?" He asked.

He checked his shield. There was one left. "But… I was hit twice."

"He hit you the second time using his fist," Spring Crown informed. He then turned to Jack, "Why spare him?"

"Come on, dude. Do I have to kill him just for a quarrel over love? He is simply misguided. I'm only giving him a lesson," Jack replied.

"Ooh," Spring Crown grinned. "Did I just hear a confession?"

"Uh… I… You know what I mean!" Jack said.

Grace, who was standing by the side, had a reddened face. Stefan and Naomi were by her side. They were looking at her with teasing grins.

"Knock it off!" Grace told them.

"A gentleman knows it when he is beaten," Evan stood back up. He still felt a bit dizzy but he refused to look weak. "However, this doesn't mean I've given up. I lost today. I'll leave but I will return for my love!"

Everyone looked at each other with mixed feelings. They didn't know if they should applaud Evan for his persistence or if they should knock him back to the ground. And why was he talking as if he would be leaving them? Where would he go in this place? Did he want to separate from the team and be vulnerable just to appear cool?

Evan didn't give the others' expression any mind. He turned to Grace and said ardently, "My dear, it is not your fault we can't be together. It is mine, for I am too weak to protect you. You need someone who can keep you safe in this world. So goodbye, please don't cry. We both know I'm not what you need, and I will always love you."

"What the…," Jack made a surprised look. "Did you… Did he just quote the lyrics from Whitney Houston's song?"

"He does that a lot," Spring Crown nodded.

"Don't listen to them, my dear. These are my sincere words conjured straight from my loving heart," Evan told Grace, who was not even looking at him.

"I regret not landing the killing blow now," Jack said.

"Well, the guy is still within reach," Spring Crown offered.

Jack didn't take action. Evan might be annoying but not evil. Jack wasn't a cold-hearted man who killed just because he could. Furthermore, Evan said that he would be leaving.

Evan sheathed his shortsword. He said goodbye to everyone, who mostly didn't return the gesture. He then walked away from the others and… sat on the sidewalk.

"Uh… I thought you are leaving?" One of his team members asked.

"My heart has left," Evan answered. "My body will continue to accompany you, people, here. For I have considered you all my family. For what is more important than family? How can we not talk about family when family's all that we got?"

"F*ck me! He is quoting a movie soundtrack now," Jack uttered. "And the sentences were not even in sync. Stop trying to force song lyrics into your speech!"

Spring Crown nodded in agreement by the side.