Chapter 19: Brother

  The sun shines above, peeking through the rain clouds in Prismara as a horse-drawn carriage ctters through the busy thhfare. Inside, rad absently watched the passing sery as a smiling face of Cra surfaced into his mind.

  "I am te. Cra will definitely yell at me," he mused, his lips curled into a genuine smile. "Many people tend to avoid her because of her fierce attitude, but I like my sister that way. Holy, she is a very good girl. She thinks of others before ahat is one reasos those mood swings."

  His expression softened as he tinued his internal monologue. I am really being more protective of my precious sisters. But what I do? Even if I am not really their brother, I just really love them. They are my only family in this world. I want their sufferings to end. This bastard rad definitely didn't deserve such lovely sisters. I will take care of them. ard Sighed a little. At this point, people might mistake me for some sis.

  The periodic clip-clop of hooves suddenly ceased as the carriage drew to a stop.

  "Sir, there is a huge crowd blog the street ahead. Should I wait?" The carriage driver's old face full of appeared at the window..

  rad leaned forward, his deep blue eyes narrowing at the mass of people ahead. "Crowd? Is there aival or something?"

  "No sir," the driver shook his head grimly. "This area is trolled by local gangs. Fights often break out here, especially near su."

  "I see." rad reached into his pocket, produg five silver sili s. "Here, take this. I will be getting off here."

  "Thank you, good sir. Be careful."

  As rad stepped onto the street, the crowd's murmuring grew louder. Through gaps between shoulders and heads, he caught glimpses of the Church school's front gate.

  That's strange. Why would there be such a gathering here? An inexplicable utled in his chest, his bat-trained instincts tingled.

  I hope Cra isn't there. These gang fights have a way ing in i bystanders.

  Something pulled him forward – call it intuition, call it fate. He pushed through the croologizing quietly as he made his way forward. Then he saw her.

  Cra.

  His sister stood trembling, a bright red mark marking her previously por cheek. Two irls were with her, but rad's vision focused solely on his precious sister. His blood turo ice, then bzing fire. In his previous life as a trained martial artist, he had mastered the art of trolling his killing i. But now, seeing that mark on his sister's face, something primal broke loose.

  "Cra?"

  His voice was barely above a whisper, but it carried. Cra turned, her eyes widening as they met his blue ones. But these weren't the gentle blue eyes she knew – these were the eyes of a predator, calm as the eye of a storm.

  Tears welled up in her eyes as she ran to him, burying her fa his chest. Her entire body shook with silent sobs.

  rad gently patted her head, his touch trasting sharply with the deadly focus in his gaze as he assessed the situation. The man responsible for hurting Cra stood nearby, his meaty hand ed around anirl's wrist – Nadeko, rad realized with surprise.

  Nadeko's mouth opened on seeing a familiar face. "Yo—" She caught herself, reading the atmosphere. These weren't the eyes of the annoying cssmate she knew from uy. This was someone else, full of raze. A certain i in uy surfaced in her mind.

  The differeween Essentarii and normal people was, those who could trol Brahman possessed heightened senses, enhanced reflexes, and supernatural strength. But rad was something else entirely. In his previous life, he had been a trained fighter who had honed his body and mind through hard training. His bat instincts aion speed surpassed even the elite tier 0 Essentarii of this world.

  The gang leader – a man with a scarred face – s rad. "Hey, what are you staring at? Do you want that girl? You have her. I don't want some wimpy all-talk girl, but make sure t her bae after you're done." His gaze shifted lecherously to Nadeko. "And you…” He Smiled “I should enjoy you all afternoon today.”

  The punch that followed was too fast for ao see. One moment the gang leader was leering; the , he y unscious on the ground, blood trig from his nose.

  The croed collectively. Cra stared at her brother in amazement, seeing a side of him she'd never witnessed before.

  Three mang members emerged from the crowd, welding steel pipes. They moved to surround rad, their ons glinting iernoon glow.

  rad's face remained eerily serene, but his eyes promised violence. He didn't want to just win this fight – he wao send a message that would echh every dark alley in Prismara.

  The first attacker charged, the pipe raised high. rad's movement was fluid poetry – he redirected the pipe's momentum, wre free, and delivered a precisely targeted kick to the attacker's calf. The crack of fracturing bone was followed by an agonizing horrified scream.

  The remaining thugs hesitated, witnessing speed and precision they'd never entered. rad's fighting style wasn't the fshy teiques of tour fighters or the raw power of Brahman users. This was ical, effit violence, honed by real bat experiend modern knowledge only his previous world had developed through tless turies.

  They attacked together – one high, one low. rad moved like water, catg the high strike while cheg the low kick. In a blur of motion, he slipped behind oacker, applied precise pressure to the neck, and dropped him unscious. The st man received a kick that shattered his ribs.

  The street fell deathly quiet.

  rad retrieved the inal gang leader, dragging him back to sciousness with a rough shake. The man's eyes fluttered open.

  "Ahhh... who... what..."

  SLAP!

  The sound cracked like a whip, drawing blood from the man's lip.

  "Why are yo—"

  SLAP!

  "Hey I—"

  SLAP!

  "Let me e—"

  SLAP!

  Each sp recisely targeted, maximizing pain while minimizing perma damage. The crowd watched in horror as rad maintained his gentlemanly demeanor throughout the brutal punishment.

  "Cra, e here." His voice was warm honey, pletely at odds with his as. He smiled as if invitio afternoon tea.

  Cra approached, her fear repced by something else – awe, perhaps, or the realization that she truly was safe with him.

  "rad?" she asked softly.

  "Do you fear this man?" rad gestured to the bloody-faced gang leader.

  Cra studied the man with a bruised face, who now looked pathetically small. "No—"

  "Sp him as hard as you ," rad interrupted, his smile unged.

  Cra hesitated, then nodded. She uood this wasn't about violence – it was about quering her fear. She swung her hand.

  SLAP!

  The man sprawled in the dust.

  "Good. I don't want your hands to get dirty anymore. It’s already te but let's go have a good lunch, Cra."

  "Okay, rad." A small smile graced her lips.

  rad turo address the crowd, his voice carrying to every er of the street.

  "This is my sister Cra. I know some of you cowards are still hiding. Remember this well – if you touch her, you won't simply die. You'll wish for death long before I grant it. e directly to me if you want to test your luck. At least then, I'll make it quick."

  Nadeko stood frozen, her worldview shifting. Maya stared at rad, her heart rag for entirely different reasons.

  The busy streets around the church district buzzed with whispered retellings of the i. The te afternoon sun painted everything in warm golden hues as the group made their way through the crowd.

  "I told you we should first go to the museum before lunch," Nadeko pirying to restore normalcy to the situation. "Didn't you hear me before?"

  rad sighed dramatically. "Cra, why is this bitch talking to me again?"

  "How da—" Nadeko started.

  "rad," Cra interrupted, squeezing his arm. "You shouldn't talk to a dy like that. Sister Nadeko is a good person. She always looked after me."

  Behind them, Maya drifted in her own world of romantitasies. After I marry him, how would my retionship with Cra ge? Ahhh, it's so plicated. I o prepare— wait, I have rivals. I didn't know my sister and Cra's bro— no, rad studied at the same department.

  "Ahem," Nadeko cleared her throat. "Don't you ever think I'll thank you, especially after what you did to my boyfriend at uy."

  "Wasn't that your fault?" rad's tone was deliberately casual.

  "Mr. Valor, please refresh your memory. That was entirely your fault."

  "Is that so?" He made a show to remember.

  Cra's giggle broke the tension. "I didn't know you were friends."

  "We are not friends!" Both rad and Nadeko spoke in perfeison, the each other.

  Cra hugged her brother's arm tighter, ughing freely.

  I am so happy right now. I have never felt this happy in my entire life. I didn't know having a big brother could feel this wonderful.

  "Hihihi," she giggled again.

  rad's expression softened immediately. "Cra, do your cheeks still hurt?" Worry crept into his voice.

  "Ohh rad, you've asked me five times already. It's not that big of a deal."

  "Is that so..."

  A subtle pinch at her side made Cra turn. Maya was giving her meaningful looks, practically boung with anticipation.

  e on, introduce me to your brother. Please, I beg you!

  Cra felt a little bit possessive. After today's events, she had bee acutely aware of how precious her retionship with her brother was. The thought of sharing his attention made her surprisingly unfortable. But Maya was her friend, and she couldn't ignore her plea, even if it flicted with her newfound protective instincts.

  "rad, this is my best friend Maya," she said finally. "You never met her. She is also the younger sister of Miss Nadeko."

  "Ohh, hello Ms. Maya." rad's tone erfectly courteous. "I apologize that you had to witness su unpleasant situation."

  "No tha—"

  "Hey!" Nadeko cut in. "You didn't greet me that politely. Do you have a thing for younger girls, you pedophile?"

  "Huh? You and your boyfriend don't deserve anything from me. So shut up."

  Maya's internal cry of frustratio unvoiced. Why are you interfering with my versation, sister?

  As the sun began its slow dest, they arrived at their destination. The Aurelius National Museum in Prismara rose before them, its graemporarily sileng their bickering.

  The Aurelius National museum stands as a granur structure gracefully iwined with minimalist design of modern artistic touch. Carrying many epochs of history with a whisper of air that reminds anyone who ehe pce of histories varies gras and milestones of humanity. Crimson bricks that covered the eside cast long shadows where people feel so small as if they were standing under something so granur that's beyond prehension.

  Polished wooden floor which creek softly with each footsteps guiding its visitors through the rge Labyrinth of vishly decorated hall. Ornate oil painting and glowing deliers be seen as mere side decorations in front of tarimepieces and intricately inscribe invitations of some grand ba of long fotten royals.

  Visitors often spoke of the museum's almost magical ability to create a mosaiemories they never khey could experieoday was no different.

  rad and his panioransported, as if a wizard had woven a spell t tless historical moments into the present. The weight of ages pressed gently against their sciousness.

  "This is what we live for," Nadeko spoke softly, her usual antagonism fotten in the face of such majesty.

  "A history that shapes us, an in that may never affect our future but defines our present. Truths that everyone has the right to know and study." Her eyes held a depth of passion rad had never witnessed before.

  History... that shapes our present....

  The words echoed in rad's mind as he gazed back at the museum's entrance, his thoughts turning to his own plex history and the present he was trying to shape.