Arthur Sterling did not raise his hands and he did not panic at all.

He just slowly tilted his head backward. He could feel the cold and sharp edge of a massive broadsword pressing gently against the back of his neck.

He calculated the angle of the blade in a fraction of a second. The weapon was held steady without any nervous tremors that usually accompanied a cheap slum mugging.

Whoever was holding that sword knew exactly how to use it. And they were definitely not bluffing.

"You are under arrest for unauthorized reality manipulation, debtor," the man stated coldly.

His voice was rough and scarred like grinding gravel. "Turn around slowly or I take your head off."

Arthur let out a slow and exhausted sigh. He wiped a streak of chemical runoff from his cheek and slowly pivoted on his heavy boots.

Standing before him was a man who looked like he had been chewed up and spat out by the universe itself.

He was tall and heavily scarred. He was clad in a patchwork assembly of reinforced leather and scavenged starlight metal. His eyes were hard and calculating, burning with a fierce independence.

He held a massive two-handed broadsword with a chipped grey edge that hummed with kinetic energy.

This was Vane. He was the local Hero of the Frontier.

Authur did a deep eye scan.

Arthur immediately recognized the type of person he was dealing with. This was not a corrupt middle-manager or an arrogant celestial aristocrat.

This was a man who lived in the dirt and fought for every scrap of bread. He actually believed in the concept of justice. He was the worst kind of person to negotiate with.

"Arrest?" Arthur scoffed as a dark smile stretched across his face. "I think there has been a misunderstanding, officer. I was just conducting a hostile takeover of these three assets on the ground."

"It was self-defense, you see. I am new to the Margin. I do not suppose we could settle this out of court? I am sure a man of your obvious talents is grossly underpaid by the local precinct."

Arthur infused his tone with the same silver-tongued charisma he had used to gut companies on Earth. It was a psychological loophole.

He wanted to offer a bribe disguised as a compliment, establish dominance, and buy time to figure out the escape route.

Vane did not take the bait. He did not even blink.

"Save the corporate bullshit for the Auditors," Vane growled. He pressed the tip of the broadsword directly against Arthur’s chest.

"I saw the spatial tear and I felt the dimensional drag. You aren’t just some lost stray. You are an anomaly, and anomalies bring the heat down on this sector."

"I protect this city from Debt Horrors. And I don’t take bribes from unregistered glitches."

Arthur lost his smile. He respected a man who couldn’t be bought but he absolutely hated dealing with them.

He needed a battery and a local guide. If he couldn’t buy Vane, he would just have to forcefully recruit him.

’System,’ Arthur commanded in his mind.

’Let’s put a leash on the boy scout. Initiate Binder.’

[Target Analysis]

↳ Name: Vane

↳ Status: Unbindable

↳ System Ability: Immunity to System Manipulation

↳ Error: Target possesses absolute philosophical divergence. Cannot be assimilated.

Arthur widened his dark eyes by a fraction of a millimeter.

Unbindable? The system was a foundational tool of the Prime Creator even in its nerfed state.

To be utterly immune to its manipulation meant Vane possessed a willpower so rigidly anchored to his own ideals that the universe simply could not rewrite him.

They were complete philosophical opposites. Arthur viewed the world as a spreadsheet to be balanced where people were just numbers and assets. Vane viewed the world as people to be saved.

"Okay," Arthur muttered. "You really won’t let go of me, will you?"

"I’m the guy bringing you in," Vane said.

"Last chance. Hands behind your back."

"I don’t do handcuffs," Arthur said coldly.

Arthur moved with sudden violence. He didn’t draw the Ebonheart Sword or use a spell. He just dropped his center of gravity and stepped directly inside the reach of Vane’s massive broadsword.

"SWOOSH!"

Vane reacted instantly and swung the heavy blade in a brutal arc. But Arthur was already underneath it.

Arthur drove his elbow straight into Vane’s armored ribs. The sound of the impact echoed sharply in the damp alleyway.

"CRACK!"

Vane grunted and stumbled backward, but the frontiersman didn’t fall. He pivoted on his heel and used the momentum of Arthur’s strike to bring the pommel of his broadsword crashing down toward Arthur’s skull.

Arthur raised his forearm to catch the blow on his bracer.

Pain shot up his arm. It was genuine and unmitigated pain. His bones ached and his muscles burned. Without the multiplier constantly reinforcing his cells, he was feeling the physical toll of combat for the first time in years.

It was absolutely exhilarating.

Arthur laughed a gritty sound and launched a flurry of martial strikes. He channeled the millions of sword swings he had leeched from Caden Cross. This translated flawless blade-work into devastating hand-to-hand combat.

He struck at Vane’s nerve clusters to paralyze the hero.

But Vane was a survivor. He didn’t fight with the elegant grace of the Celestial Gods. Vane fought dirty.

When Arthur went for a joint lock, Vane headbutted him squarely in the nose.

"Ugh!" Arthur staggered back and tasted blood. He wiped his lip. His pitch-black eyes locked onto Vane with profound respect.

"You’re good," Arthur admitted as he fell into a flawless martial stance. "But you’re wasting energy on wide swings. Tighten your guard."

"I don’t need a lesson from a criminal!" Vane roared and lunged forward with a devastating overhead cleave.

The two men clashed in a spectacular display of raw power. It was a gritty fistfight against a heavy blade.

Arthur parried, dodged, and delivered bone-rattling strikes. Vane utilized his environment by kicking up acidic puddles and using the narrow alley walls to limit Arthur’s mobility.

They were perfectly matched. The corporate assassin and the frontier guardian.

As the motion completed, the crisp sound of the system chimed in his mind.

[Warning]

↳ Stamina depletion at 40%

Arthur gritted his teeth. He was bleeding stamina and sweating through his ruined dark coat. He ducked under another sweeping strike and prepared to finally draw the Ebonheart Sword to end the stalemate.

Suddenly, a piercing siren blared across the entire city.

It was a high-frequency wail that vibrated in their teeth and drowned out the ambient noise of the Margin.

Vane froze with his broadsword halting inches from Arthur’s shoulder. The scarred hero looked up and his face drained of color.

Arthur followed his gaze. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The rotting grey sky above the Deficit Zone was shifting. It was turning a violent and glaring crimson. The clouds parted. Dozens of blindingly bright streaks of light plummeted toward the chaotic slums.

"Auditors," Vane breathed. His voice was laced with absolute dread.

Arthur narrowed his eyes and wiped the sweat from his brow. The cosmic bank had sent the repo men.

And there weren’t friends with Vane.

He looked at Vane and Vane looked at him.

The tension between them didn’t vanish but it rapidly shifted into a cold and mutual understanding.

"Need some help?" Arthur asked and rolled his bruised shoulder.

"Don’t get in my way, corporate," Vane growled and adjusted his grip on the broadsword.

Arthur smirked and drew the pitch-black Ebonheart Sword from its scabbard.