The Riot Valkyrie carried him like he weighed nothing, her grip firm but not crushing, her movements fluid despite the raw power behind them. And as the distance between them and the gate site widened, Ethan couldn’t help the thought that crept in.

’Are all A Ranks... no, are all Titled fucking crazy?’

The first A Rank he had encountered was a self-proclaimed that could see into his soul. The second couldn’t even use her abilities and had a powerful demon inside her. And now this woman seemed just as deranged.

At this point, it was starting to feel less like a coincidence and more like a requirement.

Eventually, she stopped at a quiet area far from the cameras and any witnesses. It was just a space between warehouses, and when she stopped, she dropped him. More correctly, she just let go of him, letting him fall.

Ethan hit the ground and rolled slightly before pushing himself up, wincing as pain flared through his body, which was still riddled with cuts.

"So," she said, crossing her arms as she looked down at him. "What happened in there?"

She got straight to the point.

Ethan let out a breath, running a hand through his jet-black hair as he sat up.

"Was that really necessary?" he asked, his tone flat.

He already had his fair share of unexpected experiences for one day, and being thrown into the air and carried around like luggage wasn’t on his bingo card.

She raised a brow.

"Don’t you know not to answer a question with a question?"

Ethan met her gaze.

"Don’t you know not to lob someone into the air right after they come out of a gate?"

She paused.

The Riot Valkyrie couldn’t remember the last time she was spoken to so directly, let alone by a mere E Rank. Even more surprising was that he didn’t even seem to recognise her.

Either he lived under a rock or simply didn’t care about what happened in the world of Titled and Gates.

Either way, he was amusing.

"You’re a sassy one, aren’t you?"

"Sassy?" Ethan snorted. "Sure, then you’re fucking crazy."

It was a gamble.

Ethan knew that one negative reaction, and he was dead, simple as that. But he also knew that she had publicly taken him in front of many witnesses and even cameras.

’That would stop her from killing me, right?’

Then again, she was a valued A Rank, and the government would likely turn a blind eye to most of what she did. But it seemed as though he didn’t have to worry about that, since she didn’t get angry.

Instead, she laughed, as though he had just told her the best joke ever.

"I like you."

Ethan blinked.

’Yeah, she’s definitely a lunatic.’

But at least she wasn’t trying to kill him.

That was a win.

"Alright then," she said, relaxing slightly. "Let’s start again. My name’s Kaela. I’m an A Rank, and my Title is Riot Valkyrie."

Her tone shifted, slightly more grounded.

She was still wild and unpredictable, but she seemed slightly more normal, or at least compared to her usual self. What Ethan didn’t realise was that she rarely ever gave people her name to use, and that alone was a big thing.

He took the hint.

"I’m Ethan. E Rank." He paused briefly before adding, "And that gate was... fucked up."

That got her attention.

"Go on."

So he did.

He told her everything about the gate.

Well, almost everything.

He started with the voice, the sudden spike in difficulty, the way they all split up, then he and the A Rank running off and ditching their group. Then he came to the main event, the cavern where the Boss Beast appeared and the red-eyed A Rank’s transformation.

Of course, he carefully omitted anything related to his own abilities, from his beasts to letting them rampage in the breeding grounds.

Kaela listened carefully, which seemed uncharacteristic of the wild individual. She also seemed to notice the slight gaps in his story, especially around himself.

But she didn’t call him out, because what really interested her was something else entirely.

"So," she muttered, more to herself than to him, "the gate gets hijacked by some weird voice, becomes B- Rank, and that weak-looking girl turns into a fucking demon."

Ethan nodded.

"Pretty much."

She clicked her tongue.

Then her expression twisted into frustration.

"Why the hell do I never get these kinds of gates?"

Ethan blinked.

"...What?"

"I always get the boring ones," she continued, pacing slightly. "Easy clears. No challenge. No fun. Just in and out."

She looked genuinely annoyed.

"Fuck gates," she added. "I want a real fight. Something intense. Something that actually pushes me. I haven’t had one of those in years."

Ethan stared at her.

’Yeah... lunatic confirmed.’

"Why not fight other A Ranks?" he asked, genuinely curious.

She scoffed.

"They avoid me like the plague."

Seeing as she wasn’t unreasonable and could hold a conversation, Ethan continued, "What about S Ranks?"

"Snobby assholes," she replied instantly. "Always busy saving the world or whatever."

Then she grinned.

"But that girl you described? If she’s even half as strong as you made her sound..."

Her eyes lit up.

"She’d be fun."

Ethan felt a chill at that, because imagining those two fighting left a chill run down his spine.

’I mean, I’d love to watch it, just from a distance. A big fucking distance.’

Then came her last question, which seemed to be out of mild curiosity.

"Are you really an E Rank?"

She wasn’t picking him apart like Detective Holt, nor was she pressuring him, yet Ethan still felt obliged to answer.

"I think I’m D Rank now."

His answer seemed honest enough, and she could tell he wasn’t lying.

"Makes sense, you’re quite built, and you have quite a bit of energy in your body."

Her observations were on point, and though she was complimenting him, it felt like an elephant congratulating an ant for its size. Ultimately, even if he was hiding the abilities of a B Rank, it still didn’t matter to her.

What surprised him more was that she could gauge that at all.

The relaxed and unusual woman in front of him was still an A Rank with profound abilities and sharp senses. But now she seemed to have lost interest in him and the whole situation.

And just like that, his encounter with the Riot Valkyrie was over.

’I’ll probably meet her again.’

That both of them were oddly certain of, and the night they did was one to remember...