Chapter 6: More Human Than Ever

Our relationship surprised no one at work.

Everyone welcomed us with teasing and funny whispers, especially the waitresses, who tried to squeeze gossip out of Aria.

“So, what’s Lucio like? I always see him looking so serious back there, but I bet he’s different when he’s with you.”

Fuck, could they not speak a little quieter? I could hear their words perfectly from my office. Or were they doing it on purpose?

“U-Uh… We should work.”

Aria’s response could also be heard. In fact, she sounded very embarrassed.

Even so, this did not bother me in the slightest.

Having a girlfriend turned out to be better than expected. Aria and I went to work or shopping while holding hands, like any other couple. At home, things stayed the same. From time to time, we gave each other a kiss or a caress, but nothing more. We wanted to take things slowly, without any need to rush.

Like every day, our shift ended at 4:00 PM. Aria and I left through the restaurant’s back door and, without further delay, headed toward the shopping district.

“The January financial crunch doesn’t look that bad,” Aria commented while still checking some old Christmas ads hanging from billboards. Three Kings’ Day had passed recently, so the ghost of the December holidays still lingered around the stands.

“That’s because we had a contingency plan. Many families spend all their money during the holidays and struggle at the beginning of the month to recover.”

If there was one thing I had learned at home, it was to moderate my expenses. I had given her an expensive gift, but I had saved quite a lot for it. I had not spent my entire salary on a single thing.

“Many families…” Aria whispered, looking somewhat thoughtful.

“Is something wrong?”

“It’s just that your comment made me curious. Now that we’re dating… Does that still not count as family?”

Immediately, my face turned red again. I still had not gotten used to these uncomfortable questions.

And apparently, I never would.

“Not yet. To be family, we have to be married and have a certificate proving it before the state.”

I tried to sound as serious and impartial as possible, but the simple fact of talking about marriage was too much.

I mean…

We had not even been dating for a damn month!

“Ah… I understand now.”

My companion’s face also turned red. It took her a while to realize what she had said, but better late than never.

The streets of the shopping district were slowly losing their festive spirit. Normality was returning as if it had never left. Students who had fallen behind walked near the shops, and young workers like us also made use of the public roads.

“One day, we’ll have a car,” I whispered.

“Driving sounds fun. There are so many cars in the streets. Soon, we’ll be just another one in the line!” Aria exclaimed, with a touch of sarcasm in her voice.

“Traffic and roadblocks, here we come!”

Or at least, not for now.

We came to the district to make the monthly payments, meaning water, phone, internet, cable, and so on. And while we were at it, we also planned to buy something for dinner.

I had received no news from Korn or the agents. These last few days had been peaceful for us, without any supernatural threat in between. Even so, training continued. Aria kept trying to master her new abilities, but without much success.

Divinity, no matter how small, was too much power for a human body to control.

“Sooner or later, something will have to come out of it.”

In any case, there was no point thinking about that right now.

Once the paperwork was done, we headed home through our usual route. The clock already read 5:40 PM. The sun was still casting rays of light, but the soft winter breezes threatened to lower the temperature within an hour or two.

“Let’s hurry,” I said.

“Oh, what do we have here?”

A few meters away from the shopping district, Aria and I were stopped by an arrogant man. He was not a mugger. No one would be stupid enough to rob someone with so many police officers nearby. Besides, he looked too elegant to be a bandit. He wore a high-class white shirt, brown pants, and black shoes. His face did not look any older than mine.

“Can we help you?” Aria asked.

The man’s face looked familiar.

Where had I seen him before?

Fair skin, brown eyes, and chestnut hair, all well-groomed and without imperfections.

“Yes, you can help me, girl. I went to the restaurant yesterday, and you served me. You’re quite pretty. Why don’t we go for a walk? Going out with this cheap employee doesn’t suit you.”

His words would have affected me a few months ago, but not anymore. Although I considered myself a miserable person, Aria had made her choice by choosing me. He was nobody to judge another person’s decisions.

“And you are?” Aria asked.

“I’m Lucas, the mayor’s son. Haven’t you seen my photos on social media?”

Ah, that was why he looked so familiar. The controversial rich kid who wasted his father’s money and bragged about his political position. I was no one to judge him, after all. I had also been someone with connections during my university days.

“I think I’m old enough to decide who I go out with, so no, thank you.”

Aria faced the young man bravely. However, Lucas showed a smile full of arrogance.

“Are you sure? Look at that idiot. For God’s sake, he doesn’t have a single special quality. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be working like a slave in that restaurant. This is the opportunity of your life, gorgeous. Take my hand, and I’ll shower you with luxuries. I’ve been watching you for a few days. You deserve something better. A girl of your beauty should, by law, be with someone worthy.”

What a lot of babbling. Instead of making a scene, I stayed silent and let Aria handle it.

“Oh, I see. And you’re worthy? Of course not, Mr. Lucas. You can’t stop people just because your father is the mayor. I’m not a goddess or a supermodel for you to hold me in such high regard either. In fact, you’re bothering us, and if I want to, I can scream so the police come.”

That comment made me laugh.

“I’m not a goddess.”

But she was!

Either way, Lucas had not been drawn in by her divinity. Otherwise, there would be more people behaving that way.

“The kitten has claws,” the rich boy joked at her behavior.

Aria frowned even more and became even angrier.

“And she has teeth too. Last chance. Forget all of this, and I won’t do anything.”

“As if you could do anything. Boys, teach her boyfriend a lesson.”

Just what I had feared. Farther back, two men wearing white shirts and black pants positioned themselves beside their employer. The passersby looked the other way. They did not want to get involved with the mayor’s son.

And I did not blame them. I would have done the same.

“We can talk this out. I don’t want any trouble.”

That was the only thing I said. Part of me knew I was not getting out of this without a good fight.

“Tell that to your girlfriend.”

The first bodyguard threw a punch straight at my chin, with enough force to knock me out instantly. Fortunately, all the footwork training we had done paid off, because it was not difficult for me to evade it with a simple backward step. Then I raised both hands to chest height, forming a basic combat guard.

“Wait! Don’t make a scene in public!” Aria exclaimed.

However, the second guard stepped forward and stood right beside his partner.

“Too late, kitten. If you don’t want your boyfriend to get beaten up, you’ll have to kiss me on the lips.”

“No way!” I shouted. “Aria, take out your phone and record this, because I’m about to become a viral video.”

“B-But…”

“Trust me.”

“Don’t let him get back up!” the fake heartthrob shouted.

The two tried to tackle me with a frontal charge. It was an effective tactic, given their huge sizes and worked muscles. I managed to spot a small space where I could evade to the right. It was only a matter of waiting for the right moment to slip away.

“Now.”

Both guards rushed past me. By this point, a large crowd had gathered to watch us fight, with no police intervention, obviously.

“You can still walk away,” I said.

“Go fuck yourself, asshole.”

“Oh, what a mouth.”

Angered by my comment, the second guard launched a front kick straight at my face. Apparently, this guy practiced mixed martial arts. His stance completely gave away his training. I blocked his kick with my forearm, then stepped back three times and created more distance so I would not fall victim to a double attack.

“You’re ours!”

The other guard threw another punch straight at my chin, an uppercut, probably from boxing or some martial art focused on punches.

Neither of these two was a coward.

Both had decent martial skill. There was a reason they were Mr. Lucas’s bodyguards.

“Interesting. Maybe this will be good training after all.”

A second front kick threatened to knock out my teeth. Fortunately, I was able to block his offense with my arms and, without further delay, threw a direct strike at the bodyguard’s throat. Obviously, it failed. A trained professional always kept their guard high, regardless of the type of opponent.

“These guys aren’t underestimating me.”

Even better.

Instead of charging again, the two guards stood together with their stances raised. There was a moment of silence. The spectators also fell quiet. What had started as a street fight had turned into a real match between martial artists. Despite not having trained in any dojo, my hand-to-hand combat skills were as good as those of any serious practitioner.

And they confirmed it.

“Change of plans. I’ll face him first.”

The second bodyguard, the boxer, stepped forward. His companion nodded and stepped back to give him more space.

“What the hell are you doing? Attack together and beat the shit out of him!” Lucas did not look happy with this change of plans. However, the first bodyguard sighed.

“Our duty is to protect you, not obey you. Your father pays us. This man is a martial artist. We don’t get the chance to face one every day. Just watch from behind and stay quiet, sir.”

Okay, I had judged these guys wrong. They were not street thugs, but real fighters who honored their respective disciplines.

What a change of scenery.

“My name is Raúl, former professional boxer and certified bodyguard. And you are?”

“Lucio Atenas Gonzáles, fencer.”

“Can you fight at full strength without your saber?”

“Of course, Raúl. Let’s fight.”

The first punch came from the right. I barely managed to block it with my right arm, when suddenly, a second impact was already coming straight ahead. I was forced to roll across the ground to get out of his reach. Immediately, I attacked with a series of high kicks meant to unbalance his combat guard.

I had no success.

Despite keeping my distance away from his punches, my kicks did not cause him much damage. It was understandable. Although I specialized in using my arms, or rather, a saber, as my offensive source, I had never trained my legs exhaustively like karate, taekwondo, and other modern martial artists did. My kicks were simple mimicry from videos I had watched online, reserve techniques in case my swords were not available.

Even so…

Against a boxer, they should not have been so useless!

I kept kicking again and again with the same technique:

Descending kick to the head, then retreat.

A taekwondo fighter would have laughed at my movements.

I was not completely fast, but Raúl preferred to endure rather than risk fighting outside his range.

And suddenly, Raúl charged at me without caring about receiving a kick to the forehead that caused a slight bleed.

Fuck!

His punch was headed straight for my nose.

I needed to block!

“Ah!”

Even though I covered myself with both arms, his punch pierced through my defense and hurt me. However, it did not break my nose.

“You almost broke it…”

“And I’m not done yet.”

Raúl took the offensive himself.

His punches struck my stomach, arms, and part of my shoulders, but he did not touch my head. I managed to imitate his guard in a mediocre way. Maybe it was not good enough to leave me unharmed, but it was enough to keep me from going down in two or three hits.

The force of his attacks made me retreat two more steps. A useless gesture, because Raúl charged again with a hook toward my ribs.

Shit!

The situation had changed. Now he had taken the offensive, and I was forced to dodge from side to side. I used my feet to move sideways and backward, as if I had my saber at that moment. The advantage of my combat style was mobility. In that aspect, I greatly surpassed any boxer, regardless of whether he was a professional or not.

The blows kept coming, one after another. Different hooks and turns threatened to knock me down with a single impact. I hated admitting it, but our physiques were also far from equal. I did not have natural endurance or muscles as exaggerated as his. If I fought power against power, I would get my ass thoroughly beaten.

“I have to win with a single critical blow. My skill isn’t enough to defeat him fairly.”

I bent both legs to give more momentum to my lateral movement. Because of that, I was able to cover half a meter more, the ideal distance to counterattack with a powerful hook to the temple. I gambled everything.

All or nothing!

From this angle, it would be difficult for him to attack me with any kind of punch, since he would have to turn his hips and adjust his feet at the same time.

It was impossible for me to get hit!

Or at least, that was what I thought.

My punch did strike his skull, but I also took a powerful blow to the stomach that I did not see coming.

I was not prepared for that last attack. How the hell did he hit me? I had measured the distance between us correctly.

“Ah!” I exclaimed.

Afterward, I was forced to fall to my knees from the pain. That man had knocked the air out of me and left me unable to continue the fight. However, my blow also caused the desired effect, because Raúl had to sit on the ground and shake off the dizziness I had caused.

It was not a proper knockout, since I had only disoriented him a little, but at least I managed to end the fight in a draw.

Fuck, even breathing was hard after that last punch.

“That’s enough.”

Raúl managed to stand up quickly. Just as I had thought, my power was not enough to bring down a real boxer.

“You fought well, Lucio Atenas. You can go.”

“Huh? What the fuck are you talking about, Raúl?” Lucas objected to his decision. His voice sounded more desperate than angry. “I ordered you to beat him up.”

“I’ve already hit him plenty. Besides, our duty is to protect you, not obey you. Your father pays us.”

Raúl turned to look at his companion, then showed a smug smile on his lips.

“Or do you want to hit a tired opponent?”

“Nah, how boring. We’ve already wasted too much time here. We should leave.”

“Lucio! Are you okay? Can you stand?”

Aria stopped recording as soon as the fight ended. Then she ran to my side to help me get back up.

“God, don’t do such reckless things. And you thought you could beat both of them like that?”

“I think I bit off more than I could chew,” I said, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

“Fuck, the show is over.”

Lucas left the place with the second bodyguard following close behind him. Raúl gave me one last look before leaving as well. Without realizing it, a large number of people had gathered to watch the fight. Even the police had cheered during our match! Well, either way, it should not surprise me. The authorities rarely acted against influential people in the city.

Long live Mexico, ladies and gentlemen.

“Let’s go home.”

And that was how my little street encounter came to an end.

As we walked, now far from the crowd and the scandal, a memory came to mind.

“By the way, there was one comment in your speech that I found interesting.”

“Which one?” Aria asked.

“You said you weren’t a goddess. Were you really that angry?”

“Huh? Did I say that? I don’t remember. Maybe you’re right, Lucio. I was angry and didn’t think my words through. People like him make me so mad!”

Seeing my sweet girlfriend angry was a pleasure I rarely got to experience. After all, her natural charisma usually managed to calm any situation before it reached a conflict. Or at least, that was what happened during the first months after her appearance.

Recently, Aria had started to become much less popular. People no longer turned to look at her by instinct. The only thing they saw in her was her pleasant face and body. The divine aura that surrounded her during the first months was gone. In its place, only the presence of a normal girl remained.

This process increased even more once we started dating.

Aria got angry more often. She showed intolerance, exhaustion, jealousy, frustration, and impatience, human traits that gods did not feel.

Had love made her more human?

“It’s strange to see you angry,” I commented.

“I know. Lately, I’ve been getting angry more often. You don’t like me less because of that, right?”

“Well, your anger comes from understandable things. An annoying rich boy, customers who try to harass you, and delayed orders caused by the rookies.”

Ah, how could I forget the idiot who tried to get smart with Aria?

He thought that just because of her calm face, she would be easy to harass. But my adorable companion slapped him so hard he fell to the floor. She saved me the trouble of beating him up myself. A scandal worthy of a viral video broke out, but unfortunately, we did not record the incident.

“God, at this rate, I’m going to become a grumpy woman.”

“Don’t worry. Even if you become an angry girl, I’ll still love you the same.”

And suddenly, I took her hand.

“You’re my girlfriend, after all. I have to love both the good and bad parts of you. That’s what makes us human.”

“U-U-Uh…”

My sudden phrase made her cheeks blush. For God’s sake, no matter how many times I saw that face, I would never get tired of her blushes.

“T-Thank you.”

“Come on. You don’t have anything to thank me for. I may be a little tired from the fight, but at least I want to supervise your training.”

My life with Aria was going wonderfully.

However, I could not lower my guard for any reason.

Besides…

There was still one personal matter left to settle.