Chapter 1: Lunatic

"F*ck you, asshole!"

Kuon spat at the officer who was trying to restrain him. Kicking the bastard between his legs, he ran into a nearby alleyway, leaving the burly man in the dust.

"What are you doing?! Don't just stand there! Go after that brat!"

Behind him, a younger officer lowered his cap and sighed

"Understood."

The young man replied calmly as he ran at a moderate pace into the same alley.

"Goddamn it! This is the fourth time. Do these damned forsaken Ruined ever learn?"

Jumping, sliding and running across a maze of alleyways and buildings, Kuon parkoured through several buildings in under a minute, moving with cold precision and tense clarity.

Landing on the roof of one of the apartment buildings, Kuon allowed himself to rest and catch his breath.

There is no way he hasn't lost them. He was safe.

'Ha...ha...damn it. These people. Always trying to put the blame on us just because we're from the lowest class of citizenship.'

Kuon was clutching something in his hands. A book shaped object. His grip tightened.

'We are. So what? It does not give them the right to treat us differently. Aren't we humans aswell? Oh wait, I did hear they considered us as rats. So I guess not. But still!'

Kuon exhaled angrily and cruedly took a step forward only for his foot to get caught in his hood.

The hood was nearly twice the size of his body and made it very difficult to move around.

The abnormal athleticism Kuon displayed was not at the very least easy. His legs were burning and his breaths were uneven and shaky. 

Kuon sighed and looked at the object clutched between his arm and the hood. Thank goodness he had managed to keep it in his hands.

Kuon had worked tirelessly to be able to afford this book. And yet, the shop owner still decided to scam him out of every nickle he had and then had the audacity to report theft to the patrol officers.

This book was not just any book.

It was his little sister's birthday present.

For months, she constantly talked and annoyed him about how great the book was and how much she wanted to read it, which drove Kuon to work sleeplessly day and night in order to save enough money.

Being a doting brother was not at all easy. In fact, it was quite dire. Especially because they were of the lowest class of citizenship. But was that going to stop Kuon from doting on his beloved sister.

Hell no.

Kuon looked behind him for a brief moment. As expected, there was nothing.

'Alright. I should probably get goin-'

Whistling through the air, a bullet grazed his cheek, leaving a small but deep scratch on it and pulling him out of his thoughts.

'Huh?! What the...'

Kuon had no time to finish that thought. Because right then, another bullet nearly hit his abdomen into the pavement.

Nearly losing his balance, Kuon stumbled back and frantically searched for the culprit.

His eyes widened.

The young looking officer from before was standing on the roof of one of the nearby buildings, a normal hand gun pointed at Kuon.

"Shit!"

Kuon cursed inwardly as he slowly started stepping back.

How did the bastard catch up to him? Heck how did he even manage to track him? And even if the bastard somehow did, how did hear catch up so fast?

Kuon was sure that no mundane human can ever hope to match him in terms of athleticism. Which meant only one thing.

'No. It can't be.'

The young officer unexpectedly lowered his gun and sheathed it in his belt pocket.

Then, faint sparks of electricity flickered around his boots as he bolted forward and with a single jump, he closed the distance between the two buildings in under a second.

"Golly geez...You're one heck of a rat, aren't you."

Kuon's eyes widened in horror as he stared at the mocking face of the young man who grinned back at him.

'An...ability user? Since when did they start recruiting Superhumans? Shit. Damn it all...'

Indeed, the young man standing before him was a Superhuman, an ability user. 

The situation was very bad for Kuon. How is a mundane like him supposed to escape a Superhuman?

"Hello? Aren't you going to say anything? Or am I getting the silent treatment? Which one is it?"

"Y...you..."

Kuon hesitated for a moment. Inhaling through his nose, he calmed himself down...

And took off on a mad dash.

In his life, Kuon thought he had never ran faster than right now. 

Straining his muscles and twisting his body, Kuon dove into a nearby dilapidated apartment complex, hoping to lose the officer in the maze of corridors and rooms.

Kuon was visibly shaking, half out of fear and half out of physical strain. Beads of sweat fell down his face like a mini waterfall as he frantically moved around the corridors.

His plan ended in vain however, as a bullet nearly blew his head off, hitting the wall with a deafening bang, sending cracks spiderwebing across its surface.

Startled by the unexpected attack, Kuon lost balance and fell down unceremoniously.

'Damn it.'

Kuon cursed inwardly as he made an effort to get up quickly. However, something blurred across the corridor with terrifying speed and before he could react...

WAM!

A fist slammed into his abdominal area with the force of a speeding truck.

With a loud crack, Kuon's ribs shattered instantly as his body was violently thrown into the air and slammed into the nearby pillar.

"Argghhh!"

A pained growl escaped his mouth as Kuon's body bounced off the pillar onto the cracked pavement. The pain of having his ribs broken was unbearable. The blinding pain washed over him instantly like a tidel wave, making his body almost numb.

"F*ck! Goddamn it!"

Kuon retorted with pain. Clutching his chest tightly, he tried to draw in a breath only to wince terribly in pain due to his broken ribcage. Every breath burned, every movement ached and every part of his body screamed at him to stay still.

However, Kuon knew that this was the worst time to stay still. He needs...he needs to live. For his sister...for today at least. 

With a pained groan, Kuon slowly began picking himself up.

Siting up straight, he leaned his back onto the pillar to support himself and took some time to catch his breath, weezing in pain as he desperately forced his lungs to cooperate.

"Well, hello there. Fine weather we're having, isn't it?"

The officer said mockingly as he approached the helpless young brat.

He was tall. Almost a head taller than Kuon, not that Kuon was tall to begin with. The young man had striking blue hair and vibrant red pupils. It was clear from his looks and posture that the bastard was from a well-off family. His handsome features were made more apparent due to him being a Superhuman.

"Y-y-you...b...bastard."

Kuon scowled angrily, barely being able to form coherent words.

The officer simply laughed.

"For a rat, you're actually quite athletic. I was shocked for a second there, believe me or not."

Kuon clutched his chest tighter. The book was still in his hood, having survived the violent blow. Kuon's hold on it had not lessened.The pain subsided for moment, finally allowing him to speak.

"F...f*ck you. What is someone like you even doing in the CDF? I am sure the SDF has more than enough room for new bastards."

The officer's face darkened a little, his grin wavering ever so slightly. Eventually, the young man sighed and replied:

"You curse a lot, don't you? That habit of yours is bound to get you in trouble in the future. So I suggest you learn to be more pedestrian. As for your question, the reason is very simple, really. Because I enjoy it. Playing with rats like you is far more entertaining than risking my life everyday. Only an insane lunatic would be willing to throw themselves into a lifetime of danger and enslavement even if they're given the option to refuse. Thankfully, I am no lunatic. I know what I want. I know what I desire. It might not be noble. But it sure is fun..."

Kuon wanted to retort back, but couldn't. The bastard actually had a good point. Grinding his teeth in pain and anger, he started creating scenarios in his head on how he was going to escape this ordeal alive.

The officer suddenly froze. His grin disappeared and a blank expression appeared on his face. After a moment of silence, the young man covered his face with his hand and laughed.

"Oh...oh lord...I can't believe it. You actually got me to start a whole damn monologue. How dare you, you dirty rat."