Ejwaxy

Hey everyone, Ejwaxy here! I'm uncertain about whether or not I'll be able to post a chapter tomorrow since a huge snow storm is supposed to hit my area tonight (10-15 inches of snow). In any case, I just wanted to share that information and thank everyone for their continued support of [You Stole My Isekai!]! Don't forget to favorite and/or comment if you liked the chapters, it lets me know if I'm doing a good job!

The first thing that I needed to do was separate the girl from the two thugs.

Clenching the brick tightly in my right hand, I wound up and aimed directly at the side of the rear thug's jaw. I figured that it would take more time for the thug in front to turn around and grab the girl than it would take for the rear thug to react, even once I became visible after attacking.

The only way I would be able to safely extract the girl would be to knock out the one behind and take her by force. However, to do it properly I would need to knock the thug unconscious in a single blow.

This gave me only one option: rattle his brain.

If one managed to rotate the head violently enough to shake the brain and cause it to impact the skull, the knockout would be instant. Normally, this would only be possible with a lucky punch in a fight, but I had a method at my disposal now that would let me land a good blow as long as the target wasn't moving too fast or erratically.

[Throwing Lv. 3]. I'd tested it out already, showing basically perfect accuracy on still targets and close to it on slow moving ones. The issues came up when the movement of the target got faster, but that wasn't an issue now.

I quickly and quietly moved to the side of the two men that were organized back to front with the girl between them, pulling my cloak's hood up over my head as I did so. Then, I released.

Swiftly and accurately, the rear thug's head turned as the brick impacted his jaw, and he crumbled instantly. Before his body hit the ground, I was already on top of the group and grabbed the girl, pulling her away as I bent down and stabbed the meat skewer stick through the ankle of the other thug as he turned.

I figured that just limiting his movements would be fine since I'd like to ask him exactly what was going on with this girl who was obviously a demi-human slave, something that wasn't legal in the Belvis kingdom. Not to mention, this business with the [Reaper] and the [Auction] had caught my attention.

If I'd deduced correctly, the [Auction] was probably a black market one, more specifically for valuable items. Though it seemed they didn't deal in slaves, there were probably some other interesting items there that might be worth looking at. If I were going to be facing stronger enemies than Pierre or the royal assassin, stronger gear and weapons would most definitely be necessary, so it was worth looking into.

As for the [Reaper], she was probably the boss of the gang these guys were part of. It seemed like she'd been going against the rules of the [Auction] and was going to try to sell this girl there, but as for why and what exactly made this girl so unique and valuable... well, I didn't know or have the time to find out.

It happened as the second thug screamed in pain at the stick in his ankle and fell to a knee.

"W-who the fuck are you..."

His eyes were wild and bloodshot as he reached for me, but I was too far away. However I didn't answer. I simply looked at him.

"The girl. Who is she, why did you hurt her."

The girl was trembling as I held her against me with one arm, holding on to me with both of hers. Though it was barely audible, it seemed like she quietly said something like "...really came..." among some other things as she held onto my clothes tightly. I could feel my shirt getting wet from tears and snot, and thought to myself that this wasn't how I'd expected my night to go after running to pick up dinner.

"The demon girl? You don't even know what she is? Why on Europa would you attack us and take her, then? Nobody else was supposed to be here-"

However, before the thug could finish his sentence, a dagger pierced his head between the eyes. A perfect hit, instant death.

As for the thug on the floor, a different dagger flew straight for him, catching him before I could react.

My head swiveled to turn to the end of the street where the sound of boots clicking on the ground, and from the darkness emerged a woman with long black hair and face-paint like from Dia de Los Muertos slowly walked forward.

Shit...

That was the main thought that flew through my head as I desperately tried to think of a way to get out of this.

Escaping was a no-go right now. I couldn't lead this back to Amber or Elena.

As for attacking head on, I'd already used [Sherlock and Moriarty] to find out this woman was most definitely several times stronger than me.

"Well, well, well... who is this?"

Her voice was cold and sharp as she spoke, her completely black eyes boring into me. If this wasn't [Reaper], I didn't know who would fit the title better.

I didn't respond as I simply observed the area, looking for a way out as more and more thugs with similar face-paint and skull and crossbones tattoos appeared from the same place [Reaper] had.

"I'd expected this to end simply and immediately. Simply killing off some traitors who'd thought they were smart enough to fool me. Just who are you in all this, I wonder..."

The woman approached me slowly as the thugs surrounded me, about seven of them. I couldn't see a way out.

"Well, I guess we'll have our answers after we take the girl back. We have all the time in the world to torture you, after all..."

The woman licked her lips in anticipation as I gritted my teeth and pulled the girl closer.

I suppose this is what I get for acting impulsively again, sticking my head places. But I guess I wouldn't be staying true to myself if I let some innocent girl get tortured and sold off without doing anything.

I laughed bitterly as I pulled the hood lower over my head.

[Concealment] couldn't work, their eyes were on me. [Throwing] might help distract them if there was only one of them, but for this many it would probably just end up getting me attacked. [Martial Arts] was a high enough level that I thought I could probably take these guys if I was smart about it since this world's hand to hand and weapons combat was less evolved than the polished equivalent on Earth, but no matter what I couldn't see myself beating [Reaper].

However, just as I was about to lose all hope, I heard a new set of footsteps, this time above me. The roofs.

Then, a flash of a white robe, and the glint of a golden axe blade that seemed oddly familiar.

"Outa the wayyy!"

BOOOM!

A shout, followed by an impact, and before I knew it a sizable crater appeared on the ground, enough to make one marvel at the brute strength of the one who could make it. The crater knocked everyone back while sending dust into the air, and I felt a hand grab my wrist and yank both me and the girl along to flee.

"Well, seems like you guys needed some help there."

Leaving the thugs and [Reaper] behind in a cloud of dust as we fled into the night, I saw a familiar white hood. It was the white-hooded snorer from the carravan.

Except now, as we ran, his hood was blown down by the wind to reveal long blonde hair and a handsome yet androgynous face that had a broad smile on it. To be honest, even though I was the last person to think about my own looks, this guy's appearance made me feel instinctively inferior.

I almost laughed at myself as I had these thoughts, but what was most noticeable about the other man was his ears that ended in noticeable points.

It was pretty obvious what this meant: he was an elf.

A race known for their strong magic, longevity, beauty, and closeness with nature.

I didn't really know their specific situation in this world, but I didn't really have the time to ponder on this now.

"Follow me, we have to get out of here fast!"

I picked up the girl in a princess carry as we spoke, sprinting ahead of the elf to lead him.

I had a good enough idea of where we were right now, even if I was slightly turned around.

It was time for me to head back "home," back to where Elena and Amber were. I would just have to hope they didn't mind some new "guests".