In front of a stone shop that looked like a smithy, a crowd had gathered, watching the show unfold before them.
"Hahaha! My craftsmanship is truly the world's greatest!" A mid-age man declared proudly, standing beside what seemed like a massive rectangular shield. Before it knelt a defeated, younger man, just barely supporting himself upright with his greatsword.
"Hah… how… this is… impossible…" The younger man panted, glaring at the craftsman's shield. "After my ultimate attack… not even a dent?!"
"Hahaha! Don't be dejected, young warrior! It is not you who is too weak, but my shield that is too strong!" The craftsman said with a bold laugh, spreading his arms as if showing his creation off to everyone present. "As you can all see, honored signores and madams, my craftsmanship is unparalleled. And only today, you can get any of the items sold here at 75% of their original price! Limited stock, people, so don't hesitate!"
"… Hmph. What a farce," Iris muttered. Finn raised an eyebrow.
"How so?"
"I can see what's going on inside that young guy's head," Iris replied. "He was thinking about when he will receive his pay from the older guy. In other words—he's a paid actor. How underhanded."
"… Well. Don't forget, this is essentially an illicit black market of a city. There is no such thing as 'underhanded' here. All is fair."
"I know, I know…" Iris sighed. "It's just… when I see thing like this, it makes me wonder. Are humans really any better than Ghosts? I mean, obviously, most people aren't bloodcrazy monsters thinking of nothing but flesh, but if anything, evil humans are more dangerous and villainous than Ghosts are."
"True," Finn agreed with a nod. "They possess intelligence that most Ghosts do not."
"What do you think, Finn?" Iris asked softly, watching as the crowd of people actually bought the shopkeeper's act and strolled on in to purchase new equipment. "Which race is worse? Ghosts… or humans?"
After a long silence, Finn spoke.
"… I don't know."
"Eh…?"
"To me, it doesn't matter which is better. I made a vow to erase Ghosts from the surface of this Earth, so that is exactly what I will do."
"But… the two of us are Ghosts too, y'know?" Iris whispered faintly, almost too faint to hear.
Finn, however, heard it. He just chose to pretend he didn't, and fell into silence.
Once nearly all the customers had left, Finn and Iris approached the weapon shop. The shopkeeper, seeing them, smiled warmly.
"Welcome, welcome! There aren't many items left in stock, but I'm sure you can find something that suits your tastes."
"That shield," Finn said coldly. "Let me take a look at it."
"Oh? Fancy a shield, hm? Unfortunately, that one is not for sale. It is my ultimate, finest creation, impenetrable and unbreakable!"
'There he goes again…' Iris thought with a sigh.
"Unbreakable… is that so?" Finn tilted his head. "What do you say… you let me try to break it?"
Finn purposely didn't activate his Angelica just yet, as he didn't want the shopkeeper to refuse him. Unfortunately, even without his Angelica…
"Nope! Are you crazy? You saw what happened just now, didn't you? That poor young warrior used his ultimate attack on this shield, and didn't even leave a dent! What makes you think you can do damage to it?"
"I am stronger than that person," Finn answered calmly. There was no arrogance in his voice, only cold, harsh, truth.
"Huh…?" The shopkeeper was clearly surprised at this prompt response, and blinked a few times.
"Are you scared, perhaps?" Iris chimed in, a smug grin on her lips. "If your shield is really so unbreakable, why can't we test it out, just to be sure? We just arrived here, so we didn't see the young warrior just now."
"Tch…" The shopkeeper, having now completely thrown away any sign of warmth, glared at Finn and Iris with hate. After scanning Finn up and down, however, he ultimately decided the boy wasn't anything special.
"… Fine, go ahead. But if you are unable to do any damage to it, you better pay me for causing such a ruckus."
"How much do you want?" Finn asked.
"Let's say $5,000."
"Pfft…" It took everything Iris had to not burst out laughing at his shamelessness, but Finn showed no reaction.
"Very well. But what if I do manage to break your shield?"
"Ha! That won't happen. If you're able to, I'll give you my whole shop!"
"… Hmph. Idiot," Finn chuckled darkly. The shopkeeper didn't hear this, and instead folded his arms while reaching into his own ear with a pinky.
"Go on, the shield's right in front of you. Just don't hurt yourself, cocky brat."
Iris flew off of Finn's back to give him the freedom to what he wants, and Finn didn't let her down. Striding up to the shield, he stood still for a moment as he contemplated what to use.
The Stormbringer Angelica? Brawler? Or perhaps…
In the end, he chose Cardmaster. With the Strength Card, none can stand before his raw, brute power.
"Come, Strength…!"
Chanting his incantation, a bright white glow surrounded his body, and a transparent white holofigure of a muscular arm far more buff than his actual arm appeared beside him. It dwarfed the shield completely, making it seem like nothing more than tin foil. The shopkeeper, seeing this, realized his mistake and widened his eyes.
"W-Wait! Hold it, don't—"
"… Too late."
Rearing his fist back, Finn unleashed a devastating punch with the power of the Strength card. The blow shattered the shield to pieces, and sent a howling wind towards the rest of the shopkeeper's shop as well, blowing away everything. Even the shopkeeper himself had to hold onto a street light's metal pole to avoid being thrown away like a paper airplane.
When the cyclone finally stopped, Finn lowered his arm and tilted his head towards the shopkeeper. He knew where the man was, thanks to his screams.
"Hah… hah… g-goddamn! You almost killed me! And my shop- I'll sue you for this, dammit!"
"Nuh-uh," Iris cut in, smirking, then pressed the play button on her phone.
"Ha! That won't happen. If you're able to, I'll give you my whole shop!"
"It's our shop now."
"Ngh… damn it…! I'll have revenge on you, I swear!"
Saying this, the shopkeeper scrambled to his feet and ran away like a coward. Finn, hearing his footsteps disappear, finally turned to Iris.
"… Hm. I didn't expect you to have recorded that."
"Just a little trick I learned from those Holy Paladins who encountered us earlier," Iris replied with a charming wink. "Neat, isn't it?"
Finn nodded. "But... the shop..."
"It's fine. If that shield, his finest creation, was so easily destroyed by you, nothing here is worth picking up."
"I suppose that's true..."
"Excuse me," a third voice suddenly cut in, and Finn and Iris immediately turned to it. It appeared to be a polite young man wearing a formal tuxedo, hands crossed in front of him. He had the mask of a silver fox on his face, hiding everything but a light smile.
"… Would you care for an invitation to the Warrior's Cage?"
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