As Arran saw Yasmine with the golden-haired stranger, he felt it was an illusion.
After all, he had reserved that table where his date was sitting at. With them dating for close to two months, there was no way she would be sitting with some other man.
He was sure because Yasmine was a very hard girl to get.
No man had succeeded in getting a kiss from her.
Arran was a player, and even he needed days to invite her for a dinner date! So one can imagine the difficulty for ordinary folks!
"Grover must be pulling my leg! That bastard!" Arran thought with faint anger and disdain. "He and others must be thinking they got me!"
He could imagine why they must be doing this. They were envious of his success with women and wanted to see him embarrassed. Since the gods wouldn’t make him embarrassed, they had to use cheap illusions to trick him!
Snorting in disdain, he turned towards the corner of the restaurant. There, Grover, Ciaran, Emmanuel, and others were sitting.
As he looked at their expressions, he was startled.
Instead of being amused, their expressions were of disbelief!
Just like him, they couldn’t believe Yasmine sitting with the golden-haired stranger.
Grover and others felt his stare, and they looked back at him.
Their gaze was sharp, filled with questions - Who the hell is that guy!? And what is he doing with your girl?!
"Surely this doesn’t mean...! "Arran swallowed forcefully.
If their reactions were genuine, then the illusion wasn’t an illusion!
The golden-haired stranger was real and he was really having a nice time with his date!
The reality hit him like a hammer and he turned back...
At the same time, the waitress arrived. She started serving cold coffee, pastries, and ice cream.
Yasmine thanked the waitress and as did the golden-haired man.
"Hmm?" Yasmine was a bit surprised.
Even though the waitress was serving them, his hypnotic half-blue, half-golden eyes were still on her.
It was like they had no space for anyone else.
"Kiba," Yasmine started with a faint smile. "Is there something wrong with your eyes?"
She had been in the restaurant for a little over forty minutes. Even though her date didn’t arrive, she decided to wait.
The wait went past twenty minutes. Just when she was getting frustrated, the man called Kiba arrived.
Maybe it was a coincidence that all tables were full. So by a stroke of fate, he stepped before her, and politely asked, would she mind company?
She was thinking of leaving but hearing his question, she felt she was saved.
After all, had she left just like that, the restaurant staff and others would feel she was stood up by her date!
That would be humiliating!
His timely arrival was a face-saving opportunity so she graciously requested him to have a seat.
And she was more than glad about her decision.
Because this man was like no other!
He was unique!
Not only was he extremely handsome, but he was equally smart and witty. That too with a terrific sense of humor!
From the time he sat with her, they talked about many things, and she couldn’t remember any second where she wasn’t smiling or giggling!
It was like he had mastered the art of making the listeners happy, no matter how sensitive or complex the topic!
Now with him gazing at her non-stop, she asked.
"Is there something wrong with my eyes?!" Kiba pondered while gazing into her eyes. "There has to be! I can’t take them off you!"
"I can see that!" Yasmine giggled.
"You know... you can solve my problem by finding something far more enchanting for my eyes!" Kiba added. "But I doubt that’s possible!"
Yasmine covered her mouth and continued to giggle.
Thirty meters away, as Arran listened to the conversation, he was stupefied.
"That cheeky bastard! He is using outdated pick-up lines! And yet, she is giggling like a fool!"
Arran might be silently cursing, but his presence didn’t go undetected. With him standing for almost a minute, he invited many curious eyes.
The guests looked at him with interest.
Why was he standing there like a buffon?
Arran heard the silent questions and his fists clenched. This was getting embarrassing!
Meanwhile, Yasmine felt the strange atomosphere in the restaurant. She looked at her right and was startled to see Arran.
"Arran!"
Yasmine exclaimed while pulling her hand from the pastry. By mistake one of her fingers scratched against the pastry knife, and she gasped.
It was only a scratch as the knife wasn’t sharp.
"Are you fine?" Kiba asked while gently taking her hand.
Before she could answer in affirmative, he dipped her scratched finger in the cold coffee.
She was stunned and by the time she could say anything, he pulled it back.
The icy feeling gave her a relaxing, soothing touch.
She glanced at her fingertip covered with coffee foam. As she thought of taking a tissue to wipe it, Kiba took her finger between his lips.
"!!" Yasmine was dumbstruck.
Arran’s eyes bulged out.
Grover and others jumped up in shock.
"It is very sweet!" Kiba said as he let her finger slip.
"!!!" Yasmine blushed and Kiba continued, "The coffee I mean!"
"........."
"Cheeky bastard!" Arran was left fuming with anger.
Almost everyone in the restaurant had seen him. And it was likely that they concluded a few things from his and Yasmine’s reactions!
With her seeming shocked when she noticed him, most people might even wrongly assume Arran had caught her in the midst of some adulterous act!
Some might pity him but most would be amused. Didn’t that make him pathetic?!
If this wasn’t humiliating enough, there were still his friends observing everything!
He had brought them to witness as he "conquested" Yasmine.
But what they watched was him usurped! And that too so brazenly!
His infallible image was badly ruined!
"Everything due to him!" Arran thought as he stared daggers at Kiba.
Kiba seemed to not notice. He took dumbstruck Yasmine’s finger and dripped it back in the cold coffee.
"We should eat something!" Kiba said as he moved her finger in the coffee, making a heart shape ❤ in the foam.
Arran had enough.
His body erupted with a metallic luster and his fists twisted, distorting into spiked balls. It was like his hands had transformed into spiked maces!
With his body turning metallic and his hands transforming into weapons, he was ready to teach that impudent bastard a lesson!
Whoosh~!
His body blurred and he disappeared out of sight.
Even before the people could notice him disappearing, he appeared right behind Kiba’s chair. His explosive speed caught everyone off-guard.
"Eat this, you cocky bastard!"
Arran thrashed down the mace.
BANG
Just the winds generated from the mace’s movement blasted the chair into pieces. As the pieces shot up in the air, the mace smashed into Kiba!
"Ah!" Everyone in the club gasped, some in shock and others in pleasant surprise.
That damn man was done for!
It serves him right for flirting like that!
Grover, Ciaran, and the other friends of Arran were impressed.
This was their friend! He wouldn’t accept defeat like that!
So what if he can’t get the girl by wits and charm! He would win her by brute power!
While most men felt joy at his actions, Arran was alarmed.
When the club smashed into Kiba, there was neither the shower of blood nor the echo of a painful scream!
Kiba disintegrated into thin air!
"Afterimage?!"
As this possibility flashed in his mind, a finger tapped on his back, shocking him.
"Thanks for the offer, but I have no interest in eating a mace attack!" Kiba said with a smile.
"!!"
"Though, thanks to your help, I will soon get to eat the sweetest delicacy!"
Kiba said the second statement through telepathy.
Sweetest delicacy?!
Arran instantly thought of Yasmine!
This damn son of a bitch! How dare he!
Arran’s heart flared and he swung his hands back. Before the fierce winds swept out, the spikes charged out of the maces and shot at Kiba.
The winds, the spikes, and the maces! Three powerful attacks followed at a speed that one couldn’t even perceive, making people see countless afterimages.
Even as this happened, Kiba’s knee smashed into Arran’s back. By the time his attacks should have landed, his back caved in and his stomach arched out.
He was sent flying through the air!
"AHHH!"
Arran’s mouth opened up to not only scream but also vomit blood.
Teeth stained with blood flooded out as his body crashed through the window and fell on the fountain outside.
As the water dripped on his body, the metallic luster sparkled...
Inside the restaurant, everyone was astonished beyond words. Their mouths were agape as they started at the pitful condition of Arran.
Gulping mouthful of saliva, they turned towards Kiba.
He had defeated Arran in such a casual manner! What should have been a long, drawn-out battle was completed in seconds!
The men looked at him with fear while the women looked at him with awe.
Just who was this man?!
Alas, they were asking the wrong question. They should have asked what was his mission in this new city.