Rushing towards the Dungeon did not take too long and Hiketsu was lost in his thoughts anyway. Trying to reach the explosion site was almost mechanical to him, because his focus was not channeled into getting there, as much as it was directed towards a variety of thoughts ranging from "Why did I agree to this?" and "I don't feel like saving anyone today" to "Might as well kill some dark mages" and "How long would it take to clean blood off my fists?". As soon as they got there, Sage noticed right away that the Rune Knights were not as numerous as they should be, a direct consequence of the on-going war, but Hiketsu did not consider that information useful. It was natural for the number of guards to be slightly - or in this case noticeably reduced during times of war.

The main act seemed to be formed by three dark mages that couldn't refrain from laughing at the Rune Knights. A purple haired witch, a giant dark skinned man and a mysterious looking guy who was probably just a poor cosplayer, not the dark magician he intended to look like. Either way, it seemed to be a boring group which wouldn't cause that much distress. Hiketsu went as far as assuming they were low ranked dark mages with nothing better to do. After all, all underlings wanted to build a reputation for themselves.

By the time the mysterious magician transformed his cloak into a demonic beast, Sage already decided to take control of the situation. He started charging towards the three dark mages while telling Hiketsu to protect the people, which was exactly what the adventurer did not want to bother with. Unfortunately, Hiketsu did not receive any chance to reply and complain, especially in the middle of a somewhat dangerous situation, and that lead to him starting to accelerate in the direction of the people.

Hiketsu did not have any sword on him, therefore handling the demon was going to be more of a close combat type of matter. As the creature was flying towards the townspeople, the adventurer was now running at his full speed and decided to dash in to close the gap. In the next second, between those in danger and the demon were Hiketsu's fists, put up in a guarding stance. As the demon was getting closer, Hiketsu noticed an opening. It allowed him to grab the demon by the arm and use that momentum to throw the creature into a wall, dealing barely any damage.

"Oi, Sage, throw me a pipe or anything similar to a sword if you see any. I only got rocks and fists over here." Hiketsu yelled in an attempt to grab Sage's attention briefly.

When Hiketsu asked Sage for anything similar to a sword, he did not expect the magus to make a sword fly right towards the adventurer. Apparently magically gifted individuals can do much more than it meets the eye and Sage's telekinesis was proof of that. As the sword was coming in Hiketsu's direction, he extended his arm up and grabbed it as soon as Sage warned him to catch it, thanking the mage promptly.

The adventurer was now standing in a fighting stance, with the sword held in the right hand, pointed at the demonic creature, and the other arm being kept behind his back, elegantly. The sword Sage gave him was the basic Rune Knight arming sword, which meant it was on the shorter side of the spectrum, and required only one arm for swinging. Unlike katanas, these medieval swords had more weight to them and were not as swift and sharp as Hiketsu would have enjoyed.

The demon, after recovering itself from the impact, started charging towards Hiketsu, who prepared for the clash patiently. The creature lunged, aiming on using its claws to stab Hiketsu's stomach, but the adventurer left himself open on purpose. As the claws got closer, Hiketsu swung his sword to meet the side of the demon, while turning his upper body in a motion which allowed him to dodge the lunge almost perfectly. The creature was struck in the side by the arming sword, clearly caught undefended as the blade sunk deeper into its skin, purple blood being visible from the wound as soon as Hiketsu finished the slash.

His foe, subsequently positioned a few centimetres behind, had its back facing Hiketsu's, allowing for what was intended to be a head level rotation with the adventurer's blade aiming for the neck of the demon, but as soon as Tsu started the motion, he felt a stabbing pain on his chest, followed by a warm liquid flowing from inside out. As he looked down, he noticed the dodge from earlier allowed the demon to slash his chest on surface level, enough to inflict some bleeding. The pain ruined the momentum, therefore Hiketsu decided to jump back and create a gap between himself and the opponent.