The person's steps were light as though he walked on air. Perhaps he did because Neo could not see his feet touching the ground.
The ground was actually covered in dispersing black fog, and the wind that blew Neo away tore a large hole through a wall of shadows between the criminal and the newcomer.
That shadow wall was what must have given him a bad feeling. The scum criminal had been plotting to attack him from behind while pretending to be weak in front of him.
The newcomer had actually rescued Neo in a way. Though his interference wasn't needed because there was no kind of attack he wouldn't have been able to overcome.
Neo stood up to his feet to join in the fight but slammed into an invisible barrier separating him from the fight. While he tried to sound out what the barrier was made of, the newcomer and the criminal tangoed.
The newcomer lifted the criminal with a firm grip on his shirt. There was no exchange of words before he landed a solid punch to the side of his face.
The punch carried lots of weight because a few of the criminal's teeth came out of his mouth.
Like that wasn't enough, the newcomer continued to beat up the criminal, leaving no time in between the hits for the criminal to recover.
Gradually, the criminal lost any upper hand he previously had and the shadows in the alley completely cleared away as he turned off his ability.
The streetlights and the moon's light united to brighten up the alley and shine on the newcomer's face.
Neo's heartbeat palpitated. He couldn't explain the intense feeling of warmth that spread in his chest at that moment. It was not like he even recognized the newcomer, yet he had an odd feeling of familiarity.
He sensed a connection for some reason.
The light in the alley helped Neo distinguish the newcomer's features. His hair happened to be the most striking as it was bright purple in color. Then his eyes were the second best thing.
The marigold color blazed with mania as he pummeled the criminal. His features were so crude, and he had all the markings of a typical thug.
But he had a raw type of beauty that could effortlessly attract someone without them realizing it.
Neo had stopped trying to break out from the invisible barrier some time ago and his full attention was fixed on the majestic sight.
The mesmerization didn't last for long because soon enough, Security Officers arrived with the girl Neo had chased away. The officers weren't too surprised to see the purple-haired guy beat up the scum guy.
It was almost like they were used to it. He said a word to the officers and they carried away the barely conscious criminal, not even looking deep into the alley to notice Neo.
Neo couldn't hear a word of what was being said on the other side. The invisible barrier had a very intense noise cancellation effect.
He could see the purple-haired guy say a few words to the girl, then he patted her shoulder and sent her off.
After that, only he and Neo remained in the alley.
The mania from before was still vivid in the guy's eyes. He took strides towards Neo, his feet finally touching the ground.
Neo wondered if this guy was an ability user with wind powers. It was the only reasonable explanation he could think of for the way he floated earlier.
It had clearly been an action of choice so he would not step on the wisps of shadows on the ground. Neo wasn't sure if it was because the guy had a case of ability disgust or something else.
Something else also became clear to Neo: the invisible barrier had gone down and he was able to hear sounds again.
"Who are you?" he asked straightforwardly when the purple-haired guy was close enough.
"What were you doing here?" Neo's question was countered with another question from the purple-haired guy whose voice was deep and hoarse.
"I asked for your identity first. Who are you and—" The guy gripped Neo's arm mid sentence and pulled him close to his chest without any warning.
"Don't you know how dangerous this part of the city is? Do you have any idea what would have happened to you if I hadn't shown up in time?" The purple-haired guy scolded Neo harshly.
This guy clearly knew who he was. Yet he was lecturing him about danger. Realization finally dawned on Neo.
"You're Helios Callum, aren't you?" he said after a period of prolonged silence.
An indecipherable emotion flashed in Helios's marigold eyes. He neither disagreed nor agreed to Neo's statement.
He didn't need to. Neo was completely certain at this point. The connection he had felt from the start, it was his brain's way of telling him that this was another of his sync partners.
But it was strange that he even felt a connection in the first place because he hadn't felt the same thing for his other sync partners.
"You're going back to the academy right now. I don't know who even gave you permission to walk out on your own in the first place." Helios's grip on Neo's hand tightened as he began to pull him out of the alley.
Neo didn't plan on allowing himself to be steered by anyone, so he ripped his hand out of Helios's grip and shoved his chest away.
"You have no authority to decide where I can and can't be." Neo bit out boldly.
Helios's nose flared up in anger and he ordered, "Come back with me right now."
"No." Neo refused.
He came here with Tyrese and Bryce. How could he abandon the two of them and follow this guy just like that? It didn't make any sense.
"No?" Helios repeated the word to check if he heard it wrong.
"No." Neo confirmed. "I'm going back to CUSTOME. You can return to the academy on your own if you like, but I'm not coming back with you."
Neo took a step forward, then he stopped as he remembered something.
Without looking back, he said, "You didn't need to interfere. I would have handled myself and dealt with him accordingly."
Just then, he heard a mocking laughter behind him. Neo didn't want to address it, but when he felt a weight on his shoulder that moved to pull him back, he swung his arm in defense.
His fist landed on Helios's mouth, cutting his bottom lip and drawing blood.
The next moment, Neo's back smashed into the wall under the force of an ability attack.