A thick scent tickled the tip of his nose.
He was pleased with his judgment made in the late hours of the night.
The dank back alley matched the stark background of the scene perfectly.
To him, who enjoyed deviation, the outside world appeared solely as a space to fulfill his pleasures and instincts rather than a normal category.
Now, all he had to do was turn the corner approaching him and rush into that place where the screams had just stopped to seize the opportunity.
Listening to the moans as he tormented those weakened, or robbing their belongings and magic stones, or satisfying his desires with a pretty girl were all considered pretty good yields.
High-Rank Layer Awakened One.
For someone with that kind of power, such indulgences were unmatched.
In the situation right before him, where a smile seemed to naturally emerge, the man wrapped his hand around a glinting chain and opened his eyes calmly as he turned the corner.
And he faced her.
The girl.
Her silvery wavy hair shone faintly under the moonlight that filtered through the dark alley.
A blue pupil held a power that could never be felt from a mere child, a force that seemed unfathomable.
A cerulean knife accentuated her ethereal aura.
His breath quickened, and his heart began to race. Sweat poured down him like rain.
He shuddered involuntarily at this unknown energy constricting his body.
“W-What?”
The man faltered.
She wasn’t even looking at him. Instead, he was the only one staring at her.
Yet, what was this pressure he felt?
The opponent was just a girl. The magic power radiating from her was minimal.
He had faced battles where he had barely lost his advantage, yet he could not comprehend the tension that made his body stiffen.
“Shit.”
He could just kill her, so why was he so unsettled by this child?
With a hint of frustration, he grasped the chain.
At that moment.
The girl tilted her head down. Her twisted side hair fell slightly as her deep blue eyes turned towards him.
They made eye contact.
The girl smiled.
—Zzzt!
A horrific static noise hit the man’s ears. Vast magic power was scattered and consumed the area.
A scarlet wave penetrated the walls and intruded.
It was then that he realized.
She had deliberately lowered her magic power to lure him in.
“Shit, shit!!”
The chain in the man’s hand shook violently. As he infused it with magic power, a dagger at the end of the chain gleamed.
“Hehe.”
A spine-chilling laugh resonated in the space. A massive red scythe swung, targeting him. He raised the chain to meet the blade. The clash produced a metallic sound that echoed, creating a flash of light at the point of impact.
The chain shattered uselessly, disintegrating into dust.
Impossible. He had wrapped multiple builds around himself.
The red scythe broke down into countless droplets. The blade formed, taking on the shape of a long sword and flowed into the girl’s hand. She spun in mid-air and swung the great sword. The great sword pierced through his chest before retracting.
An excruciating pain echoed in his brain, and his legs buckled. Blood gushed forth, leaving a metallic scent on his body.
The magic power surged, and the numerous droplets of red blood pooled in two places. They took on the shape of a short knife, sparkling. Light erupted from the man’s incapacitated body and formed a massive, thick barrier.
A pair of red machetes mercilessly sliced through the barrier, crossing his abdomen at high speed. His flesh tore, and his body went pale.
Tinnitus throbbed in his ears, and his vision blurred. His brain rattled, and his body shook. His screams filled the space, gradually fading away.
The man squeezed out his last remaining strength and extended his arm. Violet magic power surged as massive spikes protruded in all directions. The air quaked, and objects were destroyed.
The girl tore into her own chest with one hand. A scar, like that of a beast, carved and glimmered.
The intense noise made the man barely lift his gaze. The enormous jaws of a monstrous beast rushed at him, consuming everything in the ground. Wind and currents surged into its mouth, unleashing a storm.
The man knelt in a daze as he watched.
The wind blew. His body was already entwined with it.
—Crack! Crash! Smash!
Feeling the sticky threads connecting his whole body being forcibly ripped away, the man lost consciousness amidst profound pain.
—
“The ending is always the same. Everyone is too busy running away. Them too, and me.”
[Orley, something more is coming.]
“It’s alright. I think I can endure a little longer.”
Leaving behind three corpses that no longer resembled humans, only one girl glimmered with lively eyes.
—
“Erica, we received contact from the covert team.”
“Yes, let’s go right away.”
The factory area matched the anticipated zones.
Erica put on her well-worn black uniform and stepped outside.
Honestly, she wanted to wrap up the incident involving that girl within a few days and reinforce the lacking security in the outskirts. Even in Seoul, she had thrown herself into various incidents, thinking that engaging in the relatively peaceful area would serve as a good change of pace.
However, capturing this girl turned out to be more challenging than expected. To be precise, saying it took a long time would be more accurate. Committing murder and showing up on CCTV, only to vanish as if wielding an unfathomable power made tracing her subsequent path highly difficult.
But that was all. Perhaps still just a girl, after all, she had predictably moved in a straight line in a region of Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, initiating incidents in deserted bustling streets where hardly anyone roamed. Thanks to this, the investigation team could significantly narrow down the range for their undercover team deployment.
Whether this behavior of the girl was a thought of facing off against the association, or if it was an incomprehensible psychology like the occasional psychopathic Awakened Ones, she didn’t know.
It wasn’t particularly important to Erica.
For a non-Awakened or a general low-rank Awakened, the crimes committed by a High-Rank Layer Awakened One could be deemed a dangerous affair. However, for veteran hunters of the association, such criminals were handled with sufficient time.
The only looming anxiety was that if she were a special Awakened who had yet to be detected, it would mean they might have to delve more deeply into the investigation.
Unlike her usual self, who would not exclude the slightest possibility, she made a more aggressive approach to the current incident for no particular reason.
The benevolent support others, the wicked ones are punished.
Not a grand ambition, but merely one of the principles she had upheld since the situation.
Determined to move her workplace to the Gyeonggi area while leaving her department intact, she was vexed by the sight of that girl in the monitor—committing murder without the slightest disturbance, rather seeming to enjoy the situation.
How could she turn a blind eye to such a despicable human?
Without killing such trash.
“We’ll arrive soon.”
“Yes.”
Inside a vehicle adorned with luxurious colors, Erica looked outside. The sun had set a long time ago, and the vast sky was visible.
Flashing streetlights and damaged buildings appeared.
“The investigation team seven is searching. We’re at the first segment. What should we do?”
“Deploy them.”
As soon as Erica finished speaking, the agent in the driver’s seat conveyed the information through the device in his ear.
Though they called it a team, it only consisted of five members. This investigation team seven had been hastily formed because the incident was taking much longer than expected.
It was a team combined with veteran hunters to continuously keep the girl, who remained at the nearly finished crime scene, while also adding the personnel from the first scene team for enhanced security.
They sent along measurement devices, so there shouldn’t be a problem for the covert team to track the girl before the field team entered.
When the car arrived in the factory area, Erica got out of the back seat. She felt the chilly wind pierce her skin.
Soon, she would meet the malicious girl who had tormented her for the past week.
Suppressing the boiling anger within her, she took a few deep breaths to steady herself.
With the device in her ear, she began to walk. The crackling static noise accompanied the sound of her collar brushing against her clothes.
A deep male voice came through the device.
[“Looks like she’s ready to roll, Erica. We’re entering.”]
“Understood, I’ll stick close. Let me know if anything’s off.”
[“Will do.”]
Did that guy actually say such things? During the previous interactions, he had nonchalantly ignored the collateral damage, thinking nothing of it even when the city was crushed and victims emerged.
Was he acting up after a long time of joint operations?
She inhaled the stale air and continued her steps. The night air felt particularly colder today.
The change occurred then.
—Zzzzt, zzzzt!
[“What the hell is that···?! I····!”]
“Riche? Riche, do you hear me?”
[“Erica···! Th···!”]
The mixed noise and static made the communication devices malfunction.
Was the signal disrupted? But the other devices were functioning fine···?
Erica ran toward the designated checkpoint while quickly assessing the situation. Something was undoubtedly wrong.
She crossed the dark alley and jumped over several walls. Infusing a slight amount of magic power, she scanned a few large visible buildings as she shifted her view.
Her footsteps echoed crisply in the quiet street. The dark and bright places alternated, reflecting upon her.
Her brow furrowed, and her nose tinged with red.
She felt a potent magic power.
—Zzzzt!
Finally, a representative example of the malfunctioning communication device containing magic stones came to mind.
An abnormal amount of powerful magic power.
“Ha···. Ha···.”
In haste, she moved towards the source of the lingering echoes. Her vision turned red and her breathing became ragged.
Just beyond the checkpoint, she could hear a broken voice.
– Guh···! Hah···!
– I····! Sen····!
It was now easy for anyone to sense the vast presence of magic power.
She stepped into the wide alley. A surge of unease rushed over her. She leaned against a wall and turned the corner. She widened her field of vision.
It was a sea of blood.
The walls and cement were adorned with reds that made her stomach churn, with sprawled corpses and her team, one of whom was helplessly gasping for breath with a girl’s grip around his neck.
In that place where no trace of the city could be found, strands of life flickered like a candle in the wind.
“Riche!!!”
As Erica shouted, she stretched her arm back. Blue currents of energy gathered in the air and flowed into her grasp. Magic power condensed into the shape of a massive spear.
The wind picked up, and the air gathered. Holding her breath, she thrust her arm forward.
The magic-infused spear shot through the space. The blue torrent writhed and extended towards a specific point.
The girl stepped back, releasing the man from her grip. The spear flew past her harmlessly, crashing against the rear wall and dissipating.
The fierce blue pupils glimmered faintly.
“Hello.”
The girl smiled.
