Had it finally begun...?
Looking at the six or seven burly men, I turned back to the middle-aged woman. She was cowering in the vehicle, grinning slyly.
"Sorry about this, miss. Looking at the situation, you should understand, right? We're only doing this to make a living. Please be understanding." The bald man in the lead spoke up.
"Hand over your money and anything valuable! And..." Another tattooed man licked his lips. "Take off your clothes too!"
"Play with her however you like, but don't get so carried away that you forget my share!" the woman in the vehicle called out.
"Don't worry! Same as usual—twenty percent goes to you!"
"Didn't we agree on thirty percent last time?"
They started arguing right in front of me. Apparently, I wasn't being taken seriously at all... I was happy to enjoy the idle time, but the tattooed man's lecherous gaze made me extremely uncomfortable. He was already this desperate even with my hood on—wouldn't he pounce on me the moment he saw my real face?
"Fine, thirty percent it is, provided what we get this time is worth the price!" It seemed they had finally reached an agreement. The bald man turned toward me, and when he saw me still standing there as though nothing had happened, he flew into a rage. "Bastard! Didn't I tell you to hand over your money? Are you deaf?" "Boss, since she won't do it herself, why not let me..." The tattooed man, who had long since been unable to wait, rubbed his fists eagerly.
I instantly broke out in goosebumps. Rather than be ravished by some sleazy man, I'd rather be bitten to death by a Bone Armor Lion! It was time to end this farce!
I quietly urged all the blood in my body into motion, feeling it surge and swell through my veins. Now I only had to wait for these idiots to come close and bring about their own deaths, then catch them off guard and kill them!
Led by the tattooed man, several leering men came over with lascivious grins. The flow of blood in my body surged to its peak. Just as I was preparing to attack—
"That's enough!"
With a thunderous boom, the building's door was blasted open, and a girl's voice came from the entrance.
"I thought something was wrong when I saw you in the industrial district earlier. Following you here really was the right choice!"
Only after the dust dispersed did I see the girl's face clearly, and my breathing caught.
What a beautiful person!
She looked about sixteen or seventeen. Her slightly curled hair fell to her shoulders, framing large eyes, a delicate upturned nose, a small mouth, slender brows, fair skin flushed with pink, and a perfectly oval face. She looked just like an exquisitely crafted porcelain doll, while the beauty mark beneath her left eye added a hint of allure to her features.
Looking lower, I saw the gorgeous patterns embroidered on her gray-black dress. It clung tightly to her body, outlining graceful curves: delicate shoulders, a slender waist, and a chest of just the right size. She made me want to pull her into my arms in one motion.
What surprised me most was the color of her hair and eyes. Both were a crystalline purple, making her look just like a character from a CG animation!
Seeing everyone staring blankly at her, the girl's face flushed slightly, and she seemed a little embarrassed. But she immediately straightened her posture, put one hand on her hip, pointed at me with the other, and shouted imposingly:
"Let go of that girl!!!"
...So cute!
She was clearly a half-grown girl already, yet she struck such a childish pose and delivered such an adorably embarrassed line with such a cute expression. That was practically cheating!
Seeing that her words seemed to have no intimidating effect at all, the girl grew even more embarrassed.
"Y-you think I didn't see what you were doing! You want to rob her money and then force... force..." Force... force... Her face flushed red as she stammered over the word "rape," unable to say it. "A-anyway, all of you behave yourselves and come quietly with me to see the constable! I-I'm very strong!"
N-no more... As a former otaku, I'd already been charmed into being crispy on the outside and tender on the inside by the girl. The burly men beside me seemed to be in much the same state. "Hehe... little sister, don't force yourself. Come play with your big brothers~" The tattooed man was practically drooling, and the others burst out laughing, too. There wasn't the slightest hint of danger coming from this girl.
But I suddenly found myself wondering: how had such a cute girl blasted the door open?
"You're still laughing! Don't say I didn't warn you!"
The girl seemed to have genuinely lost her temper. She suddenly stretched out a hand, and a—bubble?—rose from her palm.
The bubble was crystal clear, just like an ordinary soap bubble. It was about the size of a fist, yet it floated toward the tattooed man at an astonishing speed. "Huh... what's this?" The tattooed man reached out to poke the bubble, and I suddenly remembered the words: no zuo no die.
"Boom!"
A roar rang out as the bubble suddenly exploded, releasing a powerful blast of air! The tattooed man was sent flying ten meters before crashing to the ground, his fate unknown.
Everyone froze. The bald man shouted, "Damn it, this girl's an Esper! Everyone, be careful!"
But he had shouted too late. The girl released bubbles one after another, and thunderous booms immediately rang throughout the little building, deafening everyone. The burly men fled in disarray. Even the slightest touch from one of those bubbles resulted in broken bones and torn tendons at best!
"You're all useless!"
The bald man roared and charged forward. He neither dodged nor evaded, taking a bubble head-on!
Another boom rang out. Fragments of clothing scattered everywhere, but the bald man merely staggered back two steps instead of being blasted away! Looking closely at the skin revealed beneath his clothes, I saw that it had turned iron-gray, gleaming with a metallic sheen!
"You're an Esper too!?" the girl exclaimed in surprise.
The iron-gray color spread across the bald man's entire body, as though he had been plated in metal. He roared and swung an iron-hammer-like fist at the girl. She hurriedly bent down to dodge, and the iron fist skimmed over her head before striking the wall and denting its solid surface!
The girl tried to regain her stance, but the bald man gave her no chance. He charged at her with astonishing speed. In her panic, the girl released several more bubbles, but this time, when they struck the bald man's body, they couldn't even slow him down! The bald man laughed loudly. "Just as I thought! If we get too close, you'll also risk being caught in the explosion, so you can only reduce the power!"
The bald man adopted close-quarters tactics, throwing punch after punch and giving the girl no chance to open up the distance. Dodging frantically, the girl cursed, "You're shameless! If I weren't afraid of bringing down the building, I would've used my ultimate move from the start and wiped you all out in one go!"
Angry as she was, the girl's breathing grew increasingly labored. The bald man forced her back step by step. If he drove her into a corner, it would be over! What should she do...? The girl thought frantically. Could she make the bubbles not explode and use them as traps? No! That would hurt the hostages! Since that was impossible, she could only use this move...
The spiritual energy in the air suddenly gathered toward the girl at incredible speed, condensing in her hand. With a delicate shout, she released a bubble at point-blank range!
This time, the bubble was pale blue. The moment it left the girl's palm, it rapidly grew larger. The bald man couldn't dodge in time and slammed directly into it. But the expected explosion never came. The bald man passed straight through the bubble's surface and then—was trapped inside.
A muscular iron man was imprisoned inside the bubble, floating half a meter above the ground. The scene was absurdly comical. The bald man struggled in terror, but no matter what he did, he couldn't break the bubble! The girl smiled smugly. "Checkmate!"
With a muffled thud, the space inside the bubble twisted violently. The bald man convulsed fiercely, his skin splitting as though he had been struck by a heavy blow. When the bubble vanished, he fell to the ground vomiting blood and lost consciousness.
"Didn't expect that, did you~? My bubbles can explode outward or inward. An inward explosion only blows up what's inside, so there's no need to worry about hurting yourself! I'm still not very skilled at using it, but it's more than enough to deal with you!"
Only then did she finally turn her attention to me. A brilliant smile spread across her beautiful face. "Everything's fine now~ I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? My name is Si Nan Ying, and I'm—"
"Look out behind you!" I shouted. She hurriedly turned around, only to see the bald man's iron fist rapidly enlarging in her field of vision.
"At this level... I'm not dead yet!!!" The bald man was covered in blood, his eyes bloodshot and his expression utterly crazed. "Even if I die, I'll take you down with me!"
This was bad—Si Nan Ying had no time to dodge. She watched helplessly as the fist drew closer and closer. If it landed, she would either die or be crippled!
"Don't even think about it!"
A flash of red bloodlight streaked past. The bald man's fist was knocked off course and flew upward, while blood spurted from the severed end of his arm. He let out a shriek and collapsed unconscious.
Blood Blade returned to liquid form and flowed back into my body.
At the critical moment, I had finally made my move.