This world is rotten to the core.
Lili lowered her head, looking at the puddle of muddy water on the ground that reflected her thoroughly wretched face.
Her cheek stung with a burning pain.
But it didn't matter anymore.
In this completely rotten world, this was the norm anyway.
The weak were meant to be trampled upon.
She just had to endure it.
Endure it, hand over her money, and perhaps she could keep her worthless life.
However.
In the next second.
"Shameless!"
A fierce, girlish shout rang out in the narrow alleyway.
Immediately following that.
Boom!!!
A massive crash echoed.
Lili's eyes snapped open, her pupils instantly shrinking to the size of pinpricks.
She saw the tall adventurer who had just been standing in front of her suddenly fly backward like a kicked, broken ragdoll at a speed that defied the laws of physics.
He traced a miserable arc in mid-air and smashed directly into a pile of discarded wooden crates deep within the alley.
Crash—
Wood splinters flew everywhere, and dust billowed up.
The crates were instantly pulverized. The sky full of wooden splinters and dust completely buried the man, leaving only a pair of slightly twitching, stinking feet exposed on the outside.
In front of Lili.
A petite figure had appeared out of nowhere.
She wore a crisp black short hunting suit, the red ribbon around her waist snapping fiercely in the residual gusts of wind.
Although Onigawara Rin wore a half-mask on her face, the exposed half of her small face was written full of disgust.
She slowly retracted her extended right leg and patted the dust off her pant leg.
"Since you only use your size to bully the weak, then what use is it?"
The remaining three Soma Familia accomplices around the alley were completely dumbfounded.
They widened their eyes, looking at their boss who likely couldn't crawl out of the ruins, and then looked at the seemingly delicate and weak little girl in front of them who hadn't even brought a weapon.
That kick just now was so fast they couldn't even see the afterimage!
"W-Who the hell are you?!"
One of the tall, skinny adventurers was the first to react. Putting up a fierce front to hide his cowardice, he drew the short sword from his waist and pointed the tip at Onigawara Rin, though his hand trembled uncontrollably.
"How dare you sneak attack members of our Soma Familia! Do you know what consequences this will have?!"
"Sneak attack?"
Onigawara Rin tilted her head.
She violently stomped a step forward!
Boom!
The stone slab on the ground let out a crisp crack, unexpectedly fractured directly by her stomp.
Terrified by this horrifying aura, the three adventurers took a step back in unison.
"I am Onigawara Rin."
"Even though I am unarmed..."
Onigawara Rin's gaze turned sharp. Bending her legs slightly, she assumed a classical martial arts starting stance for catching a blade barehanded. The aura around her instantly became fierce, her entire person resembling an unsheathed blade.
"To deal with the likes of you..."
"My hands are more than enough."
This feeling of being looked down upon sent the men into a rage born of humiliation.
"B-Bastard! You actually dare to underestimate us!"
"Let's get her together! She's just a brat! There's nothing to be afraid of!"
The tall, skinny guy yelled to embolden himself.
The three adventurers exchanged a glance. Relying on their numerical advantage, they bit the bullet and charged forward simultaneously, brandishing their weapons.
"Kill her!"
However.
In front of Onigawara Rin, who had already completed her Level sublimation through Haimer's Divine Blood and stepped into the realm of Lv.2, numbers were utterly meaningless against this group of guys who could barely even be considered Lv.1.
There wasn't even a need for Inaba Tsukuyo, who was standing behind her, to make a move.
Onigawara Rin's figure blurred in a flash.
Bang!
The first punch landed dead center on the tall, skinny guy's face.
The poor bastard couldn't even let out a scream. The sound of his nose bridge shattering was crisp and melodious as his entire body smashed into the wall and slid down against it.
Smack!
The second strike was a standard sidekick.
Another guy who attempted to sneak attack from the flank felt as if he had been struck in the side by a battering ram. The sound of breaking ribs accompanied intense agony, making him bow his body like a shrimp as he fell to his knees, foaming at the mouth.
Seeing that the situation had gone south, the last guy turned around and tried to run.
"Trying to run?"
Onigawara Rin let out a cold snort. The tip of her foot flicked up a piece of crushed stone from the ground, and she whipped a kick at it in mid-air.
Whoosh—
The stone shot out like a bullet, accurately striking the back of the man's knee.
"Argh!"
The man let out a miserable shriek and fell flat on his face, eating dirt in a literal prostration.
In merely a single encounter.
The four-man squad from the Soma Familia was completely annihilated.
In the alley.
There was a deathly silence.
Only the painful groans of those adventurers lying on the ground echoed.
Onigawara Rin stood in place and lightly shook her hand, as if she had merely swatted a few flies with utmost ease.
She glanced at the guy who had been kicked flying into the crates and slightly furrowed her brows, the expression beneath her mask somewhat chagrined.
"Hiss..."
It seems I didn't control my strength well enough...
I originally just wanted to teach them a slight lesson...
But now...
Looking at the mess all over the ground, Onigawara Rin's heart skipped a beat.
It's over.
The commotion caused this time is a bit too big. I wonder if it will cause trouble for Kami-sama.
After all, even though it was acting courageously for a just cause, this was still a private brawl on the streets of Orario.
If it ends up causing trouble for Kami-sama...
Thinking of this, Onigawara Rin instantly lost her composure. Her shoulders slumped, and she looked around very guiltily, terrified of seeing the Military Police.
As for the other side.
Lili remained slumped on the ground.
Her hands still maintained a death grip on the straps of her worn-out backpack.
She stared blankly at this scene.
Her mind was entirely blank.
Was she... saved?
No.
That's not right.
In this place.
No one would help another person without a reason anymore.
Even a hero saving a damsel in distress was often ultimately just to extort benefits, or to satisfy their own hypocritical sense of morality.
The moment they discovered that she was a lowly Supporter with no money, no power, and who would even steal things, their gazes would become identical to those of the Soma Familia members.
Lili had seen this kind of thing far too many times.
"Your breathing is very erratic."
At this moment.
A gentle voice rang out by her ear.
Lili jumped in fright, her body shuddering violently.
She saw Inaba Tsukuyo, who had walked up beside her at some point, crouching down slightly.
Even without being able to see, the information fed back by her 『Mind's Eye』 allowed her to clearly perceive Lili's current injuries.
"There's slight swelling and redness on the left cheek... it should have been left by that slap just now.
"There are abrasions on the right knee, and dirt has seeped in. If not treated, it will get infected.
"And your elbow...
"However, thankfully, no bones are injured."
Having said that.
Inaba Tsukuyo pulled a pure white handkerchief from her bosom and handed it over.
"Wipe yourself."
The handkerchief was extremely clean and exuded a faint, delicate fragrance, entirely out of place in this alley filled with putrid stench.
However.
Lili reacted as if she had been burned, subconsciously shrinking her body backward.
She avoided that hand.
"I-I'm fine..."
Lili's voice was trembling.
"Please, I'm begging you..."
"I don't have any money... There are only a few worthless Magic Stones in my bag..."
Lili shrank her neck and buried her head even lower. She curled herself up into a tight ball, attempting to protect herself in this manner.
Hearing these words.
Onigawara Rin, who had just finished dealing with the trouble, walked over.
Seeing Lili looking like a frightened little rabbit, Onigawara Rin scratched her head and looked at Inaba Tsukuyo somewhat at a loss. Her originally slightly uplifted mood from winning the fight instantly cooled down.
It was replaced by an indescribable feeling of being stifled.
She opened her mouth to speak but hesitated.
"We aren't trying to rob you."
"Besides, do we look like people who are short on money?"
"Honestly..."
"We clearly did a good deed, yet we're still being suspected..."
Onigawara Rin said somewhat gloomily.
____
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