Going back to 10 minutes earlier... before the female grim reaper 'Revy' gave up on her main target and stumbled upon her new prey, Owen.
During the time the short-haired teenage girl had just pushed the large glass doors and walked into the luxurious boutique 'The Gilded Scarab'.
Amidst the high-society customers bustling about browsing clothes, the faint fragrance of flowers and the soft classical music created a relaxing and luxurious atmosphere. However, in a corner of the store, just a few steps away from where Sahara was standing... the tall, slender figure of 'Nyx', the stoic female bodyguard and former special forces soldier turned personal protector, stood quietly with her arms crossed, leaning against a marble pillar.
She still preferred wearing her military-style attire. An olive-green tank top paired with camouflage cargo pants. Around her waist was a tactical belt fully loaded with throwing weapons and sharp melee blades. On her feet were custom-made, pitch-black combat boots. They massively increased the weight of her kicks and provided high-level defense, to the point where she had once stepped on a landmine and walked away without a single scratch.
Therefore, Nyx's appearance looked completely alien and out of place in an environment filled with high fashion. This severe contrast should have easily made her the center of attention.
But the reality of the situation was entirely different. No matter how many customers walked right past her, no one paid her any mind. Even though she wasn't invisible, wasn't translucent, and wasn't using any camouflage magic whatsoever.
Instead, this was the result of Nyx's Rank A ability, [Erase Presence]. Its mechanics were entirely different from invisibility or camouflage. It was much more profound and terrifying than simply bending light according to physics, because it directly interfered with the "brains and nervous systems" of the living beings around her.
When Nyx activated this skill, the brains of everyone looking in her direction would automatically 'ignore' and 'deny' her existence. Customers might have her image reflected onto their retinas, but their brains would process her as "thin air" or simply a "background prop" not worth remembering or paying attention to. They would instinctively step around her without even realizing what they were avoiding.
And that was the reason why Revy's high-tier anti-stealth scanner failed to detect any anomalies... because Nyx's ability didn't meet the conditions for invisibility or camouflage in the slightest! It worked 100% correctly exactly as it was designed.
It was also the reason why a top-tier assassin like Revy could never "perceive" Nyx's presence, even when looking directly at her location. She could only sense on a deep, instinctual level that 'something was wrong', but as was evident... that didn't help her much.
…
Amidst the crowd whose perception had been subtly altered, Nyx continued to perform her duties diligently. The veteran's sharp, eagle-like eyes constantly swept the area, maintaining security for Sahara, until her gaze locked onto the "short-haired teenage girl" who had just walked into the store.
To ordinary people, store staff, or even mid-level Awakeners, Revy was just a normal teenage girl dressed brightly for a holiday shopping trip. However, in the eyes of a former special forces soldier who had survived countless brutal battlefields like Nyx, she immediately noticed the "irregularities" in this girl.
Nyx narrowed her eyes, scanning the target's behavior in detail. She astutely detected anomalies at the micro-expression level.
The way the girl distributed her weight while walking was far too "perfect." Ordinary people casually strolling while shopping usually shifted their weight loosely or occasionally dragged their feet. But this kid organized her body with perfect balance in every step, as if deliberately trying to appear "normal," which ironically made it look slightly unnatural.
Furthermore, her eyes, which feigned excitement while browsing the clothes racks, were actually subtly scanning for "blind spots" and "CCTV camera angles." And the most suspicious part of all was her breathing rhythm—it was perfectly deep and calm, completely contradicting the cheerful, excited demeanor she projected outwardly.
Despite catching a few anomalies, Nyx still couldn't definitively conclude whether this girl was an enemy, an assassin, a spy, or just a paparazzi reporter.
That was because Revy's disguise skills were practically 'flawless'. Not a single trace of malice, killing intent, or aura of death leaked out to be sensed. This was proof that Revy's alias, "The Grim Scythe," wasn't earned solely by relying on a high-tier ability. It was born from her skills in infiltration, acting, psychology, and the art of assassination, honed through extensive training until she was unmatched.
Unable to sense any murderous intent, Nyx assessed the situation based on the most logical possibilities instead. Right now, Sahara was a rising star in the business world, a public figure praised by the media as the "Fashion Queen." Naturally, she would attract many business rivals and ill-wishers.
Therefore, Nyx assumed this short-haired girl was likely a "private investigator," an "undercover reporter," or a "professional paparazzi" hired by competitors to secretly take photos and spy on Sahara's secrets, just as had frequently occurred over the past few months.
However, even if she believed the girl was just a spy, Nyx never abandoned her caution.
The former female soldier decided to escalate her surveillance of this girl to a 'Yellow' alert level, a state ready to engage, arrest, or disarm at a moment's notice.
When Revy started moving, pretending to browse the clothes while trying to get closer to Sahara to find a blind spot, Nyx, who was standing a short distance away, instinctively reacted. Every muscle beneath her tank top and camouflage pants was stimulated, tensing up and preparing to explode with energy.
Nyx's eyes locked onto every tiny opening on the teenage girl's body. She had already targeted all the vital points and major joints. If that kid showed any sign of a threat or drew a weapon even a single millimeter, Nyx was fully prepared to lunge forward, tackle, or disarm the target in a split second.
This fierce, high-level combat readiness, combined with the dangerous aura and formless pressure of a Rank A bodyguard... was exactly what Revy's [The Grim Scythe] ability had detected!
And that was the answer to why Revy's ability processed the risk and calculated the assassination success rate to be so abysmally low, plummeting to a mere 0.1% when she approached Sahara. Because the moment Revy stepped into the kill zone, Nyx was equally prepared to crush her to pieces in a fraction of a second!
After staring and projecting her pressure for a while, Nyx finally saw the girl stiffen and display slight signs of frustration. The girl then randomly picked out some clothes, paid for them, and quickly hurried out of the store.
Once the threat had walked out the door, Nyx slowly exhaled and relaxed her tense muscles. Her eyes continued to track the back of the mysterious girl until she was out of sight, while her brain processed and stored the suspect's physical appearance, walking posture, and all other details directly into her 'Special Watchlist'.
Certain that the situation had returned to normal, the former special forces soldier turned back to lean against the marble pillar with her usual calm demeanor, continuing her role as the 'formless guardian' protecting Sahara from the shadows.
…
Returning to the present moment, in the underground parking lot of the Titan Mall.
The white fluorescent lights shone down on the cold concrete floor. The sounds of footsteps and cars driving in and out echoed throughout the area. Revy, in the guise of a cute teenage girl, was quietly tailing her new target.
Her eyes beneath the big-eye contacts focused on the back of 'Owen', the new Rank B Awakener who looked completely ordinary and harmless. The female assassin's mind rapidly assessed the situation... kidnapping this man to extract information about Sahara would be easier than peeling a banana.
Revy quickly formulated a staged scenario in her head. To ensure her approach didn't look suspicious, she stopped to buy a strawberry ice cream cone from a nearby stall to add realism to her roleplay. Then, utilizing the speed of a Rank A assassin, she blended into the dark corners of the parking lot, weaving past concrete pillars to seamlessly wait in ambush along Owen's path.
As Owen dragged the '3D printer' closer, Revy played the part of a bright teenage girl, innocently walking and eating her ice cream.
Right at the moment they were about to pass each other, Revy wasted no time initiating her 'femme fatale' plan.
"Ah!"
The girl pretended to 'trip over her own feet'. Her body stumbled and fell perfectly toward the young man. Her plan was flawlessly calculated... The moment this man acted surprised and instinctively reached out to catch her, she would seize the opportunity to strike the back of his neck with the edge of her hand to knock him out, or use a tranquilizer needle on his major artery, then drag the target into a car and take him to her hideout immediately!
Owen raised an eyebrow slightly when he saw the girl trip. He let go of the suitcase handle and reached out with both hands to catch her falling body, acting on a gentleman's instinct.
'Got you!' Revy smirked internally, her wrist preparing to flip and strike.
However... driven by the cautious nature of a professional assassin, in the fraction of a second before she made her move, Revy focused her concentration and activated the [The Grim Scythe] skill to check the 'sneak attack success rate' one last time.
...And that was the decision that saved her life!
Ding!
The blood-red grim reaper's scythe icon appeared above Owen's head. But what made Revy's eyes widen so much they almost popped out of their sockets wasn't the 60-70% success rate she had expected. It was the glaring red number blinking back at her:
[ 0.0001% ] !?
'W... What!?'
Revy's soul nearly left her body. The extreme shock caused the female assassin to genuinely lose her balance. Her brain shut down momentarily. What started as a calculated trajectory for a 'fake trip' turned into a genuine, clumsy face-plant!
Fortunately, Owen's strong arms caught her just in time, right before her forehead could smash into the concrete floor.
"Are you alright?" Owen asked with a puzzled expression.
"N... No... I'm fine..." Revy replied stuttering. Her voice trembled, still completely shocked by the number she had just seen before her.
Her frantic behavior only made Owen more confused. Because in the eyes of the young man with an 'A-Rank brain', capable of receiving and processing data dozens of times faster than a normal person, he had noticed the "strangeness" of this girl even before they crossed paths.
Whether it was her body coordination and weight distribution that were too balanced for an ordinary person, her pupils constantly darting to focus on her surroundings, or most importantly... the fact that she had clearly tripped over her own feet on purpose just now.
Yet, amidst all those anomalies, Owen couldn't sense any 'killing intent' or 'threatening demeanor' from this girl whatsoever. (Because Revy hadn't actually made her move yet, and she concealed it flawlessly.)
Putting all this data together, Owen processed the conclusion in an entirely different direction...
'Could this woman... be a fan of Rosy?' Owen guessed internally. She must have recognized him since he frequently collaborated on content with Rosy, so she went out of her way to stage a fake trip to smoothly strike up a conversation. Was she hoping he would help her get an autograph or arrange a meet-and-greet with Rosy in person?
Because there was no other logical reason why a cute young girl would invest in faking an injury just to bump into an ordinary guy like him!
While the 'Genius' on the male side was letting his imagination run wild, the 'Genius' on the assassin side was processing things in a completely different direction as well!
As for Revy, who was currently frozen stiff in the young man's arms, her consciousness was shattering. Sahara's 0.1% from earlier was already terrible and chilling, but the [ 0.0001% ] floating above this man's head... that was a "one in a million" chance!
Even when she had secretly assessed top-tier guild masters in the past, the numbers had never been this abysmally low! Revy concluded internally with utmost terror that this ordinary-looking young man in front of her... must be hiding an 'insanely overpowered S-Rank ability' or a defense level beyond common sense!
"T... Thank you for helping me! I'm fine now!" Revy quickly pulled her mind together, pretending to express her gratitude before springing out of the "extremely dangerous man's" arms instantly, as if launched by a spring. Right now, there was only one thought in her head... 'I have to find a way to escape from here as smoothly and quickly as possible before this guy catches me!'
As for Owen, seeing the girl's stammering and pale face only cemented his hypothesis... She must be incredibly shy and too embarrassed to ask about Rosy directly.
Driven by kindness and his instincts as the manager tasked with looking after Rosy's fan club, Owen let out a soft sigh and began to gently lecture her.
"Listen... if you want Rosy's autograph, you can just come up and ask me nicely. You don't have to go as far as faking a fall and getting yourself hurt..." Owen pointed at the floor. "What if I hadn't caught you in time just now? Look... your ice cream is all over the floor."
Revy, who was initially utterly bewildered about what this man was talking about, had her assassin brain rapidly process the situation to find an escape route. She immediately 'played along' and ran with his script!
"A... Ah! Y... Yes!" Revy forced a wide smile, feigning embarrassment. "I... I really am a huge fan of Miss Rosy! I wanted her autograph so badly that I ended up doing something stupid... I'm so sorry for causing trouble! Well then, I won't take up any more of your time, mister. I'll be going now!"
Finishing her sentence, Revy spun around, preparing to bolt and smoothly walk away from the parking lot as fast as her two legs could carry her. However...
Grab!
Just as Revy was about to step forward and launch herself away, Owen's thick hand reached out and "tightly grabbed her wrist," pulling her back!
Gasp!!
In that second, Revy felt like her soul had left her body. The female assassin's face turned deathly pale. Her little heart plummeted to her ankles. Her body went completely rigid as if frozen solid.
'It's over! I've been caught! He definitely knows I'm an assassin. He's going to snap my neck!'
But against her expectations... Owen displayed no threatening behavior. He simply smiled in the most friendly and warm manner a manager could possibly offer a fan.
"As Rosy's friend, I don't like letting her fans, who go to such great lengths, go home disappointed..." Owen let go of her wrist and took out his smartphone. "Give me your contact info. If there's a day when Rosy's schedule is clear, I'll arrange for you to get an autograph from her face-to-face... How does that sound?"
Revy exhaled the breath she had been holding, feeling as relieved as if she had just died and been reborn!
"S... Sounds great! Thank you so much!" She stammered her acceptance, hurriedly taking out her phone and giving him a fake 'Burner Account' contact to quickly end the conversation.
With the situation resolved and the contact info exchanged, the two bid each other a cheerful farewell (from Owen's perspective). The young man dragged his 3D printer suitcase toward his SUV, feeling proud that he had helped and provided service to one of Rosy's biggest fans.
He left behind the elite assassin known as "The Grim Scythe," standing completely frozen in the dark corner of the parking lot. Her back beneath the oversized t-shirt was drenched in cold sweat, and both her legs trembled as if she had just narrowly escaped the jaws of death!
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