On this day, Melissa Moretti received a tremendous shock.
What had started as simply going out to have fun with friends ended with being surrounded by thugs and nearly coming to harm.
The neighbor who had seemed beautiful and delicate turned out to have such agile skills, easily taking down several hoodlums who rushed at her in the blink of an eye.
Through the gaps in the crowd, Melissa saw that Cecilia was wearing a hooded cloak with a bulging paper bag in her arms, as if she were on her way home from shopping.
Standing at the alley entrance, the afternoon sunlight illuminated Cecilia's delicate features, bathing her entire form in warm tones, making the scene look like an oil painting by a master's hand.
All along, Melissa had only been devoted to steam and machinery, with no aesthetic appreciation for art.
But even someone as slow as her had to admit that this scene was truly beautiful. However, the thugs who quickly closed in ruined the beauty of this picture and made Melissa's heart clench tightly.
Run!
She shouted inwardly.
But in the next moment, she saw Cecilia, who was as beautiful as a figure in a painting, suddenly raise her pale fist and strike out like lightning, precisely and sharply hitting the throats of several thugs who had closed in.
They immediately showed expressions of pain, clutching their necks as they slowly collapsed.
In the secluded alley, the atmosphere fell silent for an instant.
The thugs and the three girls all froze together.
Melissa was utterly surprised, and Selena's mouth couldn't help but open slightly.
"That's amazing..."
Elizabeth's wide eyes sparkled as she spoke in an exaggerated, almost childlike voice.
"Ah!"
"Damn it!"
"Don't let her get away!"
"I can't see!"
Cecilia darted through the crowd with graceful precision. Every movement, whether a punch, kick, or knee strike, landed squarely on a vital spot. The thugs' attacks were always just a beat too late, cutting through nothing but her afterimage.
Within seconds, the tough-looking gang that had been swaggering a moment ago was sprawled across the ground, clutching their faces, groins, and throats, groaning in pain and unable to stand.
Under the three girls' stunned and awestruck gazes, Cecilia brushed off her clothes (though there wasn't a speck of dust on them), picked up the paper bag she'd dropped, and looked at them calmly.
"Come on. What are you standing around for?"
The three girls snapped out of their daze, carefully stepping around the writhing thugs before hurrying over to her side.
"Wow, that was incredible!" Elizabeth gushed, her admiration genuine.
"Thank you, Cecilia," Melissa added, her voice still trembling slightly.
If their neighbor hadn't shown up when she did, the three of them might have faced something far worse.
Cecilia gave a small, polite smile. "Let's get out of here first."
Once they left the alley and stepped back onto Lower Street, its muddy pavement and constant noise somehow comforting, they finally began to relax.
"Melissa, aren't you going to introduce us to this powerful, beautiful heroine of yours?" Elizabeth asked, her excitement bubbling back up.
"She's Cecilia Londor, my neighbor," Melissa explained, glancing at the girl beside her. "Our brothers work at the same company."
Before today, that was about all Melissa had known about Cecilia. She had never imagined that the quiet, pretty girl next door was capable of something like this.
That's right, Klein mentioned she'd taken time off from school lately. Something about being bullied... But how could someone this capable have been bullied?
"Hello, Cecilia," Elizabeth said brightly. "I'm Elizabeth. You're amazing! How can I get as strong as you?"
"I'm not that strong. I just learned some self-defense techniques from my brother."
Cecilia smiled. After a moment, her expression became slightly serious. "Also, don't casually come to Lower Street in the future. It's too dangerous here for you."
"Okay."
The girls nodded obediently.
The group walked forward together for a while, reaching the center of Iron Cross Street. From here on, they had truly left the bounds of Lower Street.
"You're safe from here. I still have some things to do. See you next time."
Cecilia said goodbye to the three and turned to walk elsewhere.
"She's really so cool..."
Elizabeth looked at her retreating figure and sighed.
Selena nodded repeatedly in deep agreement.
As for Melissa, after calming down, she suddenly had a question. Cecilia told them not to go to Lower Street, but what reason did she have for appearing there?
"Damn bitch! Don't let me catch you!"
In an alley on Lower Street, the lead thug leaned against the wall, making his way home.
This afternoon, not only had he failed to get any money, but he'd also taken a beating.
After barely managing to crawl up the alley, they could only temporarily go home, let their injuries ease, and then make plans.
He cursed the woman who had ruined things, moving his steps with difficulty.
His gang of underlings, because of his failure this time, were already somewhat disobedient.
No one was even willing to help him back, so he could only slowly walk home by himself.
Seeing that he was about to reach his lodging and could lie down to rest, a trace of joy couldn't help but show in his eyes.
Just then, a flash of bright blade light suddenly appeared from the shadows around the corner.
A dagger had already pierced through his heart.
"Heh... heh..."
The thug's eyes widened as he saw the arm extending from behind the dagger, along with a hooded woman.
That calm face beneath the hood was exactly the person he had just been cursing...
The strength in his body was rapidly draining away. He couldn't resist, only following the force of her arm to retreat backward, falling into a sewage pit beside the alley.
This pit, filled with human and animal waste and all kinds of garbage, quickly submerged his body. The filthy, muddy water covered his face, frozen in terror, swallowing him completely.
Cecilia held the paper bag, watching indifferently until she confirmed that his body had indeed sunk to the bottom, then turned and walked outside.
————
6th Daffodil Street.
"I heard a magnificent voice from the throne, saying, Behold, the veil of the Lord descends to the mortal world.
He shall dwell with mankind, He shall be their God, He shall bear the sins of the people..."
Holding that human-skin scripture, Silas softly recited the prayer written in ancient Hermes script.
His expression was calm, but his tightly furrowed brow and occasionally twitching eyebrows showed that he was actually not doing well at the moment.
Intense pain stimulated his brain, and terrible, maddening murmurings constantly echoed in his ears.
He forcibly endured it until the sound of ocean tides arose. The murmurings weakened slightly, but then, even more bizarre visions appeared before his eyes.
۞۞۞۞
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