A clear voice cut through the clamor of the alley.
The skinny man's curses and Subaru's hurried gasps all came to a standstill at that moment.
A girl stood at the entrance of the alley, her beauty not losing out to Subaru's in the slightest.
Her waist-length silver hair was meticulously braided, and her bluish-purple eyes quietly observed everything in the alley.
Seeing the skinny man stunned in place, the silver-haired girl spoke again, "I can no longer stand by and watch your atrocities. Let it end here."
This voice made Subaru momentarily forget her pain and fear.
Even the skinny man unconsciously lowered the blade in his hand, shouting with forced bravado, "W-who are you? How dare you interfere with my business!"
At that moment, Tsukasa's form, suspended in mid-air, suddenly paused—because he clearly sensed an extraordinary surge of energy flowing around the silver-haired girl.
"It seems the classic 'hero rescues the beauty' scene is about to play out." He said to Subaru in a relaxed tone.
Gradually recovering from her fear, Subaru even found the strength to talk back, "Stop joking at a time like this, Tsukasa. I almost died."
Tsukasa said, lightly pulling at his blindfold, "Don't worry. I won't let you die."
Subaru took it as a mere comfort, while the silver-haired girl at the alley entrance spoke again, "If you have taken my belongings, as long as you return them now, I won't pursue the matter. It was my negligence in the first place. Please, that item is very important to me."
Just as the girl finished speaking, the large man who had fallen earlier shook his head and scrambled up, muttering to her in confusion, "Stealing? What nonsense are you talking about?"
The girl's tone grew more urgent. "If it were any other item, I wouldn't mind, but this one is crucial. Please, you must return it."
The skinny man keenly sensed the girl's extraordinary aura and only wanted to send her away as quickly as possible. "Listen! We didn't steal anything from you! Go look somewhere else and mind your own business!"
Hearing their answer, the silver-haired girl lowered her head in thought. "If it's not here, then it must be at the other end of the alley."
She then turned to walk toward the alley entrance. Relieved expressions flashed across the faces of the large man and the skinny man, while Subaru's heart sank, her body tensing up again as she prepared for a fight.
But—
The girl's footsteps suddenly stopped, and she whipped around.
"However, bullying the weak is another matter entirely. I absolutely cannot stand by and do nothing."
Before her words had even faded, a brilliant light erupted from her palm.
Swish!
A sharp icicle shot out, aimed at the large man.
Just then, the short man who had been unconscious stumbled to his feet and blocked the strike with his body. Once again, he was instantly sent flying several meters and knocked unconscious.
Seeing the icy aura still lingering in the girl's palm, Subaru was dumbstruck.
This was the magical power she had dreamed of. Magic that required no chanting and displayed astonishing power with just a simple gesture.
Tsukasa, in the air, was not surprised at all. From the moment they met, his Six Eyes had already glimpsed the "gate" within the girl's body, through which strange energy flowed.
As the power within him gradually adapted to the laws of this world, his strength was becoming increasingly attuned to this world.
The skinny man and the large man shouted in shock and anger.
"You dare to attack!"
"Whether you're a noble or a magic caster, as long as we get close, your magic will be useless!"
Tsukasa couldn't help but sneer at their words, "There really is no shortage of fools in any world who reveal their own tactics."
Almost at the same time, a neutral and clear voice rang out from behind the girl, "If it's two against two, the terms would be equal, wouldn't they?"
Subaru's gaze searched around the silver-haired girl, but she couldn't find the source of the voice.
The skinny man and the large man also looked around warily, the alley entrance was empty.
Unlike them, a flash of realization crossed Tsukasa's face—he sensed the energy fluctuations of a certain presence.
At the very moment they were searching, the girl raised her left hand, palm up. The owner of that voice was floating on her fingertips.
"Oh my, being searched for like this by everyone is making me quite shy."
It was a creature only the size of a palm, resembling a kitten plushie. It hovered steadily in the air, its appearance so cute that Subaru was instantly captivated by its charm.
"Wow! What a cute kitty!"
However, unlike Subaru—
"N-no! It's a Spirit Arts User!"
The voices of the skinny man and the large man trembled with fear.
And as they shouted, the girl issued a final ultimatum, "Correct answer. Now back off, and I won't pursue this. Please decide quickly, we're in a hurry."
As if granted a grand pardon, the two hurriedly picked up their unconscious companion and scrambled out of the alley.
As they passed the girl, they clicked their tongues in resentment. "We'll be back!"
The kitten on her palm leisurely added, "If you dare to harm this young lady, I'll curse you to have no descendants. Though looking at your pathetic state, I doubt you'd be able to leave any offspring anyway."
Facing this seemingly lighthearted but cutting mockery, the thugs were furious but didn't dare speak up, disappearing into the crowd at the alley entrance with ashen faces.
The thugs' figures vanished completely, leaving only Subaru and the mysterious silver-haired girl in the dark alley.
With the crisis averted, Subaru let out a long sigh of relief. She was about to endure the sharp pain in her shoulder and stand up to thank her when—
"Please don't move yet."
The girl's voice was soft, a world away from the coldness she had shown when issuing the ultimatum.
However, before she could speak, Subaru felt a wave of intense dizziness wash over her. The weakness from excessive blood loss intertwined with the relaxation following intense tension.
She reached out her hand, intending to steady herself on the girl, but grabbed only air. Her body went limp, and she fell straight toward the ground.
At this moment, Tsukasa, floating in the air, watched the unconscious girl, lost in thought, 'In her unconscious state, is it possible to perform a body swap unconditionally?'
Almost at the same moment Tsukasa was thinking, the silver-haired girl in the alley turned to the kitten beside her in panic. "Puck! Help her, quickly!"
Looking at the unconscious Subaru, Tsukasa finally shook his head.
Even if he could temporarily take over this body now, once she woke up, control would return to its original owner.
He had a second thought: why not take this opportunity to visit that mysterious "pitch-black space" deep within her consciousness once again?