Allie's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.
Almost instinctively, her fingers tightened slightly around the hilt of her sword, and the lazy flow of mana inside her turned dense and vigilant in an instant.
Her instincts were screaming a sharp warning at her.
The beautiful black-haired girl standing before her was by no means as simple as she appeared on the surface.
Beneath that calm exterior lurked something profound—and faintly unsettling.
"Are you here for something?"
Allie spoke first, her voice stripped of its previous drowsiness and laced with a barely perceptible scrutiny.
She didn't loosen her grip on the sword, her body beneath the cloak already fully primed for battle.
Faced with Allie's guardedly defensive question, the black-haired girl showed not the slightest bit of tension or fear.
Tilting her head slightly, her dark purple eyes rested on Allie for a moment as if piercing through her instantly, before her lips curved into a faint, playful arc.
"No, nothing in particular."
Her voice was clear and pleasant, yet held a magnetic quality that seemed to tug at the heartstrings:
"It's just... I seem to have arrived a bit late, so it appears there's nothing left for me to do here after all."
Her answer was ambiguous, yet her gaze swept—whether intentionally or not—toward the direction of the alley behind Allie.
Allie frowned. The girl's attitude was elusive, yet that underlying sense of danger hadn't dissipated.
She didn't want any unexpected complications, especially when she had real business to attend to tonight.
"Oh, is that so?"
Allie said in a flat tone, "Then leave quickly. A place like this isn't very safe for a... lady like you."
"A lady like me?"
The black-haired girl repeated softly, as if finding the phrasing amusing. Raising a slender finger, she lightly covered the corner of her mouth:
"I think... those words might apply to you just as well, dear... sister?"
She deliberately paused on the word 'sister,' the smile deepening in her dark purple eyes as if seeing right through the disguise under Allie's cloak.
Yet right after, she nodded, her tone reverting to its previous calm:
"Still, you're right. I really... ought to be leaving now."
With that, she offered Allie a slight, elegant bow—shallow, yet possessed of an inimitable classical grace.
Then, without lingering any longer, she turned and walked off with light, unhurried steps in the direction opposite where Allie had come from. Her black skirt and long hair swayed gently in the dimness before quickly melting into the deeper shadows ahead, disappearing completely.
Allie remained where she was, watching her vanish, her brow still slightly furrowed.
That final sentence and the look in her eyes bothered Allie somewhat.
Still, dealing with the Gray Rat Gang took priority for now.
Shaking her head to suppress that lingering trace of doubt for the moment, she picked up her sword once more and left the area.
...
Meanwhile, in the shadows behind a corner on another fork not far from the alley mouth.
Just as the black-haired girl turned the corner, a phantom-like figure floated down silently from the roof of a nearby low-built house, alighting half a step behind her without making a sound.
The newcomer was likewise clad in a dark hooded cloak, her aura perfectly concealed.
"Lord Cult Leader."
A respectful, low female voice echoed from beneath the hood, laced with a trace of icy intent to kill:
"Should your subordinate... eliminate her? She seems to have noticed something."
"Eliminate her?"
The black-haired girl didn't break her stride, nor did she even turn her head; the mysterious smile on her lips merely seemed to deepen slightly.
She shook her head gently, her voice remaining soft and pleasant, yet carrying an undeniable indifference.
"No need."
"Lord Cult Leader?"
The hooded figure was somewhat puzzled.
She finally turned her head slightly, her dark purple eyes sweeping over her subordinate. Though her gaze was calm and devoid of ripples, it instantly sent a chill shooting up the hooded figure's spine.
Melina turned her head back, casting her gaze into the deeper darkness of the slums further off: "Because you lack the strength for it. Not just you—even if you joined forces with the others currently lurking in this city, the outcome wouldn't change in the slightest."
"W-What?!"
The hooded figure was genuinely shocked this time, her voice quivering slightly.
She knew full well her own and her companions' strength; combining their powers, they could stand a chance against a powerhouse around LV50, or even triumph over them.
Yet the Cult Leader was giving such an evaluation?
The girl didn't seem to care about her subordinate's shock, continuing on her own in a voice devoid of emotion, offering only a calm analysis:
"Though she looks young, her mana fluctuations are as obscure and deep as an abyss... She has firmly set foot into the Hero Realm—perhaps even drawing extremely close to the boundary of the Ancient Hero Realm."
"T-The Hero Realm?! Above LV60?! And drawing close to an Ancient Hero?!"
The hooded figure sucked in a cold breath, all color draining from her face.
That was a top-tier powerhouse in the truest sense, someone who could serve as the pillar of a small nation!
To think such a figure would actually appear in a place like the slums!
"What intrigues me even more..."
The girl unconsciously wound a strand of her black hair around her fingertip, a glint of contemplation passing through her dark purple eyes:
"...is that someone of her strength isn't even the Bishop of this Dark Night Order... So what manner of terrifying strength must their true Bishop possess? Or what kind of complex identity requires them to hide in even deeper shadows?"
She let out a soft breath, the night wind ruffling the stray hairs across her forehead.
"At this stage, we have absolutely no need to make an enemy of a faction so mysterious and of unknown depth. For now, maintaining observation will suffice."
Completely awed by the Cult Leader's words, cold sweat trickling down, the hooded figure hastily bowed and replied:
"Yes! Your subordinate understands! I will obey the Cult Leader's command!"
The girl nodded and said no more, continuing forward.
The hooded figure followed closely behind, daring not to offer any further suggestions.
Yet after walking in silence for a distance and passing through a few dirtier, more secluded alleys, the hooded figure seemed to remember something. Hesitating briefly, she lowered her voice and reported cautiously:
"Lord Cult Leader, there is one more matter... I must report to you."
"Speak," the girl said, her steps unhalting.
The hooded figure lowered her voice even further, a subtle tension creeping into it:
"Rock Spike, who was sent to assist Audrey Hope and monitor the progress of the seed implantation... his Life Mark went out completely a short while ago."
Melina's steps faltered almost imperceptibly.
The night wind blew through the empty alley, stirring up dust and paper scraps from the ground with a soft, mournful sigh.
She slowly came to a stop and turned around. In the dim light, her dark purple eyes resembled twin frozen pools as she quietly looked at her subordinate.
"Rock Spike... is dead?"
Rate on N.U.
