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Having already been aware of similar and even more open 'events' of human trafficking and organ trade in Carmen, Emilia would have to be in denial to not be able to catch the hint from the disgusting greed in their eyes, as well as the shocked and terrified expression on the cornered man's face.
Meanwhile, his supposed girlfriend stood there looking at him confidently, feeling both victorious and smug.
The man couldn't help but stutter in disbelief. "P-Pulcelina… w-why?"
In Emilia's opinion, although the red-haired 'girlfriend' of the man actually would normally have looked quite innocent and docile, the arrogant and gloating expression made it clear that she was anything but pure.
"Just come with us obediently, Justin. Otherwise, don't blame us if you get hurt."
The scary-looking men had already surrounded him at this point, and 'Justin' could obviously tell that he had no hopes of escaping.
He didn't know yet what was waiting for him once he went with them, but given how his new girlfriend's behavior abruptly changed, he could tell that it would be nothing good.
After all, given that he wasn't stingy at all with his gifts and 'financial support', whatever stimulated her greed must clearly be something that he would never agree to give as long as he was alive.
Just as despair was about to cloud his mind, however, the atmosphere seemed to abruptly shift as everyone suddenly felt an almost oppressive presence nearby.
Ding!
Skill Predator's Mark has been used!
Energy Reserve: 117.72 → 117.71%
Now targeting 'Pulcelina Degrauss'!
Predator's Mark Remaining Duration: 9 minutes 59 seconds.
Her goal of figuring out what the ability did had already been accomplished the moment she realized that she could now track the girl she had marked with ease, but now that she'd already seen what was happening… Emilia was in no mood to just leave.
Her marked target's expression had faltered momentarily when Emilia made her presence known, along with that of the 'thugs', but they soon relaxed when they realized it was just one lone girl.
"I see that rats of your kind are not an infestation unique to Carmen, huh?"
Since she hadn't yet changed into her original form and didn't look like the empress of Blue Dawn at all, the thugs obviously couldn't be expected to make sense of her words. But that didn't stop them from laughing.
A man jeered. "Look, brothers, a big beauty has delivered herself to our door."
"It would almost be a pity to ruin her body for just a bunch of organs, right?"
One of them couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, we can always make proper use of it until we get bored."
"True. But then again, why not get in touch with that bastard downtown to see what price she'll fetch intact?"
Clearly, while Emilia's current ash-blonde lady knight form might not be particularly appealing when she smiled, the grim and disgusted expression on her face suited her very well, and even gave her a hint of a unique charm.
The man who had been cornered turned pale from fright as he finally realized what kind of horrifying death awaited him next.
As for the girl who came to rescue him… he had no hope from her at all.
At best, she could be a half-decent distraction, but while he may not know her, Justin didn't think he would be able to live with himself if he ran away while the girl who came to save him was ruined.
Emilia didn't let their ridicule bother her, though, and just looked at the 'cornered' man seriously. "When you wake up, forget everything that happened tonight, alright?"
She didn't expect any response from him given the man's confounded state, but her words still made the thugs laugh.
"Do you have some saintly delusions or something?"
"Poor bitch probably got brainwashed by that propaganda on TV they've been showing recently."
"Well, let us brothers teach you a life lesson today. Probably your last one. Even if you offer yourself up in exchange for this guy's life… why should we spare him when we can just catch you both?"
"Little girl, did you not notice that the nearest crowded street is almost two hundred meters away? Don't scrape your pretty skin trying to escape now, you can't outrun your fate!"
Shockingly enough, however, while the 'big beauty' did run as expected, the direction she chose was not towards the exit of the alley, but to the center of their encirclement instead.
"Sleep." With a swift and gentle stroke to the back of his neck, Emilia easily knocked the terrified man in the center out.
The man might just blabber about her deeds to others if he remained awake to watch her fight. And she didn't want to leave too many clues of her presence, even if the chances of someone piecing together such 'unrelated' clues was slim at best.
As for any of the gangsters tattling on her… Emilia wasn't too worried.
Dead men tell no tales, after all.
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Pulcelina had grown up in a somewhat privileged household, and had a pretty good life until her early teens. That is, until her father lost his job, got addicted to alcohol, and her mother ran away.
He may not have abused her himself, but her perfect life had been completely ruined from that point on.
She couldn't do any of the fun things she had been used to before, couldn't dress well without her pocket money, and couldn't even keep her friends once they realized how 'worthless' she had become.
Someone else might have broken down, but Pulcelina was strong.
Since her father couldn't provide for her anymore, she would just have to do it herself. And since her old friends didn't want her, she just made new ones.
Her life definitely improved a little from then on, but Pulcelina soon realized how tiring it was to work at two part-time jobs and hang out to play with her new delinquent friends.
That was when she met Drake, who quickly became her boyfriend, and also made her realize that she was sitting on a gold mine.
"Those friends of yours are obviously just a bunch of rebellious and stupid girls who can't put two brain cells to rub together even if they join forces. Otherwise, why would they brawl around and get roughed up every day when they can obviously enjoy an easy life?"
There was both jealousy and hatred in his voice, and his words resonated deeply within Pulcelina.
But at that time, she had also been a little stupid, and couldn't help but voice her doubts. "B-But they don't really carry much money with them usually. Even if I can fool them into giving it up a few times, it will only be enough for a few days."
Drake chuckled. "Stupid! Who told you that what I want is in their pockets? Fresh young high-school girls… they have enough value in themselves."
A few days later, Pulcelina led her 'girl gang' to the location marked by Drake, and made enough money to be set for a luxurious life for at least the next six months.
And from that point on… there had been no looking back.
Of course, she couldn't be bothered to waste her time at school anymore and dropped out. Luckily, no one suspected her or cared much, thinking that she was just going into a downward spiral from 'unexpectedly' losing all her friends.
Unfortunately, there had been no such big 'windfall' since then, but Pulcelina soon learned from Drake how to catch 'fish' even if they didn't jump into her net themselves, and started making a steady stream of money.
That is, until today, when it was all ruined by a monster.
That was the only word that came to her mind when she thought of the 'thing' that had turned into a blur and ripped apart almost a dozen burly men with ease.
Pulcelina didn't even dare to scream as she ran away in terror. 'P-Please, please god, I swear I will be good from now on, just let me live this once!'
She ran until she was almost completely exhausted, then came to a stop as she was forced to lean against a dirty dumpster while taking deep breaths, not caring about the disgusting smell at all.
There was no sound of someone following her, and for a moment, hope bubbled within her heart.
Until it exploded into pieces.
Pulcelina only had a few moments to stare dumbfounded at the bloody hand protruding through her chest before she died, belatedly realizing that the 'thing' that had been chasing her never lost track of her at all.
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