Kelly could feel the different auras in the area, the steady stream of people paying the guards before walking into the teleportation formation that led to the ancient ruins. Most of them were teenagers like her, heads high, chests out, acting like the world owed them applause. Some walked with guardians, others in little cliques, all of them dripping with that loud, entitled confidence.
She felt a few of their eyes on her — the moment they realized she was pureblood, the looks shifted to disgust. Kelly had seen it too many times to care. She kept walking toward the glowing portal, Yulvaris beside her, his height adjusted down just enough to pass as "human," even if it still looked wrong.
They didn't make it far before three boys stepped into their path, all of them wearing armor that looked like it cost way too much. The one in front smiled at her, and the slit in his greenish-yellow pupils made it impossible to pretend it was friendly. The other two didn't even try — their sneers said enough, like she was already supposed to be bowing.
"If you will excuse me," the smiling one said. "I hope you're not planning to step into that portal with your petty realm human." He turned to Yulvaris, smile still stuck on his face. "And you are even more of a trash… no aura at all, yet you dare to stand in the midst of the strong. As mercy, you both should crawl right out of this place, or else we'll do things the hard way, and that will be very"—his eyes glinted—"very ugly."
His words stirred the crowd. Heads turned. A few boys watched with bored amusement, clearly waiting to see the "pureblood girl" and the "weakling" get humiliated. The older Draconians didn't even bother looking twice — they just dismissed it as "kids settling kid problems" and pretended it wasn't happening.
But not everyone stayed quiet.
Maybe it was some kind of instinct, or a sense of kinship, but the Draconian girls in the crowd snapped first.
"You sick bastard!"
"Leave them alone!"
"How is what they do your business?!"
One girl didn't just yell — she moved. She planted herself between Kelly, who hadn't reacted at all, and the three boys. Tight combat gear, heavy black boots, and a massive black greatsword already lifted toward the one who'd been talking. Her expression was pure contempt.
"Take one more step forward," she warned, "and see if you leave here with working limbs, you jerks."
One of the boys scoffed, annoyed. "You should learn to mind your—"
But he didn't finish.
Because both Kelly and Yulvaris… just turned around.
No words. No glare. No dramatic threat. They simply walked past all of them, heading straight toward the glowing formation like the whole scene was background noise.
That's when one of the boys snapped. Rage twisted his face as he grabbed for Kelly's shoulder.
"Little bitc—"
Well tried to.
His hand landed on the floor with a sickening squelch; blood pooled fast, and the whole plaza went silent, people frozen in stunned disbelief.
At the same moment the other two boys touched their necks — faint, sharp pain — and then they saw blood trickling from shallow wounds. The crowd watched the purple-haired girl walk on without once looking back, her voice flat as she delivered the message.
I could have killed you before you could blink, but it's too troublesome.
Kelly and Yulvaris reached the guards by the formation while a distraught, crippled boy screamed somewhere behind them.
"How much," Kelly asked.
"Two hundred Rolds," one guard replied, bowing.
Kelly tossed the pouch. She and Yulvaris stepped into the formation as it flared to life.
"You should have killed them," Yulvaris said at her side, her voice clearly dissatisfied.
"I'm not sure that's allowed here — I have to prioritise the Ancient Ruins for a moment of satisfaction," Kelly said, stepping further into the glow, Yulvaris following.
"Besides," Kelly added, "I have a feeling it's not that simple. Instincts maybe, but they felt like paid actors. I need to make them suffer enough to see if there's anyone hiding around me like a rat."
Yulvaris narrowed her eyes, a little impressed. "This doesn't change how much I wish you die."
Kelly rolled her eyes the moment the teleportation formation kicked on.
They vanished in a flash.
***
"Kill them," Arion said, eyes flat as he watched the purple-haired girl and her partner blink out.
"I don't under—" Seros started, but Arion's cold cut him off.
"Kill the three goons you hired. They have no more use to us now that we've confirmed who she is."
Seros bowed, not daring to argue. "I will do that discreetly right away, Young Master."
Arion fell silent for a long beat, thoughts racing. Seros shivered, forcing himself not to imagine what was turning in his Young Master's insidious mind.
"Can you sense the realm of her partner?" Arion asked.
Seros shook his head, sneering. "She is a mortal — there is no mistake about that—"
"Seros, don't tell me you're this foolish," Arion said, voice cold. "How can a mortal walk into a room full of Stellaris and not bow to aura suppression? Has your brain finally gone mushy with age, or have you always been this stupid?"
"Young Master," Seros bowed, sweat running down his face. "It's not that I don't believe, but to hide her aura even from me she either has to be using an artifact, or she's from a full realm above mine — a Celestial Sentinel… or higher. The very thought is… ridiculous and unimaginable."
Arion strode toward the teleportation formation while the teenagers buzzed about what had happened. The truth about her identity was already leaking — there was something familiar about a Dust Initiate with purple hair doing what her realm shouldn't be able to do.
Seros fell in beside him, spreading his aura to part the crowd.
"Seros, there will be a change of plans," Arion said, tapping his forefinger to his chin. "Mobilize all our assassins between fourteen and twenty to enter the ruins and ambush her. And give them virident poison for their blades, to make sure she doesn't return alive. No matter what, nothing must be traced back to me or our clan."
Seros hesitated. "Young Master, the poison is too expensive for just one girl. To waste it on her when it's capable of even killing Astral Forgers—"
Arion lifted a finger and cut him off. They stopped in front of the formation. "Seros, my guts tell me we won't get a better chance to kill her than right now, when she's alone. And my guts," his voice hardened, "are never wrong!"
Seros bowed. "I will pass on your order, Young Master."
Arion stared at the glowing formation, his calm face tightening. "Hopefully the great families end her for us. It'll be a hassle to do it myself…"