The young girl with light brown hair and heterochromatic eyes was currently hiding in a dark corner.
She muttered quietly to herself, 'Today's luck is really not bad, hehe. If I pull this off, I won't have to worry for a good long while!'
Her lively eyes were fixed intently on the pink-haired lady not far away, sparkling with little stars.
Pardo cautiously lowered her posture, maintaining the perfect stealth stance, still muttering under her breath.
'Ahhh, this lady's carrying all sorts of high-tech gadgets. Snatching just one or two would set me up for life.'
But when her gaze fell upon the two swords sheathed at the pink-haired lady's waist, her heart gave a loud thump, and she instinctively recoiled. 'Those blades look terrifying… what if I get sliced…'
However, she soon gritted her teeth and psyched herself up.
Forget it, fortune favors the bold! She still had plenty of confidence in her escape skills.
Pardo spotted an opening and was just about to make her move.
Just as her hand was about to brush against the items on the pink-haired lady...
"Who's there?!"
Sakura instantly went on high alert, her voice cold and sharp.
'Oh no!' Pardo's heart sank. 'I'm busted!'
Without a second thought, she screamed internally, 'Time to bolt…!'
She turned on her heel and sprinted away.
"Halt!"
Sakura's command was even icier, as if carrying tangible killing intent.
Pardo felt her whole body freeze stiff, as if hearing a voice from hell itself. She was utterly terrified, like a 'fear' debuff had been slapped right on her.
It wasn't just the shout. What horrified her even more was that the pink-haired lady had somehow appeared right in front of her!
Since mastering her "special skill," this was the first time Pardo had seen anyone faster than her. Her heart was already in a panic.
And that hand was now firmly resting on the sword hilt. Seeing this stance, Pardo had no doubt she'd be sliced in two the very next second.
"Don't move."
Sakura spoke slowly, her voice still as cold as an icy cellar.
Pardo didn't dare disobey, promptly doing as told and even raising both hands high in the air.
Her voice wavered with a sob, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Miss! Please, be merciful and let me go!! I didn't mean to steal… I just really had no choice…"
"I've got little brothers and sisters to feed… the cupboard's completely bare at home…"
As she spoke, Pardo made a motion as if to kneel down, thinking to herself that in times like these, she had to humble herself, play the part of a harmless, pitiful little kitten. Maybe then she could escape unscathed.
Sakura scrutinized the girl before her—simple shirt and jeans, utterly ordinary.
Her gaze inadvertently fell upon the crystal bracelet on Pardo's wrist. She paused briefly, but only gave it a glance.
This bracelet… was quite similar in style to the one Elysia had given her before.
This girl had one too… Could she know Elysia…?
Lost in thought, Sakura suddenly felt her nose itch slightly.
She used to be allergic to cat fur. Although the allergy symptoms had lessened considerably after the surgery, she could still detect it. It seemed this girl was often around cats?
Sakura didn't dwell on it further. As for the girl's words, she paid them no mind at all. Having dealt with countless people, she could instantly tell it was a lie.
"It's dangerous here. Leave."
Sakura warned coldly.
"Ah…"
Hearing this, Pardo's eyes first went blank for a moment, then immediately cleared.
She was inwardly puzzled. Although she didn't understand why this lady's attitude had changed so quickly, at least her life was spared, right?
With her life intact, best not to overthink it. So she quickly said, "Alrighty… I got it. I'll leave right away." Finished speaking, she vanished in a puff of smoke.
Sakura glanced in the direction Pardo had fled, confirming it led towards safety, then turned and left herself.
…
A pinkish-blue shadow flitted soundlessly between the Honkai beasts, movements swift as a ghost.
A flash of cold light, the gleam of the blade instantly vanished as Sakura sheathed her sword.
She surveyed her surroundings, the pair of fox ears atop her head slowly fading away.
Behind her lay several more corpses of Honkai beasts, each killed with a single stroke.
"The nearby Honkai beasts are pretty much cleared out."
Sakura murmured to herself.
She had already notified headquarters. Someone would come to clean this up soon enough.
Sakura continued on her way, but for some reason, the little incident from earlier involuntarily resurfaced in her mind.
She reflected inwardly, 'That girl does have some skill. At the very least, her stealth technique is quite good.'
After the surgery, Sakura hadn't just experienced significant changes in her physical constitution; her assassination skills had also improved considerably.
It was no exaggeration to say Sakura was now the greatest assassin on Earth.
Of course, limited to the field of assassination… everyone had their own area of expertise.
Direct combat wasn't Sakura's strong suit.
Suddenly, a tremendous roar echoed from the distance!
BOOM
Sakura's entire body tensed instantly. A powerful sense of crisis welled up within her.
She could clearly feel that an intense battle was taking place somewhere not far away.
But who on earth was fighting? Sakura frowned, her mind full of questions.
…
Meanwhile, with Mobius and Vya.
Mobius pointed towards a distant plume of black smoke and asked Vya, "Vya, is that sanatorium located right over there?"
Vya tilted her head, looking, then nodded vigorously. "Yeah, yeah! Brother Kalpas and Sister Aponia are both there."
"Huh? But why is there smoke?"
Vya scratched her head, a puzzled look on her little face. "Is Brother Kalpas maybe making barbecue?"
Mobius chuckled lightly. "Let's go. We'll know once we take a look."
This piqued Mobius's interest even more. She might get to see something interesting.
"Okay, Sister Mobius!"
Vya jumped up excitedly, spreading her arms, her face full of anticipation as she asked, "Do you want Vya to fly you over?!"
Mobius waved her hand. "No need. Walking faster will do."
Though inwardly, she really wanted Vya to fly her over, but she was worried about being seen by others.
"Alright then, Sister Mobius, let's hurry!"
The little one wasn't disappointed by Mobius's refusal. Instead, she quickly rallied her spirits, grabbing Mobius's hand and pulling her forward.
…
Inside the sanatorium at that moment, fierce flames were still burning, the surroundings in complete disarray.
Kalpas slowly removed his somewhat charred wooden mask, his gaunt face terrifyingly grim…
The colossal beast beneath him had long lost all signs of life, yet the rage in Kalpas's heart simply would not subside.
…
2 Chapters Per Day. For more chapters/fics, goto ErbiumTL on Patreon.