"Hehehe~"
Throwing a couple of fists in the air, with Patrick mimicking her movements, Ariel looked at the members of Evening Sun as she brought her hand forward.
"What are you standing there in a daze for? Come."
Her words started a chain reaction.
Or at least, it managed to trigger at least one person.
"You fucking bitch! What have you done to the Squad Leader!?"
"Wait!"
One of the more hot-blooded members of the Evening Sun Guild charged toward Ariel, his large frame swelling as he began to radiate power. His momentum was overwhelming, but Ariel stood still, a smile on her face as blood continued to trickle down her cheek.
He crossed the distance in less than half a breath.
His fist came down without hesitation, cutting through the air with brutal speed. The force behind it was unmistakable, aimed to crush Ariel into a pulp.
Or at least, that was the initial plan.
The fist did hit, but it didn’t hit the right person.
"Shit!"
Merlin’s expression changed drastically as a figure leaped before his fist, taking the attack head-on.
BANG—!
A soft crunching sound reverberated across the surroundings as Patrick’s nose caved in and his entire body shot back, crashing against the nearby wall.
"Squad Leader!"
"Oh, no! Squad Leader—!"
"Merlin!"
"No, I..."
The members of the Evening Sun Guild stood frozen in shock.
None of them had expected the fight to turn so abruptly. The Squad Leader’s body hit the ground hard, blood spreading beneath him as the sound echoed across the room.
Merlin’s gaze dropped to him, disbelief flashing across his face.
"I... what..."
And in that single moment of distraction, it happened.
Swooosh!
A presence materialized behind him without warning.
An arm slipped around his neck, locking into place. The hold tightened instantly, cutting off his balance before he could react.
"Huek!"
Sarah coldly stared at Merlin’s face while tightening her grip on his neck. Instantly, Merlin tried to fight back, his large hands reaching for Sarah’s arms. Those from his Squad also rushed ahead, trying to free him, but before they could move, Min rushed ahead alongside the others.
"You...!"
"Fucking bastards! Get rid of them! They’re all weak anyway!"
The group charged at Min and the others.
Another fight broke out.
"Get off of me..!"
In the meantime, Merlin’s body flayed as he tried to get rid of Sarah. However, her grip was strong. Regardless of what he tried, she refused to let go of him. His face turned redder and redder by the second, and as he looked around, his gaze eventually fell onto the nearby wall as he charged towards it.
His intention was clear.
He wanted to smash Sarah against the wall.
And that’s what he did.
BANG!
The room shook as his back crashed against the wall. The impact caused everything to rattle, but to Merlin’s dismay, Sarah’s body was long gone.
"Damn it!"
He looked around, trying to find her.
And as his head flicked in all directions, a figure jumped in.
"Found you!"
His node churned as he smashed towards the figure lunging in his direction.
BANG—
The impact was devastating. The moment Merlin’s fist came into contact with the shadow, he heard another powerful crunching sound.
"Ha...! I got—"
But his joy was short-lived as he quickly realized what had happened.
"S-Squad..."
His eyes widened in horror at the sight of his Squad Leader. His nodes stopped churning as his mind scrambled to process what was happening, but right as it did, Sarah’s figure appeared once more, hooking against his neck once more.
"——!!"
Merlin’s expression changed once more, his legs tensing as he tried to smash his back against the wall again.
But right as he was about to do that, a soft laughter echoed in his ears.
"My~ My~"
From the corner of his vision, silver hair fluttered as a figure approached, her expression looking thoroughly entertained.
"All brawn and no brains. I can see that’s what you are to the group. I mean, had you not jumped in, you probably would’ve made our life harder. However, because of your actions, your entire team was sent into scrambles."
Giggling, Ariel arrived before Meril as she tapped her finger against his forehead.
"I like it like that. Makes it much, much easier to control, you know?"
Her eyes gleamed as she looked at him.
Staring back at her, Merlin’s expression twisted as his eyes shook. He already had a vague idea before, but it was all too clear now.
This woman.
She was..
"C-crazy bi—"
"Shhh."
Ariel pressed her finger against his mouth, shutting him up.
"I’m not crazy."
Her smile faded.
"That’s the last thing that I am. However..."
Ariel’s smile returned.
"...The Squad Leader is. That bastard is the crazy one."
Merlin’s eyes shook even more, but that merely lasted for a few more seconds as his eyes turned hazy a moment after, and his body turned limp.
Sarah jumped off his back a moment after, her gaze alternating between Ariel and him.
"Well."
Ariel ruffled her hair as she looked in the direction of the other fight. Things didn’t seem to be too good on that side.
BANG!
"Get past him quickly! Attack from both sides! Make this quick! The more this drags on, the more disadvantageous it is for us!"
Min was desperately shielding the others with his body, but the members of the Evening Sun Guild were well-trained. Their movements were not only perfectly coordinated, but they also seemed to completely suppress the others in terms of abilities.
Although Min and the others were also good, the difference in abilities was clear.
"...I guess we should help them."
Taking out a tissue, Ariel wiped the blood from her face, her expression calm.
"You two, go and help."
Patrick and Merlin sprang into action, rushing toward the other team without hesitation.
The scene that followed wasn’t a pretty one.
"Haaa!"
"Squad Leader!"
"M-merlin!"
"Damn it!!"
Spurt—!
Screams tore through the space as chaos erupted all at once.
Patrick lunged in without warning, and Merlin followed next to him. Their sudden aggression caught the opposing group completely off guard, shattering their momentum.
Min did not hesitate.
He and the others surged forward in perfect sync, exploiting every opening that appeared. Blows landed one after another, taking full advantage of the chaos.
Within moments, the tide had fully turned.
Ariel watched all of this in silence, graciously wiping the blood away before eventually putting her handkerchief away.
That also marked the end of the fight.
Step. Step—!
The gentle click of Ariel’s heels echoed through the room as she moved toward the other groups. With them being suppressed, and Sarah appearing to help, they weren’t able to deal with her as she swiftly tapped onto their foreheads, rendering their bodies completely immobile.
"Hmm. That’s good."
She then turned her gaze to the heavily breathing Joanna and the others, her expression unreadable.
"I’ve been thinking."
Ariel’s soft voice carried throughout the room as she joined them.
"What even is the point of working with others if they’re going to treat us like this? They don’t look favorably upon us. Neither does the world. In that case, why should we care about how others look at us?"
Ariel’s steps stopped, her gaze lowering to stare at the members of the Evening Sun Guild.
"I might not be as strong as they are when dealing with anomalies, but when it comes to dealing with people, I don’t think there’s anyone better than me."
Her lips curled all the way to the end as she brought her hand down to touch the heads of the members of the Evening Sun Guild.
"They’re also not aware of my powers yet. In that case, why not make them work for us?"
Pulling her hand away, Ariel’s gaze flickered as the members of the Evening Sun Guild stood up one by one.
"We will still follow what we were doing before, but let’s do it on our own terms. With people who won’t look down on us. Let’s..."
Turning her head to look in Joanna’s direction, Ariel licked her lips.
"...Let’s give the Squad Leader a surprise for when he gets back. What do you say?"
"....."
Joanna stared blankly in Ariel’s direction for a moment, her gaze distant. She... Then, without a word, she turned to look at the team she had just been fighting alongside. They all stared at Ariel with the same dumb look she wore.
Even now, Joanna was struggling to make sense of what had happened.
In one moment, they were getting kicked out, and in the next moment, Ariel decided to turn into a completely different person as she took over the mind of their Squad Leader and helped them take down one of the strongest teams in the entire Congress. They weren’t just any regular team, but one of the strongest.
Joanna’s mind struggled to make sense of everything.
But as she lifted her gaze and saw the dazed expressions on the faces of those who had been looking down on them only moments ago, Joanna froze.
Joanna slowly raised a hand to her lips.
Why?
Why was she smiling?
"It’ll be fun."
Ariel continued.
"Making every team crawl at our feet as the world watches."
Her giggle echoed across the room.
"Wouldn’t you guys say so?"