As I watched Miguel continue receiving slap after slap, my hands slowly clenched at my sides. Every instinct inside me urged me to step forward and stop it.
The sight of Miguel lowering his head and repeatedly apologizing while enduring the humiliation made it increasingly difficult to remain standing there doing nothing.
But despite that, I forced myself to stay where I was.
The young man was not alone.
My eyes briefly moved toward the three friends standing behind him. Unlike the ordinary people gathered around us, the four of them carried a certain confidence that immediately stood out. More importantly, after observing them carefully, I was almost certain that all of them were low level controllers.
If I interfered and they decided to use their abilities, it would become difficult to fight several controllers at once without using my own ability. But revealing my ability was not an option either. The moment I exposed myself as a controller, the identity Charlie and I had carefully maintained inside Astravia could begin falling apart, and all our efforts to remain hidden would become meaningless.
Meanwhile, Miguel continued apologizing desperately while enduring the humiliation.
No matter how many times he was struck, he never once tried to resist. He simply lowered his head and continued begging for forgiveness, hoping the young man would eventually lose interest and let the matter end.
At my side, Hana had already begun crying. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she watched her brother being beaten in front of everyone. Her small hands clutched her clothes tightly while sobs escaped her mouth. The fear and helplessness on her face made it obvious that she did not understand why nobody was stopping it.
The sight made my chest tighten. I could tolerate many things, but watching a little girl cry while her brother was being humiliated in front of her was becoming increasingly difficult to endure.
Then the young man raised his hand once more, preparing to strike Miguel again.
This time, before the slap could land, I stepped forward. My hand shot out and firmly caught his wrist.
The young man froze slightly, clearly not expecting anyone to interfere. Slowly, he turned his head toward me. The anger in his eyes was already beginning to grow.
Ignoring the stares around me, I lowered my head respectfully and kept my tone as calm as possible.
"Sir," I said, "we are extremely sorry for what happened. Please forgive him."
His expression twisted as though he could not believe a mere commoner had dared lay a hand on him.
For a brief moment, he simply stared at me in disbelief. Then the disbelief turned into fury.
He immediately released the fistful of Miguel's hair he had been holding. At the same time, I let go of his wrist and took a small step backward, hoping the situation would calm down now.
The young man's arm suddenly swung toward me.
Slap!
The strike landed heavily across my cheek. The sharp sound echoed through the surrounding street.
Although I could have easily avoided it, I made no attempt to move. Dodging would only make the situation worse and might even raise unnecessary suspicion.
The force of the slap turned my head slightly to the side, and a stinging pain immediately spread across my cheek.
Slowly, I turned my face back toward him.
The young man's expression only became uglier after seeing that I had accepted the blow without resistance. Rather than satisfying his anger, it seemed to inflame it even further. His eyes burned with rage, and the look on his face made it clear that he viewed my earlier action not as an apology, but as an unforgivable insult to his pride.
"You dare touch me with that dirty hand?" The young man's furious voice rang through the street.
Before I could say anything, another slap crashed against my face.
Slap!
"I'll kill you, bastard!"
Slap!
The young man seemed completely consumed by his anger now. Each blow carried more force than the last, as though he was trying to vent all of his wounded pride through violence.
The surrounding crowd watched in silence while his friends stood nearby with amused expressions, clearly enjoying the scene.
Meanwhile, I made no attempt to resist. I simply stood there and endured the beating.
Every strike sent a sharp sting through my face, but compared to the risks of exposing my ability or escalating the situation into a fight, this much was something I could tolerate.
Strangely enough, my refusal to react seemed to make the young man even angrier.
At the side, Miguel stared at me with shock and guilt written all over his face. His cheeks were still red from the earlier slaps, yet he seemed to have forgotten about his own injuries entirely.
The guilt and helplessness in Miguel's expression were obvious, as though he blamed himself for dragging me into the situation. In response, I quietly blinked once, hoping he would understand what I was trying to tell him... it is fine.
There was no need for him to blame himself for any of this. After all, he was not the one at fault here. The only people who deserved blame were the arrogant bastards standing in front of us.
The young man's friends openly laughed from nearby while watching the scene unfold. Not a single one of them showed the slightest intention of stopping him.
Instead, they seemed to find the entire situation entertaining.
"Poor bastard."
"He should have minded his own business."
"Hahaha. He deserves it."
Their mocking voices mixed with the laughter of their companions, echoing through the street and drawing even more attention from the surrounding crowd.
To them, this was nothing more than a source of amusement.
Eventually, perhaps growing tired of slapping me, the young man suddenly grabbed my clothes and shoved me backward with all his strength.
Unable to properly maintain my balance, I stumbled several steps before falling heavily onto the stone pavement. A sharp pain shot through my back the moment I hit the ground.
But before I could even get up, the young man immediately stepped forward and kicked me. The impact slammed into my side and sent another wave of pain through my body.
Then came another kick, followed by another. Each blow landed without the slightest bit of restraint, sending sharp bursts of pain through my ribs, stomach, and shoulders.
Then suddenly, a small figure rushed forward from the side.
"Stop!"
The familiar voice immediately caught my attention.
It was Hana.
Despite the tears streaming down her face and the fear visible in her eyes, the little girl ran directly toward the young man without the slightest hesitation.
Before anyone could stop her, she reached him and began hitting his leg with her tiny fists while crying uncontrollably.
"Please don't hit my brother!"
"Stop hitting him!"
Her voice trembled with fear and desperation, yet she stubbornly continued trying to protect me.
The young man finally stopped kicking me.
For a brief moment, the entire street seemed to fall silent as he slowly lowered his gaze toward the small girl standing in front of him.
Meanwhile, Miguel's face immediately lost all color.
"Hana!"
His desperate shout echoed through the street.
"Go back!"
Panic filled his voice as he hurriedly tried to move toward her.
The young man laughed briefly, as though he found the entire situation amusing after hearing Miguel's desperate shout. Then the smile slowly disappeared from his face.
The amusement in his eyes vanished, replaced by something far colder.
Hana instinctively took a small step backward after seeing that look. Fear immediately appeared on her tear-stained face.
Slowly, the young man raised his hand. It was a simple movement, yet the intention behind it was painfully obvious.
For a brief moment, my mind went completely still as I stared at the scene unfolding before me. He was actually going to hit her.
A child.
The anger I had been suppressing all night suddenly surged within me. Until now, I had tolerated the insults, the humiliation, and even the beating because escalating the situation would only create problems. But the moment he decided to direct that violence toward Hana, the last traces of my restraint began to disappear.
The young man's hand swung toward Hana.
I was about to use my ability and cut off that hand before it could ever reach Hana. In that instant, I no longer cared about the consequences. I no longer cared whether revealing my ability exposed my identity. All that mattered was stopping him from hurting her.
But before I could act, water suddenly surged into existence in front of Hana.
A transparent shield of swirling water materialized between the young man and the frightened little girl, appearing so suddenly that it caught everyone completely off guard.
The young man's hand immediately stopped mid-motion the moment he saw the barrier appear in front of Hana. Confusion flashed across his face, and his eyes widened slightly as he stared at the unexpected shield of water standing between him and the little girl.