The robbers standing nearby exchanged quick, bewildered glances, their masked faces tilting in confusion at the strange choice of words coming from the tall woman who still stood completely unfazed in the middle of the chaos.
"Humans?" one of them muttered under his breath, the word sounding oddly formal and detached from the terrified civilians cowering on the floor.
"What is going on there?!" another robber called out sharply from across the atrium, his voice echoing off the high glass walls as he craned his neck to see what was causing the sudden commotion around Yuri.
"Uh, civilians are breaking our arms here!" the robber who had rushed over to check on his injured colleague replied with a strained, almost humorous edge to his voice.
Though his eyes remained wide with disbelief above the fabric of his mask.
"What the—? Fucking kill her if she is being a pain!" one of the apparent leaders barked out the command, his tone harsh and impatient as he gestured sharply with his own weapon.
The robber who had just had his arm shattered raised his other hand and lifted another weapon—a pistol—unsteadily toward Yuri, his fingers trembling slightly from the pain radiating through his broken limb.
"Sorry pretty face," he muttered with a faint trace of regret slipping into his rough voice, as if mourning the loss of something appealing. "You're going to meet your creator."
Yuri tilted her head a little to one side, her dark hair shifting smoothly with the small motion, and asked in her calm, genuinely curious tone, "Do you know where my creator is?"
BANG!!
The deafening sound of the gunshot roared through the entire mall like thunder trapped between glass and tile.
Screams erupted instantly from the people huddled on the floor. Terrified voices rose in a chaotic wave of panic, children crying louder while adults pressed themselves even flatter against the cold ground, hands covering their heads as the sharp crack reverberated off every surface.
The robber lowered his gun slowly, smoke still curling from the tip, and gave a satisfied nod toward his colleague's visibly broken arm.
"Wasted!" he mocked with a harsh laugh, clearly pleased with himself. "She must be one crazy human, with so much strength in those slender ar—"
"Human… I have yet to meet my creator," a deep, feminine voice cut through the noise with serene clarity, instantly drawing every pair of eyes back to Yuri. "Or were you simply bluffing?"
Yuri stood exactly where she had been, the bullet having struck her squarely in the center of her forehead.
Her head had snapped back slightly from the impact, dark hair whipping with the force, but she had not fallen.
She simply paused there for a moment, as if patiently waiting to see this "creator" the man had mentioned.
Then, with a smooth, unhurried motion, her neck straightened back into perfect alignment, the small red mark on her forehead already fading as though it had never been there.
A warm, gentle smile curved her lips as she extended the AK-47 rifle back toward the shooter, holding it out carefully by the stock.
"Here is your magical artifact," she said politely, her starry eyes still carrying that same soft curiosity. "I have sated my curiosity, thank you."
The entire place fell into a stunned, heavy silence for a long heartbeat, the weight of what had just happened pressing down on everyone present.
Then the robber who had fired the shot stumbled back a step, his voice cracking with raw disbelief.
"…H… How did you do that?!" he demanded, his pistol lowering further as his hands began to shake. "Wait, are you one of the heroes?!"
"M… Mummy, is she a hero?" a small, terrified girl whispered loudly from where she huddled against her mother's side on the floor, her wide eyes fixed on Yuri with a mix of fear and sudden awe.
"Y-yes, she must be!" the mother replied, her voice trembling but brightening with desperate hope that spread across her scared face like a fragile light breaking through darkness.
The spark caught quickly. Soon, scattered voices from the civilians throughout the mall began to rise in a growing wave of cheers and encouragement directed at Yuri.
People who had been cowering moments earlier now lifted their heads slightly, whispering and then openly calling out in relief and admiration.
The robbers, on the other hand, shifted uneasily in their positions, their earlier confidence cracking as fear started to creep into their postures.
After all, in this world, heroes were known to be ruthless when provoked, legends that made even hardened criminals think twice before pushing further.
'Hero?' Yuri however wondered silently to herself, her expression remaining serene even as the noise swelled around her. 'What does that term mean? Do they think me their Redeemer of some sort? Are they unhappy with being told to stay down by the strong? What will Master do in this position?'
"Yahoo! Yuri, I'm done harming Onii-chan's wallet," Chiyo's bright, cheerful voice suddenly cut through the tension as she came skipping back into view from the direction of the toy store.
She clutched a colorful armful of different plushy dolls — soft bears, cute cats, and several fantasy creatures with big embroidered eyes — pressed happily against her chest. Her ponytail swayed energetically with each bouncy step.
"A new collection of mine…! Hm?" she added casually, before her eyes began sweeping over the masked men who had surrounded Yuri, their weapons still raised but their stances now noticeably more uncertain as they eyed the tall woman they suspected might be a hero. "Ah… we're being robbed?"
"Robbed?" Yuri asked innocently, her warm smile still in place, "No, they were displaying a fine show of strength to the weaker humans, no?"
Yuri glanced between Chiyo and the group of robbers, completely unbothered by the guns, the bullet bump that had already vanished, and the rising cheers from the frightened civilians.