Chiyo stood there for a long moment, her violet eyes still fixed on the unmasked robber as her mind turned over the possible consequences.
Giving this strangely knowledgeable man over to Munganda would likely end in a very bloody interrogation, and if Karen happened to catch wind of it and decided it sounded like a fun game, the whole situation could spiral into something far worse and far messier.
The thought made her hesitate, the heavy silence in the mall pressing down around them.
The air felt thick and charged, still carrying the sharp scent of fear-sweat from the civilians huddled on the cold tiled floor.
And the sharper edge of panic rolling off the masked robbers who remained frozen in their positions, weapons half-lowered but grips still tight.
So she denied it, keeping her face deceptively calm and composed, the corners of her mouth even lifting into a small, almost friendly smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"I don't know who this Dragon Lord person is," she said smoothly, her voice steady and light as if discussing something trivial like the weather. "And, not like I'm a hero or anything, but I totally cannot let you rob this place. So hurry on and go back to the mountains."
The words hung in the tense air for barely a heartbeat.
The other robbers didn't wait even one moment longer.
Their bodies jerked into motion almost simultaneously, boots scraping loudly against the polished tile as they began to scurry away in a disorganized rush toward the nearest exits.
Fear propelled their movements — shoulders hunched, heads low, rifles clutched awkwardly as they weaved between abandoned shopping bags and crouched civilians.
The atmosphere crackled with their desperation, the previously commanding shouts now replaced by the frantic sound of hurried footsteps and ragged breathing.
But they stopped abruptly when Chiyo's voice cut through the atrium like a whip.
"Wait!" she commanded, her tone sharp and authoritative, echoing off the high glass walls and polished surfaces.
The single word froze the fleeing men in place, their bodies going rigid as fresh terror washed over them. m
The air seemed to grow even heavier, thick with the collective dread radiating from both the robbers—whose masks could no longer hide the fear, the way their shoulders trembled—and the civilians, who remained pressed low to the floor, hearts pounding as they watched the confrontation unfold.
"I haven't… skinned you alive for raping my friend."
Chiyo continued, her voice carrying a dangerous sweetness that made the threat feel all the more vivid in the charged silence.
The moment the words left her mouth, the strange, unmasked robber she had been speaking to muttered a single urgent word under his breath.
"Run."
Then he moved with surprising speed, slamming his body hard against the large glass wall nearby.
The impact sent cracks spiderwebbing across the transparent surface before the panel shattered outward in a burst of glittering fragments.
He leaped through the opening without hesitation, disappearing into the outside light.
The other robbers joined him immediately, their fear turning into outright panic.
They bolted after him, shoving past each other in their haste, boots crunching over broken glass as they fled for their lives.
In their terror, they abandoned their cars completely, the idea of slowing down to climb inside feeling far too dangerous when every second counted.
The sound of their desperate retreat faded quickly into the distance, leaving behind an atrium filled with the faint tinkling of settling glass shards and the heavy, relieved breathing of the civilians still on the floor.
"Hahaha!" Chiyo held one hand over her face, her shoulders shaking with clear delight as she glanced toward the shattered wall and the direction the robbers had vanished.
Her ponytail bounced lightly with the laughter, the earlier coldness in her violet eyes replaced by sparkling amusement.
"Did you see that, Yuri?! I mixed bloodlust with a 'certainty' the way Munganda taught me. It makes them believe everything you say when threatening them."
Yuri smiled warmly and nodded in quiet approval, the expression softening the elegant lines of her face.
She reached up with one long, graceful hand and gently took a few strands of her dark hair, tucking them slowly behind her ear.
The motion was unhurried and sensual, her fingers sliding smoothly through the silky length, causing the strands to catch the mall's bright overhead lighting and gleam like polished obsidian.
As her hand moved, the oversized black hoodie shifted subtly against her body, hinting at the generous curves beneath while exposing a teasing sliver of pale skin at her waist.
The simple gesture carried an effortless, beautiful allure—elegant yet undeniably provocative, drawing the eye along the graceful line of her neck and the soft fall of hair that now framed her face like a dark, inviting curtain.
"Indeed, Lady Chiyo did display a great level of supremacy over the other humans," she said, her voice calm and sincere. "I was proud to be part of our group when I saw it."
Chiyo blushed a tad, a faint pink flush creeping across her cheeks as she lifted a finger and poked Yuri's cheek playfully, the touch light but affectionate.
"Being cheeky with me…? I told you to call me mistress…"
"Whooo!!" The civilians began to cheer and applaud enthusiastically, the sound rising in a relieved wave that filled the previously tense atrium.
Hands clapped together, voices overlapping in grateful excitement as people slowly began to push themselves up from the floor, their faces no longer pale with terror but bright with admiration.
"Wow, the heroes are amazing!" the small girl happily told her mother, tugging at her sleeve with wide, sparkling eyes.
"They sure are! I told you," the mother answered, her voice warm and relieved as she smiled down at her daughter.
Everyone around them bowed their heads deeply in thanks, bodies lowering in respectful gratitude. "Thank you for saving us, Hero-Oneesans."
Chiyo waved her hand sheepishly, a shy grin spreading across her face as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
"No, no, we are just passing mages. Anyway, it was a pleasure."
To their bowed heads, Yuri was beginning to pull out her void sword from a dark space tear that had started to form in the air beside her — a swirling rift of inky blackness that seemed to drink in the mall's bright lighting.
"Huh?! What are you doing?" Chiyo asked quickly, her eyes widening as she gestured urgently for Yuri to hide the cosmic weapon from sight, one hand waving in a frantic motion while she stepped closer.
"Hm? The humans are trying to show gratitudes with their lives, no?" Yuri asked, her brows furrowing slightly in genuine confusion as she paused and then smoothly put the large dark sword back away, the rift closing with a soft whisper of displaced air.
"Absolutely not!" Chiyo yelled, her voice rising with a mix of exasperation and fondness as she reached out and grabbed Yuri's wrist.
She began dragging the taller woman toward the nearby checkout counters where they would pay for their clothes, weaving past the cheering civilians and scattered debris from the shattered glass. "Ugh, we still need to train you a whole lot, huh?"
The air in the mall gradually lightened as they moved, the thick tension of fear slowly dissipating into relieved murmurs and grateful laughter, though faint shards of glass still glittered on the floor like scattered diamonds under the bright lights, a silent reminder of how quickly the ordinary shopping day had truly turned chaotic.