Aya's hands slightly trembled for a moment before she got up and took all of her equipment, which was on the main desk that the merchant used. Her eyes remained hidden behind her hair and her lips had relaxed into a thin horizontal line.
Once she checked everything that she had, she headed out of the room until she came to a stop in the hallway of this mansion. Her eyes remained the same as she looked at the darker part of the place where the sunlight couldn't reach.
"That was quite the strength you showed."
Through the shadows of the hallways, a figure walked forward, revealing itself in front of Aya. That person was the same adventurer who had many scars throughout his body.
".....you are also evil."
Aya spoke with a stern tone in her voice as her eyes narrowed at the warrior in front of her.
"....because of evil people like you, many of us have to suffer."
"Hahahaha. Evil people like me, you say?" The adventurer with scars laughed at the nickname that was given to him.
"...."
"If I'm considered part of those evil people you claim, then I'm afraid to tell you that this world is much worse than it seems to be."
Aya gripped her dagger at the words that the warrior who kidnapped her said. She didn't want to say anything back to his statement, not because she was afraid, but because she knew that what he was saying had some sort of truth to it.
In this world, no matter how kind you are to one person, they shouldn't expect the same treatment to be given back to them.
And this was something that Aya had experienced herself when working with other adventurers who only used her as bait to tire off many monsters.
Until that point, she only used her skills for others without thinking about herself at all. But right now, she had finally given away all of the hope and kindness that she had shown to others.
"But I understand your situation very well, to the point where I can say that I was once in your position in the past."
"....." Aya only glared at the statement that this person just made.
"That's why I will offer you this. I can introduce you to a secret group of people that can help you grow stronger. They aren't ordinary people, which makes this offer almost irresistible, not because they will back you up but because their only goal is to bring down evil from this world." The warrior stated with a stern look on his face.
The warrior didn't hold any weapon in his hands, not because he was confident he could take the girl head-on, but because he knew that Aya was going to join this group no matter what. She was like him, after all.
Aya, on the other hand, simply showed her clenched teeth in anger before charging towards the warrior who had offered this kind of chance.
She wasn't like him! She wasn't going to follow that kind of path, no matter what! She is the one who decides what happens next!
That's why, without hesitation, she threw one of her daggers at his face.
The warrior, who was taken aback for a moment, immediately pulled out his long knife and blocked the girl's dagger, which was some centimeters away from his face.
"I'll take that as a no, then?"
After her first attack was blocked, Aya quickly took a few steps back and used her 'Muscle Boost' skill to enhance her speed and get behind her target. That way, she was able to quickly position herself in a blind spot so the warrior wouldn't be able to dodge.
However, the moment she tried stabbing his kidney, the warrior with scars disappeared from his position, leaving behind an afterimage, which Aya thought was him.
"...I'm sorry, but you're too slow to get to my blind spot that easily." The warrior said as he reappeared right behind Aya.
"?!.."
Aya quickly turned around with a discombobulated look on her face at the speed that this warrior just showed. But before she could even get a glance at her target, she was met with the warrior's knee right on her stomach. Then, before she could fall to the ground in pain, the warrior managed to instantly knock Aya out with a hand chop on her neck.
"So young, yet so much hatred within her. She could be a great resource in the group."
The warrior with scars on his face concluded as he saw the unconscious girl on the ground.
"...hm?"
But just as he was about to make a decision in his mind, he noticed the girl, whom he had knocked out, get up once again.
"You're still conscious even after that?!"
The warrior inquired with a surprised look on his face. He was sure that the girl was knocked out for good, so how come she was still able to get up?
He remained on guard for a moment while looking at the girl in front of him. He was quite confident in his skills, which was why he was unsure what was going on.
Does this girl have more potential than he thought she had? Was what he thought at that moment.
The adventurer looked at the girl in front of him as she was slapping the dirt off her shirt before giving a tired sigh.
"....seems like the experiment is over."
But what made the warrior even more confused was the fact that she no longer held any sort of hatred or killing intent within her. Even her voice sounded much different than before.
"What are you…talking about…." The warrior tried questioning the confusing words that the girl just said.
Did she finally lose it, or did he hit her way too hard to the point where she couldn't think straight?
"And to think that you tried to persuade her to join a dubious pyramid scheme." The white-haired girl fixed the fronts of her hair, fully revealing how her eyes had changed from their natural color to the color red.
If someone saw her, they would clearly tell that she was way too similar to a demon.
"....Wha….?!"
The warrior responded with narrowed eyes while looking suspiciously at the girl, whose way of talking had just changed.
"I already told you about the existence of this group. Allowing you to freely leave is not an option anymore."
The white-haired girl let out a sigh before looking back at the warrior with scars on his body.
"I guess I can say—"
And as she was talking to the warrior in front of her, the white-haired girl raised her hand and created an airblade that immediately cut off the head of the warrior. There was barely any sound, and the speed of the airblade was so fast that even the warrior did not react in time.
"—the same to you."
The warrior, who was left confused about the weird behavior of the potential girl he was going to invite to this group, could only see with widened eyes as he saw his world turning upside down.
'....why is my body over there?'
The warrior questioned the way his vision rotated until he was able to see his headless body, which fell motionless on the floor.
For the next ten seconds, his consciousness remained intact as he watched a being with glowing red eyes staring at his separated head while his eyes were only partially open.
The white-haired girl who mercilessly killed the warrior with a swing of her hand turned towards the window as she saw that many people were rushing towards the mansion to see what was happening.
Despite the fact that she managed to kill two people in this mansion, Hiroki, who was now in control of the body, made another decision.
"If they decided to kidnap Aya, I'm sure that they hid this from the public eye. Getting away without being seen from here is the safest option for both me and Aya."
Hiroki concluded, as he was about to leave this place using Aya's body.