Ralph wrinkled his brows. "Who are you? Kid, I advise you to not poke your nose into our business. We are part of the Blood Night gang. Messing with us is not something you can afford."
"Oh?" I smiled softly and walked forward. "However, I want to. Furthermore, I think I can afford to deal with your Blood Night gang."
Ralph frowned. He could not help but feel uneasy when he saw my confidence. Moreover, when he saw Marana and Akilah bowing to me, he knew that I was not simple.
After all, Marana was not a fool. With her prideful personality, she hardly would bow to anyone. So, she bowing to me meant that my identity was not simple and that I had the means to rescue her brother.
"Mr. Ralph, why are you not letting go of Ms. Marana's men? Do I need to make a move myself?" I smiled.
Ralph's expression fell. He tried to use his senses to determine my strength, but I seemed like a normal commoner. Such a result made Ralph warier.
"... Sir, are you sure that you want to make an enemy of the Blood Night gang?"
"Guess." I replied half-heartedly.
Ralph looked at me and closed his eyes. An instant later, his eyes opened again, this time with a determined expression.
"I see. However, I can't give you the hostages. I'm sorry, but they determine the future of our gang. Even if you are stronger than me, I'll not betray the leader's expectations."
My gaze turned surprised when I heard those words. "I admire your courage. Unfortunately, we are on different sides."
The man looked at me and bowed. "Then, I apologize for being impolite. Men, attack!"
With his shout as the signal, all the men surrounding him charged toward me.
I narrowed my eyes with a teasing smile. Before they could take more than two steps forward, I waved my hand.
"Fall." I whispered softly. But my voice strangely resounded through the place.
The next instant, the men froze completely, then, they fell to the ground.
Ralph's expression changed. He could not understand what happened.
Besides seeing me wave my hand, he failed to notice anything else. However, all the attacking men had fallen unconscious, maybe even dead.
I stopped paying attention to the men. I knew they were completely incapacitated with the previous move. Instead, I looked at a dark corner near me with a mysterious smile.
The shadow hidden in the darkness was startled. Before it could escape, I snapped my fingers. Instantly, the shadow felt the space around him becoming incredibly heavy. In less than one second, his bones and muscles were unable to endure the pressure.
The shadow vomited a mouthful of blood and fainted. The sudden spike in gravity had caused his brain to stop receiving blood and stop working.
"Israel!" Ralph exclaimed in concern. He then stared at me in fear.
He had seen how I defeated someone as strong as himself in an instant, without the slightest effort.
Moreover, even now, he could not understand how I did it.
"Stop!" He shouted and pressed his foot against Marana's brother's head. "I'll kill him if you don't stop!"
I smiled and showed him my shining teeth. "Try it." I then walked towards him.
Ralph paled. He instantly tried to put strength on his foot, but for some reason, his body felt strangely light.
The next second, he realized he was flying.
Then, he felt a strong impact against his back.
"Ugh!" Ralph felt his bones breaking from the impact. His internal organs shook due to the extreme pain and his mouth spat blood.
He then looked up and realized that I was standing in front of him.
Then, his consciousness faded away.
"Cline!" Marana shouted and rushed towards her brother one second after I took care of the Blood Night's people. "Oh goddess, what happened to you!?"
"... Sister... Don't worry... I-I'm fine, cough."
"Don't move!" Marana stopped Cline from standing up with tears on her eyes and touched his body. "Oh goddess, oh goddess. Damn Blood Night trash! How ruthless!"
Akilah, who had followed after Marana, looked at Cline and paled. She could not help but bring her hands to her mouth when she saw how serious his injuries were. "Brother, brother! Quickly, help us to take Cline to the doctor!" She yelled to the last person that accompanied us here.
I looked at them and sighed. Cline's injuries were truly serious, enough to make him a cripple. Ralph was probably planning to leave him in that state so they could control the Marana and the others more easily.
"Let me." I walked towards Cline and stopped Marana and the others from moving him. I then put my hand on his chest and closed my eyes.
Akilah wanted to say something, but a glance from Marana silenced her. Although Marana also was anxious, she was more level-headed than her sister. She knew that if there was a hope of healing her brother completely, then it was me.
I send a thread of mana into his body and examined his condition. Once I saw the condition of his internal organs, I heaved a sigh. His injuries were even worse than I thought. He probably would have been unable to walk again if he had not met me.
With a thought, the thread of mana turned into a stream. The pure mana I had accumulated from the day I was born flowed inside Cline's body and started to restore his injuries.
"... Ughhh..." Cline groaned weakly and looked at me with appreciation. Although he did not know what I was doing, he could feel that I was helping him.
Soon, the pleasurable feeling caused by my mana turned him sleepy. He tried to resist the sleepiness with all his might, but before long, he fell asleep.
Less than one minute later, I finished stabilizing Cline's injuries. Once I was sure he was out of danger, I stopped sending mana into his body and stood up.
...