### Chapter 47: Alleyway Showdown (Part 2)
Emil realized that this moment was his only chance to escape, so he turned to glance at the little girl, who had pressed herself against the wall, eyes glued to the chaotic fight in the alley, completely oblivious to his struggle. He decided to stealthily crawl toward the outside of the alley.
Running was out of the question—his legs felt like jelly, and he scuttled away like a dog on the lam, daring not to make even the tiniest sound, keeping his breaths shallow while his body shook like a leaf.
Faster, faster, faster…
As he crawled a short distance, the sounds of battle behind him intensified; the thumps of heavy hits echoed, with chunks of earth whizzing overhead and crashing into a nearby trash heap, splattering him with foul-smelling sludge. He brushed off the disgust; all that occupied his mind was the urgent need to flee. Among the noise, he could faintly hear voices from behind.
“Who do you belong to…”
“Is it the Pope or Cardinal St. George…”
“Stop guessing.”
“I’m just a passerby—”
Boom!
A massive thud resonated, mixed with a scream from the little girl, as clouds of dust swirled toward him, sparks dancing in the air. Cracks like twisted snakes snaked their way across the dirt wall until it collapsed, revealing a courtyard behind, where a woman peeking from a mud hut hurriedly pulled back her head and slammed the wooden door shut with a bang.
Run, run…
Get moving!
A surge of fear gave Emil an unexpected boost of energy; he finally staggered to his feet, abandoning all caution as he bolted towards the alley’s exit. Fifty meters, thirty meters, twenty… the whimpering wind ushered in a faint light filtering through the alleyway—his beacon of hope emerging from despair.
A grin broke across Emil’s face.
He was about to make it out.
If he could just escape, he might live!
Just as the disheveled man took a staggering step forward, his smile just beginning to blossom, the next moment, a sharp whoosh sliced through the air above him, a mysterious object flying past and making his eardrum throb painfully.
He instinctively closed his eyes, stumbling a few steps further until he opened them again. Countless dirt clods flew towards the end of the alley, and a myriad of woven baskets caught fire behind him, exploding in a shower of chaos, obscuring the light just in front of him. A few meters away at the alley’s mouth stood the red-haired woman, now planted with her whip transforming into burning embers. She tilted her head back, gazing skyward.
Emil halted in shock, his gaze following. The girl was now poised on the roof of a simple mud hut, her robe billowing, her petite frame swaying slightly in the wind, coldly surveying the dust-filled alley below.
Distant screams echoed in the background.
“Looks like…”
Despite her leather outfit bearing several tears, the woman seemed unconcerned. She touched her lips and smiled like a blooming flower, “You really have no clue, huh, little girl… you’ve lost your veil.”
Emil froze, feeling as if he had been bitten by a snake, the shock rendering him stiff. He watched as the curtain of the dilapidated round window in the hut was yanked shut, and outside the alley, footsteps and shouts rushed away like his chances of survival, vanishing without a trace.
Yet, in that moment, Emil inexplicably forgot everything.
He was spellbound, wide-eyed, fixated on the girl atop the mud hut. Just as she had said, her veil had indeed fallen, perhaps burnt to ashes along with the trash drifting through the air. His widened pupils couldn’t help but take in the stunning face before him—one too beautiful for mere words to describe.
What a gorgeous face…
Good grief… she could sell for a fortune…
If I could have her, I’d never want for anything in my life…
“Oh~”
Suddenly, while Emil got lost in daydreams of her breathtaking visage, a soft call from the woman brought him crashing back to reality: “Oops, nearly forgot about you!”
As if only just remembering he existed, she turned to Emil, a beaming smile on her face, “This guy—he’s from the Nedlin Gang, right? Can’t let him just waltz away like that!”
Emil stared at her enchanting grin, his jaw dropping as his heart plummeted into the abyss.
“…I’ll be damned—”
Before he could finish his thought, the woman gracefully lifted her hand, and in an instant, a searing fireball exploded in Emil’s line of sight, consuming his vision entirely. The world erupted in a deafening boom, the destructive flames blooming before him like an infernal firework.
In an instant, Emil felt his body shatter.
No pain.
But the world quickly faded away, along with the girl’s mesmerizing face, swallowed by the unending darkness.
…………
That guy is dead.
Down below in the alley, flames burst through the dust, igniting more trash around, crackling and popping. The tall, desperate man trying to escape was struck head-on by a fireball the red-haired woman casually sent forth. He mumbled something—curse?—I couldn’t catch it before the explosion erupted, scattering limbs and bloody remains everywhere, splattering the undestroyed parts of the dirt walls with crimson.
The fire quickly escalated.
From atop the mud hut, I watched the scene unfold, brow slightly furrowed.
This woman…
She wields the Power of Order of both fire and wind.
Fire is strong, the wind a bit weaker, and her skills… gave me an unsettling sense of familiarity. I couldn’t shake the feeling that her whip strikes and power dynamics resembled the sword techniques Grandma Bersa taught me…
Who in the world is she?
And why is she here…?
I could tell she didn’t really intend to fight me to the d*ath. She was clearly probing me, holding back during the exchange, a realization I made later when I also eased up on my efforts.
With my strength still not fully restored, I had no real desire for combat, and I feared that continuing would put me at a disadvantage…
This woman is powerful—at least at the level of my father, a Pope Knight. If she went all out, I certainly wouldn’t stand a chance…
But she has seen my face now…
What do I do?
In two seconds, many thoughts raced through my mind. The woman below noticed my silence, waved her hand, and continued with a grin, “Alright, alright, if we keep this up, we’ll make a mess of things here… What do you say we call it a truce, little girl? How about a drink at a tavern? My treat… though you probably haven’t even celebrated your coming-of-age ceremony, huh?”
She gathered her ponytail, pulled off her hair tie, and put it back, her smile widening, “Don’t worry, I mean no harm. Just been in the Eastern Continent for too long—feeling a bit lonely… and with some recent events, my emotions have been a bit… fiery. If I’ve offended you, I sincerely apologize…”
“I’m an empire citizen too, and seeing a royal girl from the Empire here makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Just want to make a friend… I’m Lapria.”
She paused.
“Lapria Alyxiah. If that name sounds unfamiliar, perhaps you might have heard of my other name—the Flame Lapria.”
The woman licked her lips, and rummaged in the groove of her chest, pulling out a familiar shiny badge: “As you can see, I’m a Pope Knight… Don’t panic, little girl, I truly mean no harm. You’re smart, and you can see that much. I just want to introduce you to someone.”
She shook the badge in her hand; her smile slowly faded.
“Someone… you likely know very well and trust.”
