Chapter 45: Alleyway Showdown (Part 1)
“Get out of here—”
The little girl’s squeaky shout sent a shiver down Emil’s spine. He froze, brain momentarily rebooted to zero, and his gaze instinctively followed the direction of her look.
The sky loomed overcast, the dusty mud walls of the alley crumbling, and Emil didn’t see a soul around. But in the very next second, the wall cracked with a thunderous bang, dirt flying everywhere, exploding like popcorn!
Boom—
“Aha!”
Amidst the dust cloud, Emil thought he heard a soft giggle mixed in—was that a woman’s sultry laugh? But before he could savor the moment, it was drowned out by the little girl’s scream, and a shadow burst through the wall like a cannonball, suddenly right in front of him!
The change happened too fast; Emil couldn’t react at all. His mind was still a blank slate. In the blink of an eye, chunks of the exploded wall scattered everywhere, a haze of dust enveloping everything. Emil choked, coughing, his blurred vision catching a glimpse of the girl who reacted with lightning speed.
She yanked the dazed little girl behind her, and simultaneously, her right hand clawed forward and grabbed the shadow that came barreling in, bending low, twisting her wrist down, and slamming the shadow flat onto the ground!
Bang—!
Crash, crash, crash…
Before the first echo even faded, a second boom echoed in Emil’s ears, the girl’s fierce hold on the shadow cracking the ground beneath, dirt pellets smacking Emil’s face as he yelped in surprise and pain. He heard bones crunching like popcorn, a sound so terrifying it made him shout “Aah!” and plop down on his backside, scrambling backward on his feet.
The alley grew chaotic, dust billowing ever higher. The girl relaxed her hold and stood tall. For a moment, Emil caught sight of the shadow’s face—a grotesque, bloodied visage with bulging eyes that looked familiar; it was the third companion he’d sent away earlier.
Apparently, after leaving, that guy had gotten caught and was chucked right back through the wall…
At the moment of being thrown, he’d already been a goner…
This realization barely registered before a blazing firelight suddenly erupted from behind the collapsed wall, roaring flames surging forth, transforming into a bright streak rushing towards the girl at breakneck speed—so fast, Emil could barely follow. Within a heartbeat, it was upon them.
Heat assaulted Emil, making it hard to open his eyes. He raised a hand to shield himself as the girl responded instantly, her expression morphing to one of anger. With a fierce shout, she faced the oncoming flames, not flinching or batting an eye, raising her stony little fist and smashing it forward!
Boom—
An explosive blast erupted right in front of him, and as the scorching wind and heat enveloped Emil, he instinctively curled up, hugging his face with his arms, howling in panic. Through the gaps in his arm, he saw a woman retreating from the flames.
Emil’s eyes went wide.
This woman was sultry beyond belief.
Her wine-red hair was styled in a simple ponytail, and her black leather skirt fluttered dramatically in the flames. Her beautiful face wore a wild smile. As she landed gracefully after being knocked back, her chest quaked like rippling waves, and her boots made a long squeak against the ground, followed by a loud and unabashed laugh, “Hahaha!”
As the fire dissipated, she stopped her slide, bent her knees, and charged again, swinging her fists. In that moment, the girl pushed the little girl back hard, then lifted her leg, treating Emil’s crumpled companion like a soccer ball, sending him flying just in time for the woman to sidestep by a hair’s breadth. The poor guy slammed against the wall, sending a cascade of dirt raining down.
In the next instant, fists flew like thunder, a fierce battle unfolding before Emil’s very eyes, in the wildest fashion.
Bang! Bang! Whoosh! Bang! Bang! Boom—
Emil’s mouth dropped open as the swirling dust poured in. He saw the little girl wobbling after getting pushed, trying to regain her balance while the girl unleashed a flurry of punches. Her fists, enveloped in frost, clashed with the woman’s fiery strikes, creating sparks and sounds like popcorn popping, the ground fracturing under their feet. The winds’ force made Emil’s behind lift off the ground, and the unsteady little girl went airborne too.
“Aahhh—”
The little girl screamed in mid-air, but Emil couldn’t even yell. The clash was just getting started. The woman’s strikes were brutal and relentless, each punch not even fully recoiling before the next one followed, aimed at the girl’s petite stomach!
In the icy firestorm, every punch roared through the air. The girl scrambled to defend herself, but was pushed back step by step. One punch, two punches… by the time the fifth punch, blazing with fire, shot towards her, the girl suddenly stopped retreating. Her eyes blazed with blue light, and her palm, cloaked in a frigid mist, met the incoming fiery punch with a resounding slap.
Then, in a swift twist, she countered.
The woman, caught off guard, fell sideways, propelled by this fierce force.
Emil felt an entirely ridiculous sensation in his gut.
He had just landed his b*tt on the ground, his body feeling scrambled, but the pain barely registered in his mind. Amidst the dust and chaos that spiraled around him, the girl he had thought of as helpless three minutes ago now danced in the eye of the storm, her oversized robe swirling in the duel of ice and fire. She twisted and sprang forward, swinging her arm out and grabbing the woman’s wrist, tossing her away like a rag doll toward another wall.
Whoosh—
In mid-air, flames ignited beneath the woman’s feet, her black skirt rustled in the wind, and after soaring five or six meters, her momentum waned as she gracefully landed, lifting her arms in elegance. “Boom, boom, boom!” Three fireballs launched towards the girl, crossing the short distance almost instantly.
But the girl didn’t flinch or dodge.
She stepped lightly, another loud boom resonating, her figure vanishing like a phantom, and with a slicing wind took her place behind the woman. The three fireballs almost grazed Emil’s head as they flew out of the alley. He screamed again, tumbling backward in fright.
What the heck…
Can someone please tell me what in the world is happening here…
What kind of monsters are these two women!!!
Deep regret and fear welled up within Emil. He sincerely thought it would have been better if he’d never come here, maybe if he’d never met those two little girls—by now, he might have been at a tavern, enjoying a cold beer…
d*mn, d*mn it all…
What on earth am I supposed to do? How can I just survive this…
As thoughts whirled chaotically in his mind, the girl and the woman were already clashing again. The petite figure darted behind the woman, executing a high kick, but the woman nimbly sidestepped, her fingers painting the air like a maestro.
Whoosh—
An invisible blade shot from her fingertips, snipping past the girl’s face, carving deep marks in the wall. The girl seemed genuinely enraged now, the blue light in her eyes intensified. She abruptly seized the woman’s wrist, throwing a left hook aimed at her chest, shouting, “Who are you—?!”
