**Chapter 74: The Choir of Saints’ Girl (Part 1)**
“Ai…”
Buzz!!!
Just as I was about to spill a name, the dazzling golden light of a divine miracle interrupted me. The little girl—no, now quite the young woman—was pinned to the ground by me, struggling fiercely. In an instant, the shimmering light around her swirled into a translucent sin barrier, and before I could even blink, it sent me flying across the room!
“Ah—”
I heard Auntie, who was already upstairs, scream out. My vision blurred for a moment and by the time it cleared, I found myself back in the living room. I released a few jets of ice mist from my palms to stabilize myself, landed smoothly on my feet, and yelled upstairs, “Uncle Doug is fine! Don’t move, don’t let Grandma come out!”
With that, I bent down and dashed towards the dining room, twirling my fingers in the air. *Ka-ka*, two explosive sounds echoed as sharp icicles formed. However, just as I hesitated, I couldn’t bring myself to release those ice needles.
“Hey.”
I called out to her, but the girl in the black cloak seized the brief moment to stand up quickly. Her hands frantically felt around her neck, her pale face wide with panic, her eyes filled with fear.
She seemed too startled to think straight, darting away without even glancing at me. Whirling around, she crashed through the dining room window with a *crash* and jumped out of the house.
It’s her…
Aili?!~
With divine miracle abilities, a bit of agility, wearing the style of the Choir of Saints in her black cloak, she had grown tall, yet remained as thin as I remembered…
No doubt about it, that’s Aili.
I couldn’t possibly be mistaken, right?
“Uncle Doug.”~
Confusion and certainty tangled in my mind, but there was no time to ponder. I rushed over to where Doug was sprawled on the floor, coming to a stop beside him.
Uncle Doug had also been affected by the force of the sin barrier. I had seen him collide with the wall as I flew out, and now he was curled up on the ground, struggling to stand up. However, when he saw me, he waved his hand weakly and said, “I’m fine… just need to catch my breath…”
“You chase that little brat! She’s trying to find Grandma Claire. If we let her escape, it’ll be a huge problem…”
“Alright, I got it.”
Seeing that he was really okay, I didn’t waste another second. I nodded, grabbed the ice shard that had been floating by my face but hadn’t shot out, and with a *pop*, crushed it into powder. Then I quickly jumped out of the dining room window after the cloaked girl.
Boom—.
The air around me exploded as I landed; without waiting to hit the ground, I leaped into a moon step mid-air and shot out after her. My eyes dashed through the howling cold wind, and before long, I locked onto the distant little figure that had sprinted about forty to fifty meters away, just about to slip into a back alley on Longdoll Street, disappearing into the vast night.
Whoa…
She’s fast.
In just a few seconds, especially with the snow still on the ground, is she really Aili? Since when could she run this fast?
And so silently too; no wonder Rect lost her trail.
“Wait!”
With another *bang*, I took another moon step into the air, twisting my body as the scene before me blurred, then quickly sharpened into a view of the vibrant night lights. In an instant, I had covered nearly a hundred meters, leaping over the girl’s head and landing ahead on the roof of a low building in the back alley.
After steadying myself, I looked down and there she was, just now entering the alley below me, her cloak billowing in the wind. Her hood had already blown off, and her short hair flailed behind her, exposing almost her entire face.
Unfortunately, the alley was too dark, and combined with her incredible speed, I still couldn’t confirm who she was for sure. Kids grow and change so rapidly during this phase; could it be that she didn’t even recognize me? Was it just panic clouding her mind?
“Aili!”
I called out to her.
The girl, caught up in her running, looked up in surprise and finally spotted me. However, she seemed unable to hear what I shouted. With instinct purely driven by survival, upon realizing that running forward would lead her straight into danger, she made a sharp turn into a side alley, disappearing from view.
But where could she possibly run to…
“Goat Cheese—”
I softly called into the night. Only two seconds later, a large bird that had almost blended into the darkness “caw-cawed,” and without me needing to tell it what to do, it swooped low toward the direction the cloaked girl had disappeared.
If it really is Aili…
How did she end up joining the Choir of Saints?
I shook my head, quietly waiting on the rooftop. It wasn’t long before I heard the familiar call of the goat cheese again, this time from just about a hundred meters to my right.
Found you!
Boom boom—.
I took two moon steps in quick succession, rushing into the night, following the disruptive bird’s cry. Scanning the not-so-complex but dark alley below me, I suddenly caught sight of the dim glow of a pair of scarlet eyes; the dim-witted bird had landed atop a beam in a stable tucked within a stone-walled compound.
There she is…
I flipped in mid-air, releasing two jets of ice mist from my palms to slow myself down as I dove toward the stable, making no effort to conceal my movements. By the time the girl hiding inside poked her head out in fear, I was already coming down fast, not giving her any time to react before my foot was kicked toward her chest.
Of course, I wasn’t kicking her hard.
Just before my foot made contact with her soft chest, I had already sprayed out mist to decelerate, almost bringing my fall to a complete stop in under a second.
The only purpose of that kick was to knock her off balance. However, saying it is easy, doing it requires extreme precision in strength control, involving both body training and order; yet somehow, I managed effortlessly.
In fact, I was a little surprised myself. I had always been astounded by my seemingly endless strength and wondered if I could truly control it fully. However, it seemed that my control was indeed improving over time, at a surprisingly rapid pace.
“Ugh!”
In a fleeting thought, the girl let out a muffled grunt as she fell, more startled than injured.
Tipped over by inertia, she began to fall back, but I quickly caught her.
The girl reacted fast and was quite agile; she immediately used my grip to regain her balance, yanking her right arm away from my hand, stepping back while her palm began to glow with bright golden light.
“Aili, it’s me!”
I dispelled the scattered frost power around me and spoke quickly.
The night was dark, the courtyard seemed utterly deserted, and the chaotic stable suggested it had been abandoned for quite some time. With no nearby lights, I still couldn’t clearly see the girl’s face, unsure if she was really the innocent and kind girl I once knew who always loved to help others.
However, this time, it seemed she finally understood what I was saying.
“…Sister?!”
Her voice, already changed, conveyed a mix of shock and disbelief, unsure if it was excitement or fear. Moments later, it reached my ears.
Ah…
That’s right.
She is Aili…
