Viola was a 15-year-old girl living in the poverty district of Hela City.
Over ten years ago, her family had actually been quite wealthy, until her father developed a gambling addiction.
In a single night, he lost all their property and assets, leaving them with an enormous debt.
From then on, her father’s whereabouts remained unknown.
Her mother was forced to move Viola and her sister, Lina, into the poverty district, where they struggled to survive together.
As if to provide them with a beautiful childhood, her mother began to pinch pennies and work desperately, often sleeping for only 3 hours a day.
Viola often urged her not to push herself so hard, but it never did any good.
In just a few short years, her mother’s hair had turned almost entirely white.
Eventually, the exhaustion took its toll, and she fell ill.
Her sister, Lina, also seemed to have developed a mental illness; she became withdrawn and refused to speak to anyone, constantly locking herself in her room.
The only piece of good news was that Viola had reached an age where she could work. To support the family, she had gone out to find jobs early on, working with a desperation that rivaled her mother’s.
She always felt that the future would eventually get better.
30 silver coins.
Her mother’s illness required constant medication, and the monthly cost for those drugs was exactly 30 silver coins.
Today, wearing clothes covered in patches, Viola clutched a cloth bag containing 30 silver coins.
She kept her head low and walked quickly, as if she were carrying a ball of fire—or a piece of ice that would shatter at the slightest touch.
Her mother had been coughing up blood more severely today.
Time was life itself.
“Stop right there.”
A mocking voice rang out from ahead.
A young man around 20 years old, dressed like a street thug, blocked the middle of the alley like a wall.
One hand was shoved in his pocket while the other leaned against the wall, eyes scanning the girl like a hunter.
Viola’s heart stopped, and her blood ran cold.
She recognized this man.
He was a notorious scoundrel in the area.
Having no one to discipline him, he had been a delinquent since childhood.
He continued to do whatever he pleased as an adult, even taking pride in going to prison.
His dream was to be like those truly ruthless figures—committing murder, arson, and every evil deed imaginable—all while avoiding the Inquisitors of Hela City.
In his eyes, such hardened criminals were incredibly cool.
“Viola, right? I think I’ve seen you a few times before. You leave an impression. If you don’t want to get stabbed, hand over the money in your hand. I happen to need it for some drinks today.”
He leaned against the wall and tossed a dagger in his hand, seemingly admiring the way Viola’s face grew increasingly pale.
His words exploded in Viola’s ears like a clap of thunder.
She clutched the cloth bag tighter, her figure swaying as her lips trembled.
“Sir, I beg you… My mother cannot stop her medication. This is life-saving money…”
“What the hell does that have to do with me? If your mother dies, it’s not because I killed her. It’s because you didn’t earn enough to keep her alive. So stop the nonsense and hand it over!”
The young man took a step forward and shouted, his eyes devoid of any mercy.
“No, I can’t!”
Viola fell to her knees with a thud.
Tears dripped from her cheeks, mixing with the dust on the ground.
“My mother will die. She’ll really die… This money… I’ll work like an ox or a horse for you in the next life if you just—”
“The next life? I only care about this one!”
The young man laughed softly, a sound more piercing than the cold wind.
He stepped forward, roughly jerking Viola up while reaching out to pry open the fingers she used to shield the cloth bag.
“Please, I beg you! That’s my mother’s life!!”
Viola let out a beast-like wail, struggling desperately.
The young man couldn’t pry her fingers open for a moment.
In a fit of rage, he pulled out his dagger and aimed the sharp blade at the girl’s fingers.
A flicker of cruel excitement flashed in his eyes.
Amidst the girl’s screams, he used the dagger to slice through the skin of her fingers, cutting into her flesh.
To seize the money in the bag, he intended to sever every finger that stood in his way.
However, at the very moment he was about to exert force—
“Stop!”
A sharp shout came from behind him.
Before he could react, he felt the entire world spin!
When his vision cleared, he found a stunning woman in a white dress standing before him.
The very dagger he had been holding was now pressed against his own throat.
What… what was happening?!
“Heh. As an Inquisitor, you wouldn’t want to see him die right in front of you, would you?”
It wasn’t until the voice sounded from behind him that he realized a girl in a black dress was standing at his back.
This girl was the one responsible for pointing the dagger at his neck!
He… he had become a hostage?!
And she dared to oppose a Hela City Inquisitor.
Looking at the situation… had he run into one of those truly ruthless figures of Hela City?!
His legs turned to jelly, and he nearly collapsed.
“Back off now, and I’ll let him go. If you dare take a single step closer, I’ll break one of his fingers! Five steps, and I’ll take one of his arms!”
“Save—save me! Lady Inquisitor!”
The ruthless girl’s words made him tremble all over.
To stay alive, he desperately threw pleading looks at the woman in the white dress, on the verge of tears.
But to his utter confusion, despite the threat from the girl in black, the woman in white directly took two steps forward!
*Crack!*
“Aaaaah!”
The sound of two bones snapping came from his fingers.
He couldn’t help but scream in agony.
He even lost control of his bladder, though fortunately, his thick pants hid the shame for the moment.
The woman in the white dress let out a cold snort, her aura becoming even more terrifying.
She didn’t seem to believe the girl in black would actually continue to torture him, so she took several more steps forward.
*Crack! Crack!*
“Aaaaaaaaah!”
‘Please, I beg you, stop testing her!!’
After the bones in his entire arm were snapped, the girl in black clicked her tongue.
She seemed to realize he was useless as a hostage and couldn’t restrict the woman in white.
After pulling back a bit, she threw him aside.
In an instant, both figures vanished from his sight.
He… he was saved…
Was he?
The agonizing pain of his broken arm made him scream incessantly, his eyes bloodshot.
He struggled to crawl up from the ground, looking toward the corner where Viola sat, her face pale as she clutched her injured fingers.
Blood had stained her cloth bag, but it also let him catch the scent of money once again.
Money… money… He had to get that money to treat his arm!
Picking up the dagger that had fallen to the ground, he walked toward the girl step by step as she desperately tried to scramble up.
He didn’t care if she resisted; he was going to stab her a few times regardless.
He was going to make this girl suffer everything he had just endured at the hands of that ruthless woman!
Viola seemed to see through his intentions.
She turned and tried to flee in a panic, but in this narrow dark alley and with her frail body, how could she escape him?
In just a few steps, he caught up to her.
But just as he extended his dagger, prepared to plunge it into the girl’s body, a longsword pierced through his heart.
Blood instantly soaked his clothes.
“I gave you a chance.”
The cold voice rang out behind him once more.
He fell to the ground in shock.
In his peripheral vision, he saw the hem of that same white dress that had returned.
…Why didn’t she arrest him and give him a chance to reform? Why did she just kill him?
And what was the “chance” she spoke of?
These two questions filled his mind, but unfortunately, he would never receive an answer.