If such a stance—one person standing alone against countless others—had come from a towering man eight feet tall, it might have seemed awe-inspiring. But when those words came from the mouth of a little girl not even five feet tall, the scene instead felt oddly out of place.
"Chu Lian… she won't be in danger, right, Sister Inori?" Li Xiu'er's worried gaze never left Chu Lian's back. Seeing this, she turned toward Inori, who had remained silent the whole time.
Smiling gently, Inori reached out and patted her on the head. "Maybe we can't—but she can. You have to learn to trust her at all times. No matter how afraid or worried you are, don't forget—she's always the one standing at the front, shielding you from every danger."
"I… I'll try my best…" Li Xiu'er's voice trembled. What she said wasn't just about her mindset—it also carried her determination to grow stronger. She didn't want to just stand by helplessly every time Chu Lian fought so hard. She wanted to stand beside her.
"Lian never denies anyone's efforts, nor does she refuse anyone's companionship," Inori said softly, her tone like a clear spring flowing into Li Xiu'er's heart, sending a shiver through her spirit. "She's simply waiting—for the right moment."
Renzan Momoki burst into mocking laughter at the sight of the small girl daring to face a whole crowd. "Hah! I do so love watching people struggle—only to fail in despair afterward. Little girl, you've got guts. Go on—someone, step up. Let her taste hopelessness sooner."
He had heard rumors that some people in this world possessed extraordinary power. But to him—who knew nothing of the cultivation world or the Otherside—even the strongest person could only take on a dozen opponents at most.
And here, he had over a hundred men. In fact, as time passed, their number had already swelled to nearly two hundred. Surrounded by such a force, he couldn't imagine anyone capable of taking them all down. But this time—he was about to learn just how wrong he was.
At his command, a man dressed in a samurai uniform nodded slightly and gave a few quick orders. Moments later, several men stepped out from the group, heading toward Chu Lian.
They sneered as they approached, laughing with contempt. What a foolish little girl—so pretty, yet so delusional. A pity such a beautiful body was wasted on a brain like that.
Chu Lian shook her head silently. They didn't even cherish the one chance she had given them to back off. It seemed this crowd truly was nothing but rabble. No wonder they were so arrogant.
Fine. If they refused to take her seriously—then she would make them. And when that moment came, she hoped they would still have the courage to face it.
The three-meter distance vanished in a blink. The men exchanged glances, then attacked first. Two aimed punches at her upper body, two others kicked toward her legs, and the last circled behind her, reaching for her arms.
But Chu Lian ignored their movements entirely. Her body leapt into the air—and in midair, she kicked five times in an instant, sending all five men flying back into the crowd. As her feet touched the ground, she pushed off again, her body shooting forward like an arrow straight into the mass of men.
The entire exchange took no more than a second or two. Before anyone even realized what had happened, Chu Lian was already among them—taking them down one by one with clean, precise strikes.
Screams and shouts mixed with the sound of bones cracking erupted from within the group. With every step she took forward, the men surrounding her collapsed to the ground within three seconds.
Some were kicked away. Some collapsed after taking a direct hit. Some were sent spinning by a single whirlwind kick that cleared a whole area in an instant.
It was as if she had entered a realm where no one else existed. None of them could slow her down, let alone stop her. Every attack they launched was brutally countered with even faster, stronger strikes.
The difference in strength was like that between a general using a Musou attack in Dynasty Warriors and the ordinary soldiers around him—two entirely different worlds. No matter how hard the soldiers fought, they would still be wiped out in a single blow.
Even the onlookers outside the circle—let alone the black-clad men being pummeled—couldn't help but feel that what they were witnessing bordered on the supernatural.
"Are you sure Chu Lian isn't using any powers?" Cai Ya asked Inori, her expression one of utter disbelief. If Chu Lian had used the kind of abilities she'd seen before—selectively striking only those near her—then achieving this outcome would make sense.
But if Chu Lian hadn't used any supernatural abilities and was fighting only with her injured body's physical strength and combat skills… just how powerful was she really?
Shaking her head softly, Inori replied, "Lian isn't using any special abilities. She's relying purely on her combat technique."
Cai Ya wasn't from the cultivation world. She had never been exposed to its systems or classifications, so it was natural she didn't understand how cultivators' physical strength was measured.
According to the system's calculations, a score of 15 represented the human peak. A score of 16 marked the beginning of the non-human level.
Though the difference was just a single point, it represented an entirely new threshold—a step beyond what humanity could reach. It was like the gap between the agricultural age and the industrial age. Those who had refined their bodies through the forces of heaven and earth were fundamentally different from those who hadn't.
If a person with 15 points in Strength could exert a maximum of 150 kilograms of force with one hand, then someone with 16 points could reach 300 kilograms—double the power. That difference couldn't be easily overcome.
After surpassing human limits, each additional point didn't seem as massive in raw numbers, but since the baseline was already so high, every 10% increase represented something terrifying.
Even with her injuries, Chu Lian's current physical stats were: Strength (21), Stamina (16), Agility (18). That alone made her far beyond what ordinary people could handle.
If it were the kindhearted White Chu Lian fighting, she might only exhibit around Strength (17), Stamina (16), Agility (16)—barely above human limits. But in the hands of Dark Chu Lian, those same stats were unleashed to their fullest potential.
That was why her opponents appeared so pathetically weak. It wasn't that they truly lacked strength—it was simply that Dark Chu Lian's combat skill and experience were far beyond theirs. She wasn't like these men, whose fiercest battles had been mere street fights.
She was someone who had truly taken countless lives—who had awakened within a slaughterfield and clawed her way out of hell itself. All the memories Chu Lian had forgotten hadn't vanished—they were simply carried by her.
"Why do the weak even bother fighting?" she murmured coldly.
No one dared answer. Within just a dozen meters, seventy or eighty men already lay sprawled across the ground. With each step she took forward, those around her instinctively backed away.
By now, the distance between her and the next line of men was even greater than before. The widening gap itself told of her overwhelming presence.
Not a single drop of blood or trace of dirt stained the white lace of her black-and-white maid dress. The white silk gloves on her hands remained spotless, her breathing calm and even. Her violet eyes were icy, her delicate face expressionless. She stood still—like a flawless statue—yet radiated an unending aura of menace.
That flawless, untouched appearance after such carnage sent chills through everyone watching. What kind of monster was this girl? How could such immense destructive power be contained within that small body? Each of her strikes landed with the force of a speeding car—unstoppable and absolute.
As she walked forward, Renzan Momoki instinctively took a step back, cold sweat dripping down his forehead. At last—he regretted everything.
He regretted listening to that man's provocations, thinking it was time to bare his fangs. He regretted seizing what he thought was the perfect chance to dominate Akihabara while ignoring the hidden dangers. Most of all, he regretted underestimating her strength—and provoking a goddess of death.
In the past, whenever trouble arose, he'd always hated how quickly the police arrived. But this time, he desperately wished they'd come sooner—so he could use the chaos to escape.
Unfortunately, what was happening here would never appear in any of Neon's public case records. The only place it would exist was within a top-secret classified archive—one far beyond his reach. His prayers, in the end, were futile.
Before any of this began, someone had already contacted Tokyo's High Police Bureau in advance. They had been instructed that, unless explicit orders were given, even if an explosion occurred at Miss Sakurako's Café, they were not to intervene.
"Now then," Chu Lian said softly, stepping forward until only three meters separated her from Renzan Momoki. "Is there anyone else here who dares to come at me?" Her voice was calm, almost casual, and yet her smile carried a trace of chilling delight.
"Kenjō! Didn't you say that after your years of training abroad, no one in the world could be your match? Then deal with her, now!" Despite the terror clawing at his heart, Renzan couldn't afford to show weakness in front of his subordinates. His entire organization had been built through his own power—if he turned and fled now, even if his men understood why, their loyalty would crumble.
"I'm sorry, sir," the man named Kenjō replied. He was the samurai-clad fighter who had earlier commanded the others to attack Chu Lian. "I am not this lady's opponent."
After witnessing her strength firsthand, he understood just how foolish he had been to underestimate her. He knew he couldn't win—but after all the support Renzan Momoki had given him, he couldn't simply walk away either.
He closed his eyes, placing his katana upright before his face. "Even if I am not your match," he said solemnly, "I will not turn and flee. Please, Lady, receive this unworthy blade."
A faint glimmer of admiration flashed through Chu Lian's eyes. This man, at least, had integrity. He hadn't chosen to run just because his opponent was too strong. Instead, he stood his ground to repay his debt—a true warrior who walked his own path.
But conviction alone could not bridge the gap between their strength.
With a blinding flash, his katana left its sheath in a flawless iaido strike—so fast that ordinary eyes couldn't follow it. Yet Chu Lian slipped aside effortlessly, the blade missing her by a hair's breadth. In the same motion, she struck his chest with an open palm, sending him flying more than ten meters before crashing to the edge of the crowd.
When the others saw their strongest fighter—Kenjō the Silent Blade—defeated so easily, panic finally set in. Several men drew their guns, shouting hysterically, "No matter how strong you are, you can't dodge bullets!"
Chu Lian only shook her head. She couldn't dodge bullets—but why should she need to?
Bang!Bang!Bang!Bang!
A series of sharp gunshots rang out—but not from them.
The men froze, eyes wide, as they turned toward the café entrance. There, standing calmly in the doorway, was a pink-haired girl in a flowing white dress. Her wine-red eyes glowed with cold fury, and the pistol in her hand gleamed in the light.
"Anyone who dares raise a gun again—dies," she said icily, her voice colder than any winter wind.
The surrounding crowd gasped, terrified into silence. The sudden gunfire had finally snapped the onlookers out of their daze…