The small camera that was almost invisible to the people in the room zoomed in on Scarlet, who was still visibly shaken by the status window in front of her. Not a single person moved or made a sound in the room full of tension as each one of them was trying to eavesdrop on the phone call. However, only Jay was able to identify the owner of the voice as well as what was said, albeit roughly.
[A few individuals managed to enter the hospital and are heading to the upper floors right now.]
Scarlet suddenly received a message from a subordinate through a small transmitter. Her subordinate did not sound as if they were panicking or hurrying over to deal with the situation. Rather, they sounded indifferent.
[Individuals confirmed. There are six of them, and each one of them is in the possession of a weapon.]
[It seems like they are rookies.]
[Letting them through.]
One after another message flooded Scarlet's ears while she was still on a call with Alice. But just like her comrades, Scarlet did not seem bothered by these news. After all, it was the police's intention not to interfere with the dispute between [The Jay Family] and the other Challengers. They were merely stationed there to protect innocent bystanders.
"Got it. We will proceed according to plan." Scarlet replied shortly.
[That's unfortunate. I was hoping for you to support them more actively.] Alice lamented, her disappointment sounding artificial. It was not only Jay's room that had a camera installed. Every room and hallway had a camera Alice currently had access to, allowing her to observe what was going on while being at home.
"Please excuse my rudeness, Miss Alice, but could you elaborate on what you have just said? Based on your tone, it appears to me like you know that person very well." Scarlet asked with a tinge of both anxiety and urgency. She had no time for useless chitchat or jokes. She only wanted to know the truth about the person named Jay—the person with a partly censored status window and stats atypical for a beginner.
Alice remained silent for a short moment. However, when she decided to open her mouth, the footsteps of the intruders echoed inside the hallway of the floor where Scarlet and the others were currently at.
[I can't disclose everything, but I can tell you one thing that will surely satisfy you for now, Miss Scarlet.]
Scarlet and even Jay, who was leaning toward her as much as possible without leaving his bed, listened closely, their heartbeats getting faster.
[Jay's last name is-]
"Found it! Room 606!" a woman in her twenties declared proudly as she waltzed into the room. She wielded a cheap sword and was followed by other people who seemed like her comrades.
The group was grinning triumphantly as they casually inspected the room, whereas Neil, Luna, and the other rookies in their group were taking up their stances.
"According to our broker, this should be the hospital room of that Jay guy, but how do we claim it as our territory now...?" one of the intruders murmured pensively, looking all over the room.
"Shouldn't you introduce yourselves first when you enter someone's room?" Jay said sternly as he glared at them. He was fuming, with veins on the verge of popping, because he missed what Alice said due to their sudden and loud entrance.
Jay instinctively threw the blanket to the side and was on his way to fight them, but it was the pain that reminded him of his condition.
"Stay there, Jay! We will take care of them!" Luna announced confidently. Compared to Scarlet, they were opponents she and the others could deal with.
"Hey, distract them for now. I will search the room for hints." the woman, who first entered the room, commanded her group, with a grumpy tone.
Then, the woman—the leader of the group—stepped back, allowing her shady-looking comrades to come forward. While some were letting their bloodlust show, others appeared more composed and also intimidating at the same time. The leader was about to sneak around until her gaze fell on Scarlet's back.
As if she were frozen, Scarlet did not even move a single finger.
[If you still have any questions, you can visit the main house any time.]
Scarlet did not reply to Alice's parting words. Her arm swung down, and her phone fell to the floor, causing a small crack to appear on the screen. She felt her strength leaving her body and her heart pounding so fast that she thought that it would jump out of her body any minute. Sweat formed on her skin as she vigilantly shifted her anxious gaze to her target.
"Ah, right! You must have heard what Alice told you, didn't you? Wha-"
Jay reached out to Scarlet in the hope that she would relay Alice's words to him, too, but instead, he was faced with rejection even before finishing his sentence. His hand that was reflexively reaching to her halted suddenly when Scarlet instantly stepped back with an emotion that he did not expect to see from her—utter fear.
It was not respect or loyalty like she had shown Alice previously. It was just pure fear. It was like she was experiencing her worst nightmare becoming real.
After taking even more steps back, she turned around. Her back, which was usually emitting confidence and pride, was now appearing small and frightened. And with her gaze lowered, she attempted to walk out of the room, unable to let out a word from her blocked throat.
However, her action could be misunderstood. From the perspective of the intruders, it seemed like Scarlet—a policewoman—was approaching them head-on to confront them—the intruders. Therefore, those who did not know the context or could not read the room did not hesitate to attack her. Two large men raised their axes and swung them at the unknowing Scarlet.
"M-my weapon!"
"What the hell is that?!"
The whole room was shocked as the axes were bent to the side as if an invisible shell was defending Scarlet and deforming everything that was about to come into contact with her. Scarlet, in turn, kept moving forward, continuing to ignore her surroundings.
"... fuck... fuck... fuck..." she repeated, inaudible. Her expression was indifferent, but some strength returned to her voice as it sounded more frustrated and nervous as time passed.
Then, another man attempted to ambush her from behind, launching a strong punch at her.
"ARHG!" he groaned loudly just a second later. The moment his fist was about to hit her head, it was twisted just like the weapons a while ago. The man fell to his knees, holding his forearm firmly to cope with the pain.
And it was because he was screaming so loudly that Scarlet finally snapped back and noticed what was going on around her.
"Shit...! I'm trying to gather my thoughts, you bastards!" she grumbled. With her soulless eyes now being sharp again, she shifted her glare to the intruders.
Without hesitation, she pulled out her sword and left her opponents with deep cuts all over their bodies in a heartbeat.
"S-so fast...!" Luna commented, baffled. Before she could even get to her spear, Scarlet had already dealt with the enemies.
Following that, Jay's phone turned on, showing that he received a message from Erik.
[Some enemies are on your way so tell Luna to be ready]
Jay put his phone down after reading the message as he, too, was flabbergasted by Scarlet.
[Name: Scarlet Kilgen
Title: Hammer of Justice
Level: 71
Current Quest (72/100): Execute the role given by the section's Supervisor.
-----
Exclusive Skill: Counter
Skills:
1. Sword Advanced (Level 4)
2. Appraisal Advanced (Level 7)
3. Speed Enhancement Advanced (Level 3)
4. Target-Lock Advanced (Level 3)
5. Martial Arts Novice (Level 9)
-----
Endurance: 48
Strength: 40
Speed: 55
Dexterity: 50
Mana: 27
Intelligence: 73
Luck: 18]
Scarlet's status window suddenly popped out in front of Jay. Confused about seeing it despite not using [Appraisal] or asking her, he just looked over at Scarlet, who sheathed her bloody sword and headed to the exit.
"I apologize for my behavior earlier. This isn't much, but this is my way of making amends." Scarlet admitted sheepishly, her eyes still avoiding Jay.
Jay did not understand why she suddenly had a change of heart, seeing that she was acting completely different than usual. He wanted to ask her, but she had already left the room.
"Her status window? Hey, can I take a look, too?" Luna asked curiously, taking a seat beside Jay and following his eyes, although the status window was still invisible to her.
In the meantime, Neil and the rest of his party tied up the intruders, whose wounds were roughly treated for the time being, and put them in the corner, waiting for them to wake up and answer their questions.
Jay kept ignoring Luna, who was nagging him to share his view, as he recalled Scarlet's face when Alice mentioned the piece of information he unfortunately did not hear. It had to be something crucial to his identity as Scarlet—who was interested in that aspect—would not react like that otherwise.
He could only sigh as Scarlet and Jay's short face-to-face ended in an unsatisfying way for both of them.