Meanwhile, in a secluded room deep within the town's upper district.
The thick air was heavy with the acrid, lingering stench of tobacco and cheap cigarettes.
A low-ranking pirate scout slammed the heavy mahogany door open, panting for breath.
"Boss! There's no sign of the boy anywhere."
The scout reported, bowing his head.
"We searched the perimeter of the marketplace carefully, but he's completely vanished."
On the velvet couch across the room.
A man stretched his arms out lazily.
A slow, malicious grin spreading across his face.
"Not a big deal."
The pirate boss said, his deep blue eyes gleaming in the dim light.
"We'll find the brat eventually. And even if we don't, our men can just bluff their way through the encounter to keep her pinned down."
He stood up, adjusting his heavy cutlass belt.
He put his red tricone over his grey-ish hair.
"All this trouble just to secure one woman, huh? Sorry, Caster. But I've taken a rather keen interest in her as well… that is if your still alive when all this is over."
The boss quickly stepped toward the weapon rack, his grin widening.
"Those bastards on the street should be engaging her right about now. How about I join in on the fight? I highly doubt a woman of her caliber will just surrender that easily."
As he spoke, he released a sudden, suffocating pressure into the room.
A crushing aura of raw violence that made the air itself feel entirely tight.
"Y-yes, sir!"
The scout stammered, his knees buckling under the intense weight of the atmosphere.
Meanwhile, back at the wooden park bench, my mind had shifted into full-on panic mode.
The distant thunder of the explosion was still ringing in my ears.
*What the hell is going on?*
He thought, his composure entirely shattering as the screaming of the crowds echoed down the street.
Where did the blast originate? How? And why does this have to happen right now, of all times?!
Without wasting another second.
He bolted off the bench, abandoning the rest of my pastries.
And sprinted down the cobblestones toward the tavern.
He had to get back to Lennie.
As he ran through the alleyways, weaving past terrified townsfolk.
He pulled out his pocket watch to check the time.
The hands read precisely [17:36pm]
The evening was rapidly dissolving into total chaos.
Back in the center of the smoky town square.
Lennie forced her breathing to remain completely steady, staring down the ring of pirates.
"You're lying, aren't you?"
She said, her voice cutting through the noise of the rioting crowd.
"I… told you before… sweetheart."
The mohawk man sneered, shifting his weight.
"Even if we are lying, why on earth would we tell you the truth? You're completely at our mercy."
Lennie closed her eyes for a single, quiet second.
Tuning out the alarms and the crackle of distant fires
Then she slowly opened them again.
The usual deep green of her iris on her right eye had vanished, completely replaced by a vibrant, glowing pinkish-crimson hue.
She locked her piercing, unnatural gaze onto the man.
"You're lying. I can see right through you."
"Now, if you'll excuse me."
She added, her posture coiled like a spring.
But before she could leap forward, a massive wave of reinforcements poured out from the surrounding side streets.
Dozens of fresh mercenaries, all heavily armed with repeating rifles and blades, sealed off every single escape route.
"I… knew… that little bluff w-wouldn't… hold you for long… but oh.. well…mohawk man laughed, stepping back into the ranks."
"But it bought us exactly enough time for the rest of the crew to arrive. Now, you are completely surrounded..."
"…I'd be a fool to fight you one on one after what you did to us the other night… No matter how strong you think you are, you can't possibly defeat this many men at once… So, I highly suggest you surrender quickly..."
"Screw you."
Lennie spat, her crimson eyes flashing in the darkness.
"Have it your way… It's your funeral..."
The man grunted, raising his cutlass to signal the vanguard.
"The boss did say to bring you back alive, but he didn't specify a damn thing about leaving you uninjured. Take her down!"
As the circle of armed men closed in tighter and tighter, weapons bared, Lennie lowered her center of gravity.
Lennie took her stance and absorbed quitely.
*What a nuisance. I have to make this fast and find Taylor and turn off my eye before…!*