Yana Larkin was captivated, staring at the woman for a long ti without a word.
Stella Sterling frowned. Seeing Yana’s state, she couldn’t help but worry. ’Has she been scared witless?’
"Who are you? Why are you sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong!"
The commotion drew the attention of the other three. Woody Larkin’s face was a mask of delighted surprise, while the two adult n stared at Stella Sterling, their expressions a mixture of shock and fury.
Right now, they couldn’t spare a thought for Woody Larkin. Their bodies trembled slightly, betraying the fear in their hearts.
They were just looking for so trouble. They’d seen the two kids alone from a distance, and since the girl was quite attractive, they’d gotten so vile ideas.
But they’d never killed anyone before.
’That woman ca out of nowhere, and she was so ruthless! She lopped off the third man’s head without a second word. So vicious... It’s terrifying!’
The two n could only force themselves to appear calm as they stared at Stella Sterling. They wanted to run, but their legs had turned to jelly; they couldn’t move.
Stella Sterling paid them no mind, walking over to Yana Larkin instead.
She held a large blade in her hand, her body spattered with the blood of the man she had just killed, yet Yana Larkin felt no fear.
’Maybe it was because this girl had just saved her. Or maybe it was because she knew that if this person wanted to kill her, there was no escape.’
’It was better to die at the hands of her savior than to be violated and killed by that other man.’
In that mont, her heart was calm.
Stella Sterling walked up to her. Seeing the girl’s dazed expression, she sighed inwardly. ’She really is terrified. Her eyes are completely vacant.’
’It’s perfectly normal for a girl of seventeen or eighteen to have a hard ti processing so many traumatic events in a single day.’
’The events of today were destined to leave an indelible mark on her.’
’Perhaps it was precisely because she survived an ordeal like this that, in my previous life, she beca that person—the one who was ruthless in her sches, utterly disregarding the lives of others.’
She stepped forward, a brilliant smile spreading across her face. "Don’t be afraid. I’m here to help you."
Then, she extended a hand to the girl. "Get up."
Yana Larkin stared at the outstretched hand, unable to process what the girl ant for a long mont.
But the girl didn’t retract her hand. Yana looked at the smiling face before her, her mind replaying the image of this sa girl felling the man who tried to assault her with a single slash...
She reached out, placing her hand in the other’s. A powerful force imdiately hauled her to her feet, pulling her out of the snow and, it felt, out of the darkness itself.
"Thank you," Yana Larkin whispered, finally seeming to co back to herself. She looked at Stella Sterling with sincere gratitude, though her eyes held a complex mix of emotions.
She had cried for help monts before. But whether it was because the blizzard was too fierce for anyone in the complex to hear, or simply because no one was willing to help, she didn’t know. In the end, not a single person had co. Even the usual crowd of neighbors who loved to watch any commotion hadn’t so much as peeked out their windows this ti.
’At that mont, Yana had known that no one was coming to save her and her brother. After all, if her neighbors could stand by while people broke into her ho to rob them, how could she possibly hold out hope that they’d intervene now?’
But she never expected soone to actually co. The person who ca was a girl only a few years older than her. She looked so petite, yet in Yana’s eyes, she seed larger than life.
"Don’t thank just yet."
Stella Sterling smiled, placing the blade from her own hand into Yana’s. "Now, take this blade and kill them!"
’They still needed a little push. And she would be the one to provide it.’
’Only by completing this step could the siblings be truly reborn.’
’Otherwise, she might be able to save them this one ti, but she couldn’t save them a second ti. And she had no need for teammates who constantly required rescuing.’
Yana Larkin instinctively tightened her grip on the blade. She looked down, her eyes filled with confusion.
But images flashed unbidden through her mind: the n who had burst into her ho like bandits, hauling away their belongings; her mother lying in the snow, covered in blood; and the disgusting leers of the n just monts ago.
’The world has changed,’ she thought. ’And I need to grow stronger!’
"Alright, I’ll kill them!" Yana Larkin looked up with a smile, let out a yell, and charged toward the two n—
The next mont, with a soft THUD, she tripped and fell face-first into the snow.
Stella Sterling facepald in resignation.
"HAHAHA, that’s hilarious—"
The two n had been terrified, but now they burst out laughing. The last traces of fear in their hearts vanished completely.
’They’d been montarily cowed by the first girl’s ferocity, but now they saw it was just two little girls. What was there to be afraid of?’
’That other girl only managed to kill the third guy because she caught him by surprise. But we’re not him. We won’t be caught off guard.’
"AHH, I’ll kill you!" Woody Larkin charged out from behind them. He ran to his sister’s side, snatched up the large blade she had dropped, and rushed the two n. Before they could even react, he swung the blade, hacking through their thighs!
Two agonizing screams tore through the air. Stella Sterling watched as the n’s legs were severed, their bodies collapsing to the ground.
Their faces were now masks of pure terror, all traces of their earlier smugness gone. They tried to open their mouths to beg for rcy, but Woody Larkin was like a man possessed. Ignoring their pleas, he stabbed their bodies again and again, venting all his fury.
Yana Larkin scrambled to her feet. She shot an embarrassed glance at Stella Sterling, but when she saw no mockery on the girl’s face, a new wave of courage surged through her. She ran toward the two n. With no blade in her hand, she snatched a fallen branch from the ground and jabbed it into their eyes.
"AAAAH—"
Blood-curdling screams echoed through the complex. Stella Sterling stood a short distance away, watching quietly. She didn’t rush them, simply allowing them to unleash all the rage in their hearts.
Despite the grueso scene, her expression remained unchanged. Sensing several pairs of eyes on her from the apartnt windows above, Stella Sterling turned and offered the onlookers a slight smile. It was enough to make them instantly retract their heads, followed by the SLAM of windows being shut.
Humming a little tune, she turned back around, unfazed.
By now, the two n had stopped breathing. Their bodies lay still, their blood staining the surrounding snow crimson. The brother and sister sat limply on the ground, staring blankly into space. Then, their eyes t, and they collapsed into each other’s arms, weeping inconsolably.
Stella Sterling walked toward them. ’Now,’ she thought, ’it’s ti to reap my reward.’
"Are you done crying? If you are, get up. We need to talk." Standing before the pair, Stella Sterling was the picture of a villain. She gave their bodies a few light nudges with her foot, abruptly shattering the siblings’ mont of grief.
She picked up the large blade they had tossed aside. Seeing them flinch in fear, she let out an unrestrained laugh. "Relax. I’m not going to kill you."
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