Chapter 1 Bleak Autumn Night

The bleak autumn night was illuminated by a blood-red full moon hanging high above the Brilida industrial district.
Rusty containers and winding dark alleys were shrouded in an eerie and妖冶 (yāoyě) red glow.
A black crow descended slowly from the moon, gradually revealing the full picture of this massive Mafia stronghold through the misty atmosphere – dilapidated factory buildings scattered in a haphazard manner, mountains of magic-powered machinery, narrow passageways extending in all directions, and faintly visible rust-colored containers.
This was the port district located in the southeastern part of Brilida.
It was also one of the few gray areas in the city.
"Huff."
Footsteps, gasps for breath.
Suddenly, a girl's figure dashed into the corner, piercing the deathly silence of the night.
Her jet-black hair danced in the wind, her purple eyes gleaming with fright and determination. She clutched a jet-black kitten tightly in her arms, as if holding onto her only hope and solace.
"Meow meow, Lan Lan! It's all containers and dark alleys here. There's a bunch of guys in black suits chasing us, help meow!"
The Cat Boss whispered, pressing a purplish glowing communication magic card against its mouth, desperately calling for help.
Today had started as a peaceful afternoon. The two of them were chatting happily, walking back to Saint Creatia Abbey.
Suddenly, Elsa seemed to sense something was wrong, or perhaps hostility.
Then, someone threw a transparent magic capsule at them.
When she opened her eyes again, they were already in this unfamiliar area, surrounded and hunted by the Mafia.
The instant it sensed the space magic, it dove into Elsa's shadow. Fortunately, its space magic had higher priority, allowing it to follow her. Otherwise, Elsa would have been in real danger.
Correspondingly, it was also in danger.
But it had spent the afternoon with Elsa and gotten to know her. It found her to be a very pure girl, and Lanqi’s mission for it was to protect Elsa, so it couldn't just ignore her.
"It sounds like my brother can barely hear us."
Elsa felt that the sounds coming from the communication magic card were mostly static. Her brother probably heard them similarly.
As an uncharted territory of Brilida, Elsa had never been here before. She could only rely on her senses to judge the internal map.
If this was indeed the stronghold of the Brilida Mafia, then the closer she got to the core area, the stronger the effect of the shielding magic devices would be, while the closer she was to the periphery, the weaker the effect would be.
Only after she had determined the direction and advanced some distance towards the periphery did the little black cat successfully connect to her brother's communication magic.
She never expected this little black cat to be at the sixth rank, capable of taking out a sixth-rank tool magic card, [Ultra-Long-Range Communication Program]. When she saw it pull out the communication magic card, Elsa felt like she had seen a divine beast.
The girl's steps were chaotic and hurried, her staggering movements laced with astonishing agility. The soles of her shoes scraped against the hard ground, creating crisp sounds, but she was trying her best to conceal the noise with her steps.
Elsa's figure flashed through the gaps between the containers, sometimes close enough to reveal her fearfully pale face, sometimes far enough to show her nimble figure dodging and weaving through the obstacles.

"Meow meow!"
The Cat Boss's fluorescent yellow eyes in the night were like two tiny points of light.
And in this district, dozens of figures dressed in black coats emerged in succession, darting through the factory ruins and container maze like ghosts in pursuit.
Their eyes were cold, like a pack of wolves that had caught the scent of blood.
Leading them was a burly, imposing man with a crew cut. His face, covered in knife scars, looked even more sinister in the moonlight.
"You can't even handle a second-rank little girl! If the other executives find out we've been up to something, we'll all be punished!"
He spoke with anger, lowering his voice as he issued the order to hunt her down. His hoarse voice echoed in the empty factory area, sounding like a terrifying ghost.
If they let her keep running, she might figure out the surrounding terrain.
Currently, her direction was becoming more and more accurate, heading towards the outer perimeter.
Fortunately, the distance was still far.
The black-haired girl nimbly climbed onto a rusty container, jumping and leaping agilely between the rickety steel frames. She seemed completely unaffected by gravity, or as if some invisible force was helping her, carrying her as she floated.
She was good at using the advantages of the environment, either hiding in dark corners or winding through the complex network of pipes, always cleverly avoiding the black-suited assassins' encirclement at the last moment.
Although the Mafia knew this area like the back of their hands, they were still unable to grasp the girl's movements and anti-gravity principle, and could only rely on their numerical advantage to constantly compress the encirclement, gradually eroding her living space.
This thrilling race against time, in the dark night beneath the blood moon, was filled with the sound of wind, the sound of falling leaves, and the cawing of crows.
After a long time.
Elsa finally managed to shake off her pursuers temporarily and hid in a narrow, deep corner of an alley.
She leaned against the mottled brick wall, her thin body trembling constantly, like a frightened bird.
Clear beads of sweat rolled down her pale forehead, quietly sliding down her delicate face and dripping to the ground.
"Little Black Bread, thanks to you."
Elsa's slightly open lips trembled with fear and exhaustion, her broken gasps amplified, interweaving with her pounding heartbeat into a chaotic melody.
If it weren't for this spirit beast helping her with telekinesis, she wouldn't have even gotten this moment to hide.
She slowly moved her body, adjusting her line of sight.
Using the dim moonlight, Elsa began to observe her surroundings, trying to analyze her escape route.
Her gaze swept over the surrounding towering building ruins, the complex network of pipes, and finally landed on a small path leading into the distance.
The small path was lined with dilapidated, rusted containers, covered with vines, which looked particularly deep in the night.
But the direction was right.
Going that way would probably bring her closer to the outer boundary.
"Meow..."
The Cat Boss called out timidly.
This deadly location had a restricted airspace barrier in addition to the shielding barrier, so it couldn't fly very high at all.
It had only heard about restricted airspace barriers from Lanqi's stories about the Shadow World cliffs at the Saint Hall Villain's banquet. It never expected to actually encounter one himself.
If it were just a little stronger, it wouldn't have lost to the enemies.
The black-suited men who were chasing them weren't particularly strong. The leader was probably only at the fifth rank, but there were just too many of them, and they were all well-trained assassins. It could barely handle a small leader, but if it had to deal with a bunch of subordinates as well, it really couldn't do anything.

But come to think of it, its growth had basically reached its limit now. If it wanted to get any stronger, it would have to reach the ninth rank. A ninth-rank fighting a fifth-rank was a bit of a joke.
"I feel like something's not right..."
Elsa didn't rush to run out at this time. She pressed her temples.
When deeply trapped in a desperate situation, thinking might be more useful than rash action.
If she reappeared, she would quickly be discovered by the Mafia again. Hiding here wasn't a long-term solution either. She would be completely surrounded in a little while.
These people had intended to kill her from the very beginning.
Fortunately, all her other supporting cards were for survival, with stealth, acceleration, and crowd control immunity. Plus, her eyesight and stamina were particularly good at night.
If it hadn't been for the [Mirror of the Moon Goddess] that Principal Violet gave her to block the initial attack, she might already be in danger.
She looked down at the silver crescent moon pendant clutched tightly in her hand.
[Mirror of the Moon Goddess]
[Category: Equipment Card]
[Grade: Pink Divine]
[Attribute: Reconnaissance/Regeneration]
[Rank: 2]
[Effect: After wearing this piece of jewelry, it can enhance crisis warning. When you are about to suffer unavoidable fatal damage, the mirror will shatter to replace your injury. The mirror requires 30 days to recover and cannot be stacked with other effects that grant immunity to fatal injuries.]
[Note: Consolation, protection, hope, and love, the world we share, relying on prayer to be with you.]
Even now, she still felt a sense of crisis that wouldn't dissipate.
Even though she had already avoided the Mafia, the Moon Goddess's mirror's crisis warning still seemed to be stimulating her heart.
"Elsa, we should keep running outwards, meow..."
The Cat Boss felt it wasn't safe to hide here anymore.
"Little Black Bread, have you contacted my brother?"
Elsa lowered her voice and asked, hugging the little black cat.
"The signal is still bad. If we go out a little further, to a location where the shielding barrier is weaker, it might get better."
The Cat Boss looked up and replied.
It desperately hoped that Lanqi would suddenly appear and save it and Elsa from this predicament, but it also knew that the probability of Lanqi hearing its words was small.
At this point, they would likely have to rely more on it and Elsa.
"I'm sorry, I've dragged you into this."
Elsa hugged the little black cat tightly and said apologetically.
For the next escape, she would use her not-so-proficient innate magic [Judgment Eye] when necessary. Its ability was to observe the evil deeds of a target to determine their dangerousness. Also, if she were a detective, she could get the answer in advance and then prove the process.
At night, she could also use the reconnaissance ability of the Judgment Eye to discover the approximate location of targets behind walls within a small range.
This ability would allow her to see too many things she didn't want to see. Last time at the Roland family's banquet, she saw a strange number.
Elsa told Ursula.
Ursula believed her and immediately notified her elder brother, Marquis Ryan, the head of the Roland family. Marquis Ryan investigated and gave an incredible conclusion –
That day, there was no such person at the banquet at all.
It was as if everyone's memories had a problem. Only Elsa had seen such a man.

Since then, Elsa had been having nightmares and dared not use the Judgment Eye again.
She went to Principal Violet, who also warned her with a solemn expression that she must never let anyone know about her innate magic in the future.
Now that her brother Landry happened to be in Brilida, she felt a rare sense of relief, but she was also afraid of dragging her brother into trouble.
Sure enough, she saw something she shouldn't have seen.
"Don't say that, Elsa meow, I was going to protect you anyway meow."
The Cat Boss felt that Elsa was putting too much pressure on herself. This girl always seemed to be carrying all her worries alone.
Their current location was probably closer to the Mafia's interior than the periphery. So after running for a while, the communication hadn't improved significantly.
Escaping or successfully contacting Lanqi might require a long period of pursuit.
"Just focus on thinking about the escape route now! I'll take your orders meow..."
"Wait, if we're closer to the interior..."
Elsa's eyes flickered constantly, observing both directions.
She had sensed something was off from the very beginning.
If this was indeed the Mafia's territory, why would the Mafia attack her...?
She was the younger sister of Professor Landry Washington, who was currently a major figure in the scientific community. Harming her would undoubtedly cause trouble.
Although the current leader of the Mafia had some connections in the legitimate world, he had always preferred to be discreet and hidden in the underworld.
Even the few executives of the Brilida Mafia under him were now doing business with group companies that could be seen in the Empire.
The leader also spent most of his time in the River Port Building in the center of the territory.
A Mafia leader with this kind of operational strategy should not have issued an order to kill her.
Judging from the actions of the small leader chasing her and the Mafia, they seemed more like they had taken on a reward of an unknown amount behind the leader's back!
Elsa bit her lip, her eyes becoming firm and decisive.
She decided to try it.
In the next second, she had quietly gotten up. Illuminated by the moonlight, she was like a swift black wolf, quickly disappearing into that unknown path, continuing her escape.
And not far behind her, the footsteps of the pursuers gradually approached, like a shadow, chasing closely behind her.
She had just completely planned a new escape route in her mind, and before she had a chance to put it into action, she heard a sharp sound of air being torn apart. Then a bullet hole appeared in the brick wall, and dust flew everywhere.
On top of a container high in the air, a sniper among the Mafia was cunningly aiming at her from the shadows.
His magic-powered firearm had been modified with a silencer, so there was no gunshot sound.
Fortunately, the Cat Boss in her arms noticed in time. An invisible force magic enveloped the girl. The bullet seemed to hit an invisible wall, deviating from its trajectory, barely grazing the girl's side and disappearing into the night.
"Elsa, did you run in the wrong direction?"
The Cat Boss said in shock.
It felt that Elsa had run in the opposite direction, and it didn't seem like a mistake. She was deliberately running towards the Mafia's territory.
"That's right. We're going to the Mafia's territory. As long as the leader finds out, we'll probably be safe."

Elsa told it, her pace accelerating.
She no longer fled outwards as she had before, but rushed towards the core area of the Mafia – that area of prosperity with a bit of light – without hesitation.
"Stop her!"
When the crew-cut Mafia member saw the direction of Elsa's movements, he was stunned at first. After completely confirming that she was doing it on purpose, he also saw her intention.
Not only him, but the black-suited men behind him were panicked by the girl's actions.
This hunt had not been authorized by the leader and was being carried out completely in secret.
But the amount the client was offering was too great.
The deposit alone was enough for them to successfully fill the shortfall in their performance.
After the job was done and they received the huge sum, they could not only leave the Mafia, but also be financially independent for life.
The current leader was too conservative, so even if they defected from the Mafia, they wouldn't have to worry too much about being relentlessly pursued by the leader at this time.
They were sure that the leader wouldn't want to make a big deal out of it!
But this cunning girl seemed to have seen through their intentions and discovered that the Mafia's internal gathering area was the right path to find life from death!
If the commotion was too great and alerted the leader and his confidants, their plan would definitely fall through completely, and even they themselves would not escape.
"We have to kill her quickly!"
Thinking of this, the Mafia members gritted their teeth and increased their speed at all costs.
However, the girl nimbly moved through the complex group of buildings, sometimes climbing up old fire escapes, sometimes passing through narrow pipe tunnels, always preventing them from catching up. Remote weapons also couldn't harm her, as she was protected by invisible telekinesis.
At the same time, Elsa was also calculating rapidly in her mind.
The increasingly frantic reaction of this group of Mafia members completely confirmed her guess –
Their actions were not in accordance with the rules and they were afraid of attracting internal attention.
"Little Black Bread, aim for the gaps and attack the containers!"
Elsa commanded.
The Cat Boss nodded and used Wind Blade.
A series of explosions suddenly rang out, sounding particularly harsh in the quiet night.
The surrounding heavy objects – steel bars, containers, and even tons of old machinery – were wantonly destroyed, causing gusts of dust and debris.
Each explosion was like a heavy hammer hitting the hearts of the pursuers, making their faces even paler and their movements even more embarrassed.
"That damned bitch!"
They knew that if this continued, the entire Mafia would be turned upside down by this seemingly weak girl.
Earlier, this girl had been captured by them, and she didn't dare to make a commotion. Now she had begun to take the initiative and make noise!
The louder the sound, the closer they got to the territory, the easier it would be for the leader to notice!
"Little Black Bread, as long as we run to the brightly lit core area of the River Port, we'll be safe."
She whispered a few words into the black cat's ear, as if to reassure it.
"Okay!"
The Cat Boss felt confident again after hearing that.
Even without Lanqi, it was a top-notch driver!
The humid atmosphere of the moat made the air piercingly cold.
Farther back.
Dozens of men in black moved as fast as ghosts.
But now it was their turn to avoid the girl's terrain destruction while trying their best to quell the noise of the containers collapsing.

They became restricted.
The agile figure of the hunting target and the black cat's bizarre abilities made them feel like they were sitting on pins and needles, in a dilemma.
Seeing that the distance between them and their prey was getting farther and farther, and that it seemed difficult to catch her before she reached the core area of the Mafia's port, the anxiety in their hearts had almost reached its peak.
Elsa sped through the darkness, plunging into a winding, maze-like alley.
The alley was lined with containers dozens of meters high on both sides, rusty and casting giant shadows in the night.
For Elsa, whose body had already warmed up, this dirty, dark alley was like a ray of dawn leading to hope.
On her delicate face, exhaustion and fear were gradually being replaced by relief.
Although she couldn't contact her brother Landry, with the magical power of this little black cat that her brother had left her, she would definitely be able to successfully get rid of the black-suited men chasing after her!
The hazy, bright outline of the lights ahead was becoming clearer and clearer.
It was at the end of the dark alley.
"Almost, almost there meow!"
Elsa's pupils reflected the color of the light spots in the darkness.
The red moon in the sky remained, occasionally covered by a deep gray mist.
It was like an evil eye, emitting a dark red light in the ink-black night, coldly watching this absurd life-and-death chase, or perhaps excited about the tragedy that was about to happen.
In the alley, the wind blew, and what was originally just an unsettling sense of weirdness instantly turned into a bone-chilling cold.
The surrounding air solidified into frost, making breathing extremely difficult, and an invisible hand choked everyone's throat.
Not only Elsa, but even the pursuing Mafia members suddenly changed color.
They stopped abruptly, their fingers unconsciously pressing the triggers of their guns.
Unfortunately.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
A piercing scream suddenly tore through the air, almost bursting people's eardrums.
When Elsa looked closely again, the Mafia members' heads had all flown into the air, like a string of kites with broken strings.
Gurgling blood spurted from the severed necks, drawing several beautiful and horrifying arcs of blood in the air. Then a black rain splattered on the ground, gathering into a pool of stinking blood.
The headless torsos fell to the ground like puppets with broken strings, their limbs still twitching nervously on the ground, like human mannequins covered in black paint, frightening to the extreme.
"...!!"
Elsa's eyes widened, her purple pupils contracting rapidly in extreme fear.
She involuntarily hugged the only warm little black cat in her arms, feeling the slight trembling that came from it.
The Cat Boss also felt the bone-chilling malice, and all the fur on its body stood on end.
Compared to Elsa, it was several ranks stronger, and it immediately found the location of the most dangerous enemy.
Following the little black cat's gaze, Elsa suddenly held her breath – she saw a shadow slowly descending at the other end of the dark alley, blocking out the sky.
In the center of that shadow's face were blood-red eyes, like the blood moon itself, or like rubies made of solidified blood.

He wore a black formal suit, and scarlet satin fluttered wildly in the night wind.
His pale face was like fine white jade, but it also revealed a bone-chilling death aura.
The corners of his mouth curled up, revealing an extremely cruel smile, and his teeth gleamed coldly in the moonlight.
"These useless Mafia members, enough already."
The red-eyed man landed leisurely on the ground, his tone filled with disdain and a pressure that made it difficult for Elsa to breathe.
Every word was like an ice pick, hitting Elsa's heart.
The scarlet eyes, the aura that made her physically uncomfortable, could only remind her of an extremely dangerous being she had seen in the ancient books of Saint Creatia Abbey.
"Miss Elsa Washington, I heard your eyes can see things you shouldn't?"
Carmel, Viscount, stared at the invisible telekinetic barrier beside Elsa and turned his gaze to the black cat she was holding.
Possessing concealment authority, he had come here tonight to handle the aftermath, killing Elsa after the Mafia killed her, then killing the Mafia to prevent them from having any evidence.
As for the church revivalists who had been in contact with the Mafia, they had already been dealt with.
The only thing he hadn't expected was that this little wolf girl had brought a not-so-weak cat, making it impossible for the Mafia to catch her for so long.
If he let her continue to run, she might really run to the Mafia's territory, which would be troublesome.
Not only could he not let her run away, but more importantly, he couldn't let the Mafia leader catch these Mafia subordinates who had taken on private jobs.
"..."
Elsa understood completely, her throat trembling, but she couldn't say a word.
What was in front of her at this moment.
What she saw that day.
The blood clan that appeared at the Roland family's banquet, with an abnormally high number of evil deeds, must have been a vampire.
When she gazed into the abyss, the abyss would also gaze back at her.
The other party obviously already knew her ability.
That was why those guys had come to her, to kill her and silence her.
"Heh."
Seeing that she didn't answer, Viscount Carmel walked towards Elsa with a leisurely pace, the blood under his feet squelching. Even the earth was trembling for this bloody ruler.
Even the little black cat's full-strength telekinetic barrier seemed to only be able to push him slightly, slowing him down.
If not for this resistance, the other party would probably have taken her head off in an instant.
Elsa retreated again and again, only to find that there was no way to retreat – her back was blocked by the cold, hard container wall, turning into a door that sealed off her path to survival.
She felt dizzy, a whirl of the world.
The hope that had just risen had vanished completely, replaced by boundless despair.
Even if she escaped now, what about next time?
Faced with this inescapable mysterious race, she and the black cat would be hard-pressed to escape again.
When you can see a bug in the room, it means it's probably already full of bugs. She didn't dare to think about the scale of the vampires in Brilida.
Viscount Carmel approached Elsa step by step, his tall body gradually emerging from the shadows at the end of the alley, enveloping the girl's petite figure within it.
"Can you tell me, how many people have I killed?"
Carmel was facing Elsa, his voice as smooth as silk, hiding an extremely sarcastic malice.

He hadn't seen werewolves for many years.
No matter what era it was, torturing werewolves was the most interesting vampire activity, because werewolves' bodies were very strong and wouldn't break no matter how you played with them.
The fear and screams of werewolves were undoubtedly the most precious seasoning.
"..."
Elsa sat on the ground with tears in her eyes, the regular triangular adjudication mark flickering instinctively in the depths of her pupils.
She held the black cat tightly in her arms, her slender fingers digging deeply into its jet-black fur, as if drawing a trace of illusory security.
"Seven digits... you demon, the goddess will not forgive you..."
Elsa was suffocating. Tears of anger kept streaming down. Her vision was filled with distorted numbers. The accumulation of sin seemed to be about to cover even the black shadows at the end of the alley, making it impossible to see clearly where it was.
Apart from this vampire, she couldn't think of anyone else present who could have killed so many people.
"?"
This time it was Viscount Carmel's turn to be stunned.
Although vampires killed people like stepping on bugs, it was impossible for him to remember exactly how many worms he had killed.
But seven digits was too exaggerated, wasn't it?
Wasn't it said that the Judgment Eye could never make a mistake? Was the other party pretending to be stupid, or did their ability really have flaws?
"Hello."
Suddenly, a warm and powerful hand pressed on his shoulder. He didn't even notice when someone had come behind him.
...Wait.
It seemed like there were only him, the little werewolf, and the cat in this alley.
Now there was one more.
Suddenly, he seemed to realize.
Perhaps there really was someone in this alley who had been judged to have seven digits by the Judgment Eye.
And that thing.
Was behind him.
(End of chapter)