Groan.

In the alley, Leyla had become conscious after a few minutes of unconsciousness. Her throat was painful to the point where swallowing or breathing was difficult. She tried to stand up. After a few seconds, she managed. She massaged her throat and neck, feeling slightly better after a moment.

She looked in confusion at her surroundings and realized where she was. With it came the memories of her attempted murder. She tensed instantly as if she had switched on her flight or fight mode.

She soon noticed that her assailant was nowhere to be seen. The veneer of silence that seemed to have isolated the place had disappeared. She could now, hear the sound of cars and pedestrians. The sound of life. She had never imagined she would find the city noises so reassuring one day.

Then again, she never thought she would be attacked by some sort of…What was he even? I’ve never seen a human move that fasts. He must have been something ‘other’, after all, the guy had wielded a strength that could only be qualified of superhuman.

Leyla started, and quickly she checked whether her RTPA had survived the earlier roughness or not. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it didn’t even have a scratch. She paused suddenly, taken aback by her current mental state. She just missed a date with death itself, just a few minutes ago, but she was not panicking or having a mental breakdown. That alone was bizarre, she had never been in a situation of life or death before today, but she knew how people were supposed to react in this type of situation. The normal reaction certainly wasn’t to worry about the state of their tech devices.

Shock? No. I don’t have the symptoms; I feel pretty calm.

She thought, psychoanalyzing herself.

Soon she concluded that she was indeed fine on a mental level that is, no mental trauma or shock. When she crossed all those, what was left was her unique ability.

I knew that my talent allowed for the growth of my mind as a whole, but I now, realize what that encompasses. It’s not only my analytical, retentive, and calculative ability that has improved. Those are merely a byproduct. The true effect of my special talent is the enhancement of my mind's durability, recovery ability, and stability.

Those thoughts quickly ran through her head, the residual adrenalin enhancing the speed of her thoughts.

No wonder. Before the trauma of the aggression could even take root, my mind already processed and healed from it.

The conclusion was startling as it was welcome. After all, it meant that her mind would become less and less prone to negative stimuli that could hamper its functioning or damage it. Which essentially meant that she didn’t have to worry about psychological illnesses or mental disabilities.

Still, what happened to that lunatic? He wouldn’t have just left without completing his job. From our short meeting, I can tell he has a single-track mind and compassion isn’t amongst his qualities. Something else must have happened.

She observed the alley in more detail and finally took note of something that wasn’t there before. A stain on the ground.

It looked like the marks left by something burning. Leyla crouched before the stain. Her hand reached out and she swipe a finger on it. Bringing the finger now covered in black residue to her nose, she recoiled slightly. It smelled like sulfur.

She looked behind her and noticed that the position of this burnt mark was merely a few steps before where she fell unconscious. She couldn’t quite understand what had happened, but she felt that it had something to do with her. Additionally, she was quite certain that the assailant must have been repelled. He didn’t seem to have left voluntarily.

The feeling had no actual basis, but she chose to believe it anyway, after all, she preferred that to worry whether or not some killer was hiding in the darkness, waiting to finish her.

A noise rang out behind her, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Only the sight of the cat that had just made a can fall from a dumpster managed to calm her nerves.

I should leave.

Having decided so, she walked out of the alley. 20 minutes later, she reached the café she had started her walk from. It was already the afternoon. She quickly rejoined her vehicle and headed home. She had enough excitement to last her a whole week.

While driving she received a call from Seiren.

“Hey, Leyla are you ok?” He asked as soon as she picked up.

“Yes, I am doing well. Is there an issue?” She said trying to be normal, but her voice was broken. She wondered if he suspected something.

“That’s great. It’s just that I had a bad feeling earlier, so I decided to call you.” He explained calmly.

“Also, your voice? You seem to be sick.” He had noticed her broken voice.

“It’s just a cough. I was careless last night and left the window open. Don’t worry, I will get better soon, I took pills. Also, I just bought a dress for the date.” She said quickly trying to change the subject.

“That’s good… You should go home.” He advised.

“I was intending to. I am driving there right now” Leyla said in agreement.

“Ok, drive safely. Take care of yourself, little sis.” He hung up.

Leyla looked at her RTPA, feeling a little weird. It felt like they were both hiding something. His calling to ask if she was alright was too coincidental. Although she was close to her brothers now, she sometimes felt as if there was a part of their lives, she was not privy to.

Regardless, Leyla didn’t want her brothers to worry which is why she pretended that she was fine. She would not alarm her brothers with aggression. In addition, the assailant seemed to have vanished into thin air, so she was most likely safe for now. As for the police it was, even more, a no-go. After all, it was supernatural business, calling the police to apprehend the culprit would be ridiculous.

Soon enough she parked in the garage of their house. Stepping inside her room she finally felt safe. As she went through what just happened, she realized that her previous dream had pointed toward danger. It’s just that she wasn’t sure whether the attack she just weathered was the danger or not. Somehow, she felt that it was not. Not even close.

Leyla put her hand on her face and groaned, she was in top shape when she left the house. But now a couple of hours later she was exhausted and bruised. She pulled out her RTPA and clicked on the camera function. She then activated the selfie mode. It was not for vanity’s sake, she just wanted to see the extent of the damage. Although her throat was not crushed it had been violently bruised. The various hue of yellow and purple covered the skin on her neck.

Looking at the handiwork of that man, she was still shaken by how close to death she had been. No more pressure and she was a goner. Still, she had survived, and she needed to find a way to protect herself. She had a feeling that the rabbit hole went deeper than just a murder attempt.

She sighed dramatically before letting herself fall on her comfortable desk chair. She pulled her legs against her chest and stayed like that for a while. After a moment, she suddenly stood up. She struck her face with her palms twice. The sting on her cheeks woke her up.

I can’t frighten myself and be overwhelmed by the possibilities. I just need to take things as they come, it’s that simple.

She resolved herself to always try her best to survive no matter how dire the situation seemed.

Following that, Leyla went to the bathroom. She wanted to clean herself and try to see if she could hide the bruises on her neck with a concealer.

…………

A few hours ago,

On the rooftop of a certain building.

A man was standing on the edge of the rooftop, he was completely dressed in a black, black shirt, black pants, black shoes, and a black coat. He had a head full of dark hair tinted with a crimson hue. His face was exquisite and would be unbelievably charming if not for its lack of expressions. His irises were black discs, but his pupils were unexpectedly crimson.

At the moment he was focused on a particular alley. If Leyla was there, she would have recognized the alley where she was almost murdered. This man had observed the entire development between Leyla and her assailant.

A moment later, seeming to be talking to the air, he said,

“Master, it seems that the girl didn’t awaken that clan’s heritage. Only her brothers did. They intervened and saved her life. The man we hired turned to ashes because of their flames. In conclusion, she is most certainly an ordinary human.” His voice was robotic and filled with detachment.

…

“Yes, the plan can proceed as per your wish.”

…

“I will be waiting for your instructions, Master.”

He looked once again at the alley, his gaze falling on the unconscious blond girl. Then as he was turning away, he vanished from the rooftop. It was like he had never been there in the first place.

…………

One hour after Leyla had woken up and left the alley,

Two men dressed in a brown trench coat with classic suits underneath appeared in the alley. One was tall, being 192 cm while the other was slightly shorter at 187 cm. The tallest had cropped hair, sharp facial features, and a slender but muscular build. The other one had long-ish hair reaching his neck, styled in a middle part. He had a handsome aristocratic face and a slender toned body.

“It's here?” The tallest one asked.

“Yes, my eyes don’t lie. Something unusual should have happened here at least one hour ago.” The long-haired man answered his face serious.

“Central sensed a supernatural phenomenon that’s why we were dispatched, I thought we would have a fight on our hand but sadly we came too late.” The tall one seemed disappointed.

“You should be grateful that we didn’t come at the moment of the fight.” The long-haired man abruptly said.

“Why?” asked the tall one puzzled.

“Because we would have died. No doubt.” The chilling answer made the tall one look deeply at the long-haired man.

“Are you being serious Kohl?” He asked

“Yes, Vos. Definitely. I saw it.”

“The eyes of truth?” Vos asked still unconvinced.

“Yes, I couldn’t see the scene that took place in the alley, barely shadows. But it isn’t the scene that’s important anyway. It’s the veil that stopped me from seeing it. That red mist… If I am not wrong, the individual behind it should at least be at the level of the patriarch of each clan.

“No shit!?” Vos was badly startled. His face became somber. Kohl merely nodded.

“How could this be!? No such being had been seen in a millennium.” Vos understood the gravity of the situation now and why his partner seemed like he had swallowed a lemon when he took a gaze at the alley.

“We need to report this,” Kohl said finally.

“Yeah, this is totally above our paygrade.” Vos agreed. They left the alley as quickly as possible.

The alley had a few more shadowy visitors before regaining its calm. Dark currents were surging in Suecca City. Something wicked was coming.

…………

In the Regal’s house, Leyla didn’t know what ant’s nest the attack on her had kicked. She was simply happy she could mask the bruises, as they would bring about numerous questions. Questions she couldn’t answer or just didn’t