Before their eyes could even register his movement, Regi stepped into striking range. In a flash, his arm shot out and seized the thug’s wrist, twisting it with all his strength until there was a sharp crack... Tragically, the bones in the thug’s arm snapped instantly.
Before the thug’s scream of pain could escape his mouth, Regi’s knee slammed into his solar plexus. The lead thug who had attacked Regi was launched into the air, then crashed into the brick wall with a heavy impact.
“Wham...”
“Aaahkk....”
“Damn it! Finish him!” the leader snarled at his remaining underling, then attacked simultaneously from the left and right.
That night... the atmosphere became a tense canvas of violence, with Regi moving like a shadow. Every blow was so powerful that each takedown crushed the enemy’s morale.
“Thud....”
An elbow strike shattered the leader’s jaw, sending him sprawling and vomiting blood. His last underling tried to stab Regi from behind, but Regi nimbly twisted his body aside. Then his free, muscular hand seized the man by the collar, and with a takedown technique he had mastered... the large body slammed into the pavement with a resounding thud... How annoying.
Mely, who had covered her eyes because she couldn’t bear to look at the horrifying scene in front of her, reflexively opened them again, her mouth hanging open.
Within minutes, silence crept back in, leaving only Regi’s steady breathing and the pained groans of the three bodies now sprawled helplessly in a dirty puddle.
Not a single drop of sweat had fallen on Regi’s brow. He stood straight, casually adjusting the slightly dislodged hood of his hoodie, as if what he had just done were nothing at all—like he had merely chased away a stray cat.
Mely blinked, looking around with her mouth hanging even wider open. The three hulking thugs were already unconscious, strewn across the street like garbage.
“E-Excuse me, a-are they dead?” Mely asked, swallowing with difficulty as she stared at Regi’s straight back with a mixture of awe and horror.
“I don’t know. Hopefully not. They’d definitely be a hassle later, and it’s all because I ran into you!” Regi replied in his usual indifferent manner, casting a brief glance at the flustered Mely.
“S-Sorry, b-but you were like some kind of martial-arts master, you were so awesome! Don’t tell me you really are one. Where did you learn martial arts?” Mely asked in a rapid-fire stream after apologizing guiltily, then praising him with a forced smile.
Regi glanced at her from the corner of his eye, his face still flat and expressionless.
“You’re so chatty,” Regi muttered, slowly shaking his head in disbelief before continuing, “Are you coming now? Or do you want to wait for them to wake up and catch you?”
Mely swallowed hard again and nodded, then pulled her knit cardigan tighter around herself and walked directly behind the man’s shadow.
“W-Why are we here?” Mely asked, turning toward a modest old house. Its walls were made of teak planks whose color had faded with age, while the base was supported by a concrete foundation.
The house wasn’t large. It was probably only about eight by eight meters. Its windows had wooden frames and jalousie glass, most of which had jammed, and had been left half open so the night air could flow freely in and out, replacing the stale air trapped inside.
On the front porch, paved with old-fashioned tiles, stood flowerpots whose paint had also faded. Yet the flowers blooming and unfolding within them more than made up for it, delighting the eye.
Without answering Mely’s question, Regi said, “That intersection is fairly crowded. There are even still plenty of kids hanging around at this hour. Turn left, then walk straight ahead. You’ll find a main-road intersection and a bus stop there.”
“B-But... W-Weren’t you going to walk me home?” Mely replied hopefully, still feeling uneasy.
“Who said I was? This is my house. I’ve reached my destination, and I’m going to rest. You can go home by yourself,” Regi replied, walking toward his house without paying Mely any further attention.
*Huh...* Mely grumbled inwardly, staring at Regi’s back with a mixture of irritation and fear. The memory of what had happened earlier suddenly spun rapidly through her head.
“Hey! Don’t just abandon someone else’s kid like that!” Mely complained in a half-whisper, forced to follow Regi because she was afraid of the thugs still hunting her.
Before Mely could launch into a second round of protests, the wooden door let out a loud creak... the kind produced by rusty hinges that often served as jump scares in mystery soap operas.
From behind the door emerged a friendly-looking middle-aged woman wearing a hijab and a legendary batik house dress whose color had long since surrendered to the passage of time.
“Oh, Regi? You brought a friend, dear?” the woman greeted him with a broad smile.
Ignoring Mely’s expression, which already resembled that of a living corpse....