Mystical feeling

A war cry echoed throughout the still air under the bridge, away from the populace.

A few dozen people rushed towards the three regressors, manic fury reflected in their eyes as clear as a mirror.

Being the most notable and intimidating person of the 3, it was obvious that Arco would have the most people running at him with Melina having the second-largest crowd and Eve with barely any opponents.

It should have been that way but Eve's earlier comment triggered all of them.

'Their eyes are red like a bull. Damn, they really took my response to heart huh. Funny how it only makes them all look more like clowns.'

Eve barely suppressed the need to snort, seeing how the gang members' faces were all scrunched up and red. Some who dyed their hair red looked even more ridiculous since their hair looked like a direct continuation of their faces.

He didn't move from his position since he was warned to not participate in the combat beforehand.

He was fine with it. He wanted to see how the two could fight against nearly 30 adults.

Arco stood his ground like a monolith, unmovable force ready to take on a swarm of men. Melina, however, took the initiative first by darting from her position to the nearest gangster.

Her speed was swift and smooth as if she was in perfect control of her body. Suddenly, she halted her advance out of nowhere and crouched down to touch the ground with both of her hands.

She lifted herself up while curling up her legs.

She leaned backward slightly as the gangster reached her attack range. Then, with the explosive strength of a professional athlete, she pushed against the ground with her hands as she kicked with her legs.

The resulting effect was shocking. The poor gangster who had the misfortune to get kicked by Melina was lifted off the ground by the sheer force of the kick, flew for a good few meters while spinning at the same time.

He landed harshly on his back. His hospital bills looked grim.

Melina landed on both of her feet like a cat and dusted off her palms.

If the young and petite Melina was capable of such feat, one could only imagine what Arco was able to do.

Thankfully for the gangsters, Arco seemed to hold back a little.

One of the men who approached Eve with violent intentions ended up getting grabbed by his head, lifted up, and thrown against his gangmates by Arco.

'He probably refrains from fighting by punching and kicking since they could very well kill those people. Although, how he fights right now isn't any better in terms of inflicting pain.'

Compared to the gangsters, Arco was a giant amongst men and had a strength befitting of one.

One does not simply pick up a person with one hand and throw him 6 meters.

Eve couldn't see his expression but he imagined his face to be that of boredom because that's what his laid-back body language told him.

Just to make sure, Eve stepped outside of Arco's range in case Arco decided Eve would make an excellent bowling ball.

Melina fought with great agility and swiftness, prioritizing efficient and clean takedowns. She didn't spend more than a second necessary on a person and quickly moved onto the next.

Arco fought with no style in particular but he was still dreadful.

'I wonder if they are that strong with soul power. Then, is there a limit to soul power's enhancement?'

He had little time to ponder as the fight had been over in 5 minutes.

"Whew, that was a good exercise," Melina exclaimed. A dozen men lay on the ground surrounding her, all groaning in pain if not unconscious.

She suddenly looked at Eve. "Look closely at Arco. It is important." She said.

Eve complied and his gaze was diverted toward the hulking figure of Arco, only to see something out of the ordinary.

A feeling, something abnormal, something that can only be described as mystical was oozing from Arco as he grunted in satisfaction.

His jaw slacked open. If he didn't know Arco beforehand, he would think that he was a sorcerer of some sort or a divine personnel.

The feeling was too intrinsic, delicate, and powerful to be the byproduct of drugs or any hallucinogens. It was something Eve felt from the deepest parts of his being, his soul.

'So this is raw soul power.'

Melina smiled. "So you managed to complete it."

Arco sighed in exhilaration. "Yeah, I did."

"The thing Arco is going through right now is called Harvest," Melina explained to Eve.

"It's something that you will go through soon too so, be happy." 

It took a moment for Arco to calm down. Once that was over, the trio ventured deep under the bridge and gained possession of the vehicles the gang had stashed away.

It was a normal car, devoid of any special features. 

Eve felt the need to ask. "What's going to happen to the gangsters?"

"Don't worry. Someone from our group will handle them."

They got into the car after obtaining the key from one of the unconscious gang members and took off into the city.