Chapter 54: Difference In Intelligence

As I followed Dalia, she suddenly stopped and looked around.

Had I been discovered? The psycho types always had that crazy sixth sense, like a feral animal.

My heart beat like an engine, and I could taste the tension in the air. Nervous thoughts ravaged my mind.

I didn't want to fight her.

Ord gathered across Delia's fingers, and she dragged her hand across her face. She created a mask resembling a corn bag with two eye holes and stitches around the mask's mouth.

Was she a Creator?

Delia always struck me more like a Warrior. She even used daggers as her primary weapon.

Walking amongst the slums, she waited outside a Casino. Delia didn't stay at the entrance but more at the building next to the Casino, where she could keep a perfect eye on things.

Why was she doing this? Was she waiting for someone?

Whatever it was, I would figure it out soon. Learning her special ability would be helpful no matter how the situation developed. A battle between special ability users was a battle of information.

A man approached her. Since I was observing her from one of the rooftops quite far away, I couldn't hear what they were saying.

She smiled and asked the man to follow her into the alley. The man blushed and followed along with a foolish smile.

Delia came out with a bloody knife not even a second after she went in.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what she had done. She was nonchalant about it and even had a smile on her face, whistling some creepy song as she walked away.

..

After almost an hour, a man wearing a golden yellow suit bumbled out of the casino.

Delia threw her knife and hit the man right through his eye. The tip of the blade came from the back of his skull, the man's remaining eye widened, and he opened and closed his mouth like a fish.

He fell to the ground face-first, pushing the knife even deeper and causing the back of his skull to crack open like a melon.

"Ahhh!" People panicked and ran away.

"W -Who did that?!"

"What the fuck!?"

Delia observed the scene for a couple of seconds and breathed out a sigh. She put her hands in her pockets and casually walked off.

She took out a piece of paper. I couldn't see its contents due to the distance. I didn't have the chance to approach her as she quickly put the paper away.

Next, she went down the red light district with many scantily clad women. Due to her choice of clothing crop top and short jeans that looked almost like short boxers, Delia didn't stand out.

She walked around, and finally, her gaze stopped on a man with golden teeth, a purple fedora, and a cane with an emerald embedded in it.

He screamed at an adult worker, taking some of her money. But whatever he was about to say, he couldn't finish.

The tip of a knife suddenly came out of his eye. A knife had gone hilt-deep on the back of his skull.

"Oh! Ahhh!" The prostitute screamed in panic.

Delia walked away without a worry in the world, whistling another upbeat song.

It was irritating how she wasn't revealing any kind of special ability. All I learned until now was that she was good at throwing knives.

But she didn't stop there; this time, she went to a quieter part of the slums.

Actually, calling it slums would be wrong. As while there were broken-down houses, they were all abandoned. The smell of filth permeated through the place, and rats squeaked.

In the middle of the wreckage of abandoned houses stood a big mansion with broken windows and fences.

There were some guards with crossbows at the front gate. As Delia approached, they pointed their crossbows at her.

Since the area around seemed abandoned, I could hear what they were saying.

"Stop right there, woman!"

"Stop, or we will shoot!"

Before they could spout out any more threats, Delia's hands were a blur, and two knives dug into their throats. Blood spewed out, and the guards fell dead.

What happened next could only be described as a massacre. Screams were rare to come out of people, as Delia was good enough to kill them before they screamed.

There was something about this that made my skin crawl.

Was she hunting these people down for sport?

An average weak person's life had no value. One mediocre exorcist could come and do whatever they wanted, and no one would be able to bat an eye.

"Ahhh! No! No! I will give you whatever you want! Do you want money?! I have a lot of money! I can give you all the money I have!" Said an older man with slicked-back gray hair. He would have looked like an intimidating gentleman if this were any other situation.

Delia didn't have blood on her as she left the mansion. She stared at the mafia guy and chuckled. "You keep offering me just money. People who have only money in this world are quite sad. So I will relieve you of your misery!"

After saying that, Ord gathered around her body in a protective aura.

So she had a Warrior affinity? A hybrid affinity of Warrior and Creator. That was a strong combination.

With a swift motion, she blitzed past the mafia man.

"Huh?" The man was momentarily confused before his head slipped off his neck.

As soon as that happened, a chill ran down my spine. It was as if my body was telling me; a predator had appeared!

The next second, a stream of Ord burst out of Delia. Her inner energy was red and full of malice.

Someone's Ord told a lot about them. Special Abilities often reflect the person's mentality and struggles through life.

Seeing such malicious Ord, I froze in place and suppressed my own Ord as much as possible so she wouldn't notice.

It was like seeing a different side of Delia. The original Kon didn't know just how strange she was. Since he grew up with her and assumed her behavior was normal.

Delia liked dismembering bugs and seeing how long they lived. In some cases, that could be considered a child's curiosity, as she didn't know any better.

Kon remembered when she was ten and he was only six. She killed a cat by chopping its head off with a knife and burying the cat. At the time, she smiled at Kon and told him that cats had nine lives, so she would come back to life.

Whether it was my previous world or this one, cruelty to animals was strange behavior. Despite Delia's mask of normality, she was an abnormal person.

As soon as it came, the malicious Ord disappeared, and Delia started walking back toward the direction of the inn.

It was as if all that happened lasted only a second and was part of my imagination. I quickly rushed from rooftop to rooftop to try and get back to the inn before her.

A raindrop fell on my nose as soon as I jumped a couple of houses. Immediately, I rushed faster, and a downpour began.

Shit!

..

By the time I arrived at the inn, I was soaked.

I needed to change clothes before Delia returned. Or else-

"Where were you?" A hand on my shoulder stopped me from going to my room. Paris' cold gaze peered into me.

It was right then and there that I knew things wouldn't play according to plan.

"I was just walking about. Exploring the place," I gave a vague answer.

"Really?" Her eyes narrowed. "Then tell me what places you visit, their names, and what you bought."

Shit! Shit! Shit! She's too cautious! No matter what I told her, she would probably double-check.

I shrugged my shoulders, pushing her hand away from it. "I was just walking about. Who would remember the name of every shop they visited? This is also my first time here. If you're suspicious, you can just ask the locals."

No street vendor would remember each of their customers. My facial features are so plain that my description would fit many people. Thankfully I didn't have streaks of purple in my hair.

"Hmmm, is that so?"

"Yes, it is," I turned to look at her; her clothes stuck to her skin, and water droplets fell from her hair. She was drenched too! Now was an excellent time to deflect! "What about you? Where have you been?"

"Investigating the crime scene," she answered without missing a beat. "In the third center, to the Cocoon Jackets Shop. I asked the vendors many questions about a kidnapping a week ago. So they should remember me if you ask them."

So she was investigating. I could have guessed that. Her overpowered ability had some nasty conditions it needed to fulfill. The stronger an ability, the stronger the restrictions were.

The limitations on her abilities were some of the harshest I knew of. But at the same time, the effects of her ability were some of the strongest.

"By the way, when I asked you the first question. Why did your pulse rise?" She showed me her hand. "When I touched your shoulder, I felt your heartbeat."

Damn it! I'm screwed!

"So, care to explain why your heart was beating so fast when I asked you where you had been?" Paris' eyes turned cold. "What did that fastened heartbeat mean? Were you nervous?"

You already knew the answer, you bitch. I hate intelligent characters!

*******

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