Powerhouse

In this world, humans are the weakest of all intelligent beings—a fact agreed upon by every race.

It wasn't about looking down on humans; it was simply the truth. Humans had weak limbs, little strength, and even though their stamina was decent, it paled in comparison to that of other races. And when it came to magic, only a handful of humans could use it, while the majority couldn't access it at all.

To the non-humans, humans were mostly just the ones who helped the vampires build all sorts of revolting things. But in the end, they were nothing more than livestock for the vampires, living under constant oppression. Although some non-humans sought refuge with the vampires to survive, those cases were rare, and even then, they weren't kept like humans—raised only to be slaughtered.

Vampires looked down on humans, and so did the non-humans.

So, even though the woman before them had just kicked down the door and tossed two Minotaurs at the werewolf's feet, the werewolf still looked down on her. His disdain was so deep that it overshadowed his sense of caution, making him forget the strange aura surrounding the woman. He even wondered if his inability to hear or smell her earlier was due to being too focused on the Black family heiress.

But before he could laugh at her, the woman was already stepping on his head, pressing him into the ground. No one saw her move; all they knew was that a black blur had streaked past, too fast for even the vampires to follow with their eyes.

The werewolf's head was buried into the floor, and the woman had pressed so hard that the ground around him cracked, with fissures spreading outward. The speed and power of her attack were so sudden that even the rabbit had no time to react. By the time the rabbit regained his senses, their captain was already embedded in the floor. The white-furred werewolf beside him reacted instinctively, drawing his short blade and lunging at Molly.

Molly simply extended two fingers and caught the blade between them. Her strength was undeniable—this was proof that she was no ordinary human. With just two fingers, she held the blade in place, no matter how much the werewolf struggled, it wouldn't budge.

—This scene was just too cool, so cool that it reminded Molly of scenes from the anime she'd watched. And she knew exactly what to do next. With a flick of her fingers, she snapped the blade in two, catching the broken piece and flicking it at the werewolf's face.

The werewolf barely dodged in time, the blade slicing his cheek and embedding itself in the throat of a Minotaur behind him, pinning the creature to the wall. The force of the blade was so great that it sank deep into the wall, its handle still vibrating.

Had the werewolf not dodged, his head would likely have ended up just like the Minotaur's throat—pierced through. This was Molly holding back; had she wanted to, the werewolf wouldn't have had a chance to react. The only reason she let him dodge was because it looked cooler to her—the blade piercing the next target's throat and then embedding itself in the wall was just too stylish.

The vampires seemed to agree, as several of them gasped at the display of Molly's power, unable to comprehend how a human could accomplish such feats.

The white werewolf didn't give up, though. Perhaps he had some blood ties to the werewolf pinned under Molly's foot or belonged to the same pack, but he was determined to save him. He tried to attack Molly with the broken blade, but Molly wasn't going to let him continue. She kicked the werewolf's knee, shattering the bone with enough force to send him crashing to the ground.

As the werewolf fell, the rabbit's ears drooped in fear. He trembled as he spoke, "M-Miss, there must be some kind of misunderstanding. We're friendly toward humans—we haven't done anything wrong! Please! Please spare us!"

Rabbits were naturally timid creatures, so in non-human squads, they often served as scouts, ready to flee at the first sign of danger. Seeing the two strongest members of their group so easily defeated, the rabbit knew he stood no chance against Molly. He had thought about running—after all, he was a rabbit, renowned for speed. But after witnessing Molly's speed, a mere blur to his eyes, he knew he couldn't escape from under her nose.

So he chose to beg for mercy without hesitation, but Molly scoffed, "Can you guarantee that you've never harmed a human?" The rabbit's first instinct was to lie. He wasn't stupid—of course, he wouldn't tell the truth. Besides… how could any non-human not have harmed a human?

Though he wasn't the type to torture or kill humans for fun, he had killed countless humans during raids on remote vampire farms. But that was just how things were—humans were weak, and they died so easily. It wasn't his fault, was it?

A cold sweat trickled down the rabbit's face as he forced a smile, his mouth opening to tell a lie. But as he met Molly's cold, emotionless black eyes, he knew there was no point in lying. She would see through him in an instant.

Before he could react, the world spun, and he felt his head hit the ground. Only then did he realize—Molly had decapitated him. He never even saw what she used as a weapon.

With the rabbit dispatched, Molly turned her attention to Medusa.

Medusa was pale with fear, though Molly thought her face had been pale to begin with. As Molly approached, each step felt like a blow to Medusa's heart. The snakes on Medusa's head hissed and bared their fangs at Molly.

Molly could tell that Medusa was trying to petrify her, but all Molly felt was a slight dryness in her skin—she could probably use some moisturizer.

Just as Molly was about to reach Medusa, she heard Adele's voice behind her, "Please, wait!"

Molly paused, slightly turning her head. She was certain Adele wasn't driven by misplaced sympathy. Though Adele was righteous and protected the weak, she wasn't naïve. She held no compassion for non-humans and likely saw them as no different from the vampire doctor.

If Adele wasn't asking for Medusa's life to be spared, then what was it? Molly was intrigued. If Adele was reaching out to her, she couldn't just brush it off.

Molly's gaze was icy. "What is it?"

Her tone and expression seemed to say, You better have a good reason, or I'll finish you too.

Most people would freeze upon seeing what Molly had just done and the look in her eyes. They would turn into quivering messes, desperate to avoid drawing attention. But Adele wasn't like most people. She had a reason for stopping Molly, and she wouldn't back down.

She took a deep breath before speaking, "Can you spare the child in Medusa's grasp? He may be a vampire, but he's just a child—he's innocent." Molly listened to Adele's plea, then turned to look at the young vampire Medusa was holding tightly.

To Molly, a human, the death of a vampire child meant nothing. Though he was young, as a noble vampire, he had likely already drunk plenty of human blood and would only drink more in the future. So when Molly attacked, she hadn't cared whether the vampire child was killed in the process.

The non-humans knew the vampire child meant nothing to Molly, so they hadn't used him as leverage. Medusa hadn't even bothered to hold the child by the neck like before—using a vampire child to threaten a human would be absurd.

As Molly turned to Medusa, everyone's hearts leaped into their throats, especially the child's mother, who looked like she might faint. Even the proud vampires had to admit that they were at the mercy of this human—she was far stronger than they could handle. If she chose to kill the child now, there would be nothing they could do.

But Molly gave Adele her back. "Whether or not you can save him depends on how well you do."

With that, Molly didn't wait for Adele's response. Her black threads shot out, slicing off Medusa's arms that were holding the vampire child. Adele hesitated only for a moment before realizing Molly's intent. She dashed forward, pulling the child away from Medusa.

In the next instant, Medusa's snake-filled head and body were shredded by Molly's threads.

—That was pretty cool, but now these threads are too dirty to use again.

Molly retracted her threads, only to find Adele staring at her intently—more specifically, at the empty shell of the "Molly" she had left behind. Molly realized something important: with Medusa dead, the petrification spell was likely broken.

So now the question was, how was she going to get back to that empty shell?

Lady of Dawn: I'm super cool!

Adele: I'm fully committed to Molly.