However, as harmless as the conflict between two girls just beginning to understand love might have seemed, what was happening only a few meters away was filled with cruelty as the situation involving the two noble sons and their guards became far more unpleasant during Kara and Ophelia's conversation.
As Kara continuously increased the pressure exerted on them every time she thought of them, it didn't take long before the distance between them turned negative, with the corners of the four guards' armor piercing the bodies of the two noble sons, who were dressed in light clothing. It's not hard to imagine that the two noble sons were already utterly desperate, even beginning to think that death no longer seemed so terrifying due to the extreme pain they were experiencing. However, the surviving guards couldn't breathe easily either, despite the thought that they had room to move and had temporarily avoided being crushed. The death of their colleague made them view the arrival of death not as a possibility but as a certainty, so they started to wonder if the real winners weren't those who lasted the longest, but rather those who surrendered the quickest.
Pierced between the ribs by the armored elbow of one of his guards and suffocating because his face was pressed between Theodore's buttocks, the duke's son felt he might lose consciousness at any moment, slipping into a sleep from which he was almost certain there would be no waking. If he could have chosen the cause of his death, the duke's son would have preferred it to be the elbow stabbing him, as he didn't want, in case there was life after death, to be known as the one who died suffocated by a man's rear. Unfortunately for him, what was happening to his body was no longer under his control.
Though he had begun to see death as a release, it couldn't be said that the duke's son had fully come to terms with the idea of dying. How could he not have regrets, knowing he had a long life ahead of him, filled with abundance and free from worry? Curses against Kara flowed one after another in his mind, hoping the world wouldn't allow someone as savage as her to continue existing, and that in the end, she would be eliminated.
Yet, the minutes kept passing, and mysteriously, despite his shattered ribs and burning lungs from the lack of air, the duke's son remained conscious, his agony seeming endless. His extraordinary endurance wasn't due to some hidden power or an overwhelming desire to survive that helped him push past his limits. The reason was that Kara had started using a healing skill on both him and Theodore, a skill she had once seen Alice use, because she wanted them to endure until the end. After all, they were the ones she wanted to punish most.
So, even though the two noble sons ended up with fatal wounds, they were not spared from experiencing what it was like to have every bone crushed, their skin and flesh torn to shreds, and their organs mashed, until they and the four guards formed a ball of flesh, bones, tattered clothes, and twisted metal, at which point the pressure finally flattened their skulls. It's worth noting that, during this process, the duke's son's head managed to sink into the softer flesh of Theodore's rear until it hit bone, though by that point, the pain he felt was so great that the unpleasant taste in his mouth no longer bothered him.
"It seems it's over...", Kara said after noticing that the 'human ball' in front of her no longer showed any signs of life.
The result of crushing the six men wasn't as terrifying as the process itself. It would be truly difficult for anyone who hadn't witnessed what happened in the shop to figure out the origin of the ball of flesh and metal floating before Kara. It wouldn't have been surprising if it had been mistaken for the core of a giant metal golem.
Since there was a risk of the store being flooded with blood, which would make their shopping difficult, Kara maintained her Advanced Telekinesis skill, keeping the sphere formed from the six men's bodies intact, intending to use her Devour skill to prevent any potential spills.
Not wanting the secrets of her class to be known by those unfamiliar with her, Kara shot a sideways glance at the shop owner, who was peeking from behind the counter. Being a smart man, the shopkeeper quickly understood that Kara didn't want any witnesses to what was about to happen, so he ducked behind, pretending to be busy with the cupboards. As for sneaking another glance at what Kara was about to do, the thought didn't even cross his mind, fearing that whatever came next would be even more horrifying than the way the two noble sons and their guards had died. Perhaps Kara would turn into a nightmare creature and devour the remains of the six men in one bite.
Once only Ophelia could still see her, Kara approached the bloodied sphere and, activating the Devour skill, caused all the flesh and blood from the remains of the six men to convert into a dark energy, which was rapidly absorbed by her body. In the end, only a sphere made of bones and metal remained in front of her.
'Doesn't look too bad. It seems like the work of an eccentric sculptor...', Kara thought to herself, believing that she might have more artistic talent than she originally thought if she managed to turn garbage into something she wouldn't be ashamed to display in a garden.
Storing the bone sphere in her storage space, Kara suggested to Ophelia that they head to the fitting room with the clothes they had selected, guaranteeing that no one would bother them anymore. Kara was certain that since no loud attack had occurred during the confrontation, the city guards, who occasionally patrolled in front of the shop, wouldn't have been alerted. Therefore, no one was planning to enter the shop to investigate what had happened. Moreover, she had scanned the area around the store once and found nothing suspicious.
But before they could grab all the clothes they had left on a stand behind them, the shop owner approached them, seeming much more cheerful than one would expect given the situation where six people had lost their lives in his store.
"You did a great job, miss! People with such evil intentions don't deserve to live. Thinking about what could have happened if they had set their sights on my granddaughter... No, I don't even want to imagine it!... Anyway, I want to thank you not only for making the world a better place but also for ensuring nothing happened to my shop...", the old man began to praise Kara, as if she were the greatest benefactor of his family.
"Heh, no leaf caught by the wind changes direction more smoothly than you do...", Kara interrupted the shop owner, pinning him with her gaze. "A few minutes ago, you were on my opponents' side, and now, after seeing that I defeated them, you immediately abandoned them and started sucking up to me. Why are you looking at me so confused? Weren't you the one who helped chase off the witnesses?", Kara continued in an irritated tone, her words causing the shopkeeper to break out in a cold sweat.
"But... but you... you signaled for me to agree...", the shopkeeper tried to justify himself, but only in a half-hearted voice. Since Kara's signal had been very brief and subtle, he couldn't help but wonder if he had imagined it due to stress.
"Signal? What signal? Do we know each other so well that we communicate through signs?", Kara pretended not to understand what the shopkeeper was talking about. It wasn't that she wanted to find a reason to blackmail him; she merely wanted to put him in an uncomfortable position as she found his master-of-ceremonies attitude somewhat offensive. Kara suspected that because the shopkeeper was too confident in his ability to ingratiate himself with those more powerful than him, deep down he thought he could manipulate her as well, which was an affront to her power. How could a small pebble try to change the course of a raging river?
The shopkeeper no longer knew what to believe, Kara's words making him doubt even more what he remembered. Moreover, even if he wasn't mistaken and Kara didn't want to admit she had signaled him, what could he do? He wasn't one of those naive people who believed that the truth could overcome power.
"Kara, stop tormenting the poor man. What if he has a heart attack from fear?", Ophelia intervened, thinking that for someone the shopkeeper's age, it might be too difficult to endure so many tense situations in a row, as had occurred in the last hour since they had entered the shop.
"You don't need to worry. Although he seems a bit frail, he's still standing strong...", Kara said, amused, as she glanced at the old man who was now trying to present himself as humbly as possible after hearing Ophelia's words.
'So now he's playing the fragile old man, thinking I won't risk ruining my image in front of Ophelia by entering into a conflict with him? Well, I thought he was smart enough to realize I don't like people pulling tricks in front of me. Or maybe he's trying to entertain me?... Either way, there's no enmity between us, so I wasn't planning on tormenting him for long. Why waste time scaring an old man when I can spend it more pleasantly, watching Ophelia try on different outfits? However, since he wants to stir up trouble between me and Ophelia, I don't intend to let him off the hook completely…', Kara thought to herself, planning to get a big discount from the shopkeeper once again.
Although this wouldn't bankrupt him, Kara figured it would be quite demoralizing for the old man to have to give away merchandise for free to the same customer twice in a row. Plus, if it happened twice, what guarantee was there that it wouldn't happen a third time?
"Believe me, miss, I was never on their side. I have so many granddaughters... How could I possibly side with such brutes?", the shopkeeper desperately tried to defend his innocence, not wanting Kara to conclude that he was her enemy, as that would surely lead to a grim future for him.
"Alright. Let's say I believe you, for now...", Kara reassured the old man, who looked like he was on the verge of tears.
"Thank you... thank you for your understanding..." the shopkeeper began to express his gratitude.
"Well, I am a generous person...", Kara interrupted the shopkeeper's thanks.
"Yes, the most generous. Like the sun, sharing its warmth with everyone.", the shopkeeper agreed quickly, thinking that the situation was turning in his favor.
"However, I seem to recall the duke's son gave you a bag with one or two hundred gold coins. If you were on our side, that means you took it on our behalf, right? No, no, you don't have to give it to us; you can keep it as payment for the clothes we'll be picking out...", Kara continued, her words catching the old man off guard. He had already dismissed that incident from his mind, having considered the money from the duke's son as his own.
"Of course...", the shopkeeper muttered reluctantly; though he had been declared innocent, he was still the one who had to pay. Remembering how much wealth Kara had taken from the duke's son and his entourage, it was clear to him that the money she mentioned held little value to her. She likely decided to take it just to make him feel uncomfortable.
But what could he do? Refuse Kara, whom he had just managed to appease? He could only console himself with the thought that at least he wouldn't end the day in the red, unlike the last time Kara had visited. Either way, he no longer intended to use the word "generous" in the same sentence as Kara ever again.