"W-Who are you?"
Instead of feeling relieved by the appearance of this foreign man, the fear within Mahiru only intensified.
From her perspective, blurred by tears, the figure in front of her seemed unreal—dressed eccentrically like a cosplayer, but most terrifying of all was the long sword the man held, which was now stained with fresh blood.
"I'm sorry for scaring you."
The cold expression instantly softened as the man turned toward Mahiru.
Realizing the girl's chest was still exposed, Charlie quickly removed his black coat.
"Hiii—!!!"
Mahiru let out a small shriek, her body shrinking back until she hit the hard toilet wall.
Her mind was consumed by terror; she assumed this white-haired man was just another predator who wanted to continue the harassment started by the two thugs earlier.
Seeing the tragic fate of the two black men whose hands were severed in an instant, Mahiru knew she had no strength to resist. She closed her eyes tightly, her shoulders shaking violently, resigning herself to whatever the other party was going to do to her body.
However, the sensation of rough hands squeezing her chest as before never came. Instead, a gentle warmth enveloped her shoulders, driving away the bone-chilling cold.
Opening her eyes slowly, Mahiru looked into the eyes of the white-haired youth now crouching in front of her. With careful movements, the youth draped a thick black cloak to cover her broken body.
"Wait just a little longer. This will all be over soon."
Charlie started to reach out to pat the girl's head out of habit, but his hand stopped halfway. He realized the fear that was still very thick in Mahiru's eyes; the slightest touch at this moment would only become additional trauma.
Standing up slowly, Charlie turned around. The two black men had apparently vanished, fleeing with what little strength they had left, leaving four severed hands lying grisly on the floor in a pool of blood.
"Listen, Shiina Mahiru. Stay here if you want to be safe."
"...!!!"
Unfortunately, in her unstable mental state, Mahiru misinterpreted that warning. To her, the sentence sounded like a command from a predator marking his territory.
What made her even more desperate was the fact that this youth knew her name. It meant her identity, her school, and perhaps her home address were no longer secrets.
Fleeing felt futile in her eyes.
"Um."
Mahiru nodded weakly, clutching the black cloak tightly with fingers that had turned pale.
Her mind began to distort with resignation; if her virginity truly had to be taken today, she would rather it be this white-haired youth who had just helped her than the two black men from before.
Charlie did not realize that he had just been branded poorly in Mahiru's mind. His focus right now was the completion of the task. Without wasting time, he hurried out of the toilet.
With Senrigan providing nearly omniscient vision, he quickly found the tracks of the two black men.
They weren't far yet, running with difficulty through the rain while letting out stifled screams from the incredible pain in their severed wrists.
Amidst the pouring rain, Charlie streaked forward carrying his sword. His footsteps were as light as the wind, chasing the two shadows with a speed that was nonsensical for an ordinary human.
(Haaah... It's a complete mess. This kind of cruel scenario should never have existed in this world.)
Charlie looked coldly at the backs of the fugitives.
(Otonari no Tenshi-sama is a very wholesome romance story. Shiina Mahiru is the image of a perfect woman that is nearly impossible to find in the real world.)
(The fantasy genre already explains that a figure as perfect as her is usually just the imagination of a man yearning for an ideal partner. But here, that purity was almost destroyed in the filthiest way.)
Charlie formed a quick conclusion in his mind.
(Without a doubt, this is the work of an Abyssal Devourer. That creature must have manipulated or controlled these two thugs to attack Mahiru in order to destroy the destiny of this world.)
His footsteps moved rapidly and he managed to catch up in a matter of seconds. Without the slightest hesitation or pity, he swung his iron sword in one precise circular motion.
SWISH! SWISH!
Two heads were detached from their necks in a single breath.
The headless bodies still managed to run a few meters before finally collapsing onto the wet asphalt, while the owners' heads rolled away with eyes wide open.
"I do not know if the attempted rape you committed was of your own will or because of the control of another party."
"But that does not change the fact of the heinous act you just performed on that girl. So, rest in peace in hell."
Before leaving the location, Charlie raised his hand. He used Spirit Arts, releasing energy that instantly annihilated the remains of the corpses and the thugs' heads until they became ash that vanished, swept away by the rain.
Not a single piece of evidence must be left behind.
After ensuring everything was clean, he turned back, walking back toward the park toilet to pick up the Angel who was still huddled in fear.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
Entering the stuffy women's toilet, Charlie found Mahiru still there, obediently waiting for his return in the same position.
The girl seemed to let out a breath of relief for a moment when she realized the one stepping in was not the two black men from before, but the white-haired youth who had helped her.
However, that relief only lasted a moment. Thinking about what might happen next—that this man might have "cleaned up" his rivals just to have her for himself—a deeper fear once again filled her heart.
Charlie, thinking that Mahiru was just still trapped in the physical and mental trauma of the earlier attempted rape, reached out his hand sincerely.
"Can you stand?"
"...?"
Mahiru only stared at the outstretched hand in silence, not moving even slightly to accept it. Her body was still stiff, and her eyes radiated a great doubt toward Charlie's intentions.
"Pardon my rudeness, Miss."
Ignoring the shock radiating from the girl's face, Charlie chose a more efficient action. He leaned down, slipped his arms under Mahiru's knees and back, and lifted her in one steady motion in a princess carry.
"Hyaaaa—!"
Accompanied by a spontaneous, cute shriek, Mahiru reflexively wrapped both her arms around Charlie's neck, clutching tightly for fear of falling.
Her pale face now blushed slightly because of this very intimate position, even though wariness still dominated her mind.
Charlie said nothing more. With Mahiru in his embrace, he stepped out of the gloomy toilet building.
The heavy rain outside had not yet stopped. Normally, they would be instantly drenched by the cold rainwater in a split second. However, Mahiru was stunned to witness a strange phenomenon before her eyes; countless raindrops stopped several meters above and around them, as if there were an invisible, transparent barrier protecting them from getting wet.
"Hold on tight." Charlie said briefly.
"Huh?"
Before Mahiru could process the meaning of those words, Charlie used Wind Spirit Arts. In an instant, gravity seemed to lose its power.
WHOOSH!
Their bodies streaked upward, flying through the sky. White clouds drifted past them like clumps of cotton being split apart.
Up there, the sun began to set slowly toward the west, creating a mesmerizing streak of orange and purple colors on the horizon. The wind roared loudly in Mahiru's ears, making her blonde hair and the black cloak she wore flutter violently.
"So beautiful..."
This surreal sight that she had never imagined in her entire life instantly enchanted Mahiru's consciousness.
For a moment, the beauty of the world from a height of thousands of feet made her completely forget the terrifying trauma she had just experienced down below.
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