Dusk Street was practically a lawless land, with chaos and disorder being its bywords.
No one was willing to manage it; even amidst the constant conflict, the people here consciously maintained a fragile balance to avoid external interference.
Pardofelis, who grew up in this place, was like most people here, cautiously surviving each day, quick to flee whenever trouble arose.
Unlike others, Pardofelis had another identity: she was the righteous thief of Dusk Street.
The vigilance she developed from a young age, her masterful escaping skills, and her strong luck—which she herself was proud of—ensured that every one of her thefts ended safely.
She distributed the stolen goods to every nursing home on Dusk Street, and any remaining money was just enough to meet her daily needs.
Because she was aiding nursing homes, and the goods or money she stole were not significant to the local bosses of Dusk Street, they chose to turn a blind eye.
The change happened overnight: the people of one nursing home vanished in a single night.
Whether it was the compassionate nun, the short-tempered security guard, or the innocent children afflicted with strange illnesses, they all disappeared overnight.
Not only that, but the residents near the nursing home also disappeared without a trace, so cleanly that even the local bosses had no clue, assuming perhaps the nun had offended someone she shouldn't have.
Thus, that particular spot in Dusk Street became forbidden.
When Pardofelis arrived at the scene, only a young man stood there, staring blankly at the nursing home's sign.
She had never seen this person in Dusk Street before, so she surmised he must be an outsider.
Generally speaking, an outsider standing alone in front of an empty nursing home would seem suspicious, but her intuition told her that this young man might know something.
Pardofelis lightly patted her face, feigning enthusiasm as she walked over and said, "Boss, is this your first time in Dusk Street?" At the same time, she warily observed her surroundings, ready to bolt if anything seemed off.
The young man turned his head, and Pardofelis saw a hint of surprise in his dark pupils; as for what surprised him, she had no idea.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Me? I'm just a small merchant, my name isn't important!" she said, waving her hand. "Boss, you look new around here, so I was wondering if there's any business we could do."
"Is that so?" The young man smiled faintly. "I'm sorry, I don't have any business for you, I'm just standing here for a moment."
Just then, a silver-haired girl walked out of the nursing home and said to the young man, "Didn't find what we were looking for. Just as you thought, Aponia didn't lie."
Sister Nia?
Pardofelis looked at the two of them with some alarm.
It seemed they truly were in the know, but… would she be silenced for hearing this?
She quietly shuffled backward, slowly moving her body, when suddenly, a pair of hands reached out, twisted her arms behind her back, and pressed her to the ground.
It happened so fast, the movements so swift, that it wasn't until she was pinned to the ground and a sharp pain shot through her mind that she realized she had been caught.
Out of instinct, she screamed, "I don't know anything! I'm just a small business owner, I really don't know anything!"
"Xi La, stop," the young man said, "Release her."
The pressure on her immediately vanished, and Pardofelis sprang up from the ground, looking at the person who had attacked her.
It was a gray-haired girl with long bangs covering her left eye, her right eye's silver pupil staring at her without any emotion.
The scent of blood permeated the girl's body, proving what she had just done.
"How do you plan to handle her?" the silver-haired girl asked.
"Let her go," the young man took a file from the silver-haired girl's hand.
"What we needed to do is resolved, we can return."
Pardofelis had just let out a sigh of relief when the silver-haired girl's words made her heart leap into her throat: "Aren't you afraid she'll leak information? Don't you need to pull up weeds by the roots?"
The young man walked past her, and the girl named Xi La silently followed him.
The young man didn't turn back, simply saying, "She's just a small cat, there's no need for that.
The mission is over, let's go, Lilith.
Oh, and when we get back, you can give Xi La a bath; she's a good girl, but the smell of blood on her is too strong."
"Yes, yes, my esteemed leader, as you wish," the silver-haired girl said somewhat unenthusiastically, then followed the young man and left.
Pardofelis later learned that many people had tried to investigate the nursing home in the following days, but she was the only one who left alive.
She had no doubt that if the young man hadn't spoken up, she would have met her end there, because she had approached the young man based on intuition, so she also believed that if she hadn't seen the young man, she would have been doomed.
At the same time, the young man's image was imprinted in her mind; if possible, she felt she should still thank him.
It was several years later when she saw the young man again.
By then, the world had become very abnormal, and even Dusk Street hadn't been spared.
The "goods" she could acquire became scarcer and scarcer, and for survival, she began to leave Dusk Street to expand her "supply channels."
At a disaster site, she found a volunteer surgery form.
Because she couldn't understand what was written on it, she somehow ended up on the Fire Moth operating table in an almost comical way, becoming a Fusion Warrior.
Only then did she realize what she had done, but the Fire Moth's internal management was strict, and seeing that she couldn't escape, she could only accept her fate and just be lazy in a different place.
It was at this time that she saw the young man again.
After several years, he seemed to have become even colder, his aura as chillingly cold as Kevin's.
He seemed to have just returned from a mission, and the first time he saw her, he recognized her: "It's you, the small cat from Dusk Street."
It was only during this reunion that she learned who he was.
A hero on par with Kevin, the leader of the Fire Moth's strongest Fusion Warrior squad, the Fallen Angels, Alex.
"Actually, if it feels more natural, calling me Alex is fine too," he said.
So she began to call the young man "Brother Alex."
She didn't know why, but when she was with Brother Alex, he wasn't like the rumors said, where anyone he looked at would be scared to death; on the contrary, he was very gentle.
He would discuss with her where was best to be lazy, tell her when the cafeteria food tasted best, and even take her to be lazy with him.
Although after that, Sister Lilith would always catch them and drag them back.
No matter where Brother Alex hid, Sister Lilith could always find him accurately…
She once told Brother Alex that she somewhat envied him for being a hero admired by all.
He was silent for a moment, then said, "If a hero is like me, then I would never wish for you to be a hero."
At the time, she didn't understand what Brother Alex meant, she just lay beside him and said, "I'm just a little envious, after all, heroes have their way of living, and mortals have theirs.
I'm just a mortal, I can't be a hero."
During that time, because she could often visit Brother Alex, she also became quite familiar with the Fallen Angels.
She even discovered that Sister Xi La, who had almost taken her life back then… was actually a natural airhead.
Although Sister Es was terrifying when she went berserk in a fight, she was as gentle as Sister Nia when she was calm.
It wasn't until the Calamity of Binding, when the Fallen Angels were annihilated, and until the Twelfth Herrscher Incident, when humanity was almost wiped out…
Only then did she understand what Brother Alex meant by a hero.
He lost his teammates he lived with day and night, he lost his lover, and he no longer even had the right to peaceful sleep.
She once wondered if she had met Brother Alex earlier, could she have been with him before Sister Lilith?
But that was just a thought; after all, she was just a mortal, and Brother Alex was a hero.
Before the Final Battle, Dr. Mei, based on the principle of voluntariness, hoped that every remaining Flame-Chaser with combat capabilities would go to the moon to participate in the final battle.
Though she said it was voluntary, in reality, she was just asking if she was willing to go to her death.
The power of the End was overwhelmingly strong, and the only two humans who had a chance to defeat the End were Brother Alex and Boss Kevin. The rest of them… were clearly going to their deaths, using their lives to buy them time.
And as the weakest Flame-Chaser, perhaps in Dr. Mei's eyes, her only value was to use her life to buy time for Brother Alex and the others, right?
Brother Alex was against her going to the moon. He told her, "Pardo, you… just as you said, just do what a mortal should do. There's no need to be a hero."
But, I also want to do something for you.
She wanted to say this, but given Lilith's presence, she could only say, "Even mortals have times when they want to be heroes."
During the battle of the End, when a casual blow from the End was about to hit her, Brother Alex blocked it for her. She saw with her own eyes that the blow almost turned half of Brother Alex's body into charcoal. If it had landed on her…
"Why…" she questioned almost like a groan.
"I, at one point, thought I couldn't save anything. I couldn't protect Lilith and them, couldn't stop Elysia… Until the very end, at least I… protected you…"
It was a battle full of despair. In the end, not only her, but even Brother Jie and the others could only watch Brother Alex and the End fight.
She witnessed the disappearance of [Divine Shadow] with her own eyes.
She could do nothing but cry over her own weakness.
She didn't even understand what value she had for Brother Alex to save her, but…
If she could do it again, she would definitely pull Brother Alex off that path of no return before he embarked on it. After all… Brother Alex was already so strong, yet in the end, he still couldn't prevent the destruction of humanity. So… why did he still need to be a Savior?
She was just a mortal; all she could do was this much.
Unfortunately… life cannot be replayed.