Elena carried her classmate on her back in a piggyback ride. The night was heavy, the streetlights blinking on and off like failing signals... a warning that this place wasn't safe.
Her classmate's breathing was soft and uneven, her face buried against Elena's neck, heaving gently as if she were dreaming. Elena felt the warmth against her skin with every breath.
"Hayah..." Elena muttered, snapping her head from side to side before closing her eyes with a sigh. "I was late... my meeting with the gang. They must be waiting for me..."
She tilted her head upward, her amber eyes catching a glimpse of the stars. A fleeting moment of quiet, though her mind remained restless.
At last, she reached the small concrete house. Ordinary, typical... the kind of home that kept secrets safe. Elena pressed the doorbell with her free hand, her classmate's weight still against her back.
When the bell rang, she carefully lowered the girl to the doorstep, laying her gently against the door. For a moment, Elena's eyes softened.
Then, with a leap, she vanished back into the darkness. From behind a metallic pole, she peeked quietly, her body hidden in the shadows.
The door opened. A woman—her classmate's mother—appeared, her face sharp with sudden worry.
"Sofia...? What happened to you?!"
Her voice cracked as she rushed forward, her hands flying to her daughter's. She pressed them against her mouth, trembling with shock at what had been done to her.
Elena said like she was spacing out of her mind, "Ohhh... I'd forgotten her name. Her name is Sofia."
She then turned her back on them, the sound of Sofia's mother's cries fading behind her. With a straight face, Elena walked down the dim street, her shadow stretching under the flickering lights.
"It doesn't concern me," she murmured to herself. Her eyes narrowed, cold and calm.
"The only thing that matters... is that I'm happy living my own life, doing what I love... without regret."
She continued walking casually, her footsteps echoing faintly on the empty street. The cold wind brushed against her hair, tugging at her skirt as if trying to pull her back. But Elena never looked over her shoulder.
With each step, her figure grew fainter, her presence dissolving into the shadows.
And then... she vanished completely into the night.
Meanwhile, as the night continued to darken, the gang members gathered in the hidden forest clearing, the air thick with tension. One of them grunted, his voice sharp with impatience.
"Where is Daring Rose?"
That name alone carried weight... Daring Rose, the mask Elena wore at night. Delicate in appearance, yet fearless in battle, flexible as silk but powerful as steel.
The gang shifted restlessly. Black boots stamped against the dirt, their movements rough and uneasy. Every one of them wore black clothes with the mark of loyalty stitched across their backs... a single white rose. The symbol of Elena's reign. Some crossed their arms, others scanned the trees, irritation brewing in their voices.
"Yeah, where is she?" one growled, clenching his fists. "We need our leader!"
Murmurs echoed through the gathering like the rustling of restless wolves.
Then suddenly... the whispers stopped.
From the edge of the forest shadows, a figure appeared, silent yet commanding. She wore a pale mask that glimmered faintly under the generator lights, her long dark hair trailing behind her like silk strands of the night. A single white rose hairpin gleamed in her locks... the mark of Daring Rose herself.
The gang froze, their impatience instantly swallowed by awe.
Above them, she moved lightly, leaping from branch to branch with the grace of a predator, her every landing precise, almost soundless. Finally, Elena dropped into the clearing, sandals sinking slightly into the soil. She stood straight, pipe still in her grip, her aura heavy and sharp.
The silence was suffocating, broken only by the distant hum of the generator lights.
Their leader had arrived.
Then suddenly One of the gang member stepped forward, his voice sharp with irritation.
"Daring Rose, why are you taking so lo—"
He didn't get to finish.
In a blur, Elena's leg lashed out. Time seemed to slow as her heel connected with his shin. His body lifted from the ground, spinning upside down, rotating helplessly before crashing hard onto the dirt with a thud that silenced the entire clearing.
Behind her mask, Elena's voice came out cold, casual, merciless.
"Shut up."
The rest of the gang members froze, then instinctively shuffled back a step. Their eyes darted from one another in unease, fear knotting in their throats.
Then, almost as if commanded by instinct, they straightened. Their boots aligned, heels clicking together in perfect unison, hands clasped behind their backs. Their formation shifted into uniform discipline, the air heavy with respect.
One of the upper ranks stepped forward, his voice booming with reverence as he extended his right arm, pointing directly toward her.
He shouted louder."Pay respect to our leader Daring Rose for her arrival... the invincible girl!"
All eyes turned to her.
Elena sat gracefully in the center, lowering herself with delicate poise despite the brutal kick she had just delivered. Her short skirt tugged upward slightly as she crossed one leg over the other, sitting with elegance that contrasted the violence she wielded moments before.
Through the mask, her glowing eyes pierced the crowd, and every man in that forest knew... their leader was untouchable.
Her upper rank stepped forward, boots pressing into the soil with authority. Standing beside her, he bowed stiffly, his head lowered in a gesture of complete respect.
Then he turned sharply to face the assembled crowd. His voice thundered through the clearing.
"As you all know... according to our intel, the Pseudo Gang has been forming rapidly, left and right! They've been striking in the night, brutally targeting innocents. Most of their victims end up dead... and after death, they are marked with one word: Destroyed!"
The echo of his shout rippled through the forest. Murmurs broke out among the gang members, their black boots shuffling against the dirt, eyes darting at one another with unease.
The whispers grew louder... until a single, deliberate motion cut them all off.
Daring Rose raised her right hand, slow but commanding.
Her upper rank, standing at her side, immediately caught the signal. His gaze swept over the crowd, sharp and merciless, before he roared:
"Shut up!"
At once, the murmuring ceased.
Every member stiffened, their bodies locked into silence and discipline. The forest air turned heavy, the weight of her presence pressing down on them all.
Daring Rose's hand lowered gently, and the silence remained unbroken.
Daring Rose's voice cut through the tense silence, calm yet laced with iron.
"We strike tonight.... at the dump site. Intelligence confirms it. If we win, their terror ends for at least a year. But if we lose.... they will kill us and shatter our bones."
The words hung heavy in the air, and unease rippled through the ranks.
One of the gang members, trembling, finally burst out.
"No... no, we can't do that! We have families! We can't just throw our lives away!"
Others started shifting, boots scraping the dirt, voices rising in fear and protest. The once-stiff formation broke, shoulders brushing, whispers spreading like fire.
Daring Rose didn't move... but her right hand lifted again, graceful and deliberate.
Her upper rank immediately snapped to her signal. His face darkened as he turned on the fearful voices.
"Shut up, you fools!" he roared, his voice cracking like thunder. "If you don't fight, then don't bother coming back! Cowards don't belong here!"
The members froze once again, fear chaining their tongues. But their stances remained uneven, not the rigid unity they once held. Their boots weren't tucked properly, shoulders slouched.... fear was still dripping through the cracks.
Daring Rose sat silently, the faint swing of her white-rose hairpin glinting under the harsh generator light. Behind her mask, her glowing amber eyes scanned the crowd.... reading every weakness.
Daring Rose tilted her head slightly, her voice sharp yet almost mocking as it slipped from behind the mask.
"Ohhh... are you all planning to just let them go? If we don't purge the Pseudo Gang, then it's as good as handing over your families to them. Their lives will be snuffed out in those monster's hands. If you have siblings... say your bye-byes now."
Her words struck like knives.
The line of gang members shuffled uneasily again, boots scraping against the dirt. Fear thickened the air. But then... fists began to clench. Faces tightened with anger. Memories resurfaced—brothers and sisters slaughtered on the streets, parents left bleeding in the night. Some saw in their minds the shadows of their sisters being dragged away into the dark.
Tears welled in the eyes of a few. One voice broke through, hoarse yet fierce:
"We fight!"
And then others joined. "We fight!"
In unison, the gang straightened their lines, the hesitation burned away by rage and resolve. Their boots snapped into place, shoulders squared, eyes sharpened. They raised their right hands in perfect unison..... then pressing them against their chests like a pledge.
The upper rank beside Daring Rose mirrored them without hesitation, his fist tight over his heart. His voice rang out, carrying across the forest clearing:
"For our families... for vengeance!"
The night air vibrated with their renewed resolve, the generator lights flickering as if bowing to their oath.