There was a burst of laughter as the boys saw who stood before them, all of them laughed except Derek. He recognized a fighter when he saw one, and Hina wasn't here to play games. She stood firm, maintaining her fierce stance.
"Are you seeing this, Derek?" one of them said between laughs.
"You know you're in the wrong place, right?" Derek said, letting go of Dave and turning his full attention to Hina.
"The only person in the wrong place is you," Hina replied, her voice calm but sharp. "You seem a little too eager to watch me beat up your friends… or maybe you'd like to go down first instead?"
The gang laughed again, but Derek raised his hand to silence them. He stared at Hina, slowly swinging his index finger toward her.
"You talk a lot. You've really got a mouth."
"No," she said, her voice steady, "you'll have to find out if that's all I've got. Step a little closer, and I'll help you unwrap your cowardice on the spot. Trust me, it won't take long."
Her lips curled into a clever smile, though her eyes remained locked and focused. Her words added more tension to the air. Naturally, it seemed impossible, eight against one but Hina didn't look like someone ready to back down.
"Get her, Sam," Derek commanded, his voice calm but curious.
He wasn't just sending Sam to beat her, he wanted to see for himself. This couldn't all be just for show.
Sam stepped forward, but Hina didn't move. She waited, still and focused, watching him approach. He held his baton loosely, already underestimating her. In his mind, all he needed was one swing and it would be over.
"This was supposed to be quick," Sam said with a smirk. "But since you showed up, we'll have to take you out too. Don't worry, it won't hurt."
Sam smiled as he stretched his right hand toward her shoulder, but he would soon realize that was his first mistake.
A grin spread across her face at the sight of his. She quickly reacted grabbing his hand and then elbowing him in the face.
Before he could raise his hand to cover his face from the pain, two quick punches landed, one from each hand striking his face and snapping it from side to side with the impact. It all happened so fast that everyone was left in shock, jaws dropped and eyes widened.
She wasn't just bluffing, Derek wasn't too surprise all that remained was to see if she could take on the rest of them.
Sam fell to the ground unconscious, and the others rushed toward Hina at once, all wielding their batons. Due to the tight space, the first two reached her together, swinging their batons, but she dodged and caught one of them. Locking his arm tightly, she broke it and immediately used his baton to block another incoming attack.
She kicked the next guy in the balls, making him drop to his knees instantly, then struck his face with another kick. While he was still down, she used him as a lift, jumping up and kneeing another in the face as he approached.
Still swinging with the baton, she bent low, dodging two baton attacks at once, then went straight for their groins, hitting both of them simultaneously.
They collapsed to the ground, and she finished them off with swift strikes from her baton.
"four down, four to go."
She held up her baton in one hand, her other hand clenched into a fist. The remaining three couldn't believe their eyes, they might be dealing with a black belt karate specialist.
Her movements were fast, and they couldn't keep up. As Hina approached, the three of them began to move backward.
Even with a baton in hand, she clearly knew how to use it with precision. They exchanged glances, signaling to attack at once, but in that brief moment of distraction, the two boys suddenly saw a flying knee strike land on the one in the middle.
He went blank instantly. Before the other two could react, she struck one under the chin with her palm and hit the last one, who had hesitated with the baton. In a matter of minutes, all seven of them were down.
Derek stood stunned, his jaw slack and eyes wide with shock. It was truly unexpected, she had taken them all down without breaking a sweat. Now, it was just him.
Dave lay on the ground, supporting himself with one hand, also in disbelief at what he was witnessing.
"Why you…" Derek muttered, his face furrowed. They had been so close to achieving their plan, but now he didn't know what to do.
He wasn't even sure if he could defeat her in combat. What he had just witnessed was rewriting everything in his head.
"You should have come first. Now look, it's just me and you. So, what's it going to be? Where do you want it?" she asked.
***
"You sick, mouthy bastard!" Derek shouted at the top of his voice and charged toward her.
He made sure not to miss a step, carefully adjusting his angle so he'd have room to rebound if she dodged.
Hina watched him approach, then suddenly shifted backward, and from her foot, a pink line shot out, hitting Derek and throwing off his balance.
He watched helplessly as his baton swung wide, missing her completely.
What just happened? He thought, turning his head only to see Hina beside him, smiling. She delivered a punch that knocked him out cold.
Dave didn't know how to react. He had recovered slightly, but never imagined that the calm, quiet Hina he knew was capable of something like this.
A flood of thoughts raced through his mind, and the craziest part was what he had just seen a pink glow beneath the white shirt she wore.
She's… Izigan, he thought.
"Come on, let me help you up," Hina said gently, reaching out her hand and supporting him as he stood.
"haw"
Dave groaned The pain made him hunch over, one knee bent as he struggled to stay standing.
"I got it, I got it, let me rest for a while,"
"oh no"
Hina's voice grew dull as she observed her body from her arms. Dave, noticing the uncertainty in her tone, turned to see what was wrong and to his surprise, her skin was cracking all over, with pink light emanating from the fractures, growing steadily brighter.
Worry and confusion overwhelmed Dave and he can't really make sense of it.
"Hina, what's going on with you?
"Am fine it, just a...…"
She turned into dust before finishing her sentence, leaving Dave in suspense. His eyes widened, and a chill ran down his spine as he stood frozen, unable to process what he had just witnessed.
"What just happened?"
He snapped back to the present, remembering Derek and his gang were still on the ground. They could wake up at any moment. Without wasting time, he quickly ran off from the scene and headed home.
He looked tattered and dirty, but he didn't care, he had just been saved by Hina. Yet, his mind was divided, still trying to make sense of what had happened to her.
Though his disheveled appearance drew attention on the street, he just wanted to get home and avoid any questions his mom might ask. His wounds were clearly visible, especially the bloodstains.
He got to his house and stood in front of the door. Taking a deep breath, he began thinking of various lies and excuses to cover up what had happened.
But after taking too long, he chose to just enter, covering his eyes and heading straight for the stairs. What he wasn't ready for was what he was about to see.
Just as he was about to sprint inside, his entire body froze and his heart skipped a beat. He dropped to the ground and rushed to his unconscious mother lying on the floor.
There was no time to panic. The moment he checked her pulse and realized she was still alive, he made the necessary call for help.
Minutes later, she was being pulled out of the ambulance on a stretcher, carried swiftly through the hospital hallway by four medical staff. Dave followed behind. As she was taken into the ward, a doctor stopped him.
"We'll take it from here, boy. Your mom will be just fine, trust me."
He was drained, confused, and extremely worried. This was one of the best hospitals around, so there should be nothing to fear but this was his mother. That made all the difference.
Taking a deep breath, he exited the hospital, hoping everything would be okay.
Later that night, dark and eerily quiet, Derek and his gang huddled together like they were about to be devoured. They met on an abandoned street where no living soul dared to step, a place known as The Land of the Flies, a meeting spot suggested by the Peacemakers. It wasn't their usual location.
Derek tried to wear a mask of confidence, attempting to boost the morale of his group, but it clearly wasn't working. After all, they had all been beaten by a fifteen-year-old girl much smaller than any of them. There was no confidence left.
A car pulled up, and four tall, black-hooded men stepped out. Their hearts began to race. Derek's fake confidence started to crumble. He could already imagine himself falling to his knees, begging for his life—but he knew he had to stay strong if he wanted to join them.
One of the hooded men walked straight up to Derek. There was an intense staring contest. Derek could see the terrifying eyes of the man under the hood.
He's just a human… nothing to be afraid of. Don't flinch, don't flinch, he repeated to himself as their eyes locked. The moment stretched awkwardly.
Finally, the hooded man broke the silence, speaking in a thick, unnerving voice, each word drawn out with a hiss of air slipping through:
"Now, we'll do it my way… Let's have a chat for a while."