Although the Ruby Palace City was known for its strong warriors and powerful nobility, this wasn't the same thing for almost the 99% of the population, who all lived on terrible poverty. While the rich merchants that made up the nobility gobbled up every single resource imaginable and left not even crumbs left for the people, everyone else either had to starve to death or fight monsters to earn a penny.
And well, there were also those in between, that dedicated themselves to do another thing… Crime. From stealing, to robbing, to falsifying trade documents by pretending to be merchants, to even scams, anything went if you wanted to live and eat a piece of bread and drink a cup of goat milk the next day.
And some people would usually go a bit farther than just some bread and milk every day. Some would want more than that, a feast.
"Hey! You damn bitch! Come back right here!"
"Isn't she one of those kids from the underground lab?!"
"No wonder she's so fast and has those weird ears…"
"If we catch her we'll get a lot of money from those shady guys if we bring her back!"
Some people would lead to corruption, working for their masters while disguising their malice behind a façade of "duty".
"Ugh… Ungh… Hahhh… Almost there…!"
And a few other people that want more, but don't know how to get it, will end up being manipulated by others into taking many risks, sometimes only because they're naïve enough… Sometimes capable too.
"Uwah! Eh?! Dead end?!"
However, at the end of the day, it is a dog-eat-dog world…
"You shouldn't had ran there, dumbass."
"It is clear she doesn't know the entire place."
"Did you ran away from that lab recently, little lamb?"
Four brown skinned men wearing red clothes and holding sharp black metal spears decorated with red jewels stepped in front of the little girl that was running away from them.
She looked to be at most seven years old, barely wearing some white clothes, ragged, and covered on dust and blood. Her skin was charcoal black, and she had two small goat-like horns, one larger than the second, alongside short white hair, and red eyes.
In her chest, the soldiers noticed a slightly glowing thing, a small red crystal emerging from it like a cancerous growth, a man-made tumor put into her body to transform her into a monster.
And in her hands she held a small, brown colored jewel, imbued with magical and spiritual powers which the little girl had stolen, manipulated by her band of young thieves as a "newcomer trial" to join them and earn herself some food.
"Now, easy there girl. Give that thing back. It's dangerous, you know?"
"Come on, why are you being gentle?! Just drag her here!"
"Shut up bastard, she's a poor little child that doesn't know what she's doing!"
The soldier winked back at the other, as the other three soldiers shut down and nodded, agreeing with him.
"Y-Yeah! Sorry if we said those things before, come on, let's get along."
"Give that back and let's get along."
"You don't have to involve yourself with thieves, we'll give you some food. Hey, how about this dried meat for starter? We've got juicy fruits and all the water you want to drink at home."
The men showed her a jerky.
"Sniff, sniff…" The little girl smelled the jerky, beginning to drool. "Y-You won't hurt me?" She asked scared.
"Of course not. That item you're holding is what could hurt you!"
"It's very delicate, you shouldn't had stolen it like that."
"Come on dear… Just give it back."
The girl timidly approached the men, giving back the glowing brown jewel, which had on its surface the incrusted shape of what resembled a large worm.
"There you go!" The guard grabbed the jewel and gave the girl a piece of jerky, which she started eating right away.
"Phew, that was dangerous, make sure to don't move this thing around too much. It is a Monster Summoning Stone, something the Warlocks of the Underground created."
"Alright boss, I'll keep it safe." The man wrapped the stone around some clothing.
"Will you give me more food? I-I'm hungy…" The little girl said, approaching the soldiers.
However, the only thing she received was a kick in the face, as she hit the floor, her little nose bleeding terribly.
"Auuuggh…! Sniff… Uwaaahhh…!"
The little girl started crying in pain, as the soldier that kicked her grabbed her by her short hair and lifted her off the ground as she cried.
"Did you think we would let a thief get away with it, you fucking slut?!"
"B-But you said…! Sniff.. Aauuuh! Let me go! Sniff… Uwaaah!"
Before she could continue crying, the bastards punched her face twice and threw her down into the floor.
"Sniff… Uwaah… My face! Sniff… Mama… Mamaaaa!"
"Your mom is fucking dead, she was a useless slut like you most likely!"
"Fucking little bitch, you aren't getting away with this!"
"We'll screw you up before giving you back, they won't mind a few bruises… Nor your chastity taken either…"
One of the gross men started sipping down his pants, while the others grabbed the little girl, lifting off her clothes…
"Noo! Let me go! Uwaaaah!"
"I'm going to teach you that you shouldn't steal, you fucking slut! Now-"
Before the bastard could realize it, however, a scarlet slash sliced through his entire body, his two halves suddenly beginning to fall apart, as his consciousness faded away before he could even scream in agony.
His body splattered into the floor, both halves cut perfectly, guts and blood gushing out of them… The scene shocked everyone, the girl included, as they suddenly sensed a powerful presence emerge, standing above the building's ceiling right behind the dead end of the alley.
A woman with pale white skin, and many stitch-like scars across her body, long red hair, and sharp red eyes, alongside a huge, muscular body equal to the mightiest Mountain Giants, and at her side, there was a menacing, huge black wolf.
"I'm going to enjoy killing you bastards…" She smiled, blood beginning to emerge out of the bastard's corpse and flying into her hands, spiraling magically…