Chapter 115

“Noelle, where are you hurt!” Damon’s voice was tight with panic.

He reached out to steady her, but the moment his hand touched something warm and wet, his stomach twisted. Blood. Noelle's blood.

Noelle had thrown herself into danger for him. She was hurt because of him. That thought sent a sharp jolt through Damon’s mind, scrambling everything he thought he knew.

Her shoulder took the hit. With Noelle’s reflexes, dodging the bullet would’ve been easy. But if she had moved, the shot would have hit him instead.

So, she took the bullet head-on.

Hearing the panic in his voice now, Noelle suddenly felt lighter, like the pain was worth it. A minute ago, she was frustrated about Damon trying to distance himself from her. Now, this whole ambush almost felt like a blessing in disguise.

“Noelle…” Damon’s voice was shaky. The parking lot was pitch-black, and he couldn’t even see where she was hurt, but he figured it was her back--it was bad.

His pulse pounded. What if it’s somewhere worse? What if she’s gonna die right here, just like that!

Noelle, meanwhile, barely seemed fazed. She let out a soft laugh. “Damon, are you actually worried about me? I knew you didn’t really want to cut…”

Damon just stared at her, his brain short-circuiting. Even now, bleeding in the dark, she was still teasing him.

He clenched his jaw, half in frustration, half in relief. “Are you serious right now? This is not the time for jokes!”

They were still in danger. The shooter was out there, hidden in the darkness, while he and Noelle were sitting ducks. Any second now, another shot could come flying.

But Noelle just grinned. “Relax, Damon. I’ll protect you. No one’s gonna lay a finger on you.”

Damon blinked. Is she for real! Where the hell does she get that kind of confidence?

A voice came from the shadows, dripping with sarcasm. “Keegan, seriously! Two shots, and no one is dead! If the Revelations Guild hears about this, you’re done for.”

The Revelations Guild. Noelle’s eyes narrowed. She had heard that name before.

The man named Keegan Armstrong huffed. “This isn’t my fault! That girl is ridiculously fast. If she hadn’t jumped in to take the hit, I wouldn’t have even grazed her.”

“Oh?” The other man sounded intrigued.

Even in the dark, Noelle could feel his gaze land on her, sharp and assessing. Then, almost as if talking to himself, he mused, “Could she be from the same place as us?”

Noelle’s stomach clenched. So, they are from the lab too.

Damon, still caught up in the chaos of her injury, wasn’t even listening. Before he could react, Noelle leaned in slightly and murmured, “Damon, maybe get some rest for a bit…”

Damon frowned. Wait, what--

Before he could finish, a sharp pain struck the back of his neck. His vision blurred, and everything went black.

Noelle carefully lowered him to the ground, then turned her attention back to the others.

She stood there as pairs of eyes were locked onto her. From their breathing and subtle movements, she could tell they were men, and not amateurs.

“She has to be one of us,” Keegan muttered. “No normal person moves like that. I’m guessing S-rank.”

“S-rank?” Another voice scoffed. “You’re joking, right? You think she’s at that level?”

“I’m serious. She dodged a bullet. That kind of reaction speed isn’t normal,” Keegan insisted.

Hearing the words “S-rank,” the other two immediately sized Noelle up, their expressions turning serious.

Silence stretched between them before one of them chuckled. “So what if she’s S-rank? We’ve got two A-ranks and a B-rank. There’s no way she can take us. Besides, she’s injured. She won’t be moving as fast now.”

Hearing that, the other two seemed fired up.

Keegan grinned, his excitement barely contained. “You’re right! If the three of us take down an S-rank, we might even get promoted!”

Their organization ran on the same ranking system as the lab that created them.

The leader was a terrifying SS-rank. Below him were the S senior cadres, and then the S-rank regular cadres.

If they managed to kill an S-rank, they’d have enough merit to form their own team and climb the ranks.

Noelle could feel their bloodlust intensify the second Keegan brought up a promotion.

What she didn’t get was why they were so eager to kill her instead of recruiting her.

They were all from the same lab, so they should be on the same side. She wasn’t even looking for a fight; she was a pacifist, after all.

After carefully setting Damon down, she turned to face them. “Before we start this, mind telling me who put a hit on me?"

Keegan took a step closer, his eyes gleaming like a predator closing in on its target. “No can do.”

Noelle sighed, then said, “Man, that sucks. I kinda like knowing why people wanna kill me before they actually do it.”

Keegan let out a crazed laugh and lunged. “You can figure it out in hell!”

Big mistake. Noelle moved so fast he didn’t even register it. One second, he was attacking, next thing he knew, her hand was around his throat.

Keegan let out a strangled gasp, his fingers clawing at hers, but she didn’t budge.

His eyes widened, pure disbelief flashing across his face. She wasn’t just fast, she was way stronger than he expected.

Meanwhile, Noelle looked almost bored. If anything, her expression was weirdly innocent, like she wasn’t fully grasping the weight of what she was about to do.

“Well, if you’re not talking, guess I’ll send you to hell first,” she said lightly. And then, crack.

She let go, and Keegan dropped like a stone, dead before he hit the ground.

“Keegan!” The other two froze, shock and fury twisting their faces as they stared at their fallen comrade.

“Keegan is dead!” One of them choked out, eyes wide with disbelief.

The other guy looked just as rattled. “No way. She took him out that fast? Even if she’s an S-rank, shouldn’t it have been harder? That was just brutal!”

And then, the worst thought hit them both at the same time. What if she isn’t just S-rank? What if she is SS? Or even higher!

Their stomachs dropped. If that was the case, they were screwed. Without hesitation, they turned and ran away.

Noelle tilted her head, watching them. “Wait… didn’t you guys just say you were gonna kill me? Where are you going?”

Her silver necklace caught a flicker of light, and a calm male voice came through the hidden communicator inside. “Noelle, take them out. Three minutes.”

At those words, the warmth in her expression disappeared. Her eyes turned sharp, cold. “Got it,” she murmured.