"HEY." Erica's firm and authoritative voice rang out in the alleyway.

The leader jumped in fright and some of the acid spilled onto Rina's exposed arm.

A cry of pain echoed through quiet surroundings, causing everyone to wince for a moment.

Erica eyed Rina with derision, then returned her attention to the others.

"I’m sorry to spoil your fun but I have to do it.” Erica sighed forlornly. “So, get lost before you get hurt." Erica smile was so sweet that they almost missed her threat.

"Are you her friend?" The leader asked warily.

"Oh, please, I'm far from that. It's just unlucky for you today because my conscience will be cleared with this. Perhaps you could try getting her again another day?" Erica shrugged.

"Back off then. Clear your conscience with some other person. I have some beef with this girl to settle."

Erica’s smile faded away. "...Did you just give me an order?"

An evil glint flashed in Erica's eyes. "No one orders me around."

There was nothing the bullies could do to stop Erica. Their numbers could not beat the years of martial arts practice that the three siblings were put through, and they were badly thrashed.

After releasing her pent-up anger and frustration, Erica sighed, and the sweet smile returned to her face. While the others rolled around the floor, groaning in pain, Erica warned again, "Continue to stay here and I'll introduce you to a world of pain brought about by my new invention. I'm really proud of it, you know? An acid that gives you intense pain but leaves you alive."

The group was horrified. Erica currently looked like a death angel. They yelled while they got up and backed off in fear. "Your family will face the consequences of this!"

"Is that so? Come by the Lee family's house then!" She waved at them happily.

They paled and ran off. The Lee family was not a family they could afford to offend. They were mere small families in the bottom rung of high society. Rina could be touched, but not Erica.

Erica heard Rina whimpering in pain and turned back to look down at her. The derision felt earlier returned. “So weak.” She could not hold herself back from remarking. Luna had tolerated pain that was a thousand and more times worse than what she was experiencing.

"Why didn't you try to fight back?" Her voice dripped with disdain.

Her question caught Rina by surprise, but she obediently answered. "They had grievances based off misunderstandings. It's not their fault that they tried acting out of justice."

"Not their fault? What are you? Messiah?"

"It's human to make mistakes. You don't have to be messiah to see and forgive that..."

"No. Being as forgiving as you are, you can only be trying to be Messiah. You can be one for all I care. What I can't understand is how you let everyone else clean up your shit and save you each time."

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"I didn't mean for things to be like that. I didn't ask to be saved. I only ever asked perpetrators to have mercy!" Rina's tears flowed freely again.

Just then, Victor arrived to see Erica scowling at Rina who was crying on the ground. He had been held up by several urgent tasks from just one person. Finding it unusual, he shrugged the person off and rushed to find Rina.

Erica found herself painfully yanked away from Rina.

"What the fuck did you do?" Victor growled while keeping himself between the two girls.

Erica squinted at him with hate then looked at Rina. "Aren't you going to explain? Or are you going to sit back, relax, and cry?"

Rina's shoulders jumped at Erica's harsh tone. "V- Victor... She really did not do anything to me. In fact, she helped to save me from the bullies."

"Lies! She told you to say that, didn't she?! Look at you!"

Then, he noticed the bright red burn that stood out starkly against Rina’s fair arm. Victor turned to Erica, ready to lunge at her. However, his arm was pulled back.

"Victor! I'm not lying! This injury was caused by the bullies, not her! Can we just leave now, please?"

Victor looked conflicted and stared at Rina. He took a deep breath then threatened Erica without looking at her. "Show yourself in front of me again and I'll rip your throat out."

Erica was flabbergasted at how idiotic this couple was. She was glad that she had fallen out of love with such a man. "Useless as always." Erica spat before leaving.

Rina winced as she knew that it was directed at her.

Nobody noticed a shadow slinking back and leaving the scene as well.

Lucas had been observing the situation the whole time. He had planned to intervene much earlier but Erica’s presence on the tree made him think twice. He decided to ascertain what Erica was there for before he made a move. When the situation turned dire, Erica had stepped in just before he did.

'That girl’s not a foe, but not a friend either...’ Lucas concluded.

At the end of the day, Erica sat in the car silent and brooding. Her mood was down in the dumps. ‘Since you already hate me this much, how about I give you a real reason to hate me for?’

At this moment, a chill went down Luna's spine. She instinctively turned to her side and saw Erica's unhappy face.

Luna frowned. ‘What happened now?’

Around a week later, the three siblings were lounging in the living room together when Luna tried to probe Erica for some details.

"Say... Did the both of you hear about the simultaneous collapse of several families?"

"Hm? Of course. But what about it? They're just some small families. If not for the fact that they happened simultaneously, I don't think they'd even be talked about in our school." Desmond replied.

Luna raised an eyebrow while looking at Erica.

Erica knew that it was a prompt by Luna to share whatever she knew, so she did. Besides, she was not someone who kept secrets from her siblings if they asked directly.

After recounting everything that happened that day, she shared her opinion on the matter, "I refuse to believe that it's Victor behind this. He's too dumb and straightforward."

"It's probably Lucas." Luna softly said.

Desmond and Erica looked at her with surprise. "Why would you say that?" Both voiced their doubts at the same time.

"Lucas likes Rina and protects her well. Moreover, he did not appear in the library for the past one week. And when he finally returned, this news was passing around. It's too much of a coincidence for it to be one."

Desmond and Erica nodded as they listened to her explanation.

"Erica... You aren't planning anything again, are you?"

Erica sulked.

Desmond tried to negotiate a little. "They still did her wrong though. Erica wasted her energy saving a piece of trash only to get accused of being the bully. What do you think about helping her to get her revenge instead?" Desmond grinned.

"... It's better not to." Luna said flatly.

"Ah... I should have known." Desmond laughed weakly, looking deflated along with Erica.

"It's highly frustrating that this happened to Erica. But there's Lucas... We really shouldn't underestimate him."

Luna placed her hand on Erica's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Erica, those two are swines and should simply be avoided and left alone. They're beneath you, beneath us."

Desmond's heart swelled with pride upon hearing Luna's words. So, he firmly nodded in agreement.

Erica nodded as well but less enthusiastically.