As they headed to the dock, the egg sacs scattered by Miss Antonella across the city began to swell, turning a vibrant red and almost glowing with an unsettling orange hue, prompting Cynthia to remark.

"Yuck, they're like zits about to burst! How unfortunate that the street cleaners chose this week to protest for better wages."

Sadie turned to her, concerned. "What happened to the plan you and Caroline were working on against the ant queen?"

"Well, Caroline has been difficult lately." Cynthia ran her fingers through her brunette hair, tousling it with a bothered expression before continuing, "She screamed at me harshly when a bottle of perfume slipped from my fingers while filling the firetrucks, and when Luc tried to calm her down, she directed all her anger at him. It seems the whole situation has gone to her head. Anyway, I don't think they need me anymore."

"Do you think they'd be able to stop Miss Antonella?"

"I never really considered it, to be frank," Cynthia said, putting her finger to her lips. "The whole situation with the ant queen feels surreal, so maybe acting on this slightly ridiculous plan is their best shot."

"Speaking of plans," Sadie interrupted with a serious tone, "we need to devise one right now if we're to leave the docks as heroes instead of becoming the new batch of kidnapped girls. Our enemies are merciless, and we need to be merciless too."

At these words, Cynthia cast Sadie a glance filled with youthful innocence, causing Sadie to question her ability to outmaneuver these criminals. Saddened, Sadie lowered her head and confessed.

"Cynthia... I fear they might be expecting us; it's my fault. I tried to save the kid on my own, and now they must be on high alert. We might not make it out alive, and..."

As Sadie spoke, she felt Cynthia's warm hand gently taking hold of her own in a reassuring gesture. "You're not alone this time. We'll find a way... together this time."

Sadie nodded, desperately wanting to believe in Cynthia's words. She couldn't bear the thought of Cynthia being endangered because of her actions. This time, it wasn't about school drama; every move they made would have severe consequences, and there was no room for failure.

"We need to combine our abilities," Sadie suggested. "I can use claw mastery to dispatch our enemies swiftly, but I'll need your guardian's embrace if they happen to notice me."

"Do you think it's capable of stopping bullets?" Cynthia inquired.

"Hopefully, we won't have to find out the hard way."

The sound of seagulls filled the purple evening skies as Sadie and Cynthia approached the old docks. The waters were unusually calm, disturbed only by the ripples caused by ships berthing and unloading cargo.

"Sadie," whispered Cynthia, "How do we determine which container holds the prisoners? I doubt they'd label it 'human trafficking.' "

Sadie remained silent, her gaze fixed on men in black uniforms guarding a large storage facility, the same uniforms she encountered in the earlier fight at the slaughterhouse, and she remembered that the butchery which was used as a cover for their operations is called 'Merry Meat'.

"Cynthia, our solution lies within that storage facility. Once we deal with the guards, we need to locate a container marked 'Merry Meat.' " The name sent shivers down Cynthia's spine because of how terribly jovial it seemed.

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Time was of the essence with workers loading new cargo onto the moored ships. Sadie and Cynthia silently approached the front entry of the green storage facility. Ducking behind marked crates and using containers as cover, they edged closer to the crime perpetrators, avoiding detection by workers.

"Sssynthia," Sadie whispered, claws at the ready, "we're too close to sneak together. You stay put." Without protest, Cynthia remained in place. Sadie grabbed a nearby pebble, hurling it to the opposite side of the facility. The guards, alerted by the noise, turned around and moved to check on the source, providing Sadie the chance to slowly roll towards the cover of the next container.

As Sadie turned and observed Cynthia still crouched, memories of Big Mac flooded her mind—how he froze and betrayed her when she needed him most. Doubts surfaced. Could Cynthia do the same? Was she trustworthy with Sadie's life?

Regardless, saving the kid was paramount. With no alternative, Sadie refocused, crawling behind assorted shelves to catch her targets off guard. However, just as she prepared to strike, a man silently watching from above the shelves jumped onto Sadie, wrestling her arms into submission.

In her throes to liberate herself. Sadie kicked and groaned with anguish, attempting to squirm out of his oppressive grip. He, however, proved stronger than he looked. Her desperate kicks hit the shelf, sending a wooden box crashing down in a cacophony of shattered pieces against his back. That did little to ease his grip on her.

The clamor summoned a cadre of guards to the fray, guns blazing as they stormed in. The man on top of Sadie screamed frenetically, "Don't shoot, you idiots!" Yet, an air of terror enveloped them, haunted by the memory of what Sadie was capable of in the slaughterhouse.

After depleting their ammunition, the guards watched cautiously as the lifeless body of their coworker collapsed upon the motionless girl, blood pooling beneath them.

"If I continue feigning my own death, they might dare and come closer... that could be my opportunity," Sadie thought as she focused on controlling her movements, but the dead man's head was weighing down on her chest, making it harder to breathe.

As she strained her ears for any approaching footsteps, there was only an eerie silence. Frustration and urgency welled up within her. She cautiously opened one eye, her eyelashes concealing the slight opening. "Damn it, they aren't advancing... Some of them are reaching for ammunition to reload. I need to move quickly."

Without a second thought, Sadie mustered her strength and forcefully kicked the lifeless corpse off her, sending it tumbling to the ground.

Darting from shelf to shelf, she used available cover to evade her pursuers. Her heart pounded in her chest as she deftly navigated obstacles, almost tripping on a catwalk platform. In a swift move, she leaped from it, narrowly avoiding the moving blades of a forklift as she clumsily slid under.

Despite her efforts, all was in vain. As Sadie reached the end of the warehouse, the steel roll-up doors were already shut. The three guards caught up to her, surrounding her from two sides. With guns pointed, their leader barked, "Arms up now!"

Realizing she had nowhere else to go, Sadie raised her arms, surrendering to her fate. "Now turn around, hands on the wall," the leader ordered.

Sadie complied, the metallic clanking of the door echoing in the facility as she pressed both arms against it. This was the end of her, she could sense it.

With the gun menacingly aimed at the back of her head, the leader smirked, relishing the moment before he pulled the trigger, eager to execute the girl who had dared to make a fool out of him.

The shot echoed, subconsciously triggering Sadie's time manipulation, but even then she could not escape a bullet. She simply stood still, awaiting the inevitable.

"Sadie!" A desperate cry erupted behind her, and protective arms enveloped her from behind. The ominous whizzing of the bullet abruptly ceased, and miraculously, Sadie remained unscathed!

In response to Cynthia's intervention, the shocked guards unleashed a barrage of rounds on Cynthia's back. Undeterred, her Guardian's Embrace persisted as she clutched Sadie tightly from behind, conjuring a shielding aura. This ethereal protection endured until Cynthia's mana was depleted, and she felt herself weakening, her front profusely dripping with sweat.

"Show them what you're capable of," Cynthia urged, her words pushing through the constraint of being out of breath.

Summoning the last shreds of her strength, Cynthia tenderly held her friend. Sadie felt supportive hands beneath her sides gently lifting her upward. In a sudden burst of energy, Cynthia propelled Sadie towards the leader. With lethal focus, claws extended, Sadie swiftly cut through his neck, missing a perfect decapitation by one jugular vein.

Meanwhile, Cynthia turned and avalanche charged the second guard, tearing him in half from his stomach after the brutal impact.

Upon witnessing his boss' head hanging by a bloody thread and his coworker split in half, the third guard threw his gun aside and fled.