---

The men didn’t hesitate—they pulled the trigger instantly.

For Evelyn, time seemed to freeze. She could feel the pounding of her heart and the rhythm of each breath. A familiar warmth spread through her chest. She had felt this sensation before—it always came when she tried to use too much of her power.

She focused on that warmth, feeling her energy surge through her veins like light. With determination, she opened her eyes. Just like Shin had taught her, she channeled the pure golden energy into her hands.

A crystal shield of golden light formed in front of her. Every bullet that hit it melted away on contact, vanishing without a trace. Seeing this, the men hesitated, stepping back in uncertainty.

Ethan let out a sigh and gave them an amused look.

"What? Is this the first time you've seen a shield?" he said with a grin.

"But..." one of the men muttered, hesitating.

"Hah... You're scared of that? Then what would you do if you saw the boss’s real power?"

The men fell silent for a brief moment before snapping back to attention. Without further delay, they opened fire again.

These weren’t real bullets—but they were strong enough to knock someone out. Still, none of them could break through Evelyn’s light shield. The rounds shattered on impact and disappeared in flashes of golden sparks.

Evelyn held the shield steady, focusing with everything she had. A few minutes later, the men ran out of rounds and quickly began reloading. She saw her chance.

Immediately, she spread the energy through her arms. The light wrapped around her like serpents, glowing and shifting. She didn’t panic—this had happened before, many times during training.

---

“You’re still inexperienced in controlling spiritual energy.”

Shin’s voice echoed in her mind as if she were reliving that exact moment.

It had been one of their earlier training sessions. But that day, Shin had decided to teach her a few simple attack techniques too.

---

“I can see it—you’ve always tried to suppress your power. That’s why it’s so hard for you to use it all of a sudden.”

---

“So what should I do then? This is too hard! Do I really need to train for years just to get this right? I don’t have that kind of time!”

Evelyn protested in frustration. She had only used her powers for a few seconds, and she was already out of breath.

“Are you in some kind of hurry?”

“…Well…”

“I’m not teaching you this so you can throw yourself into danger, you know.”

“I won’t get into trouble, don’t worry... But we never know when we might need to use our powers, right?”

Shin gave her that same unreadable look. He clearly didn’t believe her—but he didn’t press further.

---

“Anyway, back to your question. Yes—normally it takes years of practice. But for emergencies, I’ll show you a simple technique. Watch carefully.”

---

Evelyn watched Shin carefully, but after seeing the technique, she looked a little confused.

“This… isn’t it a bit too simple? How is this supposed to help me?”

“This technique suits someone in your current state. At the very least, if you're in danger, you'll be able to escape. I created it using shadows. But if you use your own power—light—it'll be much more effective.”

Evelyn decided to use the technique Shin had taught her. Right now, their attention was scattered—even if just for a few seconds. It was a perfect chance. She knew she probably couldn’t defeat these men… but at least she could escape.

“Hey! Focus on the girl now!” Ethan finished loading the bullets and pointed his weapon at her again.

But this time, Evelyn moved faster.

She spread all of her spiritual energy through her arms, turning it into light—and the entire street lit up instantly.

“What?!”

Everyone instinctively shut their eyes from the blinding brightness.

Evelyn immediately dashed past them and started running.

“…Impressive… your powers are growing stronger… soon, I’ll be able to find you…”

Evelyn suddenly stopped for a moment. A voice echoed inside her head. It felt familiar. She had heard it before… in a dream.

“My eyes… damn girl!”

Ethan tried to open his eyes, but everyone was temporarily blinded by the sudden flash. Without wasting another second, Evelyn took off again, disappearing down the street.

A few minutes later, the temporary blindness wore off and they all slowly opened their eyes.

“Damn brat… whatever, now I know who you are! Move! Now! We’re going to find that girl!”

Just as he finished shouting, the ground beneath their feet was suddenly swallowed by shadows. Before anyone could understand what was happening, the shadows rose into the air and took everyone out in the blink of an eye.

A man stepped out from the darkness, his eyes cold and sharp.

"I told her not to get into so much trouble… but of course, she didn’t listen. Oh well, what’s done is done. The ones I caught before weren’t giving me any useful info anymore anyway."

With chilling calm, Shin used the shadows to carry all the men into the portal he had opened—disappearing from the scene completely.