The girl with the braids fell to the ground, groaning in pain.
“Damn it, my hand, my leg! Lily, come here! Ahhh, I’m going to kill that bitch!” the braided girl shouted at the red-haired girl.
She looked utterly miserable.
The red-haired girl rushed over immediately, supporting the braided girl.
As for me, I stood there, staring at my own body.
God, what’s happening to me?
Was I ever that strong? Where did such terrifying strength even come from?
I only kicked her once, and she flew all the way out. And I didn’t even use much force!
Even if I had, she was an adult, about the same size as me. How could I have sent her flying so easily?
I panted, feeling my breath grow ragged and my heart race.
Watching the braided girl writhe in pain on the floor, I took a few steps back.
I knew I’d messed up.
I didn’t understand why things had turned out this way. It felt like some mysterious force was driving everything, and it terrified me.
Not far away, Vivienne was approaching. She saw her friends and then fixed her gaze on me.
I noticed a hint of suspicion in her eyes.
Her steps quickened.
Fear made me instinctively want to escape. I thought, I have to get out of here.
So, without hesitation, I turned and ran.
As I fled, I could feel a pair of eyes burning into my back.
I didn’t need to look to know it was Vivienne’s.
But damn it, I couldn’t care less now. I just had to get away as fast as possible.
Once I was out of the school, I finally felt myself relax.
I didn’t know how Vivienne’s friend was doing, but I felt terrible.
My strength was enough to knock down a full-grown adult?
Damn it, that was terrifying.
Everything felt so wrong, so out of control.
I was afraid of that red-eyed monster, but my body seemed to be changing too.
Was it because of that creature’s influence?
Could it have transferred its powers to me?
This was too horrifying!
I rushed back to my apartment and locked myself in my room.
When I lay down on the bed, covering my head with the blanket, I finally felt a little less vulnerable.
Stay calm, Seraphina. You’ve always been strong. Nothing can break you, not even this.
But still, I couldn’t understand how I’d managed to kick an adult so far.
I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
In my dream, I saw the wolf again, the one with the white tuft of fur on its forehead. Its golden eyes were filled with gentleness as it stared at me.
Then, another wolf appeared.
Its fur was silver, and its eyes were a pale purple.
It was so beautiful that I couldn’t help but reach out to touch it.
But the moment I did, I woke up.
The alarm clock pulled me back to reality, reminding me that I had to go to work.
I also had a part-time shift at the Eagle Club in the afternoon.
I rubbed my hair and looked at myself in the mirror.
For a moment, I felt like a stranger to myself.
I shook my head, trying to push away these strange thoughts.
I told myself it must have been the stress that gave me that burst of strength.
Just like last time.
With that thought, I felt a little more at ease.
I got up, went to the kitchen, and poured myself a glass of water, gulping it down in one go.
The cold water soothed my throat, and I felt a bit calmer.
Then I grabbed the leftover croissant from the morning and headed out.
By the time I arrived at the Eagle Club, I had mostly regained my composure.
The club wasn’t very busy in the afternoon.
Most of its members were college students, and they were all in class at this time.
But a few people were still training.
I arrived early and went to clean the training room.
The room was filled with punching bags for strength training.
For some reason, I felt an urge to try them out.
Maybe it was because I’d been feeling so pent up lately.
Seeing the bags, I put on a pair of boxing gloves and started hitting them.
I had no technique, but the force of my punches sent the bags swinging.
Watching them fly, I felt an unexpected sense of release.
It was as if all the frustration inside me had been let out in an instant.
I hit the bags several times until I was out of breath and finally stopped.
I realized my stamina wasn’t great. So what was with those sudden bursts of strength earlier?
I didn’t understand. I put down the gloves and cleaned up the room.
Finally, I went to the locker room. Seeing it was empty, I put up a cleaning sign and started working.
But halfway through, a group of people walked in.
I quickly said, “Sorry, I’m cleaning right now. Could you wait a moment?”
They looked like they were about to start training, still dressed in casual clothes.
I recognized one of them-Phillip, the guy Kael had been training with on my first day here.
When they saw me, their eyes lit up with the excitement of finding a target.
My body tensed. Something wasn’t right.
Soon, I realized my instincts were correct.
After entering, they started throwing trash around.
They tore open tissue packets, threw the tissues on the floor, and stomped on them.
Clumps of tissue littered the floor, making it look filthy.
Someone even went into the shower area, wet some tissues, and smeared them on the walls and floor.
I couldn’t help but frown.
“Sorry, this isn’t a playground. If you want to play with tissues, go somewhere else,” I said, trying to stop them.
“You’re just a cleaner. Who are you to tell us what to do?” Phillip sneered, walking toward me with a cigarette in his mouth.
He was over six feet tall, towering over me with a look of disdain.
His hostility was palpable.
Was it because of Vivienne?
I knew the boys all liked her. Whenever she showed up at the club, their eyes couldn’t leave her.
Rumor had it that half the guys here had slept with her, including my ex-boyfriend.
So damn it, was I just destined to be bullied?
Vivienne stole my boyfriend, and now she’s letting these guys pick on me too.
Anger burned in my chest as I glared at Phillip.
“I’m just here to clean, but I’d appreciate it if you could keep things tidy.”
“Oh? So you don’t want this job anymore? Maybe I should go talk to Rebecca about this,” Phillip taunted.
His friends joined in, mocking me.
“A cleaner telling us not to make a mess? That’s rich!”
“I’ve never had a cleaner tell me what to do. Isn’t cleaning up their job?”
They laughed, their eyes filled with contempt.
One of them even flicked a cigarette butt onto the floor and crushed it under his foot.
The ash and debris scattered across the floor, staining the once-clean tiles.
The others followed suit, tossing their cigarette butts and grinding them into the floor.
The smooth, shiny tiles were now covered in black ash.
The air was thick with the acrid smell of smoke.
Phillip even walked over to the trash can and kicked it over.
Plastic bottles, tissues, cigarette butts, and other garbage spilled across the floor.
This was a disaster!
I clenched the mop in my hand, fighting the urge to swing it at their heads.
“Get to work, cleaner. You’ve got ten minutes to clean this up, or I’ll report you to Rebecca,” Phillip said.