Chapter 10: Side Character x Mafia Boss (10)

No sooner had Lyra’s frantic footsteps completely faded down the dark street than Elena rushed with unconditional kindness toward the terrified, shivering man.

He stumbled clumsily out of the mouth of the alley right in front of her, gasping and breathing heavily as if he had just run a marathon. His expensive clothes were ruined, completely stained with dark blood and dirt, his pale face was twisted with absolute terror.

"W-What’s wrong, sir? What happened?" Elena asked, reaching out to steady him, trying her best to calm his frantic shaking.

"They’re after me! They’re going to kill me!" the man cried, his trembling fingers frantically clutching at Elena’s jacket l"Please... please save me! I don’t want to die!"

"Don’t worry," Elena assured him softly, pulling her smartphone from her pocket. "I’ve already called for help. Everything is going to be completely okay."

The man nodded repeatedly, practically trying to shrink his whole body behind her small frame for protection.

Meanwhile...

The "help" Elena was so confidently expecting had already reached her own cozy apartment, locked the door, and was currently hiding under a mountain of blankets like a terrified human burrito, praying to every deity in existence that she would survive the night.

Before Elena and the shivering man could even take a single step toward the main street-

Several imposing men dressed in black suits stepped smoothly out from the pitch-black darkness surrounding the alleyway. One after another, they blocked every possible exit, cutting off any chance of escape.

Elena’s heart started beating but she instinctively took a firm step forward, putting her own body directly in front of the frightened man. "W-Who are you people?!" she demanded, trying to keep her sweet voice steady. "What do you want?!"

No one answered her.

Instead, the suited men silently moved aside in perfect unison, bowing their heads slightly as a single set of slow and steady footsteps echoed through the narrow alleyway.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

A tall, broad figure slowly emerged from the deep shadows. Because of the flickering, dim light from the broken streetlamp above, Elena couldn’t clearly see his facial features yet. Only his massive, broad shoulders, dark hair, and the sweeping silhouette of a long black coat were visible in the mist.

He stopped a few meters away, looking down at her. The air around them instantly became heavy, cold, and entirely suffocating.

Elena took a deep breath to steady her nerves. "W-Whatever this man has done..." she called out, standing her ground. "Please just let him go."

The man cowering behind her trembling sleeve let out a pathetic whimpering sound. "He hasn’t done anything to deserve this! Please, you have to believe me!"

The tall stranger finally spoke. His voice was deep, smooth, and had zero human warmth or emotion.

"Move."

Elena stubbornly shook her head. "I can’t do that."

"If he has done something wrong, call the police and let the law handle it," she argued, her moral compass burning bright. "You don’t have the right to take matters into your own hands or hurt him."

One of the men in black laughed quietly under his breath, shaking his head at her utter naïveté. "The police?"

Another guard smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Little miss... you really have no idea who you’re talking to right now, do you?"

Elena ignored their mocking completely. She kept her eyes locked straight onto the dark, imposing figure of the leader. "Please. Violence won’t solve anything in this world. Whatever happened between you two, you can sit down and talk it out like reasonable adults."

An agonizing silence stretched through the cold night air.

The man stared down at her for several seconds, his silence far more threatening than any loud shout.

Then... he took another slow step forward, bringing him directly into the faint circle of light.

"I’ll ask you one last time," he stated, his voice a freezing whisper that sent a sharp chill running straight down Elena’s spine. "Move."

Still... despite the sheer aura of danger radiating off him, Elena forced her shaking legs to stay rooted to the concrete. "No. I won’t let you murder someone right in front of my eyes."

The frightened man grabbed the back of her coat, his voice breaking. "M-Miss... please... I don’t want to die..."

Elena swallowed the lump in her throat, her eyes filled with gentle determination. "Don’t worry. I will protect you."

For the very first time since he had stepped out of the darkness, the dangerous man in front of her showed the slightest, briefest change in his expression. It wasn’t surprise. It wasn’t anger. It was only mild annoyance.

"...Interesting."

In one smooth motion that Elena’s eyes couldn’t even track-

He reached inside his coat.

Click.

A black pistol appeared in his gloved hand. Before Elena could even process the sight of the weapon, he raised his arm.

The cold steel barrel of the gun pressed gently, firmly against the center of her forehead.

Everything in the alley became dead silent.

Elena’s breath caught sharply in her throat. Her beautiful eyes widened in absolute shock as the freezing metal touched her skin.

Only now... in this horrifying second... did the gravity of the situation finally crash down upon her.

This was not an ordinary criminal who could be scared away by threats. This was not someone she could reason with or appeal to with sweet words of morality.

This man... would actually pull the trigger without batting an eye.

Her hands trembled slightly at her sides, her pulse skyrocketing. Yet, through pure force of will, she forced herself to stay standing upright, refusing to break eye contact.

Alastair watched her pale, terrified face with unreadable piercing grey eyes, his finger resting lightly on the trigger.

"Still..." he whispered coldly. "You won’t move?"

-------------

Suddenly-

Ding!

[ Danger Alert!! ]

A deafening notification alarm exploded directly inside Lyra’s mind, nearly shattering her eardrums.

She froze mid-stride, her sneakers skidding against the wet pavement.

A massive flashing red warning screen materialized directly in front of her eyes,

[ Host!! ]

"W-What on earth is going on?!" Lyra gasped, her chest heaving as she stared at the flashing red words. Her heartbeat quickened

The System’s usually calm, monotonous mechanical voice sounded utterly panicked, glitching with static.

[ Something is critically wrong! ]

[ The Male Lead is about to kill the Female Lead right now!! ]

"What?!" Lyra’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. "What do you mean he’s going to kill her?!"

"Why in the world would he kill the female lead?! That makes literally zero sense!"

[ Unknown! The narrative trajectory has glitched! ]

[ If the Female Lead dies here, the entire world’s plot structure will completely collapse! ]

[ Host, save the Female Lead immediately! ]

"...Shit!"

Without taking another single second to process the madness of the situation, Lyra turned around on her heel and sprinted back toward the dark alleyway as fast as her legs could physically take her.

"Please..." she prayed desperately under her breath, tears stinging the corners of her eyes. "Please don’t let me be too late!"