DanMachi: Cheat? What's a Cheat?

Chapter 43 - The Scream That Destroyed Everything

Right now

Syr's still coughing, her eyes staring at me with this weird intensity.

For just a split second, I saw something that made my blood freeze.

Not fear.

Not pain.

But something cold.

And a smile?

Just a flash, like lightning, but enough to make me realize that...

My instincts screamed like a broken alarm - DANGER!!

Those blue-gray eyes stared at me with an intensity that wasn't normal for someone who just got choked.

There was something behind them that made me feel like a mouse trapped in a cage.

Before I could process what I just saw, before I could react, before I could even blink—

Syr took a deep breath.

"HELP! SOMEONE, HELP ME!"

That shriek exploded from her mouth without warning, echoing down the street with panic that was... too perfect.

Too practiced.

'No, no, NO!' Pure panic took over me.

"NO! WAIT! DON'T SCREAM!" without thinking, my left hand reflexively moved to cover her mouth.

BIGGEST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE.

The moment my hand touched her mouth, I immediately realized how stupid this was.

But it was too late.

Too late for anything.

From the end of the alley, I heard running footsteps getting closer.

Lots of footsteps.

"What was that?"

"Someone screamed for help!"

"Sounded like a woman."

"From this way!"

Within seconds, the end of the alley was filled with people.

Five, ten, fifteen people who stopped with the same shocked expression.

The scene they saw was pretty clear:

A young man in adventurer gear standing near a young woman sitting on the ground, coughing while holding her throat.

Red marks clearly visible on Syr's white neck - traces from when I grabbed her.

The girl's face was pale, her eyes teary, her body trembling.

And me... I was standing over her with a panicked face that definitely looked guilty.

"ANIMAL!"

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!"

"YOU BASTARD!"

I backed up with my hands raised.

"Wait! You don't understand! This—"

"THIS WHAT?!" a middle-aged man with muscular arms stepped forward, rolling up his sleeves.

"You think you can do this in the middle of the city?!"

"It's not like that! She bumped into me and I—"

"SHUT UP!"

A middle-aged woman joined in shouting while helping Syr who was still sitting there, her body shaking violently.

"Miss, miss, are you okay?" the woman gently stroked Syr's hair.

"Oh god, look at your neck... it's so red..."

Syr didn't answer.

She just stared blankly ahead, occasionally coughing while touching her reddened neck.

Like she was showing evidence.

"Look! Look what you did to her!" the muscular guy pointed at me with a finger trembling from anger.

"She's traumatized! Such an innocent girl!"

The word "innocent" was like a knife stabbing my chest.

Innocent.

They saw Syr as an innocent, blameless girl.

Only I knew she wasn't that innocent.

Meanwhile I...

"Fucking rapist!"

That word came out of someone's mouth in the crowd.

My whole body went cold instantly.

"I-I'm not—"

"SHUT UP! LIAR!"

The muscular guy moved forward threateningly.

I backed up, but there was a wall behind me.

"If you're not, why were you choking her? Why did she scream for help?!"

"Because I panicked! This is a misunderstanding—"

"MISUNDERSTANDING MY ASS?!"

"We all saw the marks on that girl's neck!"

"A criminal!"

"Like a rapist!"

That word again and again.

Every time someone said it, my chest felt like it was being stabbed.

That's what they saw when they looked at me.

Not as a human.

Not as an innocent kid trying his best.

But a rapist.

wham!

A punch landed in my stomach before I could dodge it.

I fell backward, my back hitting the stone wall.

"Stop!" I screamed while raising both hands.

I was so panicked, I didn't know how to solve this problem.

My brain seemed to have stopped working.

"I didn't do anything to her!"

"BULLSHIT!"

This time the one hitting me was a guy my age. His fist hit my left cheek.

"You bastard! Trying to assault such an innocent girl!"

Tears almost came out of my eyes.

Not from physical pain.

But from that accusation.

I could dodge. Could even fight back.

But...

Fighting back would only make me look more guilty.

I could only block and retreat, hoping I could explain.

"Listen to me! This is a misunderstanding! I never meant to—"

"Meant to what?! Rape her?!"

"NO!"

That scream came out so desperately that some people went quiet for a moment.

"I... I never... would never..." my voice was shaking, almost breaking.

"I'm not that kind of person..."

But the crowd didn't care about my desperate denial.

"All rapists say that!"

"If you're not, why did she scream?"

"Why is her neck so red?!"

More and more people gathered. More screaming. More accusations.

And in the middle of the increasingly angry crowd, I caught a glimpse of Syr.

She was still sitting leaning against the wall, surrounded by women comforting her.

Her face was pale, trembling, looking like the perfect victim.

But occasionally, when no one was looking, her eyes would glance my way.

And I saw it again.

That flash.

Cold. Calculated. Satisfied.

Not the eyes of a traumatized victim.

But the eyes of a predator enjoying watching its prey get trapped.

I'm confused, is Goddess Freya super pissed at me because I choked her?

Either way I've never been involved with her, this is the first time.

Seems like I've offended her.

My life is seriously in danger.

"This... this is on purpose," I whispered in my heart, feeling terror deeper than before.

"She deliberately..."

But there was no time to think about that.

"STILL TRYING TO MAKE EXCUSES!"

"LOOK HOW EVIL HE IS!"

"BEAT HIM UNTIL HE CAN'T GET UP!"