Li Mu put Eden down, then turned his attention to the pink-haired assassin, "Ace of Spades," who was currently sweating bullets.
For the key actors in his carefully planned script, Li Mu had already locked onto their identities and locations well in advance.
Even though she was wearing a mask and didn't have her iconic donkey ears yet, Li Mu recognized her instantly.
One of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers of the Previous Era—Sakura of Setsuna.
However, just as Li Mu was preparing to have a nice little chat with her, the sharp, piercing howl of something tearing through the air reached his ears.
Li Mu tilted his head, looking toward the fleeing assassins.
By now, these highly trained killers had used their various escape methods to put a significant distance between themselves and the concert hall. They were only a step away from freedom.
But Li Mu saw a dense cluster of sparks ignite in the sky, rapidly growing larger accompanied by the screaming whistle of incoming projectiles.
It was a barrage of missiles.
A split second later, the missiles rained down from the sky, landing with pinpoint accuracy on the assassins who were moments away from escaping.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
A continuous chain of explosions erupted, sending pillars of fire soaring into the sky. Ascending to heaven right along with the flames were the fragmented remains of the blown-apart assassins.
"Tsk. All dead~♬"
Eden, standing beside him, also witnessed the carnage in the distance. She frowned slightly at the gruesome scene but didn't show any signs of extreme discomfort.
"Elysia, it seems the local government has reacted. Those missiles are clearly military-grade standard weaponry."
As if to confirm Eden's words, the roar of ion thrusters filled the air. Several autonomous mechs, each standing several meters tall like small buildings, rapidly closed the distance.
Seeing the United Government insignia on the mechs, Eden breathed a sigh of relief.
"It seems today's farce is finally over. Thank you for your help, Elysia."
However, Li Mu shook his head at Eden's optimism.
"Over? No, my dear. This has only just begun~♬"
Seeing Eden's confused look, Li Mu explained:
"Those are military mechs. Normally, they are stationed at United Government military bases."
"The nearest military base is over fifty kilometers away from here. And that's not even counting the startup time for the mechs' reactors, the time needed for military authorization from the United Government, and the notorious bureaucratic inefficiency of the Far East administration."
"So, my dear Eden," Li Mu looked at her. "We've been out here for less than ten minutes. How did they get here so fast? Teleportation?"
Hearing Li Mu's words, the relaxed expression on Eden's face gradually turned solemn.
"To arrive this quickly, there's only one possibility. These autonomous mechs were already nearby... They knew in advance that I would be kidnapped by these bandits?"
"But... if that's true, why would they do this?"
Facing Eden's confusion, Li Mu stepped in front of her, reaching out a finger to gently lift her chin.
"My dear Eden, you really have no self-awareness of your own status, do you?~♬"
"As the wealthiest and most famous person in human civilization, isn't your favor the most valuable thing in the world?"
"Think about it. Just when you're in danger, they swoop in like heroes in a storybook to save the damsel in distress. Saving your life... what a massive debt of gratitude that would be, no?"
Feeling the warm touch of "Elysia's" fingertip, Eden felt a faint electric current run through her heart. A strange, tingling sensation began to brew within her.
Meeting "Elysia's" reddish-brown eyes, Eden whispered, "A staged performance?"
"Bingo~"
"My good Eden, you really are smart~♬"
Li Mu leaned in close, whispering softly into her ear.
"My good Eden, for these arrogant people who treat you as a bargaining chip... don't you... want to enact a little revenge?~♬"
It was definitely Elysia's scent.
Being this close, Eden could clearly distinguish her best friend's unique aroma.
However, she was also certain now: the person in front of her was absolutely not the Elysia she knew!
If the Elysia she knew was a joyful elf from a pure land, then this one was a siren who bewitched the heart.
This light-purple Elysia was more wicked, more dangerous than the one she knew.
And simultaneously, she possessed a magnetic attraction completely opposite to the real Elysia.
Eden had to admit, she was being bewitched.
So Eden smiled. She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear with her usual elegance, but her tone carried a strange hint of excitement.
"Being a bad girl once in a while... sounds like a novel experience."
"But, Elysia... I'll call you that for now... are you confident you can escape the encirclement of these mechs?"
By now, during their conversation, the mechs had completely surrounded them.
"Does Eden have no faith in me?"
"I'll be sad, you know~ Really, really sad~♬"
Eden chuckled. "Then, my dear Elysia, I leave it to you."
Hearing this, Li Mu stepped away from Eden. With a flourish, he turned and bowed gently to her, like a knight pledging loyalty to his princess, or perhaps a magician about to begin a show.
"Then, please witness... the curtain call of this play!"
A mechanical, synthesized voice boomed from the mechs.
"Hostile element, step away from Miss Eden!"
"Repeating warning. Hostile element, step away from Miss Eden!"
The moment they arrived at the combat zone, the autonomous mechs' fire control systems had locked onto Li Mu and issued a severe warning.
Li Mu had no doubt that if he wasn't standing so close to Eden, these big hunks of metal would have opened fire without hesitation.
However, right after the warning was issued, the mechs' combat AI realized it had lost the lock on the target.
The light-purple figure originally standing next to Eden had vanished into thin air.
Fortunately, the fire control system reacquired the target a split second later.
Unfortunately, the target's location was directly on top of one of the mechs.
"Yo, big guy. Hello there~"
Li Mu crouched on the mech's cannon barrel, waving hello to the combat AI through the external camera.
Then, he punched through the mech's external armor, grabbed the control core with surgical precision, and crushed it.
"Goodbye~♬"
The mech collapsed instantly.
A slaughter with absolutely no suspense began.
On one side: armor forged from hardened steel, backed by physics, chemistry, and engineering firepower.
On the other side: a seemingly soft, fragile body that looked like it would blow away in the wind, dressed in pretty clothes that offered zero combat utility. Any normal person would think the outcome was obvious.
But what Eden saw was "Elysia" punching through steel armor with dainty fists, ripping off cannons with slender arms, smashing power cores with a single elbow strike, and kicking entire mechs around like soccer balls with those long, flawless legs.
Fortunately, having seen her best friend's unbelievable physical prowess before, Eden was only slightly surprised.
In no time at all, the autonomous mechs that came to play "Hero Saves the Beauty" were all utterly destroyed by the End Boss, the Faded Elf.
Li Mu glanced toward the spot where Sakura had been cowering. She was gone.
Taking advantage of his rampage, Sakura had already fled the scene.
No matter. He had already doxxed Sakura and her sister's home address anyway. There was no rush.
As for now, it was time to deal with another issue.
Surrounded by the wreckage of mechs, Li Mu turned around, looking at Eden with a beaming smile.
"The annoying pests have finally been cleaned up."
"Now then, my dear Eden. You are currently being kidnapped by the great Far East Bandit, Miss Faded Elf."
Li Mu raised his hands, curling his fingers into claws, and laughed wickedly. "Scream all you want! No one is coming to save you!"
Eden was amused.
"Then, my dear Miss Bandit... are you after my money, or... my body?"
Li Mu blinked, then laughed.
"Alright, my good Eden. I'll stop teasing you."
"I want to make a deal with you. In exchange for something... you might like very much."