The time-stopping bullet left the barrel!
And its target was the back of Emilia's head!
At that instant, an angry roar rang out:
"Don't even think about it!!"
In that split second, a massive beast's claw descended from above, wreathed in enormous black-red lightning, smashing both of them into the icy ground.
Simultaneously, the golden bullet struck the descending beast's claw.
The claw rapidly turned deathly pale, clearly frozen in time.
The pallor spread at blinding speed, threatening to engulf the entire body of the claw's owner in an instant.
Then, with a pained grunt, black-and-red lightning exploded outward, and the petrified claw began rapidly reverting, as if being erased by a rubber, quickly returning to normal.
Once restored, the claw shrank swiftly, transforming into a small grey short-haired cat.
The cat plummeted downward, soon landing beside the fallen Emilia, hovering mid-air.
"Puck!"
Emilia called out her contracted spirit's name while scrambling up from the crater she'd been smashed into, now clutching a silver metal case.
Puck glanced at Emilia and pressed, "Did you get it?"
Covered in dust, Emilia nodded firmly, tightening her grip on the case.
Thanks to their covert telepathic link as contracted partners, Emilia had fully activated her defences before Puck's Concept Entanglement-laden attack landed, leaving her barely injured—and allowing her to swipe the case in the chaos.
So despite her dishevelled state, Emilia was in decent spirits.
"What about that Demigod?" Emilia asked urgently as she stood.
"Dodged it."
Puck hovered warily, eyeing the black-and-red gothic-clad girl above the crater, warning Emilia:
"Be careful. Her abilities are bizarre, and her Concept Entanglement strength is odd—weaker than the Witch of the Notaria's, yet stronger than our half-baked attempts."
"Is it a Class issue?" Emilia recalled Truth Astronomy's classified intel: "They say Class strength affects Concept Entanglement potency."
"So just a Common Class Demigod then?"
Puck frowned. Below the Witch of Notaria's High Tier Class, only Common Class Demigods would fit.
"With the item secured, we should retreat. Even two against one, victory isn't guaranteed, and there's no need for a deathmatch with a Demigod here."
As Puck and Emilia strategised, Kurumi Tokisaki, standing above the crater, watched Puck with unexpected delight: "Fully materialised elements? I see, so it's a spirit."
"To think there'd be such an unexpected windfall..."
Hearing this, Puck felt a chill run down his spine, as if something terrifying had set its sights on him.
At that moment, Puck suddenly saw numerous arms extending from the black-red portal behind Kurumi Tokisaki, followed by black-red clad girls leaping out of the spatial rift.
This sight sent shivers down both Puck and Emilia's spines.
From a Spiritual Power perspective, every girl before them was Kurumi Tokisaki. Though their strength varied, at least three or four rivalled the original Kurumi.
Realising what this phenomenon implied, Puck's face turned ashen:
"A cloning ability? And at Demigod Rank... impossible..."
Emilia too grasped the crucial implication:
"It seems this isn't a Common Class..."
A Demigod of Common Class likely couldn't produce clones on this scale. High Class, or perhaps... Top Tier Class.
This possibility made Emilia's heart sink like a stone.
Puck glanced around, noting they were now surrounded by nearly fifty Kurumi Tokisakis, and clicked his tongue:
"This number is absurd. Is this a Top Tier Class?"
Moreover, judging by the Spiritual Power intensity, none of the surrounding Kurumis seemed to be her true body.
Meaning the original was still en route?!
The thought of a Top Tier Class Demigod arriving made Puck's fur stand on end.
"We'll have to fight for our lives now."
Without going all out, they might not escape the Kurumis' pursuit.
Though come to think of it, a Demigod with such a cloning ability was practically a professional bully, wasn't she?
To deliberately assign such a Demigod as an escort for the Spirit Liquid - just how cunning was the Hidden Management Department's Director?
'No good. Must find a way to get the child to safety, or my lineage ends here!'
As Puck strategised Emilia's escape, she suddenly spoke apologetically:
"Puck, I'm sorry. I may have to break my promise."
Puck started, immediately understanding her meaning, and shouted:
"Wait, it hasn't come to that yet—"
But his words came too late.
"I beg of you, Satella."
Emilia murmured, clasping her hands together, closing her eyes in quiet prayer.
Kurumi Tokisaki, who'd been toying with these Top Tier Hero Ranks like a cat with mice, suddenly sensed an anomalous energy emanating from Emilia.
"What's this?"
Instantly, everything froze!
Emilia, Puck, even the approaching airport staff - the entire airport became motionless, the world turning monochrome.
Yet within this frozen grey world, Kurumi retained consciousness and capacity for thought.
Thus, she witnessed the figure manifesting over Emilia.
Same silver hair, same violet eyes, but not the innocent maiden - rather a being saturated with boundless sorrow, like a black shadow poised to engulf the world.
Aaaaah—
A piercing shriek echoed through the realm of Spiritual Power.
The piercing scream made even Kurumi Tokisaki's ears ache.
And in that very moment...
Time flowed backwards!
In a daze...
Kurumi Tokisaki opened her eyes once more, only to see the same aircraft cabin she'd spent hours in, the same flight attendants maintaining their professional smiles.
The sole change was that the briefcase in her hand had vanished.
Realising this, Kurumi ran her fingers over her now-empty lap, her expression gradually turning playful:
"Oh my, oh my!"
"How... intriguing this has become."