A blinding crimson flash transformed into a spear, tearing through the pitch-black sky.
Like the falling flames of a sun, the beam of a large-caliber laser cannon illuminated Arcueid's figure.
The air wavered in the intense heat, like a shimmering mirage.
Within that space, distorted by scorching temperatures, a pair of crimson eyes glittered with excitement.
BOOM—
A deafening roar, like an earthquake, shook the entire artificial island. Flames erupted in all directions, and the airport terminal swayed precariously.
The Spear of Incandescent Fire—its true nature was what the modern era called a large-caliber laser cannon. A beam-lance with a focal temperature exceeding twenty thousand degrees should have been capable of instantly reducing even a vampire's flesh to ashes.
Yet, a pristine white figure appeared, completely unharmed, behind the Nalakuvera. Her small, pale hands were raised before her chest as if warming them.
"Whew~" Facing the deep red flash, Arcueid gently exhaled a puff of air, her red eyes narrowing slightly in comfort.
It was nearing October on Itogami Island; the night air held a slight, crisp chill.
"Though temperature doesn't really affect me, anyway."
In the next instant, a claw strike descended upon the Nalakuvera before her.
Brilliant golden hair streamed in the night breeze, and sharp claws tore through the air to slam against the thick armor.
SCREEEECH————
A sharp, earsplitting sound reverberated under the night sky, an invisible shockwave sweeping through the wreckage.
The shockwave expanded outward with unparalleled speed, obliterating everything in its path.
The air compressed into an invisible wall, sweeping everything aside with thunderous force. Surrounding buildings collapsed like houses of cards; glass turned to dust in an instant.
Neco-Arc, who had just been blasted skyward and was only now landing, was sent flying once more along with the surrounding rubble.
"Meeeoow—"
"So noisy!"
Arcueid shook her head, gently rubbing her ears which had endured the tremendous noise.
Her crimson eyes fixed intently on the Nalakuvera, which had only had its legs torn off, and the corners of her mouth curled high.
Her attack just now... had been blocked. Its armor had become somewhat different.
She lightly flicked her wrist and gracefully shifted her stance.
"One of the Nalakuvera's abilities is to learn and evolve on its own," a faint, explanatory voice came from the phone in the distant sky.
Seemingly trying to make the voice clearer, Neco-Arc held the phone up high, her eyes narrowed into tense slits.
"For some reason, the Black Death Emperor Front has obtained activation codes. It's likely Gardos's group here is just a diversion."
The continuous sound of keyboard clicks came through the phone. Asagi Aiba glanced at the data Mogwai provided and said quietly to Gardos, "So, as the leader, you're willing to act as bait?"
"Though it's somewhat dishonorable."
The elderly man on the ground, with his fierce countenance, no longer wore the look of reluctance from before. He shifted his chained hands and lowered his gaze.
Gardos lay indifferently against the cold floor, stating calmly, "We are a military organization with strict discipline. No one would engage in frivolous acts against non-combatants."
"Is that so?"
Holding another phone, Natsuki Minamiya cast a frosty glance at him, her voice even colder than her expression. "Yet your comrades don't seem to share that view."
She held the phone horizontally before Gardos. Amidst a dense crowd, several beastmen captured by Neco-Arc police officers were strikingly visible.
Beside them lay what were clearly homemade improvised explosives.
"..." Gardos stared at the image for a long moment before finally, wordlessly, letting his head thud back down.
Amidst the clamor of the Black Death Emperor Front's terrorist attacks on the city district, their leader as warriors hung his head.
"...Though it is shameful..." His gaze fixed on the ground, his lips moved. "For the civilians on this island, which is doomed to sink... it's merely a difference in the order of death."
"Heh..." Natsuki Minamiya snorted disdainfully at the warrior. "This entire planet is doomed to perish in the future. Why don't you go die sooner?"
Having said that, she spoke into the phone connected to Arcueid. "Are you alright on your end?"
"No worries, no worries."
An exceedingly faint reply came from the other end of the phone, yet Natsuki Minamiya nodded reassuringly. "The festival is about to start. Try to keep the airport operational if possible."
Her words paused briefly. She blinked, then added softly, "Be careful."
With that, she glanced at the image of the citizens on her phone screen and shook her head helplessly.
Honestly, with the recent improvement in public safety, people even dared to gather around arrest scenes for a spectacle.
"...Alright..."
A response, light as willow catkins in the wind, drifted faintly through. At the same moment, Natsuki Minamiya's petite figure vanished from the room.
A breeze lifted the hem of her pure white gown. Silver high heels tapped the ground repeatedly, producing a crisp click-clack.
A nimble figure danced under the moonlight. Hands lifted like a dancer's wielded a flurry of lethal strikes.
Anyone who caught sight of Arcueid's fluttering, dancing form could tell at a glance: the young girl before them, elegant as a mountain flower, was no harmless dancer.
—She was a lethal huntress.
Arcueid's claw strikes landed one after another, heavy and precise, upon the Nalakuvera, inflicting fatal wounds upon their newly evolved bodies.
"Trying to destroy Itogami Island, with me on it, right before the festival starts—it's certainly a famous-making method."
It was like carrying a bomb straight to the White House; your name would surely be known throughout the world.
She gazed with amused delight at the precarious divine weaponry and said softly, "A pity your combat strength isn't quite up to par."
In that instant, the body of one Nalakuvera was ruthlessly torn apart by a claw strike. Their pride in evolution seemed to have become a joke.
After all, one simply needed to employ attacks stronger than their evolved state each time.
The Nalakuvera ahead, as if to dispel fear, stomped chaotically on the legs already destroyed by the shockwaves, repeatedly kicking up dust from the ground.
Yet this child-like tantrum ceased the next moment. All the Nalakuvera stood up simultaneously and steadily, as if receiving a unified command.
"Switched to manual control?" Arcueid muttered. Her black-stockinged legs shifted continuously as her form swiftly closed in on the nearest Nalakuvera.
She had no habit of letting villains regroup.
Her claws fell like meteors from above the Nalakuvera's head. The weapon's frame shattered as if it were fragile ice—or so it seemed, until the moment before impact.
Strange patterns suddenly surfaced on its frame. A faint magical glow enveloped the machine, laboriously deflecting Arcueid's strike toward the ground.
"A repulsive field, huh."
Using repulsive force to deflect impact, avoiding direct confrontation—it was an efficient tactic. The sloped armor on some tanks served a similar purpose, deflecting incoming missiles.
Utterly unsurprised, Arcueid pivoted her body. Magical energy spilled from within, taking the shape of claws upon her hands. And then—
A surge of magical brilliance shrieked past, slicing through the dark night sky.
The claws flashed by at a speed invisible to the naked eye. The three Nalakuvera ahead were cleaved apart as smoothly as soft pudding.
The wreckage crashed to the ground, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
"Faced with an unfamiliar attack, these divine weapons... are truly fragile."
Arcueid's red-and-white eyes gleamed faintly through the vision-obscuring dust. She lightly raised her right hand, and the dust before her scattered like startled birds.
Purple magical energy dispersed the air, revealing her once more under the moonlight.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.