Verene took a little peek; she puts her mouth with her arm to stifle any sound she's gonna make.
Her eyes widen as the horrifying realization sank in.
"Is that...?" Verene's back pressed harder against the cracked concrete wall, her heart pumping so loudly.
"Adeline Monet, the Mid-A Rank Support? And that symbol... Demon cult...?" Her mind ran.
The conversation continued.
The cloaked man slightly tilted his head, his hood covering part of his face, "And the result?" he mumbled.
Adeline's lips curved into a cold smile.
"France's best are spent. Gard used his Arcane and is probably half-dead already. Imra, Gul, Regis, Ives, Emmy — and the others— they're all running on fumes or worse.
"The entire northern defense line is weakened and exhausted."
She took one step closer, her dark eyes glinted with betrayal.
"Right now, France's Adventurer Association has less than thirty percent combat effectiveness in the Paris sector."
The cloaked man gave a single slow nod. "Then the signal can be sent."
Adeline's expression didn't change, but her voice dropped to a whisper.
"Tell Boss that Agent 'K-2' has completed her mission. Now we just have to wait for the other members to take action."
"Adeline is part of the demon cult all along..?" Verene had to tell others—anyone.
She took one silent step backward, ready to slip away.
Suddenly, she heard a soft click sound behind her. "Eavesdropping is a bad habit, Verene." Adeline's voice was sugar-sweet and far too close.
Verene's body froze.
Before she could turn, a gloved hand clamped over her mouth and yanked her deeper into the shadowed alley.
The cloaked man had already vanished.
"Shhh~" Adeline pressed a finger to her own lips, her eyes was full with amusement.
"Don't scream. Don't run. And definitely don't try to cast anything."
Verene's eyes widened as she felt it—a tiny, almost imperceptible prick at the side of her neck, just below her left ear.
"Surprise~ It's a micro-needle injector. I've also set this in your little brother's neck while I was casting a healing spell.
"It's completely undetectable by normal healing spells or scanners."
"Even your precious support healing magic—oh... I forgot, humans can't use self-regeneration~"
Verene's breath hitched. She tried to speak, but Adeline's hand tightened.
She added,
"Ah-ah. I know what you're thinking. You want to run to with others right now and tell them everything. But here's the rule: You stay quiet. You smile. You act like nothing happened."
"If you so much as whisper a warning or try to signal anyone… I press the trigger."
"And then I'll make sure your little brother Axel dies next. Slowly."
Verene's eyes filled with helpless fury and terror.
The tiny device on her neck felt like it was burning her skin.
Adeline finally released her mouth stepping back, still smiling brightly.
Adeline patted Verene's cheek almost affectionately, her smile never wavering. "Run now, sweetie."
Verene swallowed hard, her voice barely a whisper, shaking with rage and fear. "...You won't get away with this."
The weight of the invisible death sentence on her neck made every words stolen.
Adeline gave her a playful wink before vanishing into the dark alley like a ghost.
Verene stumbled out into the open ruins, her mind screaming to warn someone—Imra, Lucien, anyone—but the prickling sensation at her neck silenced her.
She had to act normal. For Axel. For herself.
A low, earthquake rumble shook the ground, slowly getting stronger.
From the beachfront ruins, where the Kaiju's headless body lay.
A new head slowly regenerated from its Trapezius, slightly bigger and more armored than earlier.
The Kaiju let out an intense roar shaking the ground and destroying anyones eardrum nearby.
Some adventurers and soldiers was sent flying getting ragdolled by the gust of wind.
"Wh-what the—? It's regenerating!" Baudin shouted from the frontline, his greatsword dropping slightly in shock as he staggered back. "Everyone, fall back! It's not dead!"
Lucien, still catching his breath nearby with Ivy fluttering anxiously at his shoulder, he whipped his staff up. "No... how? We beheaded it clean..."
Soldiers scrambled, and some low-rank adventurers ran in panic.
The heat surrounding the Kaiju slowly starting to increase again burning anyone who will get close to it.
The roar got even more loud and defeaning, that it made anything impossible to hear.
Kaiju's dorsal plates glowed with red fury.
Gul, leaning on his blade for support, gritted his teeth. "Damn it... everyone, regroup! We hit it again—"
Just high above the sky, a whine of jet engines can be heard. A military transport plane—marked with France insignia—its cargo bay doors slwoly slides open.
Without warning, a lone figure leaped out of it, no parachute, dropping like a meteor towards the monster below.
He wore a simple winter jacket without any tactical gear, unzipped and flapping in the wind, with his red hair whipping wildly.
In mid-fall, he drew a sword from his back—its blade humming with ethereal energy as he swung it upward.
"Pathetic scrap heap," Royd Sargent muttered under his breath, his voice lost to the wind.
Grade l sorcerer, Top-21 international Z-Rank adventurer, known as the 'EternalBane' member of the Karan Guild.
The slash descended like a literal dimensional slash thing.
It bisected the Kaiju clean down the middle, from regenerated head to tail—the cut so precise and empowered that it didn't stop there.
The force extended outward in a razor-thin line of destructive mana, carving an 83-mile straight scar across the French countryside—splitting hills, vaporizing debris, and even parting a distant riverbed before dissapearing harmlessly into the horizon.
Z-Rankers are completely on a whole other level.
The Kaiju's halves slumped apart with a loud crash sound. No regeneration this time; the slash had severed its core reactor in one go.
Royd landed lightly at the top of the Kaiju's lifeless body, sheathing his sword with a casual flick.
He adjusted his winter jacket, glancing around at the stunned faces. "Tch... France wasn't supposed to be my problem today. But since I'm here, who needs saving?"