Chapter 415: Free Fall Motion
Raiden Ei flashed into view, materializing directly in front of Vermouth and Camus with terrifying suddenness. The wooden blade in her grip shimmered with a glacial glint, the air around it crackling as if the weapon itself had transformed into a physical bolt of purple lightning. Without a word, she lunged, targeting the closer of the two intruders—Vermouth.
Horror seized both operatives. Vermouth, relying on the honed instincts of a veteran expert, reacted in a split second. She threw her body backward, attempting to deploy her signature evasive maneuvers to counter the abrupt ambush. However, Ei's speed defied human comprehension. She moved like a blinding flash of lightning tearing through the midnight sky, dazzling and lethal.
Vermouth desperately twisted to the side, throwing her weight off balance, yet she could not entirely escape the arc of the strike. The wooden blade grazed her arm, instantly shredding her sleeve. The torn fabric fluttered away into the night wind, leaving a stinging line of friction against her bare skin.
Beside her, Camus scrambled to provide cover fire and obstruct the fierce onslaught. He raised his handgun, his finger pulling the trigger in rapid succession. Gunfire shattered the quiet atmosphere of the shrine as he emptied the entire magazine toward the purple-clad figure.
Under the oppressive pressure of Ei's advance, Camus had zero capacity to aim properly. He could only rely on suppressive fire, hoping the sheer volume of bullets would force their attacker to back down.
The barrage did have a marginal effect, briefly hindering the relentless assault on Vermouth and forcing Ei to adjust her trajectory.
Yet, Ei merely sidestepped the incoming projectiles with a nonchalant grace. With a subtle flick of her wrist, she brought her wooden sword upward. She offered Camus no opportunity to reload. The dull edge of the wooden blade struck the metal barrel of his handgun with impossible precision and force, cleanly slicing the weapon and reducing the firearm in his grip to a useless pile of scrap metal.
The assault did not cease for even a fraction of a second. Ei pressed her advantage, denying both Vermouth and Camus a single moment to catch their breath.
The two Black Organization operatives had fallen into a disastrously passive situation. Stripped of their offensive capabilities, they could only stumble and dodge clumsily beneath the relentless rain of strikes. Mounting a counterattack was a laughable fantasy. They knew with absolute certainty that a single moment of carelessness would cost them an arm or a leg.
Despite the terrifying display of martial prowess, Ei remained true to her initial word. She truly had no intention of taking their lives tonight.
Just as the wooden blade was about to sweep across Vermouth and Camus in a punishing blow, a powerful whirlwind erupted across the courtyard. The sudden gale whipped up dust and debris, blinding everyone in the vicinity.
"Why are you here?!" Vermouth widened her eyes, her shock temporarily overriding her fear. She stared at the figure of Glenlivet materializing before her, barely restraining herself from screaming his codename aloud.
Had he not explicitly stated that he would never set foot on the grounds of the Grand Narukami Shrine? And since when were they on such cooperative terms? To think that this unpredictable man would break his own absolute rule and travel all the way up this mountain just to pull them out of the fire.
Glenlivet completely ignored the astonishment plastered across their faces. Seeing their mouths open to demand answers, he let out a highly impatient click of his tongue. He offered them absolutely no chance for unnecessary chatter. Shifting his weight, he delivered two swift, brutal kicks, sending both operatives launching into the air.
Ei sensed the familiar traces of elemental energy weaving through the air. Her hand paused mid-swing. In that brief, calculated instant, Glenlivet seized the opening to forcefully eject the two troublesome intruders from the shrine grounds, even if his extraction method was exceedingly rough.
A pair of heavy groans echoed through the wind. Vermouth and Camus felt as though their internal organs had been ruptured by the sheer kinetic force of the strike. The physical trauma they had endured from Ei's relentless assault paled in comparison to the agonizing pain inflicted by their own colleague's boot.
Before the world could stop spinning around their dizzy heads, the Anemo power enveloped them. Lifted by the swirling wind, Vermouth and Camus shot rapidly upward like a pair of weightless birds. In the blink of an eye, they cleared the towering outer walls of the shrine.
The gale carried them straight toward the steep, jagged cliffs in the distance. Upon reaching the apex of their forced flight, the elemental support abruptly vanished. Gravity reclaimed its hold. Like two falling meteors, their bodies plummeted downward, entering a terrifying free fall at an astonishing speed.
The wind howled violently past their ears, the dark scenery of the mountain retreating in a blur of shadows. The visceral thrill and sheer terror of the rapid descent sent their hearts leaping into their throats.
Up above, Glenlivet had easily shaken off Ei's pursuit—largely because the Electro Archon had never been fighting seriously and deliberately allowed him to leave.
Having cleared the shrine, Glenlivet stepped off the edge of the high cliff and entered the dive. Tucking his arms to accelerate, he plummeted after the two falling operatives. Though he had jumped a step behind, his mastery over the wind allowed him to close the distance in seconds.
"Glenlivet, you absolute lunatic, are you trying to murder us?!"
"...I will haunt you from the grave!"
Amidst the furious, wind-torn curses of the broken operatives, Glenlivet reached out. With two neat, precise chops to the backs of their necks, he knocked them completely unconscious just moments before they could hit the forest floor.
Mercifully, he spared them from witnessing the highly unscientific phenomenon that followed. Just as their limp bodies were about to collide with the unforgiving earth, a gentle cushion of Anemo energy flared beneath them, slowing their momentum to a halt and placing them softly onto the grass.
Glenlivet touched down silently a second later. He stood steadily on the ground, crossing his arms as he glared impatiently at the two unconscious bodies sprawled near his boots.
What an absolute pain. They were dead to the world, which meant he still had to figure out how to haul them to a secure location.
While Glenlivet stood in the dark woods, debating whether to call in a subordinate to carry these two massive burdens or simply slap them awake and force them to walk, a completely different scene was unfolding back in the city. Bourbon, entirely unaware of the disastrous major harvest his colleagues had just reaped at the shrine, sat inside Café Poirot. He wore a pleasant smile, currently dedicating all his effort into probing for information from Ran Mouri, Natsume, and the rest of the group enjoying their evening meal.
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