At night, St. George University gradually grew quiet after the bustle of the day.
Sulu had deliberately changed his clothes, put on a baseball cap, and prepared a face mask. He loitered near Catherine's residence.
As a university instructor, she earned a generous salary and rented an apartment near the university.
If I were an official Enforcer handling a supernatural case like this, I definitely wouldn't make a big show of it... It'd be best to take care of things quietly, without making a sound...
Of course, an operation like this couldn't stay quiet forever. Even if everything went smoothly, the police station would still have to explain to the university tomorrow why they'd arrested one of its teachers.
He found a nearby café, the sort of cheap little place that looked like it catered to the public.
"Hello! What can I get for you?"
After he entered the café, a red-haired girl carrying a tray came over to greet him and asked politely.
She looked like a student working there part-time.
"One coffee!"
Sulu glanced around and saw that the café wasn't too crowded. "And two buttered rolls and a black-pepper sausage!"
After ordering, he sat down at a window seat.
From this corner, he had a perfect view of Catherine's residence.
"Certainly!"
The waitress quickly wrote down his order. "Would you like anything else?"
"That's all, thanks!"
Sulu nodded and surveyed the other customers. It was already late, so there weren't many people. A man who looked like a homeless drifter had claimed a long sofa and was snoring away.
Mm, the surroundings looked fine.
Sulu settled down to wait.
"Sir, your coffee!"
Before long, the waitress brought over his coffee and food.
Sulu deftly used his knife and fork to cut off a piece of black-pepper sausage and put it in his mouth. His eyes lit up.
The fragrant sausage was bursting with juices when he bit into it, and the distinctive taste of black pepper made him take several more bites.
Little shops like this didn't manage to stay afloat without a trick or two up their sleeves. Low prices weren't the only reason.
Just as Sulu picked up his second buttered roll, his expression shifted.
Through the glass, he saw a crowd of dark figures that had appeared from nowhere and surrounded Catherine's apartment. Their disciplined movements and the insignia occasionally visible on their clothes made it clear they were police officers!
It's started!
Sulu gulped down his coffee, took the face mask from his bag, and quickly put it on.
At the same time, he saw the officers surround the apartment without moving in. They let a few men in black trench coats rush inside.
The legendary "special department"?
He smiled to himself, guessing at their identities.
In a world with supernatural powers, a great nation like the White Eagle Federation had to have a powerful supernatural agency of its own to maintain public order.
Perhaps these men in black belonged to that agency.
I wonder what they call it. S.H.I.E.L.D.? The Eleventh Bureau?
Sulu glanced at the cordon again.
Clearly, if someone deployed this kind of force against him, he wouldn't have much room to fight back.
Several potential supernatural beings and a team of elite officers—this was more than enough to deal with Catherine!
But...
The corner of Sulu's mouth lifted slightly.
There were always unexpected turns, weren't there?
Aside from him, who had met the other side, who knew there was another supernatural being besides Catherine?
The presence of one more person with supernatural powers was an absolute wildcard, enough to wreck even the most meticulous plan—if that person was with Catherine!
Logically speaking, Catherine just laid her cards on the table with me today. She must be worried I'll come after her, so it'd be perfectly sensible for her to hide another supernatural being in her apartment. If she didn't, then she was far too careless, and she can't blame anyone for her death!
Sulu thought indifferently.
Bang!
Suddenly, a gunshot rang out in the pitch-black night!
Whoosh!
It was as if a storm swept through the air.
Outside the apartment, the officers who had been lying in wait toppled over like scarecrows, collapsing into a heap as they fell asleep.
The sight immediately reminded Sulu of the attack he had suffered the previous night—the feeling of a weight pressing down on his soul!
Even as a transmigrator with a Spirit stat of 1.6, he had been affected that badly. Ordinary people would fare no better against this move.
"So the other witch from last night really is here!"
By now, the commotion outside had drawn quite a crowd.
Sulu tossed down a Toner coin, sprang up, and hurried out of the café.
Crash!
From across the street, he could see that all the windows of Catherine's apartment had shattered. One of the men in black staggered out and tumbled to the ground. "Be careful! She's not alone!"
"Get in there!"
Among the fallen officers, a few struggled to their feet. They were probably the ones with higher Spirit stats. Gritting their teeth, they drew their revolvers and charged into the apartment.
Bang! Bang!
Gunshots rang out one after another, followed by a woman's despairing scream. "No!"
Bang! Bang!
More shots rang out, and then Sulu saw Catherine.
She wore a red evening gown and was still as alluring as ever, but her face was full of despair and venom. She emerged from the apartment through a pool of blood, like a Queen arriving at a ceremony.
Though she was covered in blood, and it was impossible to tell whether it was hers or someone else's, Catherine's expression remained as haughty as ever.
Three figures with stiff movements crowded around her like guards.
Those are the men in black and the officers who went in earlier. They're being controlled? Is three the limit?
Watching the scene, Sulu couldn't help drawing his head back and retreating farther into the darkness behind him.
"You... you actually killed her!"
Catherine shrieked. Her voice was so piercing and high that it could shatter glass, and it brimmed with fury.
A new supernatural being joined the fight, and sure enough, that was the decisive wildcard! The result is that neither side can back down now, at the very least!
Sulu waited quietly.
Catherine was stronger than he'd expected, but there was no way the official forces would fear a low-level supernatural being like her.
Besides, Catherine looked badly wounded and close to death.
As for the other supernatural being, had they been taken out already?
"You... will all die!"
Catherine, driven to her last desperate frenzy, shouted as her puppets raised their guns and aimed them at the officers scattered across the ground.
Bang!
A much louder explosion rang out.
Sulu shuddered as he saw a bloody hole burst open in Catherine's head. Her whole body fell backward.
That was... a sniper!
There was no mistaking it: she'd been shot from a distance.
No chance to take advantage of this.
Seeing that, he didn't hesitate. He turned and left. Still, it's a good thing... At least the mastermind is dead, isn't she?
Thinking of Catherine's death, and then of Beatrice, Sulu suddenly felt a great sense of relief.
Before you continue