Chapter 271
Although the two Eradicator spoke in an unfriendly tone, their cheerful and joking manner suggested that this was not the first or second time they had done this.
"Nana!?"
Clearly, even Nana's companions, who knew of her power, could not ignore such a powerful attack... And upon hearing Su Sulo's worried voice, the charred-covered Eradicator, wielding a scimitar, immediately gestured towards her neck in that direction:
"Don't worry, it'll be your turn soon."
However, the moment those words were spoken, the Number One Eradicator instantly felt a chill run through his hands and feet... This was... killing intent?
No, perhaps it's... something beyond that.
Driven by stiff, tense muscles, he turned to look; from the smoke-filled ruins of the collapsed two-story wooden building came steady breathing.
"... Your mother?"
The white-suited Eradicator had just emerged from the second-floor corridor and was standing beside the broken staircase, couldn't help but utter a question. With a hissing breath, a silvery Halo appeared in the dark mist, and the Compound Beam Spear re-ignited.
The overloaded, high-pressure Originium Steam glowed a vibrant red within the restraining force field. The backpack's cooling fans were running at full power, instantly blowing away the dust particles swirling around the 'Angel'... The scimitar- Eradicator who had just threatened Su Sulo was horrified to discover that the 'Angel' before him, possessing Feline features but also radiating Halo, was now staring at him with hostility.
"... What the hell are you?!"
His response was Nana, who had dropped her shield and appeared before him as if by teleportation, spears in both hands, poised to strike. Sobbing
Even though his legs were slightly unresponsive due to the sudden murderous aura, the Curved Eradicator still managed to wield his blade with both hands to meet the leaping slash from the Halo- Feline. Yo!
This scene was a complete replay of what had just happened. Even the Curved Blade Eradicator hadn't expected that his opponent, who looked to weigh no more than 100 pounds, could unleash a heavy blow that forced his feet into the ground and nearly brought him to his knees.
As the frontline fighting force of the Siracusa, the Eradicator's scimitars were custom-made at a great expense. However, regardless of the material used, ordinary metal weapons are still no match for lightsabers operating at thousands of degrees Celsius under overload.
Even with his magic fully activated to resist, witnessing the crimson beam of light slowly but seemingly unstoppable penetrate his weapon, the blade in his hand began to deform under the intense heat, the leather handle ignited, and even the blade itself turned an incandescent white. Realizing he couldn't hold on any longer, the Curved Blade Eradicator couldn't help but look towards his allies:
"Where the hell are you going to provide support?!"
Only after saying those words did he realize that where his allies should have been standing, now stood a purple-haired, twin-tailed Sarkaz... The theater hall was now not only damaged by the stairs, but what used to be a wall had become a huge hole... The drizzling rain, unique to Siracusa, was now drifting in through this hole.
The floorboards, riddled with holes and crackling with flames, emitted unsettling hissing sounds as raindrops fell from them.
The red lightsaber severed the scimitar, and the memories of the Eradicator ceased.
He probably couldn't understand why the other person's demeanor had changed so drastically when he had simply spoken a few extra words out of habit.
But... breaking through the theater lobby is not the end, or rather... it's just the beginning of the end.
Regardless, the two of them bought time for the family meeting at the theater. As Nana, holding the beam spear, stood up again, a Firearms Arts squad appeared on the second floor, which had been cleared of the passageway earlier. The armbands and insignia of the Siracusa Court were worn on them.
After the family Eradicator, came the government... no, the suppressive forces that Lady Sicilia had placed in the city-state?
As Nana waved her shield, Nana heard familiar footsteps on the second floor and saw the gray-haired judge with a troubled expression.
"Vittoria ..."
Rhodes Island.
Interrupting Nana's question like this, the gray-haired Judge Lupo's eyes were full of difficulty:
"Weren't we supposed to have an agreement...? Why are you adding so much unnecessary work for me?"
Seeing that the Court Riot Suppression Unit, numbering over twenty and still being reinforced, were pointing assault rifles at the crowd from the second floor, Nana gestured for everyone to hide behind her while glancing at Vittoria on the second floor:
"... Is it possible that you're the one who's asking for trouble?"
"Maybe? Anyway, whatever... I want to get off work soon."
As the gray-haired woman waved goodbye, indicating she wasn't going to say anything more, the Firearms Arts squad on the second floor pulled the triggers in unison.
PS: Waaaaaaah!
Rosemary ice cream! ↑
PSS: After taking on single targets, she tackles groups; after defeating the weak, she takes on the elites... Nana is going to single-handedly bring the entire city-state of Siracusa to its knees!
The 8th Spring of Siracusa: 306 The Mastermind Emerges?!
Individuals have their own tactics, and groups have their own strategies... Medic was able to hold her own against two Eradicator Men, but that doesn't mean she could remain indifferent to the attacks of two full squadrons of Firearms Arts... at least not her squad.
The crackling muzzle flashes, guided by the gray-haired judge, weren't intentionally aimed at anyone, which was precisely the situation Nana feared most.
Fortunately, the Rhodes Island crew, huddled together in a corner on the first floor, were very close together, and Nana only needed to raise her shield to protect everyone behind her. As for Typhon, who had just gone to deal with another Eradicator and was not within Nana's defensive range... she jumped down the broken stairs when the enemy rushed to the second-floor corridor, relying on her hunter's intuition... or perhaps Lycoris's training, to hide in a blind spot, so it seemed that Nana didn't need to worry about anything.
As the weapons in the hands of the Firearms Operator on the second floor emitted the distinctive clicking sound of empty magazines, Nana appropriately released a smokescreen spell. Upon seeing this, Vittoria slowly took out the Codex, letting the book covered in heavy metal thorns float in her hand.
The golden glow stopped the black smoke from rising to the second floor. The once beautiful theater was now like the night sky, with the upper half bathed in golden moonlight and the lower half filled with drifting clouds in the black night sky.
"So, answer me, why didn't you listen to advice?"
"Because what you're doing is tearing apart a happy family... Isn't that reason enough?"
"... I've long heard that Rhodes Island was founded by a group of idealists... But I think you're more than just idealists, you're practically utopianists, aren't you? Hundreds, even thousands, of families on this land have been torn apart for various reasons... And how could I not know that it might only take one unlucky day for a once happy family to collapse... But you insist on interfering with every single one you see?"
"I don't have that kind of arrogant idea, and I can't control everything... but Lisa is just one signature away from joining Rhodes Island, and I feel obligated to fight for the complete families of my future employees."
"Siracusa has its own national conditions... So, Rhodes Island Medic, is your way of securing a home for your junior staff by trampling on the dignity of the Lady Sicilia?"
"That's still better than having to sacrifice a child's mother to save face!"
Hearing the Firearms Arts firing at her from above, following her voice, Nana angrily cast a reflection spell on her shield. Even trained SHD agents could only use specially made small shields to function properly with this reflection shield... In Nana's hands, it maintained the size of the fortress shield.
As the next attack that struck Nana's shield was reflected back, causing a cacophony of screams from the opposing team Nana continued to shout in a voice loud enough for everyone in the theater to hear:
"Didn't you receive protests from the Abria Family!? Valeria is innocent! They never had any plan to wipe out the entire family; someone is just using this as an excuse!"
"If your intention is to use Valeria's conviction to appease the other families as quickly as possible, you are truly trampling the rule of law that the Lady Sicilia brought from Columbia underfoot! From now on, the Sicilian courts will have no credibility in this city-state, and due to laziness, the history of family feuds in Siracusa will be reopened... Vittoria, you will be nailed to the pillar of shame in the history of Siracusa's rule of law!"
As she spoke, Nana checked the movements of the people behind her who had moved using the smoke. Seeing Typhon's signal that everyone was safe, Nana swung her shield. The immense force created a storm, and the originally pure black shield now looked as if it had been carved from blue ice. With another attack from the Siracusa Firearms Arts... after discovering that all the Etch Rounds had returned to their original path and hit one or two unlucky people, everyone's gaze turned to Judge Vittoria in the center.
Nana wasn't sure if her words had the desired effect, but at least the court's Firearms Arts forces realized their attacks were ineffective... The fierce confrontation that had been going on stopped.
Looking at the devastated theater, riddled with bullet holes enough to trigger trypophobia, Siracusa Code and using it as Arts Unit to continuously engage in Vittoria battles with Nana, tilted her head with a strange expression:
"... There's no need for the pillar of shame. Your act of bombing a public facility like the theater in my territory has already ruined my future and that of my faction... It's infuriating. We met first, didn't we? Lisa kindly welcomed you, told you about the local customs and traditions, and then you turned around and destroyed all my career plans, saying things like I'd be nailed to the pillar of shame if I didn't cooperate with you... Is this how Rhodes Island does business? I've seen it for myself."
"I'm not that evil..."
As Nana reflected on her actions, the Angel cat, feeling she hadn't done anything wrong, slammed down the heavy fortress shield that had become more than three times thicker due to the reflection spell. The wooden floor cracked and shattered again.
"But if you can't stand something, you just can't stand it. If the government can't be fair, then the violent resistance of the parties involved is undoubtedly a manifestation of 'justice.' Or, as the representative of the Lady Sicilia's will, are you going to stand on the side of those who have created this genocide—?!"
"..."
Seeing the gray-haired judge still hesitant, Nana adjusted the brightness of the light bulb slightly, and the bright red color temperature returned to a normal soft pink. This, aside from the surrounding ruins of the theater hall that seemed ready to collapse at any moment, finally brought a much more normal atmosphere between the two.
"I understand that Siracusa has a tradition of 'doing things for the family' for thousands of years and takes pride in it... even if the family disciplines individuals both mentally and physically... or I prefer to describe it as abuse, they will not leave or betray them."
"However, I still need to remind you... Valeria was not the person responsible for the massacre, Abria Family is also gathering evidence to prove her innocence... Whether it is a family that wants to plunge this city-state into chaos, or someone who wants to use this chaos for something, we know nothing about it."
"Perhaps capturing Valeria and pinning all these things on her would quickly silence the other families... But think about what the Abria Family, who didn't do these things, would think. You treated Corleone's Eradicator this way, even ruining a girl's life with Originium. How will that Godfather respond to your injustice after being so offended...? At that point, it won't be as simple as me killing two people to end this."
"... So you really said both the good and the bad? But if Mr. Corleone is truly willing to vouch for Valeria, I would indeed be very willing to have all the families sit down and renegotiate..."
Seeing the figure below holding a heavy shield... Sakota Felin? Or Felin Sakota, his face relaxed and he seemed pleased. The gray-haired, braided judge picked up his phone, seemingly about to explain something, and muttered to himself as he dialed:
"However, the problem remains: it's fine to get the families to sit down, but you need to have a real discussion, not just dodge the question and treat the courthouse like a coffee shop..."
Seeing that the judge representing the Siracusa authorities had also started dialing, seemingly heeding Nana's 'advice', Valeria, who had been protecting Angelina and Lisa in her arms, now had sparkling eyes. Even Su Sulo and Folinic, seeing that the situation seemed to be under control, couldn't help but excitedly high-five in celebration.
As Vittoria held up her phone and whispered, "Hello? I need to speak with Mr. Corleone, please transfer me," just when everyone thought the matter was over, and some of the government's Firearms Arts even slung their weapons back on their backs as if preparing to retreat... Nana frowned slightly at the court officer at the end of the Firearms Operator' formation.
Of course, Nana noticed him not because there was anything wrong with his appearance or demeanor, but simply because... Nana was very familiar with his eyes.
The assassin's memory has always been excellent since she regained consciousness, and Nana quickly recalled the owner of that gaze from her most recent memories:
"Hey! Aren't you a thug from the Sicilians gang? How did you get mixed up with the government's Firearms Operator?!"
Faced with Nana's sudden questioning, Vittoria, who was on the phone, was stunned. The judge unconsciously looked at the person with curiosity, but her movements were slightly dazed... As for the other Firearms Operator, they all wore the same eye-opening hoods, uniforms, and combat berets. While emphasizing teamwork, this attire also served to conceal their identities... Nana guessed that because she had successively withdrawn several team members from the battle, these people hadn't noticed when an extra person had appeared in their team!
'Tsk...'
When Nana heard the sound, she knew something was wrong. By the time the other person raised their gun, fired a burst of Etch Rounds at Vittoria, and then gripped a piece of wire in their other hand... Nana had already rushed to Vittoria's side, simultaneously giving the most obvious warning to the Rhodes Island members hiding below the second-floor stands to find new cover:
"Attack--!!!"
The theater, which had just calmed down, erupted into chaos again. The first reaction of those facing the muzzle of the gun was to dodge and avoid it—it was pure instinct. But while the first person didn't react, the others did. The gun was now pointed at their leader... the Grand Judge, who was in charge of this city-state and represented the will of the Lady Sicilia.
Although it was too late for the first person to stop the shooting after dodging, the second person managed to spread his arms to block the line of fire. Despite the deafening gunfire, the court employee was not killed on the spot by the continuous bursts of high-powered rifle bullets, thanks to the enhanced protective gear and the bulletproof plates specially assigned to the court. But the threat posed by the ambush was far more than just bullets.
Hearing the ear-piercing scraping sound of the steel wire cutting through human bodies, walls, and wooden floors above her, Valeria pressed Angelina's small head down to avoid the whistling wire while simultaneously cursing loudly:
"This is a similar spell to mine... The person who impersonated me and killed so many people a week ago!!"
Valeria was met with a piercing whistle from Nana's backpack. As threads that caused rivers of blood to flow wrapped around the giant shield and the unfolding mechanical arm, Nana heard muffled groans from the woman behind her and the sounds of threads cutting into the codex and what appeared to be skin and flesh. The assassin didn't dare to make any big moves to attack the imposter in front of her... While Nana was covering Vittoria, Typhon and Valeria, having settled Lisa and the others, launched an attack from the first floor.
Typhon's hunt was quiet, like a giant arrow carrying a storm, forcing the opponent to retreat and directly severing most of the steel wires. The court Firearms Operator, who were seemingly stuck in the spider web, were actually cut down, giving them a chance to catch their breath.
Upon discovering that the person in front of her was the suspect who had framed her, Valeria angrily swung out the same deadly steel wire and questioned:
"Why did you frame me?!"
Of course, while Valeria's impulsive shouting and questioning were surprising to everyone, the 'imitator' whose techniques were almost identical to Valeria's actually gave a reply:
"Valeria... stolen love, thieving skills, painstakingly leading the young master and future head of the family away from the clan... As his wife, she was forced to keep her husband on the run, and couldn't even protect her daughter's safety. And as a ninja who learned the same skills, she caused the young lady to lose her future because of her own rudeness during the mission. How foolish, truly foolish--!"
The steel wires intertwined, kunai and throwing knives collided in mid-air... But then, Valeria's body suddenly stiffened, her expression as if she had seen a coffin suddenly open in front of her, and a hulking hunter called 'Past' appear.
"You are... of the master's...?"
"Offending the master, parents... such a grave crime can only be atoned with death. Those who harmed the young lady are guilty of this, and so are you!"
"I... I'm not..."
Seeing the young mother unconsciously take a step back, two of the throwing knives that had been constantly controlled by the silk threads in the air were knocked away by the kunai. Just as the dazed Valeria was about to be cut into pieces by the metal wire net, a small golden figure jumped out of the brown-haired older sister's arms, and at the same time, two arrows, one large and one small, were shot out from behind Valeria.
The giant arrow, accompanied by a storm, shattered the net, while the smaller arrow aimed only at the enemy's face, seemingly with a single, fatal blow.
Thus, a third arrow appeared in Typhon's hand from behind, and Folinic, holding a longbow, shouted at the Little Fox who ran forward to block Valeria's path and her mother, who seemed to have been provoked by something:
"Don't listen to what the enemy says! Protect yourselves, we still have Medic!"
"Well said, Folinic... Also, don't worry."
To avoid hurting the judge behind her, Nana used her lightsaber to cut the threads binding the two together, which took some time.
Seeing that Nana on the second floor had already drawn her Guardian Gun, and that she was struck in the face by Folinic's arrow while trying to avoid Typhon's giant arrow, her mask was completely torn off from the bridge of her nose to the sides of her ears, revealing the innermost veil of the 'ninja' who bowed to everyone... no, to Zhang Lai's Little Lisa as if to protect her mother, while a magical smoke screen began to gather around her:
"DOMO, Miss Lisa, nice to meet you... Unfortunately, according to the rules of the Shrine, you have lost your right to be the head of the family due to Oripathy... Valeria, you deserve to die!"
"You motherfucker?! Don't you dare interfere in my marriage and my daughter's life!"
As if to echo Valeria's angry rebuke, Nana's gunshot on the second floor rang out... As the Halo above Angel Cat's head suddenly expanded and emitted a strange shriek that only the Infected could hear, a bright red beam of light, carrying white light, shattered the mist.
"That's right, what era are we living in? Why are they still arranging marriages... And if we're talking about protecting Lisa, why didn't you detect that Originium Bomb beforehand? Or was disqualifying this 'clan head candidate' part of your mission?"
As Nana approached the white mist with heavy steps, the Nana disappeared after she picked up Lisa, who had startled everyone else with her sudden action.
"That's strange... not even a single rebuttal?"
Sighing, Nana looked at Vittoria, whose uniform was covered in cut marks, whose usually elegant and delicate makeup was now expressionless, and whose face was even scarred: 2
"It seems he really knows he can't hide any longer."
"Ah... you're right, someone is indeed taking advantage of the situation, although I still have reservations about your behavior of profiting from others' misfortunes... but now, I'll take you to inform those families... By the way, was that a ninja from the Higashi? Anyway... I want him to die a very gruesome death..." Ling
Seeing the gray-haired beauty's expressionless face and the blood still flowing from her wounds, Nana blinked and called over Su Sulo: Witch
In short, let's give those who can still be saved a chance.
PS: Waa...
I got to see Lycoris today... she's beautiful!
PSS: Just a heads-up... this ninja isn't anything serious, otherwise he wouldn't have resorted to such underhanded tactics to cause trouble for Lisa's mother. (Delete)
From the moment Nana exposed him, his life in Siracusa was on a countdown... This is what it means to be shrouded in darkness.
8th Spring of Siracusa: 307 Light-speed evacuation!
Just as Nana told Valeria, breaking the tacit understanding between families with absolute power and pointing a gun at the heads of those lords to make them sit down and talk could solve most problems.
After all, a conspiracy is something that will vanish once it's exposed. As long as Valeria's original actions and the Abria Family's personnel arrangements during that period are laid bare in front of these people... apart from those who would rather believe that this land is flat than believe in the Abria Family and still remain defiant, all the local families will have to calm down and seriously consider whether they have also become a pawn in this scheme.
Not only was he clearly used, but he was also used as a means to provoke the court and almost became one of the few corpses of the day... As the person involved, Vittoria was quite proactive in notifying her clan to cease hostilities and organizing people to track down the ninja in order to fulfill her promise of "I will make that ninja die a horrible death".
But no matter how efficiently this academically trained sorcerer judge managed to keep the court system running, restoring order to the city, dealing with construction debris, caring for the wounded, and waiting for the clan leaders to send word of a temporary ceasefire, all these tasks would take time to complete.
In Nana's eyes, even though it was already confirmed that foreign agents were undermining their internal unity, these families were still fixated on the fact that Valeria had indeed killed a dozen or so people directly related to turning Lisa into the Infected when they were discussing Valeria's affairs... It was really hard to bear their attitude that they had to use these people's lives to take a piece of flesh from the Abria Family.