Chapter 186
Efnir tilted her head back, leaned gently against the corner of the wall, took a deep breath, and struggled to get up.
At that moment, another Apostle appeared and quickly leaped out of the window.
"The fourth one..."
Efnir counted the number of people.
Not long after, another Apostle arrived and quickly left.
"This is the fifth one already."
In other words, besides the one who died, five other people have already left this place.
Efnir's gaze was cold. She pulled a pistol from the belt buckle behind her waist, gripped it tightly in her hand despite the excruciating pain, pulled the safety off, and pulled back the holster, making a crisp click.
She took a deep breath and transferred the pistol from her right hand to her left, which made her feel a little better.
Watching the Apostle's movements, Efnir turned to the side, concealing herself.
"Yukina... as long as I'm alive, I won't let anything happen to you."
Perhaps Efnir can no longer do more for Yukina, and the chance to live that Yukina risked her life for cannot be wasted by Efnir.
However, within the limits of her power, Efnir would still choose to kill more enemies to confuse their intelligence and reduce the pressure on Yukina.
As for the title of "Chief," Efnir was confident that she had the ability to claim it.
Even if she no longer had the strength to re-enter Synchronization, even if one of her arms and one of her legs were broken, she would never give up the fight.
--Of the six Apostle who pursued them here, five have already left.
"There's one left, so you can stay here with me."
60. Assassination
When using herself as bait to leave the shopping mall, in order to minimize the number of enemies she would encounter at the same time and reduce the risk of her operation plan and the possibility of Efnir Stand being discovered, Yukina chose to deviate from the original escape route and run away into the distance.
This indirectly dispersed the Apostle who subsequently pursued them, and to some extent increased the distance between the Apostle.
That is why there is still one Apostle inside the building who has not kept up with the Apostle pursuit team and has fallen behind as the last member.
This temporary strategy was not inherently flawed, but unfortunately, the bait set by Yukina caused the initial pursuit team to misjudge the situation, and the one-sided information she conveyed led the two Apostle Squad responsible for the pursuit to make the same misjudgment.
In their view, there was no one else left in the building, and because of the distant artillery fire, not even a trace of Dregs remained.
The sound of hurried footsteps drew closer.
Efnir held a black dagger horizontally in front of her with her left hand, her white long robe had already been taken by Yukina, her pistol was strapped to her side, and several small knives she had picked up in the mall were tightly fastened to the leather buckle at her waist. She stood quietly by the wall, her gaze fixed on the corpse of the girl named "Yuko" lying on the ground not far away.
Yukina's arrows possess a terrifying destructive power comparable to anti-materiel firearms. Even the enhanced bodies of the Apostle cannot survive Yukina's attacks. If given enough time, Efnir will choose to disguise herself as Yuko's corpse to ambush the Apostle who are about to arrive.
Clearly, she is in no condition to carry out such a battle; there simply isn't enough time.
The ground was covered in sticky blood and bits of flesh, and the air was filled with the stench of entrails. Long, eerie bloodstains were left by the merchandise shelves that had slid past.
Efnir doesn't show much sympathy for her enemies, at least not in battle. No matter who it is, Efnir has the absolute conviction to kill them. This unwavering will comes from the steadfast heart that Efnir has honed through countless battles.
Therefore, Efnir would never be swayed by the fact that Yukina's hands were stained with blood.
What surprised her most was the composure and calmness that Yukina displayed in the battle against the enemy— Yukina's eyes at that moment were like those of a seasoned veteran.
Perhaps this is Yukina's talent?
Efnir didn't think much of it. Instead, she focused her mind and relaxed her body. Very gently, yet with extraordinary speed, she followed the footsteps coming from afar and turned her around along the wall. A dim red light appeared in her eyes. The flow of time seemed to slow down. Her heartbeat, the sound of the wind, her breathing, and even the soft rustling of the sand and rain became clearer and clearer.
Every step and every movement that Efnir took, even the slightest sound, was perfectly synchronized with the Apostle girl's own footsteps and breathing to her ears.
To blend into the rhythm of the prey, to move with the prey's aura, and to disguise oneself with the prey's own scent.
--This is the "assassination technique" that Masaki Hina taught to Efnir, of course, it was only at the beginner level.
For Masaki Hina, who had honed her skills as a top assassin, such trivial techniques, which were only shown by beginners, were utterly insignificant. Therefore, in Masaki Hina's eyes, Efnir's assassination skills were merely mediocre.
After all, as an agent, Efnir had neither the time nor the need to learn more advanced "assassination techniques".
In Efnir's own words, since the Beacon "Ephnel" was not outstanding in any aspect, then we should learn a little bit of everything, at least to maximize our only advantage of "having no weaknesses".
But clearly, even rudimentary assassination skills are sufficient for the situation Efnir is currently facing.
The air reeked of blood.
The Apostle girl quickly ran through the shopping area of the building, heading towards the back of the main checkout counter.
From afar, she saw the body of her fallen comrade, a girl named "Yuko".
Yuko lay alone on the ground, a long trail of blood. The blood-soaked scene was littered with Trace that had slid across the sloping ground, as well as several boot prints.
She glanced indifferently at Yuko's corpse, a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes, which was quickly swallowed up by a deeper hatred.
She and Yuko were not close; their only connection was through the "organization."
But in the end, we're all the same kind of people, and they easily tore apart and gnawed at the emotions buried deep in her heart.
She couldn't quite describe the feeling. Perhaps she could have understood those vague thoughts in the past, but since accepting the power given to her by the organization and being injected with the Enhancement Agent, she had lost something of her former self. All she knew was that she was doing something she had to do, but it wasn't reasonable.
The last mark Yuko left on this world became a gentle ripple, stirring up waves in her heart.
She turned her gaze, quickened her pace, and ran in the direction the other Apostle had fled, swiftly passing around the corner.
In that instant, a strange silver light suddenly appeared beside her, which had been empty, tracing a beautiful arc to meet her eyes—it was a fruit knife with a relatively short blade. Even with her dynamic vision as Apostle, this sudden strike left her no time to react, and she didn't even see the face of the person who attacked her.
There are still enemies here?!
Realizing the intelligence failure, a strong sense of crisis exploded in my chest.
A thin, soft fruit knife—this weapon wasn't much of a threat to the Apostle, but the attack aimed at her eyes immediately awakened her instincts. In a split second, she raised her palm to shield her eyes, using the glimmer of light in her hand to deflect the fruit knife.
In that instant, she finally saw the attacker's face through the faint light between her fingers—a somewhat familiar black-haired girl, whose purple pupil in her right eye was particularly striking.
This... this is impossible!
The girl before me was clearly Efnir! Efnir who hadn't entered Synchronization!
An overwhelming tremor ran through her heart; a mixture of fear and hatred made her quickly assess the situation— Efnir hadn't left at all!? Had "Fifina" returned? Or... was this all a trap?
But none of that matters anymore; the person in front of her, Efnir, is just an ordinary person.
She didn't know why Efnir had reappeared in this way, whether she had any purpose, or whether the secondary target, "Fifina," was also here.
But she knew that in her current state, Efnir had no chance of escaping.
All she had to do was shout loudly to attract her teammates, and the mission was complete.
At this moment, the blade's edge drew near, and her vision was finally obscured by the light emanating from her palm.
However, the moment the silver blade touched her palm, it lost all its sharpness, as if a dragonfly were skimming across the water. The sudden sense of danger seemed to burst at the slightest touch.
A wisp of black hair caught her eye, and within that wisp of black, a light, cool touch brushed across her neck and side.
She didn't even feel any stinging pain, but the icy touch, like the Grim Reaper's scythe, was deeply imprinted on her body.
The next second, she was thrown violently into the wall in front of her due to inertia, and large Fracture spread across the wall like a spider web, raising a cloud of dust.
This pain was nothing to her, given that her body had been enhanced by the Apostle Power. As she slammed into the wall, a frenzied white flash instantly appeared in her palm, which she then flung backward.
With a deafening roar, a wave of heat washed over her face. A ball of light condensed in her palm once more, and she shouted at the top of her lungs.
However, the shriek transformed into a murky arrow of blood piercing her throat, and a large cloud of blood mist gushed from her mouth and nose. The blood column suddenly stained her vision red, covering the walls, the ground, and her raised arm in the direction where she had encountered Efnir —all were covered in warm, sticky blood. The blinding red stole all her attention.
"--!!"
She couldn't make a sound at all. She was shocked to find that her neck had been completely cut open, and a large amount of blood poured into her trachea, mouth and nose, making her head seem to be teetering on the verge of falling.
Only then did Efnir reappear in the corner. The girl who had bumped into the wall stared intently at Efnir, clearly seeing the two black daggers in Efnir's hands, with drops of blood sliding down their tips.
She immediately realized that she had miscalculated.
Efnir!!
She clutched her neck tightly, blood gushing from between her fingers. She angrily tried to sit up, but lost her balance and slipped—the ground beneath her was soaked with intestines and blood. Her twisted, miserable figure was reflected in the red mirror of blood beneath her knees. Her abdomen and almost half of her body from her waist down had been slashed open, and her entire lower body was submerged in blood.
The girl froze for a moment, and the next second, an even more dazzling light rose from her palm. She silently roared, her blood-red pupils fixed on Efnir, and launched a light and flame attack at her.
Efnir had already disappeared behind the wall, and no matter how much the girl unleashed her attacks, she could only destroy a few walls.
Efnir...
The girl's strength and consciousness rapidly diminished due to the outpouring of power. Unable to support her body, she leaned swaying against the cracked wall behind her, staring blankly in the direction where Efnir had disappeared.
The air seemed to freeze—it wasn't exactly quiet, but everywhere there were the harsh scraping sounds of metal shopping shelves rubbing against the ground, collapsing, and crashing.
The glimmer in the depths of the girl's eyes gradually faded.
Then it fell silent.
From a hidden corner, Efnir watched the girl slowly walk towards death, the dagger in her hand now replaced by a pistol—she hadn't used the pistol earlier to avoid attracting Apostle that might be nearby; the pistol was her last resort.
In short, the ambush went smoothly. The Apostle didn't seem to think of seeking help from others until the very end; instead, he seemed to be blinded by rage and tried to take her down with him.
Unfortunately, it wasn't done.
If she were to seek out other Apostle, Efnir would have no choice but to kill her with a single shot.
Efnir withdrew her gaze and limped toward the stairwell at the end of the stairwell.
Masaki Hina once said, the key to assassination is "a single, fatal blow."
The fruit knife aimed at the girl's eye was merely a feint, and unlikely to be fatal, given Efnir's current condition. The truly lethal strike came from the black blade hidden beneath, while the stab to the abdomen served as a "double insurance."
Efnir's current physical condition prevents her from directly breaking through the Apostle's defenses; even piercing her body would be difficult. She can only rely on the Apostle's forward momentum to slice through her softer parts.
Therefore, these are the only positions we can target.
The results have proven to be remarkable.
61. Signal
Assassinating an Apostle is no simple matter.
If Efnir hadn't mobilized her remaining strength to enter the Lower-Level Synchronization to enhance her body and senses, and hadn't launched a surprise ambush, Efnir wouldn't have been able to kill an Apostle with just two short swords.
Without the aid of firearms, ordinary people would find it difficult to kill the Apostle even in an attack, a consequence of their overall physical disadvantages.
However, one thing that puzzled Efnir was that the Apostle she faced this time seemed much weaker than Sakurai Sachi and the Apostle Form Saori. Before, she only had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but this time, when she attacked Efnir, she focused all her attention on the target, which is why she clearly discovered this suspicious point.
"These Apostle... seem somewhat weaker, unlike the Sakurai Sachi, Saori, and Ayse we encountered before."
Efnir was deep in thought.
Whether it's their combat skills, or the density, speed, and total amount of power they gather, they all seem to differ from the Apostle in Efnir's memory— the Apostle that appeared when they repelled the Angel in the Beyond the Boundary region were most likely these people, and similarly, they gave Efnir the same feeling.
If the threat posed by Sakurai Sachi and Saori is equivalent to an A-level Erosion Entity, then these Apostle can probably only be rated B+ at most. The strength level displayed by Sakurai Sachi is several times that of these Apostle, like the difference between an elite and an ordinary person.
Apostle two Apostle were still lying on the horizon, and the departing Apostle Squad showed no signs of returning. Efnir put on her headset, leaned against the corner of the stairwell, and did not rush to leave. Instead, she found a first-aid kit at the mall's first-aid station and treated her injuries.
In this era, most public places and large shopping malls have emergency first aid stations equipped with emergency kits, basic self-rescue equipment, and emergency telephones. These are for disaster victims who do not have time to escape from the disaster.
This shopping mall was not in the epicenter of the disaster, so there were hardly any Trace of Dregs or activity. People in the mall left the area in an orderly manner after the disaster, so the first aid station here was never used, although there were quite a few emergency treatment medications inside.
No signal was received in the headset because the concentration of Corruption Energy in the Maesakagawa Garrison District was still very high, interfering with all communications. In other words, the Apostle could display their full power here.
This is why Efnir felt increasingly that the Apostle she was facing this time seemed somewhat "abnormal".
I wonder how Yukina is doing now. Efnir has no way to contact Yukina and doesn't even have a flare gun.
The Relay Station is too far away. If Iori doesn't arrive in time to provide support, it will be too late for Efnir to run back now. All she can do is aim at the direction of the signal flares, gunfire, and artillery fire and move forward to seek support, and preferably confirm Yukina's safety.
In short, Efnir was not one to sit idly by and wait for her fate. She had no intention of staying in the mall to wait any longer. One of the parts of her plan with Yukina was to move to a different hiding place and wait for rescue. After all, Yukina's plan was not foolproof. If the plan was discovered, the Apostle would immediately return to surround the building and search for Efnir.
By then, it would be too late.
The good news is that the Apostle and troops are all in the open, while Efnir is alone in the shadows, which is Efnir's advantage.
Before that, it is necessary to prepare for the battle. The immediate priority is to treat the multiple injuries all over the body and then leave this place.