Chapter 82
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone on the helicopter froze.
Masaki Hina took a deep breath, a chill rising from the soles of her feet.
They were a step too late, but as the commander, now was not the time to give up.
How many enemies are there?
"According to reports, it seems... there was only one person... but the damage she caused was comparable to an armored unit, and conventional weapons simply couldn't penetrate her defenses..."
Shinomiyami Nami unconsciously moved her throat.
"Could it be... Apostle?"
"That might not be Apostle..."
Masaki Hina said coldly.
She and Shinomiyami Nami exchanged a glance, both seeing the seriousness in each other's eyes.
"Commander, are you saying she's an 'Angel'?"
"We can't rule out that possibility... Anyway, tell them to hold on. Also, send our people to provide support! Tell the people Garrison District not to be afraid of that thing, concentrate their attacks. If the intelligence is correct, she shouldn't be able to break through the 'barrier' from the outside, so we must focus on protecting the Boundary Stele. We'll be there shortly."
Masaki Hina said quickly.
"Also, continue searching for those guys who snuck in, and find them all!"
At Efnir's house--
The Yanase couple frowned deeply as they watched the news broadcast on television with concern.
Within those two hours, Xijing City's defense forces had undergone a large-scale mobilization. Although the events on the West Line had not yet been broadcast, residents had instinctively sensed a sense of unease.
"Will Naoto and Yukina be alright?"
Kaoru Yanase gripped her phone anxiously, Takuma Yanase rubbed his nose, remaining silent.
At this time, the Garrison District--
Gunshots and acrid smoke filled the air, and firelight illuminated half the night sky.
The moment the girl, suspected to be an "Angel," appeared, nearly a third of the Garrison District area was instantly engulfed by a scorching heatwave, and the lives of hundreds of people and defensive facilities evaporated in an instant.
"Fire on her!!"
The commander shouted, and countless bullets and artillery shells swept in, but the girl was unharmed.
If it were a direct confrontation, the garrison here would have already lost at this point. But fortunately, the girl only managed to wipe out a third of the Garrison District; the rest remained unscathed.
She simply gazed silently at the Boundary Stele —her power seemed to completely dissipate the moment it touched the "Defense Line," leaving not even a trace of smoke. But similarly, the bombardment seemed unable to harm her. She remained there, simply staring at the Boundary Stele, as if waiting for this massive mountain to collapse so that she could unleash all her power into the city.
At the same time, Uzuki Saori listened quietly to the footsteps coming from above.
She waited for nearly two hours in this deserted, abandoned old town, holding Shiina Rin tightly in her arms, silently waiting in the empty, dirty basement.
113. Uzuki Saori
The sound of helicopters overhead came and went, and finally, footsteps slowly approached.
If those people come looking for her, she will have to enter a state of Synchronization to fight. But in that case, the Orderkeepers Organization will be able to pinpoint her location immediately through her Synchronization wavelength. Not only the Special Disaster Division, but also the agents will come to arrest her.
At that point, there was no way she could escape.
But just then, a man's voice came through the earpiece.
"Miss Uzuki, the defense system of the Garrison District has been destroyed. We're counting on you now."
Uzuki Saori a deep breath, gently put Shiina Rin down, and handcuffed Shiina Rin's hands to the rusty water pipe next to her.
She gently kissed Rin's lips, then rose and walked towards the stairs. The silver light on her bracelet shimmered in the dark basement. Then, her robe and hood disappeared, replaced by a magnificent combat suit and chains in her hands.
One end of the chain is held in her hand and wrapped around her arm, while the other end is a sharp, short blade only the length of her palm. This is Uzuki Saori's Order Weapon.
"Target spotted!"
She had barely reached the ground when three armed soldiers appeared before her.
"Don't move! Hands up!"
Uzuki Saori glanced at them, frowned slightly, and her gaze fell on the armband of the leading soldier.
"So it wasn't someone from the Special Disaster Division, but someone from headquarters...?"
"Agent Lily, disarm! Surrender now and I will not harm you."
The lead soldier shouted, and the black barrel of his gun was aimed at her.
"Otherwise, I'll shoot."
Uzuki Saori didn't reply. Instead, she took two steps back and, under the soldiers' cautious gaze, suddenly darted into the building.
"Tsk... Damn it, hurry and chase them!"
"Wait, wait! Captain! This is probably a trap!"
When agents and ordinary people clash in a confined space, the outcome is predictable.
But the soldier captain gritted his teeth and shouted, "Even if it's a trap, we can't let her out of our sight! I'm going after her!"
The captain turned around and pointed at one person.
"You stay here and wait for reinforcements!"
He then pointed to another person, "You go around to that end and ambush her. If you spot her, shoot her!"
"Team leader..."
"Implement!"
"Yes!"
The captain took off his night vision goggles, held his gun in front of him, and quickly chased after them.
The abandoned building appears to have once been an apartment building, with empty rooms and broken windows and doors lining both sides of the corridor, and a faint smell of dust in the air.
The footsteps that had been ahead suddenly disappeared without him noticing. He slowed down, picked up his gun, and cautiously moved forward.
Suddenly, a sharp sound rang out in front of him. He instinctively raised his gun, but it was just an empty bottle.
The moment he realized the danger, the wall beside him suddenly exploded. Amidst the debris and dust, a petite figure appeared, flashing with silver light. Before the captain could even aim, the short blade was precisely locked under the trigger. He was kicked in the back of the neck before he could fire a single shot and fell to the ground.
"Team leader!?"
In the quiet air, dust swirled everywhere, and the call from the communication headset drifted through the air.
Uzuki Saori pursed her lips and glanced at the unconscious soldier on the ground. The sharp dagger ultimately did not fall. She squatted down, took off the soldier's earphones and hung them around her neck, then took the pistol from his waist.
"The helicopter has arrived. Please report the situation..."
"The target is inside the building..."
"Team C, in position..."
Listening quietly to the sounds in her headphones, Uzuki Saori turned and ran towards the stairwell.
She leaped up the stairs in two steps, bent slightly, and suddenly jumped out of the stairwell window. The shattered glass reflected a blinding light in her eyes, and above her head, a helicopter roared by.
At that moment, the searchlight of the helicopter was sweeping across the upper floors. A silver light flashed beneath Uzuki Saori's feet. In two steps, she leaped high into the air. As she flipped and jumped, the chain in her hand shot out towards the helicopter and got stuck on the landing gear.
Unlike Efnir, Uzuki Saori cannot use the "Stairway" ability multiple times in a short period of time. In other words, most agents cannot use the Stairway to create an advantage in battle as frequently as Efnir. However, this does not mean that agents are easy to deal with. Compared to ordinary people, the individual abilities of agents are enough to crush a special forces team of dozens of people in a training ground with many obstacles. Moreover, it is now pitch black at night, where the advantages of agents are fully exposed.
Using the chains to pull, Uzuki Saori quickly approached the helicopter.
Once she boards the helicopter, the soldiers here will have a hard time getting rid of her. Moreover, the more commotion she makes, the less likely Shiina Rin will be to be discovered.
Once the battle is over, she will definitely take Shiina Rin away from here.
To find a place where I no longer have to fight, to live as an ordinary person.
Click--
Uzuki Saori grabbed the landing gear with one hand. At that moment, the side door of the helicopter was pushed open, Uzuki Saori quickly swung her chain dagger straight at it.
But the expected sensation of being struck in the flesh did not occur; instead, there was a stiff, unsettling feeling of being tightly gripped.
Uzuki Saori raised her head, her expression changing slightly.
Her silver hair danced in the night breeze, her crimson eyes were calm and serene, and the little girl's delicate body was wrapped in a short skirt as dazzling as the night sky.
Uzuki Saori's chain was tightly gripped in the girl's hand.
Efnir looked down at Uzuki Saori, her face expressionless. Uzuki Saori looked up at Efnir, her eyes slightly narrowed.
I still ran into the guy I least wanted to see...
"I've been waiting for you for a while, can we talk?"
Efnir looked at Uzuki Saori, waiting for her answer, but she did not receive the answer she expected.
"Feel sorry..."
Uzuki Saori's gaze was complicated, and she deliberately avoided eye contact.
Efnir wanted to say something, but her hand suddenly felt lighter, the chains disappeared, and a silver light flashed in Uzuki Saori's hand; the chains had returned to their owner's grasp.
At the same time, she decisively let go, flipped over, and with a light touch of her toes, quickly plummeted towards the ground.
More and more soldiers were appearing on the ground, and they all raised their guns at her.
"Don't shoot, I'll take her!"
Efnir's voice came through the headphones.
After Uzuki Saori jumped down, Efnir followed closely behind.
"Saori, I know you can hear me."
Uzuki Saori knew that the last sentence was what Efnir had said to her.
"Stop running away. You did the same thing at the hospital yesterday. Why do you keep avoiding me? I can guarantee your and Rin's safety, so can we sit down and talk? Don't go on like this. The 'Angel' has appeared. Once your hands are stained with blood, neither you nor I can turn back..."
Efnir's voice came through the earphones on her back and neck. Uzuki Saori bit her lip and clenched her fists tightly.
A series of silver flashes appeared beneath my feet as I plummeted straight down towards the building below.
Just as she was about to land, she aimed at the streetlight and threw the chain in her hand, forcefully reversing her landing trajectory in an instant. Like a spinning pendulum, she leaped up again, while simultaneously drawing the pistol from her waist towards Efnir was closely chasing behind her.
Bang bang--
A brilliant burst of sparks exploded in front of Efnir, the ear-piercing gunshot and the fleeting flash of light piercing the night. Such an attack was of course no match for Efnir, but Uzuki Saori's intention was simply to slightly increase the distance between herself and Efnir.
Putting away her pistol, Uzuki Saori's chains disappeared, and she let herself be thrown through the air, crashing through the glass and jumping into an abandoned commercial building.
"Everyone, maintain your distance from the target and surround it from the outside."
Efnir quickly gave the order and also leaped up, squeezing through the shattered window into the building.
"Saori! While there's still time to salvage the situation, don't continue like this!"
She shouted loudly, but before she could even regain her footing, a flash of silver light appeared before her eyes—it was a whip strike from Uzuki Saori.
The spear had no way to defend against such an attack. Efnir dodged to the side, and a long Fracture spread from the darkness. The ground at Efnir's feet was smashed to pieces in the next instant.
114. Dead End