Chapter 86

Efnir glanced behind her; Ayse and Elincia had already retreated to a position fifty meters away.

"Ayse, Elincia, step back a little! No matter what happens, you must keep your distance!"

"Efnir shouted."

"Senior, please be careful!"

"Ha, don't worry."

With everything ready, Efnir turned around and saw a white "Angel" clearly visible in Efnir darkness.

Centered on "Angel," within a hundred meters, there were no intact buildings; the ground was covered with collapsed ruins, motionless corpses, and the wreckage of damaged vehicles and artillery emplacements.

As Efnir took a step forward, the Angel suddenly turned slightly to face Efnir.

Previously, she had always looked up at the direction of the Boundary Stele without moving.

"She's probably noticed you, Efnir. Although you're currently within a safe distance, if you sense anything amiss, please retreat immediately, okay? Please ensure your safety at all times."

We can't just leave her like this.

Efnir stopped, gazed at the Angel, took a deep breath, and said.

"Of course, I won't force myself."

Efnir squinted slightly, took a deep breath, adjusted her breathing, and the rise and fall of her chest gradually calmed down.

It would be a lie to say that she wasn't nervous at all when encountering an enemy like an "Angel" for the first time, but more than nervousness, Efnir felt a strong sense of urgency pushing her forward from behind.

"I believe you will make your own judgment..."

In the earpiece, Masaki Hina's voice was gradually replaced by the hissing sound of electricity.

The signal was interfered with by the effects of the Corruption Energy.

The Angel had already raised his hand, pointing straight at Efnir. A blinding light gradually appeared in his hand. Although the Angel was wearing a mask, Efnir could feel the gaze cast from beneath the mask.

In other words, "Angel" likely possess "sight," which already distinguishes them significantly from the Erosion Entity.

According to the Yanase couple's research, they believe that the Erosion Entity rely on the human's "soul" to distinguish and chase humans, rather than on their eyes.

In contrast, the Angel gave Efnir a completely different feeling.

If we consider the other person as a "person"...

At that moment, the light in the Angel's hand grew even stronger, like a referee pulling the trigger of a starting gun at the start of a race; the beam of light descended the instant the signal was cut off.

The night was illuminated by a beam of light, and Efnir vanished the moment the beam arrived.

She leaped high into the air, and in mid-air, Efnir calmly gazed at the spot where she had just stood, now engulfed by the beam of light, calculating the time.

"The time to gather strength is about 3 seconds, or rather, a little short."

119. The True Form of Angel

This was slightly different from what Efnir saw in the video footage; it was a bit longer, but perhaps for this reason, the Angel's attack reached a position it shouldn't have been able to reach.

Therefore, the so-called "safe distance" never existed from the beginning; the Angel were fully capable of breaking through the Boundary Stele's "net" within a certain distance.

It's more reasonable to think ahead and consider yourself as an opponent, leaving some energy for warm-up.

The explosion came a moment too late, right beneath my feet, bringing with it a surge of heat. My earpiece was filled with noise, and at the same time, Ayse's shout came from behind, "Senpai! Watch out!"

Another beam of light descended, this time taking even less time to accumulate energy than before. It pointed straight at Efnir, but before it reached Efnir, it vanished into the night sky as a speck of light.

This area is covered by the "Barrier Network" of the Boundary Stele System, so attacks that rely on Corruption Energy cannot travel very far.

Efnir's gaze passed over the gradually dissipating spots of light and fixed on the Angel who had raised his hand to her.

She fell from the sky, and at that moment, the Angel's palm shimmered with a faint light once more.

Efnir narrowed her eyes slightly, and the spear in her hand appeared with a flash of silver light, which Efnir raised with one hand.

"It's my turn now!"

A silvery light, like moonlight, appeared beneath Efnir's feet. Efnir's foot sank, crushing the Stairway and the already shattered ground, and huge cracks spread out beneath Efnir feet.

The spear circled his arm and waist, drawing a crescent-shaped arc of dim light.

The beam of light descended once more, and at the same time, a sudden explosion rang out. A silver meteor, whipping up a hurricane, ripped through the darkness, leaving a long trench between Efnir and the Angel, meeting the beam of light head-on.

In an instant, countless starlight burst forth, turning the night sky white.

A massive storm followed, accompanied by a deafening, terrifying roar.

At that moment, the entire Garrison District was filled with a burst of sparks, and the next second it was plunged into complete darkness.

"This is..."

In front of the massive glass of the command tower, Masaki Hina frowned as she watched the huge explosion in the distance through binoculars.

"An EMP-like attack... The electromagnetic shielding was completely ineffective..."

At this moment, all the lights and electrical appliances in the entire command tower stopped working. Within her line of sight, the entire Garrison District had been plunged into the pitch-black night, with only the towering Boundary Stele remaining unaffected.

Behind Masaki Hina, Shinomiyami Nami also stared blankly at the rising ball of light, her expression solemn.

"Is this the power of Angel?"

"It doesn't seem so."

Masaki Hina spoke, taking a deep breath.

"I saw this when I was still in the Central Province; it was part of a senior lecturer's thesis topic back then. I never imagined I'd see it in person today..."

"What does the commander mean?"

"If I'm not mistaken, it's because of the aftershocks of the clash between Efnir and the Angel... You know, right? The weapon used by the agent is essentially the materialization of Order Energy, that is, Order Energy itself. The Angel, on the other hand, is Corruption Energy. If the agent's Exile the Erosion Entity was an act of Order Energy devouring or Corruption Energy, then what's happening between Efnir and the Angel now is a fierce, evenly matched struggle. These two diametrically opposed energies are clashing against each other in such massive quantities that they will completely detonate, disrupting all forms of energy in this space. Shielding devices alone are absolutely insufficient to eliminate the threat..."

"In that case..."

Masaki Hina took off her binoculars, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Heh... Let's get the manpower ready."

"Why?"

Masaki Hina's sudden cold laugh left Shinomiyami Nami somewhat bewildered.

"Get your weapons ready. Although this situation is unexpected, it might not be a bad thing for us. Some of these guys will probably come out of their caves after dark, which will be a good time to hunt."

"Then, Commander..."

"I'll go too. Now that the command system is destroyed, there's no point in me staying here any longer. Let me take command of this battlefield."

After saying that, Masaki Hina took a step and turned to leave.

Shinomiyami Nami's gaze fell on the pitch-black distance, where faint silver and white specks of light were the only two sources of light in the night. She pursed her lips, turned around, and followed Masaki Hina.

On the other side, a surging heat wave whipped up Efnir's hair, the ribbons behind her skirt fluttered, and a flash of silver light appeared as a long spear appeared in Efnir's hand.

She gazed resolutely ahead, her eyes meeting the Angel who maintained the raised hand gesture.

Like Efnir, the Angel was also unharmed.

"Senior Efnir! Are you alright?"

Ayse's voice called from behind.

"I'm fine..."

Efnir answered loudly, her gaze never leaving the Angel.

"More importantly, are you all alright? It looks like all the equipment is destroyed, and the situation in the Garrison District..."

At this moment, Efnir suddenly stopped speaking and frowned slightly.

In her line of sight, the Angel made another move, but this time she did not launch an attack. Instead, she lowered her raised arm, suddenly turned around, and under Efnir's suspicious gaze, she floated into the air and suddenly accelerated away into the distance.

Seeing this, not only Efnir, but also Ayse and Elincia were stunned at the same time.

What does it want to do?

Efnir had no time to think. A flash of silver light appeared beneath her feet, Efnir hurled her spear once more, tearing through the night sky and piercing straight towards the Angel.

The Angel suddenly stopped, turned around, and raised his arm.

Boom--

Because of the Angel's hasty response, the explosion occurred very close to the Angel. The powerful shockwave blew the Angel away, but due to the difference in elevation, the Angel was also moved out of Efnir's sight.

Efnir shouted loudly to Ayse and Elincia, "You two retreat to the Garrison District and go find the Commander and Shinomiyami Nami. I'm going after her!"

"Hey? Wait! Senior! Don't go over there... it might be a trap!"

But I can't let her leave like this!

"Efnir said loudly."

"Don't worry about me, I know what I'm doing!"

"Senior!!!"

Ignoring Ayse's loud shouts, Efnir leaped high into the air and ran quickly toward the direction where the Angel had fallen.

The distance of over two hundred meters was quickly shortened by Efnir's all-out sprint. The white light of the Angel appeared in her field of vision. At this moment, the Angel was kneeling on the ground with its back to Efnir, without making any movement, just looking up at something in the night sky.

Efnir narrowed her eyes, exerted all her strength, and the moment the Stairway beneath her feet shattered, she hurled her spear once more.

Under the cover of night, a silver meteor crashed down.

Puff--

Unexpectedly, the Angel made no move to resist, and the spear pierced through the Angel 'Angel body from behind.

Large swathes of rock and dust exploded beneath the Angel, pinning it to the ground.

"Um?"

The casual, probing attack hit its target perfectly. Efnir gripped the spear that had reappeared in front of her, paused for a moment, and then refrained from attacking again.

She landed on the ground and stared intently at the Angel.

At this moment, the ground beneath the Angel shattered from Efnir's blow, leaving broken rocks everywhere. The Angel's chest was completely pierced, and blood stained her back, pooling beneath her. Because Efnir had withdrawn her spear, blood gushed from her wound.

Since there is blood, it can be concluded that the Angel and the Erosion Entity are not the same type of being.

Moreover, the physical strength of Angel can be described as terrifying. With the intensity of Efnir's attacks, even if that strike wasn't delivered with full force, if it had hit an ordinary person, the vortex of energy generated by the spear would have completely torn their limbs apart, rather than just leaving a bloody hole.

Efnir cautiously gripped the spear in reverse and moved slowly.

"Don't even think about running away, you won't be so lucky next time."

She tried to probe with words, but the Angel lay motionless on the ground, even though his body was pierced.

Like... a puppet?

Efnir tilted her gaze and approached the Angel. Very cautiously, Efnir used the tip of her spear to flip the Angel over, so that she lay face up.

Even so, the Angel did not move at all, as if it were dead.

Efnir frowned. Through the side of the Angel's mask, which had a corner torn off and was stained with blood, one could see crimson lips covered in blood.

Looking at it this close, the Angel is indeed female.

Seeing that the Angel did not move, as if possessed, Efnir raised the tip of her spear and lifted Angel bloodstained mask that was already half broken, slowly removing it.

Efnir squinted.

In the darkness of the night, Efnir's crimson pupils flickered, and then she saw a familiar face beneath the mask.

Although it was covered in blood, Efnir would never forget that face.

"Qinglan!?"