"I'm telling you, two against one is bad civilization. Proper people fight solo!"
The boy expressionlessly drew a tachi from his waist, tossed a glove toward Kiana, and issued a knightly duel invitation.
"The Kaslana family is a family of knights, isn't it? Don't ruin your family's reputation."
He was at the end of his rope.
Kiana smiled sweetly, then pulled a baseball bat from her waist and mercilessly rejected Russell's duel invitation.
She could no longer wait to see Russell kneeling on the ground and begging for mercy!!
"What era is this? Who still acts like a traditional knight?"
Yet, perhaps it was an illusion, but the instant those words fell, the boy across from her smiled instead.
What was going on?
A chill suddenly surged through Kiana's heart.
"You're right. This isn't the era for traditional knights anymore."
Russell smiled and waved his hand. In the next instant, countless shadows emerged from every direction, accompanied by the synchronized sound of bolts being pulled.
Kiana stiffly turned her head.
She met the crimson eyes of the Shadowkhan Ninja. That red was so conspicuous that Kiana spotted nearly a hundred pairs around her in an instant, and these red-eyed monsters were clearly not as brainless as those Death Warriors.
They were generally carrying submachine guns and machine guns, or lying prone behind sniper rifles. Some had even tied headbands reading "Shame" around their heads, strapped themselves with explosives, and prepared to become human bombs...
Kiana's expression froze.
She turned her head in another direction.
What she saw was Rita's equally rigid face.
Then she looked at her former opponent. He politely bowed and spoke.
"You may have the first move."
The Shadowkhan soldiers nearby also lowered their weapons, seemingly intending to give the two of them a chance to strike first.
But—
Was that chance really necessary?
Kiana looked at those dark gun barrels and fell silent.
After a long while, she looked at Russell, hope in her eyes.
"...Can we fight one-on-one?"
Possibly, This Was a Kind of Confidence
Inside Jackie Chan's Happy House, dark gun barrels packed together as densely as motorcycles in an Indian traffic jam.
Looking at those black muzzles, Rita felt as though her heart had already gone cold.
Most of Schicksal's S-ranks had already transcended humanity.
If they were caught without time to react, they were still flesh and blood, and decent weapons might be able to kill them.
But once they activated Honkai energy to reinforce their bodies, conventional weapons short of thermonuclear arms could at most leave superficial wounds.
The only way to deal with them was to have equally monstrous beings skilled in using Honkai energy to strengthen themselves forcibly tear apart their bodies and reduce them to pieces, or use equally unreasonable Honkai energy weapons for saturation attacks.
But unfortunately—
Our dear Maid Miss was one of the few S-ranks who could be hurt by conventional weapons.
Maid Miss surveyed her surroundings, calculating the number of enemies around her.
Within this tiny Jackie Chan's Happy House, there were roughly a hundred snipers lying in ambush, three hundred carrying submachine guns, over a hundred human-bomb enthusiasts, and another three hundred or so carrying machine guns...
This was completely beyond what she could handle.
They had her completely pinned down.
She had overturned her cart.
Perhaps this was the saddest possible development in the world.
Before she had brought her sister-in-law out to show off, she had been victorious in every battle. Even against enemies of similar strength, she could seize their weakest moments with her exceptional concealment abilities and kill them in a single strike.
But today, she had run into someone whose abilities countered hers perfectly.
An encirclement that would have been instantly broken through by any other S-rank besides herself.
At this moment, Rita's thoughts instead rapidly calmed down.
Russell had an extremely close relationship with the Raikou family, and the Raikou family was an important component of Anti-Entropy.
And Anti-Entropy's relationship with Schicksal was poor.
However, ever since the Alliance Leader disappeared, Anti-Entropy had lost the qualifications to contend with Schicksal.
The executor named Cocolia had gathered more than half of Anti-Entropy's strength, yet she could not even withstand a single charge from Lord Durandal.
The current Anti-Entropy had already fallen into the ranks of second-rate organizations.
Schicksal's database described the organization that had once given Schicksal endless headaches in this manner.
That was also why Rita had so boldly brought Kiana to visit the Raikou family.
Anti-Entropy no longer had the ability to threaten Schicksal.
Even all their remaining forces combined might not be able to defeat Lord Durandal alone.
Theoretically, the two of them were absolutely safe.
Because as long as Anti-Entropy's people were thinking clearly, they should know the cost of attacking Kiana and herself.
An enraged Lord Durandal would send the other half of Anti-Entropy's assets to accompany Cocolia.
But—
Rita looked at the boy whose body was almost entirely concealed within the shadows. He was closely connected to the Raikou family, so barring surprises, he was likely also a member of Anti-Entropy.
Rita took a deep breath.
Though she did not know what had happened, Anti-Entropy seemed to have exploited her underestimation of them and the relationship between Kiana and Megumin to ambush her...
"...Is your ability spatial manipulation? That is quite a rare ability."
Rita silently transmitted a special signal, ordering her auxiliary weapon to release poison while also calling for outside assistance, then began conversing with Russell.
She was buying time.
For the best possible performance, she had brought only one set of armor, but that did not mean she could use only one set of armor.
The current situation clearly was not suited for fighting alone. She had to prepare for group combat.
The boy was patient. He did not seem hurried at all as he naturally replied.
"Maid Miss, your guess is completely wrong. I am not skilled in Space ability."
"The use of Shadow space is their skill. My ability to perform Space-type operations is only thanks to them."
"I suppose I am a summoner."
That utterly composed attitude made Rita's heart sink.
Those who could become Anti-Entropy cadres were generally not fools.
Even someone like Cocolia had been first-rate at fighting civil wars.
He clearly knew she was an S-rank and could mobilize nearby forces, yet he remained so composed. It was difficult not to suspect that he had other arrangements...
This was truly awful.
Rita's heart grew increasingly grim.
Could she only prepare to take Kiana and break out by force?
Rita looked once more at her auxiliary equipment. That mechanical hunting dog was her finest companion. It could release large amounts of neurotoxin, paralyzing enemies and buying her an opening to atta—
"The Shadowkhan soldiers are essentially products of Yin energy. Well, they are not biological at all, so neurotoxins do not affect them. For various reasons, toxins do not affect me either. So there is no point in stalling here. No matter how long you stall, we will not be weakened by neurotoxins."
The boy spoke calmly.
"You and I are a terrible match. Surrender. For Kiana's sake, we will not do anything to you."
Rita's pupils contracted violently. How did this guy know about the Carbon-based Hunter?
Was there a traitor within Schicksal?!
At that thought, even Rita could not help feeling a trace of coldness in her heart.
Even information about S-rank Valkyrie armor had been leaked. Just how many spies were there inside Schicksal?!
And why was Anti-Entropy willing to expose so many spies just to capture her?
An intense sense of danger, like an invisible claw, gripped Rita's heart and made it nearly impossible for her to breathe.
Perhaps Anti-Entropy was not as weak as Schicksal imagined. They might even be plotting something enormous.
At that thought, Rita's expression took on a diamond-like brilliance.
No matter what they were planning, she had to stop them!!
"Kiana-sama, run."
The maid conveyed the message through the shape of her lips.
"He is here for me. Escape Changkong City and find Lord Durandal. I will cover your retreat."
Kiana looked at Rita in disbelief. She could not quite understand the situation, but before she could ask anything else, the maid named Rita had already grabbed her arm. Even at the bottom of the S-ranks, Rita possessed astonishing strength. In nearly an instant, the girl named Kiana was hurled away.
"The unrelated person has been removed. Please begin your battle with me."
The girl elegantly bowed toward the boy who commanded the shadows, though her gaze was as sharp as a blade.
Even without poison, she was still an S-rank Valkyrie!!
The boy across from her was visibly stunned, his face showing the confusion of someone encountering something incomprehensible.
Ah...
Rita sensed a blind spot, but before she could think it through, the boy had already drawn his chilling tachi and charged at her. Rita countered with her scythe.
She was not skilled at frontal duels, but that did not mean she could not handle someone who was only A-rank—
"Skadi."
At the instant they clashed, the boy suddenly called out.
The Orca girl leaped out from the sea of shadows, grabbed a stool, and viciously smashed it into the back of Rita's head!
The invincible assassin lady staggered and tried to turn around, only to see a brand-new stool flying toward her head...
Bang!!
The invincible Maid Miss fell heavily to the floor, unable to rise again.
"Is there anything else you need help with?"
Having completed the sneak attack as agreed, Miss Orca clapped her hands, her expression as calm as ever.
At the same time, a group of shadows escorted an unfortunate white-haired bundle into the house from outside—having clearly understood that Russell's target was Kiana, the Shadow Clone Army had ignored Rita entirely and gone straight to capture Kiana.
"No."
Russell replied to Skadi, dragged the unconscious Rita up from the ground, and looked somewhat puzzled.
"Why did she think I was here for her?"
He asked the system.
Possibly, this was a kind of confidence.
The Prompt Device remarked with feeling.
Still the Same Formula, Still the Same Taste
If the end of life was destined to be a movie, then this scene involving her right now would definitely be a tragedy.
Before you continue