Bang!
The gun roared, sending a lead bullet flying through a cloud of smoke.
Its already short barrel had been shortened further so it could be concealed beneath clothing, but Hill was less than ten meters from his target. The bullet still flew straight toward the bald man's chest, exposed above his shirt.
Yet just as the bullet was about to hit, crimson flames suddenly leaped up across the man's body. They flowed over him like water before turning him into a fireball that barely retained a human shape.
The bullet passed through without resistance, but the fireball shot forward, reached Hill in the blink of an eye, and exploded.
The explosion was not particularly powerful. Relying on his precise control over his body, the Clown retreated swiftly through the flames, barely managing to keep his footing.
At the center of the scattering flames, the bald man's tall body re-formed. He raised his right hand and caught some of the lingering fire, shaping it into a sword over a meter long, its crimson flames constantly flowing. He brought it down at the retreating Hill's head.
He can actually turn into fire to move quickly, avoiding physical attacks and closing the distance at the same time... Charlotte tightened her grip on the Dagger of Judgment, preparing to pronounce his crime again.
Before she could speak, however, a flat object glowing silver-white flew toward the bald man from the side.
It was the Guardian Shield, the Sealed Artifact Edmund had stripped of its covering and hurled straight at him!
The bald man glanced at the approaching shield. Apparently believing the Sealed Artifact had no effect without someone wielding it, he gave a contemptuous smile. The flaming sword in his right hand continued toward Hill, while he casually raised his left to knock