A dazzling beam of light descended from the sky, shooting straight at Akasha's head.
She immediately stopped short, changed direction, and kept fleeing.
But another Sequence 5 Beyonder had long been waiting. He fired a shot, and the bullet closed in instantly with terrifying force. Though there seemed to be only one bullet, it felt as though it had sealed off every route of escape.
Illusory wings materialized behind Akasha, and she soared into the air, narrowly dodging the bullet.
But before she could continue fleeing, her brain suddenly felt as though it had taken a heavy blow. The pain left her dizzy, and she plummeted straight to the ground.
The three Sequence 5 Beyonders immediately converged on her. Had the earl not wanted her alive, this woman would have had little chance of leaving the villa's courtyard alive.
Just then, all three felt a moment of disorientation. When they regained their senses, they were already standing where the woman had landed, but-
"Where is she?"
There was no one before them. The woman seemed to have vanished into thin air.
Still unwilling to believe it, they combed the surrounding area. Over ten minutes later, they had to admit that she really had escaped.
For a moment, all three wore frighteningly grim expressions.
"She must have used some Sealed Artifact."
"No shit."
"We've really made fools of ourselves this time."
Three Sequence 5s had chased a single Sequence 6, only to let her escape. They had lost all face.
The three exchanged looks, unsure what to do for the moment.
Just then, another figure approached from the distance and swiftly landed before them. It was Earl Clear's fourth Sequence 5 bodyguard. "Where's that woman?"
"...She escaped. She probably has some Sealed Artifact of the Apprentice Pathway."
"Heh, what's the use