"Two hostiles are coming up. 142 degrees southeast." Rephrase this sentence with more imagery, "Ruth's voice suddenly rang inside Ellia's head, causing her to stand up while clutching her rifle.
"What's wrong?" Aerie asked.
"Two unwanted visitors are coming towards," Ellia's arm extended towards the stairwell as she responded with a confident voice. "I want you to cover the stairwell and make sure no one comes upstairs."
Silently acknowledging the urgency in Ellia's demeanor, Aerie gave a subtle nod. As Ellia bolted up the stairwell, Aerie ascended only a single flight of stairs before settling in to watch the stairwell, poised for any sign of movement.
Ellia leaped up the staircase with the agility of a jungle cat, scaling each step with effortless grace. As she emerged onto the rooftop, a fierce gust of winter wind barreled toward her, but Ellia remained unfazed.
Ellia advanced with a measured gait toward the precipice of the roof. Lowering herself into a crouched position, she positioned her lithe body in a prone stance. Then, with the grace of a skilled marksman, Ellia deftly arranged her sniper rifle in front of her and peered through the scope with a sharp and focused gaze.
"About 500 meters away..." Ellia's voice reverberated with steely resolve as she observed two figures moving across the pristine snow, carving a trail with their every step. Ellia calculated the distance and knew without a doubt that her shot would not miss its target.
Ellia exhaled a deep breath, the warmth of her breath billowing forth like a fleeting dragon's breath in the midst of the frigid air. Her finger tensed on the trigger, poised to take the shot, when suddenly, three bullets rocketed toward her, hurtling through the air with deadly intent. Reacting with lightning-quick reflexes, Ellia dropped to the ground, seeking cover behind the nearest available cover.
Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!
"They noticed me?" Ellia murmured in disbelief. Her voice tinged with a mixture of astonishment and wariness. The fact that someone had spotted her from a staggering distance of 500 meters was in itself a feat, but what left her truly dumbfounded was the skill required to wield an assault rifle with such pinpoint accuracy from that distance.
"I believe that they saw the glint of your scope," As Ellia lifted herself up from her prone position, Ruth's voice echoed through her head.
"Get rid of it."
"Pardon?"
"Get rid of the scope."
"Understood."
In a blur of motion, the scope of Ellia's rifle dissipated like a flock of blackbirds dispersing into the sky, its nanobots seamlessly melding back into her sleeve as if they were never there, to begin with. All that was left was the iron sights.
With a sense of urgency, Ellia descended one floor with swift and fluid movements, her body flowing like a river in motion as she closed in on her next target. Mounting her sniper rifle against a broken window, Ellia honed in on her prey with an unwavering focus. Drawing in a deep breath, she steadied herself and squeezed the trigger, unleashing a single bullet that found its mark in the target's leg with deadly precision.
But Ellia's work was not yet finished, as she calmly adjusted her aim and set her sights on the target's head. Taking a steady breath, she pulled the trigger again, the sharp crack of the gunshot reverberating through the air as the bullet pierced through the target's skull, sending a violent spray of crimson blood cascading onto the snow below.
Ellia's finger was poised on the trigger, ready to take out her next target, when suddenly a hail of bullets rained down upon her like a ferocious storm, obliterating the already-broken window and filling the air with a cacophony of shattering glass.
"Ian, you do know that it isn't the same as your past life," Ruth spoke. "I suggest that you finish this as fast as possible."
"Oh, yea..." A sudden realization washed over Ellia, the corners of her lips curling upwards into a wry smirk. It dawned on her that she had been relying solely on her physical strength and combat training, completely neglecting to tap into her innate magical abilities. For all this time, she had been moving with a kind of muscle memory honed from a lifetime of fighting.
Without hesitation, Ellia sprang forward and hurled herself out of the shattered window, her body hurtling down through the air. Three floors flashed by in an instant, and with a resounding thud, she landed on the ground with a force that shook the earth beneath her feet. But despite the impact, she emerged unscathed, her body a perfect picture of grace and poise. As she gazed up at her target, she realized with a start that they had closed the distance between them.
Now that the target was so close, Ellia was able to tell it was a girl staring at her, surprised.
"You're..." The girl muttered while staring at Ellia.
...
A few minutes before...
The snow lay thick and silent beneath the feet of Kai and Alice as they moved through it.
As Alice and Kai continued on their path, the snow seemed to embrace Alice, her silver hair blending seamlessly with the glittering landscape around her. In stark contrast, Kai seemed to stand out like a dark blot against the white snow, his black hair a stark contrast to the pristine surroundings. No matter how hard he tried, he could find nothing to help him blend in with the world around him, no camouflage to hide him from prying eyes.
'There's a building here."Kai's eyes lit up with joy as he beheld the abandoned hospital looming before him, a welcome sight after a long time of trudging through the biting cold. Kai felt a sense of relief flood over him, knowing that they had finally found a place to take refuge from the cold.
"There might be people inside," Alice spoke. "This might be the only building here."
'That further gives u the reason to raid the building." Kai spoke. "Don't worry. I'll be careful."
"Wait, you're not thinking of storming in there right now, right?" Alice's hand shot out, seizing Kai's shoulder in a vice-like grip as she stared at him incredulously, her gaze seeming to pierce right through him as if to discern whether he was joking or not.
"Yea...?"
"Are we not going to have any reconnaissance? Never mind reconnaissance. If we attack now, then there's bound to be other people waiting to ambush us."
Then what ar-"
Alice's eyes widened, her pupils dilating to take in as much light as possible as she scanned the roof of the abandoned hospital. Suddenly, she saw it: a flash of light reflecting off a distant object, gone almost as soon as it had appeared. But Alice knew what it was - the unmistakable glint of a sniper rifle's scope, and her heart rate quickened in response.
"Scatter!" With wide eyes and a sharp intake of breath, Alice let out a bloodcurdling scream as she leaped back.
As Alice jumped back, the realization struck her that Kai was not quick enough to react to the danger that lay ahead. Without any second thoughts, she pulled out her assault rifle and swiftly fired three shots at the roof of the abandoned hospital, aiming with precision and dexterity.
"What are you doing? Snap out of it!" Alice shouted at Kai.
Slip!
As Kai glanced down at his leg, his eyes widened in shock at the sight of a ragged hole in his flesh. The injury seemed to pulse with an angry heat, and Kai felt a sudden wave of nausea as the metallic tang of blood filled his nostrils. He stumbled and fell to his knees, his body trembling with pain as his blood dripped onto the pristine snow, staining it a sickening shade of red.
In a split second, a blinding flash of light pierced through the air, and Alice whipped her head around to look at Kai, only to see him slumped over, a gaping hole in his head and his lifeblood staining the pristine snow beneath him.
"Shit!" Alice let out a fierce scream as she spun around, her eyes scanning the abandoned hospital's roof for any sign of movement. She knew the sniper wouldn't risk exposing themselves by firing from the same spot twice, so she aimed her assault rifle towards the most probable location and unleashed the entire magazine in a chaotic spray of bullets, shattering the silence with the deafening sound of gunfire.