The killing machine walked unhurriedly toward the bodyguard, prioritizing the elimination of the target's protection to increase the mission's success rate. This is the standard logic behind the SD-I series. If the protection posed a greater threat than anticipated, the mission priority would shift to neutralizing the target protective factor first.
Standing at the driver's side door, the machine's metallic hand, exposed beneath damaged synthetic skin from piercing the car's rear, gleamed in the light.
The bodyguard was startled at the sight of the metal hand. This thing isn't human! It's a machine—a machine advanced enough to corner a mage!
"No!" he shouted in panic, but the killing machine pressed on, plunging its metallic hand through the bodyguard's chest, destroying his lungs and heart in a single strike. The bodyguard's consciousness faded as darkness consumed him.
