The hurried footsteps echoed through the deserted distillery.
"Damn, damn, damn..."
Corina panted as she navigated the complex corridors.
Initially, her plan was to use her familiarity with the distillery's layout to evade Camille. Alternatively, she could reach the room where the Kiramman couple was and threaten their lives to secure her freedom.
However, the sound of the jet-propelled grappling hook, the hooks piercing through stone walls and metal, and the sharp blades scraping the ground behind her continued to approach. It made her realize she had little time to contemplate her options.
Corina had no idea how much of Camille's body remained intact.
She only knew that her prized skill, the hypnotic pollen of the Dreaming Blossom, had no effect on Camille.
So, she had only one method left to deal with Camille.
Corina carefully listened to the frequency of Camille's pursuit, estimating the time.
Then, she retrieved two electromagnetic shock grenades from her pouch and threw them a few meters behind her.
In just a few seconds, the two grenades exploded, emitting a blue light.
A deafening roar accompanied the energy pulse from the shattered Hextech crystals, forming a semi-spherical electromagnetic halo that rapidly expanded outward from the explosion point.
Camille, pursuing Corina from behind, narrowed her eyes. Unfazed, she activated the Hextech core again, erecting a light wall in front of her.
"Only cowards run, Corina," she said in a cold tone, her voice reaching the young woman fleeing ahead.
Corina turned around, a hint of anger in her words, "Only fools willingly walk into their doom!"
With that, she threw another electromagnetic shock grenade.
Camille, with an expressionless face, effortlessly dodged the explosion's core, using minimal energy from her adaptive shield to block the impact.
Then, she quickly retracted her two grappling hooks and propelled herself forward again. The reinforced metal hooks at the tips of the ropes deeply embedded into the distillery's inferior metal ceiling, causing Camille's body to sway forward.
There were only about 50 meters left, and the maximum effective range of the energy shield she erected was about 20 meters in radius.
Barring any surprises, in four or five seconds, Corina would be within her grasp.
"I am loyal to the Ferros family; you can't do this!" Corina shouted without looking back, "The situation has turned into this by accident!"
"The difference between success and failure lies in the ability to adapt," Camille calmly blocked another shock grenade, her voice unusually indifferent. "Your abilities are insufficient, and thus, you failed. It's that simple."
"Damn you! Go to hell!" Frustrated as Camille remained unyielding, Corina cursed aloud.
Following that, she threw her last two electromagnetic shock grenades.
Corina never expected Camille to find her tonight, and she was far from fully prepared. If it weren't for her habit of carrying weapons regularly, she might have lost her head to the pair of leg blades that could cut through almost any alloy at the beginning.
"Toasting is better than facing the consequences. I bet you're out of grenades now, right?"
Camille, passing through the blue energy curtain, propelled by the grappling hooks, descended from above towards Corina's location.
As the distance closed in, the Hextech core on Camille's chest emitted a blue glow. Blue energy arcs flashed over her mechanical body and rapidly spread to her surroundings.
In less than a second, Corina, who had just turned another corner, was startled. She forcefully slid down, turning several times and finally halting her steps.
In front of her, there was a translucent blue energy wall blocking her path.
Not only that, in several other directions, including the airspace, this light barrier covered the area, completely sealing it off like an oppressive cage.
Hextech Ultimatum!
Knowing she couldn't escape, Corina wasted no time. She quickly got up, and with a sliding maneuver, she passed beneath Camille's descending leg blades.
A strand of her long hair scattered in the fierce wind as Camille swept past Corina's side, cutting off a portion of her hair that had just been severed.
Barely escaping the clutches of the Reaper, still shaken, Corina hastily drew a large-caliber revolver from her waist and aimed it at Camille in front of her, emptying the bullets.
Unfortunately, even the Hextech crystal core-empowered explosive rounds had no effect on her, let alone a lightweight kinetic pistol.
Camille didn't even activate her Adaptive Shield, allowing the bullets to spark off her body, producing a metallic clashing sound, "ding-ding."
Yet, she remained unaffected.
Gritting her teeth, Corina tossed the gun aside, grabbed the alchemical flask on her left shoulder, twisted it, and injected all the alchemical concoctions into her body.
These potions could stimulate her nerves, enhance her reaction speed, and reduce pain, but the side effect was significant damage to her body.
This was a common issue with current alchemical technology, unavoidable since you couldn't have the best of both worlds.
"Hiss!" Corina gasped.
She could feel the alchemical concoctions flowing in her veins, burning her blood vessels and nerves.
But if it meant surviving, what were the mere side effects?
Following this, Karina pulled out a folding high-frequency vibration blade from her pouch.
After pressing the start button, the blade vibrated intensely and generated high temperatures under the activation of the Hextech crystal core energy.
Corina's metal claw on her left hand unfolded its five fingers, while her right hand tightly gripped the hilt, assuming a stance ready for both offense and defense.
Immediately after, she braved herself, taking large strides towards Camille, "Prepare to die!"
"Your futile effort is disappointing..." Camille's eyes revealed an emotion that could be interpreted as mocking, "Pathetic."
She lifted one leg, preparing to unleash a powerful attack.
A blue light emerged from the vortex-shaped groove outside her thigh, where a spiral storage hook was located.
Then, as Corina closed in, Camille's eyes sharpened. Suddenly, her leg blade descended, cutting through the air.
Hextech crystal energy attached to the leg blade, and as she tactically swept, a surging energy burst out in a three to four-meter fan-shaped range.
Startled, Karina hastily leaped backward, evading the sweep's reach.
Undeterred by the missed strike, Camille, with rapid speed, leaped forward. Her right leg blade kicked over her head, followed by a somersault, and as the hilt of the vibrating blade touched the ground with a resounding impact, Karina, wide-eyed and in disbelief, clutched her bleeding throat.
She wanted to say something, but with her neck arteries and trachea severed, all that escaped were a few unintelligible sounds.
The air fell silent for two or three seconds.
Then, Corina's eyes lost their luster. She collapsed to her knees and then heavily sprawled on the ground, completely devoid of life.
Camille, with one hand on her waist, lifted her foot and walked over to Corina's lifeless body, avoiding a pool of blood on the floor, and looked down at her from a superior height.
Her eyes, shimmering with a blue glow, remained calm. No one knew what Camille was thinking.
Soon, she heard the hurried footsteps approaching this location from inside the distillery.
Camille knew that the young miss of the Kiramman family had arrived to rescue her parents.
Without much hesitation, she swiftly diverted her gaze and aimed her grappling hook at the ceiling.
In an instant, Camille retracted the grappling hook, propelling her entire body into the air, concealing herself in a blind spot where even the blue glow couldn't penetrate.
Her mission was accomplished.
As for the rest, let the enforcers handle it.
(End of this chapter)