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"Haah!"
Gripping the Teigu "Extase" tightly, Sheele continuously launched attacks against Mika.
But no matter how she struck or altered her tactics, she couldn't break free from Mika's rhythm.
Even faced with such an unsolvable situation, she couldn't make any changes.
Because behind her stood someone she needed to protect.
On Sheele's flank, Mine kept raising her gun to shoot.
By now, she was very close to Mika; logically, this should be within her danger zone.
But she had no other choice.
Originally, she was shooting from a distance, but every beam she fired was effortlessly intercepted by Mika.
Helpless, she could only risk herself by getting closer to Mika to create more danger for herself.
But how could Mika's self-control be just talk?
Even as Mine drew nearer, Mika still didn't show the slightest hostility toward her.
He even mischievously waved at Mine as she approached.
This behavior drove Mine to extreme frustration.
Thus, she got closer and closer to Mika.
Since he was determined to ignore her, she decided to approach him proactively.
By shortening the distance between them, the flight time of Mine's beams would decrease, reducing Mika's reaction time.
This way, perhaps she could catch Mika off guard.
That's what Mine thought.
But unfortunately, Mika didn't rely on his eyes or ears to judge whether she was about to shoot.
He used a higher level of perception.
In that "Perception" all of Mine's movements appeared slow.
Moreover, all her "actions" were within Mika's sight.
When she had the intention to shoot and began to act, Mika was already aware.
Therefore, no matter how Mine shortened the distance, she couldn't escape Mika's defense.
"Argh!!"
Just as before, no matter how close Mine got to Mika, she couldn't break through his defense.
This scene made her angry.
In her view, she was now just a burden to Sheele, utterly useless.
Such a fact was unacceptable to the proud Mine.
So, in her anger, she gradually lost the composure an assassin should have.
"Lost your composure, have you?"
Watching Mine firing wildly, Mika couldn't help but shake his head.
"But that's normal; after all, you're facing me!!"
Smiling narcissistically, Mika calmly said, "Then let's end this game!"
In the blink of an eye, the rhythm between Mika and Sheele changed instantly.
With a surge in offense, Mika neutralized all of Sheele's attacks within a few punches and kicks, forcing her into defense.
Then, with a fierce punch, the powerful force sent the defending Sheele flying, crashing into a tree trunk.
"Sheele!"
Seeing Sheele knocked away, Mine became increasingly flustered.
And Mika wouldn't give her time to adjust.
"Before worrying about others, you'd better worry about yourself!"
The sudden voice in her ear almost scared Mine out of her wits.
Before she could turn around, Mika's hand was already on her neck.
Even then, she still didn't feel any hostility.
Her Teigu "Pumpkin" didn't react at all.
Everything was so calm.
But it was this very calmness that made Mine feel like she was falling into an abyss.
She never imagined such a person could exist.
"Oh no, I think I'm about to die."
"i dont want..!"
In a flash, past memories floated before Mine's eyes.
Her life was flashing before her.
Just as Mine was about to scare herself to death, a whistling sound came from afar.
Sensing the power behind it, Mika slightly jumped back.
He released his hand from Mine's neck.
After all, he had no intention to kill.
"Bang!"
A large spear plunged between Mika and Mine. Seeing the spear before her, Mine shouted excitedly, "Bulat!"
"Hahaha, that's right, it's me!"
Amid hearty laughter, a figure fully clad in armor emerged from the forest.
This man was Bulat.
An unquestionably strong warrior.
Mika was quite familiar with Bulat.
After all, in his previous life, when Bulat died in battle, Mika had been moved to tears.
He had been deeply affected back then.
"Earlier, we split up to find you. When we returned to the rendezvous point and saw that Akame hadn't returned either, we sensed something was wrong."
"So I came to support you."
Shielding Mine behind him, Bulat briefly explained.
For this support mission, Bulat didn't bring Lubbock. Now that Mine and Sheele had caused such a commotion, it was certain they'd be wanted.
As for Leone, because her appearance significantly changed when she transformed using her Teigu, whether she'd be wanted was uncertain.
At this time, Lubbock, as the only remaining member who could still infiltrate the Imperial Capital to gather intelligence, wouldn't be exposed easily under Bulat's watch.
Right now, Lubbock was doing what he should be doing.
"You are the enemy?"
Looking at Mika, Bulat's expression quickly turned serious.
As a battle-hardened warrior from the army, Bulat could tell at a glance upon seeing Mika.
The opponent was also a strong warrior who had walked through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Although they hadn't fought yet, Bulat had raised his guard against Mika to the highest level.
"Actually, I don't want to be their enemy. I was just preventing them from interfering with that interesting battle over there."
Facing Bulat's inquiry, Mika replied with a light smile.
"I see. Then can I assume we can now cease hostilities and go our separate ways?"
Moving slightly to the side, Bulat asked again.
If possible, Bulat didn't want to fight an enemy like Mika.
Besides the difficulty in dealing with him, the environment was also a factor.
This was the Imperial Capital; they absolutely couldn't linger here.
Otherwise, they might never get away.
"Nope!"
Mika's calm words shattered Bulat's hopeful thoughts.
"Previously, although I didn't want to fight, these two kept entangling with me."
"Because of them, my fighting spirit has been ignited, and now I need someone to vent it on!"
"And you are the right choice."
Hooking his finger at Bulat, Mika said with a light smile.
"Seems we really can't leave now!"
Pulling out the spear "Incursio" that was stuck in the ground, Bulat, now in combat mode, said excitedly.
In fact, if circumstances allowed, Bulat wouldn't have suggested retreating.
He was also eager to challenge strong opponents.
"Oh, looks like you're quite enthusiastic!"
Seeing Bulat's fighting spirit, Mika couldn't help but show a satisfied smile.
He then shifted his gaze to Bulat's spear, "Incursio."
"A weapon integrated with an armor-type Teigu? Seems like a fine treasure!"
"In that case, I should bring out a weapon too."
"Please do!"
Gripping his spear with both hands and holding it horizontally before him, Bulat said loudly and seriously.
In response, Mika waved his hand, and a red spear appeared in his hand.
This spear was "Gåe Dearg," the "Crimson Rose of Exorcism" from Diarmuid Ua Duibhne.
The reason Mika could so easily summon this weapon was that he also had a Teigu on him.
Of course, although called a Teigu, it was just a small storage device crafted using Teigu materials and technology.
After replicating much of the technology used in Teigu, Gabriel had the idea of crafting one herself.
Although she could store items herself, she wasn't always with Mika and the others.
As their strength increased and they ventured more into different worlds, the three of them would inevitably act separately. Sharing one storage device would become too inconvenient.
Especially for Mika.
Because he was proficient in many weapons, he had a lot of spares.
If Gabriel wasn't around when he fought, it would limit him greatly.
Therefore, Gabriel made her first creation a storage device.
"Having a storage device is really convenient."
Spinning the summoned spear in his hand a few times to get a feel, Mika thought to himself.
"What a fine spear!"
Looking at the spear in Mika's hand, Bulat couldn't help but praise.
With his discerning eye, he could naturally judge the quality of a weapon.
"Yours is as well."
Mika replied with a light smile.
"Bulat, you must be careful! That guy's hand-to-hand skills are astonishing; he could even grab my neck without me or 'Pumpkin' sensing any hostility."
"Also, he seems to be a physical enhancement-type Teigu user like Leone. His body is extremely tough; even my 'Pumpkin' couldn't penetrate him."
"You must be careful, Bulat!"
"Thanks for the intel, Mine!"
Without turning his head, Bulat replied with a light smile.
He then said to Mika, "In that case, my armor won't be considered bullying you."
"No need to worry, let's dance!"
After a brief exchange, their gazes locked onto each other.
"Bang!"
Without any warning, Mika and Bulat clashed in the blink of an eye.
In an instant, the air pressure from their spears colliding spread rapidly in all directions.
At the center, Mika and Bulat exchanged dozens of blows in a split second.
"So strong!"
After a bout, Bulat had a general understanding of Mika's martial prowess.
Such exquisite skill could truly be called masterful.
In these dozens of exchanges, Bulat hadn't broken through Mika's offense even once. Instead, Mika had landed two hits on him.
If not for his Teigu "Incursio" being renowned for its defense, his body might already have two big holes.
"This is too troublesome!"
Although their physical abilities weren't vastly different, the gap in martial skill was like night and day.
"No, I can't keep clashing head-on like this!"
Realizing his disadvantage, Bulat immediately wanted to change tactics.
But how could Mika allow him to change?
When Mika left the palace, he had asked Mellie for a few familiars to use.
The reason he could quickly reach Mine and Sheele when Mine was about to shoot was because he had ordered the familiars to monitor their whereabouts.
In fact, this was one of Mika's purposes for this trip.
He planned to wander around the city to find traces of Night Raid members.
Then let the familiars monitor them to grasp their movements.
After all, others didn't know about the Night Raid members who hadn't been wanted yet, but Mika did!
Especially Lubbock; he even had fixed intelligence points in the Imperial Capital.
Previously, Mika hadn't focused on Night Raid because he had just taken over the Empire and was busy.
But now he finally had some free time.
Now he had enough time to play with Night Raid.
When Mika came to stop Mine from shooting, he also left familiars near Tatsumi's battlefield.
The situation over there was almost unsustainable.
Mika needed to return there quickly to manage the situation.
Therefore, he didn't have time to "play" with Bulat.
Seeing Bulat trying to change tactics, Mika stepped forward, immediately stopping his action.
Then he kept pressing forward, forcing Bulat into close combat.
"Not good, I'm being suppressed!"
Bulat immediately understood his predicament.
At this point, he had nowhere to escape.
If he didn't want to be defeated instantly, he could only engage in a head-on clash.
"In that case, let's go!"
His retreating steps suddenly stopped, and Bulat swung his spear fiercely at Mika.
"Good!"
Seeing Bulat no longer trying to evade, Mika laughed excitedly.
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
In the confined space, the weapons of the two spearmen clashed repeatedly.
In this direct confrontation, Mika's well-honed defense was finally breached by Bulat.
After all, in this offensive battle, there was no room for defense.
Therefore, in this storm-like confrontation, Mika unsurprisingly took a few hits from Bulat.
But correspondingly, Bulat was struck by Mika over twenty times in a short period, his body covered with piercing wounds.
Even with the defensive prowess of "Incursio," he couldn't prevent the wounds.
The fact that he hadn't lost his combat ability was thanks to "Incursio" protecting him.
"Ah!!"
"Ah!!"
Amid the continuous clashes, their shouts echoed repeatedly.
Finally, with Mika delivering a kick, Bulat was sent flying, crashing into a tree trunk.
"That felt good!"
Planting his spear into the ground, Mika stretched comfortably.
"Let's end it here, Bulat. I hope we can fight again next time!"
Looking at Mine and Sheele, who had rushed to Bulat's side, and the fallen Bulat, Mika said with a light smile, "See you next time!"
After speaking, Mika turned and left the area.
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