The ruined city stretched endlessly, its broken streets lined with flickering neon signs barely holding onto life. Yara moved through the wreckage with silent precision, her new black gloves gripping her sniper rifle, a cigarette balanced between her lips, the ember glowing faintly in the suffocating darkness.
She had no words left to say. No voice left to give.
And yet, she was feared.
The people whispered of Nightmare Zero, the relentless sniper who killed without hesitation, without mercy. A phantom in the shadows. A ghost haunting this warped reality.
Then.. she felt it.
A presence.
A golden glow pierced through the smoke and dust.
There, standing amidst the shattered ruins, was a man dressed in flowing white robes, his form half-lit by the neon remnants of a dead city. His long, silver hair flowed behind him, framing his face his sharp jawline and piercing golden eyes holding something rare in this forsaken world. Amusement.
"너야?" (It's you?) His voice was smooth, tinged with curiosity.
Yara said nothing, exhaling smoke.
His one good hand rested on the hilt of his sword, a sleek, jet-black weapon pulsing with magic. His other arm, lost below the elbow, crackled with raw arcane energy.
"I wondered when I'd meet Nightmare Zero in person."
Yara lifted her rifle.
The fight was inevitable.
Yara fired without hesitation.
CRACK.
The sniper round split the air apart, the force of it causing the surrounding rubble to shake.
The man twisted his blade, deflecting the bullet with inhuman precision. Sparks scattered, the ground beneath him cracking from the impact.
He smirked. "빠르네." (Fast.)
Yara reloaded. Fired again. Again. Again.
Each shot was precise. Aimed for his head, his heart, his joints. Each time, his sword danced through the air, deflecting or redirecting them with ease.
She vanished.
Shifting positions instantly, Yara slid into cover, her sniper trained for another shot. only to find the man already in front of her.
"너무 늦었어." (Too late.)
He swung.
Yara barely twisted in time, the enchanted blade slicing through the air inches from her throat.
She slammed the barrel of her rifle into his ribs and fired at point-blank range.
The man's body erupted backward, flipping through the air. But before he hit the ground, his severed arm's magic flared arcs of energy stabilizing him mid-air.
Lances of pure magic materialized behind him.
He pointed. They shot forward like homing missiles.
Yara moved.
She twisted, dodging between the lances as they shattered the concrete behind her. One grazed her shoulder, burning through her uniform.
Another sliced through the air beside her head, the heat causing her hair to singe slightly.
Still, she remained silent.
No fear. No hesitation.
Yara flipped her sniper rifle, grabbing the barrel and using it like a melee weapon, swinging it with brutal force.
The man barely parried.
The impact forced him back, his feet skidding across the ruined pavement. His golden eyes narrowed in surprise.
He wiped blood from his lips. Chuckled.
"그렇군. 너는 확실히 다르네." (I see now. You really are different.)
She reloaded.
The man raised his remaining hand, chanting something in a language unknown to most. A glyph formed beneath Yara's feet.
A trap.
It detonated, a blinding explosion of magical energy.
BOOM.
Dust and smoke engulfed everything.
The man watched, waiting to see the sniper's burnt remains
Until a bullet ripped through the smoke, barely missing his eye.
Yara stepped through the wreckage, her uniform untouched.
The man's gaze dropped. Her gloves were glowing.
Magic-resistant.
Infused with a high-tier barrier.
She had threatened a high-rank sorcerer into casting it for her.
"..."
She lifted her rifle again.
The man grinned.
"I like you."
It is their Final Clash, The air itself seemed to tremble.
The man summoned a massive arcane greatsword, glowing with golden runes, and lunged.
Yara fired mid-dodge, each bullet aimed at his vital points.
Sparks flew. Magic roared.
Their battle tore through the city, breaking structures, causing entire buildings to collapse under the force of their conflict.
A sniper against a swordsman.
Precision against raw skill.
Each time his blade got close, Yara's gloves blocked the attack, deflecting magic like a cursed artifact.
Each time Yara fired, he barely twisted his body to avoid fatal injury.
They were evenly matched.
Until..
CRACK.
A well-placed shot tore through the man's leg.
He dropped to one knee.
He laughed.
Blood dripped from his mouth, yet he grinned like a lunatic.
"대단하네. 완전히 죽진 않았지만." (Impressive. But I'm not completely dead yet.)
Yara aimed her rifle at his head.
But then-
He disappeared.
Not dead. Not yet.
A retreat.
Far beyond the battlefield, in a darkened void of screens, the Narrator watched.
It smirked, its face obscured in shadow.
"Look at her."
Its voice dripped with amusement, twisting with delight.
"From a simple sniper to an unstoppable force. And yet..."
It chuckled.
"Still only a piece of the game."
The screens flickered, showing different figures.
Some unseen. Some waiting. Some moving toward the inevitable climax.
A golden-haired knight.
A masked killer.
A young girl with silver eyes.
And more.
All pieces of the same story.
The Narrator leaned back, hands behind its back.
"This... is getting quite fun."
And then
A slow, eerie giggle.
The screen flickered to static.
---
End of Chapter ten.