"What a pity I only hit the shoulder. If I had used my original gun from the start, it would have surely struck a vital spot!" Angel said, advancing slowly towards the attacker's hiding spot with her .45 caliber revolver.
Her hasty shot earlier had only grazed the assailant's shoulder. When she tried to fire again, the attacker had wisely retreated, rolling backwards and disappearing from the rooftop.
Determined to eliminate the threat, Angel immediately pursued, leaping across gaps between adjacent buildings to reach the ambush point. Clearly, the shoulder wound hadn't slowed the attacker down—only a small pool of fresh blood remained.
This didn't surprise Angel. She glanced back at the battlefield below, where the The Tuxedo Clown demonstrated agile movements and diverse supernatural abilities, clearly not a low-sequence Beyonder. However, under the group's assault, he was struggling, repeatedly using his flame jump ability only to be engaged by Lolotta in close combat.
Dunn pressed his brow, seemingly preparing to use his "Nightmare" ability again. Klein and Borgia provided covering fire for Lolotta, preventing the The Tuxedo Clown from launching invisible bullets. In the distance, Leonard was rushing to join the fight, which would likely turn the tide decisively.
Suddenly, Angel's spirituality—which had saved her multiple times before—warned of danger. The shadow at her feet shifted rapidly.
Someone was behind her!
Unable to turn, she lunged forward while twisting her gun arm backward, firing blindly.
This action saved her life. The attacker, unwilling to trade lives, was forced to dodge the gun barrel, causing their malicious strike to miss.
After taking two steps, Angel turned to face her assailant—a hooded man in a black cloak and tight-fitting clothes, wielding a dagger that reflected the afternoon sun.
It was the "Assassin" she had encountered at the Labor Union last week while stealing the ring.
"You?" they both exclaimed in surprise.
"You're an official Beyonder?" the hooded assassin muttered. "No wonder Zeke has been missing for so long. You captured him."
Angel responded with an unhesitating gunshot.
This time, the assassin seemed prepared for firearms, no longer merely dodging but attempting to close the distance while evading the gun's aim.
Angel remained calm, firing single shots that forced her opponent to constantly jump and roll to avoid bullets, depleting his stamina. Meanwhile, she drew a dagger with her left hand, ready for close combat.
The remaining four bullets in her gun quickly ran out. Hearing the empty click, the hooded assassin's eyes lit up as he lunged towards Angel like an arrow released from a bow.
Discarding the empty revolver, Angel gripped her dagger with both hands and advanced, meeting the assassin's charge. She activated the assassin's ability "Charge Strike".
In their previous encounter, she had realized that this Sequence 9 assassin not only lacked her combat experience but was also physically inferior.
This was counterintuitive, as men typically possess greater strength than women, even after we're both strengthened by potions. Both being Sequence 9 "Assassins," Angel's superior strength could only be explained by her body having undergone additional enhancements beyond the "Assassin" potion.
After all, Cole Granger had consumed the Sequence 7 "Witch" potion before his death, and prior to that, his body had been strengthened by the Sequence 8 "Instigator" potion.
Although the Instigator only provided abilities like "Instigation" and "Persuasion," the physical enhancement was real. It was possible that when Angel Granger purged her characteristics and reverted to "Assassin," she retained the original body enhancements, explaining why she still had a female body rather than reverting to male as before the "Witch" potion transformation.
With a loud clash, the two daggers collided, their simultaneous "Charge Strikes" causing sparks to fly even in broad daylight.
Angel's strength advantage allowed her to easily block the incoming dagger. She pushed the assassin's blade aside and swept her right foot towards his waist.
The soft impact confirmed the lack of muscle and bone protection in the assassin's midsection. He grunted and flew sideways like a sandbag, dropping his dagger.
Instead of falling in an arc, the assassin's body seemed to lose weight, continuing to float about a meter above the ground as he flew away.
This was the assassin's "Lightness"!
Angel didn't pursue but instead drew another revolver from her shoulder holster—a smaller caliber weapon she had received from Old Neil that morning. She had tried it once earlier but put it away due to unfamiliarity. Now, with no time to reload her discarded gun, she had to use this one.
Seeing Angel produce another firearm, the hooded assassin, who had flown quite far using "Lightness" and the kick's momentum, let out a strange cry and deactivated his ability, dropping to the ground. This allowed him to dodge the first bullet.
"Bang! Bang!"
Continuous gunfire pursued the assassin as he fled on all fours. As he rolled towards a protruding chimney, Angel finally aimed at him when he could no longer change direction and pulled the trigger.
"Click," the empty trigger sound surprised Angel. Didn't this revolver have six bullets?
By the time she remembered she had already fired one shot to save Dunn, the assassin had hidden behind the brick chimney and vanished.
This guy really knows how to escape...
Angel silently sheathed her dagger and retrieved a speed loader from her coat pocket. She swung open the revolver's cylinder, ejected the spent shells, and quickly loaded six new bullets.
Cocking the hammer to ready the gun, she cautiously approached the chimney.
Although "Assassins" could hide in shadows, the afternoon sunlight made this impossible. Other skills wouldn't help him hide either. He must still be behind the chimney. Just as she thought this, Angel heard a low, suppressed voice in hermes.
"Frost!"
Hearing the approaching footsteps, "Assassin" Randy, cornered behind the chimney, gritted his teeth and pulled out the charm Mitty had given him before the mission.
He should have listened to Tris and left Tingen City. How did he let Mitty persuade him to get involved in this mess between the Secret Order and official Beyonder?
Gripping the thin silver plate, about the size of a folded playing card and covered in intricate patterns, Randy infused it with his limited spirituality, making it cold. Then he recited the incantation to activate the charm.
"Frost!"
Observing the silver plate turn black as frost power overflowed, he threw it towards the approaching official "Assassin" while drawing a backup short dagger from his lower back.
What was the deal with this woman? Stronger than him, more experienced in combat, dominating him at every turn despite both being Sequence 9. In two encounters, he had been thoroughly outmatched, and now he was cornered.
But once this "Frost Charm" took effect, he might have a chance.
"Bang!"
The gunshot seemed to explode right next to his ear.
Along with the sound came a surge of cold air—the charm had detonated prematurely!.
The severe cold quickly spread across the entire rooftop. Being closer to the prematurely triggered charm, Randy felt his body invaded by the cold, his limbs stiffening and joints becoming as if coated with glue, sluggish and difficult to move.
But surely his opponent was in the same condition. This was his only chance to counterattack!.
Randy tossed out a handful of pennies, just as he had thrown the charm, while muttering indistinct hermes. This was his usual distraction tactic, and it worked—two gunshots rang out as bullets struck the coins.
Accurate shots, but meaningless, just wasting two bullets.
From the earlier fight, Randy knew his opponent's gun was an uncommon 5-shot revolver. If he could make her waste two more rounds, his opportunity would come.
Gritting his teeth, he darted out from the other side of the chimney, rolling on the ground to dodge an expected shot.
The "Frost" charm had filled the entire rooftop with condensed mist. Through the haze, he could vaguely see the beautiful "Assassin" holding her gun vigilantly. Randy dashed towards her, suddenly changing direction after two steps.
"Bang!"
The opponent's last bullet also missed.
Seeing the female assassin's panicked expression as she prepared to retreat and create distance, Randy's heart leaped with joy. Gripping his dagger with both hands, he activated his most crucial ability, "Lethal Strike".
The dagger sliced through the air as Randy's body lunged towards her.
Got her!
The joy of a successful assassination had barely spread through Randy's body when his spirituality warned him with a chill colder than the surrounding frost.
What's going on? Why isn't she panicking at all?
As if in slow motion, Randy watched the fear in the woman's eyes instantly vanish, replaced by cold indifference.
She no longer retreated but extended her left arm, using surprising strength to deflect his dagger-wielding hands. The revolver that should have been empty moved forward, pressing against the chin of the lunging Randy.
The sound of the hammer striking the primer and the burning sensation in his jaw were the last signals his brain received in this world.