“Bang!”
“Bang!”
Immediately after, two more deafening gunshots rang out. Blood mist splattered from the heads of the two approaching Blood Clan members, who fell backward like kites with cut strings.
What shocked them even more was that Eliza had maintained her original stance from beginning to end, showing no sign of having made a move.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment; everyone stared at the scene in stunned disbelief, their eyes wide open in shock.
“What…”
“How did they just fall like that!?”
The Blood Clan across from them stared in astonishment at what unfolded before their eyes. All they heard were two gunshots, then their two comrades collapsed.
And Eliza still hadn’t made any move. She was just standing there.
“Disobedient children need a lesson, don’t they?”
Eliza curled a cold smile at the corner of her mouth, her tone carrying an unshakable authority.
“You…”
Eliza raised an eyebrow lightly, a playful smile tugging at her lips:
“Since two people rushed me at the same time earlier, then each deserves a broken leg as punishment.”
Before her words had even finished, two crisp gunshots rang out again. Except for the female Blood Clan member, the other two had their legs shot.
“Ahhh—!”
“My leg!”
The two Blood Clan members quickly knelt to the ground, while the female member remained unharmed.
“You two!?”
Seeing her companions suddenly collapse, the female Blood Clan member panicked!
Her comrades were all SS-level psychics, yet their legs had been shot without any warning!
This won’t do…
I have to get out of here quickly!
That was her thought.
The current situation had completely exceeded her expectations, and her instincts told her she couldn’t stay any longer.
“Hold on, I’ll unlock this cage now!”
The female Blood Clan frantically tried to dispel the [Blood Domain Cage] she had created to escape, only to find in horror that she couldn’t undo it!
“How is this possible…” she whispered in disbelief.
“Trying to run, huh?”
Eliza suddenly spoke, as if she had already seen through their intentions.
“You…” The female Blood Clan hesitated to speak but was cut off by Eliza.
“Your [Blood Domain Cage] has already been transferred under my control. In other words, only I can close this Blood Domain now.”
Eliza’s tone was calm and confident.
Her words shocked the female Blood Clan again; she had never heard of her own cage being controlled by someone else.
“Impossible! This can’t be true! This is my [Blood Domain Cage]! Mine!”
She shouted emotionally.
“If you don’t believe me, you can try all you want. I have plenty of time to play with you,” Eliza said disdainfully, her eyes full of provocation. “Let’s see if you can really undo this cage.”
Not believing it, she tried with all her strength to unlock the cage again, but it was futile.
“How could it be like this…” she muttered, as if finally facing reality at that moment.
Seeing this, she gave up trying to undo the cage. Eliza looked at her ceased struggling and sneered:
“What? No more struggling? This was once your precious and prideful [Blood Domain Cage], yet now it’s easily under my control. Seeing it work in my hands, don’t you feel betrayed? Stripped of your pride?”
“You… how could you…”
“Lieutenant Yaqi…!”
At this moment, one of the shot Blood Clan members struggled to stand despite the pain; he was part of her squad.
“You…”
“We’ll buy you some time. You must escape! Report this to Colonel Hamos!”
The Blood Clan spoke to the female member named Yaqi. At this point, this was their only option; the operation to capture Selina had failed, but they had to ensure Hamos was informed of the situation and the intelligence here.
After speaking, he took out a syringe and immediately injected himself.
“Get up, all of you! I don’t believe the three of us can’t at least get one person out! We are the Empire Secret Guard!”
Inspired by him, the other two Blood Clan members also stood up and injected the same serum.
Instantly, they returned to their original form, their strength levels rising!
“What are they doing?”
Eliza asked curiously, watching the three on the opposite side transform after the injection.
“That’s an Enhancement Serum. It burns their own life force to increase their strength.”
Dai Lina quickly recognized their action. She had encountered Empire Secret Guards using this serum in Liulicheng before.
“The fact they’re injecting this serum means they no longer care about their lives. Be careful!”
Hearing Dai Lina’s explanation, Eliza’s curiosity deepened.
“Oh? So that means their strength has reached Master Rank?”
Eliza still smiled broadly, showing no fear of what might happen next.
“Wait, you guys…” Seeing her companions inject the enhancement serum, Yaqi knew they no longer cared about death, all for her sake.
“For the Empire!”
Shouting this, the three charged at Eliza like black lightning bolts, their eyes filled with determination and madness.
“[Blood Mist]!”
With a low shout, a cloud of bloody mist quickly spread before Eliza, like a curtain of death, enveloping the three Blood Clan members and Eliza together.
Within the mist, their silhouettes wielding weapons were vaguely visible, closing in on Eliza, each step saturated with a thick metallic blood smell.
Yet, despite the sudden attack, Eliza remained unusually calm. She was waiting — waiting for them to deliver themselves to death!
“Die!”
With a cold whisper, the three rushed forward, swinging their weapons, attempting to kill Eliza in one fell swoop.
But at that moment, Eliza revealed a cold smile.
“You don’t think you can bring me down that easily, do you?”
Before she finished speaking, her figure flashed like a phantom, appearing beside the first Blood Clan member. Suddenly, a magnificent long knife appeared in her hand, slicing through his neck like lightning, spraying blood everywhere.
Immediately after, she spun like a whirlwind and swung her blade at the second Blood Clan member sneaking in from the side. His head instantly flew off his body and landed in a pool of blood.
The last Blood Clan member stared in horror but it was already too late.
Though he swung his blade with all his might toward Eliza, only the clear clang of metal ringing out was heard as his blade struck a thick, shimmering layer of scales!
[Reinforced Scale Armor]
Eliza’s arm was already tightly wrapped by this layer of scales, acting as an indestructible shield blocking his attack.
“Wh-…” Before he could utter a sound of surprise, Eliza’s long knife pierced through his chest like lightning, blood gushing out.
His eyes filled with terror and unwillingness, his body slowly falling until it was still.
Finished.
Eliza slowly withdrew her knife, but the surrounding blood mist hadn’t yet dissipated. She waved her hands, and the dense mist seemed to respond, swiftly dispersing to both sides.
“Is it over!?”
Dai Lina and the others stood behind Eliza. Because the mist had blocked their view, they didn’t know what had happened inside.
When the mist finally cleared, Dai Lina only saw Eliza and the three Blood Clan members lying in pools of blood.
“…Looks like one got away.”
Eliza keenly noticed that the female Blood Clan member who had been standing there was now nowhere to be seen, clearly having escaped.
“No! We can’t let her get away!”
Dai Lina shouted anxiously after Eliza’s warning. “She must not be allowed to warn them! Otherwise, we’re all in danger!”
Facing Dai Lina’s urgency, Eliza just stood there, showing no immediate intention to pursue, as if deliberately letting that woman go.
“This is bad…” Dai Lina watched Eliza’s reaction, her heart growing worried.
“…”
***
In the empty backstreet, silence reigned, broken only by the occasional rustle of the wind.
While the three Blood Clan members did their best to buy time, Yaqi finally found a chance to escape.
She successfully broke free from the Blood Domain Cage and returned to the Reality World.
“I have to… report to Colonel Hamos!”
The plan to capture Selina had completely failed; now, reporting the situation to the Colonel was the top priority.
She looked around and saw the deserted street, dimly lit by flickering street lamps barely illuminating the small patch ahead.
The street under the night sky felt exceptionally quiet; even footsteps were hard to hear.
At that moment, a figure appeared faintly in Yaqi’s sight, slowly walking toward her. Under the flickering light, the person’s silhouette gradually became clear, initially seeming like a passerby.
Yaqi’s suspicion grew: “A human?”
But as the figure drew nearer, she noticed the person had their hands near their waist, seemingly gripping something tightly, with a posture that suggested readiness to strike.
The muscles in the person’s arm tensed slightly, fingers poised for a swift, powerful action, their whole stance radiating an imminent draw of a blade.
Though she couldn’t see the person’s face clearly, the sharp aura made her anxiety mount.
She realized this was no ordinary passerby!
Quickly, she drew her weapon—the sword that carried a sinister aura—and shouted a warning, “Don’t come any closer!”
However, the figure neither stopped nor responded and continued approaching.
Because he stayed out of the street lamp’s light, his face remained obscured, which only heightened her tension and vigilance.
Damn it!
Seeing her warning ignored and the stranger unfazed, Yaqi’s unease peaked.
She might have been overwhelmed by the earlier events and was about to make the worst decision of her life.
She shouted again, “I said stop! Did you hear me?”
Then charged at the figure, intending to strike first.
But in the next moment…
As she neared the person, she finally saw clearly the object in his hand — a katana.
“Ah…”
Yaqi’s cry abruptly ceased, and she suddenly felt a cold, sharp sensation slice across her neck.
Time seemed to freeze as her eyes widened, filled with terror and confusion.
Then, she saw.
In her vision, the sky and ground began to invert and spin, everything becoming chaotic and blurry.
But amid this chaos, she clearly saw her head separate from her body, as if observing from another perspective.
Her head tumbled to the ground, her gaze still faintly capturing the world around. She saw her lifeless body collapse, limbs sprawled, blood gushing from her neck, staining the earth red.
At that moment, she felt unprecedented fear and despair. She tried to scream but no sound came. She tried to struggle, but her body no longer belonged to her.
The person, having finished the strike, expressionless, sheathed the katana. Blood still clung to the blade.
He coldly watched Yaqi’s fallen form, as if confirming she was dead.
Is this real… am I really… dead…?
These faint questions echoed in Yaqi’s mind as her consciousness faded, eventually dissolving into darkness and eternal silence.
***
“…Resolved.” After slowly sheathing his blade, the man said quietly.
He stood beneath the flickering street lamp, the soft light outlining his tall, slender figure.
His long silver-white hair fluttered gently in the breeze, and the conspicuous beast ears unmistakably marked his demonic nature.
Clad in magnificent armor characteristic of Sakuragawa style, he looked down on the slain Blood Clan woman named Yaqi.
“You let that one get away, ‘No. 7’. Has your strength declined?”
At that moment, a female demon wielding a sniper rifle appeared behind him. From their conversation, it was clear they knew each other; he addressed her as “No. 7.”
“…It was my mistake.”
“Hmph, I didn’t expect you to make mistakes too.”
“Now’s not the time to argue, ‘No. 1’. Don’t forget the task our master assigned.”
“Understood, understood. Just handle the body properly.”
With that, he began dealing with the corpse, making the entire street appear as if nothing had happened.