Surprise!

Sandra City, outside the North Gate, a station three kilometers away—

“Haaah…”

I sat languidly on the waiting bench, my rolling suitcase propped beneath my feet.

The next bus… yes, it would arrive in five minutes.

Finally, I was leaving Sandra City, a place I had spent the better part of a year. Away from Aimira, away from Jadette. Where would I go next?

Starry Night City? That seemed like a good idea. Its lower district was notoriously chaotic, making it the perfect place to hide.

Yes, that’s what I would do.

I would assume a new identity, start a new life, and never look back.

That night, Sandra City descended into chaos… or rather, not quite total chaos.

Centered around the Mercenary Guild, the oxygen levels in the air plummeted drastically. Half the city’s inhabitants drifted into a deep, unconscious slumber.

Not even a colossal fire dragon and a woman trailing an enchantingly intricate light trail soaring overhead drew anyone’s notice.

“Do you only know how to run, you beast?!”

“Oh ho ho ho ho ho, come and catch me, darling~!”

“Do you think this is some romance novel from the last century?!”

Jadette retorted, simultaneously jamming a fuel rod into the drone mounted on her shoulder. The thrusters immediately erupted with cerulean flames, propelling her forward with incredible speed.

Her alchemical Vulcan Cannon spewed a furious torrent of firepower at the dragon-transformed An Meng. Yet, despite her immense size, An Meng moved with astonishing agility, executing cobra maneuvers and ducking dives to avoid a direct collision with Jadette.

Massive Flame Crystal meteorites continuously rained down from the sky. Though their aim was imprecise, their destructive radius was vast.

Furthermore, An Meng condensed flames onto her wing scales, scattering them backward as she flew, much like a fighter jet deploying flares, further hindering Jadette’s targeting.

“Tch—Vortex Crystal!!!”

The drone, seamlessly integrated with her shoulder, fired emerald hexagonal crystals from its barrel. These detonated upon nearing An Meng, conjuring a spherical whirlwind.

Before An Meng could break free, Jadette hurled something ice-blue into the vortex—

“Gown Ice Crystals!”

The exploding ice and snow merged with the whirlwind, forming a colossal ice tornado that slammed into An Meng. The successive impacts caused An Meng’s body to momentarily descend.

The whirlwind, laced with ice shards, tore through her dragon scales and froze her wings. However, she immediately let out a long howl, unleashing a full-body blaze to melt the solid ice.

Flames solidified into Flame Crystals that enveloped her body, forming an armor capable of both offense and defense.

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong? You’re still far from catching me~”

She even let out a mocking, provocative laugh.

‘How troublesome…’

Jadette gnashed her teeth inwardly. ‘This creature… was she truly a dragon-human? So thick-skinned and resilient. And to have become a “Venerable Lord’s Direct Battle General,” she must undoubtedly be among the elite of dragons!’

“If you’ve only got that much strength—then I’m truly disappointed!”

An Meng suddenly twisted her body, accelerating as she charged towards Jadette. Jadette instantly fired, aiming for her head—but before the shot could connect, An Meng had already reverted to her human form.

Only her right arm remained covered in dragon scales, and the explosive round struck empty air!

“First point for me!”

BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!

A dragon punch descended—striking—Jadette’s chest squarely! The shockwave generated at the moment of impact shredded her short windbreaker, and the residual force even stirred up a localized storm in the air!

“Ah…………”

“Heh, nothing special… Hm?”

Grab!

Jadette, still suspended from An Meng’s fist, seized the dragon fist in a vice-like grip.

“’Alchemists fight with tools; their bodies are fragile’… Is that what you thought, right?”

CRACK!!!!!!!!!!

Her hand unleashed an unimaginable surge of power, crushing the dragon scales like a hydraulic clamp. Not only that, but she directly pressed the Vulcan Cannon against An Meng’s abdomen, uncaring of the self-inflicted damage, and fired point-blank!

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!!!

…

…

“…Hah… hah… hah… that was unexpected…”

On the rooftop of a massive square building, An Meng, now fully human again, landed and braced herself on her knees, gasping for breath.

A large section of scales and skin on her chest had been gouged away by metal shrapnel and acid, leaving a raw, bloody mess.

Jadette landed lightly beside her. Her form-fitting bodysuit was torn, and the exposed skin showed some damage.

However, beneath the epidermis, numerous silver-white threads, fine as harp strings, were visible, protecting her internal organs and bones from harm.

“Your physical resilience… you’re definitely not human, are you?”

“’Relic Filaments.’ The material was actually stolen from a pagoda when I was ten. It’s one of my most satisfying masterpieces.”

“Oh ho? Sounds impressive! Do you have any other awesome gadgets?”

“Too many to count. If I told you, you’d die of shock…”

Jadette spoke with a confident, almost playful air, as if completely at ease.

‘Actually, the Relic Filaments are the only thing permanently embedded in my body; I was in such a hurry that I didn’t bring any of my other gear… Wait.’

The air felt incredibly heavy.

Breathing became difficult, almost impossible.

It was a suffocating sensation, as if an invisible hand had clamped around her throat.

‘Lack of oxygen…?’

“Jadette Dochido, I’ve heard much about you.”

Just then, a bald man appeared on the other side of the rooftop, carrying an unconscious girl over his shoulder.

“…Aimira!”

“Mmhmm, I heard you found clues about the Ninth Apostle, and I wanted to know more, so… I captured her for now~”

“You are…………”

“Paris Pucci. Your dear husband and I have quite a history!”

“…I see. It seems the rumors of the Dawn’s Light remnants causing trouble weren’t unfounded after all.”

Jadette, of course, recognized Paris, a notorious wanted criminal. She retrieved a candy from a pocket on the side of her bodysuit and placed it in her mouth.

The moment the candy touched her oral mucosa, it released a rush of oxygen.

“What do you want? Were the previous Abyss anomalies related to you?”

“Related or not? If you want to know—”

“—then come and find out! Hahahaha!”

An Meng unfurled her dragon wings and flew towards the Abyss, with Paris manipulating the wind to follow closely behind.

‘They want to lure me in. It’s definitely a trap, but…’

‘If anything happened to Aimira, the plan to interrogate her for Corvus’s whereabouts would be ruined.’

‘She had no choice but to follow.’

“—Hey, Justin! What’s the status?!”

“We can go in. No major issues.”

Justin had used his ability to ‘create fabric from any material’ to tear a hole in the edge of the Grand Seal of Sandra. Guards lay scattered haphazardly around, awaiting the belated arrival of An Meng and Justin.

“This girl…” Justin glanced at the unconscious Aimira. “…You really brought her here by kidnapping her?”

“Needless to say! This way, even if Dochido knows it’s a trap, she’ll have to follow to save her!”

“That’s true, I suppose… But is Dochido the only one coming?”

“Of course. She’s the only one here with the strength to fight us.”

“Alright… no time to waste, let’s descend into the Abyss! Paris, take the Subspace Crystal and follow me. An Meng, you—”

“I’ll handle Dochido!”

“The Grand Seal of Sandra… Tch!”

The moment Jadette arrived, she discovered a gaping hole torn in the Seal’s edge. Demonic beings and Paris had already descended into the Abyss with Aimira.

She had no idea why they were doing this, nor what they intended to accomplish within the Abyss, but it was undoubtedly something utterly, utterly, utterly disastrous.

Paris, the former second-in-command of a terrorist organization, and An Meng, a direct battle general of the Seventh Venerable Lord, were both formidable powerhouses with significant status.

Facing them together would be incredibly difficult for Jadette, especially with her limited gear. Moreover, there was certainly at least one accomplice capable of easily breaching the barrier.

A team of three such formidable individuals… this lineup would be considered luxurious anywhere.

They must be carrying out a mission of paramount importance. In such a situation, even from her stance as a ‘high-ranking human official,’ and despite knowing it was almost certainly a trap, Jadette could not afford to stand idly by.

“…I must pursue them immediately!”

The Sandra Abyss, at the boundary between the third and fourth layers—

“Come…”

“Come…”

“Come, come, come, hurry, come…”

An Meng, maintaining her half-human, half-dragon form, waited impatiently. Large and small Flame Crystals filled the entire space, each crystal condensing a furious, explosive power of flames.

An Meng did not wish to prolong the battle.

This one strike would decide the victor—

“————She’s here!”

A figure rapidly approached in the darkness, accelerating steadily; it was undoubtedly Jadette! An Meng let out a joyous roar.

All the Flame Crystals floated up in the darkness, encircling her to form an enormous fire magic array. This time, it was for real—

“King of Fierce Flames, Queen of Hellfire, Descent of the Sky, Mad Inferno of the Abyss, all creation shall return to dust—”

All the Flame Crystals simultaneously erupted with light—

“HELLFIRE FLARE!!!!!”

The murky darkness was dispelled by the dazzling flames. A colossal pillar of hellfire roared, engulfing Jadette! This column of fire pierced through the barrier between the third and fourth layers from top to bottom.

The incredibly sturdy Abyss rock vaporized in an instant, a testament to the pinnacle of fire magic!

“Hah… hah… How was that? Now you know my power, right? But don’t turn to ash just yet; I still need your soul.”

An Meng smiled, about to inspect the corpse—

“—What do you want my soul for?”

“!?”

With a bang, a strong acid bullet struck An Meng’s face. Her more vulnerable left eye was instantly corroded into a pulpy mess!

Before An Meng could retaliate—Jadette’s grenade launcher was pressed against her chin.

“You… how…”

“You missed your big attack, you idiot.”

“…………”

It was only then that An Meng detected a faint sweet scent in the air. A poisonous mist had affected An Meng’s senses, causing the Hellfire Flare’s pillar of fire to deviate slightly from its target—this minor deviation was enough to decide the outcome.

“As expected of the Sage of a Thousand Skills…”

“What do you want my soul for? What exactly is your objective?”

“Guess?”

“…I’m tired of wasting words with you. Go to hell!”

The instant Jadette pulled the trigger—

“I was waiting for this moment, you idiot!”

From An Meng’s heavily muscled torso, twice—even thrice—as wide as a normal woman’s, another person emerged.

The visual effect was akin to a dolphin breaching water.

Though the speed was closer to a cannonball exiting its barrel.

“Eh—”

“Surprise!!!”

CRACK!!!!

Even Jadette hadn’t anticipated this move. At such close range, she had no time to dodge. Two sharp daggers flashed like lightning across her abdomen!

Her stomach grew warm, and she swiftly retreated, finally creating distance between herself and An Meng—as well as the other person who had burst from An Meng’s body!

“Well done, Parashana!”

“Thanks for the compliment~”

The woman who had been lurking inside An Meng twirled a dagger in one hand, while the other wiped away the viscous fluid covering her body. She even extended a crimson tongue to lick her lips.

“…………”

Jadette narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the woman named Parashana.

She was young, with deep green hair and amber eyes. Her stature was not tall, barely a meter sixty, but her figure was overtly voluptuous, boasting explosive breasts, a slender waist, supple buttocks, and fleshy thighs.

The total fabric of her clothes wouldn’t even amount to a foot in length. Paired with her tanned skin, she looked exactly like… an actress from a film catering to certain fervent enthusiasts.

‘She has an accomplice… capable of fusing with other beings, using daggers, and possessing agile footwork. She must be a master assassin, and…’

Jadette touched her abdomen.

The Relic Filaments embedded in her abdominal skin had fractured. Parashana’s dagger had carved a large gash in her stomach, and blood was gushing out profusely.

‘This wound… how did she do it?’