The wanted poster she had just seen last night flashed through Angel's mind. She never expected to encounter here the traitor of "Heart of Machinery", the extraordinary who killed two teammates — Thomas.
Hadn't this wanted criminal narrowly escaped "Heart of Machinery's" divination and pursuit and already hurriedly left Enmat Port?
The unexpected visitor also disrupted Thomas's actions, making a trace of hesitation appear on his face, as if he were contemplating the intruder's identity and whether to silence them.
Angel reacted the fastest. Although surprised to meet a wanted criminal here, her muscle memory of drawing her gun was faster than her thoughts. Before Thomas could fully turn his face toward the door, she had already drawn "Bloodthirst" from the holster at her waist. With no time to aim carefully, she pulled the trigger directly at Thomas.
Bang—
Spirituality infused into the mystical item, and the strengthened demon-hunting bullet, trailing a dark shadow, was fired. The greater-than-expected recoil almost made Angel lose grip of her weapon. The bullet also deviated from the aimed point and hit the wall panel behind Thomas. A flash of black-purple flame passed by but failed to ignite the wallpaper.
But even if she had aimed before shooting, this shot was destined to miss.
Thomas reacted the moment Angel drew her gun. He kicked away Kavi, who was kneeling, and used the recoil to topple himself behind a counter on the other side, narrowly dodging the attack.
Clatter—
Something fragile was hit; Thomas's entire body quickly hid behind the counter, out of Angel's sight.
Not lingering further, Angel aimed her gun at Thomas's hiding spot while quietly retreating.
She hadn't forgotten — this was a traitor with anti-divination capabilities who had killed two extraordinary teammates!
This was not an enemy a Sequence 9 "Assassin" like her could deal with alone.
Now that gunfire had sounded, the nearby Church of the "God of Steam and Machinery," as well as the station of "Heart of Machinery," wouldn't ignore conflict in their jurisdiction. A large number of extraordinaries would arrive soon. All she had to do was buy time.
"…Careful…"
Kavi's weak voice came, tightening Angel's heart. She caught a glimpse of fire flickering behind the counter, and a light explosion came from the doorway behind her — like the sound of burning firewood.
No time to look back. She pushed off hard with both feet and dove forward.
Gunfire rang from behind her head. Flame burst from the muzzle, mingling with the smell of gunpowder, and a bullet flew past her scalp, even sending two strands of golden hair flying.
Using fire to move quickly… the "Heart of Machinery" member shot in the back…
Angel's brain raced. These traits matched a certain enemy in her memory.
Tailed Tuxedo Clown — the same extraordinary ability as that "Secret Order" member!
Now that she knew the opponent's potion sequence, her heart instead became calm.
Though powerful, the opponent was no longer a mystery. Her past combat experience was now an advantage.
At the moment she hit the ground, Angel used her left hand — the one without a gun — to press the ground and roll half a circle to the right, leaving her original position. As expected, the second shot followed, splintering the floor.
Now facing Thomas, who had flash-moved behind her using flame, Angel raised the barrel of "Bloodthirst" and pulled the trigger.
It seemed he had anticipated this. Thomas gracefully twisted his body, dodging the counterattack. A trace of mocking smile appeared on his face as he slightly shifted his gun, re-aiming at Angel lying on the floor.
A golden flame tinged with purple burst out behind him. Dreamlike purple-black light specks floated past him, and then a burning sensation from the exposed skin on his neck and head made Thomas's grip on his revolver involuntarily tremble.
"Ah… I… you f—!"
Thomas's trembling lips spat out fragmented curses. Before he could aim, he furiously pulled the trigger at the figure lying on the ground.
But faster than him, a large-caliber bullet trailing black flame pierced through his body, cutting off his filthy words.
…No, the bullet only hit a paper effigy, burned with flame and full of holes. Thomas's thin body shrank and flattened like being compressed, then was pierced by the flaming bullet shot from "Bloodthirst". Black flames surged up, instantly incinerating the paper man.
Ash scattered among purple-black phantom phosphorus powder — Thomas's figure had disappeared.
This too was one of the Tailed Tuxedo Clown's extraordinary abilities — Paper Effigy Substitute!
Angel hadn't intended to rely on one bullet to resolve the enemy. So when the ashes of the paper man floated down, she wasn't surprised. Instead, she quickly got up from the ground, leaving the area filled with enhanced "Phantom Phosphor Eruption" — even she felt fear toward it.
She had loaded one "Phantom Phosphor Eruption" bullet in the five-round chamber of "Bloodthirst" for assistance and distraction. Normally, she placed this bullet in the second slot, so even in emergencies, the first shot would always be a live round.
But unexpectedly, the passive trait of "Bloodthirst" — absorbing the user's spirituality to enhance bullet power and add black flame — also applied to auxiliary bullets.
The previously fired "Phantom Phosphor Eruption" exploded on the doorframe behind Thomas's head. Originally harmless to humans and used only for interference, the phantom phosphor powder was ignited by black flame, resulting in a napalm-like damage effect.
Fortunately, Thomas, being the closest to the explosion, blocked most of the black flame for Angel. Otherwise, at such a short distance, she likely wouldn't have survived.
Even so, the black flame powder floating in the sealed space still touched Angel's exposed arm skin, making her feel a faint burning pain.
Luckily, the black flame from the "Witch" extraordinary path was also ineffective against normal objects. Otherwise, she might have become an arsonist…
Thoughts raced through her mind, but Angel dared not relax. She held "Bloodthirst", alert and slowly retreating deeper into the clock shop, bypassing the motionless white-haired old man and discarded short-barreled shotgun, arriving at Kavi's side.
The "Paper Effigy Substitute" seemed to allow not just blocking attacks with a paper body but also a short-range displacement. When combined with flame teleportation, it could move unexpectedly into the opponent's blind spot.
This was a trick the Tailed Tuxedo Clown had used many times. Angel knew that Thomas must still be nearby. If he hadn't given up and intended to attack again, he might reappear through flames.
She did want to just escape.
If Thomas hadn't teleported to the door earlier and blocked her, she would have already run into the street and shouted for "Heart of Machinery" to capture the fugitive.
Unfortunately, black flames still lingered near the door. Unless she covered her face and risked burns, she could only wait for the floating phosphor powder to dissipate.
Angel turned to look at Kavi, who was clutching his injured shoulder in pain, kicking his legs, trying to stand. If not for his warning earlier, she might have already been shot dead by Thomas.
"You okay—"
Before she finished her sentence, on the edge of the phosphor powder's effect range, beside the nearly dissipated black flame, an orange light burst out of thin air.
Thomas's figure in a trench coat emerged from it, gradually becoming clear.
Prepared, Angel raised her hand and fired. The bullet struck Thomas's not-yet-fully-formed upper body with a crisp pop, passing straight through.
Purple-black flames surged, instantly engulfing the hit paper effigy.
Another paper substitute… But why waste spirituality knowing he'd be attacked? These life-saving abilities surely aren't unlimited — there must be some restrictions, right?
As she pondered, Angel saw something drop from the fading flames — a fist-sized spherical object, bouncing twice on the floor and rolling to the counter three to four meters away.
Kavi, just getting up, was startled by the sudden firelight. Seeing the sphere, he cried out sharply:
"Bomb! Quick—!"
No need for others to remind her — Angel, with her knowledge of weapons far beyond this era, was instantly alert to the spherical object's size.
Even as the "bomb" landed and began rolling, she had already judged the landing spot with her extraordinary eyesight. She kicked the nearby short-barreled shotgun, hitting the ball precisely, sending it flying toward the clock shop's front door like a bat striking a baseball.
At the same time, she turned without hesitation and dashed toward the only cover — the workbench deep inside the shop.
Passing Kavi, the "Craftsman" still wore a wide-eyed expression of alarm, unsure if from shock or sluggish reaction, and hadn't yet taken further action.
"…Get down!"
As Angel grabbed him and dove behind the workbench, a violent blast and noise followed, then the crash of shattering glass.
Boom—
The workbench seemed to be grasped by an invisible giant hand and slammed against the wall. The two caught in between were crushed like filling in a pie, mashed together and pressed hard against the wall.
Angel tasted bitterness in her throat, vomiting some unknown liquid — bile or stomach acid — under the heavy impact. Though Kavi cushioned her chest from direct impact, behind her was the locked rear door and solid wall. Slammed against the iron door, she felt heat on the back of her head, followed by searing pain — like a red-hot iron spike had been driven into her skull.
Her ears buzzed. Angel blinked. Her vision slowly cleared. From the destroyed front door came calm, unhurried footsteps, crunching across broken glass and wood chips, drawing near.
She looked past the workbench lying atop them. That trench coat–wearing figure in a newsboy cap walked against the light, gradually approaching.