As soon as Nagisa Shiota was repelled by Locksmith's portable shield, he launched an even more ferocious assault.
At this moment, Locksmith finally understood the source of that sensation—the one that felt like a hammer striking his brain.
"No killing intent... To think I'd run into a guy like this?"
The fact that he could sense zero bloodlust from Nagisa caused cold sweat to bead on Locksmith's forehead.
This precognitive ability to sense an enemy's murderous intent was quite expensive in the Lord God's shop, and it had indeed helped Locksmith eliminate many foes. Today marked the first time this ability had met its Waterloo.
To Nagisa Shiota, his attitude toward these Agents wasn't that they were enemies who "must be killed"; rather, he viewed them as filth and trash that "must be processed." Every strike was executed with the singular mindset of "clearing an objective."
The high-frequency dagger, its vibration rate pushed to the limit, slammed hard against the portable shield. The cybernetic muscles in Nagisa's arm suddenly surged with power, the electronic muscle fibers swelling and bulging beneath the pre-designed gaps in his frame. To an outsider, his arm—hidden beneath his sleeve—seemed to have thickened by an entire size.
In an instant, the shield—already teetering under Nagisa's relentless onslaught—shattered. Locksmith stumbled back several steps, narrowly evading the follow-up strike.
"Gorilla Arms." This cybernetic implant massively boosted the output power of Nagisa's hands, allowing his seemingly slender frame to erupt with a level of strength unimaginable to a normal human.
Having managed to gain a little distance from Nagisa, the brief but high-intensity clash left Locksmith panting. He raised his dagger in a defensive stance, his nerves wound tight.
He caught a fleeting glance at a bracelet on his right wrist; one of the three fluorescent lights on it had gone dark.
This was the core of the portable shield. Every time the barrier was broken, one light would extinguish. If all three went out, he would have to spend points with the Lord God to recharge it.
Now, this portable shield had only two uses remaining.
Staring fixedly at Nagisa Shiota, Locksmith stealthily reached for the concealed handgun hidden on his person.
-----------------------------------
"Locksmith!"
In just a few short seconds, a violent battle had erupted between Locksmith and Nagisa Shiota, causing the Captain, Black Flag, to reflexively hurl his documents aside.
He didn't know where Nagisa had come from, but if the boy's goal was to kill Locksmith... was he a Hunter? Was there more than one?!
There was no time to think. Black Flag clenched his fists as a surge of "Qi"—or some other form of energy—coalesced around his knuckles, making his hands look as though they were wreathed in flame.
"Take my Haymaker!"
Gritting his teeth, Black Flag sprinted forward, circling around Locksmith to launch a heavy punch at Nagisa.
Suddenly, a figure with long black hair appeared in front of him. Her right hand shot out to meet Black Flag's swinging fist.
The impact, backed by immense power, slammed into Inoue Takina's fist, but it only managed to push her back a few steps. Aside from a slight breeze kicked up by the shockwave, the synthetic skin on Takina's hand wasn't even torn.
"What?"
Black Flag's eyes widened. He couldn't believe his attack had been blocked by such a slender girl.
"Another one?!"
Takina had no intention of exchanging words. With a sweep of her left hand, her slim arm suddenly split open, and a Mantis Blade crackling with electricity extended, thrusting straight toward Black Flag's chest.
Reacting to the sudden shift, Black Flag threw up his free arm to block the blade's path.
Squelch...
The Mantis Blade easily pierced through the body Black Flag took so much pride in, skewering his right arm. The powerful electric current carried by the blade caused his movements to stiffen, but he managed to flex his muscles, clamping down on the blade to trap it.
Takina remained unfazed. Instead of pulling away, she used the point where Black Flag's muscles held her blade as a fulcrum and lunged forward with a kick.
Thwack...
The kick didn't seem to damage Black Flag; instead, he used his skewered right arm to seize both of her feet. On the surface, it looked as though Takina's reckless assault had been neutralized and she was about to be counter-killed.
But the reality was far different.
Takina subtly shifted her posture, maintaining a specific angle between her thighs and Black Flag. Despite the intimate proximity, Black Flag didn't relax; he felt his nerves tighten further. Suddenly, Takina's right thigh split open, revealing a Wingman Elite secured on its rack.
Her right hand—which had just blocked his punch—was already gripping the weapon. Before Black Flag could even register what was happening, she pulled the trigger.
BOOM...
With a crisp report, a massive slug roared from the muzzle, hurtling toward Black Flag's skull.
He dodged almost purely by instinct. The energy that had previously swirled around his fists manifested across his body, nudging the Wingman's bullet just enough to miss.
Even so, at such close range, the spinning projectile grazed his left arm. It tore through the flesh, sending blood and gristle flying and exposing the bone beneath.
The searing pain caused Black Flag to daze for a split second.
Takina wasn't about to waste the opening. Her legs split open to reveal internal electronic muscle bundles, which she fired with maximum output.
The trapped Mantis Blade was ripped out by brute force. The serrated back of the blade tore away chunks of meat from Black Flag's arm, leaving behind a jagged, bloody wound charred by the electrical discharge.
The massive recoil and the force of her movement kicked Black Flag into the wall. The Wingman bullet continued past him, punching a clean hole through the corridor wall of the administration building.
Staring at the girl who had nearly ended him, Black Flag gritted his teeth against the agony and desperately slammed the button on his communicator.
-----------------------------------
Bang...
The gunshot was crisp, loud, and final.
Two seconds later, the base—which had only just begun its morning routine—erupted with the shrill wail of emergency sirens.
Dozens of soldiers, clutching their rifles, charged toward the administration building where the combat was unfolding.
Back at the temporary dormitories, the remaining Agents began sprinting frantically toward the scene.
The moment the sirens blared, Locksmith whipped out his backup handgun and aimed it at Nagisa Shiota.
But Nagisa was faster. His left hand clamped down on the barrel of the newly drawn pistol.
With a surge of mechanical strength, the metal shrieked in protest; the weapon was crushed into a useless hunk of scrap in an instant.
However, that had only been a feint. Locksmith reversed his grip on his dagger, lunging forward to drive the blade into Nagisa at point-blank range.
Clang!
The high-frequency dagger met Locksmith's blade. Sparks flew as the vibrating edge of Nagisa's weapon began to saw through the enemy's steel.
Without hesitation, Locksmith activated his portable shield for a second time. The barrier expanded, repelling Nagisa. Due to their proximity, the force was even greater than before, sending Nagisa sliding far back across the floor.
Seizing the gap, Locksmith drew his final handgun and entered a state of absolute focus. The world seemed to grind to a halt—the flow of time stretched thin. He could clearly see the way Nagisa's hair ruffled as he flew through the air.
In a blur of motion, Locksmith emptied the entire magazine. A dozen bullets streaked toward the mid-air Nagisa in a deadly net.
"I see. Some kind of cognitive acceleration skill..."
Judging by the staccato burst of gunfire and the way Locksmith's pupils had constricted to pinpricks, Nagisa instantly deduced his opponent's state.
As Locksmith fumbled to reload after his frantic spray, Nagisa made his move.
To Nagisa, the world also became sluggish, his vision trailing with faint afterimages.
He wove through the incoming bullets and, with a flick of his wrist, hurled his high-frequency dagger at the portable shield Locksmith had just redeployed.
Sandevistan. Though it wasn't the ultra-tier "Apogee" model used by Christina, it was still a formidable implant—one that placed immense mental strain on the Nahel Argama crew.
The massive impact of the vibrating dagger shattered the shield once more.
Another light on Locksmith's bracelet went dark. The dagger lost its momentum and clattered to the floor, but the opening was made.
"What?!"
In his "Bullet Time" perspective, Locksmith saw Nagisa closing the distance with terrifying speed. He reflexively raised his reloaded pistol and pulled the trigger repeatedly.
Nagisa ghosted past the shots with ease. He unclenched his fists, revealing reinforced cybernetic plating that suddenly ignited with a searing thermal glow.
Seeing death approaching, Locksmith activated his final shield charge.
CRACK!
Nagisa's fist slammed into the barrier. The thermal-charged punch left a spiderweb of glowing cracks across the energy field.
"Your acceleration... is lacking purity!"
Staring down the terrified Locksmith, Nagisa didn't hesitate. He drove another flaming fist into the weakened barrier.
The portable shield finally succumbed, overloading and dissolving into nothingness.
"I... I surren—"
Seeing Nagisa looming over him, Locksmith instinctively threw up his hands to surrender.
CRACK!
A sharp, heavy report echoed through the corridor.
A sniper-grade round, fired from a Wingman Elite, caught Locksmith squarely. His head vanished in a spray of bone fragments and gore, painting the hallway in a gruesome mess of "tofu and tomato sauce."
-----------------------------------
Chisato Nishikigi stood calmly in the corridor, wisps of smoke still curling from the muzzle of her Wingman Elite.
"Ah... sorry for stealing your kill," she said, sticking out her tongue and playfully tapping her own head. "Hehe!"
Chisato had been searching for the Agents' identification data and had actually found something useful, though she hadn't expected to run right into them here.
"No, it's fine," Nagisa Shiota replied. His fists remained clenched in their "thermal" state as he walked toward the heavily wounded Black Flag.
"You... you bastards!"
Staring at Locksmith's headless corpse, Black Flag's eyes nearly split with rage. Using every ounce of his remaining strength, he raised his mangled, bleeding right hand and balled it into a fist.
But before he could launch an attack, the AEU forces burst into the administration building, leveling their rifles at the group.
"My, they got here fast," Chisato remarked with a smile, raising her left hand.
Her left arm split open, deploying a launcher mechanism. Her hand-cannon fired three flash-bang grenades toward the approaching AEU troops, sending them into a state of panic.
"It won't hurt much longer," Chisato said, raising the Wingman Elite once more and pulling the trigger on Black Flag, who lay in a pool of blood.
But in the next instant, a dark shadow burst through the smoke and threw itself in front of Black Flag.
It was a woman in a black trench coat. Her eyes were fixed on the bullet flying from the Wingman Elite as she swung her dagger.
Though she possessed no defensive skills, she was confident she could slice a bullet mid-air.
However, the moment her blade met the Wingman's projectile, the massive impact shattered her standard-issue dagger. The blade disintegrated into a hail of shrapnel that flew in every direction.
"Guh..."
Shards of the blade embedded themselves in the woman's shoulder and arm, but the Wingman bullet was successfully deflected, slamming into the wall instead.
"Shadow-Blade!" Black Flag roared, his heart tearing at the sight of his teammate being injured to protect him.
Finally, the AEU soldiers charged out of the smoke, opening fire indiscriminately toward the trio.
"Should we keep going until they're finished?" Chisato asked as she led the other two around a corner. Bullets hissed past their ears, striking the walls and kicking up clouds of plaster dust.
"The AEU forces have engaged... it's no longer suitable to continue combat. Retreat," Inoue Takina said calmly. She stole a cold glance at Black Flag and Shadow-Blade, who were both bleeding out on the floor, before the hail of AEU bullets forced her back behind the corner.
"Now that we have the data... someone else will deal with them."
"Roger that!" Chisato replied, firing a smoke grenade directly between the three of them.
Dense smoke masked their presence. Under Black Flag's teeth-gritting gaze, the three activated their Mirage Systems.
As the Mirage Colloid particles were released and rearranged, Inoue Takina and the others slowly faded from view.
Even the shimmering border issues common with standard optical camouflage were completely absent; it was as if the three had ceased to exist in this world.
A sense of absurdity and sheer horror rose from the depths of Black Flag's heart as he lay there in a pool of his own blood.
...................