The armored SUVs roared past, engines growling as they pursued Otome's vehicle. I stayed low, heart pounding in my chest, as my assailant stepped closer. His whipblades crackled ominously, arcs of energy snapping in the air with every movement.
“You must be the purple-haired anomaly thingy, wench,” he sneered, his voice dripping with condescension. “Brace yourself for death.”
His eyes glinted with malice, but I didn’t respond, keeping my breathing steady. My hand clenched tightly around the handful of dry dirt I had scooped from the ground. I needed the right moment—just one shot to tip the odds in my favor.
The whipblades sizzled as he swung them experimentally, their energy carving faint trails into the air. He took another step toward me, confidence radiating from his every move. “Nothing to say? Pathetic.”
I stayed silent, eyes locked on his every movement. As soon as he raised his arm to strike, I threw the dirt with all the strength I could muster, aiming for his face. The grainy mixture hit its mark, scattering into his eyes.
“Argh!” he shouted, stumbling back as he clawed at his face, his vision momentarily obscured.
I scrambled to my feet, adrenaline surging as his weapon lashed the air just inches from where I had been moments before. The ground crackled where the whipblade struck, leaving a scorched line in its wake.
He swung wildly, his movements erratic as he tried to clear his vision. I ducked and weaved, narrowly avoiding the deadly arcs of energy. My heart raced as I searched for an opening, some way to turn the tables further.
The chase wasn’t over, but I’d bought myself a few precious seconds. My hand darted to my side, drawing the pistol Otome had given me. With a flick of my thumb, I disengaged the safety, the familiar metallic click grounding me as I moved further from my assailant.
The man shook his head violently, clearing the remaining dirt from his eyes. His gaze locked onto me with renewed fury, his whipblades crackling even louder as if mirroring his rage. “You’re only delaying the inevitable!” he snarled, breaking into a sprint toward me.
I didn’t hesitate. My grip tightened on the pistol, and I aimed at his center mass. The first shot rang out, the sound sharp and jarring in the open air. He twisted his body at the last second, and the bullet grazed his armored shoulder, sparking off harmlessly.
“Nice try,” he growled, closing the gap quickly.
I fired again, forcing him to veer to the side. His agility was impressive, but it kept him from getting close enough to strike. I moved backward, my boots kicking up dust as I kept the pistol trained on him, each step calculated to maintain as much distance as possible.
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“I need to get in a decisive shot,” I muttered under my breath, firing another shot.
This time, the bullet nicked his leg. It wasn’t much, but the stumble it caused gave me a momentary advantage.
“You’re going to regret that!” he bellowed, lunging forward.
he energy from his whipblades surged wildly as he swung at me, forcing me to dive to the side. The fight had gradually pushed us closer to the cliffside, the sound of the wind and distant waves adding a menacing backdrop. My shoulder hit the dirt hard, but I rolled to my feet, keeping the pistol in hand. My breathing was ragged, and my mind raced. I needed more than just the gun to survive this.
In the distance, the faint screech of tires reached my ears, but I had no time to assess my surroundings. The crackling whipblades sliced through the air again, forcing me to focus entirely on evading. ‘If I keep dodging, he’ll just wear me down, I thought, watching his movements carefully. He assumes I can’t block his attack. Maybe I can use that against him.’
This time, as the whipblade arced toward me, I didn’t dodge. Instead, I summoned a shield of data, the glowing construct forming in an instant to intercept the strike. Sparks flew as the energy of his weapon clashed against the barrier. His expression twisted in surprise, and I didn’t waste the opening.
With rapid precision, I raised the pistol and fired. The shot struck true, the bullet hitting him squarely in the head. His body went limp, collapsing to the ground in a heap as his weapons fizzled out.
I barely had a moment to breathe before the roar of an engine grew deafeningly close. The sound that had been distant now erupted through the air as an SUV burst through the brush. It barreled toward me, closing the distance faster than I could react.
The impact hit me with brutal force, the left side of my body crumpling under the sheer power of the vehicle. Pain shot through me as I was launched backward, tumbling helplessly off the edge of the cliff.
The world spun in a blur of wind and pain as I fell, crashing into the forest canopy below. Branches broke my fall, slowing me down but not sparing me from agony as I slammed into the ground. A sharp, searing pain erupted in my side as something pierced through me.
The last thing I registered before darkness claimed me was the cold, unyielding ground beneath me and the distant sound of the SUV above.
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The driver of the SUV stepped out, brushing off the dust on his jacket as he surveyed the edge of the cliff. “Woah! I actually got the target! No way she’s surviving a fall like that after getting hit by a car... Well, that’s a job well done.”
He reached for the radio strapped to his outfit, pressing the button as he spoke. “This is Wesly speaking. The target has been eliminated, mission accomplished. However, Jackson was killed during the operation.”
There was a pause, a faint crackle on the other end before a cold, detached voice replied, [If he died, it was due to his own incompetence. Excellent work. All soldiers, pull out of the AO.]
Wesly let out a breath, muttering under his breath, “Harsh, but not my problem.” He climbed back into the SUV, turned it around, and drove away from the scene, leaving nothing but dust and the eerie quiet of the cliffside behind.