A few nights later, in the city center, the sharp peak of a church tower pierced the night sky like the horn of a demon. The Soulfire High Priest stood there, his shadowy form blending almost seamlessly with the darkness.
He gazed up at the starless sky, where countless souls, invisible to the naked eye, drifted about, quietly entering hos across the city.
But this alone wasn’t enough; he would compel these spirits to attach themselves to ordinary individuals, extracting their insights and secrets to ensure he captured every scrap of information.
Such actions could prove harmful to the souls of regular humans, sothing he wished to avoid unless absolutely necessary.
However, ti was running short with the agreent between the Pope and President John fast approaching, and he needed to act quickly.
Monts later, an entire district had been silently inspected, thousands of souls rising like locusts, forming formations in the night sky as they targeted the next area. If all went smoothly, he could clear about ten percent of the city in just one night.
That would be sufficient, as elsewhere many necromancers from the sect were conducting similar operations. Collectively, they could wrap up the comprehensive search within two days.
He closed his eyes, quietly guiding the souls through the city until approaching an area known as The Hive. Suddenly, he felt a significant decrease in the number of souls he controlled.
Opening his eyes sharply, he directed his attention to that area, feeling the black mist around him boil violently, almost expressing a certain emotion.
……
Inside the rented house in The Hive, lights flickered on as Yvette tapped softly on the door. Lianna sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes sleepily, asking, “What’s wrong, sister?”
Beside her, Zero remained asleep, her slender limbs tightly entwined around Lianna like a clingy white octopus.
“The sect has discovered our location; you both need to prepare for a move,” Yvette said.
“Eh?” Lianna jolted awake, casting a glance at Zero, contemplating for a mont before deciding not to wake her, and instead asked, “Right now?”
Yvette looked to Firefly in the living room, asking, “What’s the situation now?”
“Total crisis, friends!” Firefly responded, visibly anxious.
Although it was quite safe, as the wanted posters didn’t list it as a target, the little magical automaton exclaid, “The Holy Order and the police are on their way; they’ll arrive within ten minutes at the latest. Moreover, I saw military magitek chs in my surveillance! We have to hurry, Lianna!”
According to their plan, Lianna, Zero, and Firefly would take the local routes into the sewer while Yvette attracted the attention of the sect above.
Naturally, there would be enemies in the sewer system as well, but given the narrow environnt, they could only have a few Holy Order mbers or necromancers; the magitek chs would have no chance of entering. Moreover, esteed figures like the Soulfire High Priest or other Reincarnation High Priests would certainly not appear in such venues.
Under these conditions, Lianna would be more than capable of dealing with those ordinary foes herself, and if anything went wrong, she could wake Zero to help.
Yet, Yvette hadn’t advised waking Zero throughout. She believed that letting Zero sleep through everything was the best outco.
If Zero awoke, the plan could imdiately derail, spiraling into chaos.
“Alright!” Lianna quickly dressed herself and slipped a little black cloak over the sleeping Zero.
Then, under the pressure of ti, the trio moved into the dimly lit corridor.
Lianna and Zero concealed their faces with hoods and masks, while Firefly clutched an unsuspected rune rifle; only Yvette, akin to a snowflake drifting through the night, with her silver hair glowing, black skirt trailing, stood in stark contrast in the murky environnt, looking particularly bright and eye-catching.
This was, of course, exactly the effect Yvette desired—to attract attention.
Arriving at the entrance to the underground passage, she lifted the hidden wooden door, revealing the tunnel below, about to part ways.
Lianna, with Zero cradled in her arms, felt no strain and turned back to Yvette, saying, “Sister, please be careful!”
Now, she felt a twinge of regret, sensing the danger involved and doubting whether it might be better to escape together. But it was a plan they had carefully constructed for a long ti, and it was unwise to alter it at the last minute—a lesson even a ten-year-old would understand. With a serious expression, she urged Yvette, eyes filled with worry.
“Don’t worry about ,” Yvette smiled, ruffling her hair. “I’m stronger than you think.”
“Well… see you later,” Lianna said, casting a deep glance at her, her delicate face revealing a resolute determination as she said to Firefly, “Let’s go!”
Then, tightening her hold on Zero, she and Firefly disappeared deep into the underground corridor.
……
Once Lianna and the others vanished into the shadows, Yvette stepped out of the hidden entrance and cast so earthen magic to camouflage it, ensuring it wouldn’t be easily discovered.
Next, she climbed the stairs to the surface and traversed the narrow labyrinthine paths of The Hive, reaching the third floor of an old building.
At this point, deafening sirens blared from the outer streets, shattering the night’s tranquility and startling countless tenants in low-cost rooms.
Yet above, no hovercraft flew; only spirits hovered—a simple explanation: all of Firth River was under a “no-fly zone,” where all wind elent spells dissipated automatically. Only souls, existing in this unique form, could navigate the skies.
Navigating through the increasingly chaotic corridors, Yvette saw that the police and Holy Order had already sealed off exits and were thodically advancing further inside. Farther down the streets, magitek chs moved like colossal iron gods, marching with heavy steps through the long street towards a sowhat wide intersection where they functioned as formidable firepower.
The situation appeared extrely perilous, yet Yvette’s expression remained calm.
She gathered her thoughts and transford into a crimson shooting star, bursting through the shattered window of The Hive and crashing down into the center of the street below!
As screams erupted around her, confusion ensued, followed by shouts and inquiries. Without waiting for the encirclent to solidify, Yvette swiftly turned and sprinted toward the nearest magitek ch at the crossroads.
“Seeking death,” the pilot of the magitek ch jeered disdainfully. But it was understandable; anyone witnessing a person attempting to confront such a monstrous war machine solo would likely entertain the sa thought.
Not even a cyborg or a modified human would dare attempt such a thing, let alone a third- or fourth-tier elite mage!
Thus, amidst his derisive laughter, the magitek ch’s heavy artillery began to power up, unleashing a torrent of lethal fire. Shells rained down like a teor shower, and a deluge of enchanted projectiles intermingled with various devastation spells surged forth toward the slender red figure.
No one would believe any living thing could survive such firepower; even top mages would have to regain their composure.
Yet to everyone’s shock, the red figure did not falter. Though her movents were hampered without the wind magic’s assistance, she made every effort to weave through a serpentine path to dodge the cannon fire, evading the deluge of bullets and magical chaos raining down upon her but failing to crush her.
Just as she closed within twenty ters of the magitek ch, an unexpected transformation occurred.
Her speed abruptly increased, and she conjured a long sword made of pure white bone that erupted with scorching flas, enveloping the blade in a fiery aura, resembling a dragon soaring skyward!
In that instant, ti seed to freeze, and the magical barriers shattered spectacularly. The radiant sword light, accompanied by a surge of flas, sliced through the air. With a shrill sound of tal tearing, the precious magitek ch, valued at billions and of which only ten existed throughout Rusted Bone, was cleaved cleanly in half by that slender figure!
Boom—
The earth-shaking explosion overshadowed all sirens, the intersection illuminating like a rising sun, as flas and shockwaves wrought havoc, scattering tal fragnts and debris like lethal hail across the surroundings, leaving nothing but a mushroom cloud that devoured the entire street.
In the vicinity of the thick smoke, police officers, Holy Order mbers, and soldiers stood stunned. They had rely received orders to apprehend three young girls guilty of serious cris against the state and had treated their actions as re law enforcent; now, how could they ever imagine that this little girl possessed such terrifying power?
Was this still humanity?
Had the Church tasked them—ordinary humans, regular cyborgs, and standard mages—to capture such a being?
Who was hunting whom here?
On the scorched earth, Yvette gripped her blazing bone sword, slowly turning around to find that the once concentrated barrage of gunfire had fallen silent. All the fully equipped enemy forces were paralyzed, staring wide-eyed at her; their weapons remained raised but their fingers hesitated, each bearing expressions akin to having seen a ghost.
In truth, they had exhausted much of her magical energy, and continuing would likely lead to a turning point in their favor.
However, if that transpired, the casualties would be staggering, and those accolades would ultimately go to the latecors; no one volunteered to be the sacrificial pawn.
Within the thick, silent smoke and flas reaching toward the sky, the throng of souls fluttering above couldn’t stand by any longer.
They screeched down to attack, yet were swiftly consud by the flas. Fire magic inherently provided so effect against spiritual beings; compounded by the Soul Fla within her spell, countless ordinary spirits were easily obliterated.
While a portion of spirits perished, the remaining souls continued to gather in the sky, but not one dared to descend.
These souls were birthed from the necromancers within the Holy Order. Once their spirits perished, the essence bound to them would vanish, subjecting them to a fate akin to being ripped apart. Witnessing their colleagues suffer, none dared to press on.
For a mont, the situation inside seed to reach a standstill. A silver-haired girl in a black dress, wielding a flaming bone sword, stood at ground zero, while the surrounding forces exchanged glances, none daring to initiate an attack.
Yvette considered this scenario acceptable; she was rely here to stir up the scene.
Yet, suddenly, sothing caught her attention. She turned her gaze towards the rooftop of a nearby building. Sure enough, a shadow stood silently there, looking down at her from a position of power.
“Miss Naless, it appears you possess such abilities; it was worth my personal coming to find you,” declared the Soulfire High Priest.
Yvette regarded him quietly without answering, her thoughts turning as she surmised that he had only sent a dedicated clone to confront her while his main body was likely hidden away.
Indeed, necromancers were all quite cautious.
Fortunately, having mastered the Soul Fla, even against purely spiritual adversaries, her elental magic could yield highly effective results.
After a short mont, seeing that Yvette remained silent and unresponsive, the Soulfire High Priest gauged her and displayed intent to act. Gazing from above, he conjured a grotesque skeletal figure that lunged at her with a terrifying roar.
Yvette retaliated with her bone sword, cleaving the specter as she surged forward. Since she couldn’t fly at the mont, she had to use her montum to burst up the stairs.
As she advanced, the bone sword transford, shifting flas to electrifying arcs laced with a ghostly green hue.
As for why she engaged in close combat rather than using long-range spells, it was because she had expended considerable magical energy in the recent battle. The Soulfire High Priest’s combat prowess could very well rank among the strongest opponents she had faced, so she aid to strategically utilize her energy efficiently.
When the Soulfire High Priest noticed this, he imdiately retreated, releasing a multitude of souls from the black mist surrounding him to manifest as an array of vicious, fang-filled ghostly jaws that lunged at her.
In response, Yvette swung her bone sword, weaving a silver-green net that shredded the apparitions into pieces.
Quickly, the battlefield shifted from the street level to the rooftops of buildings, hopping from one rooftop to another. From a distance, they appeared as swirling shadows flitting across the vast night sky, chasing, clashing, and at tis separating.
Waves of elents and runes crashed against every corner around them; even stray lightning bolts, reminiscent of those from the heavens, effortlessly shattered ancient trees along the street.
Even from several blocks away, one could feel the atmosphere trembling from the continual disturbances, akin to two ancient beasts clashing in conflict.
anwhile, watching from a clock tower in the distance, the legendary reporter Cromwell raised his cara, excitent surging through him as he shouted, “Holy shit…this is absolutely insane!!”
“I’m going to make this a live broadcast for the entire world to see!!”
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