Inside an abandoned warehouse, darkness enveloped the space, carrying a faint, musty odor.
Click. A tal lighter flicked open, a small fla dispelling so of the darkness, illuminating a man's face.
A cigarette was lit, and the sll of tobacco gradually filled the warehouse.
"Stiyl, smoking is bad for your health. Take care of yourself; you're still young," a woman's voice sounded.
"So what? Before I die of lung disease, I'll probably have already died in battle, maybe even soon," Stiyl said with a self-deprecating laugh. He lit the cigarette to mask the sll of blood in the warehouse and to hide the stabbing pain in his heart. He sensed sothing was wrong, not from the enemy but from within their own ranks.
The man and woman in the warehouse fell silent, the quietness broken only by the sound of a pin dropping.
Sure. The sound of sothing crawling echoed. Hearing this, Stiyl snapped his fingers, and a ball of fla rose in front of him. Stiyl specialized in fire magic, and with the aid of runes, he could wield powerful fire spells.
In the world of A Certain Magical Index, magicians differed from most others. Most magicians used mana as their primary power source, supplented by elental communication to cast spells. In A Certain Magical Index, magicians used runes as the primary dium, with mana as a supplent, rarely communicating with elents. This approach minimized self-consumption, reducing mana usage significantly. Without runes, these magicians were practically useless, unable to cast powerful spells and requiring temporary magic circles for even basic spells.
Both thods had their strengths and weaknesses. Mana-based magicians excelled in skirmishes, while rune-based magicians excelled in fortifications.
The fla illuminated the warehouse, revealing a space of about 300 square ters filled with wooden crates and jars. In the corner, a woman sat on a wooden box, most of her body hidden in the darkness. Only her arms were visible, and her right hand showed thick calluses.
In the light, Stiyl saw the source of the crawling sound: a snake, entirely white, with clearly defined scales. It looked lifelike, yet Stiyl sensed it wasn't a living creature.
"What is this?" Stiyl frowned, feeling an ominous premonition.
"It seems to be so kind of alchemical creation; it has a similar aura," the woman in the room replied.
"This is bad!"
"We have enemies!"
No sooner had they spoken than a wave of air and flas surged towards them.
Boom!
A blinding flash of light erupted in the warehouse, the explosion's dull roar startling the juvenile delinquents in the nearby reform school.
The explosion quickly subsided, and air currents accelerated around the warehouse. As the flas consud the oxygen within, the pressure difference caused the warehouse's iron door to buckle inward, air rushing through the gaps in the doors and windows.
Crack, crack...
Concrete fragnts burst from the warehouse's wall, forming fist-sized holes as bullets from heavy sniper rifles tore into the space.
After ten seconds, one-third of the wall was demolished. Half a kiloter away, Yegor reloaded his sniper rifle. He lay on the roof of an abandoned research facility, covered in dark green and gray cloth, blending seamlessly with the concrete rooftop.
Yegor picked up a magazine, pressing his thumb against the topmost electromagnetic shock round, ensuring it was fully loaded. The number of bullets in his rifle was sothing he always kept track of.
Inserting the magazine, Yegor pulled the bolt, his face expressionless. Outside of necessary communication during missions, Yegor was a man of few words, capable of not speaking for a month while remaining psychologically stable.
Aiming, pulling the trigger, releasing an electromagnetic pulse at the specified location and ti, firing the next bullet within 8 to 30 seconds, preferably armor-piercing rounds—these were Yegor's thoughts. Currently, his mind was focused solely on eliminating the target, with no extraneous thoughts.
Blue and white light flashed within the warehouse for two seconds before dissipating. Su Xiao, who witnessed this, nodded approvingly. Yegor was more capable than expected.
"Let's deal with the man first," Su Xiao said as he walked towards the warehouse.
"Of course," Awaki Musuji replied, filled with determination. If it were any other mission, she wouldn't be as eager, and she typically didn't follow orders strictly.
Su Xiao found this normal. He had known Awaki Musuji for less than 48 hours, and she was assigned by Aleister, not soone who owed him loyalty. Moreover, he had no illusions about his charm. He never expected Awaki Musuji to follow him unconditionally.
This ti was an exception. Awaki Musuji was exceptionally cooperative because of her grudge against Stiyl Magnus, who had ambushed her the previous night, severely burning her body. Wrapped like a mummy, she had secretly shed a few tears under the covers, worried about her appearance. No woman was indifferent to her looks, and her previous threats of cutting off her chest were more about the frustration of her ample bust hindering her in combat rather than a serious intention.
Su Xiao entered the warehouse, a wave of heat hitting him imdiately.
Sunlight stread through the holes in the wall, illuminating the rune-covered walls, floor, and ceiling. These runes were all fire-attributed.
"Kill them, Witch Hunt King," Stiyl commanded, standing in the warehouse, his black robe tattered and a wooden board lodged in his abdon.
"Roar!"
A four-ter-tall flaming figure roared. This was the Witch Hunt King, and the heat in the warehouse emanated from it.
Su Xiao leaped back as flas surged towards him.
Engulfed in flas, Su Xiao saw Stiyl throw a rune. The rune disintegrated, drawing all the oxygen within ten ters to Su Xiao, causing the fire around him to combust more intensely, turning orange-red and hinting at blue.
Breaking free from the flas, Su Xiao was surrounded by energy shields that absorbed the heat, turning red.
He quickly dispelled the shields, breathing in fresh air deeply.
Landing smoothly, Su Xiao drew Dragon Flash with his left hand, blue steel shadow energy coursing along the blade.
"Plan B," Su Xiao shouted.
"OK," Awaki Musuji responded, turning on her military flashlight, emitting a red beam in the daylight.
A tiny red dot appeared on Stiyl's chest, unnoticed as he focused on controlling the Witch Hunt King to attack Su Xiao. The Witch Hunt King was his strongest ability, emitting temperatures up to 3000 degrees.
Awaki Musuji stared at the red dot on Stiyl's chest. Her spatial ability had high versatility but required a reference point to avoid deviations.
With the setup in place, the confrontation was about to intensify, and Su Xiao's team prepared for the critical strike against Stiyl Magnus.
Reviews
All reviews (0)