Danmaku, my skills refresh weekly.

Lyra blocked Charles's longsword, seized the opportunity of his surprise, and in the instant she pulled back, she kicked Charles in the chest.

thump—

Charles stumbled back two steps, and then four more throwing knives came flying at him.

puff-

Ciel shielded his vitals, blood splattered, and he fell to the ground.

"Hey, are you okay?"

After dealing with Sharl, Lyra crouched down in front of the [Hyena] and reached out to check its injuries.

Blood spit from the corner of the hyena's mouth as it stared at Laila with humiliation.

Don't be ridiculous, how could I possibly be humiliated by these righteous bitches even in death!

As its last breath faded, the hyena stopped breathing.

"Why do you look so familiar?" Lyra stared at the hyena's face, but in the dim light, she couldn't make out its features clearly.

On the other side, Charles struggled to his feet, pulled the throwing knives from his body, and threw them on the ground with a clinking sound.

He never imagined that the chance to survive he sought would ultimately backfire and kill him.

At first, he was resentful, feeling betrayed. But after seeing Lyra's actions, Charles understood.

Wearing the uniform of a secret faction, he was mistaken for a villain.

"You're still alive?" Lyra looked up, staring at Charles warily.

"You've misunderstood. I didn't mean it..."

"Without further ado!"

Before Charles could explain, Lyra's small figure once again appeared before him. Her dazzling fist blades transformed into a spiral, and Charles hastily raised his sword to meet the attack.

"Too tender, just scraps."

The blades easily tore through Ciel's feeble resistance, each strike landing squarely on his body. In the fierce battle of offense and defense, Ciel had no chance to speak; all his attention was focused on the overwhelming barrage of blades.

Blood roses bloomed before Lyra.

Ok?

After a brief exchange, she was taken aback to discover Charles's unusual behavior.

"Hey, you bastard! Can't you be killed?"

Charles opened his mouth, but a swiftly approaching kick stopped him from speaking.

"Well--"

Laila used the momentum to retreat, and then, a series of gurgling sounds came from the ground.

"Let's see if you die!"

Charles looked down and saw several round explosives flashing red at his feet.

Charles yelled, "Damn it, I have a Fire Stone on me!!"

That was a terrifying artifact that could obliterate even a level 3 monster to nothing; it was the body tissue of a lava monster from the 40th floor.

"I don't want to experience the feeling of being torn apart!"

Although the "Fragile College Student" is strong and difficult to kill, it doesn't mean he's unkillable. Even if he's truly reduced to fragments, it's uncertain whether he can recover...

Charles quickly flipped out the Flame Stone and threw it towards Lyra, then leaped backward.

Boom————

A huge explosion resounded in the alleyway.

Charles tumbled out of the thick smoke, and falling rocks from the sky temporarily blocked his view.

"Cough cough—, what the hell is justice?!"

Suppressing the excruciating pain, Ciel staggered back along the path. In his current situation, facing the other members of the Astrea Familia would only mean certain death.

……

the other side.

Fire dust was released into the air.

A beautiful woman dressed in a Far Eastern kimono with flowing black hair, wielding a katana, rapidly approaches.

"Hey, are you alright, Lyra?"

"I'm sorry, Kaguya. I've been infected."

Leila leaned against the rock wall, her internal organs shaken, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

Charles hurled the Flame Stone with tremendous force, almost completely blocking Lyra's retreat. Left with no other option, she charged into her own special bomb. Relying on her familiarity with the bomb, she avoided most of the damage, but was still severely wounded.

"I never expected that even our strategist would be caught off guard. Is the opponent very strong?" Kaguya surveyed the battlefield.

That's not a matter of strength, it's that they're very strange. They're very difficult to kill.

Laila smiled wryly: "I was tricked. That guy said he had a Fire Stone and even threw it at me."

Kaguya was stunned: "Are you an idiot? Who would tell you they're being attacked?"

Leila said helplessly, "It's my problem."

She always felt something was wrong, and by some twist of fate, she blindly followed suit. Looking back now, believing her opponent was indeed foolish.

"no."

At that moment, another voice came from behind them.

A beautiful red-haired girl, her entire body enveloped in flames, stroked her chin and said:

"There really are fire stones here."

As she spoke, she tried to bend down and pick up what she had found to show her companion.

"Idiot, you idiot—Alicie! Magic! Your magic, ahhhhhhh!"

From the rear, a fairy girl with long golden hair, a mask, and long, thin ears pounced and tackled the reckless captain to the ground.

"What's wrong, Rio? If you want to get close to me, the strongest beauty in the city, you'll have to go back to your clan first."

"You idiot, Alexie! That's a fire stone! How dare you touch it with your magic?! Do you want us all to die here?"

An elven girl named Ryu Leon grabbed Alyssie's collar and shook her violently.

"Huh? Haha!" Alexie realized what she meant, scratching the back of her head and giggling, "Sorry, I forgot."

Kaguya covered her face: "I'm speechless."

Lyra's mouth dropped open: "That thing is actually real?"

But why was he reminding himself? Could it be that Alicia's ridiculous idea of ​​'shouting out the name of the move during a fight' is actually true?

"Hum~"

After the spell was dispelled, Alexie picked up the firestone, raised her head, and analyzed, "Let me tell you the truth of the matter!"

"There were two bodies at the scene. Based on your testimony, Leila, the suspect probably deliberately informed you and threw the Firestone in a safe location where it wouldn't explode. That's why it was a dud."

Lyra was taken aback: "So, why are the Dark Faction members suddenly showing such kindness?"

Alexandra pushed up her non-existent glasses, pointed a finger, and as background music played, she said, "Hmph, there's only one truth!"

"The so-called prisoner! Actually, it's the one lying on the ground!"

"Huh? Why?"

Leila didn't believe her intelligence could be outmatched by that idiot captain, but out of respect for his intuition, she chose to listen to his reasons.

At this moment, Kaguya squatted beside the corpse, flipped over the back of the [Hyena] to check the victim's identity, and then looked up in astonishment.

“Alice is right.”

"Ok?"

Kaguya pointed to the exposed back of the [Hyena] on the ground:

“This person… seems to be Sweet, the squad leader of the Alecto Familia [Hyena].

Leila's face turned pale, considering the situation she had witnessed earlier...

"I... I didn't kill an innocent person, did I?"

Chapter 14 Arrested (×), Rescued (√)

"What?! You said you slashed that guy more than ten times? And he took a blast from your bombardment?" Kaguya asked incredulously, hands on her hips.

"They're still alive?"

Lyra shrugged: "I don't know, maybe he has some rare skill. Every strike I made was aimed at killing him, but that kid is still alive and kicking."

The straightforward, blond elf grasped the key point, staring with a judgmental gaze at his pink-haired companion, Palum:

"Lyra. You deliberately killed innocent adventurers?"

Alexandra nodded. "That's so unfair! Lady Astraea will cry."

Leila clutched her head: "This...that kid is wearing the Dark Faction's clothes. Leon, I can't tell, I really can't!"

Alexie interrupted Ryu's accusation: "Shouldn't we find him first? With that level of serious injury, he probably won't survive long in the dungeon."

Liu Ning nodded: "With that kind of body, he probably can't go far. I'll go..."

"I'll go instead," Kaguya stopped Ryu.

"It's unclear whether the other party is friend or foe, and they're carrying dangerous items like fire stones. If it's just infighting within the secret faction, I'm afraid someone might bury you alive if you, this innocent little lotus, go there, and you won't even know how you died."

"What did you say! Kaguya!" Ryu raised her eyebrows: "We were clearly in the wrong first! No compensation..."

Alexie pulled the angry elf, who was biting her lip, back down: "Alright, stop arguing. Finding someone is the priority now."