Léon: The Cat Killer

only……

With memories of being dragged down in the night yesterday and Jessica almost having her throat slit in the dim light just now playing in her mind, Nana did feel uncomfortable with the word 'letting go'.

The sudden death of the enemy was already inevitable, but compared to the madness before death, Nana might be able to give them a... even more insane death.

"I understand... I will give chase."

As she spoke, Nana raised her hand and killed several more approaching Terrorfish to confirm the rate at which the Dark Mark was shrinking. Having deactivated her armor mode while hugging Jessica, Nana continued:

"Once backup arrives and everyone is confirmed to be safe, I will immediately pursue those suspected to be members of the Deep Sea Church..."

"You don't have to wait!"

"Is this really possible? There are not only Lungmen Guard members here, but also VIPs like me and support staff like Sora..."

Just as the situation became more chaotic with the arrival of the year, the previously sealed surface entrance was suddenly opened, and the light that had been shining down from the outside during the day now seemed like a stairway to heaven.

Beneath that pillar of light, besides Swire from the Guard Bureau who peeked out as the checkpoint manager, a child whom the trauma team knew all too well also leaped down from that pillar of light—it was Amiya.

Perhaps the silent atmosphere after landing made the girl a little nervous. The little bunny, who had arrived with a large amount of supplies and the Rhodes Island A4 team, scratched her cheek awkwardly after landing.

"Um...did I come at the wrong time?"

"No, Amiya, you've come at just the right time..."

As she said this, Nana looked at Yato, who had taken off his sun-protective mask after arriving underground, and Dulin, who seemed unsure of where to stand. She then nodded her thanks to Blackhorn for bringing them new ammunition supplies. After making eye contact with her familiar friends, Nana looked at the figure in the Rhine Lab uniform, whose attire was not quite in line with Rhodes Island's style, but was equally reassuring.

"Saria... did the Doctor send you to provide support?"

“No, I only arrived at the front lines as a guardian. The one who was actually sent to provide support is her... You can call her Ifrit.”

She nodded to the girl who was wearing a Rhine-style combat suit, carrying an air tank and a flamethrower, and whose body was covered in traces of Originium infection, suggesting that she was already in the late stage... Although this child named Ifrit looked like she could explode at any moment, it was Amiya's turn to step forward and explain the situation, so Nana remained silent for the time being.

"As per the Doctor's orders, Amiya Squad, Operation A4, and special operations operators Ifrit and Saria are here to provide support!"

"Just burn those monsters, right? Seems simple!"

As soon as Amiya finished speaking, the girl who looked like a Sarkaz raised her weapon and began to cast a spell, preparing to attack Nana and the others. Saria, who was standing to the side, just watched as the girl puffed out her cheeks slightly and muttered, "Command, fine, waiting for orders," before putting away her weapon.

"I'm sorry, Ifrit is still very inexperienced as an operations operator... but her abilities are beyond doubt. Command believes that she is the operator who can maximize her abilities in the fight against the Dark Mark."

"So, may I fire now?"

Ifrit, its tail still twitching with flame at the tip, stared at Saria. Saria, in turn, turned to look at Amiya. Amiya, interrupted twice, maintained her smile... but a hint of resentment seemed to linger in her heart. Fortunately, this anger quickly dissipated, and Amiya looked earnestly at Nana:

"Based on the command authority granted by the doctor, all three teams are now following the instructions of the trauma team, which is Nana-neechan's arrangement!"

"Medic!"

Without looking back at Chen Huijie, who had loudly reminded her, it was clear that with the arrival of reinforcements, Nai Nai's reason for believing she should stay had vanished.

The black-haired cat was still dressed in her infiltration combat attire of black gloves and matching socks. Her short hair flew wildly with the blast of gunfire. The cat-like girl, dressed in revealing clothes, looked out of place with the masked operator's appearance. To those unfamiliar with Nana and the others, she seemed somewhat incongruous...

But as Nana took out her phone to call Swire and confirm the time the group left, the 'light pillar' reappeared... Using 'telekinesis', she caught the bass bag that the Guard Bureau members had dropped, and took out a rotating Originium cannon from it and fixed it to her left hand. At the same time, the two lightsabers combined into a composite light spear and connected to the system of the new tactical exoskeleton. The sound of the turbine engine's radiator began to rise again.

"Reasons changed. Saria will now assist Amiya in clearing the current sea monster lair. Please be careful of the special individual that just appeared... I will be pursuing the escapees... Any other questions?"

Seeing that no one was saying anything, the black cat girl twitched her ears and then lowered her body slightly. The next instant, the pile of sea monster corpses on the road suddenly exploded, and a road leading straight to the end appeared... The bright spot of the spear disappeared in a few seconds, obviously because it had chased into the end of the bend that everyone had been unable to advance through before.

Amiya, who was carrying a lot of medical supplies and was currently working with her team to examine the wounds of the trauma group, turned her head and saw Chen Huijie with a strange expression. She heard a clicking sound that seemed to come out from between her teeth, as if she was in pain or unwilling.

Although Amiya arrived late, she could only get a general idea of ​​what had happened from the PRTS's combat logs... but the suggestion to pursue was made by this Lungmen Superintendent, and now it seemed that she was the one who was dissatisfied, which gave Amiya a strange feeling.

"Officer Chen?"

"Huh? Oh...sorry...did I disturb you?"

Seeing the blue-haired dragon girl who was about to move after speaking, but was grimacing in pain just from trying, yet still determined to grab her sword and head to the front lines, Amiya quickly stepped forward to support the officer, as Hoshiguma and the reinforcements were already blocking the way.

"Please don't move, I will treat you right away..."

"I'm fine..."

Despite this, Officer Chen's trembling hand holding the sword clearly contradicted her words. Even a child like Amiya could forcefully stop this foolish act of bravado.

But she persisted in standing on the front line, refusing to back down no matter what.

"I am fine."

Seeing the blue-haired dragon girl's insistence, Amiya could only call on the medical operators to give her the most basic emergency treatment... and looking at the senior superintendent's silent back, Amiya's grip on the medical kit tightened involuntarily.

The highly empathetic little rabbit sensed that Chen Huijie's anger, directed at the Deep Sea Church, was also directed at her.

[How useless I am...]

……

Nana was unaware of that brief, silent contact in the world of consciousness.

Now, the assassin, wielding an Originium Revolver in one hand and a Composite Beam Spear in the other, seems to have rediscovered a bit of her past self... This state is not common for the assassin now.

I rarely act impulsively like this, but in the absence of sufficient intelligence and preparation, what I need to break the deadlock is perhaps the same kind of drive as Chen Huijie... rather than the 'deliberation' that Nai Nai is more familiar with.

The second tentacle-faced monster that Nana was worried about did not appear. After Nana let the two combat-type sea monsters go and attack the position defended by Saria... the swiftly advancing assassin soon found the not-so-completely concealed trace.

At first, the black cat still needed to swing its light spear to cut down the monsters called Terrorfish, but as it chased after them, the Nether Marks under its feet completely disappeared.

After passing through three passageways clearly breached by brute force, the black cat girl, her cat ears twitching, listened to the panicked footsteps of the crowd around the corner. Suddenly, the black cat, wearing only footed socks, stepped forward, her body clad in black armor plates, boots, breastplate, and a complete helmet... To the members of the Deep Sea Church, the black knight was like a ghost that had silently appeared, and the moment she appeared, she had set up her revolver cannon and begun firing?!

Has the Guard Bureau lost even the most basic persuasion and surrender process?!

In this straight, moving city support tunnel? An open area with no cover except for a few pillars... using a weapon like a rotary cannon?!

At this moment, the knight seemed to be the embodiment of 'war'. His figure, with a halo above his head resembling that of a papal musketeer, emerged from the darkness, and the sound of the rotary cannon's motor spinning sent chills down one's spine.

As the cannon barrels were pointed at the Deep Sea Church crowd fleeing towards the next exit, the knight, showing no mercy whatsoever, began firing indiscriminately.

As a weapon not designed for single-person use, Nana's three-barreled revolver is a simplified version installed in a tactical unit.

In order to enable the tactical unit to withstand its terrifying recoil, the 30mm six-barreled rotary cannon, originally named 'Avenger', not only had its ammunition changed from physical ammunition to Originium liquid and modified into magic projectiles.

In scenarios where it is used by Nana alone, the barrel is shortened and the number of barrels is simplified from six to three to reduce the release pressure during firing... However, even so, it does not diminish its actual power as a symbol of the Lateran Papal Gun Cavalry.

Because they also carried the sub-vaporized black bow, ribbons fluttered behind the black-armored knight like medals. Under the pressure of the casting unit, the Originium solution vaporized and evaporated, transforming into a spell projectile that shot out, along with orange lightning bolts generated by the release of Originium vapor.

The high-speed rotating muzzle condensed the 'lightning' into flames. The muzzle flash of the three-barreled rotary cannon alone was two meters long, and even if it was disassembled into only three barrels, the rate of fire was as high as one thousand rounds per minute. The streaks of light from the magic bullets connected together.

The black-armored knights of Sarkaz seemed to wield the scythe of death, appearing from behind the church members and taking the lives of more than half of them in an instant.

At this moment, the black-armored knight was wondering about another question... why were half of them still alive?

Excluding those who might have some unspeakable past with Lateran, the group immediately collapsed. The answer was the white-haired, red-eyed woman wielding a long spear, blocking the central small group.

The supersonic slash spun and accurately deflected all the orange magic bullets from the rotary cannon. As the black-armored knight discarded his weapon, which had been empty of Originium liquid, the long spear was almost upon him, and the sound of it cutting through the air had only just begun.

'clang--!!'

The black longbow instinctively blocked the charging spear, and the tall, red-eyed woman, after confirming Nana's identity through the bright red visor of her helmet, lowered her voice and said:

"...This is not part of the plan."

Yes, indeed... my pursuit was just a momentary impulse, but the hidden dangers I eliminated were all very real.

But how can this be explained to the Agor War architects who seem to demand that the plan be perfectly executed?

Perhaps aside from the reason of eliminating potential threats, the only benefit of doing so is that it would better highlight Gretia's role in the church.

After all... apart from Gretia, without that strange sea monster, who here could stop Killer Seventy-Seven's attack?

Just as Nana was thinking this, someone from the church collapsed to the ground as if in a breakdown, silently losing control of their bladder.

"A knight?! How could it be a knight..."

"Shut up! We haven't even confirmed which knight it is yet!!"

Knight? What knight?

Just as Nana was wondering, her tactical equipment's microphone suddenly picked up a name that Greta was whispering... PRTS quickly completed the analysis in the database and then showed Nana a story called "The Last Knight".

So, did these people confuse themselves with the legendary knight?

To be honest, this group of people hadn't actually appeared on the battlefield, so it's true they hadn't seen her and Lungmen acting together... If they misunderstood, it would actually make things easier for Nana.

After all... knowing that it was Rhodes Island causing trouble, and the rumored knights causing trouble... are two different things.

Having figured this out, Nana forcefully shook off the white-haired hunter who was locked in a stalemate with her. Then, the black-armored knight pointed his composite spear forward... Nana selected a line from the e-book in the database:

"I will kill the sea!"

PS: Waaaaaah, kitty

PSS: Actually, I was planning to write about setting the ocean on fire... Well, since the original quote was "kill the ocean," let's just say kill the ocean! We'll talk about setting the ocean on fire when we actually do it.

9th Dragon Gate Seafood: 355 Storm and Waves

There was no time to mourn for Nana's performance of reciting lines; what rushed over immediately was the long spear thrown to prevent Nana from laughing out loud... Taking advantage of the gap deliberately given by Goredia, the black-armored knight, once again in power mode, drew his bow to its full extent and shot the arrow with the speed of thunder.

The deafening roar was dizzying, and a visible hole appeared in the massive supporting pillar of the mobile city. As for the other group of Abyssal Cultists hiding behind the pillars... especially the conspicuous red-robed monster among them... well, conspicuous or not, there are no Abyssal Cultists behind the pillars anymore.

Even though the blast port was only the thickness of a finger, the carbon material behind the carbon pillar, about half a person's height, was all shattered into fragments in the attack. Those hiding behind it are now indistinguishable from this mobile city forever.

"Stop him now!"

"Stop arguing, we're doing it. And you guys better leave already, are you just standing here waiting to die?"

As he spoke, the white-haired hunter launched a powerful flying kick at the black-armored knight, then picked up the thrown spear. The long, unbroken traditional handle and the light spear forged by new land technology collided with each other countless times in a matter of seconds.

Just like that fleeting dance on Rhodes Island, the black and white colors once again created a vortex and storm on the field.

As the person who caused the cold and beautiful woman in front of her to show a troubled expression, Nana was also considering how to end the situation.

Without a doubt, to ensure that Gladys could complete her and Kal'tsit's plan, the idea of ​​annihilating this group was simply impossible. Therefore, Nana should now strive to achieve her goal while simultaneously ensuring these cultists met their due punishment—a wish belonging to Lungmen and Rhodes Island.

Ideally, the best scenario would be to eliminate as many of these cult groups as possible—those who indiscriminately release biological and chemical threats into other people's homes—while simultaneously allowing Grace to investigate higher levels of the organization.

But doing so seems to lead to a vicious cycle of thinking about 'who should be kept, who can live, and who should be allowed to continue living'.

Amidst the symphony of clashing metal, concealed by the black knight's helmet, Nana couldn't help but sigh... She had to admit that she didn't have the same 'impulse' as Chen Huijie, who would let her body act before her mind just for the sake of a moment.

But if you have a clear goal, then you can 'try' as many times as you want.

Thus, in the frenzied dance of black and white, the two, playing the roles of thunder and waves respectively, fought together, and Nana began to try to judge the importance of those cultists according to the degree of Goredia's resistance.

At this moment, the 'angel' showed no signs of holding back. Whether it was the subspace arrow that hit its mark as soon as it left the bow, or the light spear slashing with the full brightness of the aperture and the latest tactical armor... In order to confirm the importance of the current target, and at the same time to increase the credibility of whether Gladys was 'doing her best', the battle between the Rhodes Island knights and the deep-sea hunters on the waterless land immediately entered the supersonic realm.

Sometimes it's a simple punch and kick, sometimes it's a fancy switch between light spears and swords; in the dim underground, only the afterimages of beams of light and the constant interaction of hot, dark red metal are visible. The splashing Originium vapor sparks can melt ordinary underground railings into molten iron with just a touch, and it's not uncommon for it to scare the busy cultists into a daze or even cause them to lose control of their bladder.

If the above are still within the capabilities that the believers believe the deep-sea hunters can handle, then the arrows hidden in the shadows... those electric bolts that can even pierce through the city itself, even the hunters can only temporarily avoid their sharp edge.

After several attempts to create distance and reunite a group of refugees with their god, the cultists, still struggling with the gate, finally collapsed, dropped their hacking terminals, and let out a wail:

"No! The firewall has been locked with the highest level of access by the city command tower. It's impossible to open it here! Everyone will die!"

Seeing that the other party had actually started to give up on himself, the sudden crying out made even the two protagonists in the battle look over at the same time.

Nana then realized that the Deep Sea Order, which originally numbered nearly a hundred, was now reduced to only a few dozen people, trembling and helplessly clinging to the gate... Although if things continued like this, even though Gladys, whose actual combat capabilities had not shown anything outrageous, would certainly not be able to stop her slaughter, she felt that if she went back like this, she would be scolded by Kal'tsit with her ears pinched.

So, in order to advance her mission, and as if suddenly realizing her 'purpose,' the assassin charged at the crying cultist again with her lightsaber.

He turned around midway and kicked, using Goredia's attempt to stop him as an acceleration for his sprint. The lightsaber, now in overload mode, released the Originium reaction restriction in his hand, and the huge beam of light, so bright it was blinding, sliced ​​through the enemy at an angle.

As several more believers were sent to their deaths, a bolt on the emergency isolation door used for construction, which was covered in mold, was also broken. The sound of the locking mechanism being broken from inside the door immediately caught the attention of the deep-sea believers, most of whom were born in Agor.

At the same time, as Nana raised her enormous overload lightsaber again at the cultists whose vision had suddenly turned from bright to pitch black, the hunter, who had just been kicked away and was already injured, charged forward once more.

As the long spear broke through another bolt at the gate, it used its small trident to pin the 'knight's' sword-wielding hand to the wall. The knight was pinned down by the entire body, and the sound of the wall behind him twisting and deforming under the weight of the knight's struggle once again urged the believers to focus on their work.

"Open...open two phosphorus shirts, erling four ba, open! Run!"

"There's no way we can escape... Hunter, hold on a little longer! These are just area isolation doors, but it seems that to keep the pipelines between cities clear, functional gates like fire-fighting gates are still in the default open state. Although the technology of land-dwellers is only so-so, if it's a city-scale isolation door..."

Before the man could finish speaking, a sudden gunshot turned the believers' joy at escaping back into terror.

As Nana's hand, which had somehow switched from a lightsaber to a pistol, pointed at the next target, Gladys, realizing several times that she had underestimated her partner, could only press down on Nana's wrist again with a look of surprise and helplessness.

On one hand, she wanted to gain the church's trust to protect them with all its might; on the other hand... it might indeed be because Nana had already killed enough.

"The people of the sea are right in front of you, so don't pay attention to others at a time like this."

Although Goredia's words sounded somewhat ambiguous at this moment, in any case, the lingering influence of being terrified by the 'knight' left her with no room to give the other party any further chances.

The crowd seemed to have transformed into skilled disaster response specialists, almost tumbling and crawling with afterimages as they manually began lowering several mobile city isolation gates, including those for fire trucks.

During this time, Nana did try her best to kill a few more, but with Goredia's tight defense, the remnants of the Deep Sea Church breathed a sigh of relief only after the few bullets in their pistol were all fired and the gun went out with a click.

Just as Nana was pondering whether Gladys would hold her off until the church's gaze completely disappeared, the hunter suddenly released Nana's wrist... Nana realized that this was probably the end of this impromptu performance.