🌐 Language / 言語
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A warm breeze swept in from the south, rippling across the border of the Ezaris Kingdom. The sky was a brilliant, endless blue, dotted with drifting tufts of cloud that mirrored the sunlight dancing upon the waves below.
Gilzenth, the Sovereign of the Varney Republic, glided through the air, her white dress fluttering like a predatory bird’s wings. She could feel a surge of intense Divine Pulse trailing close behind. Few Maidens in the world possessed the flight speed necessary to keep pace with her.
As she passed through a dense bank of clouds, she found a figure waiting for her, arms crossed in a defiant stance. The girl had golden hair cropped at the shoulders and a sharp, aggressive Vision-Seal that mirrored her prickly temperament. It was Bernaz—the right hand of Queen Vyzoa and one of the finest sharpshooters in the Kingdom.
“Yo. Taking a stroll all by your lonesome, ‘Your Majesty’?”
“Something like that,” Gilzenth replied, her voice smooth and dangerous. “Shouldn’t you be in bed, little bird?”
Bernaz had exhausted her reserves in the battle against Managloa. Though three days had passed and she had recovered some strength, she was far from her peak.
“I’m doing just fine. More importantly—what the hell do you want with our country?” Bernaz glared from behind her visor.
Batlig had been ravaged. Lives had been lost. And for some reason, Gilzenth looked as though she found the whole tragedy quite entertaining.
“Oh, aren’t we allies? I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop by.”
Ezaris, Varney, and the Empire of Regalia were bound by a formal alliance, but it was a paper-thin peace built on mutual suspicion. For a Head of State to wander near a border without a single guard was unheard of.
“Stop lurking around. You’re the one who put Zakner in the ground, aren’t you?”
“Hehe… I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Gilzenth gave an exaggerated shrug, her thin, moist lips curling into a laugh she made no effort to hide. She looked like she was having the time of her life.
“You think I’m gonna let you murder one of our Hierarchs and just walk away? I’m not looking to start a world war—let’s settle this here and now.”
Bernaz deployed four gun-type Blitz units. Their muzzles locked onto Gilzenth’s head from a distance of barely 5 meters (16 feet).
“So eager. Very well. If it’s a duel you want, I shall oblige.”
Before the sentence was finished, shells erupted from the muzzles. The roar shattered the humid air. Bernaz had fired to vaporize Gilzenth’s entire upper body, but she saw only a blurring shadow as the Sovereign evaded with terrifying speed. Even in that blur, Gilzenth’s white teeth were visible in a mocking grin.
In the blink of an eye, return fire streaked toward Bernaz.
“Tch! You think you can outspeed me?!”
Bernaz ascended rapidly, weaving through a hail of bullets. Her sensory Divine Pulse scanned the area, but there was nothing but clouds. Yet, Gilzenth seemed to know Bernaz’s exact coordinates at every moment. No one could escape her extraordinary sensory range of 50 meters (164 feet).
“You perverted freak… show yourself!”
Bernaz dove at high speed. A dark shape flickered at the very edge of her perception. She didn’t hesitate, commanding all four Blitz units to blast the shadow out of the sky. The target shattered—it was one of Gilzenth’s rapid-fire Blitz units.
“Impressive. I surrender.”
Gilzenth emerged from a gap in the clouds, her hands raised in mock defeat. A thin trail of crimson ran from her temple down her cheek. Three Blitz units still hovered around her, gleaming like silver in the sun.
Did a stray bullet graze her? The wound looks shallow. There’s no way this bitch is surrendering. Is she trying to bait me?
Bernaz hesitated for a fraction of a second, her mind racing to predict the trap. In that instant, a cold sense of dread washed over her from behind. She tried to bank hard, but she was a heartbeat too late.
“Agh… gah!”
A high-caliber round tore through Bernaz’s flank from the rear. Fresh blood erupted into the air. Ordinarily, dodging such a shot would have been child’s play, but she had been too focused on the monster in front of her. Her psychokinesis flickered out. Clutching her side, Bernaz fell into a terminal dive, hitting the ocean surface with a massive spray of white foam.
“Lady Gilzenth! Are you harmed?”
A tall, slender Maiden who had been watching from a distance called out. Seeing her mistress wounded, she rushed to her side, her face twisted with frantic concern. In her hands, she clutched a long-range sniper-type Blitz.
“I’m fine, Saroza,” Gilzenth whispered, wiping the blood from her cheek.
“That filthy whore! How dare she lay a finger on you!” Saroza’s voice was thick with rage, her fists trembling. A single bullet to the side wasn’t enough to satisfy her fury. Saroza had fired from far beyond Bernaz’s 20-meter (65-foot) detection range.
“It’s alright. With this, the world is one step closer to harmony. Thanks to you.”
Gilzenth pulled Saroza’s slender waist close in a chillingly tender embrace. Her eyes, however, remained fixed on the water below. She waited, but Bernaz’s body did not surface.
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