141 Chapter 141: Warehouse (2/2)
But that was more than enough for Kureha.
The Golem on the right continued its inexorable advance, its massive fists swinging toward Kureha. Unable to evade in such tight confines, Kureha instead faced its attack head-on. Dashing forward, she flipped herself above its punch and landed on its gigantic arm. Running along the metallic length, she dove forward and swung her sword. In a single, graceful stroke, she decapitated the Golem. Its head crashed onto the ground, sparks flying violently from severed wires.
Even so, the Golem refused to die. It continued to swing about wildly, almost dislodging her from its shoulder. Gritting her teeth, Kureha plunged her blade deep into its now open neck and unleashed a white blast of energy that seared through its insides.
Smoke billowing out of exposed hatches and its hollow neck, the Golem toppled over like a puppet whose strings were abruptly cut. Without any hesitation, Kureha bounced off the fallen Golem and attacked the other. It was currently occupied by Alicia, who was relentlessly bombarding it with countless anti-armor rounds.
The magical projectiles left craters on the now pockmarked body of the staggering Golem. In truth, Alicia should be able to take it down in another few minutes, but Kureha wasn't willing to wait.
Vaulting across the corridor, Kureha stabbed the Golem in the chest, in a cracked crevice where Alicia's shots had left a small but deep hole. White energy crackled from her blade and erupted inside the stumbling Golem, frying it from the inside. Yanking her sword out, Kureha spun away before the Golem could fall on top of her. The mechanical warrior crashed face first, sparks scattering from its ruined body.
”No choice. If they didn't know we were here before, they definitely know now.”
Gathering white mana into her sword, Kureha wasted no time and sliced the door open. Two segments of metal slid down and toppled inward with a thunderous thud. Without waiting for the echoes to die away, Kureha stepped through the entrance she had just forcibly cut open and glared at the occupants.
Then she froze.
”…Uncle Frank?”
The man in the center, surrounded by a bunch of hooded mages, slowly turned around. Adjusting his necktie casually, he smiled.
”Oh, Kureha. You're still fine, I see.” His grin grew. ”How is your sister?”
”You…!”
White mana exploded around Kureha, causing the entire chamber to shake violently. Dust and stones rained down as tremendous tremors coursed through the room, and the hooded mages stumbled as they tried to regain their balance.
”I'm going to kill you.”
”Oh? Are you sure about that? You can't afford to be wasting time on me, you know?”
”What's that supposed to mean?” Alicia asked as she entered the room behind her friend, keeping her guns trained on Frank Franklin. He shrugged.
”Ah, I guess it's best to inform you. At this very moment, there are 3,000 monsters heading toward Jing Tian City from the north. If you go now, you should be able to inform your local military force and rally a combat force in time. You'll need every second.” His eyes gleamed mischievously. ”After all, even a city's barrier is not going to be able to stop an army of 3,000 monsters. There are a few rank B's in there as well.”
”You…what have you done?” Alicia asked, horrified. ”How…?”
”That's our job. As the Research Foundation Group. We conduct research on monsters.” He glanced upward. ”Those drinks in this warehouse? They act as bait, giving off pheromones that attract monsters. That's why the barrier that renders the city invisible isn't going to work. They know you're here. Oh.” He raised a finger. ”You can destroy the drinks if you want, but it's too late. As I said, they already know you're here. Even if you get rid of the bait, they're already on an unstoppable path toward this direction.”
”I'll kill you,” Kureha growled, holding her sword in both hands. White mana continued flowing into it. ”It won't be a waste of time. I only need a second to kill you.”
Then she charged forward and stabbed Frank. The middle-aged man looked stunned as he jerked and clutched the blade. White mana continued to erupt from Kureha's sword, surging through his body and ravaging his insides.
”Ouch.”
Kureha froze as she stared at her uncle's face. Frank's surprised expression vanished, replaced by a smile. He slowly caressed the sword and shook his head.
”I'm aware of your excellent sword skills, my dear Kureha. As such, do you really think I would be stupid enough to hang around and explain everything to you when you barged in here?”
”…what?”
Kureha's jaw dropped when Frank's figure fizzled and he vanished. The hooded mages around him also flickered and disappeared along with him.
”The moment you began fighting with our Golems, we had already started evacuating. The illusions were just to distract you, to buy us a bit more time and delay you from pursuing us as we made our escape.”
The voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere. No matter where Kureha looked, she couldn't find any trace of her uncle. She glanced at Alicia, who shook her head bitterly.
Even the long-ranged gunner couldn't sense where the group of mages had escaped to. Her drones were buzzing about, but they met with dead ends and solid walls, unable to locate any alternate escape route.
”Where did they go?!” Kureha snapped, kicking the table in the middle and sending it flying.
”Out of here!” Frank's disembodied voice continued in that taunting manner. ”Why, don't worry, my dear niece. If you survive the onslaught from 3,000 monsters, I'm sure we'll meet again! But first, you have to survive the invasion! You probably don't want to waste too much time chasing me…the lives of the people in this city depend on your quick, decisive actions!”
”Damn it!”
With a scream, Kureha swung her sword and obliterated a good portion of the room, scorching the walls and floor with devastating white mana.
”I'll kill you! I swear, I'll find you, and I'll kill you!”
”…Kureha.”
The Sword Saint turned to her friend, still trembling with fury. Despite the murderous intent radiating off her, Alicia was not the least intimidated. Instead, she gently reached out and grabbed Kureha's shoulder.
”We have to go. We need to inform my father and the city's militia. If what your uncle said is true, then we don't have much time left. We must prepare to defend Jing Tian City from the monsters.”
She paused and took a deep breath.
”…can I ask you for your assistance? We are going to need every combat mage we can get.”
”You have my sword,” Kureha promised, offering it to Alicia. As the Sword Saint of her generation, she knew she had a duty to protect the citizens of the Federation. Even so, her wrath had yet to be sated. ”And once we slaughter all those monsters, I will hunt down my treacherous uncle and bring him to justice. This, I swear.”