Chapter 151 Chapter 34.2 - First Step
"Why did you call us here?"
Inside the dimly lit building with the clear signs of being empty, three students gathered, their faces filled with different emotions.
The one leaning on the wall was a tall boy playing with the dagger in his hand. The other two were the newcomer girls who had just entered the room. One of them had a clear, annoyed expression, and the other had a smirk.
"You know, we need to lay low for a while, right?"
The girl, with an annoyed expression, said, looking at the boy.
"Of course I do. Do you think I would call you here without any reason, Pieck?" The boy answered as he stood up. "The target is not dead."
Pieck's annoyance turned into surprise, her eyes widening as she processed the boy's words. "What do you mean he's not dead? We executed the plan perfectly! There's no way he could have survived."
The boy, still playing with the dagger, nodded his head. "I know we have done everything right."
That was a correct statement. Before executing the act, they had searched the target's background and his possible skills. Then, they prepared the tools they needed to use according to it. Everything was perfect, as their target was within the range of their capabilities.
However, one factor was different.
"Apparently, we underestimated him. He managed to live somehow. You remember the light that shone on the skies in the dungeon, right? I think something happened at that time."
As those words sank in, the trio fell silent. The girls were trying to absorb this information and the possible results of it.
The second girl, Annie, who had been smirking, chimed in, "Seems like our dear Astron is more resilient than we thought. Perhaps there's more to him than meets the eye." She was clearly in a good mood as the expression she made wasn't that normal for any other average student.
"SHUT UP!" However, the Pieck wasn't in the same mood. "This is not the time to joke around, Annie!" Pieck's panic started to show, and her voice quivered as she spoke, "If he's alive, he'll expose everything! We can't let that happen!"
The boy walked closer to Pieck, his expression serious. "That's why I called you here. We need to regroup and come up with a new plan. We can't afford any mistakes this time."
His gaze alternated between Pieck and Annie. "You know what will happen to us if we fail, right?"
As the weight of the situation sank in, everyone fell silent.
This wasn't something they were ready for. After all, what could have possibly happened when they were trying to kill the weakest of the academy? Surely, nothing, right?
But now, that lack of preparedness came to bite them all.
Amidst the tense silence, Annie's smirk faded, and Pieck's panic lingered. Even the craziest ones did know the fate that was awaiting them the moment their connection to demon followers was leaked.
The boy took charge of the conversation, pacing as he spoke, "We need to reassess the situation. Astron's survival changes everything. We can't underestimate him again."
Annie leaned against a wall, crossing her arms. "So, what's the plan now? We can't just go after him without knowing what he's capable of."
Pieck, regaining some composure, added, "And we need to be more discreet this time. We can't afford any attention. The last thing we want is the academy getting involved."
The boy nodded in agreement, but at the same time, he released a bitter sigh…. "I also agree that we shouldn't involve the academy, but it is too late for that now. At this point, they should be aware of the fact that some of the students entering that dungeon were demon contractors."
As Reiner said that, he showed his smartwatch. There, the trio could see a message coming from the academy investigation team, calling Reiner.
"We may even need to abandon the mission and run away. With all these eyes, it will be a lot harder for us to complete the mission in any case."
Pieck's eyes widened with worry, and she blurted out, "But where do we go, Reiner? The organization won't just let us live. We're in this too deep. The only way out is to complete the mission as fast as possible and then leave the academy during the break period. It's our only chance."
Annie, who had been silent for a moment, finally spoke up, her tone serious, "Pieck's right. We can't outrun the organization, but if we finish this mission, we might have some leverage. We need to focus on Astron. Find out what he knows and exploit it. We can't afford to fail again."
Reiner nodded in reluctant agreement. "Fine, we stick to the original plan, but we need to be cautious. We can't afford any more mistakes. We also need to find out more about what happened in that dungeon. Whatever caused that light might be the key to understanding that bastard's resilience."
Pieck, frustration, and worry etched on her face, couldn't hold back her resentment. "That Astron, he's just an orphan bastard who got lucky. He won't be able to stand against us ne-"
SPURT!
However, at that moment, something unexpected occurred. The sound of wind and the sound of liquid splashing around echoed in the closed building.
Pieck couldn't even complete her sentence, as something had pierced her forehead, blood splashing through from there.
-SPLASH!
But that wasn't all; a series of other projectiles punctured her body one by one.
THUD!
And, in a matter of a second, Pieck fell to the ground without being able to utter any other words.
"Huh?"
The first one to give a reaction was Reiner, as he finally noticed the pool of blood that was forming underneath the Pieck.
"We are under attack!"
He shouted, assessing the angle from which the projectiles were coming. From the shadows, the unseen assailant continued to rain the projectiles.
WOOSH! WOOSH!
Reiner immediately activated his demonic powers, a dark aura enveloping him as he sought cover, his eyes scanning for the source of the attack.
"Bullets?"
Looking at the small things that fell short at the end of his shield, he mumbled. Bullets were something that wasn't widely used, as guns didn't hold much strength against strong people.
"Hehehehehe…..Who is this, I wonder?"
Annie, while laughing, took swift action, finding cover while drawing her menacing scythe.
The metallic gleam in her eyes conveyed her readiness for battle as her normal crazed smile returned.
"WHO ARE YOU!"
Reiner shouted, trying to get a reaction from the assailant. He had already taken a cover, and Annie was the same.
SILENCE!
However, no answer came as a reaction, as only an eerie silence was left in the building.
'How did he trespass our radar?'
They had already put a safety measure at the entrance, a device that was one of the biggest reasons why the government wasn't able to capture the demon followers.
'No, it is not the time to think about it.'
Reiner thought, looking at the pool of blood formed underneath Pieck's body.
'We shouldn't drag this.'
The bullets were also stopped, as only the darkness remained inside the room.
'No lights?'
The lights were gone.
'They are shot.'
The lightbulbs were all shattered as Reiner looked at the ceiling. There were no lights, but his superior senses as the demonic human was spread all around the place.
He could hear everything sense everything clearly. However, there was still no information about the assailant.
'Fuck!'
Understanding that time was not on their side, Reiner immediately stood up, moving to Pieck's body.
SHINE!
And at that second, he saw something shining on top of the ceiling. There on the wall, Reiner immediately sensed the mana channeling.
'No!'
He sensed, but it was too late.
SWOOSH!
As the channeling of mana was finished, another projectile flew, this time containing a lot more energy.
It was an arrow with a blue-lighted mana covering. The energy it contained was so much that even Reiner felt threatened.
BOOM!
Following that, the arrow exploded near Reiner, and the force of the blast sent him reeling.
THUD!
He lost his balance for a second, his demonic armor absorbing some of the impact but leaving him momentarily disoriented. As he hit the wall, he was momentarily shaken up.
"Kekekeke! There you are."
However, he wasn't alone.
Annie, seizing the opportunity, immediately dashed toward the direction from which the arrow had come. Her scythe gleamed menacingly as she prepared to strike down the unseen assailant.
SWOOSH!
Her scythe sliced through the air, aiming at an invisible target. Yet, as the weapon swung through the space, it met no resistance.
"What the hell?" Annie exclaimed, her eyes scanning the darkness. There was no one there, no trace of the attacker who had just launched the explosive arrow.
SWOOSH!
And, as if the attacker had predicted what Annie would do, at that exact second when she was in the air, another arrow flew through.
STAB!
And stabbed her in her shoulder. This time, it didn't contain as much energy as the previous one; thus, it was even harder for her to sense the arrow.
"Grr…."
Annie gritted her teeth, but that clear smirk was still on her mouth.
THUD!
With a smooth landing, she reached the ground.
Reiner, still recovering from the blast, managed to regain his footing. He activated his demonic powers, forming a protective barrier around himself.
"Annie, what happened?" he called out, his eyes darting around the room.
"I...I don't know," Annie replied, a hint of frustration in her voice. She was puzzled by the sudden disappearance of their unseen foe.
SWOOSH! SPURT!
However, in the silence that followed, they heard another sound of something splashing.
"Huh…."
As they turned their attention to the sound, they saw Pieck's body on the ground, with another arrow stabbed...
On the right beside her heart…..
"No…"
And the arrow was shining.
BOOM!
Coupled with another explosion occurring….
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