It wasn't until Cocolia had taken off her only coat, the one that could ward off the cold, and began to shiver as she took a further step, her face numb as she started to remove her stockings, that the burly guard finally let down his guard.
The only place she could hide a weapon was under her coat. Now that the coat was tossed aside, and she was continuing to remove her clothes, there was nowhere left to hide a weapon.
That numb expression—he had seen it far too many times in this place. The women who were forced to sell their bodies for a living still had some life in their expressions at first. Later, it became this kind of numbness.
But this numbness was only at the beginning... Once they felt pain, were beaten, this look of indifference would suddenly shatter, and they would start crying and begging for mercy...
A smug smile appeared on the man's face. Perhaps thinking there would be a good show later, the man decided to start warming up now, taking a sip of alcohol to get in the mood...
So the man released his hand from the trigger and reached into his pocket.
Crack—
The sharp pain in his throat was the last thing the man felt. His body didn't even have time to struggle before it turned into a limp pile.
He had forgotten that there was another kind of person in this snowfield. They also had numb faces, but they were by no means weak and easy to bully.
Cocolia let go of her stockings, bent down, and quickly took a small knife from the man's body.
The automatic weapon on this person was certainly effective, but there was still the problem... the recoil was too much for her current self, and it would affect her movement.
The sound of gunfire here was equivalent to submitting an intrusion alert to all enemies. The mercenary at the gate had already made too many mistakes. Even a person like that could keep their hand on the trigger at all times.
Once these people became alert, even she... let alone Bronya, whose body was still showing signs of weakness.
She glanced back at the coat she had tossed in the snow. Cocolia, clad in thin clothes, turned and quickly entered the base.
After a quick look around, Cocolia breathed a sigh of relief. This should be a temporary hidden base. There were no cameras.
Holding the dagger in a reverse grip, Cocolia melted into the darkness. As she moved forward cautiously, she was also quickly surveying the environment.
It wasn't large. If there were no hidden spaces, she should be able to find Seele's location quickly. The lack of cameras suggested that this wasn't the kind of place that would have those kinds of rooms.
Passing by a room, Cocolia suddenly heard a clamor from inside. It was a foreign language, the words filled with emotion. Amidst the noise, Cocolia accurately caught the sound of a collision.
A liquor bottle?
...
Knock, knock, knock— a knock sounded on the door. Inside the room, a dark-skinned woman with a hideous scar on her face looked up sharply, her finger on the trigger.
"Who is it?" She glanced at her employer and the target, then pressed herself against the door.
"It's me. I've brought the vodka," a somewhat nervous voice sounded from outside. But this nervousness didn't arouse any suspicion in the mercenary.
Her subordinates were always nervous in front of her. On the contrary, many enemies who had tried to act relaxed in front of her had been caught by her.
After a slight sigh of relief, the woman reached out and opened the door. But what met her eyes was her subordinate, collapsing with a look of terror, and a figure rushing out from her blind spot.
"Wha—"
Before she could even finish a single syllable, a sharp, cold light slit her throat, turning the rest of her sentence into a gush of blood.
But even in this state, with death already sealed, the woman's hand, as if pre-programmed, pulled the trigger.
A series of flames erupted from the muzzle. Cocolia felt a numbness in her shoulder, and then her entire body was sent flying by the immense force.
Blood gushed from the woman's throat as she fell backward in despair.
The gun in her hand spewed flames, tracing a line from in front of her to the ceiling, finally coming to rest beside the woman's corpse.
The employer and Seele in the center of the room were startled by the gunshot. They looked up, and the spray of blood sent them into a panic.
The blood spurting from the artery stained the originally white room with specks of red. The subsequently weakened blood pressure caused the blood to fall in mid-air, forming a brief rain of blood.
And Cocolia, supporting her body, rose slowly, bathed in the rain of blood. She mercilessly stepped over the corpse and rushed straight toward the two who were standing in almost the same spot.
Whether it was the smell of blood or the killing intent, Cocolia felt as if a demon had appeared behind her, baring its fangs and claws, about to tear all life to shreds.
She had no time for that. She grabbed the tie of the man next to Seele, quickly wrapped it around his neck, then flipped over, snapping the man's neck with a sharp tug.
Another life was easily taken in her hands.
In a daze, Cocolia felt it wasn't her who was acting, but a demon that devoured life, a reaper that harvested souls.
Cocolia turned back. Enduring the pain, she came to stand before Seele. She reached out her blood-stained hand and, while tearing the tape from Seele's mouth, left several warm streaks of blood on Seele's face.
It was the temperature of a life lost...
"Seele, are you okay..."
Seele's trembling pupils suddenly stopped. Her expression of extreme terror made Cocolia pause slightly.
"Dem..."
The warm blood slowly trickled down her face. The shape of the gushing blood was particularly glaring in the pale room. The numb expression showed not a shred of concern, only an indifference to life.
"Demon!" The tightly wound spirit finally broke. Seele, who had experienced a mix of joy, terror, and despair in such a short time, reacted completely differently from Bronya, who was now Cocolia.
"Don't come over, don't come over!"
A jumble of emotions made Seele curl up into a ball.
"Don't come over..."
Cocolia froze.
[Anchor Replacement Complete—]
Was it like this...
After this, Bronya took Seele back... and what did she do?
Cocolia lowered her head, watching the scene before her replay.
The difference was, this time, it was her who had charged into this base with a flamboyant display, slaughtered all the enemies, and then, bathed in blood, came before Seele, becoming the monster in Seele's eyes.
The difference was...
...that was her normal state, but not Bronya's.