"Such a strange sight…"
From atop the rooftop, Jiuxiao surveyed the city streets below—silent, empty, patrolled only by cold mechanical drones.
"In a city this large, not a single person is in sight. Only machines wandering around… But don't worry!"
She placed a hand on her chest, cape billowing behind her in the night wind.
"As the chosen Savior, I will surely restore this city to its rightful life!"
Her tone was earnest, not theatrical.
Jiuxiao truly meant every word.
A metropolis like this should've been bustling even at night.
But now?
Nothing but stillness, concrete, and the metallic glare of robotic patrol units.
A dead city.
A city without breath.
Who Are You, Jiuxiao?
Teresa quietly studied Jiuxiao's silhouette.
This girl… reminded her vaguely of an old friend.
And yet she knew nothing about her.
Jiuxiao had appeared out of nowhere in Sky City.
None of them had met her before.
Not even Kiana, the one she claimed she came to "save."
Too strange.
Too coincidental.
She knew where Kiana was, possessed bizarre abilities, and fought like someone far beyond an ordinary human.
But why help them?
What was she aiming for?
What was this "Savior" business?
And the "Book of Prophecy"?
Teresa had no answers.
If the situation weren't so chaotic, she would've pinned Jiuxiao to the ground and interrogated her.
But now was not the time.
Her priority was clear—
Find Rita.
Searching the Old District
"Teresa, got anything? Any trace of them?"
Jiuxiao turned back, her eyes shining with anticipation.
Teresa lowered the holographic panel in her hand.
"Nothing. The last camera they were seen on was this street. After that, they disappeared. They must've retreated into the Old District—where there are no cameras."
She sighed.
"World Serpent definitely saw the same footage we did. They'll be searching this area too. We need to be careful."
"Got it." Jiuxiao nodded. "We'll go through it block by block."
She clenched her fist.
Come on, Jiuxiao. You can do this.
Inside the Abandoned Mall
The two slipped into a pitch-black shopping mall.
Jiuxiao swept the shadows with her gaze.
"If Rita and her squad were here, they would've responded to your voice. They don't know mine, but they know yours. So this place should be empty."
Clang—
Pshhhh—
Before Teresa could answer, several metallic objects rolled across the ground, hissing with escaping gas.
Her eyes widened.
That gas again—those suppressants!
They've been found!
Covering her mouth and nose, Teresa spun toward the entrance.
A hooded woman stood there beside spider-like combat drones—
Death Weavers.
"Jiuxiao, into the inner halls. Move!"
After what happened to Rita's team, Teresa knew how dangerous that gas was.
They had to get distance—break a wall and escape deeper in.
But—
"Don't worry. A Savior fears nothing."
Instead of running, Jiuxiao stepped forward.
"Jiuxiao—what are you doing?!"
Her voice trembled with shock as she saw the girl rush straight toward the hooded woman—
through the gas.
Teresa's breath hitched.
She's not immune… is she?
Her gaze flicked to the hooded woman.
What is she doing—?
The woman calmly lifted a syringe and stabbed it into her own neck.
The antidote?!
Jiuxiao vs. Raven
Foolish brat… running toward me instead of away?
Raven tossed the empty antidote aside and smirked.
She knew exactly why the girl charged—
Jiuxiao must've assumed she, too, would have weakened from the gas.
But Raven had prepared for exactly this.
She'd dosed herself with the antidote before stepping in.
Their weakness—
her strength.
"Naïve—"
BOOM—!!
Raven didn't even finish speaking before something slammed into her stomach like a missile.
Her breath vanished.
Her body hurled through the air, smashing through the mall wall and into the building outside.
"GHH—!!"
Her vision spun.
That power…?
No way.
No human could—
Her Death Weavers lunged to defend her—
THUD—THUD—THUD!
All of them were already dismantled, sparking, scattered across the ground like broken toys.
"She's got backup…
Has to be…"
Raven hissed, clutching her ribs.
No time to think.
No time to fight.
She vanished into the darkness.
Everyone was waiting for her back at the base—
she could not die here.
Aftermath
"Tch… she escaped."
Jiuxiao hopped through the shattered wall, scanning the distance.
Nothing.
The hooded woman was long gone.
Then—
Tap… tap… tap…
Footsteps echoed behind them.
Jiuxiao narrowed her eyes.
"Who's there?! Jiuxiao has already sensed you!"
A calm voice answered.
"Don't worry. I mean you no harm…
friends of Lady Teresa."
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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