New World, Free Trade City of Aquarius, In the Alleyways of Aquarius

1st Year of God, Friday, 2nd Week, Month of Abraham.

The squad of human Special Operatives from the Austronesia Empire were dashing through the narrow alleyway, with their boots slapping against the cobblestone as they weaved through the shifting shadows of towering buildings.

Price led the way with a grim look on his face, while Tavish and Woods followed close behind. Belinski carried the unconscious little girl in his arms, and the Elf, Polities, trailed slightly behind, with his steps unnaturally light and silent, while his eyes scanned every darkened corner.

They finally came to a halt beneath the shelter of an overhanging rooftop, their breaths heavy and labored. The alley was tight, cluttered with abandoned crates and debris.

“We can’t keep running like this forever,” Tavish panted, leaning against the stone wall with sweat dripping down his forehead.

“I know,” Woods grunted, rubbing his side where he’d taken a hit earlier. “But we can’t exactly stay put either. They’ll definitely be coming for our asses.”

“But at least we’ve got these come in handy,” Tavish said, glancing at the Spatial Ring on his finger, where some of the magical artifacts they’d stolen from the auction were stored.

Among them were the enchanted painting, the gauntlet, and potions capable of giving humans the ability to wield mana.

Price scanned the area with his narrowed eyes. “We need to figure out if we’re going to hide somewhere in this city. Don't forget what our leader said. We cannot be discovered nor get caught.”

Belinski, adjusting the girl in his arms, looked over at Polities. “What do you know about the guy running the auction? Jason Lance, was it?”

Polities crossed his arms and let out a breath. “Not much. Just whispers, really. Jason David Lance is a slippery criminal, slips through the cracks, and vanishes before anyone can catch him. Operates mostly in the Second Civilization Zone. That’s about all I’ve heard.”

“Great,” Woods muttered. “Just the kind of guy who’ll be looking for us.”

Their eyes turned to the girl in Belinski’s arms. Despite the chaos surrounding them, her small, pale face remained serene.

“How does this girl have mana?” Tavish asked with a frown. “Humans in this world don’t possess it. It shouldn’t be possible.”

“And her clothes…” Price murmured suspiciously. “They look too familiar, too much like something from our world. Something’s not adding up.”

Suddenly, a soft voice called out from further down the alley.

“Oh, thank the Gods! You have her!”

The group whirled around, with their hands instinctively moving toward their weapons. What they saw was a human woman stepping into the faint light filtering through the narrow passage, her face awash with joy and relief as her eyes locked onto the unconscious girl in Belinski's arms.

"Who the hell are you?" Tavish demanded, his fingers inching toward his gun.

"She’s my daughter," the woman replied with a warm, grateful smile. "Thank you. I’ve been searching everywhere for her."

Belinski held the girl a little closer as he hesitated. “Your daughter?”

The woman nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes, I’m part of a human resistance group. We've been hiding for as long as I can remember. There’s a hidden human community not far from here."

Tavish and Woods exchanged uncertain glances. However, the prospect of finding allies for the Austronesian Empire crossed both their minds.

Belinski, seemingly convinced, took a step forward, preparing to hand the girl over. But Price, who's hand was already hovering near his pistol, stopped him with a cold, steely gaze.

"Wait," Price said sharply, his voice hardening as he studied the woman. "Where exactly did you say you’re from?"

The woman blinked, her smile faltering ever so slightly. "From a city to the east. Like I said, we’re part of the human resistance."

The alley fell into a tense, heavy silence.

Then, without warning, Price drew his pistol and fired.

Bang!

The sharp crack of the gunshot rang out, and the bullet struck the woman square in the chest.

"What the hell, Price?!" Tavish yelled, stepping back in disbelief.

But the woman didn’t fall. Instead, she stumbled back while clutching her chest where faint magical flickers rippled across her body.

With a metallic ting, a crushed bullet can be seen falling harmlessly to the ground.

Woods' eyes widened in horror. “She’s… She’s still standing.”

Before anyone could move, the woman’s body shifted as the illusion dissolved into thin air. Her features twisted and changed rapidly until she no longer looked like the joyful mother. Instead, before them stood a tall, male elf with a shocked expression on his face, clearly not expecting his disguise to fail so abruptly.

"Well... I didn’t expect you to find out so quickly," he said in an amusement tone.

Price’s eyes narrowed as he kept his pistol trained on the now-exposed elf. “I could smell the bullshit from a mile away. First, there’s no chance a human could sneak into Aquarius without being noticed, unless their security is shit. Second, why would a human woman willingly approach a group of supposed elves and say they were part of a human resistance? Unless…”

The elf chuckled, feeling impressed. “I have to hand it to you. I admire your quick thinking, human.”

Polities stared at Price in disbelief. “Wait, you knew they were humans? I placed an illusion—”

“Your illusion’s useless on me,” the elf interrupted with disdain in his voice. “I can easily see through that disguise the moment I laid eyes on it. And using Mana Crystals to camouflage? Please, that’s the oldest trick in the book, even for human rebels.”

Polities blinked in shock, but before he could respond, the elf stepped forward, his amusement turning sinister.

“But you still don’t know everything, do you?” the elf taunted. “That little human girl you’re holding, she’s got an Anti-Magic collar, one with a tracking spell embedded in it. Unfortunately for me, her unique mana started interfering with the spell. I had to find her before the trail went cold. After all, our souls are at stake.”

With a dark, chilling laugh, the elf drew two finely crafted swords, twirling them in his hands with a deadly grace, and his eyes gleamed with sadistic intent.



“Enough talk. This is as far as you go.”

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed from behind the group. They spun around to see a few more elves closing in, with their enchanted weapons shimmering ominously in the dim alley. Their faces were hard, and their eyes filled with cold determination.

“End of the line, monkeighs,” one of the approaching elves muttered venomously, taking menacing steps toward them.

“Get them!” their leader barked.

With a psychotic grin, one of the elves shot forward, seemingly to be running impossibly fast as he was upon the group of humans within seconds.

“Shit!” Tavish cursed as he pulled out his Single-Action revolver and fired as fast as he could at the fast-speeding elf before him.

The elf’s mouth curled in a sneer, fully confident in his speed and his magically enhanced body as he sliced his sword through the air, aiming straight for Tavish who emptied his revolver at the elf.

But as the revolver roared, five massive .500 magnum rounds hammered into his body in quick succession. His eyes widened in disbelief, and his sneer turned into a shocked gasp as the surface of his clothes burst into sparks when the magic protection overloaded and the remaining mass and kinetic energy of the bullets dumped themselves against his flesh.

The elf was thrown backward as some invisible force hammered him across his chest and crashed to the ground with a sickening thud, with his arm shattered and his body wracked with pain.

And with that, chaos erupted in the alley.

Bang!

In an instant, a flash grenade was thrown and exploded in a blinding burst of light, stunning the charging elves. Disoriented and vulnerable, they stumbled as their magical enhancements were useless against the sudden assault.

"FIRE!"

The command was followed by the deafening roar of rifle fire.

The elves faltered under the barrage despite their enhanced strength, speed, and resilience. Protective spells shattered, bones cracked, and flesh tore as the bullets tore through them, sending them collapsing to the ground one by one.

With his heart racing, Tavish backpedaled and ejected the chamber of his spent cartridges from his revolver and slipped in a fresh five rounds using a quick loader. Snapping the chamber shut, he raised his weapon again and cursed under his breath, as he saw the alleyway was still swarming with elves, and how outnumbered they were.

Suddenly, the ear-splitting roar of a machine gun erupted, cutting through the chaos. Tracer rounds lit up the dark alley and tore into the remaining elves with brutal efficiency. The charging warriors fell like ragdolls under the barrage of heavy fire, as their magical enhancements were unable to withstand the sheer force.

The tall elf with dual swords stood frozen, his expression one of pure shock as he watched his forces crumble. These humans had just decimated a group of Level 3 warriors, beings who, despite being the weakest in his ranks, could have slaughtered crowds of ordinary humans with ease.

"What the hell?!" he shouted with fury and confusion mixing in his voice. Irritated, he turned to the figure beside him, a demihuman with cat-like ears twitching in the dim light.

“You, demihuman," the elf growled, "Take out the human carrying the magic girl. I’ll handle the elf. I sense he's strong.”

The demihuman, Judis, snorted. “No fair. Why do you always get the good one while I deal with these inferior Monkeighs, Den'nis?”

The elf named Den'nis scowled, feeling his patience thinning. “You're a Level 6 warrior, Judis. My opponent could kill you with a stick if I let you. Now stop whining and follow orders.”

Judis let out a sigh, but a wicked grin soon spread across his face, and his body began to radiate with a fierce blue aura as the raw power of a Level 6 warrior surging through him, and his eyes gleamed with bloodlust.

“Fine. Either way, this is going to be fun.”

And with that, he launched himself forward like a striking viper, moving at blinding speed toward Belinski, who still held the unconscious girl tightly in his arms.

Meanwhile, Polities spotted the cat demihuman, Judis, closing in on Belinski and was ready to take the demihuman down, when suddenly the tall elf with dual swords appeared before him, with his blades whirling with lethal intent.

“Focus on me, you little shit!” the elf snarled and brought his swords down in a powerful arc.

“Shit!” Polities cursed and formed a magic barrier just in time as the elf’s dual blades clashed against the barrier, causing it to crack under the force. “Belinski, watch out!”

Belinski heard Polities’ warning just in time. He spun around, rifle in hand and the unconscious girl still in his grip, only to see Judis charging toward him at terrifying speed.

“Stay down, you alien cat freak!” Belinski yelled as he squeezed off a few rounds from his rifle, and the bullets struck the demihuman’s outstretched arms but bounced harmlessly off his tough, magically enhanced skin.

Belinski’s eyes widened as Judis suddenly vanished, disappearing from sight in an instant. Before he could react, a sharp pain flared across his back. He gritted his teeth, throwing himself backward while clutching the girl tightly to his chest. He hit the ground with a grunt, just as Judis reappeared above him, with his razor-sharp claws slashing downward and aimed to cleave him in two.

“DIE!” Judis roared as his claws cut through the air with enough force to split a boulder into pieces.

"Fuck!" Belinski rolled away, dodging the deadly swipe with the unconscious girl still in his arms. Once he was clear, he quickly shoved the girl away from him, making her slide across the floor toward Price, ensuring her safety before rolling back to his feet.

"Come on, asshole!" Belinski spat as he raised his fists in a fighting stance. "Fight me like a man without magic!"

Judis sneered as he stood tall and proud. “Magic? I’m not even using magic, you fool!”

“Really?” Belinski blinked, momentarily confused. But he quickly shook it off and adopted a serious expression. "Doesn’t matter. Come at me, bro!"

Judis’s eyes narrowed and his grin widened to reveal his sharp, canine teeth. “I am going to enjoy mauling you to death, human. You’ll beg for it soon.”

The demihuman strolled forward confidently, not bothering to raise any defenses, as he let out an arrogant look.

“I shall show you the difference in our strength. And when you’re choking on your own blood, I’ll make sure your friends watch—”

“Fuck this shit and fuck your stupid monologue!” Belinski shouted, cutting him off. In one swift motion, he straightened up and quick-draw his revolver from its holster.

Without a second’s hesitation, he fired.

A series of .500 magnum rounds dug into Judis' clothes and pierced his skin with a sharp sting, causing him to stagger back a couple of steps, but even with some of the strongest rounds tearing into him, the demihuman appeared largely unfazed.

"Really?" Judis muttered as his blue aura flared around him like a blazing inferno. The energy swelled, wrapping him in a nearly impenetrable shroud.

"No one dares to interrupt me!"

"Oh boy..." Belinski mumbled, unloading another couple of rounds from his revolver, and the bullets pushed Judis back slightly, but even so, they were doing little more than annoying him.

The demihuman was bracing for what could only be a brutal bloodbath.

Belinski glanced at the Spatial Ring on his finger, and an idea formed in his mind.

“You know what, I’m going to try something else.”

BOOM!

Before he could act, Judis charged forward with terrifying speed, the ground beneath him cracking as he launched himself at Belinski with a roar of a tiger. His claws glinted in the dim light as he swung them down with murderous intent.

“RAHHHHH!!!”

Clang!

BOOM!

A metallic clang reverberated through the alleyway, followed by a shockwave that blasted the dust and debris away from them. Judis paused, his eyes wide with disbelief as he realized his claws had struck something solid.

Belinski had blocked his strike.

Not with his bare hands, though, Judis took a closer look and saw a pair of gleaming, metallic gauntlets on Belinski’s hands. His jaw tightened in recognition.

“Is that the Járngreip?” Judis whispered in a surprise tone. He knew of the magical artifact the human was now wielding.

The gauntlets enhanced the physical strength, speed, and resilience of their wearer, even if they had no mana to draw upon.

“This might be interesting,” Judis admitted in a low and dangerous voice. But his excitement did nothing to change his bloodlust.

With renewed fury, he launched himself at Belinski again and unleashed a flurry of rapid, deadly strikes.

Belinski gritted his teeth and braced himself. Each of Judis' attacks was met with the strength-enhanced gauntlets, and the sound of metal clashing with claws echoed in the tight alleyway.

He could feel the raw power coursing through his body, amplified by the artifact.

"You're not the only one who can throw a punch, freak," Belinski shouted as he ducked under one of Judis’ wild swings and landed a punch to his side that sent the demihuman skidding back several feet.

Judis wiped a trail of blood from the corner of his mouth, and a maddened grin spread across his face.

"Oh, this is going to be fun!"

————————————————————————

“KILL THEM ALL!”

One elf roared and he charged down the alleyway with a handful of others at his side. They were brimming with confidence, with their bodies reinforced by magic that made them nearly impervious to conventional attacks. Their boosted strength and unbreakable will seemed invincible, requiring either mightier magic or seriously heavy firepower to stand a chance.

But Woods and Price had exactly that. Without hesitation, they unleashed a torrent of .338 and .50 caliber rounds from their machine guns, and the sound of gunfire tearing through the narrow alley. The elves’ magical barriers flickered under the relentless barrage, and some were violently thrown back, as their magically enhanced bodies buckled under the weight of the heavy rounds.

Meanwhile, Polities drew a steel sword from his [Dimensional Storage], while his eyes locked on the tall elf, Den’nis, and charged toward him with a burst of speed,

Den’nis, moving just as swiftly, met Polities head-on, bringing one of his swords down in a powerful, lightning-fast swing. Polities countered with an upward slash, and their blades collided in a shower of sparks, while their faces inches apart and glared into each other's eyes.

"Just drop dead already," Den’nis taunted as a smirk curled his lips.

“Not a chance,” Polities shot back and pushed the tall elf away with a surge of strength.

Den’nis wasted no time and followed up with a swift swing from his second blade, but Polities parried it with expert precision. Undeterred, Den’nis thrust his first sword toward Polities’ face, but Polities narrowly dodged by jerking his head to the side.

“Impressive reflexes,” Den’nis remarked, eyes narrowing as both fighters took a few steps back, sizing each other up.

Polities summoned a dagger from his pocket dimension, now dual-wielding as he charged at Den’nis once more. He aimed a fierce downward slash with his sword, but Den’nis anticipated the move, dodging to the right with a fluid sidestep.

Sensing an opening, Den’nis attempted to drive his second sword into Polities’ exposed back, but Polities reacted instantly and brought his own sword up to block the attack.

“You’re wide open!” Polities exclaimed.

With a quick shift in momentum, Polities followed up with an upward slash, and his blade grazed Den’nis’ chest plate, leaving a thin gash. Den’nis stumbled back as his hand instinctively moved to the mark on his armor, and his eyes flared with rage as he stared at Polities.

“Damn you, Third Civilization barbarian!” Den’nis spat with venom in his voice.

Polities smirked as he twirled his sword in his hand. “Barbarian or not, you're the one bleeding.”

Meanwhile, Belinski skillfully dodged Judis' wild claw swings, moving with inhuman speed that left the demihuman increasingly frustrated and surprised.

"Stand still, you bloody human!" Judis roared, his anger rising with every missed attack.

Belinski, eyes sharp, spotted an opening. In a fluid motion, he delivered a powerful uppercut to Judis’ face.

With his military training kicking him, he grabbed the demihuman and executed a swift judo slam that sent Judis crashing into the ground followed by delivering a brutal kick to his face before he could recover.

"Now what are you going to do, huh?" Belinski asked mockingly.

Judis’ eyes blazed with fury. "I'm going to stain my claws with your inferior blood, Monkeigh! That's what I'm going to do!"

"Try it, Alien Mutant scum!" Belinski shouted back with his own racist side showing.

Judis lunged again, claws ready to tear. But Belinski sidestepped effortlessly and retaliated with a lightning-fast left jab to Judis’ face, followed by two sharp punches to the gut and a vicious right hook to the face. He finished the combo with a crushing left uppercut and a forceful kick, sending Judis staggering back.

"Is that all you’ve got, human?" The demihuman sneered, trying to recover. "I remember Járngrepier’s power is limited each day. What will you do when it fades? All you have left is that useless flintlock."

Belinski smirked. "Just one."

"Huh?"

"Price! Everyone! I'm using it!" Belinski cried out to everyone.

Immediately, the humans and Polities instantly braced themselves, as if they knew something catastrophic was coming.

Before the elves could make sense of the situation, Belinski tapped his Spatial Ring twice, and a massive object materialized in his hands.

"What… what is that?" one elf asked in awe.

What Belinski had summoned was a weapon designed to be set on aircraft, a monstrosity capable of shredding through armored ranks.

The GAU-10 "Dragon's Breath."



"It’s a good time to run," Belinski said with a cold smile, his finger already resting on the trigger.

Tap!

The moment he squeezed the trigger, the three-barrel Gatling gun spun rapidly and whirled to life, spitting out hundreds of .50 BMG rounds with a deafening roar.

Eyes wide with panic, Judis leaped into the air and narrowly avoided the oncoming storm of bullets, as his instincts had screamed danger just before Belinski fired, giving him a precious second to react.

BRRRRRRRRT!!

More elves from Lance’s gang had lately arrived and rushed down the narrow alleyway in a rush, only to collide headlong into a wall of machine gun fire. Sparks flew as the rounds ricocheted off the armor-like magical shields on their bodies, lighting up the dark alley. But even the magic barriers couldn't hold forever.

The elves slowed, and their advance faltered under the sheer force of the bullets slamming into their bodies. One by one, their protective barriers cracked and splintered under the hail of gunfire. Panic flashed in their eyes as they realized the magic that shielded them was failing.

In the confined space of the alley, there was nowhere to run, nowhere to take cover. It was a deathtrap.

"HAHAHAHAHA!! CRY SOME MORE!!!" Belinski cried out with sadistic glee. He wielded the Gatling gun as if it weighed nothing, as the gauntlet on his arm granted him superhuman strength.

Finally, the magic protection shattered into sparks, leaving the elves exposed, and the .50 BMG rounds no longer faced any arcane resistance as they punched through flesh and bone. The front ranks of elves convulsed grotesquely as their bodies were ripped apart, limbs flying and blood spraying the walls.

It was carnage. The elves' morale collapsed as quickly as their defenses, and their bodies tore apart like paper.

Realizing his forces were being decimated far faster than expected, Den'nis abandoned his fight with the Polities and appeared in front of the remaining members of his crew. With a swift motion, he conjured a magic barrier, straining to block the barrage of bullets. But even that shield trembled and was already showing signs of cracking under the relentless assault.

"How… how can a mere human wield such devastation?" Den'nis gasped in disbelief.

Belinski kept the trigger pressed, unleashing a relentless barrage against the barrier conjured by the elf. But soon, the Gatling gun's barrels began to overheat, glowing red before the weapon sputtered and jammed.

"Ah, shit."

Taking advantage of this, Judis sprinted forward, his movements a blur and drop-kicked Belinski square in the chest, knocking him off balance and causing him to lose his grip on the minigun. Before Belinski could react, Judis grabbed the massive weapon and, with a grunt of effort, ripped the steel in half like it was nothing.

"You little shit!" Belinski growled, his rage flaring as he lunged and aimed a hard punch at the male cat.

But Judis dodged effortlessly then countered with a downward slash of his claws, but Belinski sidestepped and narrowly evaded the strike, only for Judis to follow up with an upward slash. Belinski stepped back just in time with sharp reflexes, but when he tried to land a right hook, Judis ducked and retaliated with a brutal uppercut, stunning Belinski.

"For a human, you’ve got guts, I'll give you that," Judis commented with gleaming eyes.

"Hm… Thanks," Belinski muttered, rubbing his jaw.

Without warning, Belinski threw another punch, but Judis blocked it with his right hand. The demihuman then spun and delivered a flip kick that caught Belinski square in the face. Judis wasted no time and moved in with a swift forward punch.

"Ugh!" Belinski winced as he felt a sharp sting in his face. He shook his head, trying to recover, but when he looked ahead at Judis, he notice he was nowhere to be seen.

When he looked up, he saw the cat demihuman airborne, with his claws glowing with crackling magical energy as he prepared to unleash his next devastating attack.

"This is why I hate these damn things," Belinski muttered. "We humans don’t have any shit to match this."

Meanwhile, in another part of the battlefield, Polities was skillfully parrying a series of thrusts and slashes from Den’nis swords with his own weapons. Swords clanged violently as the two warriors exchanged a flurry of strikes, each struggling to gain the upper hand while looking for an opening.

At that very instant, Polities found a moment and delivered a powerful kick to Den’nis' chest, following up with a downward slash, but the tall elf expertly blocked the attack with his second blade, and with quick reflex, stabbed Polities in the shoulder with his sword.

"Shit!" Polities hissed as pain shot through his arm.

Gritting his teeth, Polities retaliated by stabbing the tall elf in the leg with a quick thrust of his dagger, exploiting a weak point in the elf's armor.

"Ahhhh!" Den’nis cried out as he staggered backward in pain.

Polities retreated a few steps as Den'nis yanked the dagger from his leg, and the blade vanished with a flash of magic. Undeterred, Polities charged again and launched a series of lightning-fast slashes as his blade moved too quickly to track. Yet, the tall elf skillfully blocked each strike.

Den'nis countered with a spin kick aimed at Polities' head, but Polities ducked under the blow and retaliated with a vertical slash. Den'nis met the attack with a horizontal strike of his own, and their swords clashed in a shower of sparks.

"Why don’t you just give back what you took, and we’ll call it even?" Den'nis taunted in a mocking tone.

"I can smell the dragon’s dung in your words," Polities replied with a cold smile, his eyes narrowing as he prepared for the next exchange.

Tavish and Woods, meanwhile, were continuing firing at the charging elves, while taking cover behind a crate to avoid the incoming magical attacks. Price was with them, cradling the unconscious little girl in his arms with a tense look in his face.

"You know everyone within miles must've heard those shots," Tavish remarked as his eyes scanned the battlefield.

Price nodded with concern in his face. "Which means more of them probably heard it too. If they show up, we’ll be in even deeper trouble."

Meanwhile, Woods, who is crouching beside them, made a quick decision and reached into his Spatial Ring before pulling out a grenade launcher.

"Grenade!"

In an instant, grenades flew through the air, landing amidst the elves and detonating with a series of thunderous blasts. The explosions lit up the night, bathing the area in brief flashes of light and sound. Dozens of elves were killed or wounded as the shockwaves tore through their ranks.

Woods then aimed at the cat demihuman and launched a grenade that exploded with violent force. But Judis reacted with incredible agility, leaping high into the air like a cat and avoiding the blast just in time.

Seeing his chance, Belinski sprang into action by leaping onto a nearby crate and launched himself into the air, colliding with Judis mid-flight.

Bam!

With a bone-breaking crack, his knee smashed into Judis' face, and before the demihuman could recover, Belinski grabbed the back of his head and threw him back to the ground as he crashed down violently, while Belinski landed safely on his feet with a superhero landing.

"Well, I’ll be damned! So this is what being a superhero feels like," Belinski muttered, momentarily awestruck by his own strength.

Suddenly, one of the elves spotted Belinski out in the open and cast a lightning shock spell, which hit Belinski squarely and stunned him in place.

"What the—?!" Belinski gasped, feeling his body paralyzed by the electrical surge.

Judis, seeing the opportunity, got to his feet, and a wicked grin spread across his face as he cracked his knuckles.

"Oh, I'm gonna enjoy this," he growled.

With a swift flurry of punches and slashes, Judis unleashed a brutal assault on the immobilized Belinski. His claws began to crackle with electricity, and with a gleeful snarl, Judis stabbed them into Belinski's stomach and electrocuted him as the claws dug deeper into his flesh.

Crackle! Tsssss!

"Ahhhh!" Belinski screamed in agony, feeling his body convulsing as the electricity coursed through him.

"Don't worry, human," Judis sneered, "Cats have nine lives. I’ll let you borrow one of mine. Losing one won’t be a problem!"

Judis laughed maniacally, continuing to shock Belinski, who struggled to break free from the pain.

"Hey!" a voice suddenly shouted.

Bam!

Judis turned just in time to catch a shovel to the face from Tavish, and the impact sent the demihuman stumbling back, knocked out.

"You okay, comrade?" Tavish asked as he helped Belinski to his feet. Belinski nodded, feeling his body still buzzing from the electric shock.

"God, that amount of volts should've killed me," Belinski muttered, staring at the Gauntlet on his arm, the very thing that had saved his life more times than he could count.

"Doesn’t matter now. We need to move," Tavish said, scanning the area. His eyes widened as he spotted an elf sprinting toward Woods with alarming speed.

Without hesitation, Tavish raised his revolver and squeezed the trigger. The shot rang out, hitting the elf square in the left leg, disrupting his momentum as he crashed into a nearby wall with a loud thud.

"Nice shot, man!" Belinski shouted with a grin.

Meanwhile, Judis, having recovered, stood up and rubbed his head before glaring at the two humans. His eyes flashed with rage as he prepared to strike them from behind with his claws raised for a fatal attack. But Belinski reacted in time, spinning around to grab Judis by the arms and delivering a brutal headbutt that staggered the demihuman.

As he dealt with the cat, Belinski caught sight of the tall elf with dual swords preparing to deliver a killing blow to Polities. Thinking fast, he grabbed Judis and, with a powerful throw, hurled him toward the elf, and the two collided mid-air, crashing into the ground in a heap.

"Everyone, we need to move, NOW!" Price shouted to his squad. He pulled the pin on a grenade and tossed it into the open, a thick cloud of smoke erupting from the device and rapidly engulfing the area.

Woods, ignoring his own injuries, hoisted the wounded Polities over his shoulder. With no time to spare, the squad made a quick escape and disappeared into the cover of the smoke.

As the dust finally settled and the elves regained their vision, they found nothing but an empty battlefield. Den’nis’ right eye twitched in anger as he surveyed the scene. He turned to Judis with a furious expression

"WHY CAN'T YOU KILL A BUNCH OF HUMANS, YOU STUPID CAT?!"

"WELL EXCUSE ME? IT'S NOT LIKE THEY DIDN'T HAVE OUR SHIT AND USE IT AGAINST US! IF YOU HADN’T BEEN SO OVERCONFIDENT, WE COULD’VE GRABBED THAT DAMN GIRL AND BEEN PAID BY NOW! YOUR DAMN PLAN ISN'T WORKING!!!"

The two hurled insults at each other and exchanged more heated words, their frustrations boiling over as they realized their failure to secure their target.. Now, the humans had escaped, and the girl, along with their reward, was slipping further from their grasp.

————————————————————————

The group of humans staggered into the empty alleyway, gasping for breath after narrowly escaping the brutal battle.

Woods, still cradling the unconscious little girl in his arms, leaned against the wall, with sweat pouring down his face.

Price scanned the deserted street with tension in his eyes. "We can't stay here long. They'll track us soon enough."

Tavish wiped the blood from his cheek and grimaced. "Aye, but where do we go? Every path’s a bloody deathtrap. We can't run far without them hemming us in before we’ve even caught our breath."

Belinski nodded grimly, "Riley's waiting for us at the mansion, but it’s too far. No way we’ll never make it, not with those superhuman freaks on our tail."

Price rubbed his temples, thinking fast. "We don’t have a choice. We’ve got to reach Riley. He’s the only one with a plan to get us out of this damned city. We have to try. We move fast, stick to the shadows—"

Woods interrupted sharply "Stick to the shadows? With this lot? We’ve got an unconscious girl, an injured elf, and we’re all beat to hell,” He glanced down the street nervously. “We’re as good as caught if we try that."

Polities, meanwhile, had been silent up until now, deep in thought as his eyes scanned their surroundings. He suddenly spoke up. "I have something in mind."

Price turned to him, with one eyebrow raised. "Something in mind? What do you mean?"

Polities stepped forward and raised a hand as if to quiet the group. "I stored something in my [Dimensional Storage] a while back. It could help us get to the mansion quickly."

Belinski squinted his eyes at him, skeptical. "Dimensional Storage? What did you stash? More arrows or some magic trinket?"

Polities didn’t answer immediately, instead stepping into the center of the street. He closed his eyes, muttering something under his breath, and then raised his hand toward the open space in front of them. A faint glow surrounded his hand, and moments later, the air shimmered and bent, distorting the space around it.

The others watched in tense silence as the distortion grew, taking shape into something large and solid, as its outline materialized from thin air.

Belinski’s eyes widened as the shimmering faded, revealing an old, battered military truck materialized with a low rumble, resting solidly on the cobbled street.

The humans stared in stunned silence.

Tavish was the first to break it. "What the bloody hell...?"

Woods blinked as his eyes widened. "You... you ‘stole’ a military truck?"

Polities gave a casual shrug, as if it was no big deal. "I may have borrowed it without permission. I liked the look of it."

Price gaped at the elf for a moment, then burst out laughing. "You’re something else, Polities." He clapped the elf on the back with a wide grin. "Alright, let’s move. This might just be crazy enough to work."

Belinski rubbed the back of his neck, glancing at the truck. "You elves and your magic tricks… Fine, let’s get out of here before they find us."

With that, the group hurried into the truck, Woods carefully settling the unconscious girl in the back while Price slid into the driver’s seat and revved the engine.

"Man, I really fucking hate this world," Tavish muttered as he glanced back at the elf and the little girl.

The truck roared to life, and without wasting another moment, they sped off into the night. But unbeknownst to them, someone was watching from above.

High on a rooftop, an elf with a devilish grin observed the truck as it disappeared down the street.

[30 Level 3 to Level 4 men, taken out by a small group of humans and one elf... and even a Level 6 and Level 9?] came a voice from a Communication Magic device held by the elf.

"Indeed, sir Lance," the observer replied. "Right now, they're heading east, down the main street."

The voice on the other end responded sharply. [Capture them. And make sure to retrieve my property, AND the girl.]

"Understood, boss."

The call ended abruptly.

"Yo, Alvin," a voice called from behind.

Alvin turned to see a young dark elf with a mohawk leaping gracefully down beside him.

"What is it, Bolt?" Alvin asked.

"I’ve got eyes on them. They’re not far. Already informed the boss and the others," Bolt said with an excitement voice.

Alvin nodded. "Good. Let's wait for them.”

“What did the boss say?" Bolt asked.

"They still have the goods," Alvin replied.

Bolt’s expression darkened. "Great. If we can't retrieve them, we're not gonna get paid.”

"Then stop whining," Alvin said as he rose to his feet. "Let’s go."

With that, the two elves set off into the shadows and silently moved toward their targets.