The synchronized voice of both him and the woman engraved inexplicable horror deep within Selina's heart.
It was like a movie, of someone being controlled like puppet of an unknown being.
Seeing Selina's expression. Deimsfel widened his smile and said. "You know... It's actually true that one can't do a simultaneous task."
He faced the vampire woman, whose visage is identical to the form of Gorgia after shedding her disguise.
"But I guess it was good idea to give one of them an item for traveling..."
Give? Why is he referring to his subordinates like tools? Selina's fear continued to grow.
Deimsfel took the garment from vampire's hand, then added. "I would love to keep them that way as fellow members... Though it's a shame it would deprive of them of their bodies by the time I use them."
...!
"However, they made a great performance earlier, right? They had you convinced." Deimsfel stored the the teared garment into his coat.
You mean that it results in them turning into those insects!? Selina felt an intense chill tread through her spine.
The man glanced at Selina. Intrigued by her expression, he remarked. "I guess you've figured it out?"
At that moment, the vampire's body began to wilt into strings that resembled insects that writhes for awhile before gradually turning into a pile of ordinary flesh.
"It's hard to see my fellows reducing one after another... But! All for the sake of 'The Great Mother' right? Afterall, they've willingly submitted to me."
So even your own members huh... Selina thought, slowly retracting her hands behind. She said monotonously. "You're talking too much just to earn my trust..."
"Since you're going out of your way..." While speaking, she began to move closer toward Deimsfel, hand still pressed behind her back.
After reaching a certain distance from him. Selina smiled and said. "Let me return the favor."
Her hand shot forward from her back, pointed the revolver at Deimsfel and immediately fired a bullet.
Bang!
Unlike what she had before, this bullet is made of no ordinary material. It was a demon-hunting bullet used by the officials she had encountered, effective for dealing with non-human creatures.
Due to the close fire, Deimsfel could only half turn his body from the coming bullet, successfully evading her attack.
Then, a swarm of illusory dark bats joined together to form two velvet wings behind him.
With a sonorous flap, Deimsfel raised the other and slammed toward Selina.
Her body was thrown to the side, rolled onto the cobblestone floor until she reached a wall.
The weakened Selina suffered an internal bleeding which prompted her to cough blood.
"Still trying to get revenge?" Deimsfel mocked. Letting his wings disperse into swarms of bats to corner the surrounding buildings.
Selina didn't respond. Only pointing the revolver toward the gentleman, whose form is slowly approaching her.
"Your efforts are futile." Deimsfel sighed.
Bang!
Another bullet shot forth from her revolver. However, it deflected by the storming illusory bats.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In a desperate attempt, Selin fired a barrage of bullets toward him, hoping for at least one of them manage to land a hit.
However, the bats swarming around the area were much faster. Each of her bullets would instead hit a flying shadow, acting as Deimsfel's defense while proceeding toward her.
Seeing that Deimsfel is almost at within her close range. She forcibly stood from her place, held the revolver with two hands and fired three additional bullets.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Yet her attacks remained ineffective against the waves of illusory bats.
In one last attempt. Selina threw the revolver to the side, reached for the knife sheathed to her crudely-made gun holster and forced herself to stand.
"Giving up?" Deimsfel halted when he finally reached Selina at an arm's length.
"No." Selina raised the knife with both of her hands and pounced toward Deimsfel.
At this moment, she had already figured the conclusion of her fate. She's already driven into a corner, all she could do now was to at least dealt a damage toward the monster, responsible for the Milo disaster one last time.
"This is beginning to grow dull..." Deimsfel furrowed his brows. His face suddenly shifted.
His eyes grew redder, and as if his whole personality have changed, dark shadows began to coalesced into his nails, forming a black claw tinged with crimson.
Emotions surged within him, hatred and annoyance, it was enhanced to the extreme. Without a though, he abandoned the need to keep Selina alive as his claw shot forward.
The five dark shadow nails pierced Selina's abdomen.
Splash!
Blood gushed from her back, forming a river that dripped onto the cold stoned floor.
Selina's eyes froze. She slowly lowered her head to see the long dark claws skewed her insides.
Darkness consumed the sides of her vision, her sight losing its clarity.
With a last breath, she closed her eyes, and the knife fall from her delicate hands.
At that moment...
Selina died.
...
36 Zouteland Street, Blackthorn Security Company.
After seeing the enemies suddenly disintegrated into dusts without any proper reason. Klein and the rest was left shocked by the conclusion of the fight.
The foes committed suicide on their accord!
Dunn Smith furrowed his brows and turned toward Klein, whose face is also filled with puzzlement. "Are everyone safe?"
Hearing his captain's word, Klein snapped from his daze and replied. "Yes, they're in the underground. Frye, Seeka and Lorotta are here as well and they only received severe wound."
Dunn Smith breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."
He then shifted his gaze toward the poet, Leonard, and asked. "Did you managed to protect the strange lady?"
Leonard walked toward him and replied. "No. She vanished along with one of the vampires."
"Vanished?" Dunn echoed the word in puzzlement before facing Klein. "Can you divine where she is?"
"I would need a medium for that captain." Klein replied with honest.
Leonard then pointed at the area where he had left Selina. A blood damped the floor in a trail manner. "Do you think you can use that?"
Klein glanced at where he is pointing and said. "That can do."
As he began to inspect the blood on the floor. Multiple people in black suits and red gloves entered from across the ruined entrance.
Only now did the team realized that the deployment forces have arrived to assist.
The man with a golden brown, short hair, holding a sword walked up to Dunn Smith and asked. "What happened?"
Dunn shifted his attention to the man, briefed him of the events that had occurred, leading to their current state.
During their conversation, Klein had already divined Selina's location using dowsing. His cane, acting as the compass, turned toward Southwest, indicating that the two hadn't been gone too far off the city.
Realizing this, Klein turned to Dunn Smith and said. "Captain! The divination was a complete!"
Dunn nodded and faced the man, holding a short sword. "This means they're still in the city. Please assist us until we located the strange woman."
The man nodded and ordered his subordinates to board the airship.
Dunn then returned to Klein and said. "We'll still be needing your help."
After seeing Klein agree, he shifted his gaze to Leonard and Daly. "Miss Daly and Mr. Mitchell, please handle the matters in the company, tend Seeka and Frye from their wound as well.
"Thank you for your efforts."
Daly gave a look of displease before shrugging it by saying. "Leaving us with work again..."
Her body staggered for a bit, before Leonard quickly came to support her. "That's our captain, what else can it be?"
The corner of Klein's mouth twitched hearing this, but regardless, he turned to follow the people, wearing red gloves.
Dunn sighed and said. "I hope you have a good rest."
Just before he could turn around, he halted and added. "I forgot."
He returned back to his teammates and approached Seeka Tron, holding the Sunbathed Template. "We will still be needing the Sealed Artifact if anything occurs."
Seeka nodded and gave the Sealed Artifact to her captain.
They watched their captain turned back and headed toward the exit laid in ruins.
Hopefully, captain's memory loss won't act again or the airship won't be able to proceed. Klein watched with a playful concern.
However, at that moment, Dunn Smith halted in his tracks again, and exclaimed. "Ah! There's more..."
...
Deimsfel's eyes turned bloodshot. His emotions was enhanced to an extent, preventing him from forming any thoughts.
By the time he regained clarity, he saw Selina's lifeless body, forming a puddle of blood beneath him.
The lady's body was losing its luster, growing paler by the second.
However, Deimsfel doesn't seem to show any concerns for the body. Instead, he sighed heavily and muttered. "A shame I couldn't retrieve you alive. But your spirit seems enough to nurture the Child of God."
He pulled out a white handkerchief from his coat and added. "Rest well, my dear Selina."
At that moment. The world that had gone slightly dark began to collapse like an illusory globe.
The surrounding rippled in a scenery of tranquil water until it began to dissolve into darkness.
Then, he woke up.
Bang!
A gunshot rang across the secluded area. Surrounded by multiple dilapidated buildings.
The sudden resounding shot of a gun reached the sleeping tenants, prompting them to turn their lights. However, none of them seemed to dare to unlatch their windows.
Selina, standing behind Deimsfel, whose form suddenly drooped onto his knees and had lose consciousness. Now fired for execution, carrying the cries and pain of the previous Selina and the horrible fate, the residents of Milo had fallen into.
The bullet tore through the man's skin, directly hitting the heart.
Blood bloomed from his front. Forming a river of crimson cascading down to the floor.
This is for Selina! She screamed inwardly.
This is for the people of Milo!
This is for every sins you have committed!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Drops of water began to form from her eyes. Selina kept her anger, she had let the former's emotions that had been welling up within to consume her.
However, amidst the series of gunshots. Deimsfel's eyes still managed to open.
He lowered his head and saw the river of blood flowing from his body. His mind raced, puzzling how can Selina managed to pull him into a dream?
But seeing his curtains beginning to draw. His head subconsciously turned. From there, he saw Selina, holding a revolver pointed to his head.
Bang!
Deimsfel's consciousness fleeted.
His regeneration failed due to the excessive amount of bullets embedded within his heart. Accompanied by the damage in his head, death is certain.
The body, unlike the previous vampires who would disintegrate once killed. Remain intact.
That was the last demon-hunting bullet she had, the last desperate instrument in an attempt for vengeance.
Selina knew that no matter where she will go, if the same place and the body's previous owner still haunts her, she won't be able to move forward and return to her true home.
Realizing her state before, she couldn't help but gave a self-deprecating chuckle as she murmured softly under her breath. "Just like an apothecary... To be able to cure others, you have to cure yourself."
At that moment. Under the pallid glow of the crimson moon. Selina felt a significant portion of an illusory liquid being dissolved within her body.
...
The airship finally arrived in the area where Klein's cane had led them. It was located near 23 Corlan Street, Far-South of West Borough.
At the scene, they saw only the silver-haired lady, laid unconscious on the cold cobblestone floor with an empty revolver in hand and a lifeless body of another person beside her with a black coat, dark hair and a somewhat southernian origin.
The scene had no traces of an intense battle, only a bizarre situation where the man had let the woman empty the cartridge of her revolver in his heart and one to his head.
During this inspection. At a distance, seated at the very top of one of the low-rise, dilapidated building, was a small creature with a densely furred, plump body, two soft ears and a long tail. Silently watching the airship and officials entering the area.
It stayed there for awhile until it somewhat ensured that the officials have safely tended and retrieved the unconscious Selina. Before turning around and disappearing into the night.