Inside a small refrigerated truck parked in a car park in Mihana-cho's third district.
Kirika Tachibana sat in the passenger seat, a laptop before her displaying six surveillance feeds.
The screens showed street cameras from the surrounding area, a satellite's bird's-eye view, and the first-person perspectives of the special ops team that had already breached the apartment building.
"Team A15 continues the advance. Search each floor in groups of three and drive the target to the upper levels. Team B15 will secure all exits, including monitoring the sewers. Team C, report once you've reached your designated sniper positions."
After issuing these orders, Kirika turned to Mizuki Nakahara beside her, who was wearing headphones, and asked:
"How's the traffic control coming along?"
Mizuki promptly responded, "We've coordinated with the transport department. The surrounding roads are sealed off."
"Good." Kirika nodded, then rolled down the window and leaned out to address Chisato Nishikigi and Takina Inoue, who were stretching in the car park outside:
"Are you two ready?"
"OK~ OK~" Chisato flashed an OK sign, her smile radiant as she asked, "So, are we heading out now?"
Kirika rested her arm on the window frame, surveying the building encircled by green grids:
"Wait a little longer. Let the special ops team flush them out first."
Just as Kirika finished speaking, a composed male voice, followed by rapid gunfire, came through their earpieces.
"A7 has visual on target. A7 has visual on target. Third floor, second room on the right... Argh!"
"A7, report status. A7, report status." Mizuki pressed her earpiece, calling twice before shouting when there was no response, "Kurumi!"
"Roger that!"
A voice replied through the earpiece, and the surveillance feeds on Kirika's screen swiftly switched, soon displaying three live angles of the scene.
In the slowed footage, Sharon suddenly burst from the room, weaving left and right with feints that dodged the submachine gun fire from three operatives.
In that brief window, she closed the distance at blinding speed—one punch to an operative's abdomen sent him flying, then a mid-air spinning kick knocked out another, before a sweeping kick to the ground took down the third.
With all three down, Sharon swiftly left the scene, vanishing from the camera's range.
"Wow!" Chisato, who had somehow climbed onto the car door to peer through the window, let out an impressed gasp.
"Quite capable..."
Kirika watched the replay, her lips curling slightly:
"Her physical abilities far exceed normal human limits, and her combat skills are extensive. Concrete floors might as well be tofu under her feet—she completely overwhelmed the special ops team."
"But this Demon Hunter seems to specialise in close-quarters combat. Strange... With those traits, how could Natsuki fail to capture her? Her abilities should counter the target perfectly."
At this thought, Kirika narrowed her eyes suspiciously:
"Could Sharon have some special Abyss Artefact that's preventing Natsuki from acting directly?"
"Should we request intelligence support from the Metropolitan Police Department?" Mizuki Nakahara asked from beside her laptop, fingers poised over the keys.
Kirika Tachibana replied with a casual wave of her hand, "Go ahead. Right now, they'd be thrilled if we wrapped this up quickly."
At this, Mizuki immediately sent an internal query to Shirō Magi's superior via her computer. She soon received the intel and frowned as she relayed, "It's confirmed."
"Sharon has a Stigmata engraved on a part of her body, granting her the ability to counter demons. Simply put, when a demon-based ability is activated, if Sharon seizes the moment to trigger her Stigmata, she can forcibly restrain and temporarily strip away the demon's power."
"I see. So she's got the upper hand against Natsuki," Kirika mused, finally understanding why Sharon had managed to escape from Natsuki Minamiya.
As one of the few in the know, Kirika was well aware that Natsuki's power stemmed from a Demon Contract. Consequently, her abilities carried a heavy demon nature—precisely the kind Sharon's Stigmata could exploit for devastating effect if timed right.
For Sharon, Kirika realised, the most troublesome opponent—Natsuki—was ironically the easiest to handle.
"No wonder that Demon Warlock with a Demon Heart and multiple Demon Incantations got taken down by a woman like Sharon. So that's how it happened..."
Kirika let out a derisive chuckle, amused by the thought of Sharon—who had defeated a Demon Warlock—ending up outmanoeuvred by Luo Shu.
'Caught off guard, failed to counter with her Stigmata in time, and got reversed by Luo Shu? How embarrassing.'
"Now that we know her capabilities, this should be straightforward."
As she spoke, Kirika unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for the door handle.
"Woo-hoo~!"
The moment the door swung open, Chisato Nishikigi—who had been clinging to the truck's auxiliary step—leapt out ahead of Kirika.
"Stop hanging off the door like that. It's dangerous," Kirika scolded, shooting Chisato a glare before glancing at Takina Inoue, who stood obediently to the side.
"Honestly, why can't you be more like Takina and behave?"
"Ah..." Takina stiffened guiltily. Had Chisato not jumped first, she would've been the one clinging to the door.
"I just wanted to get a better grasp of the situation..." Chisato flexed her fingers, muttering under her breath.
By then, Kirika had already reached the truck's cargo hold. She pulled open the door, retrieved the Kusanagi Sword—crafted from what appeared to be a white spinal column—from the freezer, and called over her shoulder:
"Chisato, Takina, time to work!"
With that, Kirika hoisted the Kusanagi Sword onto her shoulder. Strange white sigils began creeping up her arm—proof that the blade had activated.
"Frontal assault. We take down Sharon within ten minutes!"
"Yes, Chief (Big Sister)~" x2.