"Ugh!!"
A fully armed soldier bent over like a boiled shrimp, weakly sliding to his knees before collapsing sideways.
After incapacitating this special operations team member, Sharon quickly retreated from the window position, pressing herself against the wall.
Beside Sharon, three other special ops team members lay in various states - collapsed on the floor, slumped against walls, or draped over windows. Though still breathing, they were clearly unconscious.
"A sniper..."
Avoiding the windows, Sharon recalled the figure she'd glimpsed in the building opposite through her peripheral vision.
"No sniper fire... meaning they don't intend to eliminate me from long range. Concerned about the Holy Veil?"
The corners of Sharon's mouth lifted slightly, forming a mocking smile.
"How ironic that they think I still possess the Holy Veil when it's already gone."
The complexity of this situation left her with indescribable feelings.
"Thanks to that man's selfishness, I've gained some advantage. How utterly joyless."
As she spoke, she glanced at the fallen soldier with a trace of pity.
Though she'd shown restraint, choosing not to kill didn't mean Sharon had a gentle disposition.
As a former church operative, she rarely took human lives - except when dealing with demons. Even knowing these special ops members were here to restrict her movement didn't change that.
"Really... even though this isn't my original world anymore, maintaining such purity will get me killed."
Sharon chuckled self-deprecatingly when suddenly her ears twitched. With gymnast-like agility, she executed an elaborate evasion manoeuvre away from the windows and dashed into the adjacent room.
The moment Sharon entered, a figure performed a tactical roll from the corner she'd just vacated, quickly assuming a crouched firing position with a pistol raised.
"Detected me? Impressive hearing... and I moved three times faster than standard special ops..."
Chisato Nishikigi muttered while checking the necks of the three unconscious operatives. Confirming their pulses, she exhaled in relief.
From the corner Chisato had just left, Takina Inoue leaned against the wall, submachine gun ready, and called out:
"Kurumi, target coordinates please."
Static crackled before Kurumi's lazy voice came through the earpiece:
"Right in front of Chisato - first room. From the sniper's angle, she should still be inside."
"Oho, that close... problematic. In close quarters, I'm no match for that demon-hunting church agent."
As Chisato mused aloud, her hand dipped into her skirt and emerged holding a grenade.
"Since I can't win up close... heave-ho~ Take this little present~"
With a practised flick of her wrist, the grenade traced a perfect arc toward the room's window.
At that instant - BANG.
A bullet shot from inside the room struck the grenade mid-air, triggering a small explosion that blossomed into flames...
At the same moment, Sharon charged out of the room, wielding a submachine gun, immediately opening fire on Chisato Nishikigi's position without hesitation.
In truth, upon hearing Chisato's superhuman footsteps, Sharon instantly realised her opponent was a special individual with enhanced physical capabilities. She understood that short-range evasive manoeuvres to dodge bullets would be ineffective against someone of her own kind.
After all, when it came to firearms, there was a world of difference between ordinary people and Demon Hunters.
Thus, Sharon - who could normally dodge bullets against regular opponents - chose to use firearms when facing a fellow enhanced individual.
The bullets came rushing in.
This sudden development made Chisato's pupils contract.
Rat-tat-tat!!
The rapid gunfire sounded almost belatedly.
Yet before the shots even rang out, Chisato had already begun moving - tilting her head, sidestepping with lightning speed - her agile movements resembling a dance as she dodged each bullet under Sharon's astonished gaze, simultaneously raising her own gun to return fire.
Bang!
A single pistol shot struck Sharon's arm with pinpoint accuracy, sending up a spray of crimson.
"What?"
The failure of her specially treated bulletproof top made Sharon's eyes narrow. The impact knocked the gun from her now-wounded hand.
Just then, Takina Inoue emerged from the corridor where she'd been hiding, immediately opening fire on Sharon with her own submachine gun.
Rat-tat-tat—!
The staccato burst of automatic fire filled the air, though this time Sharon found herself on the receiving end.
Gritting her teeth against the pain, Sharon rolled across the floor, taking another bullet to her right arm and one to her left leg before managing to scramble back into the room.
Before disappearing inside, Sharon caught sight of Takina - the one who'd just opened fire on her.
'You again?' The thought flashed through Sharon's mind.
The next instant, having rolled into the room, she hastily pulled white bandages from her waist and began wrapping her right arm.
Yet unlike before, the wound didn't immediately stop bleeding.
Remembering how her bulletproof nun's habit had also failed, Sharon's heart sank:
"An Abyss Artefact that seals abilities? Since when did SDS have something like this?"
Without access to her powers and with a body that was not nearly tough enough to withstand gunfire, she now faced two clearly expert markswomen.
'And that woman who dodged my bullets earlier... could she be SDS's ace, Chisato Nishikigi?'
'Her reaction speed is so fast I couldn't even aim properly...'
Sharon's neural reflexes far surpassed those of elite soldiers, allowing her to easily dodge their gunfire.
By the same token, Chisato dealt with her as effortlessly as she dealt with special forces - their reaction speeds existed on entirely different levels.
"An ability-sealing Abyss Artefact, and a gun-specialised ace operative. Heh, I've really gone and kicked SDS's hornet's nest this time!"
Faced with this situation, Sharon couldn't conceive of any possible escape.
Her body-enhancing ability had been neutralised. Her protective gear had failed. Her emergency medicines had deactivated. And she was up against a gun-wielding ace whose reflexes surpassed even her own.
Under these circumstances, even if the Demon Hunters' commander came in person, they'd still meet their end.
After all, as Demon Hunters, Sharon and her companions' strength stemmed from an all-encompassing combination of mystical abilities. Once those powers were sealed, all they had left were bodies honed through rigorous training.
Though still capable of overwhelming armed special forces, they were clearly powerless against elite marksmen who specialised in firearms.
"A dead end!"
As Sharon murmured with a complicated expression, the woman hiding in the room suddenly felt uneasy and quickly adjusted her position.
At that moment, excruciating pain shot through her left hand again. Several seconds later, she finally heard the distinctive bang of a gunshot.
'They've started sniping?!'
...
Meanwhile, ten seconds earlier in the corridor...
Takina Inoue, who had just wounded Sharon, approached Chisato Nishikigi and calmly asked:
"Should we attempt surrender negotiations?"
"As members of a covert organisation, they likely possess valuable intelligence. Under these circumstances, the probability of capturing them alive is high."
"That may be so, but it depends on Big Sister's decision..."
Before Chisato could finish speaking, a gunshot rang out.
"That gunshot... Sniper fire?"
Chisato's eyes widened as she turned to exchange glances with Takina beside her.
"This is bad..."
"That gunshot?"
Down in the apartment lobby's entrance, Kirika Tachibana, gripping the Kusanagi Sword, paled upon hearing the distinctive report of a sniper rifle. Pressing her hand to her earpiece, she roared:
"Who ordered the sniper to fire?!!"
Static crackled through the earpiece.
Then a cold female voice responded:
"The order came from me, Ryōko Yakushiji."