Two flame ravens manifested over Natalie and shot towards Edward.
The birds of fire lit the dark basement as the shot towards Edward.
Edward saw the ravens coming and realized they were lethal, but he was prepared with his fast speed due to the red bracelet—he lunged to his left at the last moment, avoiding the flame ravens narrowly.
The ravens crashed onto the concrete ground with small, violent blasts of fire that sent sparks dancing into the dark corners of the room.
Edward stood up; he realized that the gun in his hand would not work against this woman, so he set it on the table.
He looked around and picked up a butcher's knife and a cleaving knife in his hands.
Adjusting his grip over the blades, he contemplated his next move.
It was now obvious to him that this woman was likely proficient in both close-range combat as well as long-range, but Edward was confident in close quarters.
He possessed unnatural speed and strength due to the sealed artifacts in his possession.
Meanwhile, the black shackles that bound Natalie faded away, and she was freed.
'This is going to be troublesome,' she thought.
The target obviously had unique artifacts that boosted his combat capabilities, but she wasn't worried.
She rolled her shoulder while turning towards her target, bringing her flaming fists up into position as the heat from her hands made the air shimmer.
Both looked at each other, ready to burst into action.
But before they could take any action, The Magician joined the fray!
There was a small wildfire still flickering at the place where Natalie's flame ravens had crashed.
Suddenly, the small flame burst open and expanded in an instant to a tall height. A man in a formal suit and hat stepped out of the flames with a gun in his hand.
He pointed the gun, aimed at Edward, and pulled the trigger.
Edward noticed the man in the formal suit aiming at him.
'Bang!'
But it was too late; he couldn't do anything to avoid the bullet now.
He figured it was an ordinary gun, as it did look ordinary—so the bullet would hit him but wouldn't do him significant damage since his durability was enhanced due to the vambrace on his left hand.
Unfortunately for him, the gun was not ordinary.
His eyes widened as he saw that what came out of the gun was not a lead bullet, but a brilliant yellow ray of light that hit him right in the chest!
'Boom!'
He was thrown back onto the floor, the force of the kinetic energy rattling his bones.
There was a small boom at his chest that likely took a chunk of his flesh, but he couldn't see it due to the blinding brightness.
There was no pain yet—only a cold, numbing shock.
Then, his upper body erupted in flames, threatening to burn him down. That's when the agony finally hit him, a searing white heat that filled his entire world.
The dark basement lit up with a hellish glow due to the flames.
Jace looked at the burning body of the target and walked near him. Natalie did the same.
When they were near him, they saw a gruesome image of fire burning flesh, the smell of cooked meat and acrid smoke filling their lungs, and the low, guttural groans of the man.
But they also noticed something else, and as soon as they did, they immediately jumped back.
The burning man let out a small scream and got to his feet, his face and body still burning.
It was a hideous sight, the skin blackening and peeling even as it seemed to knit itself back together.
'The shot should have killed him!' Jace thought.
But that was not all; the shot hadn't damaged him as much as he believed it would. Not only that—he was healing!
'Just what kind of sealed artifact does he have?' Jace once again raised his gun, his finger tightening on the trigger.
The pain... it was unimaginable. Edward repeatedly used "Pacify" on himself to resist the pain as he stood up.
There was one more enemy! He had been shot with a sealed artifact that looked like an ordinary gun.
The damage done to his body was extremely fatal; if he hadn't had the durability given by the vambrace, he would have died instantly.
If he hadn't worn the red bracelet, he would have succumbed to the flames and died.
But the red bracelet was regenerating him, stitching his skin and chest back together, so he was still alive.
He believed he still had a chance, as long as he played it right.
In the corner of his eye, he saw the man wearing the formal suit once again taking aim at him.
He raised his right hand towards him and used the ability of the red bracelet.
Shackles formed within the shadows and bound the man with the gun.
Taking this opportunity, he turned to the woman who was closer to him and shot towards her with exceptional speed, his feet barely touching floor.
When he reached her, he used his ability—"Frenzy."
Natalie watched as the burning man shot towards her! When he reached her, her eyes widened.
As a Sequence 7 Hunter, Natalie had a strong danger premonition, and this was the first time that it had triggered with such terrifying intensity.
Before she could do anything, something inside her mind changed. Her thoughts, emotions, and mind everything went blank for a moment, and then it all burst into extreme pain and emotional intensity! It was as if her very soul was being shredded from the inside out.
Jace's Clown premonition flared; he knew he was going to be bound, so he prepared to use Paper Figurine Substitution.
Chains erupted from the shadows and bound Jace in place, but his figure turned into smoke, revealing that what the shackles bound was not Jace, but a small paper figurine.
After seeing the target rush towards Natalie, Jace had a bad feeling.
After using the paper substitution, he instantly flame-jumped beside Natalie.
Since her hands were already burning with flames, he had no trouble using them as his coordinate.
After appearing beside her, Jace pointed the gun in his hand straight at the burning man's head—who was now dangerously close to Natalie—and pulled the trigger.
'Bang! Boom!'
The bright orange ray hit the man right in the head.
The skull burst open, and his body was thrown back on the floor.
Jace figured this would be enough to kill the man once and for all, but his bad feeling was still there.
He turned his head and looked at Natalie beside him. Her eyes were wide, bloodshot, and devoid of reason
.
His Clown premonition flared again. Jace jumped back in an instant, his heart hammering against his ribs.
"AghhhaaAAA!!" Natalie's whole body burst into uncontrollable flames as she screamed, clutching her head with both hands.
The basement walls groaned under the sudden spike in temperature.
Looking at her, Jace sighed. "Oh boy..."