Chapter 1394: Intermission 3: Ayuru’s Awakening (4)

Sandra came at me immediately. Her blade was already in position, angled perfectly as she aimed to snap it around my neck in one clean motion. At the same time, Isabelle didn’t hold back either, pulling the trigger and firing straight at me. Behind me, Juliette charged forward like a freight train, shield raised, her footsteps heavy and crushing against the ground like she intended to run me over completely.

Everything happened at once, layered over each other in a way that would overwhelm anyone who couldn’t keep up.

I reacted without thinking.

I pushed off the ground and jumped, clearing Juliette just as she drove forward like a spear. The force behind her charge was ridiculous. If I had stayed there even half a second longer, I would have been flattened like roadkill. The air shifted from the sheer force of her passing, like a truck rushing by at full speed.

Before I could even fully land, something else came at me.

Krista.

Up until now, she had stayed back, barely noticeable, acting like nothing more than support. That alone should have been a warning. She had been hiding her presence the entire time, keeping herself out of my awareness. Then suddenly, she appeared right in front of me, mid-air, fangs exposed, claws stretched out, aiming straight for me.

The way she moved didn’t feel human at all. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

It felt wild. Instinctive. Like a predator that had been waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The sudden shift in atmosphere was almost jarring. For a brief moment, it felt less like a fight and more like something out of a horror scene.

I didn’t panic.

I barely moved.

Just enough to avoid her attack. A small shift of my body. At the same time, I reached out and grabbed her hair, stopping her momentum mid-air like I had just pressed pause on her entire attack. She froze for a split second, and that was all I needed.

I redirected her.

With a quick motion, I threw her straight toward Juliette, who had already begun charging again. The timing couldn’t have been better. Juliette didn’t even have the chance to adjust. Instead of hitting me, she collided head-on with Krista.

The impact was solid.

Krista was sent flying several meters away, her body rolling across the ground before coming to a stop.

Juliette halted for just a fraction of a second after the collision, and I used that opening immediately. I grabbed her without hesitation and pulled her in front of me, positioning her shield between us just as Isabelle’s shots continued raining down.

The bullets struck the shield instead, the sound sharp and repetitive, like metal being hammered over and over again.

I threw Juliette off then.

Then came Bernadette.

She activated her Stealth skill, disappearing from sight completely. Anyone else might have lost track of her, but her presence didn’t vanish entirely. I could still feel it, faint but clear enough.

The moment she closed in, I moved.

Her blades were fast. Faster than most people could react to. Getting hit would have been the normal outcome in that situation. That’s what made her dangerous.

But I wasn’t normal.

Before her attack could even fully form, I had already shifted out of the way. My body moved on its own, almost effortlessly, like it already knew what to do before I consciously thought about it.

Dodging like this felt natural.

While I was dealing with Bernadette, Sandra and Zes were already moving again. They didn’t give me a second to breathe, not even a moment to reset.

It had only been a minute and a half since the fight started.

That alone said everything.

The pace was insane. Everything was happening so fast that even keeping track of it all felt like a challenge, yet somehow, I wasn’t struggling at all.

They were all coming at me with full intent. Every attack carried weight, like they genuinely meant to kill me.

I couldn’t help but think they probably assumed I wasn’t going all out either.

They were right.

I had planned to go all out eventually, but even then, I already knew how it would end if I used my Dragon Form. That wouldn’t be a fight. That would be one-sided.

I wanted to use Ayuru instead.

Except she wasn’t responding at all.

It felt ridiculous. Like she had decided to act stubborn at the worst possible time. Almost like a tsundere refusing to cooperate just because she felt like it.

Great timing.

Even so, the Shadows still couldn’t touch me.

It wasn’t that I was disappointed. Or maybe I was, just a little. Hard to put into words. They were strong. There was no denying that. Strong enough to wipe out a small country if they really wanted to.

That wasn’t an exaggeration.

And I was proud of them.

Still, something in me expected more.

That thought barely had time to settle before things shifted again.

Isabelle changed her approach.

She stopped firing.

Then she dashed forward.

For a brief second, I thought she was switching to melee. It seemed like an odd choice, but I didn’t question it too much.

Then...

A sudden, crushing force pressed down on my body. It felt like the weight of everything around me had increased all at once, like gravity itself had decided to focus entirely on me.

Juliette had activated her ability.

Even with that, I kept moving. My body felt heavier, my movements slightly slowed, but only by a small margin. It wasn’t enough to stop me.

At the same time, Sandra closed the distance.

She was fast.

Faster than I expected.

Zes was already there too, moving in sync with her.

The distance between us was still manageable. Nothing I couldn’t deal with.

Isabelle was still farther away. Based on her usual speed, she shouldn’t have been able to catch up in time.

So naturally, my focus shifted to Sandra and Zes.

Everything was happening in fractions of a second, and I processed it just as quickly.

Then came the moment.

"I got ya!"

A voice right next to me.

Hands grabbed onto me, locking me in place.

I turned my head, expecting to see Isabelle.

No.

It wasn’t her.

It was Sara.

The realization clicked instantly.

Sara had been disguised as Isabelle the entire time. Thinking back, it made perfect sense. Isabelle was known for her marksmanship, not close combat. And considering her marksmanship was... well, I guess a little sloppy at times, that alone should have been a clear sign.

She used that assumption against me.

I hadn’t paid enough attention to their individual presence. I relied on expectations, and she took advantage of that. She matched Isabelle’s movements just enough to avoid suspicion at first, then closed the gap at the perfect moment by using her own speed, which was significantly faster than Isabelle’s.

Now I was caught.

Locked in place by her grip.

Things moved fast from there.

Sandra was already in front of me, her blade swinging down with full force. I managed to slip away from her attack, barely creating enough space to avoid it.

Then came the next problem.

Zes.

She was already there, right in position.

Ready to land the final blow.