Chapter 23: Tricks.
Bang, bang, bang.
After a brief moment of shock, the skinny bodyguard, whose suit hung loosely on his frame, conjured two magical handguns from his sleeves and fired from his waist.
Sparks burst from the muzzles, and the bullets struck Suna’s body in an instant.
Suna collapsed backward, blood oozing from her head.
The unexpected outcome surprised the skinny bodyguard.
“Huh? That’s it…?”
In their perception, Suna’s presence was faint, her true strength impossible to gauge.
She should’ve been a formidable foe, yet she fell to the ground so easily.
Wary of this odd result, both the fat and skinny bodyguards hesitated to approach her.
“Is she dead?”
As the skinny bodyguard questioned his partner, a communication spell transmitted through an earpiece stone.
[What’s going on out there?]
“Boss, just an unidentified intruder. We’re handling it.”
[Make it quick. Don’t mess up my travel plans.]
“Understood, boss.”
As the skinny bodyguard conversed with the figure behind the gilded, carved door, the fat bodyguard, whose oversized suit strained against his bulk, stomped his foot, activating telekinetic magic.
Suna’s body floated upward, blood mixed with faint golden hues dripping from bullet wounds in her forehead, throat, and chest.
“She’s definitely dead. Her life force has stopped.”
As the fat bodyguard spoke confidently, the skinny bodyguard, receiving similar feedback from his perception magic, muttered in confusion.
“So she sneaked all the way here with such weak skills? Is she out of her mind?”
Cautious to a fault, the two bodyguards finally approached Suna’s “corpse.”
But as they closed within two meters, a crisp beep echoed through the quiet corridor.
The previously closed elevator doors slid open, revealing an empty compartment with no one inside.
“What kind of trick is this?”
The moment their attention shifted, Suna—confirmed dead—suddenly raised her arm, firing sharp, pale bone blades in all directions, most aimed at the fat bodyguard’s torso.
But the blades, after slicing through his suit, barely penetrated before stopping.
The fat bodyguard, hardening his skin and erecting a telekinetic barrier, turned his body into a defensive wall, even shielding his partner from the attack.
The skinny bodyguard unloaded his magazine at the wall, the ricocheting bullets avoiding both him and his partner while striking Suna’s body again.
Watching blood splatter from Suna’s form, the fat bodyguard, still in a defensive stance, murmured smugly.
“Foolish. How could such an attack break my defense—cough, cough, aaargh!”
Before he could finish, golden flames erupted from his mouth.
“Jok!”
The skinny bodyguard shouted as Jok, the fat bodyguard, forcibly expelled the magically infused air from his lungs with telekinesis, pushing his partner away.
The next moment, roaring golden flames engulfed Jok’s body like an explosion, igniting combustibles in the corridor.
Staring at the fiery inferno, the skinny bodyguard’s eyes widened.
“Was it the blood?”
His mind flashed to the slightly off-colored blood that had flowed from Suna’s body during the attack.
But another question gnawed at him: this magic clearly belonged to the Corona Magic used by the Golden Branch Temple.
[Is the attacker from the Golden Branch Temple? But why would they bother with us…]
As these thoughts swirled in his mind, Jok’s roar shook the golden flames filling the corridor.
“Haha, you think that little trick can kill me? River, let’s find that rat hiding in the shadows and torture them to death!”
Seeing Jok’s figure rise amidst the flames, the skinny bodyguard, River, sighed in relief and was about to respond.
But the next moment, Jok’s heavy body crashed to the ground.
At the same time, his familiar voice lingered in the air.
“Oh, sorry, I tripped. Can you help me up? Hahaha~”
As Jok’s steady voice morphed into a crisp, girlish tone, River’s eyes widened, staring in disbelief at the veiled girl standing atop Jok’s body in the flames.
“How is this possible? How are you still alive?”
As River muttered, he activated an open communication spell, broadcasting an alert and summoning all security forces.
He also dutifully warned his boss.
River prepared to hold his ground, sacrificing his life to buy time, instinctively sensing that this opponent was beyond his ability to defeat.
Glancing at Suna’s “corpse” burning in the flames, he confirmed the veiled girl stepping slowly from the golden blaze, unscathed by the fire swirling around her.
Narrowing his eyes and steadying his mind, River repeated his earlier question, adding another.
“Who the hell are you? Why are you against us?”
“Hm? For your first question, I’m a saintess. A genuine Golden Branch saintess.”
As Suna spoke, she removed her cloak, revealing her priestly robes.
“As for your second question, I’m really pissed off about your shady dealings, so I’m here to kill you. Simple as that.”
While answering River’s second question, Suna drew a weapon slightly at odds with a temple saintess—a magical gun resembling a mix of a water pistol and a shotgun.