Li Mu set Eden down and turned to the pink-haired assassin, Spade 4, who was now drenched in a cold sweat.
As the designated actors in his script, Li Mu had long since locked down their identities and locations.
Even though she was wearing a mask and lacked her iconic fox ears, Li Mu recognized her in a single glance.
The Seventh of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers of the Previous Era—Sakura of the “Setsuna.” However, just as Li Mu was about to have a nice chat with her, a piercing whistle tore through the air.
Li Mu tilted his head, his gaze shifting to the fleeing assassins.
By now, these well-trained individuals had used their various skills to cover a considerable distance and were only a step away from making a clean getaway.
And yet, Li Mu saw a cluster of bright sparks appear in the sky, growing rapidly larger with a deafening roar.
What came into view was a dense barrage of missiles.
The next moment, the missiles rained down from the sky, landing with pinpoint accuracy on the assassins who were just about to escape.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
A continuous series of explosions erupted with soaring flames.
Rising with them were the scattered remains of the assassins caught in the blasts.
“Tsk, they’re all dead now ♬~” Standing beside him, Eden had also witnessed the scene unfold.
She frowned at the carnage, but she didn’t seem particularly unsettled.
“Elysia, that must be the local government responding.
Those missiles are clearly standard-issue military hardware.” As if to confirm Eden’s words, the sound of ion thrusters heralded the approach of several autonomous mechs, each several meters tall and the size of a small building, rapidly closing the distance between them.
Upon seeing the Unified Government insignia on the mechs, Eden breathed a sigh of relief.
“It seems today’s farce is finally over.
Elysia, thank you for your help.” But Li Mu simply shook his head at Eden’s optimistic view.
“Over?
No, this is just the beginning ♬~” Seeing her confused expression, Li Mu explained: “These are military-grade mechs.
They are normally stationed at the Unified Government’s military bases.” “The nearest base is over fifty kilometers away from here.
And that’s not even counting the reactor start-up time, the military deployment authorization process, or the Far East’s own administrative sluggishness.” “So, my dear Eden,” Li Mu said, looking directly at her, “we’ve been out here for less than ten minutes.
How did they arrive so quickly?
Did they teleport?” Hearing Li Mu’s words, the relaxed expression on Eden’s face slowly grew solemn again.
“For them to arrive here so quickly, there is only one possibility.
These autonomous mechs were already nearby…
They knew from the beginning that I was going to be kidnapped by those robbers?” “But…
if that’s the case, why would they do this?” In response to Eden’s question, Li Mu stepped in front of her and used a finger to gently tilt her chin up.
“My dear Eden, you truly have no self-awareness about your own status, do you?
♬~” “As the wealthiest and most famous person in all of human civilization, isn’t a favor from you the greatest prize of all?” “Just think about it.
At your moment of peril, someone swoops in to save you, just like a hero saving a damsel in a storybook.
The debt of saving your life…
what a grand favor that would be, wouldn’t it?” Feeling the warm touch from ‘Elysia’s’ fingertip, Eden felt a jolt, as if a faint current of electricity had passed through her heart.
A tingly numbness spread, and a strange feeling began to brew within her.
Meeting ‘Elysia’s’ crimson-brown eyes, Eden said, “They staged the whole thing?” “Bingo~” “My sweet Eden, you’re so clever ♬~” Li Mu leaned closer to Eden, whispering softly in her ear.
“My sweet Eden, for these self-righteous people who see you as nothing more than a bargaining chip…
don’t you want to get a little bit of revenge?
♬~” This is definitely Elysia’s scent.
Being this close, Eden could clearly distinguish her friend’s aura.
But, she could also be certain of one thing: the person before her was absolutely not the Elysia she knew!
If the friend she knew was the Elf of the Elysian Realm who brought joy to all, then this one was a fiend who bewitched the hearts of mortals.
This light-purple-haired Elysia was far more bewitching and far more dangerous than the one she knew.
At the same time, she possessed an allure that was the complete opposite of the Elysia she knew.
Eden had to admit, she was captivated.
And so, Eden smiled.
She brushed a strand of hair with her fingertips, as elegant as ever, but her tone held a strange undercurrent of excitement.
“Being a bad girl for once…
that does seem like a novel experience, doesn’t it?” “But, Elysia…
I’ll call you that for now.
Are you truly confident you can escape from the encirclement of these mechs?” By now, while they had been talking, the mechs had completely surrounded them.
“Does Eden not have faith in me?” “I’ll be hurt, you know~ I’ll be really, really hurt~ ♬” Eden smiled.
“Then, my dear Elysia, I’m counting on you.” At her words, Li Mu stepped back from Eden.
After a graceful spin, he gave her a slight bow, like a knight pledging fealty to his princess, or a magician about to take the stage.
“Then, please witness the finale of this play!” A synthesized voice boomed from the mechs.
“Hostile element, step away from Miss Eden!” “Final warning, hostile element, step away from Miss Eden!” The moment they arrived at the operational zone, the autonomous mechs’ fire control systems had locked onto Li Mu and issued a stern warning.
Li Mu had no doubt that if he weren’t standing so close to Eden, these big guys would have opened fire without hesitation.
However, after the warning was issued, the mechs’ combat A.I.
discovered it had lost its lock on the target.
The light-purple figure that had been standing beside Eden had vanished into thin air.
Fortunately, the fire control system reacquired the target in the next instant.
Unfortunately, the location it reacquired the target at was on top of one of the mechs.
“Yo, big guy, how’s it going~” Li Mu crouched on the mech’s main cannon, giving a little wave to the combat A.I.
via the mech’s external cameras.
Then, his fist punched straight through the mech’s outer armor.
He accurately gripped the machine’s control core and crushed it.
“Bye-bye~ ♬” The mech toppled to the ground.
A completely one-sided slaughter had begun.
On one side was armor forged from refined steel, with cannons empowered by chemistry, engineering, and physics.
On the other was only a seemingly soft and powerless body, a frame that looked like it could be knocked over by a strong gust of wind, and a beautiful outfit that offered no combat advantage.
Any normal person would know this should be a battle with no suspense.
But what Eden saw was ‘Elysia’s’ slender fists punching through the refined steel armor, her seemingly powerless arms ripping the mech’s cannons clean off before smashing the power core with an elbow, and a single, flawless, slender leg kicking an entire mech away as if it were a ball.
Fortunately, she had long been aware of her best friend’s unbelievable physical prowess, so she was only slightly surprised.
Before long, all the autonomous mechs that had come to play ‘hero saves the damsel’ had been wiped out by the final boss, the Faded Elf.
However, when Li Mu glanced back at the spot where Sakura had been cowering, he found she was already gone.
While he had been on his rampage, Sakura had taken the opportunity to scram.
But it didn’t matter.
He had long since tracked down the address for her and her sister.
He wasn’t in a hurry.
For now, it was time to deal with another matter.
Surrounded by a field of mech wreckage, Li Mu turned and looked at Eden with a beaming smile.
“The annoying pests have finally been cleaned up.” “So, my dear Eden, you have now been kidnapped by the great and ferocious bandit of the Far East, Miss Faded Elf.” Li Mu raised his hands, curling his fingers into claws, and said with a wicked grin, “Scream all you want!
No one is coming to save you.” Eden couldn’t help but laugh.
“Well then, my dear kidnapper, are you here to rob me of my wealth, or…
my virtue?” Li Mu blinked, then smiled.
“Alright, my sweet Eden, I’ll stop teasing you.” “I want to make a deal with you, for something…
you might like very much.” —o—