Outside in the corridor of the lab building, Laura’s neck was squeezed tight by a barbed blue tail, the suffocating pressure leaving her mind completely blank.
“Ugh!!”
She could feel the tiny barbs scraping against her skin, each twitch of struggle bringing a deeper, sharp pain.
On the Night Demon’s blue face, his mocking, cruel gaze looked as though he were admiring an amusing toy.
Facing the Night Demon’s threat, Laura’s expression turned fierce, the beastly instincts she inherited from Logan surging to life inside her!
With a sudden bite, the young wolf snapped her jaws wide, using every ounce of strength to bite down hard on that iron whip of a tail!
“Hss—!”
The Night Demon sucked in a sharp breath from the pain.
His tail jerked back as if burned, flinging Laura away with the momentum!
Bang!
Laura’s back slammed heavily against the cold wall, making her feel as though her internal organs had shifted.
But she had no time to dwell on the pain.
The instant her body hit the ground, she curled into a ball and used a messy yet effective roll to dive around the corridor’s corner.
Leaning against the wall, she coughed violently, greedily sucking in every gulp of air.
Yet before she could catch her footing, a puff of blue smoke burst out of thin air in front of her.
“Where are you looking?”
The Night Demon’s voice sounded almost directly in front of her, carrying a note of irritation at having been offended, followed instantly by a descending claw strike.
Clang!
Subconsciously, Laura raised her hands to block.
Sparks from the metal clash flickered for a brief moment in the dim corridor, numbing her arms with the vibration.
Her opponent was too fast—every attack felt like a teleportation, forcing her to barely hold him off through sheer instinct.
She couldn’t keep this up!
After trading a few more ghostly claw strikes with the Night Demon, Laura stopped trying to hold her ground.
She recoiled sharply, used the iron railing outside the window to scramble up the wall in a couple of nimble motions, and dived straight into a narrow ventilation duct.
Smoke drifted, and the Night Demon’s figure followed immediately, appearing at the edge of the roof.
“Tch.”
Seeing this, the Night Demon clicked his tongue.
He was too large, and inside a tight space like a ventilation shaft, his teleportation ability would be severely constrained.
One careless move could leave him embedded inside a wall, so naturally, he wasn’t about to follow Laura inside.
Having lost Laura’s trail, the Night Demon abandoned the search after a brief, fruitless look and turned back into the lab building with quick strides.
In the gene lab on the middle floor of the lab building, the Night Demon pushed open the door as the first to arrive.
He found the experimental equipment still running automatically, with data cascading down the massive screen like a waterfall, yet there wasn’t a single person in sight.
Neither the wheelchair-bound youth from the intelligence report nor Professor Charles, who was supposed to be with him, was there.
“Hiding?”
The Night Demon muttered to himself.
Since no one on this operation was carrying any electronic communications gear, he couldn’t immediately reach the other squad members or their commander, General Ryker.
For now, it seemed he had to search for the targets’ tracks on his own.
Meanwhile, at another ceiling vent, Laura was kneeling on the metal panel with her head tilted, holding her breath in total stillness as she watched the Night Demon’s blue silhouette disappear down the end of the corridor through the vent’s grid slits.
In her mind, she recalled the tactical discussion with Miles and Logan before the battle started.
“The Night Demon’s power likely comes from the former Nightcrawler, Wagner.
He can teleport to any location within his line of sight, but he will never easily go to an unknown, enclosed space, otherwise he might get trapped inside a complex environment…”
While formulating her strategy, Laura pulled out the micro-earpiece she had used earlier from her pocket and placed it in her ear.
“Miles, are you there?” Laura called softly.
However, the one who responded wasn’t Miles, but the AI, Aurora.
“Do you need assistance, Miss Laura?” Aurora’s soft, clear female voice sounded through the earpiece.
Laura froze for a second, then lowered her voice to ask, “How is Miles?”
“He is currently engaged in combat with Lightwave.”
“In combat?”
Laura was stunned.
She remembered that the four Purifiers wore headbands that blocked telepathic control and didn’t rely on electronic equipment.
Lightwave could also fly, making him clearly the most troublesome among them…
So how was Miles supposed to fight?
Laura took a deep breath and gritted her teeth.
“Aurora, I need your help…”
…
Just as the Night Demon passed a room, his keen ears caught a faint rustle coming from the ventilation shaft above the ceiling.
He looked up and caught a brief glimpse of Laura’s terrified face through the vent grille.
“Heh…
found you, little mouse.”
He didn’t choose to teleport.
Instead, he deliberately slowed his pace, following along underneath at an unhurried speed like a beast enjoying the hunt.
The noise in the duct wasn’t loud, coming and going intermittently, stumbling all the way toward the bottom floor of the building.
Finally, the noise died down in the basement area.
Following the tracks, the Night Demon pushed open a creaking iron door.
Beyond it lay a storage room piled high with discarded equipment, the air thick with dust and the metallic stench of rust.
The instant he stepped inside, the lights across the entire room shut off with a sharp snap!
Absolute darkness swallowed everything.
The Night Demon’s heart chilled.
Almost simultaneously, the ceiling directly above him exploded, and a small figure lunged down violently amidst the debris! Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Shing!
In the darkness, faced with Laura’s pre-meditated ambush, the panicked Night Demon failed to unleash his full strength.
He barely managed to dodge his vital spots before Laura closed the distance.
Clang!
Two pairs of gleaming steel claws collided twice, and then Laura hurled herself forward with complete disregard for her own life!
Pfft!!
Even with his vision obscured in the pitch black, the battle-hardened Night Demon accurately rammed a claw straight into Laura’s abdomen!
At the same time, enduring the excruciating pain, Laura swung the claws of her other hand with all her strength toward the Night Demon’s head!
The Night Demon tilted his head by instinct.
Laura’s steel claws grazed his temple, but at the same precise moment, the tip of her claw hooked into the silver-white anti-telepathic headband he wore, tearing it to shreds!
With a sharp clink, the broken headband flew into the air and dropped silently into the dark pile of junk.
“Naughty brat…”
With his claw stroke missing, Laura lost all remaining strength in her body, left hanging in midair impaled on the Night Demon’s claw.
The Night Demon’s undamaged hand clamped down tightly around her neck, pulling her off his claw as blood spurted out.
He glared at Laura, his dark yellow pupils churning with icy fury at having been made a fool of.
Her neck choked so hard that breathing became nearly impossible, Laura let out a silent dry cough.
Then, in a raspy, barely audible voice, she softly called out a name.
“Miles…”
The next instant, the Night Demon’s body froze completely, followed by a painful grunt.
He hurled Laura onto the ground, clutching his head in agony with both hands.
Miles’s telepathic control had taken effect!
Seizing the opportunity, Laura ignored the severe pain in her abdomen and slammed a claw deep into the Night Demon’s knee!
Crack!
The muted crunch of shattering bone sounded exceptionally harsh in the quiet storage room.
“AAAAAHHH—!!!”
The Night Demon let out an inhuman scream.
The excruciating pain allowed him to briefly break free from the mental shock, but his body buckled onto one knee uncontrollably.
Laura gave him no room to catch his breath.
With a few swift, precise slashes, she severed the tendons in his hands and feet, completely disabling his ability to move.
Only after finishing all this did Laura finally collapse, her back slumping heavily against the cold wall as she gasped for air.
The wound on her stomach began to heal slowly as her chest heaved.
Then, raising a trembling hand, Laura pressed her earpiece.
“Miles, are you okay?”
“I’m fine…
Ugh!”
On the other end of the earpiece, Miles spoke, only to suddenly break off with a suppressed grunt.
…
Inside the low-temperature cold storage, the temperature had dropped to around minus fifty degrees.
The air was cold enough to freeze exhaled breath into frost instantly.
Davis’s skin flushed a bizarre red, racking him with intense pain from the energy turmoil within his body.
As a result, he vented all his rage onto the boy who had forced him into this desperate corner.
“Open the door!”
“Damn it…
open the door for me right now!”
Driven near a nervous breakdown by the lethal threat, Davis grabbed Miles’s withered right arm and snapped it.
Then, he grabbed Miles’s fingers…
He didn’t dare to kill Miles outright, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do other things to him.
Miles’s face was deathly pale, covered in beads of cold sweat, yet the expression on his face remained entirely unchanged from beginning to end.
“How pathetic, Mr.
Davis…” Miles said mockingly.
“You know, if you just killed me directly, everything would be over…”
“So why haven’t you acted?
Are you scared?”
“You’re about to die yourself…
yet you really listen to your commanding officer, don’t you…”
“Shut up!!” Davis was driven nearly insane, stepping hard on Miles’s neck.
“Open the door for me!”
“I suggest you calm down, Mr.
Davis…” Miles said softly.
“Tell me, is there a chance that I actually don’t mind working for your Northern Command?
But I could also tell General Ryker, ‘It’s not impossible for me to work for you, but on the condition that Davis dies first…
because he offended me.'”
“Do you think…
if I said that, General Ryker would agree?”
Davis’s expression shifted, and he began easing the pressure of his foot on Miles’s neck.
Knowing General Ryker as he did, the chances of him agreeing were far from small!
“Tch…” Miles let out a silent chuckle.
Davis…
Were you perhaps abused by him in the past?
Don’t be nervous, that kind of thing isn’t rare in the US military…
I’m very open-minded, I don’t look down on you…”
While continually provoking Davis with words on the surface, Miles was multitasking, using his power to maintain contact with Laura in the distance.
“Laura, listen carefully…” Miles’s voice continued through Laura’s earpiece.
“Kill the Night Demon, then go to the side door…
I hid Charles in Room 1034 over there using an automated emergency vehicle.
Take him and leave through the side entrance.
Logan and X-24 should still be able to hold out for a bit.
Once you’re safe, take Charles to another hospital for post-op care.
Aurora will go with you…”
“…Wait, Laura, what are you doing?!”
…
In the basement, Laura turned off her earpiece.
Miles’s suppressed, urgent instructions cut off abruptly.
The world instantly fell silent, leaving only her own heavy, ragged breathing.
The wound on her abdomen had partially healed.
The young wolf glanced at the Night Demon lying on the ground like a dead dog, slowly clenching her fist.
She had no intention of obeying Miles’s order to take Charles and run.
She could tell that Miles had no intention of leaving this place alive!
That guy had always been like that.
Because he wasn’t mentally normal, he often treated his own life as meaningless, only becoming somewhat normal after meeting Mr.
Charles recently.
Unfortunately, it had only been a few days…
Just a few days.
With these thoughts in mind, Laura walked over to a corner, lifted a heavy solid-wood cabinet, walked back slowly, and smashed it down onto the Night Demon’s head with every bit of strength in her body!
Bang!
The Night Demon’s body jolted, and he knocked out completely without making even a sound.
Then, Laura grabbed his long blue tail and dragged him out like a heavy piece of luggage.
Even with her training, the physical strength of a ten-year-old girl could hardly be considered great.
“Ngh…
ah!!!”
Laura gritted her teeth tightly, dragging the Night Demon by his tail as she stepped onto the stairs leading to the main hall, hauling him up step by laborious step.
…
In the front yard of the lab building, X-24, severely injured and unconscious, had already been recovered by the military forces using specialized restraint gear, administered with specialized sedatives.
Ifrit sat nearby with his eyes closed to rest, having just fought X-24.
He was too heavy, and his ability drained a tremendous amount of stamina, necessitating a brief rest while leaving the remaining work to others.
“Wrapped up.
Smooth, smoother than expected.” A young soldier wiped the sweat from his forehead, just about to sigh in relief.
“Cut the chatter, prepare to enter the building.
The General’s orders are to capture all targets alive,” the squad leader scolded.
Not long after they turned to face the entrance of the lab building, a dragging sound echoed from inside the doors.
A little girl covered in blood came walking out step by step from the staircase landing, dragging a man by his long blue tail.
That man was none other than their comrade, a member of the Purifiers squad: Night Demon.
Everyone instinctively raised their rifles to aim at Laura, yet maintained caution, refraining from opening fire immediately.
The scene before them was far too bizarre: a little girl covered in blood, dragging a heavily injured, unconscious super-powered agent, facing a group of heavily armed soldiers without a trace of fear, standing directly in their path.
“Girl, don’t move!” someone shouted an order.
“Let him go, raise your hands, and drop to your knees!”
Laura paid no mind, glaring at them coldly as she stopped a few meters in front of them, leaving a dark red footprint with every step.
Under the soldiers’ uncertain, watchful eyes, Laura snapped two sharp steel claws out from the back of one hand with a metallic shing, resting them unhesitatingly against the Night Demon’s temple.
“Don’t move!”
The little girl’s voice piped out sharp and harsh, “Get back!
Or I’ll kill him!!”
This was Laura’s choice.
The little girl wanted to use the hostage in her hands to save everyone.
The soldiers looked at each other, genuinely intimidated for a moment by a child.
They carried no walkie-talkies and couldn’t contact command in real time.
The situation in front of them had completely exceeded the scope of the mission briefing.
To them, the mission target was important, but the status of the Purifiers members within the military was also very special.
They couldn’t be sure how to handle this situation.
Fortunately, however, this predicament did not last long.
Only a few seconds later, another figure walked in through the side door of the lab building at an unhurried pace.
The man codenamed Impact arrived before the crowd, taking the bloody, half-dead old wolf Logan from his shoulder and slamming him onto the ground like a bag of trash.
“…”
Seeing this, Laura’s body jerked violently.
Instinctively, she bit down hard on her own lip until blood seeped out, completely oblivious to it.
In front of Laura, Impact ignored the half-dead old Logan on the ground, looking toward her with a calm gaze.
Behind the man, dozens of fully armed figures raised their rifle barrels in unison, taking aim at her head.