"Oh? Truly worthy of a drug-trafficking organization, to have picked up news of me from the others so quickly? Interesting..."
Although the opposition had concealed themselves well enough, Durandal, a veteran of countless battles, sensed them the very first instant.
To be safe, Durandal quietly adjusted her attire; the Guardian form of Bright Knight: Excelsis was perfectly suited for the situation at hand.
Wrapped in heavy black armor, she felt a sense of calm settle over her. Without hesitation, she stepped into the bar.
The moment Durandal crossed the threshold—BANG BANG BANG BANG—several gunshots rang out in the confined space.
A band of outlaws indeed!
Durandal's expression turned icy. She blocked all the incoming bullets with her shield, the impacts emitting crisp clink-clink-clink sounds.
That single volley of gunfire had exposed the shooters' positions. Durandal charged forward with her shield, dashing through the space. Within a few breaths, the men who had opened fire were knocked unconscious by her blunt-force approach.
As Durandal scanned the room, searching for the drug lord, a sudden, explosive roar erupted from the bar counter nearby, accompanied by flames reaching toward the ceiling.
"They actually prepared a bomb. They really do think highly of me."
Without hesitation, Durandal switched her Bright Knight: Excelsis form to Dea Anchora armor. Before she could be engulfed by the blast, she vaulted into the sky, masked by the swirling dust and debris.
As for the gunmen she had knocked out earlier...
Since their boss didn't care about their lives, Durandal certainly wouldn't waste her mercy on them.
High above, Durandal looked down. Before long, a cold-looking middle-aged man arrived at the ruined bar, surrounded by a group of henchmen.
The man stared at the wreckage without a hint of distress; instead, his face was filled with satisfaction. "With this, the person who came to wreck my place should be nothing but scattered remains by now..."
He had learned through informants placed in three other organizations that someone had been picking off their operations one by one. Guessing that he would be next, he had set up an ambush with gunmen and a timed explosive at the bar counter.
The moment anyone stepped through the door, it would trigger an infrared sensor, starting the bomb's countdown. He had used similar methods to kill police officers who had come to arrest him before; the routine was second nature to him.
However, he hadn't counted on the fact that Durandal was not someone who could be measured by common logic.
Just as the man ordered his subordinates to inspect the ruins, Durandal dove straight down from the sky, appearing in the air just three meters in front of him.
At that distance, the man noticed her instantly.
Looking closely at her appearance, she matched the description brought back by his informants perfectly—wavy gold hair with streaks of white, a cold, stunningly beautiful face, and eyes as resolute as ice.
The man had felt a shred of regret earlier that such a beauty had been blown to bits before he could even see her. But now, he wanted to slap himself for ever having that thought!
He no longer felt regret, but he knew his life was coming to an end.
The man assumed that since he had designed such a death trap for her, she wouldn't show him any courtesy and would kill him immediately. He didn't even attempt a futile plea for mercy, standing there foolishly, waiting for the end.
Yet, he was wrong.
Durandal didn't strike. Such people weren't worth her breaking her precedent against killing.
Of course, she had no intention of letting him go, either.
In truth, she hadn't just been "saying hello" to those other three organizations. Once Schicksal grew stronger, she would ensure that every den of iniquity like this was completely purged.
But the man's actions had simply accelerated her timeline for handling the criminal underworld of Sundown Alley.
She knocked the man and his subordinates unconscious, found a rope to bind them all together, and, once packed up, headed to the nearest police station.
She had verified that this station was not in league with the drug lord—in fact, many officers had died at his hands. Handing them over here meant she wouldn't have to worry about them being released moments later.
The people at the station would certainly teach this man and his crew a lesson, and in a few months, they would undoubtedly face a firing squad.
Additionally, Durandal kindly called the fire department to tend to the bar, ensuring the sparks or flames wouldn't spread to nearby shops or homes.
Just as she finished everything and planned to head back to the inn, she caught a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye.
"Pardo?"
Though it was her first time meeting the girl, Durandal recognized her instantly. It was definitely Pardofelis, lying in an open space not far from the bar.
Filled with some curiosity, Durandal walked over. She discovered the girl wasn't just lying there—she had been knocked unconscious by the shockwave of the explosion, and there was a scorched, bullet-pierced hole in her chest.
Durandal wasn't worried about her life, as there was no scent of blood. She reached into the girl's chest area and found a cat-shaped pouch, also punctured by a bullet.
She opened it to reveal a coin with a bullet embedded right in the center. It was this coin that had saved Pardofelis' life.
"What a lucky child, truly."
At this moment, Pardofelis looked to be about the same age as Hua or Carole—perhaps fifteen or sixteen—so the term "child" felt fitting enough.
Durandal looked around. Pardo's position was quite close to the bar; logically, she should have been hit by flying debris or sparks.
But thanks to her unreasonable luck, while the ground around her was scorched and pitted with rubble, she remained entirely unscathed save for the mark left by that bullet.
"Forget it. Even if I left her here, her luck would likely keep her safe, but since I've seen her, I might as well take her back."
With that thought, Durandal summoned Abyss Flower to heal the internal injuries caused by the shockwave.
She then had Krishna carry Pardofelis as she made her way back to the inn.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL