Now in charge, Bronie seemed to remember something. An exclamation mark appeared above her head as she issued a commission to Miss Imhotep.
"Also, if you could, please bring back my adoptive mother, Natasha. Doesn't this count as abandoning a minor to run the shop while she flees from justice?"
"Simple enough. Leave it to me—Oh, and deliver the remaining orders to the white Cat-worm huddled in the corner."
"Understood. Ah, it really is a white Cat-worm."
Bronie glanced at the girl huddled in the corner and nodded.
"Well then..."
"Schicksal Supervisory Council! You there, the gray-haired, red-eyed woman in the black combat suit! You're breaking the law, you know!? Freeze, right now!!!"
The white figure shot off in hot pursuit of the black figure that had just bolted.
-
"Jackal! A Schicksal Valkyrie is on my tail! Send backup to cover me, now!!!"
Weaving through the bustling streets of Arc City Downtown, Raven frantically changed her clothes to conceal her identity as she used her portable micro-communicator to call her comrade for help.
"A Schicksal Valkyrie? Why don't you just subdue her? Don't tell me one of the S-rank Valkyries from Schicksal Headquarters came in person. What kind of Valkyrie could chase you to the point where you're begging me for help?"
Jackal's voice on the other end of the communicator sounded perplexed. She found it bizarre that her accomplice was being chased like a cornered animal in Arc City, which was practically their home turf.
"There's not much time left for the plan. Even if a missing Valkyrie alerts Schicksal, they won't have time to intervene—"
"Besides, this jurisdiction was supposedly assigned to the splinter faction, New Schicksal. That fledgling organization, born from Schicksal, is undoubtedly still struggling to get its internal affairs in order!"
"Even if Old Schicksal wanted to exert long-arm jurisdiction here, they'd have to get past their own people first."
Jackal's voice brimmed with confidence... but Raven's was anything but.
"Who the hell is talking about that?! This psycho Valkyrie has rallied an entire street of civilians to chase me, and the crowd is still growing!!!"
"Huh???"
"Wait a minute. The Valkyrie got civilians from several streets to come after you? What the hell did you do to get chased like that?!"
Before Jackal could get an answer, a furious roar from the communicator told her everything—
"That woman up ahead, Cioara! She hired an underage girl and refused to pay her! Rumor has it she's 'adopted' dozens of kids around the same age, forcing them to live in the slums while she parties in the Upper District!"
The voice belonged to a young woman, seething with fury.
"Holy crap! I didn't! I wouldn't! Stop spreading lies! You're slandering me!"
That was the panicked shriek of Jackal's familiar companion, Raven.
"Son of a bitch! How could she do something like that?! Get her!!!"
Those were the outraged cries of bystanders and several Valkyries on vacation, their voices rising in a furious chorus. In the distance, the wail of approaching police sirens added to the chaos.
Even with Jackal's flexible—or rather, nonexistent—moral compass, she could vividly imagine the hell her partner was facing.
Hmph. I told you not to adopt that whole flock of kids. All that effort for nothing but trouble. And now look at you, getting falsely accused and chased through the streets.
"Can't help you. Goodbye. Figure out how to escape or explain yourself to the cops. See ya!"
Jackal decisively hung up, her attitude a clear "better you than me."
"Hey, hey! Jackal, you fucking—!"
Cioara shouted into the communicator a few more times, but got no response. Cursing under her breath, she resumed her frantic escape through the streets and alleys.
"The one in the black robe is Raven!" a voice, like a death knell, rang out close behind.
Raven instantly ditched the black robe and kept running.
"The one with short gray hair is Raven!"
Gritting her teeth, the mercenary grabbed a bottle of black ink and dumped it over her head.
...The pursuer seemed stunned by Cioara's move. For a long while, the voice—now tinged with amusement—remained silent.
"The red-eyed Russian girl with the huge chest is Raven!!!"
After holding it in for so long, the voice finally unleashed a masterstroke.
"Holy shit, you motherfucker!!!"
Raven, who had just found a new hiding spot and was about to catch her breath, saw the suspicious glares from the surrounding crowd and immediately took off again.
"The woman with half-gray, half-black hair, red eyes, a huge chest, super long legs, and a really perky ass is Raven—!"
FinishingBlow.jpg*
This wasn't some angel sent to deliver her a fortune; it was a demon sent to claim her life.
-
"Gray Serpent—! If you don't get here and save me, I'm gonna end up hauled into the station!!!"
The disheveled Small Island Bomb Raven leaped between skyscrapers, parkouring across rooftops. Below, a roaring crowd swarmed the streets. If she fell, she'd be swallowed by the angry mob. But staying on the rooftops wasn't much better. A swarm of police pursuit drones, like rabid dogs, clung relentlessly to her tail. Due to her altitude, their non-lethal weapons—like Tasers—weren't firing. Instead, they just kept broadcasting at her:
"Suspect ahead! Cease your reckless and dangerous actions immediately! Return to the ground and submit to police questioning!"
"Like hell I'm going down there! If I go down now, I'll be buried alive in rotten vegetables and stinky eggs!"
"Gray Serpent, can you hear me?! Think of a plan, quick—! This Valkyrie who popped out of nowhere must have learned from a certain someone's playbook, because she's using the power of the masses to hunt me down—!"
"In three minutes, there will be a full-spectrum signal jam. The police drones behind you will lose control... On Third District Street below you, at Branch Road 12, there's a sewer entrance used by workers for underground pipe maintenance."
Gray Serpent, finally responding after countless desperate calls, dropped the message into the communicator and vanished.
"Phew, Gray Serpent's the only one I can count on... What the hell is Jackal even good for?!"
After shouting her complaint, she continued to tangle with the drones for a while longer. Then, as the countdown in her mind ended, Dodo lunged straight for her target. The drones behind her seemed to be hit by strong interference, wobbling and plummeting to the ground, causing several gasps and explosions.
"Hah, finally shook them..."
Raven scanned her surroundings, let out a long sigh of relief, lifted the sewer manhole cover, and leaped down...
"W E ' R E A L R E A D Y F U L L H E R E —"
Miss Imhotep flashed a polite smile and met the falling Cioara with a brutal uppercut.
"Pathetic!"