RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
The deafening roar of the Death Chant Tommy Gun reached a crescendo as I systematically methodically laid waste to the final defensive pocket of the Immoral Knights. With the relentless influx of raw mana surging through my core from Lara's elite, high-vanguard blood, the crimson tracers never faltered. The defense-reduction curse peeled away the last vestiges of enchanted dark-iron plate armor, leaving the remaining rebels utterly exposed to the sheer kinetic violence of my blood bullets. One by one, the last of the vanguard fell, their bodies tumbling into the yawning, volcanic abyss beneath the high-altitude stone bridge.
The chaotic din of battle began to settle, replaced by the crackle of burning masonry and the triumphant cheers of the Bureau's elite forces. The collapse of the Immoral Knights… a faction that had once gripped the region in a reign of terror and shadow… had officially come to an end. The fortress of Rebelbub Castle, the very heart of the rebellion, was now nothing more than a smoking ruin, a monument to a broken lineage.
I stood in the center of the bridge, my single, sightless right eye cavity hidden beneath the cold, calcified expanse of my bone-plated Leech's Hollow Mask. My massive, translucent blood wings gave one final, heavy thrum, scattering the lingering ash in the mountain air before folding tightly against the tattered fabric of my crimson trench coat.
With my lone right hand, I maintained an iron grip on the heavy, reinforced leather collar around Lara Meyer's neck. The high healer of the rebellion was a pathetic sight… entirely stripped of her dignity, completely naked, her pale skin bruised and smudged with soot and the arterial spray of her own fallen soldiers. The solidified blood plug I had forced back into her throat kept her thoroughly muffled, reducing her protests to weak, rhythmic whimpers as her passive Divine Regeneration endlessly struggled against the deliberate biological contradiction I had inflicted upon her.
Turning my back on the burning gates of the castle, I began my slow, intimidating march across the blood-slicked stone bridge. Every step I took carried the immense weight of the secret hidden beneath my sun-tanned, battle-scarred abdomen… the growing genetic legacy of Cameron Gal, the very man whose severed head rested safely within the weightless void of my spatial inventory ring.
Evelyn retracted her acidic slime claws, her form reverting to a state of sharp readiness as she stepped up alongside the frontline commanders of the Luminous Knights. The Bureau soldiers stood in a rigid semicircle, their enchanted silver shields gleaming in the firelight, their expressions a mixture of profound awe and instinctual dread as they watched the Crimson Phantom approach.
I dragged the naked, trembling form of their ultimate target across the threshold, tossing her callously at the feet of the Luminous Vanguard. Though my severed tongue left me entirely mute, the absolute finality of my victory echoed through the silent corridor louder than any words ever could. The bounty was collected, the core of the rebellion was shattered, and the true reign of the Phantom had just been etched into the history of the Bureau.
Evelyn stepped forward from the vanguard line, her acidic slime claws completely melting back into her hands. Her sharp eyes scanned my battle-scarred, sun-tanned form… noting the empty left sleeve, the dark right eye socket, and the massive blood wings tucked tightly against my back.
"You're safe, big sister," she said, her voice dropping its hardened battlefield edge, filled with relief that I had survived the belly of the beast.
The high-ranking Commander of the Luminous Knights stepped up beside her, his silver armor reflecting the dying embers of Rebelbub Castle. He looked at me with a profound, professional respect, unbothered by my monstrous appearance.
"Greetings, Eirene, your sister here informed us that you knew this fortress's layout better than anyone, and that you were hunting Cameron Gal's high-tier mark yourself. So... where is it? Did the bastard escape?" the Commander said, crossing his gauntleted fist over his chest in a formal Bureau salute.
I didn't offer a single sound from my ruined vocal cords. Instead, I raised my right hand, letting the firelight catch the golden band of my Inventory Ring. Channeling a single spark of mana into the dimensional matrix, I released the item taking up exactly 5 kg of its storage capacity.
THUD.
The severed head of Cameron Gal materialized out of thin air, dropping onto the ash-covered stone of the bridge. With a swift, mechanical flick of my boot, I kicked the head forward. It rolled across the blood-slicked stone, stopping right at the Commander's feet.
The green hair, the sharp aristocratic features, and the lingering look of absolute, frozen shock on the face said it all. It was undeniable proof of the execution.
The Luminous Knights stared down at the head of the rebellion's supreme leader, a collective gasp echoing through their ranks. To them, I was just a ruthless, legendary bounty hunter who had single-handedly infiltrated the core of the enemy command, executing an S-rank target with surgical precision.
They didn't know the full, staggering reality of what had transpired in that master bedroom. They didn't know that the very seed of the dead man at their feet was currently anchoring itself inside my womb, making me the pregnant mother of his unborn child. And they certainly didn't know that the mute, one-armed woman standing before them was actually the Crimson Phantom… the blood-sucking winged demon who secretly carried a massive 16-gold bounty on her own head within the deep-subterranean registries of Andromeda.
To the Bureau, I was their ultimate asset tonight. I had just delivered them a complete victory, bringing down the rebellion's leadership, paralyzing their ultimate high-tier healer Lara, and securing the head of Cameron Gal. I stood tall on the burning bridge, a silent, pregnant executioner who had just rewritten the balance of power in the realm.
The Commander stared down at the green-haired head resting by his armored boots, his eyes wide as the sheer magnitude of the accomplishment finally registered. The surrounding Luminous Knights fell into a stunned, reverent silence, looking between the grim trophy and my cloaked, imposing silhouette.
"Unbelievable, bounty hunter," the Commander breathed, his voice rich with a mixture of awe and profound relief.
He looked up, his gaze locking onto the cold, calcified expanse of my bone-plated Leech's Hollow Mask.
"You just took out the supreme commander of the Immoral Knights. You saved the city, Eirene. Because of this heroic act, the King and Queen themselves want a word with you at the capital. A feat of this scale demands royal audience."
He stepped forward, gesturing to a scribe who was frantically recording the night's events into an official Bureau ledger.
"First, it was Oksana, the untouchable underworld drug lord who poisoned the lower districts, then, Don Anthony, the iron-fisted leader of the global Arms Trafficking Guild, whose weapons fueled a dozen border wars. And now, the final crowning achievement... it is none other than the commander of the Immoral Knights, Cameron Gal himself, with a staggering 10-gold bounty… the absolute top mark in the Registry of the Condemned. You have single-handedly dismantled the pillars of the realm's criminal underbelly."
The Commander sighed, the heavy tension leaving his shoulders as he gestured toward my empty left sleeve and frayed, blood-stained trench coat.
"You should be tired, bounty hunter. You've fought a war of your own making tonight."
He turned his attention to the shivering, naked form of Lara Meyer, who was still bound by the wrists, her mouth tightly muffled by the dense, hardened blood plug I had forcefully jammed back into her airways.
"Let me take that naked healer into the armored carriage, she will spend the rest of her miserable, immortal days inside the deep cells of the Dodorant Citadel." the Commander ordered, gesturing for a squad of heavy-infantry guards to step forward.
As the words left his mouth, a grim, dark satisfaction rippled through my analytical mind. The Dodorant Citadel was a notorious, lawless subterranean hellhole… a place completely devoid of sunlight, reserved for the absolute worst scum of the continent. It was a fortress filled to the brim with violent criminals, ruthless predators, and brutal outcasts. For an elegant, aristocratic woman like Lara, who had spent her life treating others as disposable tools while hiding behind her high-tier Divine Regeneration, this was the ultimate poetic justice. Her immortality would become her greatest curse. She would endlessly heal from the brutal, unceasing torment inflicted by the Citadel's inmates, experiencing a permanent, living nightmare with no hope of escape. She was truly going to taste her own medicine.
Behind the blank, expressionless visage of my bone mask, a cold, sharp smile broke across my scarred face. I stepped back, tossing her leather collar to the guards, and watched as they dragged her callously toward the heavy iron transport carriage.
As I walked alongside Evelyn toward the waiting convoy, my boots clicking rhythmically against the stone, I allowed myself to silently admire the absolute perfection of the execution. The entire Bureau was celebrating a historic victory. They were preparing to parade me before the King and Queen as a legendary, heroic vanguard of justice.
Yet, beneath the glorious, shining illusion, the truth remained entirely hidden in the shadows. They didn't know that the mute, battle-scarred woman walking among them was actually the Crimson Phantom… the very blood-sucking, winged demon who topped the secret high-priority lists with a massive 16-gold bounty on her own head. They didn't know that the legendary commander they were celebrating me for killing had just successfully planted his sperm inside my shapeshifted womb, or that I was now carrying the biological legacy of the rebellion's leader. To the world, I was just a ruthless, highly efficient bounty hunter clearing the Registry of the Condemned. And as long as they believed that lie, the kingdom belonged to the Phantom.