Free Web NovelChapter 281: Dysfunctional Agency
Good Moonlight Agency!
Ashe's mind raced through the agency's credentials. Ranked second and ninth on the Azura and National Task Rankings, respectively, it was one of the two elite agencies within the city's top ten underworld organizations. These factions were known collectively as the infamous One Palace, Two Agencies, Three Families, and Four Corporations.
The agency had a deceptively friendly name, but that was just standard practice. Agencies were part of the service industry. They couldn't afford to maintain aloof or haughty façades. Over the last fifty years, the landscape had shifted. Regions that once supported only a handful of agencies were now crowded with dozens of rivals fighting for the same clients. The seller's market had long since collapsed into a buyer's market, fueling a culture of cutthroat internal competition.
In contrast, a name like Funeral Agency sat at the opposite extreme. It practically shouted that the person in charge was a cryptic riddler who refused to speak plainly and insisted on their own stubborn, eccentric way of doing things. As it turned out, that guess was spot on. In today's market, this kind of service attitude was no longer viable.
Fortunately, the Funeral Agency had over two centuries of history, which allowed it to survive with such a name and style. Even so, under Annan's leadership, it had only reached the level of a tenth-ranked regional gatekeeper. Old-fashioned boutique agencies were clearly becoming outdated.
By comparison, the Good Moonlight Agency was a modern, streamlined enterprise with an easy-to-remember name, high-profile advertising, meticulous service, reasonable pricing, and a complete training program for employed sorcerers. In just a few decades, it had become a force not to be ignored in Azura.
Through accompanying Annan on missions, Ashe and the others had learned that an agency's strength didn't depend solely on the skill of its sorcerers, but also on which functionalities of the Book of Gospel it had unlocked.
"Why the silence?" Maynard asked. "If you don't respond, I can only assume... you've rejected the Good Moonlight Agency's offer."
Buzz!
Shattering sounds erupted from all directions. Dozens of drones were breaking in from every floor.
Annan explained swiftly, "Classic move from the Good Moonlight Agency. Modern smart homes rely almost entirely on the Book of Gospel for data analysis, which they use as a medium to hijack drones, spider servants, and hovering cars. Anything with an automated system is a target. We have to neutralize them. Otherwise, we won't be able to get the hovering car to work for our escape."
They were on a suspended floor, hundreds of meters above the ground. While the view was spectacular, their options for movement were dangerously limited. They could either descend directly in a hovering car or take an elevator to the city's "second-floor ground" before finding a vehicle. Either way, neutralizing these two enemies was mandatory. Since the pair could infiltrate any smart device, getting into a vehicle without stopping them first was no different from stepping into a coffin that would deliver them straight to their graves.
"Split into two teams," Annan commanded, tightening her grip on the submachine gun she held with her usual precision. "The vanguard forces a breakthrough to handle those two, while the rear guard provides cover. I'll cover as well, but I need one more person."
Nobody accused Annan of taking the easy way out. If anything, the rear guard had the tougher job. Since the vanguard required as much manpower as possible to push forward, the team staying behind was left dangerously thin. This small crew had to fend off dozens of "blackened couriers" swarming in from every direction. They had to hold back these drones, now bristling with guns and cannons, to ensure the vanguard remained undisturbed and the plan stayed on track.
"I'll go," Harvey said, patting the coffin beside him. "One for two."
Only a necromancer could inspire that kind of confidence in numbers.
Annan didn't skip a beat, "Move out."
There was no time for discussion. The drones' whirring grew louder by the second, threatening to shred anyone in sight. Beyond the ice screen, the machines had already reloaded. Within moments, a hailstorm of bullets would tear the entire floor to pieces.
Pankey led the charge. He gripped his dual pistols tight as a ghostly frost poured relentlessly from the muzzles.
In the Gospel Kingdom, guns were far more common than in the Blood Moon Kingdom. Even a sorcerer like Pankey, a Frost Class specialist, had mastered gun techniques to enhance his magic. By using bullets as a medium, his ice spells could break the sound barrier, making his sorcery far deadlier.
Miracle, Explosive Ice Spike Rounds!
As Pankey opened fire, small apertures appeared in the ice screen, perfectly timed to let his Miracle-infused rounds pass through before sealing shut.
Both Ashe and Iger's pupils dilated in shock. They recognized the sheer level of skill on display. Coordinating defensive and offensive Miracles simultaneously, creating a fleeting breach in a shield just to let an attack through, was no simple feat. This level of micro-manipulation alone was enough to cement Pankey's status as a top-tier force among Two-Winged sorcerers.
Gun-wielding sorcerers often faced a brutal dilemma. To attack was to invite death, yet to defend was to do little more than scratch the surface. They could hunker down behind their barriers and remain safe but useless, or they could open fire and immediately expose themselves to a lethal counter-barrage. There was no middle ground between being a shielded bystander and a vulnerable target.
Pankey's ice screen was unquestionably a masterclass in defense, but by its nature, it should have blocked his own path as well. Yet he was somehow threading bullets through the barrier while keeping the screen perfectly intact. Simple and direct as it seemed, this was a tactical system designed for invincibility. Until Pankey's mana ran out, the enemy could do nothing but endure his assault, unable to even touch those sheltered behind the ice.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The shattering of ice spikes rang like breaking glass. Drones ahead were obliterated instantly, sending sparks showering and metal screeching as debris tumbled toward the ground.
Somewhere nearby, Iger clenched a whistle between his teeth. He leaned close to Ashe and blew with all his strength.
Whoosh!
The whistle's piercing tone instantly drowned out the gunfire. His Miracle twisted the sound into a vile, invasive force that burrowed into the enemies' eardrums and drilled into their minds.
Miracle, Psychic Scream!
Being an area-of-effect attack, the Miracle struck everyone. Pankey, Annan, Lys, and Harvey were all hit simultaneously. Only Ashe, standing directly beside Iger, escaped the brunt of it, hearing nothing more than the sound of Iger's teeth gnashing near his ear.
Drawing on his rich combat experience, Ashe immediately spotted the flaw in the Miracle. The closer the target, the weaker the effect. While those in the distance felt the scream hammering their skulls like iron mallets, those at the center, by contrast, were spared the worst of the impact.
Ordinary area-effect miracles distributed their energy evenly, harming enemies regardless of their position. Superior versions, however, focused their power where enemies were most likely to be, maximizing efficiency. The Swordswoman's Blood Blossom Water Moon operated on a similar logic. She would swing her blade before casting, not to draw blood, but to herd her enemies into the spell's lethal range.
At that moment, the two hostile specialists caught within that optimal range felt the whistle pierce their minds like a jagged blade.
"Cough!"
A groan escaped Maynard's lips as his mind turned to mush. He curled into a shrimp-like hunch, blood leaking steadily from his nostrils.
Lyman staggered slightly but held her stance. She summoned a dozen drones just in time to block another volley of explosive ice spike rounds.
It didn't matter. A sea of drones waited outside, many still loaded with late-night deliveries. The orders would soon cancel automatically as the chaos deepened; tonight, countless workers across the city would go hungry.
These newly arrived units were not yet armed and served only as a living shield wall. However, on the ground far beneath the inverted skyscraper, hundreds more were already stripping weapons from shipping containers before ascending to the fray. While emergency delivery drones were not built to carry guns, they retained digital backdoors that allowed them to be repurposed into aerial firepower at a moment's notice. With an arms truck, the Good Moonlight Agency could instantly field a drone army anywhere in the city.
Meanwhile, hundreds of mechanical spiders swarmed up the building's outer walls to join the siege. The elevators were dead, and every automatic door in Annan's home had been remotely locked. Every escape route was sealed.
Maynard and Lyman had no intention of engaging the Funeral Agency head-on. Their goal was to use the drones and spiders to bleed the targets' momentum, pinning them to the negative-51st floor until the Red Cicada Duchess arrived. No matter how well the Funeral Agency fought, Maynard and Lyman remained confident. This city was their household, and within these walls, the Good Moonlight Agency controlled everything.
Whoosh!
The whistle sounded again, and at the same time, Pankey's Explosive Ice Spikes rained down. This time, Maynard and Lyman were ready. They braced themselves and covered their ears to weather the mental assault. Drones surged forward to intercept the barrage, detonating the Miracle-infused spikes in a series of mid-air explosions.
Maynard thought, If that's all they can do... they'll be overwhelmed before the Duchess even arrives.
Just then, a sword afterimage flickered into existence behind the ice screen. It wasn't aimed at them; instead, it lodged deep into the ceiling above.
Huh?
They looked up at the sword quivering in the ceiling. A heartbeat later, it pulsed with a faint yellow light. Then...
The hilt sprouted a man in a dark-red coat. He wrenched the blade free and kicked off from the ceiling with both legs, falling like a meteor as he charged the two alone.
Miracle, Bidirectional Rush!
"Good evening. I'm here to update your Sorcerer's Handbook to the Virtual World!"
