Clack, clack, clack…
A series of footsteps echoed from behind the swarm of Crystal Husks.
A man wearing a black, skin-tight tactical suit and a white mask stepped slowly out of the shadows and the remains of the Crystal Husks. Vivid red lines on his mask formed a striking English letter — “T.”
With a light wave of his hand, more than twenty expressionless combatants in similar black suits materialized silently from the surrounding ruins and shadows. Holding specialized weapons, they quickly formed a tight perimeter, surrounding the kneeling Luna.
“Hahaha — !!!”
The man in the “T” mask let out a long-suppressed burst of triumphant laughter. His voice was exceptionally grating and arrogant in the silence of the battlefield. He walked until he was only a few steps away from Luna, looking down at the once-haughty Annihilation Angel with a tone full of mockery and pride.
“Hahaha! Artemis, the Annihilation Angel? You fell for it! Who told you to rely solely on that bit of power given by the Goddess to blast everything in sight without using your brain? Now, you are a prisoner of Adjudicator T of the Eternal Night Gospel!”
He paused, his gaze beneath the mask filled with greed as it swept over Luna’s exquisite face — flushed with struggle and humiliation — and her body, which was outlined in heart-stopping curves by the Black Spirit Snakes.
“However… I hate wasting ‘good things’ most of all. Handing a ‘treasure’ like you directly to the superiors would be a crying shame, wouldn’t it?”
At that, T leaned down slightly, moving closer.
“I have yet to ‘taste’ the flavor of a Goddess Angel. How about… before I hand you over, I ‘grace’ you with my favor first?”
Luna understood the filth in his words immediately. Her pale gold eyes were instantly ignited by fury and shame, and her pale cheeks flushed a deep red from the extreme humiliation.
“You dare!”
The young girl gritted her teeth, forcing the words out.
“Hahaha! She’s asking if I dare?”
As if he had heard something incredibly hilarious, T threw his head back and let out an even more arrogant, piercing laugh.
He snapped his head toward the silent combatants standing behind him. The crimson “T” on his mask seemed to glow slightly with his excitement. He asked in a loud, provocative voice, “Do you all dare?!”
“We dare do anything by your command, Lord Adjudicator!” the lead combatant shouted in response.
“That’s right!”
“Your Excellency is mighty!”
“We would go through fire and water for you, milord!”
The surrounding combatants joined in, their voices a cacophony of malice and excitement.
“Good! Very good! Listen to my order. Now, everyone, line up behind me!”
T was extremely satisfied with his subordinates’ reaction. He laughed again, his voice filled with the arrogance of one who controlled everything. He pointed a finger at the immobile Luna, his tone becoming frivolous and cruel.
“After I’ve had my ‘fun’… it’ll be your turn! There’s enough for everyone!”
The combatants’ jeering grew even louder, and some even whistled. The air was thick with a nauseating scent of desire.
‘No… no! Don’t come any closer! Get away!’
Luna’s heart sank to rock bottom as despair and fear flooded over her like a cold tide. She began to struggle even more frantically. Sharp pain radiated through her body as the Black Spirit Snakes tightened, but she couldn’t budge the specialized restraints at all.
For a moment, the girl could only watch as T approached her step by step with a lewd smile. Physiological tears finally began to well up uncontrollably in her pale gold eyes.
In that suffocating moment of despair, the air beside Luna suddenly rippled with a nearly imperceptible shimmer.
A second later, a black figure dressed almost identically to T — save for a different letter on the mask — appeared silently beside Luna like a ghost. He stood exactly between her and the approaching T.
Luna’s pupils shrank, and T’s advancing footsteps came to a sudden halt.
The newcomer also wore the signature black tactical suit of the Eternal Night Gospel and a white mask. The difference was that the red lines on his mask did not form a “T,” but rather a sharp, equally striking letter — “V.”
“V?! Why are you here? You weren’t even on the mission roster!”
T spoke with suspicion and uncertainty, his voice beneath the mask full of surprise and wariness.
“Wait a minute, are you just passing by… and want a share? Do you want to taste this Goddess Angel, too?”
At this point, T seemed to think his guess was reasonable and let out a self-righteous smirk.
“Hehe… However, V, shouldn’t we follow the rule of ‘first come, first served’? I definitely go first, and you’ll have to wait in line behind me.”
He sized V up, his tone becoming increasingly vulgar.
“Or, if you can’t wait… a ‘two-pronged approach’ isn’t out of the question. This little beauty looks sturdy enough to handle us brothers playing with her…”
V seemed to let out a soft sigh. The sound of that sigh passed through the mask, interrupting T’s increasingly unbearable words.
“My apologies, you’ve misunderstood. I’m not here for a share.”
“Then… then what are you here for?”
T was stunned by the other man’s calm attitude and asked subconsciously.
V tilted his head slightly. The crimson “V” on his mask looked as if a thick liquid was slowly flowing through it. His gaze seemed to sweep over Luna — who had temporarily stopped struggling and was looking at him with suspicion — before turning back to T. He spoke words that silenced everyone present.
“I’m taking this Goddess Angel.”
T was completely dumbfounded, unable to react for several seconds. Then, a surge of rage at being insulted and toyed with rushed to his heart. His voice rose sharply, carrying disbelief and a hidden threat.
“V! You… you want to hog it all for yourself?!”
T’s voice turned shrill with anger and shock. He took a step forward, the crimson “T” on his mask looking even more distorted.
“Fine! V! You want to snatch the fat meat from my mouth? You want to steal my spoils of war?! Do you think I’ll let you have your way?!”
He flung his arms wide, pointing to the more than twenty combatants behind him and then at the solitary V. His tone was full of threat and mockery.
“Open your eyes! You are only one man! And we… we have so many! Besides, I’ve heard that while you have some reputation in the organization, you’ve never actually shown your combat abilities in front of other Adjudicators, have you? Could it be… that you’re just a ‘strategist’ who hides in the back? You think you can steal my things with just that?!”
Losing all patience, T roared.
“Do it! Take him down! I don’t care if he’s dead or alive! I’ll take responsibility with the higher-ups.”
T struck first. His right hand blurred as he drew a bizarre, pitch-black handgun from his waist, the muzzle pointing straight at V’s chest.
Around them, the combatants had already aimed their weapons at V. Their fingers were on the triggers or activating the magic runes on their weapons, waiting only for T’s command.
However, in that split second before T could shout the order to fire —
V sighed again, sounding somewhat helpless.
He turned slightly toward the kneeling Luna, who was staring at him with a face full of shock and confusion at the sudden turn of events. He reached out and gently covered her amber-like, pale gold eyes with his palm. Then, he spoke slowly.
“MUTUAL SLAUGHTER OF ALL THINGS.”
The moment those words left his lips, the movements of the combatants who had locked their weapons onto V suddenly stiffened. Then, like puppets controlled by invisible strings, their arms jerked at bizarre angles, completely against their own wills.
The muzzles were no longer pointed at the solitary V. Instead, they were aimed at the comrades standing next to them.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A series of short, dense gunshots rang out almost simultaneously, exploding through the ruins like firecrackers.
There were no screams.
There was only the dull thud of magic bullets piercing skulls and the heavy sound of bodies hitting the ground.
As each combatant pulled the trigger to send a lethal bullet into the temple or forehead of the person beside them, their own head was accurately struck by a bullet from another direction.
Blood and brain matter splattered everywhere.
In an instant, the more than twenty elite combatants who had just been forming a fierce perimeter fell backward like a row of dominoes, crashing onto the cold ground. Each man had one or more horrific, steaming holes in his forehead or temple. Their eyes glazed over instantly as the breath of life vanished.
T, who was in the center of the group and had been about to give the command, received the most concentrated damage. At least thirty or forty rounds from different directions hit him. His mask shattered under the close-range impact, revealing a vulgar face filled with shock, terror, and disbelief. Blood poured from the corners of his mouth.
“H-how… how is this possible… You… you…”
T stumbled backward, his black pistol having already slipped from his hand. He pointed at V, the sound of blood gurgling in his throat preventing him from forming a complete sentence. He could not understand why his subordinates had suddenly turned on each other. Finally, he lost his balance and crashed to the ground.
V walked forward, treading through the blood and corpses. He unhurriedly approached the dying T, leaned down, and picked up the black handgun T had dropped.
He raised the muzzle, aiming it steadily at T’s blood-stained, despairing face.
“How… how did you… do it… and… why…”
T used the last of his strength to ask in fragments, his eyes filled with resentment and a lack of understanding.
V did not answer.
Slowly, he pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The gunshot put an end to the bizarre and bloody chaos. T’s head snapped back before lolling uselessly to the side, his life force extinguished.
V tossed the black handgun aside. The sound of metal hitting the ground snapped the horrified Luna out of her daze.
Luna looked at the black-clad corpses scattered everywhere, and then at the mysterious man in the “V” mask standing in the center of the pile of bodies.
Her pale gold eyes were wide with extreme shock. What had just happened? Those ferocious combatants, that evil Adjudicator T… how were they all dead? And they… killed each other?
‘Was this… infighting between Adjudicators?’