The night sky above Haiming Park was torn apart by shrill sirens and chilling broadcasts.
Vendors hastily packed their stalls, wheels rattling against stone bricks; tourists fled in panic, leaving behind an empty field and flashing red-blue warning lights. They flickered like tides, staining the entire scene into a cold battlefield.
The patrol squad quickly formed ranks, their movements precise yet urgent. Yellow lines were swiftly pulled up, energy barriers rising with a sharp hum. Sparks danced along the pillars, forming an icy blue halo, cutting off the shrieks of the escaping crowd.
——A sharp buzzing sound suddenly split the night.
A patrol drone burst through the barrier, its blue lights flashing wildly. Arcs of electricity crawled across its casing, like a beast gone berserk. Its chest core glowed, and an energy cannon locked onto the center of the field.
"Boom——!"
A beam of blue-white light tore through the night, crashing down with crushing force. Sparks exploded across the barrier, shockwaves slammed like hammers on a drum, forcing the front line of patrol soldiers back in unison.
"The defense line is in chaos!" The captain gritted his teeth, holding firm. Amid the chaos, he saw a girl still standing in the center—unmoving. His heart sank. Someone hadn't evacuated… a girl?!
The drone's targeting system locked firmly onto Luna. The cannon's glow condensed, white heat ready to engulf her figure.
Luna only narrowed her eyes, her expression detached, as if watching a foolish insect.
——A single thought.
The air temperature plummeted, moisture furiously condensed. Frost burst from her fingertips, extending like a spine.
"Crack!"
An ice spear formed soundlessly and launched unseen.
The drone's head exploded instantly, sparks scattering like slowed fireworks—strangely beautiful, carrying a cold allure.
Luna raised her gaze, the corner of her lips curling. Her eyes were icy yet laced with mockery.
"Heh… now this feels like something."
She flicked her wrist, magic thrummed low.
"——Ice Crystal Arrows!"
Dozens of crystalline bolts tore through the night, leaving cold-blue trails. "Shhk!" They pierced through another squad of drones. Flames and frost erupted together, half the park blazing bright as day.
"W-What… is that?!" A rookie's breath hitched, his eyes wide in terror.
The captain's knuckles clenched on his weapon, chest tightening. This power… it was beyond reason!
A new roar erupted.
More drones lit their cannons, beams weaving a deadly net, descending like a cage of death.
Luna tapped the ground with her toe, her body cutting sideways, skirt fluttering. Her shoulder tilted, dodging gracefully. Twin beams scorched past her ears, leaving trails of burnt air. Yet her breath remained steady, as if she were a dancer moving to rhythm.
"——Ice Crystal Barrage."
Her voice was low, but carried judgment.
In an instant, an avalanche of icy spikes poured down, violently shredding metal. Drone armor ripped apart, detonations blossomed in the night sky. Red-orange flames and blue-white frost collided, light flickering across every terrified face.
Silence lasted only a heartbeat.
"She… she's not human…" someone whispered in a trembling voice.
Cold sweat streamed down the captain's temples, but he held the firing line firm. "Maintain formation! No one advance without order! Prioritize evacuating civilians!"
——He understood. This girl was not their enemy… at least not now.
Then—footsteps rang out.
Steady, cold, echoing over the chaos.
Two women cut through the crowd like blades slicing a lake, stepping directly into the battlefield.
The one on the left: her eye replaced by a metallic implant, glowing red, her face devoid of human emotion.
The one on the right: sharp short hair, holding a blazing crimson energy blade, a mocking smile tugging at her lips.
"——Target identified. Elimination confirmed."
The one-eyed woman's voice was mechanical, devoid of warmth. Her red eye contracted, "Spectral Lock-On" spread, marking glowing red targets over the patrol squad's chests.
Her fingers snapped.
The Black Wing drone swarm descended from the night sky, buzzing like a pack of wolves.
"Enemy attack!" the captain's voice was deep but resolute. He slashed his hand forward. "Counterattack! Suppress their fire! Take those drones down!"
Energy shields flared up, translucent barriers trembling under impact. The front line shouldered magitech rifles, torrents of blue-white beams searing the air.
"Boom-boom-boom!"
Drone bullets rained down, colliding with rifle fire. Explosions deafened ears, metal fragments and sparks rained in chaos, turning the night into purgatory.
"Focus fire on the left flank! Don't let them encircle us!" the lieutenant roared.
A soldier was thrown aside by shockwaves, blood at his lips, but he still clutched the trigger, bellowing: "Damn Black Wing scrap! Go down!"
Luna stood calm in the chaos, hair fluttering wildly. Her gaze was cold, yet alive with excitement.
——Drone fire? Nothing more.
Her finger curled, her will surged. Frost gathered in torrents, spears bursting skyward.
"Boom!" Two drones were pierced through, their fiery deaths exploding into cruel fireworks across the night.
"She… she only thought it…!" someone trembled, horrified.
The short-haired woman sneered, her eyes sharp as blades, locking onto Luna. "Tonight ends—with you."
Her voice cut through the blasts, ruthless and final.
Luna smirked, her tone mocking, taunting: "Ends? Hah… you've yet to witness a true predator."
Her words rang like a monarch's decree, pressing down the battlefield.
——Though the patrol fought desperately, all knew who now ruled the fight.
Gunfire and explosions overlapped, tearing stone and grass, turning the park into hellfire.
In the flames, the short-haired woman finally moved.
Her lips twisted into a cold grin. With a hiss, her crimson blade extended, flames coiling, casting her face in a deadly glow.
"Kid, to hold out this long—you've got skill… but this is where it ends!"
Her foot struck down, bricks cracked beneath her. Her figure blurred into crimson lightning, her blade trailing fire across the air.
——Too fast for even the air to scream.
Luna's pupils contracted. She raised her hand instantly.
"——Ice Shield!"
With a roar, an icy wall surged from the ground, a fortress of frost. The blazing blade crashed down.
"Ssssshhhk!"
Steam hissed, cracks splintered the shield. Shockwaves hurled dust and rubble, soldiers staggered backwards.
Such crushing force… Luna's heart tightened, but her eyes gleamed with thrill.
Now this—this was real.
The short-haired woman snarled, killing intent surging. She pressed down hard. "——Black Wing Severance!"
Her blade twisted into a spiral, compressed into a storm of destruction, ripping the shield apart.
"Boom!"
Shards exploded, Luna was thrown back three steps, her arm trembling.
Yet her lips curved upward—a taunting smile.
"Heh… not bad." Luna's voice was steady, eyes gleaming cold. "Now it's my turn."
Her palms pressed together, magic erupted.
"——Sacred Burst!"
Raging beams of icy-blue burst forth, tearing through the air.
The short-haired woman's eyes widened, crossing her blades to block. Flames and frost collided in a storm.
"Ssshhhk!"
The shriek of colliding energies shredded eardrums, pressure ripping apart earth. Grass and stone peeled layer by layer, cracks spiderwebbing beneath the woman's feet.
"Damn it… this brat's power—!"
Luna's gaze was sharp, heart pounding with battlelust. Magic flooded through her, her voice a war hymn:
"Kneel—before me!"
"Boom——!"
The clash erupted. Red flame was swallowed whole by blue frost. The woman cried out, body hurled back, slamming into stone, debris bursting around her.
Amid smoke, she knelt on one knee, breath ragged, blood at her lips.
She looked up, eyes still fierce, but trembling with shock.
"...What kind of monster are you…?"
Luna merely flicked her wrist, dissolving the frost into mist. Her breath steady, as if that overwhelming strike had been only warm-up.
Her head tilted, her tone mocking and proud: "Didn't you say it ends here? Looks like you're the one down, not me."
——The air froze in silence.
At last, the one-eyed woman spoke, her voice cold as steel.
"——Target exceeds combat parameters. Retreat."
At her command, the Black Wing swarm withdrew, compressing into a black tide, vanishing with the two women into the night sky.
The explosions faded, leaving only embers and shattered ice. The patrol soldiers trembled, gasping, rifles slipping in their hands.
——They no longer knew who the true terror of this battlefield was.
Luna stood amidst the ruins, hair flowing in the night wind. Her gaze was icy, yet glimmering with excitement.
Black Wing… things are getting interesting.