Chapter 22: Index Librorum Prohibitorum's Resentment
Inside an abandoned warehouse, it was pitch black with a faint musty smell.
Click, a metal lighter opened, a wisp of flame dispelling some of the darkness, illuminating a man's face.
A cigarette was lit, and the smell of tobacco gradually filled the warehouse.
"Stiyl, smoking is harmful to your health. Take care of yourself. You're still young."
A woman's voice came through.
"So what? Before I die of lung disease, I might already have fallen in battle, perhaps not long from now."
Stiyl let out a cold, self-deprecating laugh. He lit this cigarette to mask the smell of blood in the warehouse, and the feeling in his heart as if a dagger had pierced it. He vaguely sensed something was wrong, not from the enemy, but from his own side.
The man and woman in the warehouse fell silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop, a dead silence.
Ssss~
The crawling sound of some creature came. Hearing this, Stiyl snapped his fingers, and a ball of flame rose before him. This was Stiyl's ability; he was proficient in fire magic. With the blessing of runes, he could use very powerful fire magic.
Mages from the Magic Index world were different from most mages. Most mages were primarily driven by mana, supplemented by communicating with elements, to cast spells.
Mages from the Magic Index world were primarily driven by runes, supplemented by mana. They basically didn't communicate with elements, and mediums were an indispensable part. The advantage of this was minimal consumption on themselves, meaning reduced mana consumption. Once they lost their runes, these mages became useless. Not to mention using high-power magic; even using ordinary magic required setting up a magic circle on the spot.
Both had their pros and cons. Mages who relied mainly on mana excelled in skirmishes, while those who relied mainly on runes excelled in positional warfare.
The flames illuminated the warehouse. It was a warehouse of about three hundred square meters, piled with some wooden crates and jars. On a crate in the corner sat a woman. Most of her body was hidden in the darkness, only her two arms visible. Through the gaps in her palms, thick calluses could be seen on her right hand.
By the light of the fire, Stiyl saw what was making the sound. It was a pure white snake. The scales on this snake were clearly visible, lifelike, but Stiyl had a feeling it wasn't a living thing.
"What is this thing?"
Stiyl frowned. This thing gave him an ominous premonition.
"It seems like some kind of alchemical product. The aura is somewhat close."
The woman in the room spoke.
"Not good!"
"There's an enemy!"
As soon as they finished speaking, a wave of air and flames rushed towards them.
Boom!
A blinding flash of fire appeared in the warehouse. The dull explosion made the juvenile delinquents in the nearby reformatory tremble.
The explosion quickly subsided. The airflow near the warehouse accelerated. Because the fire was burning fiercely inside, most of the oxygen in the warehouse was used for combustion, causing a change in internal and external air pressure. The iron door of the warehouse was dented in a large area, as if kicked, and air was sucked in through the gaps in the doors and windows.
Crack, crack...
On one wall of the warehouse, cement fragments exploded. Holes the size of washbasins appeared one after another. Heavy sniper rifle bullets tore into the warehouse.
After more than ten seconds, a third of that wall was shattered. Half a kilometer away, Yegor removed the magazine from his sniper rifle. He was lying on the roof of an abandoned research institute, with a dark green thick cloth underneath and a gray thick cloth covering him. From a high vantage point, Yegor had blended in with the surrounding concrete rooftop.
Yegor picked up a magazine beside him and pressed his thumb against the electromagnetic concussion grenade at the top of the magazine. He was judging by feel whether the magazine was full. He had to know the number of bullets in the gun at all times.
Skillfully inserting the magazine, Yegor pulled the bolt expressionlessly. Except for necessary situations during missions, Yegor was usually a man of few words. He could go a month without talking to anyone and remain psychologically normal.
Aim, pull the trigger. The electromagnetic pulse was released at the designated position and designated time. The next bullet would be fired in 8 to 30 seconds, type: armor-piercing. This was Yegor's only thought now. Besides killing the enemy, there were no other superfluous thoughts in his mind.
A blue-white light flickered in the warehouse for 2 seconds before dissipating. Su Xiao, who had witnessed the whole process, nodded. Yegor was more useful than he had imagined.
"Take care of the man first."
Su Xiao said as he walked towards the warehouse.
"Of course."
Index Librorum Prohibitorum was full of fighting spirit. If it were other tasks, she wouldn't be this proactive. To be precise, Index Librorum Prohibitorum didn't listen to orders much.
Regarding this, Su Xiao felt it was normal. He had known Index Librorum Prohibitorum for less than 48 hours. Besides, she was a partner assigned by Aleister, not obligated to obey his commands. And as for his own charm attribute, he was very 'confident,' so he never expected Index Librorum Prohibitorum to be obedient.
This time was an exception. Index Librorum Prohibitorum was extremely cooperative in this mission. The reason was that she had been ambushed by Stiyl in the warehouse last night, suffering extensive burns on her body. After being admitted to the hospital, she was wrapped up like a mummy. She had never received treatment from Heaven Canceller before and didn't know if she could recover. At two in the morning that night, when the ward was empty, she secretly shed a few tears under the covers. No woman was indifferent to her own appearance. Her previous talk about cutting off her chest was just because she felt the pair on her chest would affect her combat and intermittently cause her death. As for actually doing it, she couldn't bring herself to.
Su Xiao walked into the warehouse. As soon as he entered, a wave of heat rushed towards him.
Sunlight streamed in through the holes in the wall. The walls, floor, and ceiling of the warehouse were plastered with paper-like runes, all fire attribute runes.
"Kill them, Innocentius."
Stiyl stood in the warehouse, his black robe tattered from the explosion. A piece of wood blown off by the blast was stuck in his abdomen.
"Roar!"
A four-meter-tall flame figure let out a roar. This was Innocentius. The heat wave in the warehouse was emanating from it.
Su Xiao leaped backward. While he was in mid-air, a large sheet of flame surged towards him.
The flames enveloped Su Xiao. Not far away, Stiyl threw out a rune, which quickly decomposed. At the same time, the oxygen within a dozen meters of Su Xiao rapidly gathered around him, causing the flames enveloping him to explode into a blaze. The orange-red flames even showed a tendency to turn blue.
Flames surged. Su Xiao jumped out from within the flames, surrounded by layers of counter shields. The energy veins on the surface of these counter shields turned scorching red, having absorbed a lot of heat.
Su Xiao immediately dismissed the counter shields. Normal air rushed towards him, and he took a deep breath.
After landing steadily, Dragon-Slaying Flash appeared in Su Xiao's left hand, with Azure Steel Shadow energy surging along the blade.
"Plan B."
Su Xiao shouted loudly.
"OK."
Index Librorum Prohibitorum turned on the military flashlight in her hand. Since it was daytime, the flashlight didn't emit a strong light but instead projected a red beam.
A red dot the size of a grain of rice appeared on Stiyl's chest. Stiyl didn't notice the dot; he was controlling Innocentius to pounce on Su Xiao. Innocentius was his strongest ability, carrying a temperature of 3000 degrees.
Index Librorum Prohibitorum stared intently at the red dot on Stiyl's chest. Her spatial ability had too much freedom. Without setting a benchmark, there would be some deviation when teleporting objects.