*crack*
Time seemed to be slow and Brandon instinctively turned his head to the left...
But before the bullet could even reach him, a blue barrier appeared in front of it, and the bullet crashed into the barrier.
The barrier easily parried the bullet, and the bullet fell down, clanking against the floor.
The whole store went silent for a second.
Ravene's hand shot out, grabbing his wrist as she quickly looked at the surroundings.
The store attendants stood frozen in shock before they hurriedly ran out of there in fear.
Brandon's gaze flickered to the entrance and saw the small crowd of people outside were also horrified.
Whoever had taken the shot was either incredibly skilled or had a vantage point from somewhere above.
Ravene's eyes narrowed slightly as she used her ether perception and saw the trajectory of the bullet that pierced through the glass on the side.
'Opposite building roof?'
She pulled him behind a nearby shelf and flipped a display rack for extra cover.
"Kael, calm down..."
Brandon's eyes shook as he almost died just now if not for the barrier created by Ravene but he took a deep breath to control his adrenaline.
Meanwhile, Ravene's gaze squinted, and she looked at the glass crack where the bullet just come through.
Looking at the bullet shell embedded in the glass crack, she clicked her tongue 'Tch... those idiots.'
Brandon's eyes narrowed 'No second shot... is the sniper changing the location?'
'They must be powerful for daring to kill me when I am with an S-rank awakener.'
At this time, he suddenly heard footsteps, and Ravene noticed many people entering the store.
"Kael, they have surrounded us.. stay close to me."
From every entrance... front, back, and even the side corridors—figures in sleek black combat suits rushed in.
Their attire was reinforced with tactical plating, built for both agility and defense, while their faces were masked, hiding their identities.
Some were wielding short blades crackling with energy, while others gripped firearms modified to emit etheric pulses.
One of the attackers raised her hand, and a massive shockwave burst outward, shattering the store's glass walls and sending clothing racks flying for a better view.
*CRACK* *THOOM*
The sheer force of the attack caused the ceiling lights to flicker, raining down sparks.
Before the dust could settle, another attacker dashed forward.
Blue etheric flames erupted from her boots, leaving a burning trail across the ground as she lunged straight for Ravene. But Ravene was faster.
But Ravene was faster.
In an instant, she vanished. FWOOSH!
A blur of red energy streaked through the air as she reappeared above the charging woman, her body suspended in mid-air.
Ether gathered around her hand as red bolts of lightning crackled around her fingertips.
With a snap of her fingers, jagged chains of blood-red ether erupted from the floor and shot toward the woman quickly.
*swoosh* The woman barely had time to scream as the chain wrapped around her torso.
It twisted violently... compressing her ribcage with a sickening CRACK.
"Graargh..." A strangled scream left her lips as the chains pulled her upward, spinning her through the air before hurling her straight through a reinforced glass display.
She crashed into the back wall with enough force to dent the concrete before slumping to the ground.
Ravene landed softly and her crimson chains retracted into the floor.
But there was no time to rest—three more attackers were already moving in.
One woman clenched her fists, and a deep purple glow surrounded her arms. BZZZT!
She vanished and reappeared directly behind Ravene.
Her fist, now covered in a dense etheric field, swung toward Ravene's spine.
At the same time, another attacker lunged from the side and her twin etheric blades left violet trails in the air as she slashed horizontally, aiming for Ravene's throat.
The third enemy, positioned further back, raised both hands, and spheres of compressed energy formed in her palms before launching forward in a rapid barrage.
Ravene's eyes gleamed.
With a slight pivot, she twisted her body, avoiding the ether-coated fist that passed just inches from her spine.
The shockwave from the punch was powerful enough to split the floor beneath them, but Ravene had already shifted her weight.
Her crimson chains burst from the ground again, intercepting the slashing daggers mid-swing with a burst of sparks before wrapping around the assassin's wrists, locking her blades in place.
SWOOSH!
The incoming energy blasts from the third attacker shot toward her like projectiles, but Ravene didn't flinch.
With a flick of her wrist, she pulled the blade-wielding woman straight into the incoming attack.
BOOM! The energy blasts slammed into the trapped attacker, engulfing her in a violent explosion that sent her spiraling through a shattered glass window.
*THOOM*
But Ravene was already moving again.
She ducked low, twisting her body to avoid another ether-infused punch from the remaining opponent.
As she spun, her chains retracted and in one fluid motion, she sent them slicing forward.
SLASH!
The woman barely had time to widen her eyes before the chains cut through her combat suit, slicing deep into her flesh.
"ARGHH!!" A scream tore from her lips as she staggered backward, clutching her wounds.
Ravene didn't hesitate and redirected her chains, sending them straight through the floor.
A second later, they burst from underneath the attacker, impaling her through the torso before slamming her into the ceiling with a crunch.
CRASH!
The entire section of the ceiling collapsed from the impact, sending debris raining down into the store.
But it wasn't over.
More enemies poured in from the outside.
At the same time, Brandon felt a presence closing in behind him.
He turned just in time to see a woman lunging at him with a dagger coated in corrosive ether aimed straight for his heart.
Brandon sidestepped, pivoted on his heel, and caught the attacker's wrist in one swift motion.
Using her own momentum against her, he pulled her forward before driving his knee straight into her stomach.
WHAM!
The impact sent her flying back, crashing into a nearby shelf.
*CRASH*
Before he could recover, two more rushed to him.
One was wielding a spear with crackling blue lightning arcing around its tip, while the other conjured orbs of ice in both hands.
The ice-wielding woman hurled her frozen projectiles.
Brandon ducked under the first, narrowly avoiding the second as it shot past his ear.
The moment he landed, the spear-wielding woman lunged, thrusting the spear toward him.
Brandon barely managed to twist out of the way, but the spear's electric charge still grazed his shoulder, sending a painful jolt through his arm.
Gritting his teeth, he grabbed a broken metal rod from the wreckage and swung it upward.
CLANG!
The makeshift weapon met the spear's shaft, creating a small shower of sparks.
Using the opening, Brandon shifted his grip and slammed his elbow into the attacker's jaw, sending her staggering back.
But before he could follow up, the ice-user was already casting another spell and the temperature around her dropped as jagged shards of ice formed in a spiral pattern around her.
Brandon exhaled, steadying himself.
Seems like this is going to be a long fight.
---
Meanwhile, on the opposite building, a beautiful woman was standing on the rooftop with a slight smirk on her lips as she watched the scene.
She was wearing a black sports bra, revealing her toned, muscular physique, and dark athletic pants.
Her long, wavy black hair cascaded down her back as her black eyes gleamed in amusement.
Naevora Le Vörtdämmerung chuckled softly "I like him..."
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A/n: Btw, I have added character pictures in popularity section. You can check through webnovel mobile app, you can also send popularity points, also don't forget to send powerstones, golden tickets and even gifts if you like the story and want to support me:)