Chapter 42 Fight

Richard scanned the appearance of the girl and compared it to the girl that they saw in Cubao, and there was no mistaking it. It was the same girl.

But how?

They thought that the girl was hiding in the Cubao Plaza, serving it as her base, but after seeing her in front of the Blackwatch Operatives, it wasn’t the case.

Did she run all the way from Cubao? The distance between Cubao and Makati is approximately 10 kilometers. It’s not that far, considering that during rush hour when transportation is hard to come by, many average workers in the Philippines would walk such a great distance just to go home or to go to work.

The question is, why is that girl here? What is her purpose?

“Blackwatch Actual,” Graves whispered to his radio. “What’s your order?”

“Try communicating with her,” Richard instructed. “Start from what’s her name, and follow it with why she is in the AO. Be friendly, her behavior is unpredictable. We don’t want to appear hostile to a girl that can kill a hunter easily.”

“Copy that, Actual,” Graves acknowledged and spoke to the girl.

“Hello, my name is Graves, I work for the Blackwatch Private Military Company, and we are here to help.”

After saying that, the girl remained unmoved, downcast.

“Hello?” Graves called, but there was no response.

“I’m having a bad feeling about this, sir,” Mark chimed in.

“I agree,” Richard said. “Let’s take precautions. All stations stationed in Quadrant 2, this is Blackwatch Actual. I want all of you to move on the coordinate we have sent to you immediately, there is a level 5 threat on-site. Exercise extreme caution. This is a priority situation. Over and out.”

Each squad in Quadrant 2 acknowledged the order and began moving swiftly toward the designated coordinates, prepared for whatever awaited them.

Back inside the Ayala North Exchange Tower One, Graves continued his attempt to communicate with the enigmatic girl. “Look, we’re here to help you. Can you tell us your name, please?”

Suddenly, the girl shifted slightly, her attention shifting her blood-soaked katana to Graves. Her eyes gleamed ominously red.

“Sir…” One of Graves’s squad spoke with worry.

“Hold your ground, do not fire unless ordered upon,” Graves strictly advised his men.

The girl then moved her hands slowly, assuming what seemed to be a Waki-Gamae stance.

“This is bad…” Graves muttered under his breath.

And then—the girl disappeared as if in a flash.

Then, just as abruptly as she had disappeared, the girl reappeared behind Graves.

Graves’s instincts kicked in, and he spun to face her, only to see a blade slicing upward.

“Shit..!” Graves cursed as he slanted his body, narrowly avoiding her upward slash.

The girl growled as if frustrated by Graves dodging her attack. But the situation is clear. The girl showed hostile behavior and must be taken down.

“Fire!” Graves shouted, and the squad opened fire.

A volley of bullets aimed at the girl who had shown hostile intent. The rapid gunfire filled the lobby with deafening noise, and the flashes of muzzle fire illuminated the scene.

The girl moved with inhuman speed, her jet-black hair trailing behind her like a shadow. She seemed to blur as she dodged the bullets that were passing through the space where she had stood moments before, hitting nothing but air.

The girl reappeared behind Graves’s men and the three of them were torn in half by a swift and deadly strike of her katana. The severed bodies of the unfortunate soldiers fell to the ground in a gruesome heap, their weapons clattering beside them.

Graves watched in horror as his men met their grisly end, and anger welled up inside him.

“Monster!” Graves fired his assault rifle at the girl with unrelenting determination. The deafening roar of gunfire echoed through the lobby as bullets streaked toward the enigmatic girl. But even as the onslaught of bullets closed in on her, the girl remained eerily composed.

In a breathtaking display of agility and supernatural speed, the girl moved with graceful precision. She weaved through the deadly barrage of bullets, her katana a blur of motion as she deflected the incoming rounds with a flick of her blade.

Despite her supernatural abilities, not all the bullets missed their mark. Some managed to penetrate her defenses, piercing her flesh and drawing thin lines of blood. Yet, the girl stood firm, her crimson eyes locked onto Graves.

Seconds later, he had expended all of his ammunition in a mag. He had to reload, but he knew the girl wouldn’t give him a chance.

“Graves…listen to me,” Richard’s voice sounded in his earpiece. “That is not the place you die, you have to come out of there alive.”

“That’s a difficult order sir, but I’ll do my best,” Graves said. “Specter-1 out.”

Ending the transmission, Graves locked gaze with the girl. Reloading his M4 carbine is impossible but he still has his pistol and tactical knife on his holster. His eyes never left her when she started slaughtering his men and looking back at it, she always wanted to appear behind her enemies.

“Come at me,” Graves taunted, and the girl accepted the invitation. In an instant, she vanished from his line of sight and reappeared behind him, just as he had anticipated.

With lightning reflexes, Graves spun around, his eyes widening as he witnessed the blade descending toward him. He acted on pure instinct, his left hand intercepting her slender arms in mid-air. His fingers closed around her delicate wrists, preventing her from doing any arm movement.

Simultaneously, he drew his M9 Beretta from its holster with his right hand. The cold muzzle of the pistol pressed firmly against her abdomen, and Graves squeezed the trigger repeatedly.

The girl groaned in pain for the first time, and she forcefully pulled her arms from Graves’s grip, seized him by the collar, and flung him down the hallway, slamming his body against the wall.

Graves gasped for breath as his back collided with the hard surface, the impact sending a jolt of pain coursing through his body. She sure is strong.

Summoning all the strength he could muster, Graves pushed himself away from the wall and staggered to his feet. His vision swam for a moment, but he fought to stay focused.

The girl wasted no time, and she closed the distance between them with blinding speed. Graves barely had time to react as her hands shot out, fingers curling around his neck and choking him. .𝙘𝙤𝙢

Graves drew out his tactical knife from its holster and stabbed the girl’s arm repeatedly and then to her neck, doing everything he could to get himself out of her vice-like grip.

The girl’s grip on Graves’s neck weakened, and before he could break free, the girl flung him to the reception hall with a powerful throw. He crashed through the air, landing with a painful thud amidst the shattered remnants of the reception area.

Gasping for air, Graves tried to collect his thoughts as he lay on the ground. His body ached from the impact, but he couldn’t afford to stay down.

As he pushed himself up, he ran out of the building. It’s impossible to fight someone that strong in a confined space.

Outside the building, Graves saw squadrons from other squads arriving in their JLTV Oshkosh, M117 Guardian, LAV-25.

“She’s inside!” Graves shouted, walking limp toward the arriving reinforcements. His voice was strained, his body battered, but his determination burned brightly.

The squadrons quickly deployed, forming a perimeter around the building. They took cover behind vehicles and whatever available structures they could find, preparing for the unknown threat that lurked within.

And then moments later, the girl appeared outside the main entrance, this time with her katana. Her eyes scanned the defensive positions of the soldiers.

One of the soldiers armed with FGM-148 Javelin locked onto the girl, his finger hovering over the trigger.

The girl, her crimson eyes fixed on the soldier with the missile launcher, curiously stared at it.

Moments later, the soldier pressed the trigger of the javelin launcher and a missile flew out from its tube. The missile streaked through the air with deadly intent hurtling toward the enigmatic girl.

Reacting with uncanny speed, the girl raised her blood-soaked katana, positioning it in front of her as if to intercept the missile with the blade. For a moment, it seemed as though she might prevail against the explosive force.

But then, with a deafening roar, the missile collided with the blade of the katana in a spectacular explosion of fire and debris. The shockwave from the impact sent a powerful blast of wind in all directions and sent her flying backward with incredible force.

“Go, confirm it,” Graves ordered and twenty soldiers approached the girl cautiously.

Thirty seconds later, the soldiers finally arrived where the girl at, and there, the girl’s body lay motionless.

“Tango down,” announced the soldier.