Extra's Descent-Chapter 372: White Christmas [6]

The days continued like that.

And in the end, they had never found the perpetrator.

It was nothing but a cold case.

December 18, 2149.

Apparently, Brandon had an important meeting today. Since it was winter break, Amelia didn't know what to do.

At the moment, she was still waiting for her faction to finish the task on hand.

Additionally, she had finished her paperwork for today, and had already submitted twenty proposals.

Despite being a Constantine, she was quickly making a name for herself as 'Amelia', instead of being known as Amelia Constantine.

It was all thanks to the fruition of her efforts, that the Imperial Army had finally started seeing her for her true value.

However, since there was nothing left to do for today, then all she could do was immerse herself in training.

Amelia didn't like standing idle.

For that reason, she tended to cut her sleep short by six hours instead of the usual eight. All for the purpose of sneaking in extra time to study, or train.

Recently, Wraith cultist attacks had increased for some reason.

The Imperial Army—along with a bunch of rankers would quickly dispatch to resolve the situation.

But there was only so much they could do.

For that reason, Amelia joined a dispatched team—composed of rankers and mercenaries.

A total of six people.

Apparently, the group of cultists they were hunting had been caught smuggling psychedelic shrooms.

They quickly trudge the forest discreetly. But there was something that just wouldn't leave Amelia's attention.

"...."

Ahead of her, it would only be brief, but Amelia could solemnly swear their eyes met a couple of times.

It was a powerful mercenary that was hired by the Imperial Army to assure their survival.

She was beautiful, with pink hair, and pink eyes.

Curious, Amelia couldn't help but ask.

"Excuse me, do you need something?"

"Ah? Oh, no. Sorry, you just remind me of someone."

The woman quickly dismissed it and turned her attention ahead.

Swoosh—!

Like a phantom, they quietly traversed the forest. Until finally, they finally arrived at the location.

Positioned between trees, while some were standing in branches, they scanned the vicinity.

Ahead of them, was a shabby warehouse. However, it was all on the surface.

The oppressive mana seemed to linger in the air.

"They've placed a barrier."

One of the members informed. All it took was a quick glance, and he could immediately tell.

Amelia on the other hand, couldn't tell. Her recognition of tangible mana wasn't as sensitive compared to mages.

But if what the mage was saying was true, then this was the place.

Luckily, they had prepared for every kind of situation.

"I'll deal with it, but it will only be brief. The longer I cancel out the barrier, they'll soon notice something is wrong. Use that chance to infiltrate the field."

Another member spoke. There wasn't a fixed leader. However, due to their professionalism, they were chosen for the job.

Truth be told, because of the recent incident, Bellion wasn't keen on allowing Amelia to tackle such a dangerous task.

But with her insistence, added to the fact that she was well on her way in breaking through the S–ranks, Bellion had no other choice but to approve.

Amelia could tell he was being overprotective. If it were someone like Brandon, he wouldn't even retort.

In any case, Amelia needed first–hand experience.

This had been the first time in a while since cultists started being active again.

She didn't want to miss the opportunity.

"Once I give the signal, quickly go in."

With that, the member stepped forward. A man in his early twenties.

Apparently, he was a ranker from a guild called "Oath Sign".

Education wise, from his resume, he was an Astrea Academy alumni.

The man quickly disappeared into the darkness.

The five other members looked down and scanned.

The man retrieved something from his sling–bag. A device with magic stones engraved in it.

Suddenly, the device glowed and touched the barrier.

It was only brief, but Amelia caught a glimpse of a transparent purple dome that quickly faded as soon as it appeared.

Purple sparks wrapped around the device, and Amelia could see the man struggling from the pain that came with it.

Then, a hole tore open on the dome around the device.

That was the signal.

Swoosh—!

The group of five quickly moved and entered the barrier one by one through the hole. Amelia too had entered, and as soon as the numbers added up, the man quickly pulled the device back and joined them.

At that moment, the hole reconstructed itself.

There were a bunch of trees in the vicinity which they used to hide for the time–being.

Next up was the woman with pink hair. Apparently, she excelled in reconnaissance and espionage.

The woman once again turned to glance at Amelia, but quickly turned back.

"...?"

Amelia found it odd.

It was as if she couldn't help but look at her.

But in any case, Amelia didn't complain.

Because out of everyone present, the woman with pink hair was the strongest among them.

"Illya."

That was her name.

"I'll remember that."

Amelia whispered to herself.

All of a sudden, Illya's figure grew transparent—turning into a shade of blue.

Then….

Splash!

She turned into water and vanished soon after.

"Woah…."

It was still hard to believe that someone had fully mastered their affinity to the point of complete fusion, even though she had heard of such people and seen it before.

The sight still left her astonished.

Truly, in Imperial Academy, she was nothing but a big fish in a small pond.

There were much more talented and powerful people out there.

This mission served as a great experience.

In any case, Amelia's task was simple.

A sniper.

For that reason, Amelia positioned herself high above the snowy trees, and the other members neared the warehouse.

***

Illya easily entered the warehouse.

By submerging herself in her [Water] affinity, she could traverse the warehouse like a small blob.

It was her [Assimilation].

For some reason, she couldn't help but stare at Amelia.

She looked oddly familiar. Whenever he eyes landed on her, an image would always overlap.

'Ciel.'

She looked oddly identical to Ciel.

It was rather peculiar.

The whole situation was nothing but a coincidence. Illya was well aware of her identity.

Amelia Constantine.

Blank, or rather, Brandon Locke's significant other.

In any case, Illya focused on the task at hand.

Her role was espionage and information gathering such as; the enemy's numbers, their positions, where the shrooms were, and so on.

They couldn't notice her presence.

Because Illya had compressed her mana, to the point of completely silencing her presence.

There were a bunch of people wearing lab coats engaging in experiments. Furthermore, there were others who seemed to be the guards.

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They were all cultists.

Mages or duelists who had sold their souls to Wraiths—in exchange for power.

Illya was efficient, memorizing precise locations of where the guards were, the best location to infiltrate with as fewer guards present.

But Illya wasn't here to do everything on her own.

She was only paid the amount to guarantee their survival.

It was only of her own volition, why she helped out this much.

In other words, she was a babysitter.

Illya materialized silently behind a water tank, her body reforming from the previous liquid phase.

She quickly fixed the communication device in her ear, her tone sharp and to the point.

"Three guards at 080."

The moment those words left her mouth, the guards on the fixed coordinates silently fell.

"...."

Her brows raised slightly. It was the first time she had shown such a reaction in this mission so far.

'Talented.'

That was all she could describe the sniper to be.

Of course, the information she had given was only relative to the guards who were safe to kill—without alerting anyone.

"Two at 120. Lab entrance, 045."

She paused, observing the movement of the cultists.

"Target storage at 230. Minimal resistance. Labs clear for now."

There was no need for unnecessary details.

She was efficient, and the rest of the team knew it. Her role was to deliver information, not handle the entire operation.

Her voice was cold and detached. She'd seen enough of this to know how it would end.

"Move now."

***

Amelia positioned herself high in the trees, the snow brushing on her figure, her eyes locked on the targets.

The railgun in her hand hummed faintly.

She had trained hard for this in case a situation arises where she needed to be discreet—perfecting the art of silent shots.

No sound, no trace.

"Huu…."

She adjusted her aim, breathing steady, as Illya's coordinates echoed in her earpiece.

"Three guards. 080."

Amelia locked onto them, her finger brushing the trigger.

"Got it."

Swoosh—!

The first shot flew. Silent. Lethal.

Three down.

She shifted her aim, barely a moment's pause.

Swoosh—!

Another shot flew. Several bullets silently pierced the air.

Two more down.

The rest of the team moved in.

Amelia had completed her task for now.

Her brows furrowed then.

Because her phone had been vibrating this entire time.

She retrieved her phone, and her eyes widened.

"Huh?"

There were a bunch of emails.

Not just a bunch.

There were a lot.

She quickly opened one of the emails.

[Greetings, I am…..]

[....This is my formal request to join your faction….]

It was a resume, specifically requesting to join her faction.

And as she further checked the other emails, they were all the same content.

"...."

What the hell is going on?