A sudden gunshot rang out, but Rukil didn’t move an inch. More accurately, she wouldn’t even direct her gaze towards it. It seemed she clearly understood what was happening.
“Such an impolite visit. Weren’t we in a cooperative relationship for now?”
“We were, as long as you kept up appearances!”
The attacker’s true identity was Shin, the Guild President. The surprise bullets she fired scattered in two directions, heading towards Rukil and Patrick.
“Waaah?! Wait, wait a minute! Stop! Time! No to violence!”
The moment he was attacked, Patrick began to flee, dedicating all his efforts to evading the storm of bullets. However, no matter how much he dodved, the bullets changed trajectory and started pursuing Patrick again. Patrick seemed to be calling for a temporary ceasefire, but the bullets showed no signs of listening. A merciless game of tag began, chasing and being chased. Still, seeing as he was dodging the attacks for now, his legs were remarkably fast.
“Gagagagagagaga!”
“Huh!?”
“It’s futile.”
Contrary to the flustered Patrick, Rukil, who hadn’t moved from her spot, took all the falling bullets into her body. However, there was no sign of her taking damage from the attack. It was as if she had cast the Hard skill “Indestructible” on herself, remaining unmoved no matter how many times she was shot.
“That’s… a Shrine Maiden’s Secret Art, the Sacred Temple Divine Realm!”
“Precisely. To grasp that in an instant, you truly are the Adventurer’s Chief.”
“When I heard about transplanting a shrine maiden’s arm and such, I could guess as much!”
The Sacred Temple Divine Realm is one of the Shrine Maiden’s Secret Arts, a formidable barrier used even in S-Rank Ascension Ceremony sparring matches. This barrier, which blocks all attacks regardless of whether they are physical or magical, is renowned as the hardest among existing magic. Originally, it was meant to cover large areas, like an entire stage, but Rukil could only exert its power in a limited capacity, significantly narrowing its scope of application. Furthermore, the duration she could maintain it was extremely short, only about ten seconds, making it a rather crude imitation compared to the Secret Arts wielded by legitimate Shrine Maidens like Colette.
However, Rukil didn’t mind. By applying the power only to the surface of her own body, she could manifest a pseudo-“Indestructible” state, compensating for the disadvantage in range. Moreover, by eliminating the gaps between her body and the barrier, she prevented Shin’s “wild” bullets from warping into the barrier’s openings. Shin’s bullets were indeed guaranteed to hit, but once they struck, they would stop. While there were time constraints, as long as the Sacred Temple Divine Realm was active, damage would not reach Rukil.
“Rukil! What about the barrier for me!?”
“There isn’t one.”
“Of course not! But my running speed is god-tier! I’ll escape!”
Patrick was still desperately running around. Despite his flashy appearance making him very conspicuous, his speed was indeed extraordinary.
“Hmm, this is a bit problematic. The defensive performance is as good as the real thing. It seems I was a bit too late in making my move. Getting delayed in tracking Rukil might have been the start of my troubles.”
Shin, who had suspected Rukil early and taken action, found her subsequent pursuit to be not going well. This was because immediately after departing the Holy Stake, all traces of Rukil’s presence and aura had completely vanished.
“I had heard of being able to disappear using some kind of magic, but being subjected to such a high level of stealth makes it difficult even for me. If I had arrived even a little sooner, I wouldn’t have let her stand on that magic circle, at least…”
While her thoughts raced, Shin continued her attack without pause, changing her bullets to types like sleeping gas and flashbangs. Patrick, unable to dodge them all, was writhing in agony, but they were still ineffective against Rukil.
“Heh heh, what amazing power! But it’s just a fake derived from a single arm! How many more seconds can that barrier last?”
“Yes, it won’t last for another ten seconds. However—”
“—Gofu, gefu… Ah, ahh! The dice have already… been cast!”
The dice that were supposed to be flowing within Patrick’s wings had, at some point, been thrown onto the floor of the ritual ground.
“Ah, I knew it!”
Of course, Shin also knew this. And she was certain that something would happen when those dice stopped. That was why she tried to destroy the dice.
“Gigigiiiiin!”
However, no matter how many bullets hit, the dice wouldn’t break. Not a scratch appeared. Moreover, the trajectory of the rolling dice seemed unchanged. Even though Rukil wasn’t applying the Sacred Temple Divine Realm, their sturdiness was abnormal.
“Damn, this one too!?”
“Fu, fufu, fuhahahaha! They won’t stop, they won’t stop and they won’t break, my dice activated with Authority! Ofu, gefu…!? Those dice, once I throw them, they won’t be interfered with by any other power or ability until they naturally stop! This is fair gambling! Well, any cheating through how they’re thrown is also completely forbidden, hahaha, gefo!”
Dodging bullets and choking on poison gas, Patrick continued to speak loudly. It was as if it were his mission.
“Haa, haa…! I-It’s useless, aren’t you! Even if you kill me now, this Authority won’t stop! But I will run! I will live! And why is that? It’s obvious! I want to see with my own eyes the Unknown I have yet to encounter, the power that may even surpass Adams!”
“Rukil, the dice are stopping! Come on, do it—ah, crap, I think I’m getting a cramp…!”
Shin’s bullets concentrated on Patrick, and he began to lose his evasion accuracy. Pierced by bullets, poisoned, spitting blood, his limbs tingling, he still stubbornly survived.
“Phew, hah, hii… It’s useless, doing that! Even if you kill me now, this Authority won’t stop! But I will run! I will live! And do you know why? It’s simple! I want to see with my own eyes the unknown I have yet to encounter, a power that may even surpass Adams! Rukil, the dice are stopping! Come on, do it—ah, wait, I think I’m about to get a cramp…!”
