Chapter 109: Tracking

“A person?”

Ephnel frowned slightly.

“What kind of person?”

“Looks like… a staff member from here?” Yukina’s voice came through the earpiece.

She paused, seemingly observing, then said, “The distance is too far, but they are indeed wearing the work uniform from here. Other than that, I can’t see very clearly… But speaking of which, Naoko, I remember that the evacuation work there has already been completed…”

“It’s not surprising if someone was missed. Sometimes there are people who are unlucky and get separated from the evacuation team and can only hide temporarily.”

Ephnel thought for a moment and said.

“However, tell me the location first.”

“Just behind the middle building on the east side of the dormitory area, heading north.”

“That’s not the direction of the shelter… north… there doesn’t seem to be anything else to the north. I have to say, it’s very suspicious. Anyway, I’ll go take a look. Keep an eye on him for me for now.”

“Mmm!”

The communication was temporarily cut off again.

The long spear in Ephnel’s hand disappeared, and she rushed out from the rooftop, moving quickly in the night sky.

Erosion Organisms are sensitive to many types of energy.

For this reason, when there are no humans as their primary target, they sometimes target various electronic devices, destroying circuits and facilities.

Thanks to this, the lighting facilities in many areas have stopped working, and the darkness of the night has gradually taken over most of the area.

However, this didn’t pose much of a hindrance to the Agents.

Ephnel moved quickly between the buildings, each leap landing precisely on the edge.

For an Agent, although the field of vision at night was indeed narrower than during the day, it was still far superior to that of an ordinary human.

Moreover, Ephnel could further concentrate her power to enhance her vision.

To her, the current night was as clear as day.

Seeing the figure of an Erosion Organism not far away, Ephnel leaped high from the edge of the building, flipping over in mid-air to face down.

As her body fell, she tapped her feet repeatedly, each time with great force, increasing her falling speed.

A string of brilliant moonlight was left behind her in the mid-air by the shattered steps.

Covering a distance of nearly a hundred meters, Ephnel descended like a cannonball, and the Erosion Organism met her with a swipe of its claw.

Ephnel spun her body, and a dazzling silver light transformed into a long spear, swinging out horizontally to meet the giant claw.

Normally, the strength of an Erosion Organism is greater than that of an Agent.

The only Agent in Seikyo City who could contend with an Erosion Organism in terms of strength was the Agent who used the “shield and sword”—Erincia.

In other words, apart from her, the strength of other Agents was not superior to that of the Erosion Organisms.

But at this moment, the Erosion Organism’s giant claw was sent flying by Ephnel’s sweeping spear.

At the same time, Ephnel’s downward momentum did not decrease.

She shattered a step with her foot, forcefully twisted her body, and from under her skirt, Ephnel’s long, fair leg was raised above her head.

In front of her snowy white thigh, was her cold gaze.

Then, with an explosion of her full body’s strength, the sound barrier flashed and disappeared, and Ephnel’s heel slammed down on the Erosion Organism’s head, which was left undefended.

A huge explosion rang out as the Erosion Organism’s massive body crashed to the ground.

Spiderweb-like cracks spread across the ground, and the flying rubble and dust landed with a crisp sound like roasting soybeans.

The sound of shattering glass echoed from the surrounding buildings, marking the end of this Erosion Organism’s life.

Ephnel tapped her feet lightly and leaped again before she even landed, scooping up the rising starlight and chasing in another direction.

But at this moment, Yukina’s communication came through again.

“Naoko! That person… he’s gone…”

“What happened?”

“He left from the corner, and then… I don’t know where he went…”

The position where Yukina was located was indeed an excellent spot that overlooked a large area.

But since she was observing with her naked eyes, there were bound to be blind spots.

If it were a large creature like an Erosion Organism, it would be a different story.

The target was conspicuous and couldn’t hide, so there was no chance of losing the target.

But if the target was just a human, then it would be very difficult to keep an eye on them all the time.

And if the other party had undergone relevant training and had some anti-reconnaissance awareness, then it would be very easy for them to move around while avoiding Yukina’s sight.

So, Ephnel did not blame Yukina.

Since the target was lost, the next step should be done by her, who was on the scene.

“It’s alright, he can’t have gone far. You should be able to see me now, right? Tell me his last known position.”

“Just behind the fifth street lamp in front of you, go past the bench next to it. I saw him climb over the windowsill into the building, then walk down the first-floor corridor, turn a corner, and then he disappeared…”

“Okay, I’ll go take a look.”

“Onee-chan, be careful… he looks very suspicious. I’m afraid he’s not a good person…”

“Don’t worry, the other party may not necessarily be an enemy. You continue to stand guard there and observe if any other Erosion Organisms appear.”

“Mmm!”

Cutting off the communication, Ephnel had already flipped over and arrived at the first-floor corridor.

This was a dormitory building in a dormitory area.

With all the personnel having evacuated, the corridor was very quiet.

The faint, cold moonlight shone in through the window.

On a windless night, the air flowed slowly, sometimes hot and humid, sometimes cool, with Ephnel’s footsteps.

Ephnel quickly glanced around and found nothing.

She let out a soft sigh of relief and panted lightly, calming her rapid breathing.

The fast travel and the “banishment” of the Erosion Organisms were very physically demanding.

Even for Ephnel, after the two consecutive kills and the long run, she was a bit tired.

Her two battles were both overwhelming victories achieved through powerful strength and skills, which had consumed a lot of Ephnel’s stamina.

Moreover, she had used “steps” too many times in a row, which was also a considerable burden for her.

Although she didn’t know who the person who appeared here was, just as Yukina said, he appeared in a place where he shouldn’t have.

So, it was better to be cautious.

Therefore, Ephnel quickly adjusted her breathing, trying to restore her combat effectiveness to its best level.

Maintaining optimal combat readiness at all times was one of the important qualities of an Agent.

The night was quiet, and Ephnel’s footsteps were light.

The sound of the air brushing past her ears was all she heard.

Ephnel had once learned one of Masaki Hinaki’s signature skills, which was the eerily quiet walking technique.

Of course, Ephnel had only learned it a little out of interest and had only grasped the basics, just enough to be usable.

Compared to a professional stealth assassin, there was still a considerable gap.

After all, Ephnel was an Agent, not a killer.

Her most powerful weapons and techniques were originally used to kill Erosion Organisms, not people.

For Erosion Organisms, whether she made a sound or not didn’t make much of a difference.

Ephnel took a few more steps forward and turned a corner.

Just then, she found some water stains on the ground, and there were obvious footprints not far away.

Ahead seemed to be the shower room and laundry room.

The faint, humid heat that had filled the air just now was coming from there.

Ephnel’s gaze quickly swept over the surroundings.

On one side was a window, and on the other were dormitories, with their doors open.

No other suspicious traces were found.

Ephnel frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and still followed the water stains of the footsteps forward.

Then, at the end of the corridor, the footsteps went outside.

Ephnel also turned to follow.

Just then, behind a half-open door behind her, a figure slowly appeared, a gun barrel aimed straight at Ephnel.

Bang bang—

Two bangs and a dazzling flash of light flashed in the corridor, and only a distant echo gradually spread.

“Wha…!?”

The figure let out a short cry of surprise.

From the voice, it was easy to tell that it was a man.

And based on the position from which the voice came, Ephnel could judge his approximate height.

“So these footprints were a trap… no wonder they were so conspicuous.”

Ephnel was standing sideways, her long spear held behind her back.

She spoke softly, her crimson pupils coldly fixed on the figure by the door.

“This little trick of yours, I find it superfluous to even look at. It’s really unseemly. Do you really think I’m that easy to deal with?”

The figure did not speak, but gripped the gun in his hand tightly.

The sweat in his palm and the trembling in his heart made him feel that he couldn’t hold the gun steady.

Although it was only for a moment, he saw it.

In the instant he fired, a silver light flashed by the girl’s side, and a golden spark exploded on the silver light.

It seemed that the girl was unharmed.

…