With her favorite brass knuckles firmly positioned on her knuckles, Kimiko advanced toward the closest opponent.

Now, facing two enemies, the [White Corps] quickly changed formation, deciding to take down the new arrival first.

"All three of you! Engage her in close combat!"

The one who seemed to be the most senior among them issued the orders, which his colleagues followed to the letter.

"Cease fire on the dome! Don't waste any more [mana]! She'll come outside to help her accomplice!"

As commanded, the remaining [White Corps] stopped their attacks, but kept their senses alert towards Cloe, while keeping an eye on Kimiko with their peripheral vision, watching the surroundings to prevent any ambushes.

"Only three!? You guys are overestimating yourselves, old men!" (Kimiko)

The young [mage] smiled beneath her gas mask. As her brass knuckles flooded with her electrical energy, she began fighting, trying to draw as many enemies as possible toward her.

"(Things aren't going as planned! The guards around the target are more skilled than we thought! If Cloe-chan wasn't designed for combat and didn't have years of training, she'd be shredded by now!)"

Far away from that position, Kohaku was biting her lip nervously. The girl was typing commands into her computers to control the drones, observing in real-time and with maximum clarity everything happening.

"(Kimiko-chan should have descended much later to help Cloe-chan cover her retreat or support her in the final phase of the fight! But now she's facing the enemy halfway through the operation! At this rate, they'll overpower her!)"

The [Esper] was the group's leader; it was she who told Kimiko to reach her best friend to lighten the burden she was bearing. Now, however, she was beginning to have doubts.

"(No! Both are capable! Even though they're draining a lot of [mana], if I use all the drones, I can still open a small window of opportunity!)"

Using various programs on her computers, Kohaku was already evaluating the best escape route for her two teammates, praying for their success.

Meanwhile, inside the villa, another kind of battle was taking place.

Ten minutes earlier, a wall of sand had blocked the only entrance to the safe room created to protect Yuki Mikan.

Despite the efforts of the two guards and the leader of this [White Corps] protection team, the barrier blocking Kuro's sister's room had not been breached. After all, the [mage] had poured quite a bit of [mana] into her move.

Meanwhile, the second Kusanagi was not standing still.

"Watch out! Behind you!"

The warning from his colleague was useless— a very sharp knife sliced through his throat effortlessly, blood spilling onto the white uniform of the law enforcement officer.

Another victim of Kuro. It had been going on for a while now.

While the leader of the [White Corps] protected Mikan, two of his subordinates attacked the sand wall, while others faced their enemy hiding among the shadows of the house, out of the light.

The enemy's specialty was stealth, and it was evident.

His opponents spread out through the corridor, trying to cover their blind spots. Yet, they couldn't find him before he emerged from the shadows to kill or wound one of them.

"(It's going better than expected so far! But these bastards won't surrender! Don't they realize they're mice caught in a trap!?)" (Kuro)

Using the vines created by [lockpicking], Kuro manipulated several throwing knives to try to hit his enemies from below.

"Arrgh! He cut my tendons!"

Another enemy was wounded, falling painfully to the ground, clutching his bleeding ankle. Others suffered similar attacks— their legs and feet were the targets. Unfortunately for the teenager, their uniforms and [mana] mitigated the damage from the cuts.

"(What a nuisance! I've eliminated the weaker ones; now only those with strong [armor] remain around their bodies... A wounded animal in a corner is more dangerous, huh? Maybe it's time to take some risks, or the plan won't work...),"

With [shadow step], Cloe's brother dissolved into his shadow, allowing him to move easily across the ceiling. His target was Mikan, who had been hiding behind the group's leader from the very start.

Kuro looked with strong disdain at the woman trembling and crying like a frightened child, while the [White Corps] members fell for her.

"(Disgusting, her cowardice makes me want to vomit... Luckily, we'll get rid of her soon!)"

Resuming physical form and descending silently like a ghost, the young [mage] found himself at the left flank of the formation.

Drawing his final knife, the boy approached his target. One of the [White Corps] members noticed him just as he was about to throw his weapon.

"Here he comes!!!!!"

A small fireball was launched by one of Kuro's enemies. This time, however, the boy had exposed himself too much and couldn't avoid the hit.

"(I can't dodge in time!)"

With a quick and precise movement, Cloe's brother managed to turn just enough to use his cloak as a shield.

The impact was devastating. The cloak's material resisted the flames, protecting him from the heat.

But the kinetic force of the blow was too great; he was thrown through two walls of the villa before ending up on the ground inside the room where the party was taking place.

"Ugh...……aagh...……this hurts..."

If it weren't for [armor], Kuro would have been shattered into pieces by now.

Ignoring the pain, the teenager tried to listen to what the [White Corps] were saying.

"I hit him?! We can finish him now!"

"Forget the sand wall! This villa is too compromised! Let's head for the garage, quickly! You! Make sure that guy doesn’t follow us!"

The formation began to move, protecting Mikan. One member of the group moved to cross the two walls broken by their rival Hajime, aiming to capture or kill him.

"(Good! It was worth it; everything went as Fumio-sensei predicted!)"

Without wasting more time, ignoring the pain, the young [mage] managed to get back on his feet, narrowly avoiding another fireball aimed at his head.

"You can't escape! I don't need to protect Mikan-sama anymore! You're going to pay for what you've done to my friends!"

"Call me 'Sama', a woman who acts like a 12-year-old spoiled brat?! You're not worth much if they put you as her guard!" ( Kuro )

"You don't know anything, murderer! I believe we're here by choice! We all do what we have to do to survive and protect our loved ones!"

"Tell that to all the people who suffered because of that woman!" ( Kuro )

Kuro had started this speech just to buy a moment of respite; hearing apologies from some corrupt pseudo-police officers was not something he cared about.

"I won't let my family die because of you and your accomplices! Burn now!"

A wave of flames rushed toward the young [mage], who couldn't avoid the attack entirely. The end of his cloak caught fire; he had to remove it quickly to avoid being burned.

"Take him, [White Corps]!" ( Kuro )

The cloak was thrown at the fire mage, who was struck by the flames, incinerating it instantly.

"Stop running!"

"Fuck you!" ( Kuro )

Other fireballs were hurled at Cloe's brother, but none managed to hit him.

"(He was really holding back earlier, just to avoid killing that woman and her colleagues! But he isn’t afraid to burn the entire house...!? Wait! Don’t tell me he can also control the flames he creates?)"

"You're trapped now!"

The flames ravaging the party room moved into the air, merging to form walls of fire blocking the exits.

"(He tricked me!)" 

Kuro drew his sickle from his shadow, ready for this deadly fight.

"(I did my part! Now I just have to get out alive!)"

*************************

Meanwhile, the group protecting Mikan reached the garage, already expecting someone there.

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU WHILE MY MEN WERE DYING!?"

"Tch... I was protecting the escape vehicles; no big deal!"

The [White Corps] member was tempted to strangle the woman in front of him.

She was middle-aged, with short green hair and blue eyes. Her uniform resembled that of the [Black Corps], though it had no modifications and lacked the symbols of the island's special forces.

"Damn [Black Ghost]! If she dies, we all die! And our families will suffer the flames of hell!"

"She's still alive, right? Why do you complain? Now let's get out of here!"

As they climbed into SUVs, a drone monitored the scene from above.

"Fumio-sensei! They're leaving! The [Black Ghost] is in the second car!" (Kohaku)

"Got it! I'll handle it!" (Fumio)