- A Little Earlier -

(Feng Mian's Perspective)

After my encounter with Qing Yue, it took me a while before finally finding someone else. This time, my opponent was Yu An Xue. We first came across each other as we both happened to round a corner at the same time, bumping into one another.

My first instinct was to pull out my dual pistols, and point them at Yu An Xue's head. She seemed to harbor similar feelings, as by the time my guns were fixed on her forehead, her pulse rifle was also lined up directly with my heart.

Neither of us shot, however.

"So...uh, want to move somewhere more open to fight? It'll be pretty boring if we just both eliminate each other right here, don't you think?" I suggested after several moments of awkward silence.

"..." she didn't respond, but instead lowered her gun. I took that signal as a yes.

Since I wasn't a cheap person, I lowered my gun as well, and we formed a temporary truce as we moved to find a good place to have a nice fair fight.

Eventually, we came across a medium-sized open area that seemed suitable for a duel.

"How about here?" I asked, looking around.

"...Sure," Yu An Xue responded softly, before walking to a spot across from me, and turning around to face me. "...How will we be doing...this?"

I fell into thought. "Hm...let's keep things simple. A straight-forward gunfight - we both have Ice Magic, so we can use that to create cover for ourselves. No other spells apart from Glacier Form, and no leaving this area. Sound good to you?"

Yu An Xue closed her eyes. "...Fine by me."

I smiled in satisfaction. "Sweet. Let's do this, then. On the count of 3 - 1...2...3!"

I immediately shot a bullet towards her, but she was quicker. She had anticipated my shot, and ducked to avoid it. Before I could move my aim down to match her movements and fire again, she was already casting her spell.

"Glacier Form - Wall."

A wall of ice rose up in front of her, and I tsked quietly, before creating my own cover.

"Glacier Form - Wall!"

I made a few more wall segments, just for good measure. By the time I was done, I pretty much had an ice fort. On the other hand, I saw that Yu An Xue's layout was different from me. She, too, had a few different wall segments, but they were placed apart from each other, unlike mine which were interconnected to form one massive wall. But I couldn't keep looking for long, as she fired a burst of bullets at me, which I narrowly managed to avoid by ducking back down just barely in time.

Damn...I'm in a bad position now. She can just keep her aim fixed on my location, waiting for me to peek my head out again...

With this in mind, I discretely shuffled to the left, remaining below the height of my 'fort' so that Yu An Xue couldn't see. This way, I could catch her by surprise, and she would have to shift her aim. In that brief window, I could definitely shoot her first.

Once in position, I suddenly peeked over my cover, and focused my twin pistols Gemini on Yu An Xue, whose eyes widened before retreating behind one of her own wall segments.

I cursed. I had expected her to try and shift her aim to attack me, but it seems she was more careful and defensive than I had expected.

But this was still a good turn of events for me - now, I had the advantage. As long as I kept an eye on that wall segment she retreated behin-

"Wha-!" I immediately ducked back down, as three bursts of bullets came flying my way. Yu An Xue didn't peek her head out, but instead hipfired her pulse rifle with one hand, blindly spraying bullets in my direction.

Under the pressure of her fire, I had no choice but to remain in cover as Yu An Xue regained advantage.

Now...her gun has more bullets than both my pistols combined. I have to play this smart...what do I have over her? Same magic, same firepower...but...I have two weapons, and she has one. That's right! I have two guns! I got it!

Taking a deep breath, I leapt out of cover. This surprised Yu An Xue, who had been waiting for me, and she immediately let out a burst of three bullets towards me. But I wasn't afraid this time - instead, I charged directly towards her, closer. And when the bullets were about to hit me, I threw one of my pistols in her direction, blocking the bullets. Her eyes widened in shock, and she tried firing another volley of bullets at me, but unfortunately for her, she had no more bullets left, and needed to reload.

But alas, how was I going to just let her do that? I aimed my other pistol, and shot without any hesitation. The bullet struck Yu An Xue in the shoulder, and soon after, a bright yellow mist began emerging from the spot I hit her.

I took a deep breath once again, this time in relief. Then, walking over to Yu An Xue, I patted her shoulder.

"You okay? It didn't hurt too much, did it?" I asked in concern.

She shook her head slowly, but from the look on her face, I could tell she was dejected. I sighed.

"It's fine, An Xue. It was a close fight. No one can win 100% of the battles they fight - and you know what they say. Defeat is the mother of victory. I may have won this time around, but you can beat me next time - I'm sure of it."

Yu An Xue looked up at me slowly, smiled faintly, and nodded. "...Mm...yeah."

After confirming she was okay, I let go of her shoulder and began to walk awa-

Pew.

"Ngh-!" a projectile suddenly struck my shoulder, and I nearly fell sideways from the impact. My eyes widened as I saw a black gas emitting from where I had just felt pain. Yu An Xue was surprised as well, but not nearly as much as I was.

No one was closeby. There were no footsteps, and even the sound of the shot came from far away. That left only one explanation.

Wha...a sniper?!

...That must mean...Obsidia. Damn it...ah...I let my guard down. Well played, Obsidia. Well played.

*****

(Obsidia's Perspective)

Got her.

I closed my eyes, and stood back up. Finally, I hit someone. But that was not enough. Right now, my accuracy was still 1/3. I have hit one bullet out of the three I shot. That is about a 33.33% hitrate. Not nearly good enough.

But still, it was a start.

I packed up Whisper, swung it back over my shoulder, and relocated once more...or at least, that is what I wanted to do. However, it seems that someone would not let me.

A figure emerged from the shadows on the building across from mine. She had an otherworldly beauty, long, silver hair, and piercing pink eyes. And out of everyone I knew, only one had such gorgeous features.

"...Mei Gui," I muttered in frustration.

She didn't respond.

And then, without any warning, she uttered the few words that would lead to my doom.

"Apoxyia Form - Activate."

"Hmph...no manners," I cursed, before turning the other way and beginning to run.

I had no choice. She was far more equipped for combat at this range than I was. My Whisper was a sniper rifle - a weapon designed for long distance assassinations. The moment an enemy got close to me, I was doomed. Especially when said enemy is in killer-invincible-robot-form, packed with all sorts of guns and artillery. Even if I was in my dragon form...I was not sure I could defeat her.

"Worry not," Mei Gui said, chasing after me, gliding in the air with ease with her detached wings. "I have already replaced all the bullets within my guns with the projectiles that old man provided. They will not do any lasting harm...probably."

...Probably, huh.

I continued running, before promptly leaping off the edge of a roof. Right before I fell to the ground, I activated a spell.

"Level One Sky Magic - Flight."

Rising up into the air, I flew away, but Mei Gui followed behind, undaunted by my speed.

I remember...10 minutes. If I can just last 10 minutes...I will be the victor. After all, once these 10 minutes are over, her Apoxyia form will end. By then, she will have no ranged weapon, since she was prohibited from using her sword. The rules set for her, like with that catgirl Amane, was that she had to touch us to eliminate us unless she was in her Apoxyia form. If that was the case, I am sure I could win.

After all, no matter how bad a sniper rifle was for close quarters combat, it still beat pure fists alone.