ROAR! The flame dog roared, shattering all the cafe windows. Shards of glass scattered everywhere. Lucia, sitting near the window, was injured by the glass shards, and fresh red blood flowed. Pain shot through her senses, and the girl let out a soft cry.
However, Lucia's cry was easily heard by the flame dog. It lunged, crushing a few nearby humans before running to attack Lucia's position. The bullets Misora fired had no effect on this interdimensional creature. In just a few seconds, the flame dog stopped in front of Lucia and the others.
Misora shielded Kotone and Lucia. Interdimensional energy swirled within her body, flowing through various parts of her form. Her muscles and bones were strengthened. If bullets were useless, then her body would have to suffice.
After staring at each other for several seconds, the flame dog decided to attack first. Misora did not dodge the attack, as her sister and Lucia were behind her. If she dodged, both of them could be dangerously injured. Misora engaged directly. The sharp fangs sank into her skin.
Misora gritted her teeth to endure the pain. She used her free hand to pummel the interdimensional monster's head dozens of times. Even so, the flame dog refused to let go. On the contrary, its dangerous fangs dug in deeper. It became more determined, wanting to tear apart the human girl in front of it.
When the flame dog began to weaken, Misora took the opportunity to throw it to the other side of the cafe, where it crashed into the wall with a loud bang. Fortunately, there were no more people left in the cafe. Everyone had used the moment Misora was dealing with the flame dog to flee outside.
But they didn't realize that outside the cafe was even more dangerous than inside. Inside the cafe, there might be a B-rank interdimensional monster, but compared to outside, the inside was heaven. Outside was filled with strange cultists and interdimensional monsters. Going out was equivalent to heading straight to hell.
Back to the present, after throwing the flame dog away from her sister and Lucia, Misora checked her injuries. The wounds were gaping and horrifying. Blood flowed, and the wounds felt a burning sensation as if being set on fire. The interdimensional energy in Misora's body was chaotic and difficult to stabilize.
Her strengthened body gradually returned to normal. When the strengthening was canceled, the injuries worsened. Misora could barely endure the pain of the wounds, but she gritted her teeth and held on. Her eyes fixed on the flame dog as it slowly rose to its feet. Each wound healed quickly.
"Sister!" Kotone cried out in worry. She wanted to help her sister, but she knew her own strength compared to the opponent's. She couldn't do it. Even if she entered the fight, she would only be a burden to her sister.
"..." Lucia remained silent, sitting under the table quietly, clutching the arm that had been cut by glass. Blood continued to flow and showed no sign of stopping. She felt hopeless and helpless. Inside the cafe was unsafe, and outside was even more dangerous.
No matter which way, only death awaited. Lucia hugged her knees tightly. There wasn't even a question in her head like: What should I do? Even though she was extremely afraid, trembling non-stop, at the same time, she was calm as if ready to die. It was a strange contradiction.
"Don't worry, I'm still fine." Misora turned back and smiled at Kotone. She saw Lucia's despairing expression. She wanted to say something, but the interdimensional flame dog interrupted her.
The girl grabbed her gun and fired again. The bullets hit the monster's body, and just like before, the bullets barely caused any damage. But they weren't entirely useless. With repeated shots, the flame dog began to get annoyed with Misora. Its attention focused solely on her.
The flame dog increased its speed, lunging to attack its enemy. Misora dodged the attack and moved several meters away from it. The flame dog, focused on tearing apart its single prey, naturally wasn't targeting Lucia and Kotone. It quickly closed the distance between itself and Misora.
"Lucia, what should we do?" Kotone leaned weakly against her friend's shoulder. Although she asked that, in reality, she didn't expect an answer. In such a desperate situation, what could lack of strength accomplish? All they could do was wait for death!
Kotone's weak touch brought Lucia back to her senses. She was no longer overwhelmed by despair as before. She turned to look at the girl who was usually brave and fearless.
"I don't know." Lucia said softly. She felt just as hopeless. She couldn't give anyone advice right now. Even normally, she wasn't the type of person who could give advice to others.
However, even without a verbal answer, even without an answer to that question, Lucia couldn't ignore her friend's feelings. She slowly reached out her hand and touched the other's shoulder, comforting her as best as she could.
BANG! Misora's body rolled across the floor, crashing violently into a chair, causing it to crack. Blood spurted from her mouth as she tried to stand up again, refusing to give up. Her neatly styled hair was now loose, fluttering gently in the breeze coming through the shattered windows.
"If I had the same technology as them... I would definitely win." Misora murmured. The Federation didn't provide Misora with much special equipment or weapons, especially since she wasn't a high-ranking Vessel. Therefore, Misora struggled to fight interdimensional monsters that were a rank higher than herself.
This was different from the people of the PRIORITY organization, who had the latest advanced technology. Generally, they could easily fight interdimensional monsters one rank higher than themselves. A single rank higher enemy was not a problem for them at all.
Initially, Misora had intended to work at PRIORITY, but she failed the application. They had very strict requirements and conditions, even stricter than the Federation's. Moreover, every year, there were many applicants. Among thousands or tens of thousands of competitors, there were certainly many better options than Misora.
Therefore, it was not very surprising that Misora's application was rejected. Fortunately, after she couldn't join PRIORITY, she was contacted by the Federation just in time, informing her that her application had been approved.
"No... no 'if'." Misora's resolve strengthened. Her eyes became unwavering. The unstable interdimensional energy in Misora's body strangely returned to calm, as if those interdimensional energies had consciousness and could perceive her unwavering determination.