Chapter 187: Chapter 187-Betrayal
Nia’s smirk shattered. Her eyes narrowed, and for the first time her dagger hand trembled with anger instead of control.
"Don’t you dare lecture me about debts, Belle!" she snapped, blinking forward in a frenzy. Her blade slashed in rapid arcs, no longer precise, just furious. Sparks scattered as Belle parried with her pistol, backpedaling, her boots skidding against the bloodstained floor.
Belle fired another round, the bullet curving midair toward Nia’s head. Nia barely managed to blink aside, but too late, the shot grazed her cheek, leaving a burning line across her skin.
Her composure cracked completely. "You—!" she hissed, clutching the wound. "You think you’re better than me just because he picked you now?!"
Belle’s breath came hard, but her voice was steady. "This isn’t about who he picked. It’s about who he saved. And you can’t stand the fact that you threw that away."
The words hit like a hammer. Nia screamed in rage, lunging recklessly. She blinked in and out, attacking from every direction, dagger flashing in a storm of slashes. Belle’s arms shook as she blocked and dodged, countering with snap shots, every bullet curving back toward Nia with her headshot skill.
One bullet nearly found its mark, forcing Nia to blink behind Belle. She tried to stab for the kill—
—but Belle twisted, ramming her pistol upward into Nia’s jaw and pulling the trigger.
The shot rang out, sparks flying as Nia staggered back, blood dripping from her lip. Her furious snarl broke into a ragged, unhinged laugh.
"You... you’re starting to sound like him." Her voice cracked, venomous and desperate. "And that makes me hate you even more!"
She blinked again, closing the gap, their fight devolving into sheer brutality.
A thunderous crash echoed through the facility, shaking the walls and rattling loose debris from the ceiling. The steel floor quivered under Belle’s boots, the air vibrating as though the entire power core chamber had shifted.
Nia grinned through bloodstained lips, her eyes gleaming in the flicker of failing lights.
"Seems the party’s getting louder," she sneered, twirling her dagger before lunging.
Belle steadied her stance, her pistol aimed but her gaze sharper than her weapon. "What’s your goal? Cutting the power flow to the cannon, what are you planning?"
Nia blinked, vanishing from sight, then reappeared a breath away, blade slashing for Belle’s throat. Belle deflected with the steel barrel of her gun, sparks bursting between them as metal met metal. They pushed against each other, eyes locked.
"That’s a secret," Nia whispered mockingly, forcing her weight forward.
Belle shoved back, firing a shot point-blank. Nia twisted, the bullet grazing her shoulder, and blinked away to the far side of the room. Belle didn’t lower her pistol, her voice cutting through the din.
"This has something to do with your new master, doesn’t it?"
For a moment, Nia’s smirk faltered. Then, like a mask snapping back into place, she tilted her head and giggled, though her breath was uneven. "Do I know? Do I care?" Her voice turned sing-song, dripping with mockery. "Maybe, maybe not~."
She blinked again, striking from the side. Belle pivoted, pulling the trigger, the bullet curved midair toward Nia’s temple. Nia snarled, barely dodging, and slashed across Belle’s sleeve, tearing fabric but missing flesh.
They circled each other again, breaths heavy, the floor between them scarred with bullet holes and blade marks.
Belle wiped the sweat from her cheek with the back of her hand, her pistol still leveled at Nia. A crooked smile tugged at her lips despite the adrenaline burning in her veins.
"Whatever your plan is, Nia... I’ll stop it. Don’t think you’re the first traitor I’ve dealt with."
Nia tilted her head, eyes narrowing as though the word itself was amusing.
Belle’s tone sharpened, each word like a bullet of its own.
"And honestly, I had a feeling Leo’s group would turn out like this. Betrayal suits them too well."
For the first time, Nia’s smirk faltered. The playful mask cracked, just slightly. She clicked her tongue, lowering her blade only a fraction, as if reconsidering her approach.
"Well, well... looks like you’ve pieced together more than I expected."
Belle’s eyes narrowed, locking onto her like a predator. "So it’s true."
Nia chuckled under her breath, then her voice grew colder, almost reverent.
"My master... he will do what no human has ever dared. He will ascend. This ruined world will finally witness divinity, born from chaos, carved by blood. He will become a god."
Belle’s jaw clenched. Her finger twitched against the trigger.
"You’re insane," she spat, her voice trembling not from fear, but from disgust. "If you believe in that madness, then you’re already lost."
Nia licked her lips, eyes alight with fanaticism. "Lost? No, Belle... I’ve been enlightened."
The room vibrated again with another distant tremor, and both women instinctively braced, their weapons still pointed at each other, sparks in their eyes threatening to ignite the whole chamber.
The clash erupted again, steel against steel, muzzle flashes painting the dim corridor in bursts of light. Belle’s dagger grazed Nia’s side, but the other woman twisted with a blink, reappearing behind her and slashing across her back. Belle spun, gun already firing, bullets tracking Nia’s every move with her Headshot skill, forcing Nia to keep blinking away like a cornered shadow.
Between the rapid exchange, Belle’s hand brushed the side of her comms. She pressed the intercom button, her breath ragged but her voice steady.
’I’ll warn the others. If Leo’s group is moving, we can still anticipate their betrayal—’
A mocking laugh cut through the air. Nia leaned casually against a pillar, wiping a trickle of blood from her lip.
"Don’t bother, Belle. That little toy of yours? Already broken. I made sure of it."
Belle froze for only half a second, eyes flicking down at the useless comms device. A cold weight settled in her chest.
"...So you planned this far ahead."
Nia’s grin sharpened as she lunged forward, blade sparking against Belle’s pistol as they locked at close range.
"Of course. Did you really think you’d outmaneuver me?"
Belle shoved her back, reloading in one fluid motion. Her tone hardened, but her eyes burned with quiet resolve.
"Then I’ll do it the old-fashioned way. I’ll tell them myself."
Nia tilted her head, circling like a predator.
"And how will you manage that? When you’re already bleeding and cornered?"
Belle steadied her stance, pistol aimed squarely at Nia’s heart. Her other hand tightened on the dagger, ready to strike.
"Simple," she said, her voice low and certain. "After I defeat you."
The two surged forward again, Nia blinking in and out of sight, Belle reading the rhythm, her bullets curving midair to chase every phantom.