The Absolute Godspeed of Infinite Worlds

Ratatatatatatat—!

The sound of gunfire grew closer and closer, soon reaching the ears of everyone in the movie theater, abruptly cutting off the whispers and strange moans that had been filling the room.

Eiji instinctively wanted to stand up, but then he noticed Nene still lying in his arms.

She didn't seem to have been awakened, her breathing still steady. Eiji paused for a moment before deciding to get up.

"Oi oi! Everyone, get the hell out here!"

Not long after, as panic began to spread, a dark figure suddenly burst into the screening room.

He raised his gun and fired a burst of bullets into the ceiling, satisfied as screams erupted. He then barked at the audience in a rough voice.

The man was lean, dressed in black combat gear, his face covered by a gas mask. His entire body was tightly wrapped, and he held what appeared to be an M4 assault rifle.

The sudden gunfire caused screams to ripple through the screening room. Under the threat to their lives, the audience had no choice but to stand up shakily and follow his orders, walking out of the theater in fear.

Eiji placed Nene on the seat beside him, then silently stood up and followed the instructions to walk out. At the same time, his right hand subtly clenched into a fist.

Even though they had guns, as long as he acted fast enough, a sudden ambush—shouldn't be a problem.

"...Don't act rashly."

A deliberately lowered voice came from beside him.

Nene had opened her eyes at some point and grabbed his T-shirt, whispering a stern warning.

"We don't know how many people they have or how many hostages they've taken. Don't act recklessly."

Eiji paused for a moment.

She was right.

Judging by the scale of the gunfire earlier, it was clear that there was more than just this one person. It was likely a whole squad. If they were spread out searching for hostages, the number of terrorists and hostages in other areas could be significant.

Even if they took out this one person, without a plan to rescue the hostages, they would still be constrained.

Eiji took several deep breaths, calming his racing heart.

This was his first encounter with real-life terrorists, and he couldn't help but feel nervous, which was affecting his judgment.

But thankfully, Nene was here.

"What should we do?"

Eiji decided to leave everything to the legal loli.

As the world's third-ranked Blazer, Nene often participated in rescue operations worldwide, either in proxy wars between nations or in counter-terrorism missions. Her experience in this area was extensive.

"First, follow their orders. Gather with the other hostages. Once the hostages are safe, we won't have to worry about anything else."

Nene didn't hesitate, quickly making the most accurate decision, showcasing her seasoned experience.

"Alright, but I have an idea..."

Eiji glanced at the man with the rifle not far away and whispered his suggestion.

"Let's try it."

Nene thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Hey! You bastards over there, what are you still doing? Get the hell out here! Want a bullet?"

The man scanned the room and, seeing that the two of them still hadn't moved, grew furious. He gripped his gun and strode toward them.

He didn't notice that as he approached, the looks in their eyes grew increasingly dangerous.

***

First floor, food court.

"Move faster!"

"Stop dawdling!"

Under the harsh voices of one black-clad man after another, dozens of hostages were herded like ducks from all corners of the mall, eventually gathered in the open square of the food court.

It was clear that these terrorists were holding them as hostages, either for ransom or to fulfill some political agenda.

"This equipment and their tactics... Could they be from the Rebellion?"

Nene was also mixed in with the crowd. Her petite figure didn't draw much attention, allowing her to carefully observe the terrorists' attire and behavior.

From their actions, it was obvious they were seasoned criminals. It wasn't hard to guess that this was an organized, premeditated operation.

Terrorist organizations in this world were notoriously rampant.

The reason, of course, was that this was a world of Blazers. Blazers with unruly personalities, if not tempered by mental discipline, could easily stray from the path of chivalry and become murderous villains.

Among them were even some extremely powerful Blazers who could easily destroy cities and slaughter millions. Such villainous Blazers had even formed organizations, becoming the world's largest criminal groups—terrorist organizations like the Rebellion.

—The Rebellion, alongside the International Mage-Knights League and the Great Nations Coalition, was one of the world's three major organizations.

Among them, the League of Mage-Knight Nations was formed after the Second World War, led by Britain and consisting of smaller nations like Japan, France, Israel, and Iraq. It was an international management organization where all Blazers, whether in education, work, qualification granting, or revocation, had to be approved by the League.

Next, the Union referred to the loose alliance of major powers like the Chinese Federation, the United States, Russia, and the Arab nations. It was also the reason the League was established.

Finally, there was the international terrorist organization—the Rebellion.

They were a group that abused Blazer abilities, believing that Blazers were the "chosen new humans" and that ordinary people were "inferior beings." They advocated that Blazers should dominate these "inferior humans" and establish a paradise for the "new humans."

This ideology was diametrically opposed to the global consensus that "Blazers should protect the powerless ordinary people." They carried out terrorist activities worldwide, earning the hatred and opposition of people across the globe, which was why they were branded as a notorious terrorist organization.

"If that's the case, then these gun-wielding men are at most 'believers.' There should be 'apostles' guiding them from the shadows."

Nene speculated silently.

As one of the world's three major organizations, the Rebellion had long established a well-structured hierarchy.

Although their central ideology was to create a new world centered around Blazers, which often led people to mistakenly believe that the Rebellion was an organization entirely composed of Blazers, this wasn't the case.

Over 90% of the Rebellion's members were "believers" who supported the idea of creating a new world. Most of these believers were ordinary people armed with guns, while the true elite Blazers were in the minority, known as "apostles."

It was the apostles, as Blazers, who commanded the ordinary soldiers, the believers. This was the Rebellion's organizational structure and operational strategy.

So, the soldiers appearing now were merely small fry. The real threat was the yet-to-appear apostles—the elite Blazers of the Rebellion.

"Great, teacher, you're here too!"

As she pondered how to draw out the apostles, Stella's deliberately lowered voice came from beside her.

***

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