Escape (4)

They went out with confidence, however, their plan immediately fell apart before it could even be put into motion.

Another explosive hit near where they were hiding and they were nearly caught in the blast. They barely managed to avoid the worst of the explosion by going back to the room they were previously hiding in.

What the three of them had failed to account for was that the smokescreen they had created was an indication of their position. From there, the sniper could easily estimate where they were based on the direction the guards were coming from.

After avoiding the worst of the blast, they exited the room again, still under the cover of smoke and went further down the hall, making sure to duck under the windows so the sniper couldn't see them.

The guards in the hallway were still disoriented and the ones who had gotten up were hesitant to fire in all the smoke.

The sniper fired another shot, but the blast occurred further behind them. Though they weren't completely out of the impact zone and the heat did singe their clothes, a little mana was enough to negate most of the damage.

They weren't worried about the mana consumption as this was their final stand. If they failed here, they'd die.

After the second sniper shot, they repositioned themselves. They were playing a game of Fate's Gamble during this entire situation. If the sniper got lucky, Shivan, Alexia and Chloe were as good as dead.

(AN: Fate's Gamble is Russian Roulette in this world)

While hiding from the opponents, Chloe sneakily tried to find the sniper's position. She peeked over the window, exposing her head.

If the sniper saw her, she'd be killed instantly.

Since the first explosion, it had only been less than 15 seconds, yet it felt like an eternity. Chloe periodically ducked beneath the window as she desperately searched for the sniper.

Every second that passed was a chance opportunity for the sniper to fire at them. 

"I found him. He's on the fourth floor of the building next to us, third from the left." Chloe whispered hurriedly to Alexia. The seconds of searching felt like an eternity.

She nodded and cut herself with a knife. Blood started spilling from her body as she gathered it in a small ball. The dense ball was filled with a couple of litres of blood.

"Are you going to be okay?" Chloe asked in a worried tone.

"Uh-huh. This is just below my threshold." Alexia comforted Chloe.

Alexia hid and condensed her blood in her hands, imbuing it with most of her mana. Meanwhile, the sniper fired off another attack, with the shell landing close to them.

However, that wasn't the pressing issue. The men were starting to get up and were about to fire. Shivan would normally knock them down with another gun MAW explosion, however, there was a lot of dust flying around.

Since infusing the overcharging of the gun makes it unstable, any contact with the gun would cause it to explode and the dust particles could cause that.

Since Shivan didn't want the gun to detonate in his face, his only option now was to use his gift attacks. Firing the guns wouldn't be able to take everyone out instantly.

However, that would remove the smokescreen they had protecting them and the sniper could easily identify their location.

But this was his only option. Chloe lacked the power that Shivan had so he had to take the risk.

He separated from his comrades and gathered mana in his hands. With a single clap, he uttered... "Thunderclap".

The massive wave crashed into guards, blowing away all the smoke as the shockwave carried them towards the end of the hallway.

Gathering mana into his dominant hand, he took a step forward. The footstep reverberated throughout the ground and walls as he prepared his next move.

Shivan brought his arm back and then twisted his entire body to throw this one punch. The speed of this punch was enough to kill someone on impact. But all the fist made contact with was air.

But out came a powerful, concussive tremor that was even more powerful than the Thunderclap from before. It collided with the men on the floor, shattering their internal organs.

Shivan took a deep breath after those attacks as it drained half his mana. He then became acutely aware of the impending threat to his life. He looked over at where the sniper was.

He didn't need to count the floors to see where the sniper was. Shivan just knew at this point. Shivan saw the barrel of the weapon pointed in his direction.

Shivan could imagine him pressing the trigger and the bullet flying towards him without being able to react.

No... he saw that. He felt all that occurring. He would die.

Was he already dead?

He stared at the sniper during his last moments.

But before that reality could come to fruition, Shivan heard Alexia beside him deliver her attack with icy precision...

"Crimson Laser."

A stream of blood shot from Alexia's hands at hypersonic speeds. It was aimed directly at the sniper.

However, as it approached, Shiva realised she was slightly off and was going to miss. But, Alexia had already accounted for that.

"Burst."

Alexia spoke just as the blood beam passed by the sniper. The blood exploded with spikes in several directions, piercing the sniper in several places.

It wasn't clear if the sniper was dead yet, but they were severely injured and wouldn't be able to fight anymore.

Shivan questioned what happened. He definitely saw his death. He was supposed to die and then Alexia would kill the sniper.

Yet it never happened. Shivan didn't imagine his death. He saw it. 

Shivan quickly shoved those thoughts out of his mind. He joined his friends as they looked for an escape route.

They quickly realised going down the elevator would risk having to fight more people, so they jumped out of the window instead.

Since Alexia was weakened from her attack, Shivan carried her as they fell from the three storeys. Shivan used a shockwave to break his impact while Chloe used the wall to slow down her fall.

Since Alexia was still capable able fo walking, Shivan let her down and they rushed towards the building where the sniper was located at the fastest speed they could.

They climbed the stairs of the building, using their abilities to clear out anyone else stationed with the sniper, not worrying about mana consumption.

Eventually, they reached the sniper's floor where he was lying in a pool of blood. He wasn't able to move far from where he initially was before succumbing to his wounds.

The weapon was still intact and was relatively undamaged. The rifle was still usable.

"Wow," Chloe whistled as she inspected the weapon. "No, wonder it was so deadly. It's a Horizon model. I don't know the specs but it's pretty impressive. How did they get their hands on this."

"What's the difference between this gun and the one we have?" Shivan asked Chloe.

"We have the Spectrum models. Spectrum Firearms Company is a subsidiary of Horizon Arms Innovations. Spectrum guns are for more general use in the military. They're usually given to the footsoldiers.

While Horizon models are usually given to rangers and above. If the person using this weapon was an actual ranger, we'd be dead after the first shot. 

While both are highly controlled by the government, Spectrum is still semi-privately owned, so there is a possibility that these guys could have gotten their hands on it. 

But Horizon weapons are different. They are purely government-owned with strict oversight. Getting your hands on one without them knowing is near impossible."

Chloe concluded her explanation with a thoughtful expression.

"It must be them if they got their hands on it... No wonder they weren't afraid of my backing..." Chloe muttered to herself.