Captain Ivy closed her eyes and unleashed her unique magic. Dozens of tendrils spread out in all directions, extending across walls and ceilings without distinction, eventually reaching the Signalers.

The Signalers had mentally shut down in the face of this unprecedented crisis, but Captain Ivy persistently reached out to them. Eventually, the Signalers activated their unique magic in response, synchronizing with Captain Ivy.

‘Communication request from Signaler Ivy.’ ‘Signaler Ivy is a person of interest who led the hostile presence here. Denied.’ ‘Counterpoint. If she has a way to explain the current situation, our module should collect that information.’

As the others wavered, Captain Ivy transmitted her strong will through her unique magic.

‘Signaler Ivy demands it! This is a State emergency affecting you and everyone else! Return to your rooms immediately and respond to communication!’

Synchronization magic is reciprocal. When one side is affected, the other can’t help but be influenced. However, those with firm resolve won’t be swayed by minor impacts. Captain Ivy steadily took control over the Signalers. They complied with her command and returned to their respective rooms.

『Ivy!』

Amadeus seemed to pick up on the communication as well. Historia held Amadeus back as it moved with an intense determination to charge toward us. Two gunshots rang out, aimed at Amadeus’s face. With its wings shielding its face, Amadeus missed its timing.

Good. It’s wary of Captain Ivy.

“So, my job is to buy time until Captain Ivy finishes her task?”

Buying time. That’s always been my role….

As I muttered in self-derision, the angel’s wings trembled unnaturally. Suddenly, a white feather flew towards me, sharp as a needle.

A cowardly long-range attack? Since it was the wings that moved, I couldn’t even detect it with mind reading!

Caught off guard, I hesitated, but Aji sprang forward like lightning and snagged the feather. Landing gracefully, Aji chewed the soft feather to shreds and barked triumphantly.

“Woof!” “…Good job, Aji.”

He may not be able to fight that thing, but he can handle the feathers just fine. Well, he is the king of beasts. I praised him sincerely for the first time in a while, and Aji barked proudly.

“Leave it to me! Go!” “Don’t rush me. If I’m careless, I’ll die.” “Woof? Don’t die! Live!” “Easy for you to say. You’re not even fighting the angel….” “I win!”

I almost got annoyed, but then I realized he was right. I can’t fight either. But I can help in other ways—if not with strength, then with wits.

I unfurled the Queen of Cloth. This precious fabric that had saved me from the angel now had a gaping hole in the center. It hurt to see it damaged, but now was the time to make use of it.

I pulled out a card with my left hand and transformed it into a rod. I used it to poke the hole while channeling energy into my right hand. Drawing a quick transmutation circle with blue light, I began a highly condensed alchemical process.

“Set. Re. Alke.”

I cut around the hole in the Queen of Cloth, pressing the square piece with all my strength until it rolled into a tight, circular form. My skill at rolling fabric was as sharp as ever, making it remarkably sturdy.

A very basic alchemy that changes only the shape while keeping the material’s structure intact. The form might be crude, but it would suffice for Historia’s use.

“Ria! Catch!”

I tossed the rolled-up Queen of Cloth to Historia. Just as she escaped Amadeus’s grasp, she caught it without even looking back. She glanced at what she’d caught and muttered.

“…A magic bullet?” “It’s ammo! Fire it!”

Historia’s gun didn’t require specific ammunition. It compressed ki into explosive power, allowing her to shoot even if there was no gunpowder, and she could jam anything into the barrel and fire it off.

『You won’t get away with that!』

Amadeus lunged, wings closing in from all sides to leave no time for loading. But Historia’s loading was as unique as her shooting. She flicked the bullet with her fingers, leaped into the air, and dodged the attack. In mid-air, she snatched the bullet into the barrel with a deft maneuver. The bullet slid into place, against the barrel’s usual orientation.

Like something out of the age of muskets, it was a crude yet effective load. While her gun already had a few rounds, my crafted bullet fit in there, defying the normal sequence.

『Rising from the ground, daring to take to the skies…! How foolish!』

The wings chased after Historia with a speed difficult to track by sight. There was no way she could dodge in mid-air.

But if she’d intended to dodge, she wouldn’t have jumped into the air in the first place.

Without even knowing what I’d given her, Historia trusted in my bullet. Was it because she thought there was no chance of winning otherwise? Or did she just trust me that much? She’d been waiting to fire her ki-laden bullet from the start.

Now that she had the bullet, all that remained was to fire. Historia naturally aimed the gun.

“Fire!”

The shot rang out with a heavy thud, likely due to the fabric construction of the bullet. The rolled Queen of Cloth was drawn toward the angel’s wings. Feathers rose to meet the bullet in mid-flight.

At that moment, a blinding white light erupted.

The Queen of Cloth, which absorbed light on the inside and reflected it outward, was shredded. The bullet burst through Amadeus’s wing, scattering light in all directions.

The bullet ripped through one wing completely, lodging itself in the ceiling. Now the angel was left with only five wings.

Success. Now I just need five more rounds!

As a faint smile crossed my face.

『Tricks….』

A new wing sprouted from the angel’s back. I sighed in frustration.

“I’m the real trickster? That’s the true cheat.”

The angel growled as it turned toward me, clearly displeased by losing a wing.

『To think mere human tools, devoid of any mystery…!』 “No, Huy! This is enough! This much…! Ugh!”

Amadeus bore down on Historia as she shouted desperately. Wings smashed through walls and floors in a violent frenzy.

‘If I can just scatter the light a bit, there might be a chance! Just three more rounds! With my full strength, I can zero in on the target…!’

Alright. Three more, right? That’s plenty!

I worked quickly, using my alchemical skill to prepare three more bullets. I threw them towards the path I anticipated Historia would retreat along. With my ability to read minds, predicting her movements was simple. As Historia adjusted her stance to catch the bullets, I matched her timing.

『How shallow. I can see right through you.』

Amadeus spread its wings wide, halting mid-air before suddenly shifting its focus towards me.

Oh, going after supplies instead of combatants? Very military of you, angel. Classic State strategy.

Wait, does that mean I’m…?

As I hesitated, Amadeus drove its wings into the ground with devastating force and surged toward me. Aji’s fur bristled.

“Huy!”

Historia, realizing the danger, grabbed the bullet and chased after the angel. But she had no wings, and the angel only widened the distance.

Having no other option, Historia raised her loaded gun. But.

‘Only wings…’

The wings spread from the angel’s back. The uppermost wing covered its back, wary of Historia. In her line of sight, there were only wings.

‘I can’t just shoot. Breaking one wing is all I can do.’

Her thoughts raced. A fleeing enemy, a visible back, a gun in hand, an ally to protect. In this critical moment, Historia’s focus was razor-sharp.

But…

‘There’s no way.’

The direction of her thoughts shifted toward despair. Her outstretched hand was useless. The enemy moved, while her hand seemed paralyzed.

‘I have to shoot, or Huy will die. But how?’

No answer. She couldn’t muster the strength to fire. The trembling barrel flickered in her sight.

‘I’m stronger when I don’t shoot. The enemy fears my bullet as long as I haven’t fired.’

She didn’t shoot. Against the Null Ghost, she’d found success with that tactic. The enemy avoided her line of fire, letting her hold an unseen blade over them.

‘But I have to shoot. They fear my bullet because it will eventually fire.’

She was stronger when she didn’t fire. But she had to fire.

A contradiction. A logical impossibility.

Yet the final component of the Trigram, Li (離), meets logic by twisting it, producing a result even if it defies the world.

Unlike unique magic, which superimposes new rules over reality, Li is brute force—an insistence that creates one exception.

A vision flashed through Historia’s mind in the midst of this contradiction. The transcendent being wielding the invisible sword: Che, a reincarnator who could manipulate space, extending and retracting the blade at will.

‘His invisible sword….’

In this life-or-death moment, Historia imagined the image of Celestial Sword Che.

She adjusted her aim. The barrel wasn’t pointing at the angel. It was aimed slightly above, toward its right shoulder.

At that angle, the shot would miss. But gripped by an eerie sense of exhilaration, she fired.

The bullet ‘did not fire.’

But Historia undoubtedly ‘fired.’

In the paradox, logic twisted. A rift appeared in the air. Though the bullet hadn’t flown, it delivered the impact as if it had.

Historia felt the tangible force of it. Her bullet had struck somewhere, she was sure. She gripped the gun and swung it as if wielding a hundred-meter sword.

The gun, or rather, the blade. In the paradox, it cut through reason itself.

The ultimate technique of gun and sword—Total Intent of Gun and Blade.

When I came to, having read her faint sense of elation, I saw the angel spinning wildly, slammed against the wall, with its three right wings completely torn off.