Before arriving at the industrial complex, I was recalling the situation in the game when I had a brief conversation with Farnello.
"Farnello, Father said the reason we're moving together is to prevent Calione from being exposed to the villain alliance, right?"
"Yes. Giving them information that we planted spies there would not benefit Calione."
In other words, this mission was solely focused on 'rescue.'
According to the plan, we could immediately escape once we secured Latte.
However, for some reason, I kept thinking that this rescue operation was a trap.
"What if it really is their trap? If that happens, our identities might be revealed."
"Indeed, that's a possibility. In that case... shouldn't we eliminate them?"
"Eliminate?"
"Yes. Just in case, Sir gave me something else. After hearing your words, I think it's best to give it to you now."
Farnello then handed me an orange revolver-shaped flare gun.
"Communication will be cut off as soon as we enter the complex, so they won't be able to leak information to the outside. All we need to do is prevent them from getting out with the information."
"Will this be necessary then?"
"Yes. The 12 hitmen from Calione who were supposed to prevent anyone from escaping the complex will all gather here if you set this off."
In other words, this was something to use only when absolutely necessary, to gather all the hitmen in one place and abandon the surrounding area.
"Let's do it that way."
The flare gun I received was now in my hand.
With this, all the hitmen surrounding us would rush here.
"What the hell did you do?!"
Blanca, gradually regaining her vision, shouted with tears in her eyes.
"Nothing much."
As I said this, I glanced at Latte upstairs.
While she was fully focused on our battle, Latte had used her ability to control rats to cut the ropes that bound her.
The reason I engaged in pointless conversation and direct combat from the start was precisely for this.
To divert all her attention to me.
I carefully sent a signal used by Calione to the wall, asking her to cut the thread.
And the result was the explosion just now.
"Damn brats! You Calione bastards always do this! Right now──."
──!!
At that moment, Blanca's body was pushed backward, and a purple flash erupted from her shoulder.
Although it was blocked by the aura enveloping her entire body, the impact was transmitted to her.
"Which crazy bastard is casting magic...!"
──!!
Another flash erupted.
This time, her body was thrown back, but she only got slightly scorched. It didn't seem to be a serious wound.
"Does this kind of magic really affect me?"
"I was a bit worried you might call for reinforcements... Don't you feel ashamed...?!"
"Feeling ashamed? This is also my power."
Blanca, who had been holding my hand, raised her left arm and tried to break my right arm.
However, her body staggered again from a sniper shot from afar, and I took advantage of the gap to amplify the aura at the point of contact between her palm and my fist, generating a repulsive force.
"Bloodline and power are also my strength."
"Damn brats...!"
"Do you have time to look away?"
As the repulsive force grew stronger, Blanca tried to push me away and maintain her distance.
But once again, a sniper shot aimed at her head made her head snap back.
Taking advantage of the gap, I lunged at her and kneed her in the chin.
"Ugh...!"
"The dogfight is just beginning."
As I aimed a kick at her head, she rolled to the side to avoid it.
"Really! You have no honor?!"
"Honor? Oh, I left it in my room before coming here. Thanks for reminding me."
"This brat...!"
As she tried to get up, I kicked her again, sending her rolling on the ground in a pitiful state.
"Your aura looks like a beast, so you roll well."
"──Just now, you were getting beaten by me!"
"Did it look that way? If you feel wronged, why don't you call for your allies? Oh, are the others still in the cells, unable to escape?"
"──I'll kill you."
It seemed my provocation had worked; she now glared at me with cold eyes, devoid of her previous playful tone and smile.
But...
"It's too late for that."
──! ──! ──!
Anti-tank sniper rifles, not ordinary rifles, continued to fire, creating thunderous sounds and continuously hindering her.
With this support, we could quickly subdue her by continuing to attack.
Just as I was about to approach her to deliver a decisive blow,
The white, fur-like aura covering Blanca's body suddenly emitted a blinding white light.
Instinctively shielding my eyes and extending my arm, I deflected the incoming attack.
The sound of tearing fabric came from my sleeve.
"I was trying to cut it off..."
She approached me at a speed that even the support team couldn't react to, swinging her aura-infused claws to slice my arm.
"Seems to have progressed faster than I thought."
Fortunately, she didn't manage to cut through the fabric, but the scratch had torn the threads of my unique-grade armor.
This indicated that her physical abilities had dramatically increased, just like in the game's second phase.
"From the look on your face, you seem quite surprised?"
Blanca slightly moved her head to speak.
At the same time, bullets hit the wall behind her, sending fragments flying.
"You seem to be in a hurry. Using that so soon tells me that much."
The moonlight began to pour through a hole in the center of the ceiling, which was filled with a colorless atmosphere.
Standing in the spotlight of the moon, Blanca slowly raised her hand toward the sky, exuding a noble aura.
"I've never said I was alone."
The moonlight cascaded over her head, and she silently accepted it, like a religious figure receiving a baptism.
Her previously snow-white hair gradually took on a mysterious, ethereal glow, and the moonlight that finally touched the ground began to coalesce, forming a shape.
It was a wolf.
"Originally, wolves hunt in packs."
As the moonlight finally formed the shape of a wolf,
-Howl!!
Dozens of wolves began to howl in unison.
In response, Blanca also let out a howl, signaling her full entry into Phase 2.
[Support the young master immediately!]
The appearance of the wolves, ready to pounce on me, made the support team's voice come through my in-ear device, and bullets began to rain down inside the building.
However, Blanca's wolves moved with the grace of wolves in a forest, effortlessly dodging countless attacks.
"Do you really think you can catch my children with such toys?"
As if mocking the scene, Blanca, who had bent forward for quadrupedal movement, was surrounded by wolves, baring her teeth, ready to attack me at any moment.
"The boss probably won't care if you lose a limb or two. So, this is the end, Calione's young master."
Blanca, ready to pounce at any moment, slowly spoke to the wolves.
"──Bite."
A storm began to rage.
The wolves, like a pack hunting prey, moved continuously along the walls, and their actions were so intense that my brain felt exhausted just from focusing on them.
As I prepared to defend against the incoming attacks, they would retreat, and when I focused on one, another would attack.
I...
"Thank you."
"──What?"
I couldn't help but curl my lips upward.
"In fact, I was waiting for you to call the wolves."
To see these messages appear right before my eyes.
[The number of enemies has increased dramatically.]
[Bloodline ability: "Calione" is enhanced!]
A red storm erupted from my body, enveloping the surroundings.
The size of my aura increased even more due to the new abilities [Hunter of Villains] and [Dispatheir].
The building, which had been filled with the white afterimages of the wolves, was now dyed red by my aura.
"What is this...?"
She shuddered and trembled at the strange sight.
The moon turned red, and the wolves made of moonlight began to collapse, their bodies twisting.
Through the battle with the 'Ranger Club,' I discovered that my aura's attribute was domination.
Until now, I had used this aura to enhance my physical abilities or dominate equipment, making me even stronger.
But the Vito Calione I saw in the game was different.
His red aura dominated the air, the earth, and even the space around him.
Just being in the same space made it hard to breathe and slowed down my entire body. It was an absolute power that dominated even things without physical form.
This led to the idea of using my aura in a similar way.
And Blanca was the perfect opponent for this experiment.
Once Phase 2 began, the pattern of summoning Moon Wolves with her aura was very familiar to me.
Using Calione's firepower to whittle down her aura and confine her to a narrow space, I then maximized the [Bloodline: Calione] ability to dominate and control the weakened familiars.
The result was incredibly successful.
"Come here."
When I whistled, the wolves obediently ran over and started rubbing their faces against my legs.
They were quite cute, despite the effort it took to capture them in the game.