Carefree

She aimed at the flowerbed by the roadside. With a bang, a translucent bullet shot out at high speed, propelled by mana. Vibrations rippled through the air as if an invisible barrier were blocking the way, followed by shards of ice flying in every direction.

The pansies in the flowerbed remained perfectly intact. The area covered by this restriction was much smaller than she had imagined; or rather, she was already at the edge of this minor domain.

“Aaaah!!!” Something seemed to howl as it streaked past her. Li Yue, her nerves still taut, fired instantly. The bullet, infused with a hint of her mana, pierced through the floating white entity in a flash.

That sensation... it was death, yet not quite. There was still a faint trace of life, though not in a physical sense. An undead spirit?

This didn't seem like academy magic. According to her books, such magic was considered taboo and extremely evil. Although her own magic was the ultimate taboo among taboos... she decided to condemn the opponent for now anyway.

Li Yue popped out the cylinder and began to slowly condense three translucent bullets. As she walked, she etched magic circles onto them, her thoughts drifting toward soul-related magic as she wondered what exactly was happening.

“Aaaah!!!” Three more spirits howled as they flew toward her. Li Yue paused, realizing she hadn't finished loading her bullets yet.

Ah, dammit. Caught while reloading.

She ducked to evade the attack. Although she wasn't hurt, she felt a strange surge of irritation. Perhaps because she used to get annoyed every time this happened in the past, her reaction was now a conditioned reflex.

With a sharp click, she snapped the cylinder back into place. A cold light flashed in her dark red eyes as three translucent bullets shot toward the foreheads of the three monsters. After a few shrill screams, the spirits vanished into nothingness.

“Aaaah!!!” The sound of horns echoed continuously from not far away, accompanied by the sounds of spellcasting and magical collisions. Several distinct magical auras filled Li Yue’s perception.

She casually condensed six bullets. Another weapon, Death, was still hidden within her ring, its cylinder containing a single blood crystal made from her own blood.

She sprinted forward toward a small square. Normally, the marble fountain there would be spraying crystal-clear water, but by the time she arrived, only debris and flowing water remained on the ground.

A young man in a cloak and someone who looked like a clergyman were facing off from a distance. The cloaked youth was performing a strange dance, surrounded by wailing spirits. A creeping chill invaded the area—a deathly cold that felt strangely familiar to Li Yue.

Hmm... the sensation of death. It really has been a long time.

A rainbow-colored prism floated in mid-air. It seemed this crystal was the source of this so-called half-finished domain, which appeared to have no effect other than sealing off the area.

“You will never understand what true greatness is, what true power is!” the black-robed youth shouted, his face contorted. “Your so-called Lord, your so-called God, perished long ago!”

“They only issue high and mighty commands, while true miracles are only generously bestowed by the great Herdis!”

That name sounds familiar. Which god was that? I don't remember. Miracles... frequently granting miracles to fulfill the wishes of mortals? Is this some deity in charge of daydreams?

Li Yue couldn't help but feel a sense of disdain. She felt as if the aura of death from moments ago had triggered something within her. The God's remains had almost completely merged with her, and she couldn't be sure how effective the seal actually was. She could refrain from using her abilities, but it was impossible to keep her state of mind completely unaffected.

The 'self' from before and the self of now were slightly different after all. At least... at least the current her felt more like a young girl... that didn't seem like something to be proud of... maybe being indifferent like before would be better.

“Student! Stay back! This artifact might have been affected by something and dragged you in as well!” the man dressed as a clergyman shouted to Li Yue. He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses; his clothes were torn in several places and covered in dust.

“In this situation, it’s probably not that easy to leave,” Li Yue sighed. She estimated the opponent’s strength to be somewhere between the Magician stage and the Mage rank, though his aura was flickering as if he were being suppressed.

“Aaaah!!!” Dozens of spirits took flight with a roar. The cleric surrounded himself with radiance to resist their attacks while chains emerging from his Sacred Book lashed out at the exceptionally agile man in the distance, occasionally diverting some to help Li Yue.

“Hmm, I need to speed up the bullet condensation.” Li Yue fired her revolver continuously. Pale blue bullets sliced through the air, leaving trails of blue light. She lowered her eyelids as her eyes grew increasingly crimson, something within them seemingly struggling to break free from its shackles.

Several chains pierced through the spirits surrounding Li Yue, giving her a moment to breathe. She raised her revolver and pulled the trigger at the agile figure in the distance.

Bang! An exceptionally powerful bullet was propelled by a massive surge of mana, flying toward the crazed man.

“Ha! You think something like this can hit me!” His perception was remarkably sharp. He reacted instantly, his body shifting rapidly with the help of mana to dodge the bullet.

“Seriously?” Li Yue gave a dry laugh.