CHAPTER 27

It’s dawn.

The tree canopy shade is not yet needed as the sun is still on the horizon. The early birds caught the early worms. The soft clouds hovered in the southeastern part of the Novum Metropolis with peace. It is no doubt that it will be a bright and sunny day.

A shooting star made a straight glowing line in the skies. To be precise, it’s not a shooting star. It’s Deva, with her bluish-white aura glowing in the atmosphere like stardust. Her silver-blue hair flutters as her sword wings boosted faster.

Her destination is the Fifteenth District, which is at the edge of the Novum Metropolis. The said district is outside the walls of the empire, so Deva won’t be worrying about the police or military capturing her. Instead, she should be wary of the ones who run the crowded village.

Fifteenth District is infamous for being abandoned by the Royal Family and the Novum Empire’s government five years ago. Because there were no more authorities assigned in that place, the district became a poor slum. It is now the hive of all lawless criminals and malnourished families.

“I’m approaching the target hideout,” Deva said when her eyes focused on the gigantic warehouse stationed at the very heart of the slums. I affirmed Deva’s confirmation on the target building with my Shared Sight magic.

Deva slowly descended on the main street of the slums. Since it was still dawn, the poor people's district remained quiet.

Some garbagemen and kids are off early to get to the dumpsite, and they were surprised to see the villainess walking on their road. She certainly caught the people’s attention due to her flashy looks and probably a new face in this part of the district.

At the entrance of the warehouse, there are two men wearing tuxedos, shades, and fedora. These men are certainly too rich for the part of the slums, but I know that nothing is off in this place. They are part of the mafia that runs these slums after all.

“Can you see the symbol?” Deva asked as she focused her eyes on the mark of the warehouse gate. It bears the logo of a red serpent spinning in a spiral.

“Jogudra Mafia. We’re in the right place.” I answered Deva using telepathy.

“Halt!” The two mafia guards revealed themselves, their machine guns pointed at the villainess. “Who are you?”

“Haven’t you heard?” Deva flicked her hair and spread out her hands with an arrogant smirk on her face. “I am Deva, the villainess of justice.”

“Stop walking, or we’ll shoot!”

Deva continued to walk, not caring about the mafia guards’ threats. However, the floating swords on Deva’s back immediately dashed forward and sliced the machine guns into pieces of scrap metals.

As the mafia guards stare at their broken weapons in disbelief, Deva spoke out loud. “I want to speak to your leader. I seek audience to Lady Marina.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Another mafia member appeared from the gate. This time, it’s a tall tan man with a huge scar across his face. He’s wearing a beret that bears the mafia’s symbol, as well as their standard tuxedo. “I know you, Deva. You are a vigilante. Are you planning to take down Jogudra Mafia too?”

Deva raised her shoulders with a menacing smile and a cold crimson glare. “Depends on you. I originally wanted to talk to your leader, but you seem eager to be eliminated too.”

“The audacity!” The tall scar-faced man shouted. “You will die right here and right now, Deva!”

All of a sudden, hordes of mafia men revealed themselves from hiding and surrounded Deva. They are everywhere; they garrisoned the houses around the street, they blocked the only way of escape, and the main warehouse is filled with gunmen up to the second floor. They all cocked their guns and aimed at the lone villainess.

“Surrender is not an option right now, Deva.” The tall man in charge laughed. “All you can choose now is to have a quick painless death or a slow agonizing expiration.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, scar-face,” Deva smirked. “You’re not the one calling the shots here.”

“What?”

“Alphastrike.”

The moment Deva chanted a speed-cast spell, she disappeared.

All of a sudden, she teleported in front of a soldier. With a quick slash from her katana, the rifle was divided into halves. Then Deva disappeared.

She appeared once again to another soldier, slashed the gun, and then faded. She appeared, slashed the weapon, and then disappeared. She leaves nothing but a swish in the air as she entered and exits.

“What the! Where is she!?” The mafia guards cried. "Is she simultaneously teleporting?"

“She’s too fast! My eyes can’t follow her!” Another henchman said.

It went on and on until all thirty henchmen are disarmed of their guns. Deva revealed herself back in her original position, with her arms spread out as if she’s asking if that was a good show.

“Why you!” The tall mafia captain decided to pull his high-caliber revolver from his waist, but then it divided into half. Only then, does he realize that Deva has already closed in a blink of an eye, and the katana is already grazing his neck? “Argh!”

“I’m not interested in playing with you,” Deva said with a cold glare. “I’m getting impatient. Call your leader.”

Suddenly, Deva felt an intimidating presence. She jumped away from the mafia captain as if she was evading a near-death situation. And it turned out that she was right.

Black flames flooded from the gate of the warehouse to the side of the street. The dark blaze seemed to be precisely controlled by a spellcaster as the flames avoided hitting any of the mafia men.

“This magic-!” Deva muttered. But she failed to finish her sentence when she noticed that something is off.

When she looked at her back, there was already a dark marble pillar stuck on the ground. Another pillar landed beside her, and then another, and another. There are now six of them, and they are surrounding Deva.

“Anti-Magic Seal, activate.” A feminine voice from inside the warehouse echoed.

All of a sudden, the dark marble pillars unleashed electric lines that connected. A magical barrier was formed, imprisoning the silver-haired villainess inside.

Deva tried slashing the dark marble pillar that is emitting the barrier, but her katana keeps on getting deflected by the shield. Right as of that moment, Deva’s arrogance shrunk. Cold sweat ran on her neck. She knew as of this moment that she can not escape from this magical person all by herself.

“It’s no use, Miss Deva. You can never break it from inside.” A feminine voice echoed. “All magic inside my special seal is nullified. You can no longer escape.”

One, two, three footsteps echoed until the caster of the magic revealed herself.

She is a beauty, with long crimson brown hair reaching her legs. Her pale white complexion reminds me of a vampire. She’s wearing a dark evening gown as if she’s mourning. A furry black long coat wraps around her shoulder. Her crimson eyes gazed upon the captured villainess as she blew out smoke from her luxurious pipe.

“My name is Marina Jogudra, head of the Jogudra Mafia. It is a pleasure to meet you, Deva.”

The mafia boss elegantly walked until she reached the magical prison where Deva was encased. Gritting her teeth, Deva can only stare at the lady who ran the Fifteenth District for five years.

“I am so sorry to inform you, but I do not wish to converse with a vigilante of justice.” Marina Jogudra smiled.

“Then you may wish to converse with me!” A loud voice echoed.

All the mafia henchmen, the captain, and the boss looked up to find the source of the voice. They saw from a distance, on top of an electric pole, is a man wearing a hooded figure with a pure black coat. His face is a dark void, but his eyes are glowing with a faint light.

But what’s more terrifying about this man is not his appearance, but the badge on his chest.

It’s a Dragon Sage badge.

“With the power of lightning, blast those pillars.” The hooded figure stretched out his hand, and a bolt of lightning emerged from each of his fingers. Each lightning destroyed the dark marble pillars until there was one left.

“Shit! Is it what I think it is? A Dragon Sage!?” The tall scar-faced mafia captain cried.

Seeing that Deva is free from the magical barrier, the beautiful mafia boss jumped back. “Now it makes much more sense. There’s no way a Dragonoid like Deva could turn into a dragon by herself. All we thought was that Deva is a divine construct, but the truth is she has a Dragon Sage to back her up!”

“Of course, Lady Marina!” The mysterious Dragon Sage answered back. “Deva is my Dragonoid Contractor. We pledged to each other for a brighter future.”

The Dragon Sage revealed his glove that is engraved with a Dragon Seal. All of a sudden, Deva’s crest on her chest glowed, and a bright light flashed.

When the blinding light faded, all people stood in horror. Deva disappeared, and a ten-meter humanoid dragon stands where she stood. It didn’t take any processing power on their brains to realize that Deva has fully transformed into a black-and-gold Cyber Angel Dragon.