Chapter 323: Chapter 323 Badass III

The leader grinned, teeth bared, veins pulsing across his arms and neck. Then without warning, he dashed straight toward Lilith—fast, heavy, and reckless. His arms opened wide like he was going to embrace her into oblivion.

Lilith didn’t flinch. She planted one leg firmly on the ground while the other shot up hard.

Thud!

Her foot slammed into his chest.

But she wasn’t ready for what followed.

Instead of stopping him, her own balance broke. Her leg jerked backward from the force, and her entire body shifted a few feet, nearly falling.

Ann was quick. She reached out and grabbed Lilith’s shoulder, keeping her upright.

Lilith steadied herself and hissed under her breath, “He’s heavier than he looks.”

Before anyone else could speak, BAM! BAM! BAM!

Three shots rang out.

Vanessa had stepped forward, pistol drawn and held low with both hands. Her eyes were locked onto her target, her stance perfect. One shot to his left thigh. One to his right. One more aimed at the stomach.

But the man didn’t drop. He didn’t even grunt.

All three bullets hit.

And all three remained lodged in his skin.

Not piercing through. Not bleeding. Just embedded—like they hit concrete instead of flesh.

Vanessa’s brows drew tight. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Kelly, who had just started to step forward, stopped immediately. She looked down at her blade, then back at the man now slowly turning his attention toward Vanessa.

“Yeah… nope,” she muttered.

She reached out and lightly tugged at Ann’s sleeve. “Ann,” she said sweetly.

Ann glanced sideways. “Hm?”

“I just realized,” Kelly said with a bright, forced smile. “I’m very human.”

Ann gave her a blank stare.

Kelly pointed toward Vanessa and Lilith. “Let’s leave this one to the professionals, yeah?”

Ann blinked. “Seriously?”

But she didn’t resist as Kelly pulled her away from the front line.

Vanessa’s expression remained cold as ice. Lilith stood beside her, brushing off her jacket.

Lilith gave Vanessa a side glance.

Vanessa met it.

They nodded at the same time.

Then the atmosphere changed.

Lilith raised her arms slowly. Her fingers stretched wide, palms open. The very air thickened. A white mist crept from her fingertips as the temperature in the room dropped like a crashing elevator.

The floor beneath them began to freeze in spots. The faint sound of water crystallizing echoed as the cold spread.

Meanwhile, Vanessa reached into her left pocket and pulled out something small—barely the size of a coin. It was circular, flat, and matte black with a glowing blue rim. She placed it firmly in the center of her right palm.

A faint hum vibrated through the air as the device came to life.

Blue veins of energy shot out from the disk, crawling up her fingers, wrapping around her wrist like tech-infused vines. Then it spread wider—across her arm, her shoulder, then down her chest.

Thin strips of smart-fabric unraveled from the device like living threads, weaving together tightly across her body in an instant. It climbed up her legs and torso in seconds, forming a sleek black suit, almost like a second skin. The entire thing pulsed with soft blue lines that matched the energy signature of the original device.

It wasn’t bulky armor. It didn’t need to be.

The material was tight-fitting, made for speed, mobility, and teleportation channeling.

Shoulder-free, leg-revealing, cut sharp across her collarbone—but it had been upgraded for function over flash. A deep obsidian black with subtle carbon textures, and the blue energy veins added a futuristic edge.

Kelly stared with wide eyes.

She couldn’t help it.

“…She’s a badass,” she murmured.

The moment Vanessa’s transformation was complete, her figure blurred—gone from where she stood.

Fffshhht!

She reappeared behind the advancing man without a single sound of warning.

Before he could even turn—

THUD!

Her boot slammed into his lower back with enough force to push him forward like he was sliding on wheels.

Straight toward Lilith.

Lilith wasn’t just waiting.

She had already conjured a thick orb of ice in her palm, condensed and swirling with frost energy. The moment the man stumbled into range, she drove the ice straight into his chest like a wrecking ball.

BOOOM!

The impact lifted him off the ground and sent him flying backwards.

He crashed against the concrete floor, a full ten feet from where he stood, a loud crunch echoing through the warehouse as he skidded and tumbled through frozen crates and shattered wood.

Ann blinked twice. “That was insane.”

Kelly nodded, still gripping her knife. “Okay. That suit thing? I want one.”

Vanessa reappeared beside them again, as if she had never moved.

Lilith let her arms fall slowly to her sides, mist still trailing from her fingertips. Her expression hadn’t changed—cold, ruthless, focused.

But her eyes narrowed slightly.

The man wasn’t staying down.

He groaned.

Pushed himself up.

Slowly.

The spot where the ice ball had hit his chest was covered in frostbite now—his skin discolored and cracked—but even that didn’t stop him. His muscles flexed again. Blood trickled from his mouth.

Lilith didn’t wait.

She took a slow step forward, her foot freezing the ground beneath it.

“I’m just getting warmed up,” she said softly.

—

The man leapt with a furious roar, launching himself straight at Lilith like a wild beast. His strength and speed had doubled since the last hit, and his red-glowing eyes were locked on her like a missile.

Lilith moved fast, both hands raised.

She fired a massive chunk of ice forward—sharp, cold, and fast.

But this time, he was ready.

“Fuck off!” he yelled, slamming his arm into the ice mid-air.

CRASH!

It shattered into useless frozen shards that scattered through the air like broken glass. He didn’t even slow down.

Then—

BOOM!

His body smashed into Lilith’s with so much force that the entire ground cracked and caved inward. A violent shockwave of dust and debris exploded outward in a thick wave, clouding the view in every direction.

Ann gasped. So did Kelly.

Without realizing it, Ann’s hand grabbed Kelly’s arm tightly as they both watched with wide eyes.

“No…” Ann whispered.

She was already bracing herself to see blood. To hear a scream. Something. Anything.

But there was nothing.

No scream. No crash. No body sprawled beneath him.

Only the confused, almost growling voice of the man from inside the crater.

“…What the hell?”

The dust began to settle.

Slowly.

Then it cleared completely—and he was alone.

In the crater. Alone.

Lilith was nowhere in sight.

Both girls turned their heads toward the far side of the room.

And there she was.

Lilith stood safely a few meters away, completely unharmed. Her hair slightly tousled, but not a scratch on her. Behind her stood Vanessa, arm still extended, her palm softly glowing with teleportation residue.

She’d yanked Lilith out of harm’s way at the last second.

Lilith exhaled sharply and glanced back at her. “Nice timing.”

Vanessa smirked. “You’re welcome.”

They didn’t waste another second.

Lilith stepped forward, her boots crunching against the cracked cement. The man was still down in the crater, slightly dazed. She raised both hands again.

Mist poured out. More intense than before.

This time, she wasn’t holding back.

Her ice coiled and twisted like it was alive, a wave of pure cold wrapping around the edges of the crater and rising up like a wall.

It thickened rapidly.

Layer after layer, inch after inch.

An entire dome of ice started forming over the crater—dense, solid, reinforced with everything she could pour into it. Every ounce of strength and energy went into making it strong, thick enough to hold anything inside.

Vanessa watched closely.

Lilith shouted, “Now!”

Vanessa reached into her belt and pulled out a second, thinner device—barely the length of a finger. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed it forward. It flew through the air with a faint hiss and landed directly inside the crater just before the dome sealed completely shut.

Thunk!

The device hit the ground and stuck. A faint blue light blinked once on its side.

Then the dome shut completely.

Sealed.

Vanessa and Lilith immediately dropped down behind the nearest overturned concrete blocks.

Lilith turned her head and shouted toward Ann and Kelly. “Cover your ears!”

The tone in her voice was enough.

Neither of them questioned it. They dashed behind a nearby pile of crates and dropped low. Kelly pulled Ann down with her just in time.

Vanessa and Lilith crouched together behind a thick wall of metal debris.

Then—

BOOM!

Inside the dome, the man had started thrashing. Loud slams echoed as he smashed against the thick ice walls from the inside.

BOOM!

Again.

BAM!

Another hit.

But the dome didn’t budge.

Ann peeked slightly from her hiding spot, watching with wide eyes. “Is that thing really going to hold?”

Before Kelly could answer, the faint blinking on the device inside the dome hit red.

Then it happened.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The explosion ripped through the air like a bomb had gone off underground.

A deafening roar swallowed the warehouse. The ice dome exploded outward in every direction, shards and frozen dust flying like shrapnel. The force of it shook the entire foundation.

Even the ground trembled beneath them.

Chunks of ice scattered everywhere.

The impact was so strong that even some of the metal crates were pushed over.

Kelly had her hands pressed over her ears so tightly her arms were shaking. Ann’s eyes were wide with disbelief.

Vanessa and Lilith remained still behind cover, waiting until the ringing in the air started to fade.

Then, silence.

Gradually, the fog of frozen mist and smoke drifted.

The man’s body was launched out with the remnants of the ice dome. He slammed into a wall of old crates near the far end and collapsed into a heap.

He didn’t move for a full five seconds.

Then his hand twitched.

He tried pushing himself up.

Groaning.

Lifting his chest off the ground.

His legs wobbled as he planted a foot and tried to stand.

But before he could get fully upright, his strength gave out.

He collapsed backward again, breathing raggedly. Blood ran from his nose and ears. His muscles trembled, then relaxed. He wasn’t dead—but he wasn’t getting up again anytime soon.

Lilith stepped out from behind the debris and looked at him coldly.

Vanessa followed.

Ann and Kelly also stood, stepping out slowly.

“Holy shit,” Kelly said, breathing out. “That… was loud.”

Ann was more focused on the crater where the dome had been. “If that thing exploded out here instead of in there, we’d be toast.”

Lilith cracked her knuckles slowly, staring at the unconscious man. “Let’s just hope he’s still alive.”

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