Matan’s Shooter

“Let go of me!”

“Stay still, Elizabeth. From now on, you are forbidden from any self-harming behaviors.”

She had become a ‘vampire’, and now that night had fallen, she couldn’t go against Chiyou.

Chiyou placed her hand on Elizabeth’s neck where her own fang marks were.

“〈Blood Oath〉.”

“Ka-haa… Honey, honey—quick!”

Even as the ‘absolute command’ was being imprinted on her, Elizabeth called out to Brown. Brown was holding a gun, but his jaw was already trembling.

Could he kill the person he loved the most with his own hands?

“Les, please! Shoot me! Just shoot!”

“Beth, but—I…”

Even Browless couldn’t bring himself to shoot. Naturally, Elizabeth’s gaze shifted to the three others.

Leeha, Kidd, and Luger. She looked at the current generation of the Three Musketeers and nodded.

“Hurry—”

Luger immediately raised his gun, but he too could not pull the trigger. It wasn’t merely the thought of not killing Elizabeth.

“……Everyone, lower your guns. If anyone points a gun at my mother, even if they don’t pull the trigger, I will shoot them.”

Kyle, who stood beside her, raised his gun towards the Three Musketeers.

“Kyle!”

“Son!”

Even though Elizabeth and Brown screamed, Kyle wouldn’t listen.

The frail-faced young boy no longer existed.

The future of Middle Earth, the Demon King’s Fragment, saur Land, the 〈Sacred Alliance〉, or the possibility of the third war between humans and demons—all these meant nothing to Kyle.

Only his mother, whom he thought about and relied on, remained in his mind, his eyes burning with determination.

“Everyone… I said drop your guns. Even you, liss ajussi. And you, too, ajussi Fernand, put down your whip. Restore that pudding-like thing. And stop that flying dragon-like creature. If anyone raises a weapon, I will shoot everyone here.”

When he mentioned the possibility of collective responsibility, even the users couldn’t help it anymore.

A decision had to be made now.

—

―Kidd! Can you take him down?

―He’ll shoot me first. Leeha, you—

―We still have one more trick up our sleeve. Wait… First, we need to kill Chiyou. Then we might be able to restore Elizabeth.

―What? What method—

—

The Three Musketeers were whispering among themselves.

Their resolve, which said they hadn’t given up, was evident through their actions and expressions.

The problem was that Chiyou, who read all of this.

“Ha Leehaa~? If you conjure the Terror Spirit, I will kill Elizabeth immediately. Before that spirit can knock me out, my claws will pierce Elizabeth’s heart.”

The various tactics Leeha could use were already in Chiyou’s information.

Unless he obtained a new skill or method, there wasn’t any way to surprise her.

Except for one thing—everyone here was of a different race.

Leeha shouted quickly.

“Lord Ulrek! They―”

“I know you share blood ties with Toon. And I’ve learned from that Dark Elf over there that you don’t interfere in human affairs. If you stay still, we promise not to harm you in any way.”

“Lies! That’s not true! As I said before, these people want to infiltrate inside Saur Land! If they gain the right to use Arcane Bullet—”

“Ha~Lee~ha~? We are not fools. We wouldn’t dare provoke a race far superior to us. Isn’t that right, ‘Lord Ulrek’?”

If only Chiyou were alone, her plan might’ve been thwarted.

He might have found a way by borrowing the power of Ulrek and Ji-em.

Or maybe she would’ve attacked the Red Zeppelin without knowing anything. If she had, Ulrek certainly would not have remained calm.

But she wasn’t alone here.

“I promise. Dinosaur of Saur Land, I only took interest in you because of Arcane Sniper. We won’t interfere with you at all.”

“Is that so.”

“It is. But if you are deceived by that human’s schemes and attack us…”

Kaztor moved his hand.

Spears darker than the night itself appeared beside him.

“At least, this creature you are traveling on will not remain intact.”

“I promise you this. We vampires, the nocturnal race, will pull out all the stops to bring this down.”

Chiyou reinforced Kaztor’s declaration.

Leeha continued to persuade Ulrek.

He even used his 〈Bargaining〉 skill, insisting that their words were false and should never be trusted, but Ulrek was a dinosaur.

A dinosaur from Saur Land.

“Fine. As long as you don’t touch Red Zeppelin, I won’t interfere in your affairs.”

“Lord Ulrek!”

“I apologize, human Ha Leeha.”

He decided not to meddle in external matters.

“An excellent decision.”

Chiyou smiled broadly and signaled to the bat swarm. Six vampires, far larger than ordinary bats, approached her.

* * *

“Kyle, Elizabeth. Release the tentacles around your waists.”

“W-wait!”

As the bats moved to snatch them, someone quickly reached out a hand.

“Oh, dear~? Mister Brown, are you coming with us too?”

“That, that’s not—no, but—”

Could he bear to watch his wife and son leave right before his eyes?

“Brown, partner….”

Browless also had a trickle of blood at the corner of his lips. He wanted to stop his comrades with his bitten lips, but he was powerless.

The 『Rapidfire』? An assassin who once terrorized most of the nobles on the Rope continent?

That was merely challenging the limits of humanity.

Moreover, the one restraining him now was Arcane Sniper.

Any rash movement would bring calamity to everyone, so Browless holding back was only natural.

Kidd, crouched at the top of the Red Zeppelin, met Brown’s gaze. He also saw Browless flinch.

What emotions had to be read in the silence exchanged between the two NPCs?

“… I’m… sorry, Les.”

“…”

Browless remained silent.

Brown couldn’t stand to send his wife and son into the abyss of magic.

He was the same man who, 20 years ago, had held his pregnant wife’s hand and ventured into a monster-infested place.

“I’m going too.”

“Oh, haha, excellent! An unexpected bonus, kids?”

At Chiyou’s words, three more bats flew in.

Three bats per person, ensuring they could transport the untangled NPCs safely.

Kaztor was already casting a spell. Everyone could see they were ready to leave.

“Grrr, Chiyou! What the hell are you doing? What do you plan to do with them?”

Leeha shouted in frustration, but Chiyou just grinned innocently.

“What do you mean, ‘what’?”

“What?”

“It’s fun, isn’t it?”

She was trembling.

Luger felt sick watching her face, momentarily consumed by ecstasy and pleasure. Chiyou giggled and commanded Kyle.

“Kyle. If you see anyone moving, shoot them immediately.”

Two bats were holding Kyle’s trapezius muscles. Another supported their feet with its body.

This meant Kyle could move his shoulders and arms, and his aim wouldn’t be significantly restricted in mid-air.

“Well then, Ha Leeha and company? I greatly thank you for safely treating Arcane Sniper and handing them over to me.”

Chiyou’s back sprouted wings that flapped gently.

She could fly even without assuming a bat’s form, resembling when she had just absorbed Bathory.

Luger spat on the ground.

“Shut up, you vile woman. I should have crushed that filthy smile the first time I saw it.”

“… Thank you, Luger. Let’s see who will deal with you first.”

Although she was still smiling, her voice wasn’t as cheerful.

Luger’s curses, filled with genuine rage, were harsh enough to shake even her typically stoic demeanor.

“Kekeke… Hahahah! Good, very good, Chiyou! Now, let’s go!”

“Yes, Kaztor.”

As Kaztor spoke, the surrounding clouds began to thin.

Chiyou flew towards Kaztor.

Bats carrying Elizabeth, Brown, and Kyle chased after her.

Kaztor, keeping an eye on Browless and Leeha, Kidd, and Luger, quickly dispelled and then recast his protective magic. Seeing their unwavering vigilance despite having the upper hand, Kidd’s face twisted in frustration.

They were gradually distancing themselves from the Red Zeppelin.

Chiyou and Kaztor flew ‘backwards’ without taking their eyes off the Red Zeppelin.

“Oh, Ha Leeha.”

Once they had put some distance between them, Chiyou called out to Leeha. As he furrowed his brows, she continued.

“This time, I won, didn’t I?”

“… What?”

With that, she closed her mouth.

She tore her gaze away from the Red Zeppelin and began to speed up, looking at the night sky ahead.

Kaztor and the bats surrounded her and followed.

The sky was now clear without a single cloud.

It was a gloomy night, so melancholic that it felt like everything that had just happened was a dream, rather, a nightmare.

Kidd plopped down on the upper deck of the Red Zeppelin.

“… It’s over. With Arcane Sniper gone over… now….”

“Are you just going to give up like that? Huh? Are you going to sit there like an idiot, Kidd!”

“Can you do anything, Luger? If you use any noticeable skill, Kyle will shoot a bullet right away.”

“Grrr― Damn it all!”

Luger roared.

He could head to 〈Acht-Acht〉 immediately.

However, wouldn’t such a bright cyan light be noticeable in the night sky? There was no way that wouldn’t catch Kyle’s eye.

Thus, Kyle’s bullets would likely reach him, Kidd, Leeha, and Browless faster than the time it took to activate Acht-Acht.

“Kidd is right… For now… After reuniting with the Dragon… we need to find a way to retrieve them. It’s best not to act rashly now. Brown’s… his look wasn’t one of resignation.”

“Is that so.”

“Yeah.”

Listening to Browless, Kidd held onto a glimmer of hope. Perhaps the exchange of glances between Brown and Browless had meant something like that.

Was it a sign to come find him, implying that he would cooperate from the inside?

“Damn it… Whatever it is, we have to start searching from scratch.”

“That’s not true. At least we’re on course to 〈Laputa〉. It’s a relief that Chiyou’s bat swarm disappeared around here.”

They could have tortured Kyle, Elizabeth, or Brown to get information about their direction.

However, even if they could fly, laputa wasn’t something easily found. Concealing the Red Zeppelin’s whereabouts was a significant gain, and even if she happened to find Laputa by chance, without Ulrek, she couldn’t get in.

This notion reassured Kidd.

“Isn’t that right, ha― hm?!”

Kyle may have been captured, but they needed to prepare for the next step.

Luger and Fernand, including Kidd, shared this mindset.

Even NPC Browless was turning his thoughts in that direction. Yet, one person had not given up.

“What, what the?! Where did Ha Leeha go!”

“Is Leeha missing? Has Leeha disappeared?”

Leeha, who had been hanging onto the Red Zeppelin’s tentacles, was no longer in sight.

“The presence of human Ha Leeha cannot be felt. Even with our technology, it’s impossible to make someone vanish so suddenly.”

Listening to the shocked words of both humans and Ulrek, Kidd and Luger quickly opened the friend window of the Three Musketeers.

They thought his sudden disappearance might mean he logged out.

“He isn’t logged out.”

“What the heck, where did he go? How can he disappear right in front of our eyes― ugh!”

Luger shut his eyes tightly.

Not just Luger, but all the users had to close their eyes.

A sudden, intense burst of light from next to Kidd atop the dark night sky and Red Zeppelin’s upper deck compelled everyone to shield their eyes.

A beam of light cut through the night sky.

It was a single ray of hope erasing the nightmarish gloom.

TL’s Corner:

Fuck this shit.

It’s getting tiring, that family getting taken hostage again. What the fuck?

This is some next level bullshit.

Leeha better aim straight and hit that laser.

If Leeha somehow misses, I’m fucking out. He doesn’t deserve to be called [Bullseye]

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