The Villain is Too Good at Sniping

55. Wrap-up (1)

A dry gunshot echoed through the ruins.

…The discarded bullet casings scattered on the floor.

Even with three shots in the same spot, the bullets only left superficial wounds on the demon’s body, failing to inflict any significant damage.

This was the limit of regular bullets. Against demons, they only slowed them down, failing to exert any substantial force.

This was also why most hunters and armed guards avoided using firearms. They were only useful for small-scale battles or hunting minor demons.

However.

All other aspects of firearms were drawbacks.

—Creak.

The demon was still thriving. Despite being hit multiple times in the chest, it remained unfazed.

‘Regular bullets aren’t working, and the only remaining solution is to enhance firepower through magic or use demon-slaying bullets.’

But every demon possessed a certain degree of ‘egenerative power’ by default. It wasn’t due to their characteristics or abilities, but rather a common trait shared by all those infected with demonic energy. If I continued to fight like this, I would undoubtedly lose.

‘…What do I do.’

The demon sneered.

It didn’t laugh or curl its lips, but I sensed that it was mocking my situation.

The demon’s red eyes pierced through me. What could I do with this small handgun?

My response was simply to pull the trigger.

Tang—!

The demon didn’t dodge. It took the bullet with its body. A small wound appeared below its collarbone, but that was all.

This guy, however, was underestimating me. Unlike the demon, which had lost its reason, I maintained my composure and stood tall.

The fire-attribute demon-slaying bullet finally took effect, burning the demon’s chest. This time, the demon’s face contorted in pain.

“It seems this works.”

The demon transformed into a grotesque figure, its arm twisting as it charged towards me.

But before it could take a few steps, someone appeared behind the demon, stabbing it with a three-pronged spear.

“Didn’t you say we could resolve this through dialogue?”

The figure that landed agilely like a cat was Rebecca von Anastasia Grandeur.

Rebecca withdrew her spear and joined forces with me. From my perspective, this situation was welcome.

It was better not to receive Rebecca’s help if possible. The longer she was exposed to demonic energy, the more likely she would be influenced by it.

Perhaps it would even reactivate the dormant demonic energy within her, undoing all the hard work that had gone into suppressing it.

That’s why I wanted to end this before Rebecca noticed.

But if I fought alone, it would undoubtedly become a prolonged battle.

And the outcome of that battle would be…

……Me, exhausted and out of bullets and magic, against the still thriving demon.

Naturally, I was at a disadvantage. If I lost even one of my bullets or magic, I would lose half of my combat capabilities.

On the other hand, even if I’m injured, I can mostly overcome it on my own. It’s a reality that even renowned Hunters have a hard time subduing me due to my incredible regenerative abilities.

To kill me, you’d have to target my head or destroy my heart. To do that, you’d ultimately need to use your magical power to boost your strength and settle the fight in a single blow.

—…….

The Mine in front of me won’t just accept its situation, of course.

It won’t just stand still and wait; instead, it will charge at me the moment I try to use my magical power, swinging its arms wildly.

The magical energy in this area is strong. Moreover, the longer I spend time with the Mine, the more Rebecca’s condition will deteriorate.

Just looking at Rebecca now, she’s struggling to suppress her magical energy and can’t even use her full strength. I need to end this fight quickly.

“There wasn’t originally a way to defeat that Mine.”

I had nothing to say.

The thing I thought was a Mine was actually a split body of the Esperando Duke, and I didn’t expect to be tasked with capturing it.

But, as always…

“…Variables have emerged.”

“Can you handle the variables?”

“Yes, of course.”

I had expected variables to emerge.

As I told Airee before, my role is to respond to unpredictable events, represented by variables. That’s why I have the [Player] trait.

If I jump into the core events of this world, I’ll have a hard time, but I’ll become stronger as a result.

And the system won’t just let me die helplessly as long as I participate in the story. If they had wanted me to die, they wouldn’t have brought me to this world or given me unique abilities.

The manifestation of my unique trait, [Player], grants the following effects:

Temporarily increases magical power recovery speed by 25%.

Temporarily increases total magical power by 1,000.

For 40 minutes, the performance of ＜Nameless﹥ increases by 15%.

A refreshing energy spreads throughout my body.

The weight of the Glock feels slightly lighter. It’s probably due to the enhanced performance of Nameless.

Now, I can fight at close range without a problem. As an intermediate body, magical power is naturally embedded, so increasing my total magical power and recovery speed makes my movements lighter, and I gain a slight advantage in subtle areas.

“But there’s a 40-minute time limit.”

I need to settle this within that time.

Before firing my magic bullet, I glanced at Rebecca beside me.

“You don’t have to push yourself; it’s okay to retreat.”

“…That’s unnecessary concern.”

My advice was sincere, but Rebecca stepped forward without hesitation. She elegantly drew her sword, aiming it at the Mine’s neck, ready to clash.

“The Mine can’t just be left alone.”

“Are you saying that as the next successor of Grandeur?”

“…….”

Rebecca couldn’t answer easily. It’s because one of the world’s greatest evils, the Mine, is situated beyond Grandeur’s northern territory.

Furthermore, the evil being referred to is none other than Grandeur’s younger brother.

Grandeur has protected the north and fought against demons throughout its entire life, a tradition that has continued since before the name Grandeur was established.

However, a Mine was born within the family, tarnishing Grandeur’s reputation.

So, Rebecca’s silence is an answer in itself. It’s also the reason she accepted my offer to accompany her.

The Mine is still growling. It seems to be enjoying this situation.

Born from blood, returning to blood.

This is the unchangeable nature of the demonic being. Moreover, if a demonic being loses its reason, it will follow its instincts even more faithfully.

“…I am Rebecca von Anastasia Grandeur.”

The white sword’s edge was entwined with a magical power like a frost.

“I am the guardian of the north, and it is my duty to punish the wicked.”

Rebecca, like a swift current, unleashed a swift and precise sword strike.

The white trajectory that spread out, accompanied by the scattering of ice crystals, showed why she was called Grandeur and the guardian of the north.

However, the demonic being in front of me did not fall for the illusion of ice and instead used its two arms to push back against Rebecca.

Although it was unarmed, the demonic being’s body, infused with magical power, fiercely pushed back the sword and did not allow even a small wound.

……It was a battle that even I, with my [Thousand Li Eye], could not easily follow.

I maintained a distance of about four steps away and fired a bullet into the back of its head.

To avoid interfering with Rebecca’s sword, I sometimes retreated and sometimes approached boldly, but I couldn’t land a significant hit.

Despite being covered in burns from the magical bullets, the demonic being only momentarily lost focus. Even if I aimed for its vital spots, I couldn’t penetrate its sturdy body.

However, if I increased my firepower, it would be difficult to control the recoil. It was likely to end with a simple magical power release, like the previous attack.

Kieck———!

The demonic being, its anger ignited, swung its arm.

Originally, it wouldn’t have reached me, but its arm stretched out like a whip. It was a bizarre sight.

Pajik——!

I blocked it with both arms. If I were wearing a student uniform, I would have definitely been able to withstand it, but the fabric around my elbow had already been torn apart from the previous attack.

It was fortunate that I was wearing a student uniform; if I had been bare-handed, both my arms would have been broken. I couldn’t block the next attack.

The arm swung again, and this time, I could see the trajectory of the attack with my Thousand Li Eye.

I lightly jumped up and dodged, pulled out a dagger, and pinned its arm down. I then fixed its arm in place with my foot and called out to Rebecca at the same time.

“Rebecca-nim.”

Rebecca, who was in the midst of battle, turned her head.

Her gaze was directed at the demonic being’s stretched-out arm. Although the triple sword attack didn’t land, now that its muscles had relaxed and its density had decreased, it would definitely be effective.

Seuk-geuk—

The triple sword drew a circle and cleanly cut off the demonic being’s stretched-out arm. The right arm, which had been stretched out like a whip, was severed in an instant.

The demonic being let out a painful scream and retreated.

No matter how excellent its regenerative abilities were, it couldn’t regrow a severed arm.

Of course, it was unlikely that a demonic being of this level would appear at this point, so I predicted that the previous attack would certainly be fatal.

“……!”

The severed wound began to heal, and in an instant, its right arm regrew.

However, this time, it wasn’t an arm that grew back but a tentacle-like appendage.

It was covered in bony spines, resembling an octopus, but it was even more grotesque. Its target wasn’t me, but Rebecca, who was standing in front of me.

“……Kuek?!”

Rebecca, who had been grabbed by the neck, struggled. The dark energy that the demonic being emitted was pressing down on Rebecca.

It was injecting magic. It was planning to create another demonic being.

I grasped my pistol. I aimed at the demonic being’s head, but since it was stuck to Rebecca like that, she would get caught in the crossfire.

Cheol-keok—

I changed the loaded bullet. A soft, blue-green magical power pierced the space between them. It was a wind-attribute magical bullet enhanced with magic.

Thanks to the Main’s intuition, Rebecca was able to dodge, and she grasped the triple-edged sword again.

Kkudeuk———!

“……!”

Even with the triple-edged sword piercing her chest, the Main didn’t fall. Instead, she used her left hand to grab the sword and pulled Rebecca towards her.

The Main’s tentacle-like arms flailed about, spewing out long, thin bones. Rebecca resisted desperately, but the Main’s strength was overwhelming, crushing even a low-ranking Hunter.

It was like shooting small bullets that only scratched the surface.

Moreover, Rebecca was weakened due to the magic. To overcome this situation, she ultimately needed firepower.

I looked at my right arm.

The doctor had told me not to move it, but in this damn world, you had to make choices and focus when it mattered. If you wanted to gain something, you had to give up something else.

…The hesitation was short.

I grasped the Glock with my reverse hand and dislocated my arm. After repeating it a few times, a crack appeared, and after two more tries, my arm broke free.

I briefly put the Glock in my mouth and removed the cast. My right arm, which hadn’t moved in a long time, felt like it wasn’t mine, but my senses were dull, and my right hand moved according to my will.

I grasped the Glock with both hands and put my index finger on the trigger. I gathered all my magical power and loaded it into the gun.

The loaded bullet was a fire-attribute magic bullet.

Most Mains were weak to this attribute.

The charged magical power was excessive, overflowing to the point where sparks were flying out of the slide. Maybe after pulling the trigger, I wouldn’t be able to walk for a while.

…Of course, the recoil control was also a problem, but it was enough to do it once.

The aftermath of the magical power depletion was a dire situation.

[Thousand-Mile Eye] flashed, capturing the Main’s forehead.

As my vision was about to fade away, I pulled the trigger. The intense recoil came a beat late.

A straight, red beam of light shot out.

I didn’t see the end of its trajectory. I had used up all my magical power, and my vision went black simultaneously with the trigger pull.

But I trusted my abilities. If I couldn’t take it down after doing all this, it would be unfair, and I wouldn’t be able to die.

I fell backwards, my body crumbling. Since my senses were already half-gone, I didn’t feel any pain.

……Kwajik!

Something broke apart, and the last of my consciousness vanished.

.

.

.

[You have defeated the ‘Omnipotent Main, Onin De Shantus.]

You have gained 1,000 talent experience points.

Your talent, ‘Marksman,’ has leveled up.

Marksman Lv.1 -﹥ Lv.2 has increased.

Your current talent proficiency is ‘Intermediate.’