The Proper Way to Use a Double-Barrel Shotgun (1)
“Alright, I won’t drone on! Tear them apart! Kill them! Just survive!”
It had been a struggle to recall that woman’s face. She was Dolorea, the second daughter of the House of Blues, a baronial family from the south. Her face had undergone such a drastic transformation that it was hard to recognize her, but after watching her matches a few times, it clicked. She possessed the distinct habits of the House of Blues. The radical change in her appearance… was it a side effect of drugs?
— START!!!
The moment the announcer’s shout echoed through the arena, my finger was already pulling the trigger. When in doubt, shoot. Boom—! The distance was roughly 50 meters. It wasn’t the effective range of a shotgun, but it was threatening enough to test the waters. How would she react? Defend with magic? Or ignore it and attack?
Throughout the preliminaries, she had dealt with her opponents in an incredibly impatient and extreme manner, as if she were being chased by something.
Whoosh—!
A massive wave of high-pressure water surged up like a barrier, blocking her front. Defense. Without delay, I broke the barrel and reloaded the double-barrel. Click. Dozens of lead pellets struck the thick stream of water and scattered uselessly. It didn’t matter. One more shot.
Boom—!
With a ruthless roar that followed, the massive, wall-like stream of water rippled violently. She had no grasp of the physical force behind the buckshot. That meant she was pouring an unnecessarily excessive amount of mana into her barrier, unable to control her power. It would be better to take this slowly. No need to rush. If I pushed too hard, I might be the one to make a mistake. Besides, Dolorea Blues was a member of a baronial family. To avoid future trouble, I had to subdue her without killing her.
At that moment, the massive water wall blocking Dolorea’s front split open to the left and right. Her eyes were revealed through the parted water. Empty pupils. They weren’t focused at all. Was she already ruined by the drugs?
Splash!
The split water wall twisted its shape in an instant and whipped through the air like a lash. It looked like a normal stream of water, but the weight and tension of the high-pressure water were comparable to a steel chain. So, she was confident in her magic just because she was a noble.
Swish!
With a chilling sound of air being torn, the savage water whip flew straight toward my head. I dodged it by tilting my neck slightly. High accuracy, but a simple attack. However, if I let my guard down, I could be taken out in an instant like the previous participants.
I wouldn’t use Space Leap. I had to save that as a trump card for when I faced Tangbun. Surely, they wouldn’t expect me to take down that monster of an old man with just a shotgun, right? ……Right?
If that lunatic was behind this, he might actually be waiting for me to take down Tangbun. Tsk. If that was really the case, I’d just forfeit cleanly.
Swish-swish-swish-swish!!
While I was distracted, the number of water streams targeting me increased. As Dolorea squeezed out her mana, she scratched her entire body with her fingernails. It was the typical withdrawal symptom of a junkie. I leisurely dodged the water whips and closed the distance.
“Die! Die, please just die!”
She didn’t even seem to know what she was saying. I lowered the muzzle for a definitive takedown.
Boom—!
“Kyaaaaaaah!!”
A high-pitched scream, typical of a woman, echoed out. Dolorea’s leg, hit squarely by the buckshot, bent at a horrific angle. Perhaps her concentration shattered from the pain of bones being pulverized and flesh being torn, because the murderous magic that had been hovering in the air cut off in an instant.
Yeah. I know that feeling well. I’ve been hit in the abdomen by a shotgun, too. But to cut off your mana just because you took one shotgun blast? You’ve got no guts. I think I could have beaten this woman easily even without my special abilities or the shotgun. Compared to the murderous aura she showed in the preliminaries, she was ridiculously weak. Was she the typical kind of trash who only acts infinitely strong and cruel when bullying those weaker than herself?
I kicked the abdomen of the woman who was collapsed and screaming, sending her flying far away.
“Ugh……!”
Click—.
Dolorea saw me gripping the shotgun and approaching slowly, and she shrieked as if having a seizure.
“P-please, spare me! I’ll give you as much money as you want! Okay? I’m a noble! Do you know who my father is in the south……!”
Rolling in the dirt, snot running down her face, she begged for her life in a way that was infinitely miserable and ugly. It was hard to believe she was the same human who hadn’t shown a shred of emotion while watching the faces of people drowning with water filling their lungs.
The referee approached Dolorea and asked.
“Contestant Brulle, are you forfeiting?”
“Y-yes! I lost. Please, spare me. Get that weapon away from me!”
Shallow. And ugly. A sense of revulsion surged up to my throat. I wanted to get out of this nauseating place as soon as possible.
— Uh… Contestant Brulle forfeits! The winner is Sian! Everyone, please give the winner your applause and cheers!
“Boo! Boring!!”
“Did you go easy on her because she’s a girl! Show us her head flying off!!”
“Get lost! You coward, get lost!”
“If you’re going to do that, at least take off her pants and show us her panties!!”
For a moment, my footsteps faltered. It wasn’t just Dolorea Blues. The trash in the spectator seats who consumed and enjoyed this insane slaughterhouse were all disgusting. The same bastards who had been shouting my alias and worshipping me like a god just a few minutes ago were now spitting on me, changing their attitudes in a heartbeat just because no one had died.
Is this why Dopang said it was the most human place? I’d only heard rumors, but I’d never seen the true face of humanity look so repulsive. Is Mion in a hellhole like this, too? No. That can’t be.
Suddenly, my vision blurred and my breathing became ragged. It felt like I was being strangled, making it hard to breathe.
“Hoo… hoo…”
Mion. The only family I have left to protect. I’m sorry. Your brother will come to see you soon, so please hang in there a little longer.
But. But something is strange. What did Mion’s face look like? Why can’t I remember? Was I really looking for my younger sister?
“Haa… haa…”
“No.”
“Shut up. Hoo… hoo….”
I clutched my head and gasped. Shut up, please shut up. Get out of my head right now. It was the moment I was forcing myself to steady my breathing while scratching my cheeks roughly.
— Anyway, the winner, Sian! Then we’ll proceed with the next match immediately…… Huh? What was that? Ah, the participant died?
The announcer’s voice flowing through the speaker faltered, then immediately bounced back cheerfully as if nothing had happened.
— Hmm! I see! Then let’s go without a break! Due to the unfortunate circumstances of a participant, Contestant Tangbun advances by default!
“Waaaaaaah!!”
“Tangbun! Tangbun! Tangbun!”
“Sian! Sian! Sian!”
“Haa…… haa…….”
Amidst the insane cheering of the crowd, I was sweating cold and gasping for air. Of all times, for a seizure to happen now.
“Hey, you okay?”
I looked up at the familiar voice that suddenly cut in. Flint? There was a ring I hadn’t seen before on the pinky finger of his left hand. Was that the artifact that cuts off fingers?
“Why did you come down?”
“Weren’t you having a seizure? Can you fight?”
“……I fight better than you.”
Flint snorted at my blunt reply.
“What are you talking about. You’re the guy who got knocked out by one shot of my shotgun.”
“Isn’t that the same for you? You’d die in one hit if you got hit, too.”
“…….”
Flint, hit where it hurt, closed his mouth as if he were speechless.
“See. I saw Tangbun from the side, and he’s no ordinary guy. You won’t even be able to react and your head will fly off, right? If I shoot the shotgun a few times and it doesn’t work, I’ll forfeit.”
“Sure. Give it a try. Take this beforehand.”
Flint tossed me a pouch containing ammunition and ‘that’ thing.
“So you were the one holding onto this.”
I quickly loaded the double-barrel while tucking away the items Flint had handed me.
— Alright! The long-awaited final match! Both contestants, prepare!!
“Go quickly. If it looks like you’re going to die, I’ll do something about it.”
“Don’t bluff.”
Thanks to Flint, the seizure subsided. To think I’d be helped by that lunatic. It hurts my pride a little.
— Today’s final match! Tangbun, the swordsman from the East, and Sian, the owner of the strange magic staff! Match!!!! START!!!
As soon as the start signal rang, the corners of Tangbun’s mouth tore open and curled up grotesquely. The old man’s murderous intent began to weigh heavily on the arena floor, and I, too, squeezed my finger hard on the trigger.
“Kekekeke. This old man has committed a sin against his age by coveting a life before the match. Seeing how much the Eastern artillery has developed, my body was getting fired up.”
A vulgar and light tone. But a terrible, suffocating pressure was embedded in it. That unpleasant gap violently stimulated my anxiety. ‘Artillery? What is that?’ As if noticing my question, Tangbun added with a wide grin.
“A weapon that uses gunpowder to throw massive chunks of iron at the enemy lines. It’s much more ignorantly large than what you’re holding, but the principle is the same, isn’t it?”
Throwing iron with gunpowder. Now that I think about it, it seems quite similar to Flint’s shotgun.
“Aing. Has a generation already come that doesn’t even know where gunpowder was invented? It’s the end of the world, truly the end.”
I narrowed my brows as I watched the old man clicking his tongue. Even here in the Empire, I know that the origin of gunpowder is the East. It’s commonly used to make fireworks or bombs. Bombs, in particular, are overwhelmingly practical, so the manufacturing method is widely spread. No. That’s not important right now. Is he trying to distract me by talking on purpose? I was naturally being swept away by the old man’s pace. He’s a veteran, snake-like old man.
I forcibly cut off my thoughts. Every tiny movement of that crazy old man was as threatening as a weapon. His breathing, his light-footed walking, even the tremor in his neck when he spoke made me tense up.
Judging that I wasn’t being swept away by his pace, Tangbun bowed his waist deeply and brought his hand to his sword hilt. The technique Flint had warned me about. It was the stance for Iaijutsu (quick-draw sword technique).
“Young man, you can be happy. You are already strong enough. If you knew how to use even a little bit of swordsmanship, I would have gladly taken you as my disciple. Kekekeke.”
Tangbun’s eyes curved into crescents and flashed. There was no precursor. Swish—. In an instant, the air in front of me was sliced away.
Whoosh!
In a split second, I activated Teleportation. No time to think. A leap through space entrusted to instinct. A sword strike so fast that even evasion couldn’t be guaranteed. Fortunately, it was only the hem of my coat that was sliced off. The shotgun was also intact. Since the leap was successful, I’d counterattack now. Both triggers were pulled almost simultaneously.
Boom—!
Ting-ting-ting-ting—!!
Boom—!
Ting-ting-ting-ting—!!
“……What?”
I doubted my own eyes. The old man was deflecting dozens of ruthless buckshot pellets scattered in all directions by swinging his sword at a speed that was invisible to the eye.
“Hoho! This is quite fun!”
A bizarre spectacle of blocking bullets as if swatting raindrops with an umbrella. He was a monster, through and through. I had to leap through space one more time to widen the distance and calmly reload.
Whoosh.
As soon as I landed after leaping through the air, I broke the shotgun’s barrel. Click—
“However, young man.”
Click.
“Were you an ability user?”
A chilling voice right under my chin. He had read the location where I would leap and closed in beforehand. “Ability users cannot be spared.”
Stab—!!
“Gah—!”
No time to dodge. Tangbun’s cold blade mercilessly pierced my abdomen. The old man whispered affectionately in my ear. “Farewell.”
I felt the blade that had penetrated my abdomen twist its direction to slice through my torso. The sensation of my internal organs being forced to move. It’s dangerous. It’s too late to leap through space. Is this how I die?
The very moment I closed my eyes in despair.
— Beep!!
Suddenly, a whistle sounded, and at the same time, both Tangbun and my body froze as if it were a lie.
“Hmm? This is a curious thing. That this body won’t move. Truly, the Western lands are full of mysterious things! Kekeke!”
“Cough……!”
Blood poured from my mouth, but that wasn’t what mattered. What on earth just happened? Thanks to the match suddenly stopping, I had saved my life, but I couldn’t hide my bewilderment.
“Referee, player substitution here.”
Player substitution? Looking in the direction the voice came from, Flint was showing his left hand to the referee.