Arcane Sniper (901)
“... It’s over. Now that Arcane Sniper has switched sides... it’s over...”
“Are you just going to give up like that? Huh? Are you going to sit there like an idiot, Kidd!”
Hearing Kidd’s self-deprecating remark, Luger replied with disdain. Luger’s fists, striking the tentacles of Red Zeppelin, grew increasingly forceful.
“Sit there and give up like a fool, Kidd!”
While Kidd and Luger bickered, Leeha was watching Chiyou’s group moving away. Kyle was also still looking in their direction.
He knew that no matter how far they went, there was still a chance the Musketeers here could snipe his mother.
Thus, Leeha did not move hastily.
However, that didn’t mean he intended to remain idle.
‘When I move... it’s when I disappear from Kyle’s view while I’m on the right side of Red Zeppelin. Just a bit more and it’ll be fine, just a bit more... Now. Jellypong, move me to the upper deck of Red Zeppelin. 〈Melding Breath〉.’
The moment he had been waiting for arrived, and Leeha immediately let go of the tentacle.
Having already traveled a significant distance across the Eastern Continent in the 〈Melding Breath〉 state, Jellypong showed perfect synchronization with Leeha’s simple instructions.
On the upper deck of Red Zeppelin, Kidd was still muttering to himself.
Leeha saw him but couldn’t hear his voice. Kidd hadn’t noticed that Leeha was now beside him.
‘〈Sniping〉, 〈Eagle’s Eye〉. I have to make sure.’
Leeha assumed a kneeling shooting position on the upper deck of Red Zeppelin.
Although the night sky was clear, the distance between them was already significant. Losing focus even for a moment would make it difficult to find them again.
‘Damn it, the sway is stronger than I expected. Are they still cautious even with Kyle in their hands? Thorough as always.’
Compared to them, how were they?
They had anticipated that Chiyou and Kaztor would attack again someday, but they hadn’t expected it would be so soon.
Never in their wildest dreams did they think it would happen the moment they left Saur Land, on the way to Laputa.
They had over-relied on the firepower of their group, which included the previous Three Musketeers and Kyle, whose anomalies they had fixed. In other words, arcane Bullet’s Shooter.
‘Chiyou exploited that blind spot. We were foolish.’
The psychological blind spot created by having the mentor of the Three Musketeers by their side was bigger than expected.
Why had they forgotten their most important mission was to ‘protect’ Elizabeth and Kyle?
That was the gap Chiyou exploited.
‘Fine. I lost this round, Chiyou. But... I’m not one to lose and do nothing about it.’
Leeha was firmly observing their group through 〈Distorted Vision〉 and 〈Eagle’s Eye〉.
‘Phewwww...’
Who should he aim at? Elizabeth?
Killing Elizabeth here, now?
‘No, it’s too late.’
Moreover, with Brown accompanying her, even if Elizabeth died, Chiyou would immediately turn Brown into a vampire without being flustered.
Most importantly, killing Elizabeth at this point would reduce their chance of retrieving Kyle to zero.
‘Kyle would never forgive the one who killed Elizabeth.’
Eliminating Elizabeth, Brown, and Kyle only left two targets.
Chiyou or Kaztor.
Leeha alternated his aim between the two.
Who should he shoot? Who should be killed now to achieve the most certain and beneficial outcome?
The choice was simple.
A sniper only had one target to aim for on the battlefield.
‘The highest-ranking person at the moment.’
This was about rank, not age.
If he had to pick the highest-ranking person among the enemies at the moment?
‘Chiyou.’
Though he used honorifics with Kaztor, Leeha hadn’t missed the clue she let slip.
The influence a Vampire Queen held over other vampires.
As Kaztor was already a vampire, it would be difficult for him to go against Chiyou.
Leeha’s rifle stayed firmly fixed.
‘She won’t be able to react to this shot. Moreover, I’ve already confirmed that Kaztor cannot use that mirage-like protection magic while moving.’
While Kaztor could use a simple barrier, he could not activate a protective magic that would absorb attacks.
‘That’s why they move evasively. That’s the fatal flaw... Just as I showed you my skills, I also observed yours.’
–Kekeke... I’ll have fresh blood to drink soon.–
Black Bass smacked its lips.
“Thanks to the vampires, we had already reached 49.9%. And with this one shot, I’ll break through the 50% barrier.”
Kaztor immediately cast a defensive spell.
At this point, Kaztor was the next highest-grade vampire after Chiyou, so all the bats obeyed his commands.
“Kyle! Why didn’t you see them!”
“There... was no sign of an attack at all... if there was, we would have...”
Kyle quickly raised his gun.
Elizabeth shouted at him urgently.
“No, Kyle! Mom is fine! You can’t shoot them!”
Hearing her scream, Kaztor raged.
Kaztor had certainly been looking at Kyle from his left side.
“Shut up, Elizabeth! Shoot now, Kyle! Or I’ll— ngh!”
In an instant, he found himself looking at Kyle from the right side.
He couldn’t understand the sudden change in position. And it wasn’t just the position that had changed.
“What... why—bats—”
Even if he wanted to ask, he couldn’t speak anymore. He couldn’t move either.
A multitude of bats were holding him down.
“Ugh...”
Kaztor’s head slowly drooped.
The old dark elf, who was losing all color, finally realized it.
The huge hole in his chest and the black masses gnawing at its edges.
Kaztor raised his head again.
He couldn’t move. He couldn’t make himself move.
“You... earlier—what kind of... magic—”
“Hah, I almost got too late. Isn’t that right, Kaztor-nim?”
Above all, knowing ‘why this happened’ filled his eyes with rage.
In the last moment, Chiyou had embraced Kaztor’s neck and used ‘Blood Oath’.
Unlike the simple command of ‘Blood Vow’, this skill could make a vampire of a certain level die instead of oneself.
‘It’s a skill that you can only cast on someone with similar power to me, but the effect is good.’
Kaztor’s eyes burned as he looked at Chiyou, who was looking down at him.
“Forgive, ugh! I can’t forgive...”
The hole in his chest had now completely eroded his upper chest, spreading to his armpits and below the navel.
If the circle grew just a bit larger, his arms, not even connected to his shoulders, would fall off.
There was even a possibility that his lower body and upper body would completely separate.
Despite such pain, despite such wounds, Kaztor lifted his head to gaze at Chiyou.
The dark elf’s grudge was intense.
And Chiyou was more than enough to play with the intense dark elf.
“Forgive? Who forgives whom, Kaztor-nim? You can’t even move now; you’re going to become ash soon, trying to forgive me? Haha! That’s great. Wonderful. Just disappear without forgiving me.”
Chiyou was paying back everything she had suffered from the dark elf.
“‘Arcane Sniper’—my... dream—”
Kaztor’s fingertips quivered.
Everyone here knew who he was trying to point at.
Kaztor had tried to capture Arcane Sniper for the revival of the dark elf race.
Though his goal and methods were twisted, his concern for his people was immensely pure.
Of course, this was a fact only the players who followed Kaztor’s story quest knew.
Chiyou cautiously lowered her body, bringing her face close to Kaztor’s face.
“Thank you. Now it’s ‘my dream’.”
Chiyou devoured even the last fragment of the dark elf’s hope.
She did not have a trace of sympathy for Kaztor or regret for his thoughts.
“Chi—”
There was no more fire in Kaztor’s eyes. His head hung low, having lost all dreams and hope.
“—you...”
His body turned to ash gray.
TL’s Corner:
Chiyou having stronger plot armor than the MC.
When did Kaztor even become a vampire?
Disappointing.