Chapter 63: Fireceness of Double
Clink! Bang!
A powerful shot rang out from the smoking barrel of a shotgun.
The delicate wielder, Ashley, sped up to her next victim — her slender arm cracking the KRM, the other squeezing the trigger tight.
Clink! Bang!
The head of the Variant burst into paste, along with others caught in the bullet’s path. Nine to twelve were killed in a single shot.
Suddenly, mental waves bloomed as info surged into her mind. Her vision scaled her side of the battle, but she couldn’t make sight of any lanky-armed, scarred-faced Variant.
With this, she heaved in relief, patting her ample chest. She didn’t want to deal with something so fearsome.
"Captain, watch out!" a female soldier from her squad warned from behind.
A dreadful chill ran across Ashley’s skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake.
A massive shadow cast over her figure. The air stifled, her breath seized, her heart lurched.
Something was behind her.
Though arguably one of Roy’s most powerful subordinates, Ashley herself had a mental block restraining her from being the elite warrior she was meant to be.
Back on Earth, she was a descendant of a rich tyrant, living an extremely easy and pleasing life.
As the only daughter and most doted-on child by her father, whatever she wanted, she got. She wanted wind — wind came. She wanted rain — rain poured. So unlike the rest, coming to Arcana was the worst event of her life.
And things like battle? Completely foreign to her. She had five-star bodyguards surrounding her 24/7 back on Earth. The concept of self-defense was alien.
Which was why her resistance was so pitiful when captured by Dio.
But over the past few days, she had worked hard — facing beasts after beasts in the illusionary scape.
She even braved the dungeon boss Roy told them they had no chance of defeating. And though she truly couldn’t kill the beast, at the end it couldn’t kill her either.
Repressing every urge to flee, Ashley spun backward.
Her shotgun already cracking, ready to decimate whatever was behind her — but the sight of the abomination made her freeze for a few seconds, awash in terror.
It was a hulking humanoid mass of screaming faces, writhing across its entire figure. The faces let out a wrathful cry, their soulless abyss-dark eyes meeting Ashley’s gaze.
The cry and the gaze of the eldritch horror lulled her into a daze — not an illusion, but a soul-sulking state.
On what was meant to be the face of the creature, there were no features — no eyes, nose, or ears. Just plain darkness, accompanied by a wide maw filled with glistening rows of jagged teeth, stretched wide with no lips to cover them — making it seem as though the abomination was in a constant eerie smile.
And the interlocked teeth of the creature slowly parted, ready to take a bite out of its prey.
Her squad members panicked as they rushed hurriedly toward their leader, but unfortunately they were obstructed by a figure that completely matched the info just relayed.
All 23 individuals glanced at each other and gulped hard. Clasping their weapons tightly, they engaged.
Back on Ashley’s end, the monster slowly encroached — its dreadful maws looming over her in an attempt to take her in one bite.
Bang!
Suddenly, the KRM in her fair hands shot up in a swift motion, unleashing a cataclysmic caliber to rip through the monster’s throat.
The head of the corrupt creature jerked back violently in recoil to the shot.
As Ashley’s dull amber pupils slowly flared back to life, her back wet with sweat, That... I almost died. That was too close.
She quickly leapt backward to create more distance between her and the creature.
She held the smoking metal of her weapon tightly, tense, waiting for the monster to make another move.
The creature got back up to its feet — the place it had been shot revealing no damage.
Ashley’s gut sank. That shot just now was a doubled-damage shot, but it still didn’t do anything!
What was she to do? There was no info on the creature. Glancing at the distance, she could see her squad members fighting for their lives — so she was all alone on this one.
Her figure whipped back suddenly, evading a sideways claw strike from the monster.
Clink! Bang! Bang!
Two rapid shots flamed from the barrel of the shotgun in response. She had doubled fire rate, range, and damage.
The bullets met their mark but failed to leave even a scratch.
Ashley didn’t even have time to scowl, as she leapt from the ground, evading the frenzied assault from the creature.
The moment it noticed its prey in mid-air, its set of jagged teeth widened — not letting the little snack escape!
Its maws shot out at almost sonic speed, clamping shut around Ashley — only to discover it had just bitten air.
Hm? The monster couldn’t wonder much when—
A figure appeared from its back. Ashley trained her aim on the only lighter-shaded, writhing face across its body.
She kissed her teeth with her lips as she prayed desperately that she was right — that this was a weak point.
Kreeeeeeee!
The monster, sensing something, reacted violently — swinging its claws backward, clearly missing her by a hair, but the wind force behind the strike flung her backward.
This reaction pleased Ashley — her eyes lighting up with hope.
Her agility, already in the high hundreds, doubled. Wind howled as she streamlined through the air.
And before the monster could make another attempt at defense, her barrel was already close — so close it was pressed firmly, kissing the forehead of the face as she pulled the trigger heartlessly.
The screeching halted as the abyssal construct quickly dissolved into putrid mud, reeking of rot.
Heaving heavily, she still clenched her teeth hard as she burst into motion toward her squad.
Clink! Bang!
The lanky-armed Variant couldn’t bounce off a direct shot from a buffed shotgun — a single shot led to its demise.
She quickly gestured to the squad member who understood immediately and handed her a walkie-talkie-like radio.
Voice strained with exhaustion, she hurriedly relayed her findings to Jake...
The moment her hands dropped after finishing the report, her system chimed ominously.
[Warning! Presence of a Finger of Gluttony detected!]
She groaned in despair. Couldn’t she at least have a moment of respite?!