Matan's Shooter

Chapter 458

TL: xLordFifth

ED:

“How did it happen? Can you hear what your eldest brother is saying?”

“B-Black crane! I’m not sure either, guardian deity-nim.”

Hudid, who was still hovering and flying in place, and the red-crowned crane had a conversation. Although Leeha couldn’t hear the sound from where the eldest brother was, he could hear their current voice very well.

“Let’s go, Jellypong! Rise——–!”

Shaaat——————-!

In the Redwood Forest, a black shadow burst out -!

“What?!”

“What, what is it?! Where did -”

“It’s right beneath you! Wake up, Hudid!”

The giant black crane turned its head. However, its body and neck remained frozen! Finally, the tiny hat behind the neck came into Leeha’s view.

‘It would have been good to shoot it while riding behind Jin Gonggong-ssi’s back!’

But not now! In a situation where it’s soaring into the sky, shooting is not possible. If there is a gap, it is only when the movement stops right before falling to the ground!

Whooosh……!

“Burn this bastard right now!”

“Black Crane! Fierce assault!”

Haaaaah…….

Leeha’s body suddenly stopped. It started plummeting towards the Redwood trees again. There was only about 0.5 seconds left! That was enough.

‘[Calm Mind].’

Click.

Baaaaaaang———–!

Leeha pulled the trigger.

In that fleeting moment suspended in the air.

“What the hell!”

However, Leeha could only curse. At the moment of pulling the trigger, a deafening roar echoed, and a wall of fire, tinting his vision red, ignited in the empty space.

Fwaaarrrrrrrr….!

Hudid’s unique ability, burning the air without any combustibles, completely engulfed the space between Hudid and Leeha. Leeha’s strategy was excellent. The power of Jellypong was indeed formidable. However, the strength of Jellypong was ‘too’ powerful, creating a flaw. It propelled Leeha higher than expected, extending the time for his descent in the air.

Although Hudid couldn’t perceive Leeha’s attack, the time was sufficient for Hudid, who had already lost one toe, to prepare.

“I don’t know what attack it was, but it was excellent. However, it seems insufficient to pierce through [Flame Wall].”

Beyond the flames, Hudid’s voice echoed. Leeha had anticipated this since before the quest alert appeared.

Fwuaaaah-!

The wall of fire scattered in all directions. Out of the pierced flame wall emerged Hudid himself!

“Raise your spirit high, for I shall kill you in one blow!”

It was more like a single spear. Hudid folded his wings, extending his entire body in a straight line, flying towards Leeha.

“Ugh, aaaaah-!”

Leeha witnessed the rapidly enlarging form of Hudid. In this situation, there was no other choice. The quest was no longer important. He had to shoot and kill!

“Zenzhaaaah-!”

Click-!

Leeha urgently pulled the trigger, but what echoed was not gunfire. It was the hollow resonance of empty chambers. All four bullets in the magazine had already been used.

“..Ah-“

Kwaaaaaah————

Hudid’s beak pierced Leeha’s abdomen.

“Black Crane! The Guardian Deity has defeated the sorcerer!”

“Black Crane!”

As the eldest of the black cranes shouted, all the paleos in the sky roared. They either made duck-like cries or shouted their divine protection, flying joyously through the air.

For the sake of his offspring, Hudid soared into the sky, holding Leeha in his beak, performing aerobatics like a fighter jet, rolling and pitching without slowing down. The Palaeos witnessed this scene, not just as divine protectors but also as a majestic spectacle of a giant crane’s beak piercing through the sorcerer.

And in the midst of this spectacle, it wasn’t just the Palaeos who saw the sight of the sorcerer hanging limp from the mighty beak of the crane.

“Ha Leeha-niiiiiiiiim——!”

Rubini’s scream echoed through the Redwood, carried along with the breeze.

It wasn’t teleportation but only a short-range blink scroll that allowed her to evade at close quarters. Rubini had vowed to stay hidden until Leeha finished his work, but witnessing his current state, she couldn’t stay still.

“The sorcerer who fled is over there!”

“Capture her! Kill her!”

“Black crane——!”

Shwaaaat-!

The black cranes spread their wings and accelerated again. As the distance for using Blink to escape was limited, the gap between Rubini and the black cranes remained close.

“Please wait a moment, Guardian Deity-nim! Soon, we will offer another sorcerer as a sacrifice!”

The ‘eldest’ shouting towards Hudid suddenly widened his eyes. In the sky, Hudid’s beak still seemed to hold the sorcerer. Or at least, that’s what they thought.

However, at this moment, the sorcerer’s body wriggled. Why didn’t Hudid say anything? Why did he just soar into the sky, leaving the pierced sorcerer behind?

The elder brother of the black cranes urgently shouted, “Protect Guardian Deity-nim! Protect Guardian Deity-nim! Paaaiii—!”

The flapping of the black crane paleos, flying towards Rubini, came to a halt. Protect the Guardian Deity? What did that even mean?

“—The sorcerer is still alive!”

With the eldest black crane’s cry, Leeha who was ‘pinned’ to Hudid’s beak, finally spoke,

“What do you mean? Jellypong! Hold onto his beak tightly, and then throw me!”

It turned out that Leeha was not pierced by the beak. It was an optical illusion from the side that made it seem like the beak was piercing him.

Realizing that Hudid couldn’t open his mouth anymore due to Jellypong’s arm securely wrapped around Hudid under the lower back, preventing him from speaking.

[Mongmongmongmong-!]

And now, Jellypong had completely separated from Leeha. Hudid’s blue hair and Leeha’s eyes briefly met as Hudid soared into the sky. Despite Hudid’s massive wing beats couldn’t stop Leeha. As they brushed past each other in mid-air, Leeha focused on one final thing: the last opportunity at this distance. With no time to reload the magazine now, this was his last stand!

“Now, get back to your senses, Hudid!”

Hudid tried to turn his head and neck towards Leeha, but the sticky substance wrapped around his beak delayed his reaction. Seizing this moment, Leeha had the chance to ‘stab.’

Leeha used both hands to grasp Black Bess tightly, aiming at the junction of Hudid’s neck and torso. “[Bayonet Charge]!”

Black Bess’s tip created a mana knife. Beneath the gun barrel, where the mana knife protruded in a bluish hue, there was something there—the very thing that might evoke an eerie laugher from Bluebeard, his hat.

Whoosh…!

The Mana Gunblade pierced through Bluebeard’s hat, tearing it apart. The hat, which boasted an even deeper darkness than Bluebeard’s ominous aura, began transforming into dust.

Shaaaaai—–!

Then, it evaporated, disappearing completely.

For a brief moment, Hudid’s eyeballs flickered, but neither paleos nor Leeha saw it. A burst of white light exploded from Leeha’s body as she descended to the ground.

[You have completed the quest [Wake up, my friend].]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have achieved 100% intimacy with tkn mystical creature Aibex.]

[You have achieved 100% intimacy with paleos- Red Goat.]

Wham—!

[You have achieved 100% intimacy with the mystical creature Hudid.]

[You have achieved 100% intimacy with paleos—Black Crane.]

Wham—!

A continuous barrage of achievement pop-ups and system notifications cluttered Leeha’s vision. However, none of it registered in his eyes at the moment. A resounding joy for completing the quest!

Yet, even that overwhelming joy was obliterated by a terrifying fear!

“Uwaaaa! Help, Jellypoooooong—!”

[MongMongMong—!]

Shwaaaaak-!

Jellypong, which had still been tightly bound by Hudid’s beak, wriggled free with a swish and leaped. However, there was still a considerable distance between it and Leeha, who was already starting to fall.

Hudid was flying higher than the top of Redwood, at least 150m above the ground if measured from the height of the ground!

“This—crazy—”

As Leeha descended with his back and butt toward the ground, Jellypong’s urgent expression was visible to him. The fact that the normally smiling spirit of Meta-Water was making such a face alone made Leeha imagine a terrifying scenario.

“Ha Leeha-nim!”

Rubini shouted too, but there was nothing she could do. Without Hyein, there was no one in the space to catch Leeha.

“Damn it! I can’t die after completing the quest!”

Leeha flipped in mid-air. As soon as he flipped, what he saw was the top of Redwood. The gigantic forest seemed to be reaching out to catch him.

Shuwaahai——–!

The speed cutting through the wind had already surpassed imagination.

To catch? If he were to collide with those thick tree trunks, it would be as if the logout itself was catching him.

“Sorry to call you out only at a time like this, but in the end, I have to prepare for the drop.”

Leeha had to buy time in the air, receiving minimal damage, to secure the opportunity for Jellypong to cover him again! There were not many choices for that method.

“Soul Link! Please, Koma! Force Barrier!”

Paahat-!

As soon as a red light flashed before Leeha’s eyes, he clung to Koma’s soft fur.

“Kku, kkuung?” contemporary romance

“Stay alive! By any means necessary!”

“Kkuueee, uueeeeee——!”

The Koma struggled, with Leeha on its back. Now, at the point where the Redwood trees began to come into view, Koma, as if grinding on a sandpaper, embraced a Redwood tree.

Gwa, gwa, gwa, gwa—The sound of the Koma’s huge claws tearing at the tree and its scream, attempting to counteract an enormous gravitational acceleration, echoed through the Redwood forest.

The shock was transmitted to Leeha even though the Koma acted as a buffer. Despite using the Koma as a cushion, the Force Barrier flashed, flickered several times, and then disappeared.

If it were only his body, Leeha would have turned gray by now. Platinum Shield? It couldn’t be used. If it could have been used, Leeha would have used it immediately when attacked by Hudid. In other words, there was no way for Leeha to pass on the damage any longer.

Koma, as if crushing a Redwood into a powder, grabbed it with its hands and claws, and with each thud, thud of impact, Leeha’s vision was turning crimson.

“Uh, uuaa! When on earth will we reach the ground!? I can’t take it anymore-“

[Mongmongmong-!]

“-Jellypong!”

Shwaaak…!

Jellypong’s squishy body enveloped Leeha and Koma. Even after that, the Koma’s hands and claws suffered a bit more.

Koma, carrying Leeha on his back and Jellypong wrapped on his hands and feet stopped at a point 35m above the ground. They had descended more than 60m from the peak of the Redwood.

“Koma! Are you okay?”

“Kkuueee, kkuung, kkuueeeng.”

“Just wait, potions are coming-“

Koma was hanging limply, crying. Even though it hadn’t transformed into a fire bear, the smoke rising from its claws made one wonder how hot it had been.

Leeha quickly searched his bag and shoved a health potion into Koma’s mouth, and he haphazardly sprinkled potions on its hands and claws.