ตอน 35: Consecutive Deaths.
Those eyes that used to gaze at me like family glared in hatred and betrayal.
That small frame that used to stand beside me and worry for me like an elder, shook and shuddered, utterly broken.
That ever-present smile on her face… they killed it, replacing a snarling growl in its place.
When I saw Lili like that… this hurt, an absolute screaming desire- a monster to slaughter everyone in the Soma Familia consumed me, and I let it.
I shouldn't have bet on someone else. I shouldn't have waited for the Loki Familia to scoop us out of our troubles.
That's what I got for relying on outsiders… a third party to solve my problems for me.
Never rely on someone else to solve your problems for you- that's what I learned tonight.
If I had figured this out sooner, then none of this would've happened.
If only I hadn't waited for a golden opportunity to present itself on a golden platter, but forced it instead…
If… this IF!
But not anymore. This ends tonight.
Before that, I must prepare, and I know exactly where to go. I haven't gone insane to the point I can't think straight.
-Ding!
Bells chimed as I stepped into the familiar shop owned by a familiar Gnome.
One of Black Market's. The same place Lili bought me my Karambit and the Potions.
"Oh! Welcome back, M'Lord!" The tiny old Gnome exclaimed, jolting out his beauty sleep, "You look terrible! Is everything alright?"
"Sharp eyes you have… and everything will be alright come morning," I said before stopping before the counter, "Show me the best Grade-1 Karambits you have and Crossbow Handguns… and make sure the Karambit's blade is a little more curved than this one," I then placed my old Karambit on the table, eyes not leaving the smiling old man.
Peering into my eyes a second more, he giggled, "Very well then, let there be blood tonight~" and with that, he turned around before dragging out a case even bigger than he was, "Please, help yourself…"
My eyes couldn't help but sparkle the moment he clicked the case open. Before me was a treasure trove of Karambits- single edged, jagged, no rings, rings on the hilt, hooked blades on the rings, straight blades, extra curved blades, and much more, even the styles I've never seen before. It was a collection beautiful enough to make any Karambit lover drool at sight.
Admits of beauties. It didn't take long to find a dance partner for tonight's gala. Black blade shying away from a perfect 'C'- a jagged outer blade- a sharpened-hooked ring in the shape of a raging tsunami for easy, secure, and strong switching between standard and extended grips, and deadly punches- a perfect grip… a perfect beauty, designed to wrench open flesh and bones. And that's exactly what was aiming for tonight.
My finger creased the silky smooth dark metal in the gentlest touch- the tip, the hunger to plunge, the perfect curves. Gripped the softness, my finger moved into the ring in a gentle slide. How light! I couldn't help but wonder. My palm opened, and she moved a dark angel before resting with the ring between my fingers, graceful as an autumn bird. I smiled, "Will you honor me with a dance, my lady?"
But the moment shook and shattered as a raspy jealous demonic voice roared, "What!"
"What?" My head snapped to his gaping mouth, fighting the furious blush, "Th-The Crossbows!… go get the Crossbows!"
The old man jumped off the chair before tottering to the backdoor at the highest speed he could, "At once, M'Lord!"
/God, you're hopeless! /
[Shut up!]
But still, though… The Karambit was perfect and deadly. Add on the fact that monsters have a physique different from humans, and she taught me how to run the curved blade on humans.
I maneuvered the blade in the stances and slashes, my ice-cold maid engraved in me with a stick in hand while I waited for the old man to come back.
"It's a fine choice, M'lord. Do not hesitate," he spoke the moment the backdoor opened, "It was once the treasured weapon of a deadly assassin with 15 kills under his name."
"Records are made to be broken…" I whispered, staring at the glinted reflection of my eyes on the blade, "You brought the crossbows?"
A proud grin flickering in mischief broke on his face as he said, "Instead of regular crossbows, allow me to show you something very special… One of a kind! And close to my heart,"
"Is that right?"
"Indeed… A custom handgun- a prized member of my personal collection. An old friend of mine once invented… revolutionizing the very way we use bolts and arrows," he said before blowing the dust off the briefcase he brought with him, "It's a pity though… he's no longer with us. This arrived at my doorsteps almost 10 years ago with a note… the last letter. It's been under my care ever since."
And with that, he handed me a yellow piece of paper which read- I may not, but my genius must live on!
Okay, I've played enough RPGs to know where this was going. And I'd be grinning like a fool if this was happening some other day.
The old man spoke again with his smirk still blazing bright, "It is the most ingenious weapon in my entire collection… I hope it is to your liking," he said, finally opening the Pandora's Box.
And indeed it really was a Pandora's Box.
What laid in there was the end of The Age of Adventurers.
Colored black, made of wood and metal- a rectangular barrel extended 10 inches, a proper trigger.
The makings of a firearm. An actual gun.
My breathing ragged, my gaze heated, but it cannot be that simple, so I asked, "Wha-what's the story here?"
Hands folded, the Gnome chuckled, "Ever heard of the Philosopher's Stone?"
I somewhat knew of its legend, but I'm in a different world, so I shook my head.
"I see," he nodded, "Well, there was once an engineer, blessed by the heavens he was, for he had both, Enigma- The ability to transfer, connect, and convert energies, and Mystery- The ability to create miracles and magic. By a stroke of luck and epiphany, he created what we know as The Philosopher's Stone. A Magic Item that blessed its wielder with Immortality. That person will never die, just like the Gods, and live on forever. Proud and excited… hungry for praise, he presented the stone to his God… And the God smiled, gazing at his child with love and pride and an emotion that man couldn't comprehend… and then the God raised the stone and smashed the miracle into pieces, right in front of his treasure child. That man is said to have never been seen again. He disappeared." The Gnome said, eyes trained on me, expecting a blast of a reaction. All he got was a nonchalant 'hm'.
The gods… their blessing- Falna grants normal people the ability to do the impossible, fight the impossible. It's only natural some will be able to create miracles, and some miracles are better off just being fantasies. For their results could be catastrophic, can turn the world upside-down. The Philosopher's Stone, and what's before me, is a perfect example of that. This little thing is more than enough to make Falna- God's blessing irrelevant and useless.
What's the point of spending years gaining Elexia only be headshot-ed by that scrawny 'quiet kid'.
That's another lesson for me- never bring any breaking-the-balance-of-the-world tech from my world here, or even my own God wouldn't hesitate to end me.
But that did not steer me away from this… gun.
Slowly, my hand reached for the black wooden grip.
It was a bit heavier than what I had before- at least half a kilo it weighed. Made of metal and wood, either pained black or it was the object's natural color. And if it was painted, then kudos for the guy, and the Gnome, it looked brand new.
On the rectangular slab of a 'slide' were the limbs and the string, the only features that made it looked like a crossbow- the whole barrel or say the slide itself was 10 inches- beneath the slide was the supposed magazine with a hole to insert or load bolts in, just a couple inches away from the trigger- in place of the supposed hammer was a charging handle- a decocker or say the 'safety', just below the charging handle and above the grip- the grip too was just like an actual gun, 100-110 degrees if measured from the 'slide'. There was even a disassembly lever- a lever I swear I'm gonna pull tomorrow.
Some letters were engraved on the slide as well, along with a bolt splitting a skull- Consecutive Deaths MK-1 was the name of this bad boy.
It was all too surreal. This Crossbow was a little too close to being a proper gun.
What was even more so was that- this little guy will sell this to me.
But I held back the doubts and needless questions.
If this thing works, then I must absolutely have it.
Turning to the beaming old man, I asked, "So, how does this thing work?"
"It's simple!… too simple,", he even got up from his seat in excitement, "You load the bolts into the hole, below the barrel thingy… once done, you must flip up the small lever above the grip, or the trigger won't pull. Then pull the other lever at the end of the barrel that will load a bolt in, and you're good to go. Aim and pull the trigger at will… and the best thing about this is, the crossbow reloads itself, and you can insert up to 4 bolts in it. And he designed the chamber in such a way that it makes the bolts fly spinning… Y'know I've once shot 2 bolts in a second! How amazing is that?!" The old Gnome finished with both hands up in the air, and the widest grin I have seen so far.
If only he knew how many guns I've shot back at home.
Picking up 2 bolts, I loaded them in the mag, decocked the safety, and then pulled the charging handle with the precision of the thousand practice sessions.
The charging handle was softer than I thought it would be, but it still took all I had.
And with a click, the crossbow was ready to go.
"Try it on this," The old man said, yanking me out of my futile attempt at calming the pounding of my heart as he pointed at the wooden target practice board.
Nodding I took aim, my stance was perfect- both hands on the grip, right hand taking aim, left one supporting against the shaking- elbows never stretched straight- the gun tilted a little left- calm breaths- front and rear sights aligned in a straight line, and I pulled the trigger twice.
-SWISHH-SWISSSH!
Two bolts, one after another, raged out of the muzzle at breakneck speed- too hard to follow along with a mellow whistle of death, and plunged themselves into the center of the practice board.
And the recoil was controllable too, and I knew the reason why. Since the mag was just beneath the muzzle and the slide, the extra weight of it and the bolts loaded in helped manage the recoil.
Other than the trigger being a little tight, this thing was perfect.
Or maybe it was tight because I did not have a Falna.
"I'm taking this home, old man," I said as my eyes flashed towards him, only to see the grin on his face stretch wider.
-Ahem!
"As you can see, M'Lord," he said, clearing his throat before going full-on businessman, "This is a one of a kind contraption… a real wonder of science and ingenuity! The last of my deceased friend's work… his life's work! And a Grade-1 weapon! A match made in heaven you two are-"
"Just give me the damn numbers!"
I swear he almost had a heart attack.
With a fake cover-up cough, he then dropped the bombshell, "650,000 Vs, no bargains."
Now it was my turn to almost have a heart attack.
But I calmed down soon enough.
I was half expecting the price to utterly outrageous, and honestly, the price was not that high, assuming what he said was true- this being a one of a kind.
And I'm still a little surprised he's willing to sell it to me.
[Let's try and mimic Lili]
Fingers crossed, I said, "Throw in a Stamina and a Mana Potion and we have a deal."
"Very well, deal!" he replied in a heartbeat and even looked kinda happy about it.
[That worked?]
/Careful now… that was a little too easy. Not to mention this 'MLord' business and his submissive demeanor. /
[I know… might as well horde in what I can before asking, and risk blowing it up.]
/Agreed. /
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An_Imperfectionist
An_Imperfectionist Word Count: 2181
This one came out of nowhere... this whole chapter was literally on a whim! It was never supposed to be there. LOL!
I could use some reviews~
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