Looking at the young human male holding her hand as he kept teleporting away, Elaria thought that maybe she hadn't completely given up on herself after all. His words had stirred something inside her, igniting a spark. After escaping her home, being labeled a cursed child—an existence nobody wanted to associate with—she had wandered aimlessly until she was caught and nearly sold into slavery. But now, here she was, on the run.
Perhaps it was his honest words and the desire in his eyes—the desire to claim her—that had given her the courage to continue. She, who thought nobody would ever love her, saw a glimmer of hope in this young man. So, she accepted his hand. It didn't matter where this single decision would lead; she would not regret it.
•••
After teleporting five times, I decided to stop. We were in the middle of the forest, and I could feel our pursuers closing in. I wasn't about to only run; I would fight back, and I had the means to do so. Hopefully, they had never seen a magic gun like mine. The unknown can be terrifying and this could be used to my advantage.
"Let's take care of some of the pursuers!"
At my suggestion, Elaria remained silent. I guessed she was waiting for me to explain the plan.
I summoned my most important gift received after opening the the beginner pack: the magic gun. It had a sleek, black design, and the moment I held it, I could feel the cool metal. I instantly understood that only I could use it because the invisible connection established between us.
It was probably called a magic gun because, instead of traditional bullets, it used mana to generate magical projectiles. The gun looked like a Desert Eagle .50 AE.
Removing the safety, I aimed the gun—which I had decided to name Punisher—at the chains between my legs. I had a bit of experience with guns during my time living with my parents in the States.
I squeezed the trigger and immediately felt something being siphoned from me: my mana. A dark bluish light burst from the gun's muzzle, piercing the chain and bisecting it, though the shackles remained on my ankles. I didn't have time to remove them completely, but I had managed to free my hands.
I spun to see Elaria's shocked expression, her small lips forming an 'O'. Using Punisher, I cut her chains as well. She could now move freely, but with the mana-sealing shackles still on, she couldn't provide any assistance. I suggested she hide behind a tree.
She struggled for a moment before finally nodding and obediently hid, her head peeking out from behind the trunk.
I hid my hands behind my back to conceal Punisher. The footsteps of our pursuers finally reached us: three men in armor, one holding a sword, another with shield and a mace, and the third with a spear.
"Obediently surrender, and you can still be sav—"
I didn't let him finish, putting a bullet in his head. It was too sudden, catching them off guard.
Thud!
His body hit the ground. The other two wore expressions of shock. I aimed Punisher at the spearman and fired.
A dark blue bullet cut through the air at supersonic speed. He tried to defend with his spear, but he was too slow. The bullet landed between his eyes—another headshot.
Thud!
The remaining man took a step back, his face fearful as he raised his shield high to protect his head.
Unsure if my magic bullet could pierce his expensive-looking shield, I aimed at his leg—an unprotected area—and fired.
The bullet pierced through his leg, forcing him to his knees.
"Gyaah!" he cried out miserably, almost dropping his shield from the intense pain. I didn't give him time to recover. Aiming through the gap created by his lowered shield, I fired twice, targeting his arms. The shield and mace fell onto the ground as his arms went limp. He stared at me, his eyes filled with despair, unwillingness, and resignation. In that moment, I fired the final bullet, piercing his head and ending his suffering.
I relaxed slightly, but not completely. Everything had happened so fast that if I hadn't experienced it myself, I wouldn't have believed it. Then, it hit me: I had just taken human lives—three of them. Immediately, my body began to shake. I felt as if I had broken something inside that shouldn't be broken. My vision blurred, and I felt my body tilting, I had the urge to throw away everything in my stomach.
At that moment, I heard Elaria's voice warning me of danger.
"Miles, attention! Dodge to the left!"
I snapped out of my daze with willpower and immediately rolled to the left as I was instructed.
A fireball violently slammed into the ground right where I had been standing, launching chunks of earth and herbs into the air. The shockwave almost reached me, but I kept rolling.
Still on the ground, I searched for the one responsible and found her: a red-haired woman wearing a witch's hat and holding a staff. A knight stood beside her, poised to protect her. Her brown eyes stared viciously in my direction as she began to cast another spell. The knight held his sword up, which glowed with some kind of aura. Both were ready for a fight.
In a split second, I made a choice. I ran forward to close the distance between us. They snickered, probably thinking it was a last-ditch effort, but they were wrong—they were simply too far from my teleportation range.
Once they were within range, I teleported behind the mage, pressed Punisher against the back of her head, and fired. I then tossed her body at the knight. Despite his initial surprise, he reacted, his sword aiming for me, but he faltered for a critical second after seeing the corpse of his companion being thrown at him. It was a fatal mistake in a fight.
I rolled and fired two bullets in quick succession. I was lucky—the second bullet hit the first, propelling it forward and making it deadly. The aura surrounding his body shattered like fragile glass, and the super-charged bullet pierced his neck, leaving a gaping hole. He dropped his sword, one hand clutching his neck trying to fill the gap while the other grabbed at nothing. His body fell to the ground, first kneeling, then slamming face-first into the earth. He was dead.
As for me, I was gasping for breath. My heart felt like it was being squeezed, my vision blurred, and I could feel my consciousness slipping away. I understood it must be mana depletion. I couldn't fall unconscious yet; I needed to get to Elaria. We had to escape before more pursuers arrived. I wasn't conceited enough to think I was invincible after killing five people. I had succeeded due to several factors: the element of surprise, my strange weapon, and my teleportation skill. If the enemy had been prepared, I wouldn't have prevailed so easily.
Shaking my head, I bit my lip, hoping the taste of iron would keep me conscious. Unfortunately, having never experienced mana depletion before, I had underestimated its severity. My consciousness faded, and I could only hope to leave the rest to her.