Let's go back thirty seconds.
A heavy pistol landed in Goki's left hand.
Tapping the familiar weight and feeling the rough texture of the wooden grip, Goki couldn't help but exclaim.
"Now this is more like it."
Yharnam's firearms are strange.
Although it looked like an old gun from a few hundred years ago, she had an 18th-century ignition method, a 19th-century loading method, 20th-century bullet styles, and a 21st-century game's auto-aim hack.
Leaving aside how the powder keg hunters managed to create such powerful firearms, allowing a flintlock pistol to have no ballistic deviation from dozens of meters away, this was already top-tier black technology.
Coupled with Goki's superb marksmanship, every enemy in Yarnam had been hit by his bullets.
However, if Goki remembered correctly... the continent of Terra actually had no firearms.
No, it's not that there were none, but in Terra, "chong" was merely a weapon akin to bows and crossbows, essentially a type of staff.
Terra did not use gunpowder, but instead used an energy substance called Originium, which, when activated in a specific way, could produce Spell effects, then convert into sound, light, force, electricity, and heat, subsequently firing bullets and triggering a second Spell upon hitting the target.
Compared to ordinary firearms, the "chong" had less power and a shorter range, but its advantage lay in its Spell effects.
However, the continent of Terra is a world where everyone is a super Terran, wielding city-breaking spears, siege crossbows, boarding harpoons, and heavy anti-armor weapons.
Modern weapons aside, according to the 联动劇情 (linked story plot) Goki remembered, ordinary bullets hitting Terra's superhuman races would at most wound them slightly if they didn't hit a vital spot.
These Terrans were like protagonists in a movie; unless shot in the head or hit with special ammunition, they couldn't even be killed quickly.
At least, old relics like flintlock pistols definitely weren't competitive.
Furthermore, Terra's technology mostly came from grave robbing, and the manufacturing process for chong weapons originated from archaeology. The religious nation of Laterano controlled the STC (Standard Template Construct) for chong weapons, and even the world's largest arms dealer, Raytheon Industries, only managed to negotiate a license for the 代理製造 (agency manufacturing) of small chong weapons from them.
We should be grateful that they haven't yet reached the point of needing to appease machine spirits and create the Mechanicus.
Therefore, the weapon in Goki's hand was probably the only gunpowder-based weapon in Terra, a limited edition among limited editions.
"But, is it really effective?"
Looking at the Seaborn with its body broken in front, and Skadi, whose movements had slowed down as if she heard something, Goki was very doubtful if he could break through its defenses.
Admittedly, the black technology of the Yarnam powder keg hunters might not be inferior to 21st-century modern craftsmanship, but the Abyssal Hunter, who had transformed into a Seaborn, was clearly not an ordinary Terran.
Abyssal Hunters are the ultimate Terrans of genetic Ascension, and only Iberia's specialized hand cannons could barely penetrate their defenses.
This was also the reason Goki chose the pistol.
Although the overall power of a short-barreled gun, or shotgun, was immense, Goki worried that with the Abyssal Hunter's defenses, bullet fragments might not be able to break through her defenses.
"A piledriver would be more reliable... forget it, I don't have that thing now."
Clatter.
Several mercury bullets engraved with patterns appeared in Goki's hand.
Just as true randomness doesn't exist in nature, even the most chaotic and free attack methods must have their patterns and absolutely will have weaknesses—Goki would seize the Seaborn's most vulnerable weakness.
Mercury Bullet
Special bullets used in conjunction with hunter firearms.
Ordinary ammunition is ineffective against monsters; one must use mercury bullets infused with the wielder's own blood.
The power of mercury bullets largely depends on the wielder's blood quality.
"I don't really like this process."
Goki didn't hesitate, directly grabbing the sharp, 桩 (stake-like) bullets without curvature and stabbing them into his left leg.
Normally, mercury bullets are prepared by extracting and injecting blood with a syringe, but in an emergency, there was no time for such niceties—anyway, a hunter's thigh was already 菠蘿菠蘿噠 (pineapple-pineapple-da, i.e., already full of holes), so a few more stabs wouldn't matter.
Goki broke open the large break-action pistol from the muzzle and loaded a blood-stained mercury bullet into it.
Although the protagonist in the game didn't have a reload animation and could use a flintlock as a semi-automatic weapon, when in Yarnam, Goki had to conscientiously reload after firing his ammunition.
In the distance, Skadi's movements became even slower, as if she was fiercely fighting some invisible force.
"Good heavens, she's started a mental attack. It reminds me of the Brainsucker."
And Goki just happened to find the most suitable moment to attack.
The extra point in Agility instantly sped Goki up, and he fearlessly charged directly towards the being that could easily pulp him.
Accelerate, roll, aim, and then—
Bang!
Through his observation just now, Goki found the most crucial stress point on the Seaborn's body and shot a mercury bullet into its broken spine.
The stopping power of the bullet was exceptionally strong, instantly paralyzing the Seaborn's body.
This was—the Gun Counter!
Aiming at the enemy's point of exertion and shooting a mercury bullet into it would instantly incapacitate them. As long as the monster wasn't too overwhelmingly powerful, Goki could render them half-paralyzed!
"Gah—you land-dweller, do you think such a weak weapon can..."
Not feeling any pain, the Seaborn, whose mental communication with Skadi had been interrupted, was somewhat enraged. Her beautiful face cracked open from the middle, revealing internal tentacles and wrist-limbs, as well as a large mouth full of fangs.
It reminded Goki of the zombie dogs from Resident Evil.
She mocked the frail land-dweller while casually attempting to crush him with her wrist-limbs.
But then, she felt a sensation of numbness.
"My blood—what did you do to me? You, you defiled me!"
Inside the bullet's hollow cavity, mercury pushed Goki's blood out, beginning to circulate within the Seaborn's body.
That was, without a doubt, an alien substance.
"Your blood, you are the enemy of the blood kin, you have cast me out of the kin, you monster—"
The Seaborn felt its connection with the ocean rapidly diminishing, unable to even hear the call from within Skadi in front of her.
"What's important is what I'm going to do to you next. You should be glad my blood is still relatively pure right now—Dragon Claw Hand!"
And Goki merely shook his right hand silently, then squeezed the chest of this young and beautiful Seaborn.
Well, actually, he didn't just squeeze it; he squeezed *into* it, and he squeezed it *burst*.
Pfft—
"Cough—ugh!"
Bodily fluids splattered. Goki's well-honed, gynecological 'holy hand,' which had stabbed countless monster asses and dug out countless human kidneys, accurately targeted the large hole in the Seaborn's chest, plunged directly in, and instantly crushed its alien core!
"Ahhhhh—"
Even after being transformed, the Seaborn had falsely created a "heart" within its left chest. Although it had no actual function, the moment Goki crushed it, she still let out a painful wail!
It wasn't pain from agony, but rather the shock of realizing that her connection to the sea had vanished.
Seaborn live by their collective; one is all, and all is one. Even if this body dies, the Seaborn itself still lives, and the continuation of the collective will persist.
But the blood of this land-dweller completely severed her connection with the collective, forcibly tearing her away from the warm network.
She felt cold... and the fear of death.
"Skadi!"
In her ears, a loud shout came, startling Skadi from her crimson trance.
"I am—hmph!"
The surprise lasted only an instant. She immediately shook off the distracting thoughts in her mind, gripped the greatsword in her hand, and transformed her bewilderment into boundless fury.
"Enough, stop your blasphemous acts! You deserve to die, long tentacles!"
And facing the whistling blade, the Seaborn no longer had its previous composure.
"No, sister, we—must inform the blood kin of the great enemy."
Goki did not withdraw his right hand; instead, he used all his strength to pin the Seaborn in place, creating a pincer attack with Skadi.
A flash of black light, and the greatsword stirred the tide, slicing the Seaborn in front of them into several pieces, exceeding its regeneration limit.
Skadi had completed the execution.
...Okay, it's dead. It won't come back to life.
Skadi stood before her former comrade, planting her greatsword into the ground, silent for more than ten seconds, seemingly confirming her death.
"Thank you, Goki. I know it was an emergency, but... it's best not to use advanced chong weapons in the future."
Whispering her thanks to Goki, Skadi raised her greatsword again, preparing to thoroughly destroy her kin's corpse to prevent it from being re-parasitized.
But the next second, Goki walked beside her.
"Skadi, I say... let's give her a funeral, a land-dweller's funeral, a decent one, to ensure she won't be exploited again."
Goki saw Skadi raise her head; beneath her still-calm expression, her eyes were a little red.
"Alright."
Now, she truly was the last one.