Matan’s Shooter

“What, what are you talking about, woman!”

“Chiyou?”

Igor and Pyro shouted, glancing anxiously at Bluebeard.

Given that they were already under the influence of the “Hierarchy” they knew. Once you become part of the Demon King’s army, you couldn’t oppose Bluebeard.

Moreover, Chiyou, who would understand this better than anyone, staging a rebellion?

Only Faust, who had seen Kaztor and the family of Arcane Sniper, understood the situation.

“Heh, she’s obtained it. That crazy woman—”

What kind of trick did she pull?

Did she kill Kaztor and seize some rights from him?

Was it the kind of thing that can be seized and passed on in that manner?

They couldn’t know the method. The process was hard to understand.

But the outcome was clear. Faust was already a step ahead of Igor and Pyro in accepting this fact thoroughly.

Even Ghibrid, who had been immobile, twitched his eyebrows and looked at Chiyou.

Bluebeard’s expression remained unaltered.

“Haha! Interesting. That’s a very good joke, Chiyou. But do know my patience isn’t that deep.”

“Oh my, wasn’t it fun? I guess only I found it amusing. Ohoho!”

Chiyou laughed heartily, covering her mouth with her sleeve.

Bluebeard’s expression began to twist from that moment.

“…… So, you really plan to go down this route.”

The Demon King’s Fragment looked ready to charge at any moment.

As he made a face that looked like he wanted to tear Chiyou limb from limb, Chiyou snapped her fingers.

**Snap—!**

“You plan to come at me that way.”

**Rustle—rustle.**

Two figures emerged from the bushes where Chiyou had appeared.

“Arcane Sniper— and— her mother?!”

It was the vampire Elizabeth and Arcane Sniper, Kyle.

Faust identified them. Him realizing this was also quite surprising.

“She turned his mother into a vampire? Instead of targeting Arcane Sniper directly, she took his parents as hostages?”

Bluebeard turned to look at Faust.

This reaction from him gratified Chiyou.

At this moment, the only person who could confirm that Arcane Sniper was real was Faust.

“So, that’s how you did it. If you turn someone’s mother into a vampire, you can control the child too?”

“It was a simple logic.”

Chiyou shrugged her shoulders. Bluebeard’s body trembled violently.

He tried to stand up. No, he would have stood up.

“How many seconds do you think it’ll take for me to decapitate those two and tear you apart, Chiyou? How dare you—”

“Stop. If any of you even twitch a finger, if your eyes so much as blink, I’ll shoot 《Arcane Bullet》.”

Had Kyle not aimed his muzzle, Bluebeard would definitely have moved.

Arcane Sniper pointed his gun at Bluebeard with a calm face.

Not only were Igor, Pyro, and Faust holding their breath, even Ghibrid couldn’t breathe properly.

Usually, Kyle would be disregarded and Igor would have recklessly charged, but there was a reason why they remained still.

Bluebeard’s movements completely froze.

His reaction alone was enough to confirm Kyle’s words were not mere bluffs, instilling a fear that something unforeseeable might happen if they took even one step.

“Huhuhu! My, my. Count! Are you letting such an insignificant joke make you freeze? Ah! Maybe it wasn’t a joke after all?”

Chiyou walked slowly.

She moved behind Kyle and stood between him and Elizabeth. Chiyou would not have appeared before Bluebeard without proper preparation.

“He’s more compliant than expected. Despite everything?”

Knowing that Elizabeth would vomit blood and die the moment she did, Kyle was forced to protect Chiyou for the sake of his mother.

“…… Chiyou. Are you really going to go this far? Are you going to shoot me?”

Bluebeard’s lips moved while his body remained frozen. Chiyou shook her head.

“Not at all. If I intended to shoot you, why would I even show up here?”

“Right. With someone who can eliminate targets without any limits in distance or space, you wouldn’t bother showing your face. So, what do you want?”

Bluebeard spoke quickly.

Even in a completely disadvantageous situation, the Demon King’s Fragment remained the Demon King’s Fragment. He did not show any signs of crying or begging.

His flexible yet realistic thinking was something Chiyou did not dislike about Bluebeard’s AI.

Therefore, her plan had remained consistent from the beginning.

“Perhaps we can envision a new future as equals, my lord. What do you think?”

“Is that what you want?”

Not only Bluebeard but also the users could understand what Chiyou was saying.

The reason she risked appearing here was singular.

“Please release me from the ‘binding’.”

To eliminate the penalties she had as part of the Demon King’s army.

Her aim was to free herself from the completely hierarchical pyramid society.

No user was unaware of how great a power that could be and how many options it could provide.

「Chiyou! You wouldn’t leave me, would you?」

「… You promised to be with me when I first arrived, didn’t you?」

Igor and Pyro whispered quickly to Chiyou.

It was clear that since she held all the cards, Chiyou would get what she wanted!

Given this, they also needed to quickly align themselves with her.

Only Faust refrained from whispering to her.

Indeed, Chiyou was an impressive user. But what would happen once she broke free from Bluebeard?

‘Le wouldn’t stay idle. Even if he let me go now, the aftermath wouldn’t be clean.’

Currently, Bluebeard had Tiamat as well.

Furthermore, Faust was a necromancer.

If they followed Chiyou and gained freedom, what would be the benefits for the Demon King’s army in the future?

Above all, the existence of Pyrot-Cocri, capable of controlling all undead, was extraordinary. At least to Faust, Pyrot-Cocri was akin to a deity.

“What can you promise if I comply? If I release you and you immediately shoot Arcane Bullet, I gain nothing.”

“Why say such cold things? I don’t dislike you, count. I just want to remove some inconvenient shackles. As I mentioned earlier, if our futures align, wouldn’t this be better?”

If it was mutually beneficial, they could join hands.

However, if it was harmful, they could attack without mercy. Hearing Chiyou’s words, Bluebeard gritted his teeth audibly.

“At least for the near future, we can be on the same side.”

“Well, that depends on you, my lord. Hoho.”

“… Sending you to liberate Bathory was a mistake.”

“Do you regret it?”

An ordinary dancer could never have achieved this.

Having awakened as a 〈Vampire Queen〉 through her second job change, everything was possible, and Bluebeard seemed to recall the past.

However, he wasn’t one to nod in agreement with Chiyou’s annoying questions.

“No, it’s interesting. This level of capability is necessary for ‘our future together’.”

Hearing the subtle proposal with a smile, Chiyou suppressed her laughter.

Bluebeard gave her a knowing look.

Only then did Chiyou exclaim, “Ah!”

and turned to Kyle.

“You can go back now. But if anyone attacks me or tries to attack you—shoot Bluebeard with 《Arcane Bullet》.”

While pulling back Kyle and Elizabeth, she chose the best option to ensure her safety.

It wasn’t to shoot those attacking. It was to shoot Bluebeard.

Chiyou was thorough. Now, it was time for her thorough actions to pay off.

Once Arcane Sniper completely disappeared from sight, Bluebeard moved again. He quietly closed his eyes.

Moments later, a bluish light flashed from both Bluebeard and Chiyou.

“It’s done.”

“Hmm, so I can still control vampires. I was wondering.”

“That’s your kind’s business. It has nothing to do with me.”

Now, as a user of the Demon King’s army without any restriction, she looked at Pyro and Igor.

“Igor, Pyro?”

With a gaze that assured they would become significant assets, she called them as if summoning her subordinates.

If she could rescue them from Bluebeard’s constraints and place them under her control?

She would have a perfect set of cards, unlike anything in Shinobigumi or Yamato.

And Bluebeard surely knew this too.

“Ghibrid.”

Bluebeard had been observing the two people moving towards Chiyou from the beginning.

The moment he quietly called out another Demon King’s Fragment, the fragment leaning against the tree started to move.

Kwaaaaaa───

“Wha-what― If you attack me―”

“Tsk,tsk, it’s not you, Chiyou.”

Chiyou stepped back nervously, but Ghibrid’s attack wasn’t directed at her.

“Pu-hup― keu-duck, bu-gureuk―”

Ghibrid had used all his strength and believed he was in control of the situation, becoming careless.

The intersection of these two conditions came at a high cost.

“This wasn’t part of the agreement, was it? Am I wrong?”

One strike would be repaid with another.

Chiyou frowned as she listened to Bluebeard’s words.

The agreement between Chiyou and Bluebeard, and also the order Chiyou had given to Kyle, was, ‘If there’s any act of aggression towards her or Kyle’s family, shoot Bluebeard.’

In other words, Igor and Pyro were not included under that protection, and Bluebeard used this minor detail to take a hit at Chiyou.

“Alright. I acknowledge this.”

Although disappointed, Chiyou had no choice but to back down.

After all, Igor and Pyro would rejoin and follow her after ten days. There was no need to clash with Bluebeard in such a state.

“Well then… I’ll see you next time, count.”

She greeted Bluebeard and looked at Faust. Faust averted his eyes to avoid her gaze.

With a small smile, she disappeared into the darkness.

She headed in the very direction where Kyle and Elizabeth had vanished.

“Tsk tsk… What a pity. However, I appreciate your loyalty, Faust.”

“Th-thank you, count.”

Clicking his tongue, Bluebeard turned his head after looking towards the direction where Chiyou had disappeared.

On the ground, the bodies of Igor and Pyro still lay.

Faust was watching them.

If he could revive their corpses as undead, if they became his weapons, the attack power would be on a whole new level!

Seeing Faust’s salivation, Bluebeard shook his head.

“Sorry, but you won’t be using them.”

“N-no?! A-actually, I didn’t intend to…”

“Watch closely.”

Interrupting Faust’s words, Bluebeard extended his hand towards their corpses.

Reading their betrayal was not the only reason he killed Igor and Pyro.

At that moment, Faust understood.

The only way to eliminate the traitors while not wasting their own force.

“Merge.”

The command of the “Chimera’s Nest” was absolute.

The bodies of the once third-ranked Blood Sucker and the Outsider Flame Mage turned ashen before slowly melting.

The gelatinous melted substance then began to merge into one.

‘Crazy! If it ends up like that―’

Igor and Pyro would still play a crucial part in the Demon King’s army.

To be precise, the Chimera under Ghibrid, formed by the fusion of Igor’s strength and Pyro’s skills, would dominate the scene.

* * *

“It’s certain, right?”

“Are you asking me for confirmation after inquiring three times, human Ha Leeha?”

“N-no, it’s just that… We handed over the vocal cords and skin of the Anti-King― I mean, Toon, so if it’s different from what you said, we won’t be able to come back.”

Hurriedly shaking his hands as he spoke, Leeha saw Ulrek smile.

Until the day he left Saur Land, the smile of a dinosaur always unsettled him.

Even Kidd and Luger flinched at the fierce expression.

“In the name of the 3rd Prince of Saur Land and by the authority granted by King Trudon, I affirm. To human Ha Leeha and all the humans and dragons who entered here, they are granted permanent access to Saur Land unless they threaten its peace and security.”

Ulrek declared once again to Leeha and his party.

Finally, their expressions brightened a bit.