Matan’s Shooter

Even Alexander had to admit it now—his plan and trap had been seen through.

Onyx would not appear anymore.

If the appearance of Bailephus couldn’t lure him out, then no method would ever be able to draw him out in the future.

“If it’s come to this, I’ll need to capture the Chromatic Dragons one by one— No, that won’t work. To catch them now that they have formed a group, all-out war is the only way… If the entire Metal tribe mobilizes—”

The north would be left unguarded.

Bluebeard might appear at any moment to awaken Pyrot-Cocri.

『Alexander!』

“… We’re turning back, partner. It seems our current plan is insufficient.”

Bailephus immediately turned around.

Although the Chromatic Dragons’ flight was by no means slow, they couldn’t catch up to the Alexander-Bailephus combo, especially since they had user allies.

Even if they used a spatial barrier to chase them, these two were no longer who they were in the past.

Having trained extensively in the impossible-to-teleport eastern New Continent, their aerial combat skills surpassed their past selves—or even Kuzgnak’shii.

『Running away, shame of the Metal tribe!』

『Now that our Queen is awake, it’s only a matter of time before we annihilate your kind!』

The Chromatic Dragons exhaled their breaths, but Alexander and Bailephus effortlessly dodged and headed out of the spatial barrier.

Without utilizing a physical barrier that could restrict their moves, trapping them was impossible.

Swoosh───!

As soon as they exited the barrier, Bailephus used spatial movement.

The turbulent airspace of Minis, filled with various spells and dragon roars, turned quiet in an instant.

The Chromatic Dragons searched their surroundings briefly.

『Nothing is detected under Mana Detection.』

『Same with the search. Nothing around here.』

After ensuring with magic that no additional intruders were present and that Bailephus’s move wasn’t another trap, they finally landed on the ground.

And there, a brilliant purple light flashed.

─────!!!!

What appeared was an old man with disheveled black hair flying in the wind.

* * *

“Did they leave?”

『Yes. It seems they tried to lure the Elder.』

『We sensed no willingness to fight. Judging by the surroundings… Did they really think they could face the Elder alone?』

“Ha, how ridiculous. Even if a severely injured Bahamut came along, Bailephus wouldn’t be able to defeat me, yet he really came alone.”

『Yes, that’s correct. While there’s a chance something was hidden, nothing was detected by Mana Detection—』

“Enough.”

Onyx silenced the hurriedly responding Chromatic Dragon. Turning his head, Onyx surveyed the Dragons and frowned.

“Once again, what that person said is true.”

Though Onyx clicked his tongue in displeasure, the atmosphere among the Dragons was quite different. They began to praise “that person.”

『What a blessing we’ve received, elder!』

『Indeed! Along with the Queen’s revival, having such a wisdom source among us is a truly good omen!』

The Elder of the Chromatic Dragons, Onyx, shouted at them with an annoyed expression.

“Be quiet! You fools… Do you want to be happy being manipulated by a single human with all your experience? If you really thought this absurd charge was a ‘trap’, you should be suspecting that human might be colluding with Bailephus…”

Swoosh────!

Cutting off Onyx’s words, the purple light flashed once again. This time, a man appeared suddenly next to the old man with black hair.

He clapped his hands while laughing.

“Kyaa, as I thought, I was right! Alexander showing up alone, that’s a hundred percent—no, a thousand percent that something’s going on. Honestly, I even considered the possibility of a ‘long-distance sniper’ being around, but that doesn’t seem to be the case… It’s almost confirmed to be a new skill. A skill potent enough to take down ten or so Chromatic Dragons alone and then come after Elder Onyx.”

His voice was brash, and his actions exaggerated Onyx looked at him as if he were a bug, but the other Chromatic Dragons around them began to laugh, as if they shared in his amusement.

“…… What are you even chasing me for? Revealing yourself won’t end well for you. Plus, there’s still a spatial barrier here. How did you break through it?”

Onyx stayed as cautious as possible.

Even though Tiamat had resurrected, Onyx, as an elder leading the Chromatic Dragon family, had every reason to be vigilant. Yet, the man merely shrugged as if utterly baffled.

“Ah, come on. You think a barrier like this can stop us? Yellow Dragons specialize in tracking and annihilation techniques, remember? I just used a little of that.”

“…… I’m asking how you used Yellow’s mana in the first place―”

“And it’s already been verified many times, so it’s quite disheartening you still doubt me, elder. If you continue this way, it might be hard for me to continue helping you.”

The man’s tone and expressions showed skill and familiarity. Onyx, who was intent on questioning him further, found nothing more to say.

The current situation where the man provided unilateral assistance to Onyx suggested that his power had become indispensable to the Chromatic Dragon family, including Onyx.

“…… Fine. Just consider it a verification of your abilities rather than suspicion.”

“Sure, I understand. I know well that Elder Onyx values abilities above all else.”

The man stood nonchalantly, using his sword as a cane.

That meant as long as he could show his abilities, such an attitude could be tolerated, and he was indeed demonstrating that capability.

“Alright. Let’s head back. Gather at the assembly point.”

Onyx turned and snapped his fingers. His presence disappeared instantly.

The Chromatic Dragons also began transforming into human forms one by one, preparing to teleport. One of them approached the man who had appeared suddenly.

“Can you go alone?”

“Teleport? Hmm, let’s just go together. If I go alone again, the Elder might throw a fit.”

“Haha, that’s unlikely. Even though we once fought for our lives, the Elder knows your importance better than anyone.”

“Tch, then he could treat me a bit better.”

As the man grumbled and shook his head, the Chromatic Dragon burst into laughter and prepared to teleport.

“How’s your woman doing?”

“She’s at the assembly point. So let’s hurry back.”

The man sheathed his sword.

A rainbow-colored afterimage followed the moving sword.

“I’m always impressed by your insight. Let’s go, Lark.”

The Chromatic Dragon called his name and cast the teleportation spell.

Lark was transported to the assembly point where Onyx and the Chromatic Dragons awaited.

About ten minutes after, in the desolate land where not much but passing scorpions lived, movement began again.

“Isn’t this a complete surp─prise!? Bihihit! Lark!? The Rainbow Knight!”

“…… Kikit, this is driving me crazy. We followed because Alexander was on the move and now this―…….”

Biyemi and Petyr, shaking off the sand that covered them, wore baffled expressions.

* * *

It had been quite some time since they began investigating the Chromatic Dragons’ movements.

Ever since the day Petyr accepted Kijung’s request, he had been moving around, prioritizing this mission over even logging out.

While tracking the movements of the Chromatic Dragons, there eventually came a time when their dragon lairs were completely empty, with no information to be had.

Whenever they received reports of a recent dragon raid or incidents involving Chromatic Dragons, they rushed to the scene but still, no useful information was obtained.

‘Kikit… Even with the information that Alexander had headed south, it took so much effort to find him.’

What were the odds of finding a Gold Dragon soaring through the sky?

If it weren’t for the skills of the assassin Petyr and the former assassin Biyemi, it would have been impossible.

After barely finding and tailing Alexander, they had lain low, waiting in hiding.

Hoping to gather even a shred of information wherever they could.

“Bihihit, what do we do now?”

“Hold on ― whoop, arggh…”

At Petyr’s question, Biyemi bent over, retching. Green liquid soon spewed from his mouth.

“Every time, that’s a surprise!”

“Whoosh… Kit, it’s unavoidable without stealth skills. If it weren’t for this item, we would have been detected by mana and killed.”

Even an assassin of Petyr’s caliber could evade a dragon’s mana detection as long as he stayed still.

So, what about Biyemi, the Venom Mage?

The fact that Biyemi could even move with Petyr in the first place was because of this.

If inhaled even once, it was a ‘poison’ that dropped not only mana but also HP to the level of surrounding animals.

If they inhaled the newly synthesized item, they would be reduced to a near-catatonic state, yet their sense of sight and hearing would remain intact.

“Kihe, keheke. I don’t know how I should report this?”

Why was Lark with the Chromatic Dragons, and why was he even helping them?

‘Judging by the way the Chromatic Dragons speak, it has been quite some time. Kiheit, it indicates that they’ve been closely working for quite a while now… But Lark definitely had some connection with Ha Leeha and the guild leader.’

Biyemi didn’t want to make a hasty judgment.

It was because he knew for a fact that Lark showed up and helped during the Pyrot-Cocri operation.

If it were another user, Biyemi wouldn’t have had any particular suspicion. But the one they were dealing with here was Lark.

“Buhihihi! It’s always fun to execute a traitor to humanity. There must be countless noble NPCs in Minis who want to put a bounty on Lark’s head. Even without Gwen’s help, I could chop his head off on my own.”

A figure belonging to the Virtue Knights, yet not welcomed even by his own country’s NPCs.

An individual capable of subjugating most of the paleo in the New Continent.

A person of skill but with dark schemes, making them hard to trust.

Even without Petyr’s additional remarks, Biyemi already knew this.

“Kihekit… Since Shin Nara seems to be with him, let’s postpone killing Lark… for now.”

“Fine, fine. Anyway, I’ve already ‘marked’ him. The longer we wait, the more fun the surprise party will be! Buhihihihit!”

Petyr unfolded a map.

On the map of Minis’ entire territory, a small dot was blinking. After confirming the target’s location, they started moving.

At the Chromatic Dragons’ assembly point, sacred Knights’ user Shin Nara sat with a grim expression.

* * *

The nightscape of Hong Kong was always an impressive sight.

Even Leeha, who had been dragged out of the hotel, found his eyes drawn to the night view rather than the food on the table.

“Aren’t you going to eat more?”

“I have a stomachache…”

However, the reason he was focused on the night view was not just because it was beautiful.

Leeha responded while rubbing his lower abdomen.

A lobster, bigger than Leeha’s head, lay split open but he couldn’t bring himself to touch it.

“Eat, oppa.”

Ram Hwajung, sitting next to Leeha, cut the lobster and speared it with a fork. It would normally be an affectionate gesture, but not for Leeha now.

The force of her recent ‘tackle’ was beyond imagination.

“O-Okay. I’ll eat it myself. By the way, Ram Hwajung, you seem taller.”

Although, it was closer to just her overall frame having gotten bigger.

Leeha didn’t continue the remark.

Maybe it was because she was at an age where she grew noticeably every day, but Ram Hwajung definitely looked taller compared to the last time he saw her.

Of course, it wasn’t just her height that had grown.

It was apparent she had gained weight overall, and with that she had charged at full speed for a body slam!

‘It’s cracked. It’s not broken, but it’s definitely cracked. Grr, when was the last time I felt this kind of pain?’

That was the extent of Leeha’s pain.

Even after achieving 100% synchronization in Middle Earth, he rarely experienced such bone-rattling pain!

“Of course. Hwajung is at an age where she should be growing.”

Ram Hwayeon responded while nodding, understanding none of Leeha’s thoughts.

The fork and knife in her hands moved like firearms in Leeha’s hands.

The silverware moved with a swift, smooth sound, never clinking against the plates.

“Wow…”

“What?”

“No, it’s just that watching you eat is like watching art. How can you move like that? I can’t even do that with chopsticks.”

“Well, I’ve been learning since I was four! It’s essential if you want to debut in high society!”

“Me too. Do it.”

Listening to Ram Hwayeon’s words, Ram Hwajung also began to handle the silverware almost as naturally as breathing.

Seeing their ingrained behavior and hearing terms like ‘high society,’ Leeha felt anew.

“You really seem like people from a different world. No, you actually are from a different world. To me…”