Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

In this area that had been a forest, the spot Rubini had warned about was a desolate clearing, as if completely deforested.

It felt oddly out of place, as if the trees around had been deliberately removed.

As soon as Kijung noticed this, they had also precisely identified Kijung.

“Ho―! Looks like there’s no need to send Igor and Pyro to fetch prey? The Holy Knight walked right in…”

Bluebeard had a faint smile on his face.

Kijung stopped, unable to move hastily. Considering Bluebeard’s movements from before, Kijung thought it was nearly impossible to escape from him.

In the end, the only option was to break through…

Bluebeard was sitting on a rock, holding his abdomen, with a magic circle drawn in front of him and dragon heads placed on it.

Ghibrid was standing beside the dragon heads.

“Prey… So, you were trying to awaken Tiamat after all?”

Despite Kijung’s composure, they didn’t show any signs of being disturbed.

Just a slightly impressed expression after a brief moment of surprise. Bluebeard didn’t hide or mask anything.

“Tsk, tsk! Has there been a human who figured it out already? Ah, Ha Leeha?”

Smoothly acknowledging it, he uttered Leeha’s name.

At this point, the only person who knew about ‘Tiamat’ and was aware that Bluebeard was trying to summon it was Leeha.

Bluebeard seemed to mutter as if he knew this fact.

“Yes, yes. They said you, Holy Knight, were connected to Ha Leeha, didn’t they? I remember what Chiyou said. Hey, Ghibrid. Can we not use the Holy Knight as Tiamat’s first prey? There’s no need to wait until evening.”

Even after taking out the dragon heads and completing the magic circle, it looked like they had paused any further progress.

Kijung immediately realized that this was a move by Middle Earth’s system.

The main story progression rule that “as long as even one user is around, the story progresses” was in play.

In the game, this rule was designed to avoid errors that occurred when NPCs alone drove the key parts of the story.

Without Pyro and Igor, who were restricted during the day, if Kijung hadn’t appeared, they would have remained in their current state until nightfall.

But now? With a user, Master Kay, present, the scenario had altered.

Ghibrid slowly looked back at Kijung.

A well-built physique and a handsome face with a chiseled jaw came into Kijung’s view. His face, which should have seemed impressive, lost its aura due to just one thing—his eyes.

No glimmer could be found in his eyes.

If Prea was a white-eyed spirit with no pupils, then the current Ghibrid was a human with black sclera and no whites.

Even stranger was that all his equipment looked just like that of a regular user.

Kijung felt a chilling sensation, as if seeing something familiar yet nonexistent in the real world.

“That won’t be possible, Le. This body is too precious to be used as fodder for the Chromatic Queen. I will wear the Holy Knight’s skin.”

His words, which had sounded like broken radio transmissions before, were now perfectly articulated.

Kijung felt chills upon hearing his clear voice.

It wasn’t about killing, but about wearing?

“What? What are you talking about!”

Why did Ghibrid’s appearance seem familiar to Kijung? Suddenly, one user came to Kijung’s mind.

“That appearance…?! No way!”

“A human body you know? It doesn’t matter. I’ll discard it soon anyway. Holy Knight, I will wear your skin.”

It was one of the users who had crossed the central continent a few days ago.

The resemblance was not just a superficial imitation but something more profound.

Kijung realized what the similarity implied. Ghibrid’s words were not wrong.

He had literally skinned a user and was ‘wearing’ it.

If that’s the case, what could be inside the skin?

‘It’s no different from the time of bandages! Damn, it’s horrifying.’

Kijung gripped his trembling hand tightly.

It was evident that Bluebeard and Ghibrid viewed Kijung not as an enemy but merely as prey.

Their lack of tension and transparency revealed their confidence that they could kill and feast on Kijung at any moment.

‘That must be…’

Kijung gazed at the dragon heads positioned on the ground. Bluebeard followed Kijung’s gaze and scrutinized them.

―Run, run, Kijung. Don’t get involved without thinking!

―How can I run away when they’re awakening Tiamat? Would you run away, hyung?

―You bastard! That’s not the problem! There’s Ghibrid in front of you, and it looks like a complete one! That thing said it would wear your skin! That’s the bigger issue! Imagine it becoming a chimera or skinning you and using all your skills!!

Kijung was relaying the conversation he had with the Demon King’s Fragments to Leeha in real-time. Leeha was furious and raged.

―You can’t hunt the Demon King’s Fragments alone! It’s a top-grade raid that even one or two rankers can’t handle! Don’t get cocky just because you took down one Pyrot-Cocri clone―

As Kijung didn’t offer any response, Leeha’s voice grew louder, and he started saying even more.

The concern for his hyung was, of course, prominent, and logically, retreating was the only answer for Kijung.

Despite that, Kijung didn’t back down.

―Hyung. I believed in you a lot, even when you did weird things, right?

―What? Why are you bringing that up now―

―Believe in me this time.

“Hoo.”

Kijung looked at Bluebeard. Then, he looked at Ghibrid. There was a complete standoff between Kijung and Ghibrid.

‘Bluebeard is likely immobilized to protect the Dragon Heads. So, it’s just a one-on-one between Ghibrid and me.’

Just as the Demon King’s Fragments had shown confidence, Kijung also carried confidence within himself.

He had a plan built on thorough calculations. Plus, he had the experience of facing Ghibrid once before.

That was what pushed Kijung forward.

“Now that I think about it, Bluebeard, this must be nostalgic for you.”

“Hoho, what are you talking about?”

“It must be an old subordinate you haven’t seen in a long time. Isn’t it?”

“What?”

Bluebeard’s eyes, which had been gazing at Kijung, twitched. The moment his focus shifted to Kijung’s shield, Kijung shouted.

“〈Dinosaurization〉.”

The shield made of Toon’s bones began to wrap around Kijung.

Even as he was being encased in black armor, Kijung saw Bluebeard’s brow twitching.

* * *

『〈Striking Blessing〉!』

Kijung cast a blessing on his weapon and charged forward.

Bluebeard flinched momentarily, but Kijung’s target wasn’t him.

“Hmm.”

Ghibrid also drew his sword.

There wasn’t even a slight awkwardness in seeing a Demon King’s Fragment wielding a weapon like a user would.

Bang────!

As the swords clashed, sparks flew.

The one who was surprised was Kijung.

‘It’s heavy!’

What did I just strike? Did I underestimate him because he’s in human form?

Certainly, that wasn’t the case.

Yet, Ghibrid appeared calm.

How much were Kijung’s stats boosted in the 〈Dinosaurization〉 state?

Despite being a tank who primarily invested in stamina stats, Kijung, now at level 300—close to the previous max level—had also significantly invested in strength.

To think he took such an attack with one hand, without even a change in his expression!

“Have you improved a bit since before.”

『Pretending to be calm! You don’t even know swordsmanship―』

Neither of them understood swordsmanship.

But unlike a typical swordsman, Kijung also fought by combining his body and sword.

With a front kick, Kijung pushed Ghibrid away and immediately charged forward.

The sword he swung diagonally clashed with Ghibrid’s sword, or so it seemed. From the beginning, it had been a feint.

Kijung squeezed his body in close and swung his right elbow.

Thunk―!

The elbow struck Ghibrid’s jaw with a cracking sound.

If Ghibrid were human or an ordinary monster, this would have been enough to stun him. Kijung could have then retrieved his sword and slashed his abdomen, making it an effective combination attack.

“Yes, it seems clear that the power of the Holy Knight’s essence is greater than this essence.”

However, Ghibrid didn’t even flinch.

Despite his lower jaw being displaced and his words coming out slurred, Ghibrid uttered without changing his expression.

“Heh.”

Ghibrid swung his arm.

Kijung, who had transformed into a dinosaur, had to use his entire body to block the seemingly light movement.

Kaaarrrggghhh─────────…!

『Ugh!』

Kijung was thrown back as if hurled.

At that moment, Kijung was grateful that his dinosaur armor covered his head. If it hadn’t, he would have shown his astonishment to the enemy.

‘This―is like defending against a dragon’s attack―no, a serpent’s attack!’

Kijung recalled the strongest creature of the Dragon Palace and the Sea of Dawn, the serpent, merely from the weight of blocking Ghibrid’s sword.

The only difference now was that Kijung had become much stronger than back then.

In other words, Ghibrid’s ‘light swing’ was stronger than the all-out attack of two serpents.

It felt several times more powerful.

“You cannot defeat me, Holy Knight. The time has passed, and you will never be able to defeat me forever.”

『That time? Do you mean back when you were wrapped in bandages? Are you saying you’re complete now? You’re still nothing but filth.』

Ghibrid’s expression didn’t change despite Kijung’s provocation.

He quietly shook his head.

“I am still incomplete. But―”

“Shush, Ghibrid. You talk too much. Just deal with this quickly.”

Bluebeard interrupted Ghibrid, who nodded in acknowledgment.

Kijung looked back and forth between Ghibrid and Bluebeard.

‘His strength is beyond what I can handle, but maybe his intellect…?’

Indeed, Ghibrid was different from the other Demon King’s Fragments.

Compared to someone like Bluebeard or Pyrot-Cocri, perhaps Ghibrid was simply the brute-force type?

The unfortunate part was that even if Kijung formed a hypothesis about his weakness, he couldn’t act on it immediately.

“I will take your body, Holy Knight.”

Ghibrid no longer remained passive.

As if being pushed by Bluebeard, he moved. Kijung could see him tilt his upper body.

But in the next moment,

Ghibrid was already in front of Kijung.

Boom────────!

『Ugh?!』

Kijung hurriedly twisted his body and raised his sword.

Ghibrid sent Kijung, who was holding the sword, flying in one motion. Kijung was thrown so hard that he crashed through two trees entirely. Ghibrid moved again, watching him.

Boom────────!

The sound of his movement wasn’t a special effect. It was like the sound of a meteor collision.

Ghibrid moved so powerfully and swiftly that he left dents in the ground and scattered dust.

『Ugh, what incredible strength―』

Kijung wasn’t fully conscious, but his body reacted on its own.

───, ────, ────!

『―You said you’d take my body, bastard! It’s about to be shredded!』

It was hard to call what Kijung did ‘defense’ as he barely managed to deflect Ghibrid’s swings to minimize the impact.