Evelyn's POV
After Lucas left, Marcus and Lina came to me, concern written on their faces.
"What was that loud noise just now?" Marcus asked.
Instead of answering immediately, I smiled and showed them the weapon. "It's called a gun." I explained as I channeled mana into it, the cylinder spinning smoothly with each bullet slot refilled. "It reloads when you feed mana into it. Convenient, isn't it?"
To demonstrate, I asked, "Marcus, could you create your knight puppet again?"
He nodded, and a moment later his towering knight construct stood ready. I raised the weapon and fired. The loud bang cracked through the training grounds, and the knight staggered as the bullet struck its armor.
"This weapon can fire six times before it needs to be reloaded," I explained. "All you need is mana."
I handed the gun to Lina. Her eyes widened slightly. "Me?"
"Try it. Marcus, summon your knight again."
Marcus smirked, clearly amused to play the target twice in a row, and his puppet appeared once more. Lina hesitated, her grip trembling at first, but then—BANG! She flinched at the recoil but couldn't hide her grin. She fired again, then reloaded, growing more confident with each shot.
By the time she lowered the weapon, her expression had shifted from nervousness to pure excitement.
I chuckled. "It's yours now." Then, with a thought, I created another and handed it to Marcus. "And one for you too."
Both of them looked thrilled, and soon they were practicing by creating targets with their own puppets. I let them enjoy it, as long as they didn't aim at anything living.
After they calmed down, Lina tilted her head. "Why is it so loud though? Couldn't you make it quieter?"
I smirked. "I could… but where's the fun in that? The sound isn't just noise—it's a statement, a warning. It puts fear into the hearts of our enemies."
Marcus glanced at Lina, then back at me. "It is kind of cool."
"Exactly." I folded my arms, amused by their reactions. "But listen carefully—you're not to use it outside the training grounds unless it's absolutely necessary."
They both nodded, still clutching their new weapons like prized treasures.
---
When I went home later that evening, both Mother and Father were waiting.
"What's with all the noise at the dojo today?" Mother asked, raising a brow. "Everyone heard it."
I didn't bother hiding the truth. "It was the new weapon Lucas showed me. A gun. I made a few copies for training."
Mother waved it off, uninterested, but Father leaned forward with curiosity gleaming in his eyes. "Show me."
I created one for him, placing it in his hand. "It only requires mana to function. Six shots before you need to reload." I showed him how the cylinder worked, and he nodded with a satisfied smile.
"Where's Lucas?" I asked.
"He's in his room," Mother answered. "He said he's working on something else he wants to show you. He's been at it all day."
I suspected it was another type of weapon, but I'd wait to see for myself.
---
Later, as I lay in bed, Sarah's voice brushed against my mind. She shared her senses with me, and what I saw made my stomach tighten. She had reached the borderlands. Several villages lay in ruins, yet strangely, no corpses remained. Not even one.
It was as if whoever had attacked had taken both the dead and the living.
"Your thoughts?" she asked.
"The vampires," I muttered. "This is how they operate. They either use the living as food or turn them into more of their kind."
None of it was good news.
"Be careful, Sarah," I told her firmly. "Keep investigating. And send me everything you find."
She acknowledged my command, and the connection faded, leaving me staring at the ceiling, unsettled by the truth that was unfolding.