The Black Scabbards were simply trying to enjoy a meal as they sat around the campfire, reminiscing about their past.
However, their brief moment of comfort was suddenly disturbed when they were attacked by a hidden shooter.
The trio desperately tried to locate their enemy.
However, the darkness of the night made it impossible to determine the shooter's position.
And so, the trio could only huddle close together and hope to cover each other's backs.
"Damn it! Where the hell is this guy shooting from?!" Kutcher shouted in a fit of rage.
"Kutcher, don't do anything foolish! Just stay close and wait," said Tuziku as he tried to anticipate the enemy's next attack.
Damn it!
If only I could figure out where this guy is shooting us from!
Tuziku clenched his fists.
Suddenly—
BOOM!
FWSSH!
"AHHHHHH!!" Kutcher screamed out in agony.
"That son of a bitch shot me in the arm!"
Blood gushed from his left arm as he desperately tried to cover the wound with his other hand.
"Ahhh!"
"Kutcher!" Tuziku called out to him.
"Oh my God! Kutcher..." Prīōra covered her mouth in disbelief.
Suddenly—
"Hahaha!"
The shooter burst out laughing.
"Now that's a bullseye!"
Tuziku gazed toward the darkness where the voice had come from.
"This guy is good..."
His shots are so accurate, even in this darkness.
Suddenly, something occurred to Tuziku.
"Wait—how can he fire such precise shots in the dark?!"
"That's a good question," Prīōra responded.
"Ahhhh! God damn it!" Kutcher cried out in agony.
"That bastard shot a clean hole through my arm!" Kutcher gritted his teeth.
Suddenly, Tuziku grabbed Kutcher's wounded arm and carefully inspected the injury.
"Oww! What the hell are you doing, Tuziku?!" Kutcher complained before pulling his arm away.
Tuziku scratched his chin.
It's small, but that's a clean hole straight through his arm...
It's the same kind of wound I got from my battle with Nēgus!
A nervous smile appeared on Tuziku's face as excitement began to well up inside him.
That confirms it!
"This guy isn't shooting us with regular bullets..." said Tuziku, his expression becoming suspicious.
"Huh?" Kutcher wore a confused expression.
Meanwhile, Prīōra's expression hardened.
"I had a feeling that was the case... I just found it hard to believe there were Abyssal Abilities that allowed someone to shoot so accurately," she explained.
"No—I don't think he's just shooting regular bullets," said Tuziku.
"I think we're dealing with another Underdog, guys!"
Suddenly—
Clap... Clap...
CLAP!
"The messy-haired fellow is right!"
Suddenly, footsteps began approaching the trio.
A shadowy silhouette slowly emerged from the darkness.
Tuziku gulped.
As the trio prepared themselves for a confrontation, a scrawny teenage boy with messy clothes and dark, medium-length hair appeared before them.
He held quite an unusual weapon in his hand.
It was an unusually long, cylindrical weapon, almost like a metal tube, with a pistol grip attached to the rear and a wide opening at the front.
He glared at the trio in silence.
"I'm not some simple marksman, you know..." He let out a smirk.
"I'm a professional assassin for-hire!"
"My name... is Giō Pervarva—the Water Assassin!"
The trio gazed at him with dumbfounded expressions.
Suddenly—
The trio burst into laughter.
"I can't believe this kid is the one giving us all this trouble!" Kutcher said, dramatically carrying on with his vulgar laughter.
"Are you stupid or something? Why would you tell us all your personal information like that?" Prīōra asked as she frantically gasped for air while attempting to contain her laughter.
"You're right... Normally, that would be a huge problem," Giō replied.
"Except for the fact that I only introduce myself to my targets."
"And I'll have you know, I take my job very seriously."
He let out an eerie smile.
At that exact moment, a sudden chill ran down Prīōra's spine.
And suddenly...
Giō aimed his bizarre weapon toward the trio.
BOOM!
"You guys, watch out!" Tuziku shouted as he grabbed Kutcher and Prīōra and dove to the ground.
Luckily, the attack missed the trio.
Giō slowly walked toward them as they struggled to regain their footing.
"I've ended many lives in the short time that I've spent on Earth."
"Most of them always die because they underestimate me!"
He let out a malicious grin.
Then—
He aimed his weapon.
As Tuziku struggled to his feet, he thought to himself:
Damn it!
What the hell is up with that weapon?!
Because of how powerful the projectile is, even a single shot fired toward my hand would be consequential!
Suddenly—
SMACK!
Tuziku smacked his cheeks to boost his courage.
It doesn't matter how powerful his weapon is—I just need to stop him before he can use it!
"You three... you're Underdogs, aren't you?" Giō asked.
"And what if we are?" Tuziku asked as he prepared to launch a counterattack.
Giō suddenly let out an eerie smirk.
"You may not know this, but certain villages around here are suffering from starvation due to a lack of resources..."
"Because of this, there are many villages that are willing to even consume human flesh!" he explained.
"I plan on taking you three back to my village and offering your flesh to those hungry souls."
"How cruel..." Prīōra whispered, her face expressing disgust.
"W—what are you talking about?!" Tuziku began to panic.
Giō aimed his weapon.
Seeing this, Tuziku immediately prepared to counter.
But before he could even react—
FWSH!
Kutcher instantly dashed toward Giō.
As he closed in, he raised his sword, intending to unleash his attack.
However, just a few centimeters before his attack could land—
BOOM!
SPLSSSH!
Giō's weapon reacted faster and fired a projectile that pierced the right side of Kutcher's chest.
Kutcher's body stumbled backward as blood gushed from the fresh wound.
"I... won't... forget... this...!"
THUD!
He collapsed to the floor.
Prīōra covered her mouth in horror.
Tuziku's body froze as he gazed at Kutcher's motionless body.
Blood slowly pooled beneath him.
"Kutcher...?"
For a moment, Tuziku couldn't move.
He could only stare.
Giō approached closer to the trio.
"We don't need to make a commotion at this hour of the night."
Giō let out an ominous grin.
"We can all be friends here♡" he said in a soft tone.
CHAPTER 71 END!