Several minutes later, the Smiling One laughs and looks at us; at that moment, the warrior wielding the sword urgently orders:
"Run to the outskirts of the city!"
We all run, but the sorceress remains on her knees, crying and exclaiming in a tearful voice:
"Don't leave me!"
Screams!
The sword warrior remains unmoved.
While they run, I jump toward some rubble and separate myself from them.
I suppress all my fear and run toward the Smiling One, because after sensing the specter that was making the sounds of horse hooves, I can tell that this Smiling One is weaker than that specter, so it must be a 4-skull monster.
When I return, the Smiling One has already ripped out the eyes and nose of the sorceress, who screams desperately as she writhes uselessly.
I instill my fear in my body and jump toward the Smiling One, who turns and smiles at me.
"That's right. Smile, bitch!" I exclaim when I am almost in front of her.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Smiling One's hat falls to the ground, his forehead has a huge hole from which a fleshy, gelatinous, bloody substance oozes. The Smiling One makes erratic movements, falls to his knees, but continues to move his arms.
I load another bullet into Scarlet Rose and aim at my prey just as a hunter would.
Bang!
[You have killed a 4-skull monster: +1.17]
[Kill 3 4-skull monsters (1/3): +6 to all attributes]
I put Scarlet Rose in its case. The gloves on my hands were destroyed even though I used fear.
I throw away the remains of the gloves. My hands are sore.
I take one of the health pills shaped like a larva. I feel it explode in my mouth when I bite into it. I swallow it, and shortly after, the pain in my hands disappears.
I approach the body of the first subject that the Smiling Woman took. I take the subject's sword and decapitate his body.
I approach the Smiling Woman's body, open her dress, and her breasts bounce when the dress is cut. I continue cutting until I extract the valuable 4-skull core from her chest.
"1,000 to 1,500 black tokens. If I could take the body, I would get more, but I can't be too greedy," I think, and then I look at the sorceress lying on the ground, still alive but in a pitiful state. I find a piece of rubble, instill fear in the rubble, and smash her head like a watermelon.
-You won't suffer anymore, nor will you become a damn zombie. -I murmur and walk away from the scene.
As I walk back to the building where Watson is, I stop in the surrounding area to hunt down any troublesome monsters.
When the sky begins to turn light and dark, clouds also begin to appear. The path is covered in blood, fluids, and debris from some 1-skull monsters.
As I walk back, I sense that the five remaining members of the Black Star guild are approaching.
I load a bullet into Scarlet Rose.
I change course and head back toward the center of Area 4.
"That busty woman from my squad said these guys are annoying. Apparently, she was right," I think as I take in my surroundings. I arrive at a place near a horde of zombies, where there is a poisonous zombie.
I sit on the remains of a collapsed building wall and wait.
-Bastard, I know you killed the Smiling One. If you give us the core, I'll ignore the fact that you caused the death of two members of my guild. -said the sword warrior from the Black Star guild.
Without answering him, I throw the Smiling One's core at him with force. He is startled, but the axe warrior places his enormous hand between the core and the sword warrior's face. But the axe warrior's eyes open wide as he realizes his mistake.
Bang!
The axe warrior's head explodes like a watermelon, splattering his companions with blood and brains.
[You have killed a D-rank human: +0.38]
-What the hell are you doing? -the sword warrior asks me in confusion.
I take the Smiler's core back.
-I don't have just one bullet. If anyone wants to try another, they can provoke me again. -I say as I put Scarlet Rose back in its holster and grip the hilt of the sword I took from their other companion.
They were confused, but I began to slowly walk away, and just as they were planning to act, they heard the horde of zombies approaching.
"Have fun," I said, and started running.
••••
The sun had risen over an hour ago. I run back to the building. They will stop that horde for now, although to tell the truth, I hope they all die.
"Ever since I saw Scarlet Rose's power, it was obvious she could kill humans. Maybe it's because she wants me to only hunt monsters with Scarlet Rose. But sometimes humans are monsters too," I think, and finally laugh.
-Damn, how awkward. -I murmur after laughing, as I remember Lila.
When I reach the building, I smell the scent of fresh, putrid blood. I go upstairs and find the body of an F-rank zombie in front of Watson.
Watson is holding the dagger she used to extract the cores, and it is covered in rotten flesh and blood.
"Well done, Watson. You have potential."
Even though her face was pale, at least she knows how to fight for her own life.
••••
Watson throws me a towel, then a bottle of water and a piece of bread. I drink and eat slowly.
A few hours later, we hear trucks approaching.
I use my sword to cut off the limbs of the zombie Watson killed. Then I throw the zombie's limbs to Watson.
-Cover your hair and clothes with the rotten blood. You're too clean.
While Watson follows my instructions, I load a bullet into Scarlet Rose.