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Chapter 158.3 : Shaman Vs Archer
That’s why I noticed no abnormalities in their movements since it was just the usual bird.
But, but, who’s the idiot who would believe that a flock of birds composed of different species forming a flight-like formation was normal?
「Dammit, is this also part of Momokawa’s plan?」
The flock of birds was flying in my direction straight from the river. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t help but think that Momokawa was the one who controlled those birds.
Maybe he intended to use those birds that were moving freely in the sky as a distraction against me who sat motionlessly on the rooftop. Moreover, Futaba-san kept running across the bridge right at this very moment.
「The perfect stance is something like this huh, Momokawa.」
Such a terrifying man. He had prepared such a perfect countermeasure after he saw my sniping style.
Maybe he really saw me as a hindrance and made a thorough preparation to kill me. Or else, he felt reluctant about killing me, his classmate, and yet, still forced to do so to keep moving forward… No, this wasn’t the time to worry about such a thing.
Such sentiment was unnecessary.
I will do everything to protect Saya-chan. The same went for Momokawa, he would do everything to survive. We’re already at each other’s throats. Since that was the case, the rest was pretty simple.
「I made an enemy of an eerie fellow huh… but, don’t underestimate my arrow!」
I nocked two, no three arrows. It was easier for me since my target was crowding together, and fired those three arrows. It wasn’t skill but the culmination of my long training as an archer.
「So fast!」
The three arrows pierced the wind with “byuun”, and yet, the birds scattered around. But of course, none of my arrows missed its target.
The first arrow struck a big, parrot-like bird. Second, a parrot-like bird. Third, skewered two tree sparrow-like birds.
「Tch, it’ll take too much time to kill all of them.」
When the birds were flocking together, I ended up allowing Futaba-san to get closer. And yet, I’d yet to confirm the truth about Momokawa’s pain return. Entering close combat in this kind of situation was dangerous.
I’d to take care of those birds as soon as possible. And there was only one way to do that.
「Fuu… haa…」
I heaved a sigh to regain my composure. One circle, complete.
And then, slowly, after I was done with the pre-match ritual that I repeated for who knows how many times, I nocked my arrow with confidence. This time, it was only one arrow.
And then, the nocked arrow released pale blue light.
「――『Meteor』」
I fired the best weapon in my arsenal.
The moment I fired the arrow, the arrow shone brightly, leaving a trail of light as it flew in the broad daylight. I see, it definitely fit its name, the 『Meteor』.
And then, the dazzling arrow of light struck the black crow-like bird that was flying in front of the crowd―― and created a big explosion.
The pale light exploded in the air, and that explosion swallowed all the birds in one go.
I breathed in the hot wind from the explosion as it caressed my cheeks.
「Okay, next.」
I was stunned for a moment after I used this martial art. I needed to carefully prepare to shoot 『Meteor』, and after I used it, I’d be stunned for a moment. The moment I was stunned meant that Futaba-san could run across the bridge unhindered.
But, I must stay calm.
My fingertips trembled due to the time limit but I stretched my hand naturally and went toward the quiver, a movement that I already repeated many times.
I kept a normal arrow in the quiver. As for the abnormal arrow, I prepared separated storage on my hip.
And the arrow that I took out was 『Poisonous Smoke Bullet』.
『Poisonous Smoke Bullet』：Bullet with 『Poison』smoke sealed in it.
The bullet was a grenade version of poison arrow, Saya-chan sealed 『Poison』 smoke in the bullet that would explode upon impact, scattering poison gas in the blink of the eye. It was an extremely useful item to exterminate annoying little monsters such as rats with fangs growing from their mouths, or cockroaches with teeth.
Originally, 『Poison』 was simply a chemical substance, its power diminished a lot when used as poison gas. But then, despite its diminishing lethality, it was still quite effective.
In short, by blowing this up, I could confirm the truth about Momokawa’s ability. Since its effect could be seen immediately, this was the best tool to test his ability. And since it was a weak poison, to be honest, it had almost no effect on me. But then, Saya-chan had still concocted its antidote for me, just in case due to her overly worrying nature for my safety.
「With this, I’ll confirm the truth of your statement, Momokawa――」
The 『Posonous Smoke Bullet』 that I fired exploded right in front of Futaba-san. Its poisonous-looking purple smoke exploded right after the impact, covering the entire bridge. It was literally impossible to avoid the poisonous smoke.
And yet, despite the dangerous-looking gas spreading on her way-or maybe because of her bravery- Futaba-san kept charging into the cloud of smoke.
「… Fuh, as expected, it’s a lie huh.」
I couldn’t feel any abnormality in my body. Even if Momokawa held his breath, the 『Poison』 would still show its effect when touching his skin.
Headache, vertigo, nausea, fatigue, I couldn’t feel any of those effects.
In short, it must be that.
「From here on, I’m going all out!」
I nocked my arrow and drew my bow to the limit in order to vent my anger to Momokawa who tricked me―― NOW.
I was aiming for the moment when Futaba-san came out from the cloud of poison.
「~~~~~!??」
But as expected, she was reacting towards my sniping. The fired arrow was repelled splendidly by her shield. Moreover, it missed the place where Momokawa was tied up.
「Your bravery is splendid. But that’s as far as you can go!」
I went all out, firing one arrow after another without giving them a moment of rest.
My vocation, 『Archer』 made it possible for me to rapid-fire my arrows which were impossible in real life. Thus, I kept firing my arrows just like a machine gun.
「Kuh…」
No matter how much her reaction speed, Futaba-san wouldn’t be able to protect herself from my rapid firing arrows. Though she never let me shoot Momokawa until the thirteenth arrow, I didn’t miss him from the fourteenth arrow and so on.
Palm, shoulder, shin, thigh. Though my arrow kept piercing Momokawa’s small body one after another, I didn’t feel anything on my body.
「This is the end, MOMOKAWA!!」
The moment my arrows pierced his forehead and heart―― Momokawa’s body suddenly burst out.
By burst out, I didn’t mean it exploded. For some reason, black smoke burst out from his body and vanished with his corpse.
「A double? or illusion? What a shrewd guy.」
Well, whatever. As long as I defeat Futaba-san, your biggest war potential, there is nothing to protect you anymore.
The real Momokawa should be hiding close by. I was gonna look for him once I took care of Futaba-san.
Momokawa, you’re way too dangerous to be left on your own device.
「Now that the hindrance is gone. Let’s decided the victor between us, Futaba-san.」
Though the one I shot to death was Momokawa’s double, Futaba-san was looking at me as if I was her parent’s enemy, thus I pulled my blackhorn bow to the limit.