The pillar of fire soared straight towards the hole, as if a wooden tree made of flames was growing tall without any branches.
Or like a fiery spear being thrown skyward.
As the flames surged through the hole, they pierced the building with intensity.
*
Bang-!
Bang-!
Bang-Bang-!
“Damn!”
The sound of gunfire echoed in succession.
The pistol erupted relentlessly, while the rifle, without its stock, spat out bullets in rapid succession.
There was even a submachine gun famous for its nickname “Plumber’s Nightmare,” designed seemingly from a cut pipe, spraying bullets like a garden sprayer.
Just viewing this scene made one think that a civil war was breaking out in some impoverished country, or that gangs were fighting with their guns.
Especially witnessing the aimless spraying of bullets reinforced that image.
Yet, surprisingly, the half-hearted shots fired with haphazard aim were… effective.
Incredibly so.
[Tango Golfer. Retreat quickly.]
“Shut up!!!!!”
The man called Tango Golfer yelled so loud it seemed like his throat would tear.
No, indeed, a metallic noise mixed into his voice as if he took a break.
If he thought he was getting closer to the ‘Metal’ he loved so much, that might hardly be positive, but…
Well.
Considering the fact that ‘metal’ shot from guns was embedding into his body… it may not have been a good thing after all.
Rat-tat-tat!
Tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-!
“Why the hell does such aimless shooting hit so well? Damn it!”
The sound of a pistol commonly heard in America.
And even the sound resembling a typewriter being slammed.
Thus, the bullets were truly pouring out as if it were water.
Yet those bullets… astonishingly hit their intended targets completely.
Every single one of them.
Not only did they curve like arrows but they ricocheted as if they were rubber balls, bouncing multiple times before striking their targets, even spiraling around to connect with them. It was as if the bullets had some kind of homing mechanism, freely soaring through the air before embedding themselves right where they intended. A bullet that flew out of the window suddenly returned from outside.
It was outrageous.
If they could hit such a degree with random shots, then what’s the point of having snipers or marksmen?
Sure, there might have been some force of magic at play, but it felt far too unreasonable.
But the one truly feeling the sense of absurdity wasn’t the man known as Tango Golfer.
It was the human rights organization firing the bullets.
Yes.
They were feeling the absurdity.
Even though they rained bullets like this,
Despite having gained the magical ability to pierce a coin from so far away,
That damn bastard hadn’t sustained a proper hit!
Bang!
A bullet flew.
That bullet aimed right for his heart, embedding itself in his chest.
Under normal conditions, it should have spiraled through his chest and out the back, disrupting his entire insides.
Yet, despite hitting a human chest, it merely crumpled with a ‘clang!’
That crumpled bullet then fell to the ground, rolling as if it had completed its mission without delivering a proper blow.
Bang-!
Another bullet shot forth.
This time, the target was the head.
But the situation was the same for the head.
The bullet aimed at the skull simply ricocheted off just like before.
The bullets crumpled, and no markings were left on the areas they hit.
Yes, the skull could be a bit tough, which sometimes happens when firing a handgun from afar.
I get it, but…
Isn’t it a bit excessive for bullets that could take down a bear in one shot to leave only minor scratches?
Even worse, that ‘scratch’ was literally just that.
To put it metaphorically, it was like a car door slightly scraped by a tree branch.
There’s obviously no blood, just a mark left behind.
It was a nonsensical situation.
Bang-!
Bang-!
Bullets sprayed everywhere, probing for weak points across his body.
Ting-!
Clang-!
They struck his joints.
While the cascading bullets dealt shocks and left minor marks on his leather skin, the metal beneath it seemed unscathed from any harsh hit.
Bang-!
A bullet flew towards his eye.
However, despite hitting the eye, the bullet crumpled and rolled on the ground.
Is this even logical?
One might start to suspect they could shoot lasers from their eyes.
Bang-!
Bang-!
Mouth.
Ear.
Nose.
Belly.
Even the groin.
They targeted every possible spot.
Yet, unbelievably, they couldn’t land a proper hit.
The situation was surreal.
Would this be how it feels to rush a tank with a handgun?
However…
“Damn. It feels like I’m closing in.”
The person holding the pistol, facing the tank, certainly had their troubles, but tanks, too, had their own problems.
Even thick armor may be reassuring, but it doesn’t mean there are no weak points.
Tango Golfer was no exception.
His body had been modified like a cyborg from a sci-fi movie, and the alloyed body parts were strong enough to withstand even significant attacks. Plus, because they had ‘coatings’ applied with advanced science, bullets like those could be easily blocked.
But how could there be no weak points?
No matter how altered, as long as he was fundamentally human, vulnerabilities were bound to exist.
And those vulnerabilities could definitely be targeted with bullets.
Of course, neither the man nor those who modified him were stupid; they’d concealed and reinforced those weaknesses as much as possible… but with this insane hit rate thanks to the magic involved, those weak spots could easily be exploited.
So he had to deal with those damn bastards before they realized his weaknesses and struck them properly.
And additionally.
“Dammit, that prick is bothering me like a damn fly!”
That pesky warrior brandishing his sword energy.
Though certainly not as threatening as the human rights organization.
Sure, it might’ve been called sword energy, but its cohesion wasn’t all that impressive.
Did he start late?
Or maybe he lacked talent?
Well, it could be both.
The warrior’s sword energy wasn’t strong, but it didn’t need to be. It was enough to irritate the nerves.
Especially when the poorly condensed sword energy spread wide, covering a large area.
“I’ll kill those damn bastards and take Lucas. Damn, they’re taking too long downstairs.”
Tango Golfer simmered with rage internally.
A fury more intense than what was outwardly visible.
And so, he readied himself to unleash that built-up anger.
At the moment when the bullet rain ceased.
They would have to face his full wrath.
An eruption of anger like a volcano.
And the patience he’d built up was about to bear fruit.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Finally, the relentless bullets ran out, and the sound of an empty gun rattled.
The warrior who had been scattering sword energy seemed to lose steam, dripping with a few beads of sweat.
Yes.
Now, this moment.
It was time to decapitate those damn bastards!
The man, steaming from his joints, attempted to leap towards them.
If it hadn’t been for the pillar of fire erupting from the gaping hole, it surely would have happened.
“What the-?”
An enormous pillar of fire.
It looked like a fire tornado that sometimes appears when a forest fire breaks out.
Of course, given that it erupted from a hole through which barely one person could pass, it couldn’t quite compare to a true tornado…
Yet at least, its might resembled that seen in news reports.
The pillar of fire spiraled upwards as it revolved, and when it hit the ceiling, water poured from the floor and spread outward like a wave.
Thus, the flames moved, crawling along the ceiling, walls, and windows, engulfing the entire floor, transforming it into an inferno.
That overwhelming spectacle was enough to make even a man who considered himself the ultimate macho shudder.
[Tango Golfer! Hurry!]
The sorcerer’s voice crackled through the walkie-talkie, spurring urgency.
[Get Lucas!]
Hearing that over the radio, Tango Golfer ground his teeth and shifted his focus.
Instead of decapitating the annoyances that had been causing him trouble, he decided he needed to act quickly before that damn fire burnt Lucas to a crisp.
However.
[I’m helping—helping—h—chhh….]
At that moment, static erupted, and the walkie-talkie went silent.
Chhh.
The ‘eyes’ implanting into his body started glitching, and visibility became fuzzy.
His implanted devices began screeching, and errors started surfacing from all over his body.
And amid that noise…
Something appeared.
A figure through the flames.
Someone emerged from those flames…
