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With a clattering noise, explosives tumbled to the floor.

Fortunately, nothing detonated or went boom.

Despite their clumsy appearance made of scrap metal and trash, these were surprisingly sturdy items against impact.

Though they looked pathetic, they were handled by a professional.

Of course, only the creation part was done by an expert.

The person dealing with them now, however, hardly looked like a professional.

But wasn’t that the nature of bombs?

Even a chimpanzee could cause chaos if they happened to drop one.

So, the amount spilled from the truck was nothing to take lightly.

If handled properly, it was enough to crumble a building.

But that was under the assumption no one interfered…

[Hey.]

In this building, there was indeed a presence capable of stopping him.

Not some unbelievable security guard or staff member who hurried out at the sound of an explosion, but a very reliable “being” who didn’t stay long.

This being approached the man, striking the ground with a long staff to make a noise.

He was dressed in a oddly red-tinted black suit and wore a necklace adorned with skull charms about the size of a fist. In one hand, he held a bottle of alcohol, stopping briefly to gulp it down heartily mid-stride.

The staff was designed to resemble a skull, and its oddly shoddy look gave it a bizarre vibe, akin to those strange folks who dress up in Halloween costumes on non-Halloween days.

But the man didn’t laugh at this bizarre… perhaps even ridiculous sight. Instead, his mood plummeted, lips turning down as wrinkles formed on his forehead.

“Oh, Suck. What the hell is this shitty energy?”

He cursed as he gazed upon the being holding the skull staff.

His eyes, one of his most cherished body parts, moved and scanned Ghede, absorbing more information than what simply appeared to the naked eye.

『…

…

…

The energy is condensed into a shape.

…

??? Presumed to be an imitation.』

Words floated before his eyes.

Faint yet undeniably clear, those letters hung in the air, relaying information to the man.

Exclusively for him.

“See? Shamans are dangerous bastards! Fuck!”

The man swore as he pressed a button on his arm.

With a click, the button sank into his arm, and his arm began to transform with the sound of metal clanking.

Cracks appeared on his seemingly normal skin, widening into systematic breaks.

Pieces of his arm would rise while some sank down. What ought to remain hidden inside burst out, while what was outside got pulled in.

Thus, the man’s arm transformed into a gun.

And what a peculiar gun it was.

Rather than a gun, it resembled an ancient hand cannon.

Especially with that hand cannon really taking the place where a human arm and hand should be, it was all the more unusual.

[Hey. I would like a response, you know?]

And that wasn’t all that was strange.

Amazingly, the hand cannon emerging from the man’s arm wasn’t made of ordinary metal.

Whatever they did, countless metal fragments seemed stuck together with some adhesive, forming the shape of a hand cannon.

The man brought this strange hand cannon to the explosives sprawled on the ground.

As he did, the cannon’s empty hole began sucking in air like a vacuum, drawing the explosives towards itself as if they were drawn by magnets.

Click.

And just like that, it devoured the explosives.

Just like a snake consuming an egg.

With the hand cannon now stuffed, its midsection bulged out.

As it consumed two, three… the bulge grew larger, making it appear like a snake that had swallowed an elephant.

And when it reached that size, the hand cannon stopped sucking in more, as if it had its fill.

Seeing the hand cannon cease its feast, the man turned to Ghede with a grin, signaling it was time. He smirked at Ghede’s irritated face with a contemptuous laugh.

“Bastard. You just gonna sit back and watch while this suspicious character does his oddities?”

To this taunt, Ghede sipped from the bottle in hand and replied.

[Living long as I have, it was something too fascinating to interrupt.]

Then, tossing the now-empty bottle behind him, he leaned against his staff with a chuckle.

“Heh. Thanks, thanks. I don’t know what kind of wretched imitation you’re supposed to be, but waiting here has made my confidence soar! Like my clone rising every morning!!!!!!!!!”

The man let out a wild cry as he aimed the hand cannon at Ghede.

And Ghede, sensing he couldn’t be outdone, pointed his staff back.

Like holding a shotgun.

[Oh, whatever rises every morning, it seems utterly underwhelming.]

“Shut it!”

[Oh, that’s a statement with grounds! If you can’t even stick a truck into a building properly, how can you do anything right? It’ll probably be small, wobbly, too flimsy, or inherently flawed—haha! It’s hard to see that thing functioning properly!]

“Fuck!”

The man cursed at Ghede who was crudely provoking him, and he pulled the trigger of the hand cannon.

“You!!!!!!!!!!”

Boom-!

As the man prepared to fire the hand cannon, the snake, having consumed its explosive meal, regurgitated it.

The hand cannon rapidly reshaped and expelled one of the explosives back, firing it at Ghede with flames.

As it soared through the air like a cannonball, the explosive tore through the air and bore down on Ghede, surrounded by flames, as if determined to kill him.

Yet Ghede effortlessly dodged the attack.

He merely tilted his body to the side.

The explosive crashed into the wall behind Ghede.

Kaboom!!!!

With a tremendous roar, it exploded.

The explosive power itself wasn’t particularly impressive…

But whether it was due to the speed at which the explosive was fired or some special mechanism, the wall it hit crumbled too easily.

As if that was how it should’ve been.

Ghede seemed to marvel at the sight but didn’t appear overly tense.

[What a fun spectacle. Reminds me of when I rode trade ships across the sea. Not too shabby.]

He almost seemed entertained, swirling his staff in the air.

[The whole building crumbling, the cannonballs being fired, a madman akin to a pirate… I love it. It’s all splendid. But one thing—that godforsaken music or whatever it is, can we switch that out for something more grand and majestic that stirs a man’s heart?]

Then he let out a remark that seemed provocation—but it was something the man couldn’t ignore.

“What?”

The man’s eyes widened, baffled as if he couldn’t believe what he heard.

He even stared to confirm whether he truly heard that by using his ‘eyes’ to read Ghede’s words, converting them into text.

Yet the content remained unchanged.

On the contrary, it was clearly and sharply engraved into his mind.

The man processed the words, hearing, and understanding…

“This fucking son of….”

He frowned, directing curses at Ghede and, unlike earlier when he was merely playful, now he bore real intent.

“Take that back, you jerk!!!!”

[What? What are you talking about?]

“How dare you call this sacred music trash?!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Ghede tilted his head, confused at the man’s reaction.

[Did I say something wrong? Isn’t that more noise than music?]

Noise…?

Noise?!!!!

Noise, indeed!

How dare he compare this sacred shock rock!!!

Metal to a noise!!!!

[And the screaming sounds like girls shrieking. It’s quite unpleasant. Just like listening to the wailing of families sobbing in a graveyard. I’d appreciate it if you could switch that up a bit.]

“What?!! Girl?!!!!!!!!”

The man was enraged.

“Alright! Taste the fucking piston of a girl!!!!!!!!!”

 

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