Gabriel peeped out of the window, watching as the presences drew closer from all directions.
"Get ready for a fight," he warned as he slowly got up and started to stretch. Midway, the [Combat Visor Mk.1] materialized on his face.
As the leader of this mission, he couldn’t afford to remain inside like the others.
He had realized several times that in order to lead, one needed to set the perfect example.
When the gunslingers of the Crimson Star Guild noticed that someone actually dared to step outside, a look of disbelief shone on their faces.
Who could be so bold as to step out unprotected before gunmen?
Just then, they finally saw him.
Red hair with dark undertones, and a pair of piercing eyes that seemed to glow under the moonlight.
"How bold... to think you’d openly step out." The lead man, known as Ghostface, spoke. He was carrying a magical rifle, the tip gleaming with a bluish glow.
"Or could it be you’re here to surrender the crate?"
"Not really." Gabriel shook his head. "I’m just here to get rid of you all."
Ghostface clicked his tongue upon hearing this. "Kill him!" he shouted, and the sound of gunfire erupted—so intense that the arms of the shooters recoiled backward!
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG
Gabriel activated [Iron Body] just in time, the mana bullets bouncing off his body!
"What the hell?!" one of the Crimson Star Guild members exclaimed. "What is this guy’s body made of?!"
"Shoot more! It’s probably a skill!" Ghostface shouted.
Unfortunately for them, Gabriel wasn’t planning on remaining idle!
"Well, this is the perfect time to test out the Devil Mirage Technique!" he mumbled and moved from his spot.
His first target was stunned when he saw two people dashing at him! Confused, he didn’t even know when his head flew off his shoulders.
After killing the first one, Gabriel quickly dashed at the second nearest to him!
"Dang! Shoot! Shoot him!"
"I can’t, damn it! He’s moving too fast for me to follow!"
The Crimson Star squad began to sweat bullets.
Ghostface frowned as he tried to aim his weapon and shoot a couple of times. However, he only ended up shooting thin air—or worse, his own men.
"So fast!" Victor watched, an amazed expression on his face. He could tell Gabriel wasn’t even utilizing any active skills.
That... that was his pure physical attribute!
Cassie was just beside him, still crouching down, her face pale as she had just activated her support skill.
"Devouring Vines!" As if on cue, Ghostface heard a feminine voice not too far away. He saw a veiled beauty throwing a couple of seeds to the ground.
The seeds quickly turned into monstrous tendrils, attacking the closest person to them.
"Another trouble! But this one’s standing still!" Ghostface sneered, holding his gun and firing—BANG!
"Silver Bell!" Sophie called out as the silver bell she had acquired from the ant nest flew out, creating a silver barrier around her.
The rain of bullets simply bounced off the barrier like harmless pebbles.
The frown on Ghostface deepened. They were the ones with guns, but it felt as if they were at the disadvantage—all because the targets possessed skills and treasures that countered them.
’Will I have to resort to using it?’ Ghostface frowned as he watched everything unfold.
Meanwhile, Gabriel received a boost from Cassie, and the speed at which he moved skyrocketed.
He killed all those who stood in his path. In the blink of an eye, over 20 people had died.
The duration of [Iron Body] had long passed and was now on cooldown. However, Gabriel wasn’t too worried, as he had [Guard’s Robe].
Besides...
They could only shoot what they could follow!
Right at that moment, he held out a single hand and activated [Dark Flame Orb], overcharging it with 100 additional mana points.
Gabriel fired the orb and it exploded, killing two enemies simultaneously.
-20
-56
-28
"Enough!" Ghostface shouted, his voice mixed with frustration and anger. Without wasting a moment, he activated his talent.
Suddenly, Gabriel felt his surroundings warp around him, and he found himself in a snowy landscape.
"Huh." Sophie frowned as well, suddenly feeling a chill creep onto her skin. She glanced around—all the enemies were gone.
She saw Gabriel standing in the distance, with a somewhat confused expression on his face.
’This... this is an illusion. I’ve been under one of these before.’ Gabriel thought inwardly.
The only way to break out of an illusion was if one had higher Perception stats than the caster. Gabriel quickly dumped all five of his stat points into Perception.
When he did, the world around him shattered—and he found himself back in the real world.
Everything had taken just a couple of seconds. In front of him, with the muzzle of his gun pointed at Gabriel’s forehead, was none other than Ghostface.
Ghostface widened his eyes in shock when he noticed the clarity in his enemy’s gaze.
He quickly proceeded to press the trigger.
Time seemed to slow down.
Gabriel’s expression flickered, and all his danger senses kicked in. [Iron Body] was currently on cooldown, and so was [Guard’s Robe].
His mind moved at the speed of light as he tried to find a way out of the predicament. However, just when he was about to panic, [Undying Heart] kicked in.
In that instant, just as Ghostface pulled the trigger with a confident, arrogant smirk on his face—Gabriel activated [Burrow Shift].
He appeared 10 meters directly behind Ghostface, whose expression slowly darkened.
He quickly turned around and proceeded to shoot, but even before he could pull the trigger, Gabriel dashed forward again—using the Devil Mirage Technique.
"Two, three... not again!" Ghostface’s expression paled as he saw three versions of his enemy dashing toward him. He became confused as to which was the real one.
"Well, fuck it! I’ll shoot all of th—gahhh!"
He suddenly felt a crushing blow to his gut, knocking the wind out of his lungs. He fell back and died instantly.
After Gabriel killed Ghostface, Sophie finally broke out of the illusion. She stared at the corpse, then looked toward Gabriel, slightly confused.
"What happened?" she asked.
"You were in an illusio—"
Gabriel stopped abruptly when he sensed more presences emitting extreme killing intent closing in once again.