Matan’s Shooter

The beings who established and maintained this civilization, those who built the city so splendid that even the most advanced civilization of the Saurus race couldn’t match at that time.

They received the Power of God, and they judged that this land, where they lived, was ultimately imbued with the Power of God.

‘Even though Saur Land has now caught up with many aspects of Laputa, it would have been impossible during their ancestors’ time. Moreover, they still can’t open the “Stairway to Heaven!”

Did they think that opening this would ultimately mean receiving the Power of God?’

Leeha also thought as he looked at Ulrek, and then at the drawings Fernand had spread out on the floor.

‘Then where did they go?’

Was it possible that the beings who were said to have received the Power of God from Ulrek’s ancestors really became extinct?

‘The chances of them dying are low. If you think about it, there’s only one answer.’

‘They passed through the “Stairway to Heaven”.’

They left.

For an unknown reason, they left the surface.

What could be beyond that door? Would a literal place emerge? Would it be a heaven where angels played around?

Leeha felt a familiar sensation as he stared deeply at the drawing.

“… Huh?”

“What now! Do you know something only you know?”

Luger instinctively caught onto Leeha’s state. Truly, something that “only Leeha himself” knew came to his mind.

There were many winged creatures in Middle Earth.

However, there weren’t many winged creatures that maintained a human form. Even if such beings existed, they mostly had membrane-type wings.

‘Except for Harpies, but they don’t have arms and their lower bodies are beast-like. They don’t have a perfect human form like this.’

A species that looked human but just had wings.

Conversely, if you just attached wings to a human, wouldn’t they look exactly like those? And Leeha had seen such a form before.

‘… Shimo?’

The former White Reaper, Shimo looked exactly like that.

* * *

‘Shimo, White Reaper, wings— Ah, ah, ah! It feels like something is connecting— Ah!’

Leeha shivered with chills that arose all over his body.

A specific phrase came to his mind anew.

Unlike Arcane Sniper Max whose memory Leeha first looked into, Arcane Sniper Francis, whom he looked into the second time, had said it.

‘Go to the far east of the continent across the sea. That means, he knew that there was something on the east of the New Continent. Although I’m not sure what exactly he knew or if he just speculated through Zamiel’s information, in any case, despite never being on the New Continent, he mentioned the far east across the sea.’

Arcane Sniper who passed down the “White Reaper” to the Panrind child clearly said such words.

Why?

Leeha guessed it was because there was something concerning Arcane Sniper that could be treated in Saur Land.

Didn’t he actually succeed in healing much of Kyle’s condition?

‘But he couldn’t detach Zamiel. The ultimate element of Arcane Bullet was still there. Francis surely meant that in case they wanted to shoot a different bullet, or if they wanted an attack other than the “White Reaper”, they should go to the eastern part of the New Continent. The Panrind child, who seemed to symbolize “Shimo”, wanted a bullet other than the “White Reaper”, so Francis told them to go there….’

But to shoot another bullet ultimately means becoming Arcane Sniper.

Francis, who couldn’t carelessly recommend something that might cause his own existence to vanish, eventually told them to go east.

What if it didn’t just mean Saur Land?

‘No, it might mean Saur Land but also…’

What if it meant Laputa, which could only be reached from that place?

Leeha turned his head to look at the “Stairway to Heaven”.

“As expected, is this the answer?”

Leeha knew the name of the wings that Shimo wore. The item he vaguely thought might be in the Shazrashian Federation’s treasure vault, “Liberated Legend”.

And the achievement he gained by stepping on this land!

‘The mythical “Sealed” land….’

White Reaper Shimo knew nothing about Arcane Sniper. However, Francis, who took care of him, had already left him with a lot of information and hints.

Finally, Leeha felt the link connecting them.

“What, what is it! Spill it, man!”

“… You can’t possibly solve it perfectly on your own. Won’t you accept our help?”

While Luger and Kidd were fretting, Leeha’s expression brightened a bit. The Game Master hadn’t just given a simple hint.

‘To condense so much into just the phrase “open it”, as expected of a Middle Earth GM.’

The lock and key were literally prepared.

Only one task remained: just insert the key into the lock.

“Ulrek-nim! We’ve made a new breakthrough, so let’s hurry down. Just like Bailephus-nim said—we don’t have the luxury of staying here long.”

“Indeed, now that Tiamat’s full resurrection is confirmed, we should hasten back.”

“Exactly. Let’s go! Can I operate the Red Zeppelin alone?”

Leeha quickly turned and ran back.

Even excluding Ulrek, who was still immersed in Fernand’s accomplishment, the sudden action left the users dumbfounded.

They could only think of one thing: when Leeha suddenly acted this bright…

“He must have figured something out…”

“Spit it out quickly, rat!”

“Ahem. Bailephus, my partner. Have you deduced something?”

It meant that a specific fact had been confirmed.

Amidst the commotion, Leeha’s group hurried to prepare to leave from Laputa. They would promptly head to Ezwen after briefly stopping by Saur Land upon boarding the Red Zeppelin again.

—

Rustle.

Though it was a very faint noise resonating through the deep night, everyone gathered there picked up on it.

The users turned their heads first.

“Heh… it’s here, it’s here. As expected, stats buff better when you’re near!”

“It took long enough.”

“…”

Igor, Pyro, and another member, Faust, reacted. He silently observed Chiyou emerging from the darkness.

Faust was the only user who realized Kaztor was missing from her side.

“So you’ve finally arrived.”

“Vampire Queen.”

The next to respond were the Demon King’s Fragments.

Bluebeard, who was perched on a rock, and Ghibrid, who was leaning against a tree, directed their gazes towards her.

Ghibrid had reverted to his human form. However, he didn’t look the way he did when fighting Kijung.

He was in his newly “borrowed” user form.

“You’re a bit late, count.”

Chiyou greeted Bluebeard with proper etiquette. After briefly nodding towards Ghibrid, Bluebeard asked her.

“How did it go?”

Her gaze was fixed on his abdomen. His clothes, which had been damaged in the battle with Kijung, had already been fully restored.

However, the wound from his battle with Bahamut was still not healed, causing his shirt to shimmer blue under the moonlight.

After quickly assessing Bluebeard’s condition, she spoke.

“Of course, it was a success.”

“Heh heh… Hahaha!”

Bluebeard burst into insane laughter upon hearing Chiyou’s response.

Pyro and Igor, surprised by Le’s unusual reaction, stepped back instinctively.

All the users fixated their attention on Chiyou.

They knew she embarked on a mission to the New Continent’s east, but they hadn’t expected such grand results.

“Heh… I figured as much when you showed up without Kaztor! Did you kill Kaztor?”

“Yes. The Dark Elf Kaztor is dead.”

“How exactly did you do it? Dealing with that sly one wouldn’t be easy with average cunning. Well, of course, Chiyou, you’re no ordinary human either. Haha!”

“Oh my, you’re too kind. Kaztor merely got entangled in his own schemes.”

Despite hearing Bluebeard’s prickly praise, Chiyou’s expression remained unchanged.

Faust observed Chiyou with widened pupils for a moment.

“Is that so… From the beginning, did you receive direct orders from Bluebeard to kill Kaztor?”

“Shh! Be quiet.”

When Chiyou left for the east with Kaztor, she received only one order from Bluebeard.

“〈Secure Arcane Sniper〉.”

There wasn’t any discussion about the method.

However, there was only one effective way to seize something that was practically Kaztor’s possession.

Kaztor had to be killed.

That too, while devising a way to place Arcane Sniper in her own hands.

Bluebeard’s command was of such an impossibly high difficulty level for most users, but Chiyou had accomplished it.

The reason Le, who was usually much composed, laughed maniacally was proof of the quest’s difficulty.

“If only we had returned sooner, we wouldn’t have had to awaken Tiamat in such an abnormal status. It’s a bit regrettable.”

“Tiamat! Then, this person is…?”

Even as everyone looked at Chiyou when she appeared, there was one who didn’t even glance her way.

Though there was darkness without a shred of light, Chiyou had already seen her earlier.

There stood a red-haired girl gazing blankly at the sky.

‘So, being called a six-headed dragon doesn’t mean having six heads.’

At least in a human form, she didn’t look much different from other dragons.

The difference lay in her age, as she seemed to be in her teenage years, akin to a juvenile dragon, and unlike the usually lively-eyed dragons, her eyes were void of any light, dead.

Seeing this, she was convinced.

‘At least battling Bahamut right now is out of the question. Haha! That’s most likely why she’s been staying here all this time—it’s a good thing for me too.’

Chiyou barely held back her desire to laugh.

Since Kaztor’s death, she had been flying tirelessly toward this place.

In the penalty-imposing New Continent’s east, she had killed countless monsters, flying at her highest speed.

‘If it weren’t for the vampire horde, it would have been tough. Now, I understand why dragons don’t easily travel by flight.’

Fortunately, Chiyou was not alone.

It wasn’t just Elizabeth, Brown, and Kyle; she had an army of over a hundred vampires with her which allowed her to reach this place faster.

And now, their effort was about to bear fruit.

“Ah, Chiyou, it’s your first time seeing, right? This form is the only time we can manage to bring her along. Tsk, it’s a pity really. But it’s fine! Thanks to you, we can take care of Bahamut now. Once we handle that one, Tiamat can cross the ocean right away.”

“Is it impossible at the moment?”

“Bahamut senses Tiamat. If she reveals herself in this unstable state, there will be a full-on retaliation from the metal dragons. The chromatic dragons would also involve themselves… But we aren’t looking for such a messy battle.”

Absolute suppression.

Chiyou knew very well what kind of combat a near-perfectionist like Bluebeard wanted.

“Hmmmm… I see.”

“Yes, so bring Arcane Sniper here quickly.”

Bluebeard looked at Chiyou with glaring eyes.

Though it was prickly praise, his eyes had changed from the initial welcoming look.

Bluebeard and Chiyou’s collaboration could be considered the oldest.

Except for temporarily subjugated individuals like Faust and Igor, no user had devoted themselves to the Demon King’s army longer than Chiyou.

Thus, Bluebeard sensed Chiyou’s state with his abilities.

“Unless you have any ulterior motives.”

Bluebeard bared his teeth.

In the suddenly shifted atmosphere, Igor and Pyro looked between Le and Chiyou. Faust also swallowed dryly, slowly distancing himself.

The only two who didn’t move were Ghibrid and Tiamat.

Chiyou, of course, read the atmosphere well.

After scanning her surroundings once, she looked directly at Le, the noble ruler and the Demon King’s Fragment, who was furious at her.

“I apologize, but what can I do, count? Unfortunately, I cannot hand over Arcane Sniper.”

A smile blossomed on the face of the usurping Vampire Queen.