Chapter 953
At the spot where Ram Hwajung had been standing, buying ti for the users to escape by restraining the monster, the lavender afterimage disappeared.
Thud──────!
“What’s going on?”
“What is this?”
―Hwayeon! What’s happening with the Chira?!
―… I don’t know.
―What do you an you don’t know? Has Kidd arrived?
―He was here, but now he’s not.
―What? I distinctly told him to head your way earlier― There’s no way he hasn’t arrived yet―
―No, he definitely ca. He passed right by … Now he’s gone. Along with the Chira.
When Kidd aid his Crimson Geckos at the Chira and fired, the mont the Chira recognized him, he imdiately leaped and vanished.
As the Chira tried to swing its sword at Kidd who was mid-air, Kidd-nimbly evaded, seeming to move freely even while airborne. Using the swing’s montum, he stepped on the sword’s blade and propelled himself again.
The Chira, intent on capturing Kidd, released a burst of fla magic to gain thrust and pursued him.
Ram Hwajung, having witnessed everything, cast Blink and relocated.
All this happened within just a second.
The feeling that what they had just seen was a re illusion left the users in despair.
The stark difference in level between a ranker who had completed a second job change, ranker-level users, and monsters combining the strengths of a ranker and ranker-level user was obvious.
Now, they had to face a monster showcasing its formidable strength.
Kidd adjusted his hat. A smile spread across his face.
* * *
Kidd halted at a location roughly a kiloter away from the frontline’s farthest point. Having reached there in an instant, he turned around imdiately upon stopping.
─, ─, ─, ─, ─, ─!
His turning motion and the initial shot were almost simultaneous.
However, there was only one ringing sound of a collision.
“Grrrr…”
The Chira, blending traits of Igor and Pyro, glanced at its broad, saw-like arm from a short distance away from Kidd.
Soot was sared on the spot where it had deflected one bullet.
“Indeed… With Igor’s blend, it reacts faster than ‘Lugermon’, doesn’t it?”
It wasn’t just Pyro’s characteristics.
The monster, also having Igor’s physical abilities, was evidently far stronger than the previous Chira synthesized from Luger and Manticore.
Kidd’s six shots ford an impact cluster within a 5mm radius from a distance of 30 ters, demonstrating remarkable precision.
Even so, the Chira deflected one bullet and dodged the remaining five.
This implied that it moved swiftly enough during the minuscule gaps between the bullets’ intervals to change direction and evade all of them.
Although its reaction speed was unbelievably fast, Kidd nonchalantly drew out another Crimson Geckos.
“I can acknowledge that my rate of fire was slower than usual due to the spin. But―.”
Bang──
“Let’s see.”
“Kyaaa―.”
Bang──
“If it…”
“―Aaaah―.”
Bang──
“Can dodge…”
“―Aaaaaa!”
Bang──
“This.”
Then, as if testing the enemy, he fired repeatedly.
Though the bullets were chanically discharged, Kidd’s gaze changed slightly with each shot.
Predicting the enemy’s movents, the initial six shots were fired at the expected movent points.
Anticipating the evasion zones and post-evasion landing points, the second set of six shots were fired.
Expanding and extending the range of the third and fourth sets of six shots each.
The Chira dodged all of them.
Kidd nodded as he finished reloading his gun.
“This ans its physical abilities exceed Igor’s. Because Ghibrid’s power is enforced―.”
Kidd flinched and stepped back.
The saw-like blade passed just above Kidd’s face.
Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuung!
By the ti the eerie cutting sound was heard, about a third of Kidd’s hat brim had already been torn off.
‘It got faster? I can’t see it—.’
Kidd’s eyes widened slightly. This evasive maneuver could only be credited to pure instinct.
The Chira didn’t stop with one attack.
As soon as the horizontal slash with the saw-blade arm failed, it thrust its other arm forward.
The skewer-like arm aid for Kidd’s heart, stabbing towards him. Kidd gritted his teeth and spun his body around.
Dodging based on seeing the attack was impossible.
Kidd only managed to evade by predicting the weapon’s movent and turning his body beforehand.
Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuung!
By the ti the cutting sound was heard again, both of their positions had changed.
The Chira’s brow twitched.
Kidd swallowed dryly. A long horizontal cut appeared on the back of his coat. He was lucky the skewer didn’t tear it completely; if it had been the saw-blade instead, his coat would have been shredded.
Kidd frowned and imdiately pulled the trigger of his Crimson Geckos.
Once again, only the gunfire echoed loudly; no impact or hitting sound was heard.
The opponent’s side-to-side movents were faster than Kidd’s reactions.
When he aid opposite to where he predicted, the Chira had already moved in the sa direction again, reading Kidd’s ‘Rapidfire’ effortlessly.
‘No, it’s faster than before! This level of reaction, I’ve only seen from Le…’
Moreover, the distance was closing.
Even though Kidd was quick with reloading and rapid firing, reloading was still slower than his Rapidfire.
In those brief monts, the Chira closed in by at least 3 ters each ti.
Now only about 8 ters remained. By the ti he finished two more reloads, the Chira would attack again.
Could he withstand it?
Kidd gritted his teeth.
He should have used his own weapon from the start.
Facing a Chira fused with Igor and Pyro, he wanted to test how strong it was without using other skills or assistance, but that had been a mistake.
‘I could keep up if I use 〈Overclock〉, but if I use it now—’
He would be completely out in this Tiamat battle. And the pain that followed after using the skill?
Kidd gritted his teeth.
In the worst-case scenario, he would use it.
But not yet; he needed to find a way to survive a little longer, just a little longer.
‘If I can dodge just once, I can definitely win—’
Tsukakat―! Kuuuuuung!
The Chira’s ankle froze as it lunged towards Kidd. Unable to handle its montum, the Chira fell forward.
Shupat―!
At the sa ti, a lavender flash appeared beside Kidd.
“So close. Could have. Cut the ankle.”
Ram Hwajung, who had been following with a blink, finally arrived.
Kidd managed to adjust his hat.
“… Did you intentionally freeze only the ankle to use the Chira’s strength against itself?”
“Yes. Hard to hit.”
Ram Hwajung replied without a smile.
If the skin or bones couldn’t withstand the strength, the ankle would have snapped as if it stepped on a landmine.
But the Chira crafted by Ghibrid wasn’t that weak.
“I know. That’s why I thought you wouldn’t co.”
“Shut up.”
Arriving just in ti, Ram Hwajung took advantage of the Chira’s distraction, using minimal mana to produce maximum effect. Watching this, Kidd finally smiled.
“Couldn’t catch. Your hat.”
“Is that so.”
“Yes. Too weak.”
The Chira growled.
Judging from its glowing red arms, it seed likely it would start using Pyro’s attributes in its next attack.
Ram Hwajung had her reasons for saying ‘we can’t capture the Chira with just the two of us’ to Kidd.
The two had only once worked together before, and that was when they fought against the alchemist Crowley.
Kidd did not get angry at Ram Hwajung’s words.
He simply checked both his wrists and ankles once again. Only then did Ram Hwajung also see Kidd’s condition.
“Strange.”
“I am aware. But to utilize the desert geckos… this is essential.”
The gear, though sowhat clumsy and ambiguous whether it was for defense or offense, soon changed its appearance.
Click, click— clank.
The gear, which had so empty spaces, was soon filled by Kidd inserting the “Crimson Geckos” into it.
“… Even stranger.”
“Shooting fast ans my bullets reach the enemy quickly. For my bullets to reach the enemy’s weak points fast—.”
Rapidfire was done not with hands but with feet.
“I needed to keep the muzzle as close to them as possible.”
Kidd truly understood that aning.
Moving swiftly while shooting? What Browless had shown at the beginning surely ant just that.
But wasn’t that the ti when Kidd couldn’t properly handle the “Crimson Geckos”?
Having just four simple revolvers and possessing four “Crimson Geckos” were different matters.
Of course, they were different from “Black Bass” or “Cobalt Blue Python” as well.
Why did he need ‘four’ revolvers unlike any other firearms of the Three Musketeers?
Kidd couldn’t help but chuckle.
After becoming the “Desperado”, he had learned many skills.
There was the nearly one-hit-kill “Execution”, the “Overclock” that pushed the brain to its extre, and even “Hold’em” which risked Kidd’s own life.
Yes, those were skills fitting for the job title of Desperado.
A gambler and outlaw.
But was Kidd a gambler or an outlaw himself?
Upon returning from the Eastern Expedition of the New Continent, Kidd further explored his own traits and was finally able to awaken the desert geckos in a village in the middle of the desert.
“Kyaaaa—!”
The chira charged at Kidd at a speed almost invisible to the eye.
Ram Hwajung used Blink.
And Kidd?
“Here I go.”
He did not flee from the chira.
Instead, he dashed toward the direction the chira was rushing, simultaneously firing the flaming spear and swinging the sawblade arm.
“〈Martial Arts: Geckos〉.”
A red light flashed from Kidd’s arms and legs.
────────────!!!
“Kiit?”
The flaming spear extended straight and vanished. However, the sawblade was blocked by sothing, creating a rough tallic noise.
The chira saw what was blocking its arm.
It was a small piece of protective gear attached to Kidd’s wrist, stuck onto the sawblade arm.
Despite being made of a material and size that should have been broken or destroyed, the auxiliary tool enveloped in red light remained intact.
“Kigiit—.”
The chira tried to detach its arm, but Kidd’s body moved along with the chira’s arm. Just as if they were glued together, Kidd’s arm flashed.
Bang────────!
It was the muzzle fla. The bullet penetrated the chira’s face.
“Kyaaaak—!”
The chira retreated.
When it took a step back, Kidd stepped forward.
It had to be so. The two arms were practically attached.
Before the chira realized this, light flashed from Kidd’s opposite arm. It pierced the chira’s chest.
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