I quickly turned to one side and ran. If I waited for his backup to arrive, then I'd definitely get captured... At worst, even die.
"Where are you going?!"
However, with the difference in speed between the two of us, he quickly caught up and grabbed the back of my head.
"Ugh!"
He slammed my face down on the ground, creating a small crater. I squirmed violently but was unable to get out of his iron grip.
"It's useless! Just lie there and wait for your death like a worm!"
"... Shut up..."
I muttered as I used both arms to push my face off the ground. Veins started popping up all over my arms as I lifted my head an inch off the crushed earth.
"I'm no worm... but I guess they would enjoy feasting on your corpse."
*Bang!*
A loud sound echoed. The chest of the Demon Tamer suddenly had a large hole opened in its middle. He looked down in doubt, unable to even interpret what happened. Still, he gritted his teeth and smashed the head that he was clutching.
I melted like black snow... Rather, it was my [Shadow Clone]. If you ask just when I swapped out with my clone, then it was the instant that I noticed a Demon Tamer before me. Don't underestimate my reflexes and skill activation speed!
I stood up from the top of the tree about a kilometer away and quickly stored the rifle before running away. Although I did kill him, there's still the backup he called for quickly approaching. Even with my gun, it would be impossible to kill them all without the advantage of surprise attacks.
One thing I miscalculated was that a kilometer's distance wasn't that much for a Demon Tamer that has powers nearing the 9th stage. As I jumped off from the top of the tree towards the next, a dainty fist suddenly appeared in front of my face.
*Bam!*
The fist slammed cleanly, but I managed to twist my neck, avoiding a completely solid hit. I spun uncontrollably as I fell to the forest floor. At the last moment, I spread my limbs wide, slowing down the spinning speed for an instant, and twisted my body to absorb the impact of the fall. I rolled on the ground for a few dozen meters before finally hitting a tree with my back.
I panted uncontrollably. My ribs must've broken from rolling on uneven ground with such force. I also can't feel my nose, but a warm fluid was flowing down and over my lips. I moved my shaking right hand on top of my nose bridge and pulled it straight before blowing my nose, sending clumped blood out.
I looked up and was slightly taken aback.
There, floating right before the moon in the starry sky, a beautiful woman was standing. Her colorful hair, shining like a rainbow, was spread wide, like a spider's nest, while her green eyes glared in my direction.
Judging by how I could see traces of blood from her right fist, she must be the one who hit me in the face. I quickly took out a potion from the storage ring and gulped it down, not daring to break my line of sight locked onto her.
It wasn't because I could see under her short skirt or because the angle was perfect to see her curves; rather, if I let her out of my sight, then I'd probably get hit again.
As my wounds were healing, her figure suddenly vanished like a mirage.
The hair on the back of my neck raised as I felt intense bloodlust coming from behind. Without looking back, I quickly used [Shadow Movement] and hid, taking a few steps back before reappearing.
Before me, the same woman from before was still reeling from the full-powered swing of her legs. She must've thought there was no way I could evade and didn't think of what would happen after.
In one fluid motion, I drew the rifle from the storage ring, aimed, and pulled the trigger. Due to the proximity, I wasn't able to take a proper stance and was sent flying by the recoil.
"Argh!"
To my surprise, however, the woman managed to dodge my point-blank shot. I was aiming for her heart from behind, but with a quick twist of her body, the bullet landed on her left arm's almost non-existent biceps instead.
Her face was twisted in pain. From her wound, a black "something" was crawling up her arm and spreading quickly. That "something" was none other than the curse contained in the shells I shot, as they were made from cursed ores.
Without hesitation, she quickly cut off the whole left arm from the shoulder down. A short spurt of blood was all that happened, as right before my eyes, another arm grew like a magic trick.
Then, the newly regrown arm approached my face once more at the speed of sound.
'That's unfair!'
I was still in the middle of getting sent back by the recoil, so I had no way of dodging it. Her fist was aiming for my neck, and if it hit, I had a high chance of having my throat crushed. At worst, it may even end up shattering my cervical spine.
Luckily, the rifle was loaded with more bullets and in semi-auto mode. I held it sideways and shot a round randomly, sending my whole body flying to the left and spinning wildly, dodging the incoming fist.
The woman's eyes twitched and followed my body's movements. Her right leg stepped forward and dug into the ground as her left leg started sweeping from the spot that I was headed towards.
In a split-second decision, I extended my arm as I was rotating, letting the end of the rifle crash into the ground, forcefully interrupting my motion. Then I used the rifle as a vault to send my body higher, dodging the incoming kick. Although I ended up letting go of the rifle, it was fine.
In my hands appeared two canisters that I threw in her face while I was in the air. Her eyes opened wide as she saw how those objects seemed like they were about to explode.
"SH--!"
Before she could curse, a strong explosion spread, capturing the two of us in its range.
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