Chapter 35

A silence fell with the Hunter's appearance.

The killing intent flowing from him was tremendous, as if he had already hunted Outer Gods several times while I was being dragged away.

But the opponents were Outer Gods.

Even if the Hunter could surpass them in combat power, it meant their aura was on a different dimension.

"Oh my, another human has appeared?"

The younger Outer God sister laughed "ufufu" while looking at the Hunter.

"Look at those eyes. It seems he's looking down on us, sister."

"He has a vicious expression for a human. How cute."

As I expected, the twin Outer Gods were looking down on the Hunter and even mocking him.

Their voices were so dangerous that they would cause an ordinary person to have an immediate mental breakdown.

"What are you babbling about."

However, the Hunter just clicked his tongue as if they were insignificant.

"You're noisier than anything I've encountered so far."

Click, clack.

Two BB pellets floated in the air, loaded at a speed too fast for the eye to follow.

Then he took out a candy stick from his pocket and put it in his mouth.

Crunch.

Now it really felt like the Hunter's atmosphere from the game.

The Hunter aimed his shotgun at the twin Outer Gods and gave me a look.

"Were you being played by such worthless beings? Well, I suppose anything less than Greater Outer God class would be boring for you, so maybe you were just playing along. Or..."

The Hunter's gaze turned to the Immortal Woman.

As if he realized something, he closed his eyes tightly once, then started focusing on the Outer Gods again.

"You're too kind for your own good."

With those final words, the Hunter began to move quickly.

Seeing the Hunter getting closer to them rather than distancing himself, the two Outer Gods let out mocking laughs.

"Hahaha! Wow, how much are we being underestimated?"

"Let's quickly dispose of this weakling and..."

The younger Outer God was speaking to me as before, but her mouth suddenly shut.

Well, of course it would.

Bang!

Most of the Hunter's bullets were blocked by the car, but a single shot barely grazed the younger Outer God's face, piercing through her hair.

This must be a first for them.

It may look like this to my eyes, but even their hair would be part of their body, and it was pierced.

"Uh, huh?"

"Is it because of the blizzard? The smell is masked."

Vision is blocked in the harsh blizzard.

As expected of the protagonist character, the Hunter.

To have this level of accuracy using only smell.

The Hunter clicked his tongue once and started aiming his shotgun at them again.

Could his rough attitude have made them feel like he was looking down on them?

"Th-that human!"

"We'll teach him a lesson!"

Choo choo honk honk!

With a loud horn, the car rushes at the Hunter at high speed.

But for the Hunter, speed wasn't important.

All that mattered was how close the target was.

So.

"Coming closer makes it easier to smell you."

Rather, it means they've dug their own grave.

Pyong!

The twin Outer Gods, who were about to reach the Hunter, were hit directly by the Hunter's shotgun and had to reverse the car that was about to break apart.

"Aargh!"

"W-what, what is this!"

The expressions of the twin Outer Gods, who had retreated far back, finally started to darken.

They must have realized it now.

That in this battlefield, the plunderer wasn't them, but the Hunter.

"...I can't accept this!"

At that moment, the older Outer God sister raised a gun from inside the car.

I think I've seen that before...

It was similar to the gun the Candles were holding, but it had many useless decorations.

Things like fake jewels and stickers that young girls might like.

"...Did they mimic it using body parts of those they killed? Disgusting creatures."

Is that how it looks to the Hunter's eyes?

They clearly told me that they hunt humans too.

Does that mean they copied the guns the Candles were carrying?

"You think we'd lose to mere humans?"

The older Outer God sister aimed what seemed to be a handgun at the Hunter.

"We're the ones who hunt!"

Piyong!

The older Outer God sister shouted loudly and fired the gun, and was it really luck?

That bullet hit the Hunter's double-barrel shotgun precisely, half-destroying it.

It seems they judged that shotgun to be the Hunter's only weapon to counter them.

"We, we did it! Now that worthless human..."

Payoen!

But unfortunately...

"...Huh?"

The Hunter wasn't a fool either.

At the same time as the firing sound, which couldn't be thought of as a bullet made of Outer God flesh being fired, the older Outer God sister's eyes widened.

Soon, I could understand.

That the Hunter had thrown away the broken shotgun on the ground and was holding a revolver.

"...It was about time to change it since it was damaged in the underground prison anyway. Damn them, making me spend money earlier than planned."

The Hunter muttered an everyday complaint while bringing the revolver to his mouth and lighting his candy stick.

"Good thing I made other bullets with their corpses too."

The smoke from the revolver bent and rose again.

"Si-sister!"

"W-what is this. Why does a normal gun hurt..."

It seems they hadn't realized the nature of the bullets.

The older Outer God sister's words couldn't continue.

Because the Hunter fired 4 more shots after that.

Payoen! Payoen! Payoen! Payoen!

A firing sound so ridiculous that it seemed to mock the opponent's defeat.

With each firing sound, I could see the older Outer God sister's body shaking greatly.

"Sister!!!"

Perhaps due to the imbalance of power on one side.

The car they were riding split in half and lost its shape, and the younger Outer God sister ended up supporting the older one with her arm.

Judging that it was over now, the Hunter gestured for me to come closer, and I followed behind him, feeling empty.

As we got closer, the older Outer God sister's lifeless expression became more visible.

Is it because of the gunshot wounds?

Though the wounds weren't visible, it was clear she was dying.

"If you're going to die anyway, just go without making a fuss. I can't kill noisy empty wagons cleanly."

The Hunter said that and aimed his revolver as if to finish off the older Outer God sister.

"N-no!"

At that moment, the younger Outer God sister blocked in front.

The Hunter frowned as if annoyed by the pitiful sight.

"What's this now."

"Si-sister's body temperature is dropping... The Candles said it's bad if we get cold... This shouldn't happen..."

Listening to the younger Outer God sister speak anxiously, I understood.

That this Outer God had such a naive mind that she didn't even understand the concept of 'death'.

Damn it, I should know they're just like this on the surface.

They clearly tried to kill me, so why do I feel sympathy?

But as I thought before, there are Outer Gods who aren't friendly to humans.

There was no way other than killing such Outer Gods because they couldn't communicate.

So I tried to ignore those words and not listen anymore.

"...It ended up like this after all."

The older Outer God sister grabbed her younger sister's arm with a trembling hand.

"Sister..."

"It can't be helped... A Candle guy said it, right...? If you're going to shoot, be prepared to be shot yourself."

"Don't say that... How, sister's hand is getting colder..."

"And, we've already seen it, right...?"

The older Outer God sister said, struggling to raise the corners of her mouth.

"The Candle we saw and copied ended up being hunted and buried in the snow too. It wasn't just us trying to survive, but dying humans were the same..."

"But, I don't want this!"

"I'm sorry, for only knowing this much. I made you sad for following me."

I wanted to cover my ears.

But I just couldn't.

Because the moment I heard those words, I couldn't help but doubt if this situation was right.

They might be trying to deceive me right now just to survive.

But all the Outer Gods I had met so far weren't inherently that bad.

A strong conflict of self was occurring.

"...Outer Gods aren't as perfect as you think. Most of these guys are just fragments scattered by strong beings like me to exert control over this world."

The Gardener continued speaking calmly while watching this scene.

"While some have caretakers like me, there are also parents who neglect their children. No, do those guys even think of them as family?"

There was loneliness in the Gardener's tone.

She had originally descended to this world to protect her friend.

This is unfair.

They're beings with such young minds that they don't even understand the concept of death yet, and they've only been taught that this is the only way to survive.

They've just learned the wrong method.

I looked at the Hunter.

His eyes, already coldly frozen, were about to shoot those two Outer Gods.

"...What are they babbling about."

With those final words, the Hunter pulled the trigger with his finger.

The twin Outer Gods closed their eyes as if accepting death.

Payoen!

So the gun was fired.

However, the gun didn't become the final blow.

"...What are you doing."

It was after my hand had grabbed the Hunter's wrist and turned the direction.

"I... wonder?"