Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

『Meowow-!』

Jellypong leapt off Leeha’s body and dashed away in an instant.

With a much quicker movement than when it had moved with Leeha using three-dimensional mobilization, the essence of the sea god delved into the bushes, immediately pursuing the Dark Elf mage.

‘Where has he been hiding all this time, and why now… Or perhaps, he’s been waiting for this moment?’

『Myong myong!』

Leeha also moved hastily.

Amidst the commotion of Jellypong’s furious sounds and Kaztor’s voice mixing together, a giant black circle began to form within the bushes.

“That can’t happen!”

*Thuddddddd─!*

Leeha fired a bullet.

Though it had not yet reached the bushes, that wasn’t an issue.

Through mana sight, he had a perfect read on Jellypong and was beginning to decipher Kaztor’s movements as well.

‘This isn’t the same mana as before. Something is interwoven here.’

Inside Kaztor’s silhouette, Leeha could clearly see a maelstrom of knotted mana.

His bullet pierced right through Kaztor’s thigh.

『Soul Link! Kidd, kill the Dark Elf! Take me with you!』

『Grooarrrr-grooo!』

The kid spirit immediately merged with a fire spirit and lifted Leeha.

The forming mass of dark mana was gradually diminishing, thanks to Leeha’s piercing attack and Jellypong’s relentless interference.

*Snap!*

Breaking through the bush, escaping from the central part of the floating beacon, Leeha could now see clearly with his regular vision, not just mana sight.

“Kaztor─────!

『Familiar—”

Leeha was watching Kaztor, but Kaztor was not looking at him.

Not wanting to waste a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Leeha sent off a bullet first.

*Bam!*

“Ha-haa, Leeha, Leeha, how can you be here now!”

“That’s what I want to ask you! Where have you been hiding until now—”

Kaztor’s body, which had been relentlessly creating mana spikes, was flung through the air.

The spot Leeha’s attack pierced still had a gaping hole with black energy seeping out.

However, Jellypong’s expression did not look good, and the essence of the sea god was fading in color, a matter of concern.

“—He has concealed himself! Jellypong, Koma, let’s get him!”

『Grr!』

『Myong!』

As Koma called Jellypong, the energies of the two spirits merged into one.

The creature that once terrified the giants was reborn to chase after Kaztor again.

“You still don’t like me, do you?”

“I have no reason for me like you! 『Multi-Warhead Shot』.”

*Thuddddd-!*

As soon as Ha Leeha’s words ended, Kaztor brought his hands together and cleaved vertically.

A black fissure, just large enough to cover Kaztor’s body, opened, letting the barrage of multi-warhead bullets rain in, but that was all.

“Hmm?”

The bullets were sucked into a point above Kaztor’s head, disappearing into the sea.

“What was that―”

“I am not the weakened me you knew. Do you really think someone like you can defeat me?”

Despite being hit twice in a surprise attack, Kaztor was different from before.

Unlike the previous battle that began with a sudden headshot, he was now highly energized.

Effortlessly dodging the oncoming attack of Koma merged with Jellypong, Kaztor ascended into the air.

Ha Leeha continued to aim and fire bullets at him, whispering as he did.

―Blaugrunn-ssi! I found Kaztor! Can you come right away?

―What? I can come, but― what about the protection of this guy?

‘Damn… Aner!’

There was still an uncertain quest to be completed.

What if Aner died in the brief moment Blaugrunn left? The 『Truth of Pandril』 quest would fail.

Although Kaztor aimed at Ha Leeha from mid-air, he could not escape Koma who possessed tremendous jumping ability thanks to merging with Jellypong.

Even then, his eyes were fixed on the mana relay tower.

Ha Leeha did not miss that scene.

‘The mana link isn’t working. When I arrived― he was in the middle of doing that.’

That meant he could not teleport to the New Continent in one go.

Being an NPC with no other option but direct teleportation and not using a warp gate, Kaztor was effectively tied down from going to the New Continent.

‘I must catch him.’

Ha Leeha immediately sent whispers to everyone he knew.

With a creature fused by fire and water spirits attacking from close range and endless shots from afar, Kaztor had only one choice.

“Damn, since I’ve come this far, it doesn’t matter.”

He changed direction at once.

“Wait, hold on a sec!”

Then he flew towards the east, towards the direction of the New Continent.

“You cursed bastard! You are so eager to kill me― Jellypong, come back! We’re going after him, ‘Mermaid Transformation! Tuna Form!’”

Ha Leeha did not have flying skills. However, this was the sea.

Unlike on land, he could follow in the sea. Ha Leeha’s lower half transformed into that of a bluefin tuna.

With the upper half of a human and the capacity to reach speeds of up to 160 km/h underwater, Ha Leeha cut through the sea at an incredible speed.

* * *

―Ha Leeha-ssi! Ha Leeha-ssi?!

―No, Blaugrunn-ssi, focus on protecting Aner for now. I’ll fly over if the worst happens.

―Understood. But please do not overdo it. That dark elf’s mana… I found it quite peculiar. It might be best to avoid getting too close to it.

Blaugrunn was worried, but Ha Leeha had no choice in the matter.

‘Indeed, he will go to the New Continent!’

Living on the Old Continent would have been impossible for Kaztor after everything was revealed.

The only card he could rely on was the Magic Marksman.

Therefore, moving to the New Continent was almost a given, and numerous users and NPCs had already tried to block the way.

“No matter what, how could he have hidden until now!”

A wounded beast did not move. Not until it had fully recovered.

To Ha Leeha’s eyes, the sight of the flying Kaztor seemed like that.

The gaping wounds on Kaztor’s body were now completely healed.

Kaztor’s appearance was immaculate, without a hint of disarray.

“Kaztor!”

───────────────!

Ha Leeha fired a shot as he shouted, but Kaztor’s rear was already shielded by a black barrier.

Ting—the bullet deflected off, making Ha Leeha grit his teeth.

‘The wind—my moving speed… it’s too fast.’

How many miles per hour were they moving?

Utilizing the caudal fin like a jet boat skimming the water surface, Ha Leeha swam, while Kaztor, slightly ahead, evaded and flew.

Hitting a target under such circumstances was nearly miraculous.

‘I need to reduce the speed. But how—’

Ha Leeha glanced back.

Jellypong was moving Koma using its tentacles, but it couldn’t keep up with Ha Leeha and Kaztor’s speed.

In Ha Leeha’s peripheral vision, a dark cloud caught his attention.

The hurricane created by Anderson was moving in the direction of Kaztor and Ha Leeha’s path.

—Anderson!

—Y-Yes!? Ha Leeha, why suddenly—

—Cancel that typhoon! Make the biggest and strongest one! Do you understand? Make sure the strongest typhoon hits 2 kilometers ahead of my position. Can you locate me?

—I—I can do that! But that—

—Hurry! And don’t hold anything back for this typhoon, make it certain!

Ha Leeha cut off the communication with Anderson and rushed forward.

The dark cloud at the edge of his vision seemed to clear up, but soon, the front of Ha Leeha and Kaztor turned pitch black.

“〈Perfect Storm〉, huh. It was an interesting spell.”

“It’s about to get less interesting.”

───────────────!

Ha Leeha fired another shot.

The barrier flickered briefly.

He couldn’t tell exactly where the bullet was headed, but the fact that it was hitting the right direction at this speed was a comfort to Ha Leeha.

—Hyung! What’s your position?! Which direction should we go? Hyein hyung is giving us the direction and distance based on the coordinates and buoys—

—Damn it, we’re moving too fast, I can’t stabilize it! Maybe 4 kilometers directly east of the buoy point? We might fall straight into the sea; can you make it?

Boom…!

The dark clouds that gathered in an instant were now large enough to cover the entire sky above Ha Leeha and Kaztor.

As light flickered amidst the pitch-black clouds and the sound of thunder roared, torrential rain began to pour down, causing the sea to surge.

Even Kaztor’s flight started to waver.

In such a typhoon, it was undoubtedly challenging for even a dragon to fly. No matter how remarkable Kaztor was, flying would be impossible.

While Ha Leeha briefly laughed at the sight of Kaztor’s instability, he couldn’t help but scream as waves many times taller than himself approached.

“Damn it―”

Ha Leeha swiftly dove into the sea.

What was the current wind speed? It had to be at least 45 meters per second. The force of the wind was literally creating waves as big as houses.

‘But with this, Kaztor’s movement is hindered!’

As soon as Ha Leeha resurfaced, he lifted the Black Best.

The sky had turned completely black, making Kaztor’s black clothing even harder to spot. Fortunately, the mana vision still worked.

Like looking through a thermal imaging camera, Ha Leeha could see Kaztor’s unsteady flight.

Kaztor was undoubtedly trying to speed forward.

However, he swayed left, then right, as if his body was intentionally rolling.

“Hu, hu, hu―”

Ha Leeha watched the scene intently.

In the super-typhoon created by Anderson, with wind speeds of 48 meters per second.

Ha Leeha noticed the seawater forming a vortex and being sucked into the sky not far from him.

‘If I were human, I wouldn’t survive, but I’m a mermaid now.’

He let himself be carried by the waves.

He simultaneously felt the sensation of floating and being thrown to the bottom.

Simultaneously, Ha Leeha felt the wind.

He had to read the air currents’ movements as he did with the water currents.

In which direction had Kaztor swayed while flying?

At which position had he swayed wildly, and in what manner?

“Ugh!”

Crash――――――――――!

Thunder rumbled loudly with the lightning.

Ha Leeha wished even one bolt of lightning would strike the flying Kaztor, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

‘I will hit. I have to hit.’

Ha Leeha immediately fired a shot.

Despite being carried by the surging waves, he felt his aim was decent.

However, the tracer bullet just veered off in a strange direction, not even scratching Kaztor’s barrier!

As expected.

‘Remember, visualize, you idiot. And feel it.’

Ha Leeha mentally traced the path the tracer bullet had taken.

How had the thin, long yellow line moved in the pitch-black space?

What was the correlation between Kaztor’s movements and the bullet’s trajectory?

What was the speed and direction of the wind in the typhoon?

Whoosh………….

The wind and rain battered Ha Leeha’s wet hair mercilessly.

Ha Leeha didn’t blink an eye.

How could he stop Kaztor, even for a moment? Ha Leeha felt his mind clearing.

He suddenly thought of a way to stop the flying target.