Suddenly—
**BANG!**
The guard standing in front of Ryke's position collapsed.
His body hit the floor.
**THUD.**
Ryke froze.
Slowly, he looked toward the direction of the shot.
A smoking hole had appeared in his cloak.
It was him.
He had fired the pistol hidden beneath his cloak earlier.
Ryke slowly raised his head.
A faint grin appeared on his face.
"Damn bastard..."
He glanced down at the pistol in his hand.
Then—
his gaze shifted toward the fallen rifle.
"Don't get too full of yourself."
Ryke slowly dragged himself away from the open battlefield.
Every movement sent a sharp wave of pain through his leg and shoulder.
He gritted his teeth.
"Ugh..."
He forced himself behind a large section of broken stone.
Once he was hidden from the guards' immediate line of sight—
he leaned his back against it.
He breathed heavily.
"...What a bummer."
Ryke stared up at the ceiling.
"I thought I was finally on the right track."
He looked down at his rifle.
"But this isn't quite how I imagined it."
A tired laugh escaped him.
"I mean..."
He shook his head.
"Movies make it look so easy."
His expression became bitter.
"You shoot someone..."
"Then you do some cool shit..."
"And somehow, nobody shoots you."
He looked down at the bullet wound in his leg.
"Then the moment I try something like that..."
He gestured weakly toward his wounds.
"...I get shot."
Ryke sighed.
"So much for that."
He reached beneath his cloak.
A small potion appeared in his hand.
He pulled the stopper free.
**POP.**
Ryke glanced at it.
"At least I prepared for something like this."
He slowly raised the small bottle to his lips.
**GLUG.**
The liquid went down his throat.
He grimaced.
Then—
he poured the remaining potion directly over the wound in his leg.
**SSSSSS—**
The moment the liquid touched his flesh—
the wound began closing.
The bleeding slowed.
Torn flesh slowly knitted itself back together.
Ryke's face twisted from the burning sensation.
"AH—!"
He clenched his teeth.
"Fuck..."
He poured the rest over his shoulder.
**SSSSSS—**
The flesh slowly began knitting itself back together.
The bleeding from his shoulder also began to stop.
Ryke clenched his teeth.
"God..."
His fingers tightened around the empty bottle.
"That burns."
The wounds continued closing.
He watched them for a moment.
Then—
his expression relaxed slightly.
Ryke leaned his head against the stone.
"...But damn."
He looked at the empty potion bottle.
A tired smile appeared.
He flexed his fingers.
Then slowly moved his injured shoulder.
The pain was already becoming manageable.
"That's good."
He looked down at his leg.
"The potion actually works pretty well."
He let out a slow breath.
"At least I won't bleed to death."
Ryke glanced around the spatial port.
Gunfire still echoed throughout the massive building.
**BANG!**
**BANG!**
Mana spells exploded in the distance.
**BOOOOM!**
Kaelira was still fighting the port captain.
Pythia's vines continued tearing through the surrounding soldiers.
And more guards were beginning to spread throughout the port.
Ryke's expression slowly became serious.
"...This is getting worse."
He looked down at the rifle in his hand.
Then—
toward his pistol.
Then—
toward his dagger.
He sighed.
"I really picked the wrong time to try something new."
He slowly pushed himself away from the pillar.
His injured leg trembled.
Ryke immediately steadied himself.
"...Still hurts."
He looked toward the battlefield.
*That mana-enhanced bullet.*
His eyes narrowed.
*It worked.*
He remembered the moment the bullet struck.
The power behind it had been far greater than an ordinary shot.
*If I can do the same thing...*
His gaze lowered toward the rifle.
*Then I might actually have a chance against the Mana Users.*
Ryke took a slow breath.
"But I can't just fire whenever I want."
He remembered how quickly his mana drained whenever he used the technique.
"And I definitely can't afford to waste it."
He crouched slightly.
His fingers tightened around the rifle.
*One shot.*
*Make it count.*
Ryke slowly raised the weapon.
His eyes scanned the battlefield.
A guard stepped out from behind a barrier.
Ryke's finger rested against the trigger.
Mana began flowing through his body.
It traveled down his arm.
Into the rifle.
The weapon trembled faintly.
Ryke's expression became focused.
"...Let's see."
He aimed.
"...if I can actually pull this off."
The guard raised his rifle.
Ryke's eyes narrowed.
**BANG!**
The enhanced bullet exploded from the barrel.
**BOOOOOOM!**
The guard was thrown backward.
His rifle flew from his hands.
Ryke stared.
"...It worked."
A grin slowly appeared.
"Damn..."
He looked at the rifle.
"Maybe I actually can do this."
Then—
another group of guards turned toward him.
Ryke's grin immediately disappeared.
"...Or maybe not."
Several rifles were raised.
Ryke's eyes widened.
"Shit!"
**BANG! BANG! BANG!**
Ryke immediately threw himself behind cover.
Bullets slammed into the pillar.
**THUD! THUD! THUD!**
He pressed himself against the stone.
"...Definitely not."
He swallowed.
"One at a time."
He slowly peeked around the edge.
His eyes moved across the battlefield.
*I need to stop thinking about winning.*
*I just need to survive.*
His grip tightened around the rifle.
*If I survive...*
*Then I can worry about everything else later.*
Ryke took a deep breath.
"...Alright."
His expression hardened.
"Let's stay alive."
Ryke had just finished organizing his thoughts.
His grip tightened around the rifle.
*One shot at a time.*
*Don't waste mana.*
*Don't get surrounded.*
He took another slow breath.
"...Alright."
He stepped out from behind the broken stone.
But—
"Hold your fire."
The voice suddenly echoed across the area.
The guards froze.
Several lowered their weapons.
Ryke stopped mid-step.
"...Huh?"
The guards turned toward the source of the voice.
A figure slowly walked through the crowd.
He was a Demi-Kin.
His head resembled that of a large black dog, with sharp ears and dark fur covering his face.
He wore the uniform of the spatial port guards.
One of the soldiers immediately recognized him.
"Lieutenant Orrick!"
Orrick stopped.
His eyes swept across the battlefield.
Then—
he looked at the damaged walls.
The shattered floor.
The scattered bodies.
His expression darkened.
"How much ammunition have you wasted?"
The guards remained silent.
Orrick's gaze moved toward Ryke's position.
"All of you are firing at one person."
He pointed toward the damaged surroundings.
"And you're destroying the port in the process."
His voice became colder.
"Yet after all that..."
"...you still haven't killed him."
Several guards lowered their heads.
Orrick clicked his tongue.
"Instead, you're the ones being picked off one after another."
He shook his head.
"How useless can you get?"
One of the guards opened his mouth.
"Lieutenant, we—"
"Enough."
Orrick cut him off.
"You've done enough."
He pointed toward the rear.
"Get lost."
The guards hesitated.
"Leave this to me."
The soldiers immediately began retreating.
Orrick watched them leave.
His eyes remained fixed on Ryke.
"This won't take long."
---
Behind the broken stone—
Ryke stared.
"...Lieutenant?"
His eyes narrowed.
*That's bad.*
He had just managed to get himself into a rhythm.
He had figured out how to use the rifle.
He had figured out how to conserve his mana.
And now—
someone stronger had stepped in.
Ryke swallowed.
*Maybe I should run.*
His eyes quickly scanned the port.
*Yeah.*
*Definitely.*
He tightened his grip on the rifle.
*I'm leaving.*
He slowly stepped away from his cover.
But—
the moment his foot touched the ground—
**BOOM!**
Something appeared directly in front of him.
Ryke's pupils shrank.
A black blur.
His body instinctively moved backward.
Orrick stood before him.
Ryke stared up at him.
Orrick tilted his head.
"Quite big for a rat, aren't you?"
Ryke's expression twitched.
Orrick slowly looked him over.
"One would wonder..."
"...how a rat of this size managed to keep hiding for so long."
Ryke tightened his grip.
*He moved without me noticing.*
Orrick's eyes narrowed.
"But that doesn't matter anymore."
His arm moved.
"Because it's all come to an end."
**BOOOOOOM!**
His fist slammed forward.
Ryke's eyes widened.
*Too fast!*
He threw himself sideways.
**BAAANG!**
Orrick's fist smashed into the ground.
The floor exploded.
Stone fragments shot through the air.
A massive crack spread outward.
Dust swallowed the area.
The guards watching from a distance stared.
"Lieutenant!"
"He destroyed the floor!"
"At this rate, he'll be the one destroying the port!"
Another guard swallowed.
"Is he really going to fight that man inside here?"
The dust slowly began clearing.
Orrick stood in the middle of the crater.
His eyes moved across the battlefield.
"...He dodged?"
His expression darkened.
"Somehow?"
His nose twitched slightly.
A faint grin appeared.
"You really are a damn rat."
---
Several meters away—
Ryke was sprawled across the ground.
His rifle was still in his hands.
His heart was pounding.
*That was close.*
He looked toward Orrick.
His eyes widened.
*What the hell was that?*
He barely had time to think.
Orrick suddenly turned toward him.
Ryke's instincts screamed.
He raised the rifle.
Mana immediately surged through his body.
"Fuck!"
**BANG!**
The enhanced bullet exploded from the rifle.
It tore through the dust.
Orrick's eyes narrowed.
**BOOM!**
The bullet struck near him.
Dust erupted.
Ryke didn't wait to see the result.
He immediately pushed himself off the ground.
"Run!"
He sprinted.
His injured leg screamed in pain.
"Fuck!"
He gritted his teeth and kept moving.
Behind him—
**BOOM!**
Orrick burst through the dust.
Ryke glanced back.
His expression turned pale.
*He's fine?!*
Orrick stared at him.
"You shot me..."
His grin widened.
"...and now you're running?"
Ryke's heart nearly stopped.
*Damn it!*
He accelerated.
*I'm going to die.*
He jumped over a fallen guard.
*What the hell did I do to make someone like that come after me?!*
He ducked beneath a flying spell.
**BOOOM!**
The wall behind him exploded.
Ryke stumbled but kept running.
*I should've just escaped through the portal when I had the chance.*
He looked ahead.
The spatial port was still filled with chaos.
Mages fighting.
Vines tearing through the air.
Kaelira and Darian still clashing.
Guards retreating.
And now—
a monster was chasing him.
Ryke's breathing became ragged.
*I'm so fucking dead.*
He tightened his grip on the rifle.
*I need a way out.*
Behind him—
Orrick continued walking.
Slowly.
Calmly.
As though he already knew—
Ryke had nowhere left to run.