29 The Loss Of A Life.

It was only then that Asper realized. The man had used his comrade as bait, and Just like a prey being hunted, he had fallen for the bait. There was no time to rotate his body and fire back in re talion. The momentum was pushing forward towards the pillar, but there was no telling he was going to make it in time.

A grin could be seen on the man's face as he fired.

*Dudududududu!*

Bullets flew full speed across the room. The momentum from his speed, allowed him to get safely across one of the pillars, however it wasn't unscathed. A pool of blood was left behind as he failed to catch his balance on the leap.

He ended up rolling across before stopping behind the last pillar on the corner of the room, opposite to the side where the man was.

Asper looked over at his left leg before groaning out in pain.

"ARGH…! AAAH!"

The pain felt incomparably different without pain nullification. It was clouding his thoughts.

<Emergency! Health beneath 25%>

<Emergency! rapid loss of blood>

<Error, unable to adapt to wound. Reason: Object blocking adaptation.>

The object it was referring to was the bullet which had pierced Asper's leg. It was still stuck inside.

'Fuck… That guy's definitely different.'

"What's wrong? Hurts doesn't it?" The man asked as he made his way towards Asper.

Asper hadn't heard a single word he had said. He simply couldn't.

He was the last one remaining, but Asper could tell he was the strongest. He had some sort of tool or ability which allowed him to see Asper's location. That was the only conclusion Asper could come up with, especially since the man had been shooting at him since the beginning even before Asper could give away his location.

This plan which he had just executed against Asper only confirmed that fact. An enemy which would know one's location at all time. In Asper's condition, things were truly at their worst.

Asper slowly tried to get up while using his left leg, only to lose balance and fall back over again.

'What's my health at?'

<HP: 23/170>

'Lost around 31 health from one bullet… And I'm still losing health for as long as I have this bullet wound. I also can't move now… Jumping around on one leg won't cut it…'

Probably because he noticed that Asper could now no longer move, the man now quickly made his way towards Asper, while too using the pillars as cover in case Asper would try to shoot back. He wasn't stupid enough to charge in blindly.

Despite that, Asper leaned over and shot.

*Bang* *Bang*

Both shots, missed and landed on the pillars beside him.

"Where's your aim? Ah, don't tell me you've gone crazy from the pain and fear?" The man asked while giggling as he continued to carefully approach Asper.

*Bang* *Bang*

Asper continued to shoot and miss.

*DUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDU*

The man shot back at Asper, but his aim didn't seem to kill Asper but rather neutralize him. Asper noticed this earlier specifically when the man aimed for Asper's legs instead of head when he had the opening.

*Bang* *Bang*

Asper continued to shoot back. However, to no use. The shots missed.

"Give up and accept your fate, brat-"

*Crack*

The man was interrupted by the sound of a crack which resounded through the second floor.

*Crack* *Crack*

Eventually, more and more cracks resounded throughout the room before suddenly a pillar fell over.

"What…?" The man questioned from behind the pillar.

Following that pillar, more and more pillars began to fall over, the room had started to shake and become unstable.

"Don't tell me… That crazy fuckers trying to… DON'T DO IT!" The man shouted

*CRASH!*

Once he realized what Asper was planning, the man charged straight towards Asper, completely without bothering to take cover. He still had time, he could make it to the other side.

Or so he thought-

*Bang!*

With a single bang resounding through the room, the man fell over as a bullet had pierced his legs. As he fell, he noticed that Asper's eyes were dead locked onto his.

*CRAAAAAASH!*

The third floor, ceiling of the second floor went crashing down on the second floor as there were no more pillars to support it, causing dust and debris to be sent around.

***

The deep sky and clouds could be seen as the sun began to set. Part of the ceiling had been detached, allowing the man to see the sky.

He turned his head and looked back only to see the bottom half of his body covered by large chunks of concrete from the ceiling, causing him to lay there immobilized.

An iron pole inside one of the chunks of concrete also seemed to have pierced him in the gut. Death was the only thing that awaited him. He couldn't believe it.

"I-Impossible… Me…? A D-Rank hunter like me, lost to a random kid? Even with all my equipment and Armour, I still lost? I can't believe it. A FUCKING KID BEAT ME!?" He yelled out in fury before spitting out blood in pain.

For a moment as he reflected on what had happened on the floor, a shadow loomed over him. He looked up only to see Asper towering over him. He looked down at him with a hollow look, he too seemed tired and drained from their fight.

The man quickly grabbed his rifle which had laid there beside him and was about to point it at Asper when all of the sudden.

*Bang*

A bullet went right through his hand causing him to drop the rifle as he did so.

"ARGH!" The man groaned out in pain.

'The effects of the adrenaline and pain-killers are wearing off…' He thought to himself.

Once he looked up however, he felt a chill go down his spine. Asper had the gun with a nuzzle pointed right at his head. The fact that he was about to be killed by a kid just hadn't sunk in.

"H-Hey… Kid… Look… I'm sorry for hunting you… Those guys they forced me to… The guy you killed, he's working for the scorpion guild… I'll tell you anything you want to know, just please let me live…"

Asper just stood there and stared at him with the same hollow look in his eyes. Without saying a single word.

"Money? Money, that's what you want right? I can give you, 2000, no 20000 Nova, just- please let me go…!" The man pleaded

"You… I can't tell… Ever since you threw that flash bang I haven't been able to hear anything. I see your mouth moving up and down though, so I'm guessing you're trying to say something, but I doubt it's pleading for your life, right?" Asper asked

*Bang*

He then shot the man's other hand as he had motioned his hand towards the rifle.

"GAAAH!" The man groaned out in pain.

"Today was the first time I killed hunters with my own two hands. Honestly, It doesn't feel as good as I expected. I feel talkative for some reason too…" Asper then crouched down and leaned in closer to the guy's face before muttering. "Usually in movies, whenever the good guy is being held at gun-point. Something happens and he's saved… But…"

'W-What is this kid talking about…? I-I need to get out of here... Those eyes... H-He'll kill me!'

Asper placed the nuzzle of his gun inside of the man's mouth and watched as his teeth trembled in fear, even with the nuzzle in his mouth he still kept pleading.

"Don't do it-"

"No one's saving you. You're not that guy." Asper muttered with a cold smile.

*Bang!*

Asper took in a deep breath before letting it out.

"That guy wasn't a human. He was a monster." Asper muttered

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