CH - 28 [ a shot in the dark ] 2

BANG!

"AGH!"

Bo. Grey looked back to the trees where he heard the shout from. Oh god no. Don't tell me I'm already too late. Grey turned his head back to look at Domian. The man surprised him with a swift throw by catching his knees under Grey's legs, tossing him over his head and onto his back.

"You should have been paying attention, you washed up has-been." Domian stood up and then kicked Grey in the side. "Get up and fight!"

Grey turned over and coughed. He had let his guard down. He knew that. He got wrapped up in making sure the others were going to be okay, and he lost his own sense of self-preservation. I can't let that happen again. I need to get up and fight this guy. Grey pushed himself up. He wasn't going to just lie there on the ground and be beaten. He finally stood up and then readied himself for another round. But before he could throw any punches, his stomach lurched. He fell to his knees and began to vomit. Oh God. What's happening to me?

Grey felt intensely sick all of a sudden. His body ached and he began to feel feverish. He knew he was going to be a bit tired from his earlier fight with the townspeople, but there was no way it could have been this bad. I can't be getting sick. Not here, not now…

And then he heard Domian talking. "Why do you think I haven't tried to fire another needle at you?"

Grey looked up to the man while his body sank to new lows he didn't realize it could feel. This was worse than any hangover he had ever had. He felt like there was something actually trying to kill him. "How did you…"

"Do you really think you were able to dodge all those needles in that barrage? Do you think you're really that fast? That you're fast enough to dodge an entire barrage that close up? I watched some of them hit you."

I'm screwed.

Bo sat behind the brush, Rebecca sitting patiently in his arms. They were ready to strike against this cultist bastard. This guy doesn't mess around. Whoever he is, he means business. He put his eye up to the sight. He watched, carefully, and breathlessly, as the cultist ran back and forth between the trees that led to where Bo was hiding. He baited his prey, letting him think there was no danger. But soon enough, when he was sure the cultist would have to run up past the next tree and jump through the brush towards him, Bo was ready to fire.

The cultist dipped behind the closest tree, too fast to clip while still being careful.

This was close range for Bo. He had to play it right. If he fucked up even the slightest, it would most likely mean his death. So he prepared to pull the trigger once the cultist came out.

But he didn't…

Bo sat patiently for several seconds, waiting for the cultist to run towards him. There was nowhere else to go. But nobody popped their head out from behind the tree, not even a limb or the faint hint that there might be movement.

Bo felt the pain before he heard the gunshot. A bullet tore through his right shoulder and he let out a harsh shout. He was thrown off from his hunched position and Rebecca was flung from his hands as he fell on his back. His right hand clutched his shoulder tightly. It was a bad wound. He knew it wasn't fatal, but it was gonna be enough to seriously fuck him up.

From his back, Bo watched the cultist drop from his perch in the tree above him.

So that's why… he climbed the tree because he knew coming out from behind it would mean getting killed. He's a smart bastard, gotta give him that.

The man walked up to him, holding his own rifle up close, aiming for the killshot.

"So this is it, huh? You're actually gonna kill me… Fucking figures."

The cultist cocked his head for a second, seeming to second-guess himself. "What the-?"

Bo saw the look of confusion on the man's face and took advantage of the moment, kicked the man in the shin as hard as he could, knocking him forward to his knees on the ground. At that moment, Bo grabbed the man's rifle with both hands, one bloody, and pulled himself forward off the ground, and then used his momentum to swing the gun across the man's face, throwing him to the ground himself.

The man still hand a deathly grip on his rifle and refused to let go, so Bo leapt for Rebecca and then made a break for it.

The man was up on his own soon, and bullets started whizzing again, all missing.

Bo knew he needed better cover so he went up into the trees himself, mimicking his foe's good skill.

Halcen jumped into a kick, smashing his knee into Kumajin's face. The beastly man-bear groaned in pain. Halcen was managing to wear down the beast little by little. With his endorphins high, Halcen was alert as he could possibly be. But the bear was winding down.

Kumajin swung again, smashing Halcen in the stomach. While he was still pushed up off the ground, this time it was only by a few feet.

He landed on his back and shouted as he smacked his head. "You fucking monster! I'm going to kill you!" Halcen managed to regain his footing and then rushed again towards Kumajin. He threw a jab into his stomach. But the beast only grimaced. It wasn't enough. I need to keep doing more damage. He's slowing down, but I'm not doing enough to take him down. I need to do more!

He threw another jab. And then another.

Kumajin growled, and then smacked Halcen across his head, tossing him aside. "You puny fly! You think that's going to stop me!" He charged at Halcen, this time getting serious. Perhaps he too sensed his own stamina draining and needed to end the fight quickly. Surely he had never been in a fight with someone as experienced. Either way, the monster got serious.

Kumajin landed on top of Halcen, who was on his back on the ground again. This time, Kumajin didn't let him get up and try to fight back. He put his full weight on the man and began to claw vigorously at his body. He scratched as furiously as he could with his long nails, trying desperately to cut into Halcen's body. Halcen's Haki held for the most part, but it was weakening with each bash. The claws themselves couldn't tear into his body, but just the bludgeoning alone was painful. Soon, his protection would fail and the beastly god would tear through his flesh.

"Damn you, impudent mortal! Die!" I can't die! I can't let Valentina be this monster's sex slave! I can't let Grey and the others down! I WON'T! "I… will not… let you… win!" Halcen still could not move. But with everything he had, he redoubled his Haki's strength.

Kumajin kept bashing away, chipping his own claws. Soon, he got frustrated with the fact that he could do no real damage to this mere man. In a desperate attempt to end the fight immediately, he bit down on Halcen's throat and picked him up with his jaw, swinging the man vehemently around like a toy. He grinded as tightly as he could.

Halcen couldn't feel the penetration of the teeth in his neck, but he could feel the sensation of being suffocated. Kumajin was closing his airways. He was going to die of asphyxiation. He could feel his body going numb, and his eyes began to blur. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO, NO, NO, NO!

Halcen struggled for his gun, and finally managed to get his hand on it. He held his arm steady, aiming as best as he could while he was nearly blind. He finally managed to fire off the shot. And it blasted right into Kumajin's left eye.

Even gods need eyes.

Kumajin shook in pain, dropped Halcen in a howling anger. This was a pain that remained unimaginable. Halcen, though a pirate he was, still had both his eyes and all his limbs. He had never had such a horrible loss of an important body part. Of all body parts, one was able to hardened and train, the eye was not one of them. It remained a universal weak spot for all men and creatures, divine or tainted.

But Halcen was up on his feet now, and breathing right. He held the pistol tightly in his hand. The functions of his body slowly came back to him. He could finally feel again. He rubbed his neck. Thankfully his Haki had held well enough to keep him from actually being hurt by the strangulation.

I think… I know how to beat this guy…