You Heard It-She Told Me to Shoot

She had already cautiously cast several rituals on herself in the basement the moment she heard the battle break out above.

--Protection from Bullets, Minor Natural Resistance Penetration, Protection from Slashing, Stable Casting, Weakness Reinforcement.

Of course, she had fully buffed herself and prepared her strongest attack in advance before coming out to confront them here.

Although she was speaking with Iver now, she was actually keeping all her attention on Hai Na.

The moment Hai Na let her guard down, she would immediately throw the "Curse Infant" in her hand. It would automatically track the heart, and once it made contact, it would burrow into the body and tear at the internal organs from within, dealing frost damage.

Besides causing unbearable agony, it could also freeze the blood vessels around the heart. Even if the victim survived, any intense movement would tear their own organs apart and cause massive internal bleeding. Even a bishop could not save someone from injuries like that.

...But if this attack missed and she became locked in close combat—

Even with all the buffs she had prepared in advance, she probably still could not beat this young inspector.

She could sense that her opponent had definitely mastered the power of the Third Level.

Although she did not know his Path Trait, she might lose in a direct confrontation.

--She had only one chance! The instant she saw Iver raise his gun at her, she had already decided on her next tactic.

She had deliberately reinforced her defenses.

If it had been a powerful firearm, she might have been wary. But Lady's Grip was extremely weak.

It might not even shoot through a thick oak barrel filled with liquor. That female knight on the other side could probably block the bullet with her muscles.

Even if a bullet like this struck one of her weak points—her eyes or throat—with perfect accuracy, it still could not seriously injure her.

And Iver Moriarty was merely a young man who had never handled a gun and knew nothing about them. As an Extraordinary of the Resonance Path, she could clearly sense that... even if Iver had an Extraordinary Profession, he was at least one level below her.

She had sensed no threat from him at all.

He had dared to shoot Ademar because Ademar had already lost his ability to fight. It was essentially shooting at a stationary target.

And judging from Ademar's corpse, the bullet had only had its normal power. It had not been specially modified by an artisan.

But she was alive, and she could dodge. Without knowing whether she could evade the shot, he would certainly choose to aim for her torso to improve his odds of hitting.

The defenses she had prepared could easily block that shot.

But she could pretend to have suffered a fatal injury, causing the young female knight to lower her guard. Then she could take the opportunity to launch a surprise attack—

"How about it? Let's make a bet!"

She threw her head back and laughed boldly, as if she truly had no fear at all. "You only have one chance!"

Veronica knew that if the bullet hit her eye, throat, or another weak point, it could indeed interrupt her spell. But first of all, Iver might not dare to aim there—he only had one chance.

She continued to pressure him. The young man would choose the safer option!

As long as the shot did not hit an immediately fatal weak point, she could block it safely.

Taking a step back, even the worst possible outcome was merely having her spell interrupted. That pitiful little handgun in his hand still could not inflict effective damage on her—and she would still have a chance to ambush the female knight.

--No matter what, I won't lose.

Come on. Hurry up.

"Go on and shoot me already—"

After rapidly determining her strategy from experience, Veronica remained where she was and continued to taunt him:

"What a ridiculous, pitiful boy. I failed to kill you last time, but you won't escape this time. Don't tell me you think that just because this thing could kill that fool, it can..."

--Bang!

The next moment, the gun went off.

A pitch-black line pierced through Veronica's head.

Her bald head exploded into four pieces like a watermelon.

The spell she had been maintaining in her hands spiraled out of control and scattered, while an icy gale swept through the entire bar. It forced Hai Na to retreat half a step and sent Iver's wheelchair rolling backward until it crashed into the wall and stopped.

There was no need to finish her off.

She had died so quickly and so completely that the lingering damage from "Shadow" and "Corrosion" had not even had time to take effect.

Tiny white specks of light gradually rose from her corpse and surged into Iver's body.

Killed a Second Level Extraordinary. Obtained 16 Free Experience.

--This was the simplest way to cheese the fight.

Among the defensive rituals she could use, there were no physical resistances against "cutting," "piercing," or "blunt force." In other words, at most she could resist "slashing" and "shooting." And because her ritual level was too low, it was ineffective against Extraordinary Weapons.

All he had needed was an Extraordinary Weapon with the "cutting," "piercing," or "blunt force" traits. Before entering combat, he could use a sneak attack against one of her weak points. That would penetrate all her resistances just like attacking an ordinary unit, dealing at least a third of her health in one hit and directly leaving her defenseless and unconscious.

Then one round of attacks would finish her off.

And in reality, without the triple-health bonus that the four-player boss module had given her, one shot had been enough to blow her head off.

After all, the system for creating "Enchanted Cards" came from the Great Sin Scholar's abilities. Purple Extraordinary equipment, which had been extremely rare in the 1.0 environment, was practically standard issue for everyone two versions later. That was why the Phantom Demon Cards of the Great Sin Scholar were quite generous with the "Extraordinary" affix.

Rather, if they did not have the "Extraordinary" affix, the weapon cards materialized by Phantom Demon Cards would not even be able to damage the monsters of the later version. By then, enemies were basically all covered by non-Extraordinary resistances, and weapons and consumables that did not involve extraordinary power could no longer hurt anyone.

How could things be like now, when even blue-and-white equipment could kill people?

This was the suppression brought by version updates.

"You heard it. She told me to shoot. I only wanted to scare her."

Seeing the astonished yet confused look in Hai Na's eyes, Iver shrugged innocently. "It had nothing to do with me."

"...I know. Don't be afraid, Mr. Iver. You were completely innocent. She threatened your life, so you were forced to fire—I can testify for you."

Hai Na took half a beat before slowly nodding.

She turned back to look at the female sorceress's corpse and fell silent for a moment.

"...But why was she so arrogant?"

She tried to explain what had happened before her and force it into a reasonable shape. "Perhaps she thought your shot would miss...

"--Wait, she said, 'I failed to kill you last time.' Could she be the Demon Scholar who kidnapped you? That's why she looked down on you and didn't realize that, as a priest, you not only had excellent reasoning skills but also the courage to fight her!"

The more Hai Na spoke, the more smoothly the words came, and she felt she had completed the logic.

Iver shook his head repeatedly.

She was charmed. She could really say anything... If you're lusting after my body, just say so. I don't even know how to respond to this logic.

"We can still transport one person's corpse back. But two would definitely be impossible."

Iver did not pick up that thread. Instead, he calmly and collectedly offered a suggestion. "So I suggest we find a way to contact the nearby Bureau of Supervision and have them send people here to oversee things—and seal this place off while they're at it. The Pelican Bar must be connected to those Demon Scholars.

"They can inspect the basement. There should be a large amount of ritual material inside."

"That's wonderful!"

Hai Na was extremely excited. "The incident has been resolved!"

But then she suddenly remembered something. "Speaking of which, how do you know the bartender's name?"

"Because I've been here before."

Iver did not try to hide it. "It was the day I was attacked and kidnapped.

"Actually, what I told you before wasn't entirely accurate. Or rather... at the time, I didn't know they were Demon Scholars."

"They?"

"Yes. Besides this woman, there was also a middle-aged man. Before I was attacked, the two of them came to ask me to drink with them... I thought they were good people, so I invited them to dinner.

"But I never expected to pass out shortly after leaving the bar. In my daze, I saw a massive stone arch. So I knew I had probably been taken to Stone Arch Park. I never imagined that the people who knocked me out were them—or rather, there must have been something wrong with the food I ate that day.

"That was why I tested the bartender. I suspected he had poisoned me and recognized me.

"So I think we still can't let our guard down. There should be another, more powerful Demon Scholar still alive. He is a man in his forties, with brown eyes and a bald head, and he has a slight Stibium Kingdom accent. He said he was a stone merchant who traveled between Stibium and Avalon."

Iver mixed truth with lies.

His itinerary that day would be easy to investigate. He had left a deep impression not only on this wild elf bartender, but also on every customer who had come here that day.

So he could not lie about this place.

Iver also had to pay special attention to the issue of perspective.

If he were truly an innocent victim, he should not know anything special about these two people. So the fact that he had not reported it on the first day was perfectly reasonable—from Iver's perspective at the time, he had indeed merely gone out for some fun before being attacked on his way home.

But now, he had to bring it up. Once the Pelican Bar was investigated, there was no way his itinerary that day could remain hidden.

Likewise, from his perspective, he could not possibly know that the man had been killed after he fought back. He did not currently know that there had been a corpse at the ritual site—and that the corpse belonged to a wanted criminal.

Sure enough, Hai Na immediately explained it to him. "Don't worry. That person is probably already dead—I understand the entire incident now.

"They must have already been hiding in this bar. Then, when they saw you come to the bar alone that day, they planned to use you as a sacrifice to summon a demon.

"The bartender was one of them, so he poisoned you and made you unable to resist their sacrifice.

"That woman just said something about 'failing to kill you last time,' and that man died at the ritual site... He was probably devoured by the demon he summoned, while his student decisively fled the scene. But unexpectedly, the demon killed its summoner first, allowing you to survive."

"So that's what happened."

Iver nodded thoughtfully. "If that man is already dead... then my deduction was mostly correct.

"In that case, senior—we don't need to report to the Bureau of Supervision immediately."

Now that he needed Hai Na, Iver stopped addressing her by name and returned to calling her senior.

"Why?"

Hai Na was puzzled. "Wouldn't it be faster to look for them with more people?"

"One of the customers who escaped earlier must have reported it to the Bureau of Supervision. Besides, I fired two shots just now, so people outside should have heard them. The inspectors should arrive soon. We only need to wait here."

At this point, clear hesitation appeared on Iver's face—so obvious that even Hai Na could easily see it.

She immediately asked, "What's wrong?"

"Actually..." Iver lowered his voice. "I might have left a book here.

"I was groggy when I left that day, so I left something behind."

"What book?"

"It was a forbidden book."

"A forbidden book?!"

"Yes."

Iver nodded and said solemnly, "It's called Alchemical Cipher. The bartender should have taken it to the basement.

"I originally didn't dare ask for it back. But since we don't have to notify the Bureau of Supervision immediately, I still want to recover it. That book is quite valuable... and I'm also worried that if it remains here, someone might discover that it is connected to our Moriarty Family."

"...You."

Hai Na felt a headache coming on.

Even setting his looks aside, after only this short day of contact, she already admired this junior of hers immensely.

He was intelligent, serious, and well-educated. He was even a follower of the Path of Dedication, and he had fought alongside her. Judging from how he had dealt with the female Demon Scholar, he could even be said to have saved her life.

She was not an ungrateful person.

But how should she handle this matter...?

Hai Na thought for a while, then first sheathed her sword as the halo in her eyes gradually faded.

"Just this once."

She lowered her voice as well and said solemnly, "I know that some important people have secretly studied forbidden knowledge. But I never expected you to be the same...

"I don't want to report you, but at the very least, don't bring it into public places, all right? It's dangerous!

"Even if the inspectors patrolling the streets don't search your luggage, some criminals might target you. You might not know this, but these mysterious books fetch very high prices on the black market!"

Of course I know.

It's precisely because it's expensive—and because you're poor enough to feel the pain—that you're bringing this up here...

"Yes, senior is right..."

Iver nodded repeatedly, looking pitiful. "Could you help me find it? Since it's illegal, it should be hidden in the basement. If it's valuable enough, it should be kept in some important box."

"...I suspect you were targeted because of that book!"

Hai Na had not finished lecturing him and could not help adding a few more words.

But seeing Iver's expression, she softened after all.

She sighed and handed him her inspector's badge and sword. "Stay here and don't go outside. If the local inspectors arrive before I return, show them this. Tell them someone is already investigating and have them wait here.

"--Also, speaking of alchemy, I just remembered. According to standard investigation procedures, you'll have to hand this gun over to the Bureau of Supervision for inspection later, to see whether it has been illegally modified with alchemy."

"I understand. That's only right."

Iver nodded without hesitation.

Hai Na was still uneasy. "Tell me honestly—does it or doesn't it? I feel like its power is a little too high. If it has been modified, I can help you deal with the corpse and conceal some traces. Illegally modifying weapons with alchemy is also against the law."

"It really hasn't."

Iver vouched for it with absolute certainty. "You can inspect it however you like. And you shouldn't deal with the corpse... If someone discovers that you tampered with it, you'll be in trouble too."

Not to mention that this is enchantment, not modification... And if the Bureau of Supervision could identify a Phantom Demon Card, when their most advanced technicians were not even level forty, that would be a miracle.

Do you know what an industry technology barrier is?

Hearing this, Hai Na felt a warmth in her heart.

She was the one who had asked to help him, yet for some reason, she felt as though she were the one being helped.

"Be careful. I'll be back soon."

With that, Hai Na opened the basement door, then closed it behind her.

Only after she left did Iver let out a soft sigh.

The guilty-puppy expression on his face immediately vanished. He became expressionless.

--The next moment, Iver rose from his wheelchair.

His movements were extremely smooth, without the slightest hesitation.

The moment he left the wheelchair, the shadow beneath him seemed to awaken into a living creature. It slowly began to move, like a shapeless monster crawling across his skin before spreading and twisting across the floor in all directions.

The entire trashed bar grew dim.

It was as though this were not midday, but evening with the lamps lit, and all the light from outside had been blocked.

Splash, splash...

When Iver stepped on his own shadow, it made the sound of boots treading through puddles on a rainy day. His shadow seemed to have become some viscous liquid, or perhaps flowing black blood.

Completely ignoring the abnormality, Iver walked straight to Veronica's corpse and carefully searched it in the darkness.

When they had met that night, Veronica had shown him herself—she had tucked a thick stack of letters close to her body inside her clothes.

He had seen it clearly. The last letter he had sent them was hidden there.

Those letters were stored inside her own corset.

--If Veronica had forgotten to destroy the letter after apparently being killed by the Shadow Demon along with him, or if she had planned to keep it temporarily...

Now that she had died so suddenly, it would become evidence that could implicate Iver in the matter.

Iver had tricked Hai Na into leaving so he could quietly retrieve this deadly piece of evidence.

The result was exactly as Iver had expected.

Iver reached into Veronica's clothes and pulled out a stack of letters in various sizes. At a glance, he spotted the one addressed to him.

"Heh."

Iver let out a cold laugh and clenched the letter in his hand.

Just as expected.

This was the last piece of evidence.

Waaah, my editor came over yesterday, looking really worried, and told me that the word count was rising too quickly. If I added any more updates, the new-book recommendation period wouldn't be enough, and I'd have to start charging for the book...

Today's update was still over seven thousand words, but starting tomorrow, I'll have to cut it down to under five thousand. I'll still try to write a little more whenever I can! Following a new book during its launch period is very important, so remember to stop by and check in every day!