A Real Cowboy Showdown

That boy... had he been caught by the Great Night Hawk...? Wilbur had said, "people like us"... perhaps those tainted by the Evil God, or those who possessed extraordinary powers.

Either way, an ordinary boy was not among them, so the Great Night Hawk could act without restraint.

But if that was the case, the boy should not have become the Great Night Hawk's prey... He was bait, meant to lure me out. As long as it couldn't find me, it would release the boy on its own...

Hopefully.

Hope closed his eyes and set his destination at the front door of Old Williams's house. Nothing changed.

That meant someone was watching that spot—either the Great Night Hawk, or the damned boy.

Fine. I need somewhere with a better view, and somewhere more hidden, Hope thought.

Scenes from his memories flashed through his mind one by one, and he quickly found a good choice.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was lying on Old Williams's roof—the cement section. Behind him were the gas stove, iron pot, roses, and Star Hemp.

He had not noticed before, but now that he deliberately measured it, short-distance teleportation was far faster than long-distance teleportation. It had taken only an instant to travel from the cellar to the roof.

The stench of Star Hemp in the air had faded considerably. That was good news, though it meant little in the current situation.

On the other side, on the wooden section of the roof, he could still see the hole the Great Night Hawk had made.

Hope crawled across the roof, adjusting his position until he could just barely see where the Great Night Hawk was.

It should be beside the cellar. It wants to lure me out, and from there, I can hear clearly...

I couldn't teleport to the doorway just now... It guessed I might appear farther away, so it has been watching the surroundings...

With that thought, Hope moved farther back and tested "Uncertainty" again. He appeared on the wooden side of the roof and confirmed that no one was watching him.

I didn't see the boy it caught... but I can still hear him screaming. He might be beneath the Great Night Hawk's claws.

I need to find a way to draw it off, then leave with the boy... The Great Night Hawk is smart. There's probably only one thing here that can lure it away...

Hope turned back and saw the crack in the wooden roof... Short-range teleportation is fast. Compared to that, it won't be so easy to interrupt...

He had an idea. Without further hesitation, he pushed himself up with his arms and called toward the Great Night Hawk, "Hey!"

The sound clearly reached the Great Night Hawk's ears. Even from this far away, where he could see only its silhouette, Hope could make out its delight.

The Great Night Hawk took flight and rapidly flew toward Hope. Along with the faint sound of wind came a human scream.

"Ah!"

It was... flying over while carrying that boy... So cautious... I thought this would end simply. As long as it flew over, I could teleport away...

Hope retreated. By the time the Great Night Hawk was halfway there, half his body had entered the hole in the roof. He gripped the intact wooden boards with both hands to slow himself down, preventing another injurious fall.

He let go, dropping fully into the storage room. For the moment, a wooden wall separated him from the Great Night Hawk.

That barrier would soon be gone. At the Great Night Hawk's speed, it would take no more than three seconds to get here. The boy in its claws had bought Hope a little time.

A little time was enough. Hope closed his eyes and appeared in the living room, two walls away, beside the grandfather clock. A bedroom still lay between it and the storage room.

Beside the grandfather clock sat a canister of gunpowder and lead shot. Hope ignored them. The original hunting rifle was still outside, and there was no time to load it now.

But the older hunting rifle was still here. Hope picked it up. Its stock was covered in intricate patterns, and even countless worn marks could not hide its refinement. Perhaps it had been something valuable many years ago.

Its barrel was already loaded with lead shot and gunpowder. Hope had nothing to do with that; the girl had loaded it.

"Tap!"

It seemed the Great Night Hawk had reached the storage room. It should be peering inside now.

It saw no one, but unlike the cellar, it viewed this house as something it could destroy at will. So it would force its way in to search.

The boy was still crying... He was probably being held in its beak...

This was a fantastical adventure belonging only to that boy. The thought suddenly struck Hope, and he found it a little funny.

He waited. The Great Night Hawk was unfamiliar with human houses and made a tremendous racket. The door was probably too narrow for it, but it would tear it down itself.

Hope heard it—the sound of the door being torn apart. That meant the Great Night Hawk was completely inside and was about to enter the bedroom.

He closed his eyes and appeared on the roof again. The hole the Great Night Hawk had torn open seemed to have grown a little larger. Hope lay beside it, extending the hunting rifle over the opening and aiming at whatever was inside.

Only half his body was exposed. That way, he still had a chance to escape.

The large bird in the storage room below had its back to him. The storage room's only door had been destroyed into an irregular oval, and the Great Night Hawk stood in the middle of it.

It seemed to sense Hope's arrival and stopped.

"Don't turn around," Hope said. "Just take one look. Look carefully at what I'm holding. You should know what this is, and what happens when it goes off... If you can understand me, nod."

The Great Night Hawk bobbed its head up and down.

"Good. Now put down what's in your mouth."

Amid the boy's screams, he fell to the floor. Judging by his voice and height, he could not have been older than twelve.

"Very good, then..."

"Ah..."

The Great Night Hawk suddenly stretched out a claw and pinned the boy to the ground. The boy managed only a brief scream before it abruptly cut off. Hope guessed that the Great Night Hawk had pressed its claw against the boy's throat.

"Stop!" Hope warned. "Or I'll blow your head off!"

The Great Night Hawk shook its head from side to side.

"You don't believe me?"

It continued shaking its head.

"You're unhappy with what I said?"

This time, it nodded.

"What are you unhappy about? That you let him go, but I can still escape?"

The Great Night Hawk did not respond. It merely made the boy let out a few weak groans.

"You're threatening me. You want to see whether the gun is faster or your claws are faster?"

"Tap! Tap!"

"..."

Hope bit his tongue to keep himself awake. "Fine."

He closed his eyes and came down from the roof, leaning against the broken wall behind the Great Night Hawk, the old hunting rifle raised in his hands.

"You can turn around now. Everything will return to how it was at the beginning, except I'll be weaker than before. That boy is useless to you now. Let him go, and then we'll have a fair fight."

"Tap! Tap! Tap!"

Hope guessed the Great Night Hawk was laughing.

It lifted its claw and released the boy.

"Be brave. Get up. Show the courage that brought you here to explore despite the gunshots," Hope said.

"Leave through the front door. Don't worry, this is only a dream. Leave here, go home, sleep soundly, and nothing will happen."