Idiot

The cold, harsh night wind swept into the town entrance. Ragged civilians huddled in the shadows of ruined walls, every dust-covered face drawn tight as their terrified gazes remained fixed on the distant docks, where flames and smoke rose.

Whenever a burst of gunfire crackled like popping beans, the crowd shrank back in helpless fear.

At the docks, smoke hung thickly like a filthy shroud.

More than two hundred men in black suits stood in dense formation, their flintlocks spitting brief tongues of flame.

Lead bullets tore through the air with piercing shrieks, raining down like a storm upon the solitary figure ahead—a bald young man.

The bullets struck his exposed skin with dull impacts and scattered sparks, stirring the smoke into an even murkier haze.

The young man moved.

Like an enraged steel beast, he charged out of the thick smoke beneath the torrent of bullets. As he rushed forward, both arms abruptly transformed into two enormous, chillingly bright blades.

A flash of cold light swept out. Several black-suited men in the front row did not even have time to scream before they fell limply like wheat stalks cut by a scythe, spraying warm blood mist.

With one foot planted on a still-twitching corpse, the young man pointed his bladed arms at the sea of black-clad men ahead. His voice pierced through the gunfire and screams.

"Get out of here."

The black-suited men were intimidated by his savage advance and instinctively took half a step back.

The crowd parted to either side like a black tide, opening a path. A burly man with knotted muscles, wearing only a black tank top, slowly emerged from the rear.

A vicious old scar ran across his face, and his gaze, like poisoned blades, remained fixed on the young man.

"Daz Bones! You've been blocking me for nearly a month! How long are you planning to keep this up?!"

Bones seemed not to hear him and repeated his cold declaration.

"I'll say it again, Gotti. Take your men and get out."

The veins on Gotti's forehead bulged as though they might burst through his skin. He suddenly took a step forward, and the stone slabs beneath his feet groaned under the strain.

"You're a hitman who gets paid to do jobs too! You took the exact same mission as me! Protecting these targets? Did a sea beast chew up your brain?!"

Daz Bones remained silent. Only those cold eyes pierced through the drifting smoke and locked onto Gotti's face, devoid of warmth or hesitation.

Gotti laughed in extreme anger, his smile twisting like that of a demon.

"Fine, fine, fine. Since you insist on being stubborn, let's see how many bullets that iron hide of yours can take! Boys! Fire! Empty your ammunition! Blast him into scrap metal!"

The order ignited the final powder keg. Madness flooded the surviving black-suited men's eyes as they pulled their triggers with all their strength. The roar of flintlocks instantly reached its peak, their muzzle flashes joining into a blinding curtain of light as a metal storm of lead bullets once more completely swallowed Daz Bones.

Daz Bones let out a low roar, crossing his bladed arms before his body as he charged forward again into the locust-like barrage.

Every flash of his blades came with spurting blood and shrill screams. The black-suited men fell one after another, and the hard ground of the docks was dyed dark red, thick blood nearly reaching their ankles.

Above the battlefield, two figures hovered in defiance of all reason.

"Lucci, what do you think of this kid?"

The silver-haired figure spoke in an almost lazy tone.

Beside him, Lucci hung in the air with precise Geppo. The corner of his stone-carved, emotionless face twitched almost imperceptibly.

Kid? You're not much older yourself. What gives you the nerve to call someone else a kid?

But in the end, he lowered his eyes and replied in a flat, even voice.

"An utter idiot. A hitman protecting his targets? There's nothing more idiotic than that."

"Mm... he really is an idiot."

The silver-haired youth nodded solemnly. Bloodlight from below reflected in his pupils, yet an inscrutable curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He paused, then said seriously,

"Still, I rather like this kind of idiot. Get ready. When the time comes, find the right moment and save him."

This time, Lucci did not answer. He merely looked down at the battlefield with an unreadable expression.

Below, Gotti's eye twitched violently. His elite subordinates were falling like cut grass, while that steel monster kept pressing closer step by step.

If this continued, forget the mission—his entire fortune would be wiped out. A surge of rage rushed to his head, burning away his last trace of hesitation and reluctance.

He suddenly turned and snatched a vicious-looking Twin-Barreled Heavy Machine Gun, its barrels terrifyingly thick, from the trembling hands of a trusted subordinate behind him.

The cold touch of metal reached his hands, but Gotti's eyes were filled only with crimson. This precious thing's barrels were already worn nearly to their limit; every use might be its last.

He had originally planned to use the generous reward from this mission to replace it with a fiercer, newer monster capable of spewing even more terrifying flames.

But now... none of that mattered.

"You stubborn bastard, repent in hell with these lowly civilians!"

His powerful arms clamped tightly around the heavy weapon, trembling violently from the excessive force. With madness that sought to destroy everything, his thick fingers savagely pulled the trigger.

Ratatatatat!

The muzzle instantly erupted with a terrifying tongue of flame nearly half a meter long. Specially made pointed bullets, carrying momentum capable of tearing through anything, formed an incomparably violent metal torrent that instantly engulfed the small area where Daz Bones stood.

Clang! Clang-clang-clang—!

The dense impacts, enough to make one's teeth ache, merged into one piercing, continuous shriek. Daz Bones crossed his arms over his head and chest, but under the sustained impact of high-speed, high-energy rounds, his steel-hard skin groaned under the unbearable strain for the first time.

Fine cracks rapidly spread across his arms and chest like a spiderweb. The tremendous force pinned his feet firmly to the ground, yet he was still forced to slide backward, his boots carving two deep tracks into the hard stone slabs soaked with blood.

The vicious light in Gotti's eyes surged as he pulled the trigger to its limit like a shark that had scented blood. The barrels turned visibly red-hot, and even the surrounding air warped from the heat.

"Splurt!"

A strange, shrill sound rang out. At last, one bullet tore through the cracked steel barrier and buried itself deep in the flesh of Daz Bones's shoulder blade, blood spurting out instantly.

"Urgh!"

For the first time, searing pain broke through Daz Bones's iron will, becoming a stifled groan. Once a gap had been torn in his steel defense, collapse swiftly followed.

"Splurt! Splurt-splurt-splurt—!"

More bursts of blood exploded across his hard body. The powerful impacts struck his internal organs like invisible sledgehammers.

His vision darkened in waves. His knees gave out, and one knee crashed heavily into the slick pool of blood, splashing dark red liquid everywhere.

"It's over, idiot!"

Gotti watched the wavering steel body, a savagely twisted grin spreading across his face. He held the trigger down to the end, intending to pour every remaining bullet in the chamber—along with all his rage and pent-up frustration—into that detestable bald head.

The scorching barrels emitted a dying hum, glowing red like branding irons. The deadly metal storm roared forth again, about to tear the kneeling figure completely apart.

TO BE CONTINUED