With Fatima’s rifle in my hands, I could provide covering fire for her. The magazine of the rifle contained five shots, giving me five chances to help. However, given the large recoil from using her “true” bullets, I could only fire it once every half a minute at most.
The first time I tried using Fatima’s true bullets, my ribcage got smashed into powder. Just remembering the excruciating pain from when my ribcage caved in, my trigger finger trembled.
Fatima, who passed her only weapon to me, was fighting against the Void Beast barehanded. It was quite a sight seeing a large beast and a human, the size of its palm, engage in a brutal and almost equal melee.
Still, due to the difference in mass, Fatima was losing ground. Wounds were appearing all over her body as she kept getting hit. Then, when she parried another punch, her foothold shattered, sending her off balance. The Void Beast aimed for this opening and was about to land a decisive blow. At that moment…
*BOOOM*
A large bullet hit its eyes. However, the bullet didn’t penetrate the eye and instead made the eyeball explode. It completely ignored the beast’s defense, but I don’t know why or how it did that. It was a miraculous shot that saved Fatima’s life and gave her a large advantage in the fight.
“Guha!!!”
But in return for that miracle shot, I ended up shattering my right shoulder, crushing three ribs, my right lung, and cracking my right eye socket. It was quite grotesque to look at, honestly. Using the earrings’ healing power, the damage to my body was slowly recovering.
Feeling that the recovery speed was slow, I even chugged a bottle of potion with my shaking left hand, just so that I could quickly move again. Nobody knows what could happen in this fight, I should be prepared to shoot at any moment.
Four bullets left, and 11 potions remaining. I took a deep breath, clearing my mind of the excruciating pain I just experienced. After that, I once more peered through the scope. Ember still didn’t show signs of finishing.
In their slugfest, finally, the two were on even grounds. Using the blindspot made because of the exploded eyeball, Fatima could earn some respite. Seeing another chance to shoot, I steeled my resolve and pulled the trigger again.
*BOOOOOOM*
The bullet flew faster and with higher accuracy. However, it simply bounced off the hard muscles on its chest. Although the speed was increased, the power decreased. To recover from the new injuries, I quickly drank two potions in a row.
*ROOOAAAR!!!*
Using the instant that I was drinking potions, the Void Beast attacked with a skill. It was the beam attack coming from its mouth. Its aim was toward us instead of Fatima. The attack was fast and I can’t evade it. Fang and Ember were right behind me.
An instant decision, I pulled the trigger.
The improper stance snapped my whole right shoulder, sending the rifle, along with my arm, flying backward. The bullet flew off-target but still ended up clashing with the incoming beam.
The bullet and the beam met and exploded, sending strong shockwaves to the three of us.
[System Message: User detected to have lost a body part… Particulars: Right shoulder down to the hands. Major veins are ruptured. Profuse bleeding. Fatality: High… Initiating Heavenly System’s Halo.]
The damage to me was so great that the system’s halo activated by itself. After a brief flash of golden light, my body recovered completely, even reconstructing my blown-off arm.
“Done!”
Ember’s voice echoed. At that moment, her voice felt like it came from the heavens.
“Shoot!”
As I gave the signal, Ember’s clone-made ballista released the clone javelin flying at supersonic speeds instantly. Just before Ember released the javelin, Fatima made the Void Beast lose balance.
The Void Beast stuck in a kneeling position couldn’t evade the incoming javelin. It landed on the center of its chest, embedding deeply.
*GGRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!!!*
As soon as the javelin made contact with the Void Beast, it released an agonized cry. In my eyes, the energy covering the body of the Void Beast cracked and fell piece by piece. It completely became defenseless.
“It’s working!” I cheered loudly.
At that moment, Fatima didn’t stay still. As soon as she made the beast lose balance, she started charging her strongest skill. A black dot appeared between her two palms. The dot was sucking the air around the place and even affected the three of us who were far away.
The energy inside the dot was so dense, in my eyes, the entire dimension around it was starting to warp and crack.
“[Black Hole]!”
Despite its name, the skill she used was more resembling an extremely compressed energy ball than a black hole in space. The pulling force was nothing more than the energy around us dragging our bodies as they got pulled and gathered.
However, as soon as it touched the javelin on the Void Beast’s chest, annihilation occurred.
A bright flash of light emerged from the spot, accompanied by a sound that made our hearing useless for a while. The shockwaves were so strong that the three of us went flying without control.
I haven’t seen one in person, but it resembled the explosion of an atomic bomb. Rather than the Void Beast, I was more worried about Fatima who was also in the range of the explosion.
When the dust settled, the air was so hot it singed our skins. The ground zero, where the two fighters were initially, was completely devoid of any signs of life.
“Fatima?!”
“Yes?”
“Oh God, Holy Sh-!”
I was surprised greatly when her voice echoed from behind me.
“How did you do that?! Wait, did the Void Beast…”
Even before I completed my sentence, Fatima was already smiling brightly.
“Yes… It’s completely vanquished. Good work, everyone.”
As she spoke, two heads popped from the rubble nearby. Fang and Ember were both safe, albeit with slight injuries. Rather, it was me who looks the most battered between the three of us. I envy Fatima’s clothes that didn’t even get a tear after all that fighting.
“You should all go now, this space would soon crumble.”
Fatima sighed as she spoke. Staring upwards, as she said, the space itself was starting to break apart. Cracks were spreading across the sky, revealing perpetual darkness hidden behind.
“Wait, you’re not coming with us?”
At my question, Fatima gave a sweet smile. She drew near and planted a kiss on my forehead. “I can’t.” .
As she was standing close to me, I noticed that her hands were undergoing the same fate as the space itself. Cracks were spreading like she was made of glass. Soon, it was reaching her neck and moving to her face.
“… You knew this would happen, right?”
I asked her with a pained expression.