CHAPTER 423: SHOOT IT.

Though she heard the word, Marie struggled to understand it at first. Her mind soon worked up an explanation, and though her body still felt weak with terror, she still forced it to move, climbed off the bed, and walked toward the black machine one unsteady step at a time.

The naked man had been someone powerful, someone who could end her life with a single word. That same man was now on the floor, awaiting his end. The one who brought him to such a state was none other than the black machine, which meant that said machine was far more powerful. With that being the case, wouldn’t that mean that she now has to follow its orders?

She soon found herself standing a step behind the black machine. The naked man no longer had his arms, and he didn’t look like he could do her any harm. Despite that, she didn’t want to get a single inch closer to him. If possible, she didn’t want to see him ever again.

The black machine turned to look at her, or so she thought, seeing as its glass-like face didn’t look like it had anything that could be considered eyes. After a tense moment of silence, the machine bent down, then it descended to one knee.

[Your hand.] It said.

Hesitation froze her limbs, same as when she struggled to walk over. Eventually, she managed to place her right hand in the machine’s palm. Its fingers, wrapped in overlapping metal plates, closed on her hand, then gently turned it around. It then brought it to her hand and placed it on her palm, or rather, it placed something in her palm. Seeing what it was, Marie almost tossed it away.

[Do you know what this is?] The machine asked, its voice deep and sharp, entirely inhumane.

Marie tried to respond, but the most she could manage was a nod. She knew what the object was. Such an item was everywhere, and it would be impossible to live one’s life without coming across it in one form or another.

Put simply, it was a gun.

[Do you know how to use it?]

The machine asked, and Marie nodded once more.

[Good.] Nodding, it turned around and faced the armless man. [Shoot it.]

"... huh?"

The puzzled sound that escaped her drew the machine’s attention, causing her to slightly recoil. Staring at her for a second, it raised a hand and pointed at the man again.

[This thing tried to do something terrible to you.] It said. [This will be your only chance to save yourself. If you don’t do it now, you will never be free.]

Free. The word struck Marie like a lightning bolt. Its meaning was still unclear in her head, yet she still understood what it signified. Being free meant not being here. Being free meant not getting hit by her mother, not having to listen to her father, and not being forced to sit still while terrible people did things to her.

She had a gun in her hands—a weapon she could use to kill the monster who tried to hurt her. All she had to do was point it and aim the trigger.

"Haha... hahaha..." Just as she was about to make up her mind, the armless man suddenly began to laugh. "You... you really don’t know what you’re getting into... hahaha.... Free? You think you’ll get away with this? You think I will let you? After everything you did?" His laughter soon died, and the nasty grin on his face gave in to a nastier glare. "Run if you want. Run to the end of the world, and enjoy your freedom while you can. I will hunt you. I will make sure you’ll live in fear forever. I will-"

BLAM!

His words were cut by the sound of a loud gunshot. A wisp of smoke rose from the gun’s barrel. It was steady for a moment, but then it started to shake. Marie held it with both hands. Her arms grew numb, and she couldn’t keep them up for long. As they dropped down to her sides, the weapon slipped out of her hands. Before it fell to the floor, the black machine reached out and caught it.

[... Good.]

~[ ]~

Ceir Starmer was a well-known name in the city of Neo-Vatra. He was a lawyer, a politician, and a candidate running for the next mayoral race, making him one of the most powerful people in the city, and that made him one of the most rotten people in the world.

Normally, Dante didn’t pay much mind to such people. He hated them with a passion, of course, and he would have loved nothing more than to bury them alive and never hear anything about them again. His ire had a specific target this time, however, so he tried not to bother with anyone not directly related to them.

Even after Rose told him about what happened between the walls of that mansion, he didn’t react strongly to it. Terrible things happened to all kinds of people all over the world, so if he went around saving each and every kid in trouble, there would be no end to it.

As it turned out, Dante had severely underestimated his anger. When he saw the feed relayed to him by one of the Scorpio-bots, he arrived at that room before he could think, and even after giving the bastard a good kick, he didn’t think he would ever be satisfied. If that was the way he felt, what about the child that monster sought to harm?

The damage had been done, and she was unlikely to ever fully recover. As the thoughts ran through his mind, he realized that the best thing he could do was allow her to end the nightmare with her own hands.

The monster had a thick hide, one that couldn’t be pierced by a simple bullet. Still, a single bullet was all it took, and Dante ensured that the girl wouldn’t need to fire a second one.