The surrounding scenery shimmered as if under the scorching sun of a summer day.

The swaying robe was strange when not a single breeze was blowing.

In principle, it was like magic.

It was a sight where excessively concentrated mana interfered with the laws of physics.

'How terrifying.'

It wasn't aura.

It was just the mana that had leaked out while circulating through his body.

The immense pressure of mana, which was daunting to even guess, was more than enough to make one feel overwhelmed.

What was even more frightening was the aftermath of wielding that power.

I had just experienced a fragment of it.

The wall of the building that had exploded with just a light swing of his fist.

It was no different from a bomb.

"I don't go easy on mistakes. I'm the type to tear them apart and kill them."

The mad dog was like that.

It was ridiculous to look for moderation and rules in a fight, but if he saw an opening, he would tenaciously bite into it.

"First, I'll give you a light one."

Buggy moved.

Slightly bent knees.

His thigh muscles bounced elastically, and the tips of his feet pushed off the ground as if grazing it.

Kiiiing!

The aftermath was not light.

The bizarre sound of his body tearing through the atmosphere sharply pierced my eardrums.

The figure, enveloped in a whirlwind, approached as if being sucked in.

All I could do was turn my head to avoid the punch.

Even that failed to be a complete evasion.

Thump! Thump! Crash!

My body, caught in the vortex of the punch, flew backwards without a chance to find its balance.

I didn't know how many walls I had broken.

When I shook my head and barely came to my senses, Buggy's figure was visible in the distance.

"Oh-ho, you dodged this?"

He didn't even retract his fist and grinned, showing his teeth.

He seemed rather pleased that he hadn't been able to smash my skull as intended.

"Not bad. Your eyes followed, but your body couldn't react? You have a natural sense."

"You're so relaxed. You're even kind enough to give me a critique."

"Look at your own state, you bastard. You'll die the moment I decide to."

Buggy, having confirmed the difference in our skills, taunted me by slitting his throat with his finger.

He wasn't wrong.

'If I hadn't dodged, it would have been a serious injury.'

A vicious hand that tried to blow off a person's head from the start.

My prediction was correct, but I couldn't handle its power.

In a head-on fight, it would be a certain defeat.

Rustle!

I got up from the collapsed wall.

My body was in good condition for someone who had flown like a kite with its string cut.

It was thanks to the Totem of Protection and lignification.

'It's no good.'

I checked the broken totem in my bosom and threw it away.

It was beyond repair, no need to even estimate.

It was too bulky to carry many spares, so this was the last one.

Could I block his attack with just the defense of lignification?

I wasn't optimistic.

Of course, it was all within my expectations.

"I have a rough idea of what level you're at."

He was immature compared to his prime.

It didn't change the fact that he was a monster, but the slight difference was huge.

The rational judgment he would gain after countless experiences.

The presence or absence of it would determine whether his identity was a simple beast or a ferocious one.

He was still a beast.

"I'll show you the innate gap that can't be overturned."

"...You crazy bastard, did you get a hole in your head earlier? You're spouting nonsense."

Buggy was acting like he wasn't, but he was clearly provoked.

That was the reason I had deliberately recited the cringeworthy line.

A simple-minded fool who falls for provocations.

It was a flaw given in exchange for possessing close-combat abilities that could be called a weapon.

Bang!

I didn't talk any more.

The bullet, fired as a surprise, sparked and crumpled the moment it touched his skin.

It was the same even though it was a magic-imbued bullet, not a regular one.

It was a defense as if it were wrapped in several layers of steel plates.

"Is that all, just a perfect aim!"

"No way."

I stuck a wooden block in the path of the thumping, running guy.

A Trap Totem. He was sucked into the pit that had appeared without any warning.

His struggle to get out was blocked by the multiplying thorn vines.

Crunch!

Even that was for a moment.

When he grabbed and pulled with both hands, the thick thorn vines were torn to shreds.

I met his eyes, filled with madness, between his narrowed eyes.

He seemed to be sneering, as if it were an interesting trick.

I didn't care.

It was time to concentrate.

Swoosh!

"…!"

I could see his distorted expression between his two forearms that blocked his front.

He seemed to have expected me to fire another bullet.

No way.

Whooosh! Kwaaaang!!

A heatwave filled the pit and soared into the air.

The power of the homemade bomb I had obtained from the Auction was quite satisfactory.

It was like watching a huge fountain.

The difference was that the content was flames.

The hem of my clothes, which I had distanced myself from due to the hot heat, was even melted and curled up.

I swept back my sweat-soaked hair and took another step back.

Thump!

As I was staring into the pit, I soon saw a hand climbing up the sizzling, melted slope.

His robe was burned, and his hair was stuck together in clumps.

Nevertheless, his pale skin was as fine as ever, without a single drop of sweat.

"Kh-kh, this time it was a little fun. This isn't all, is it? I'll enjoy it slowly, so struggle to the end..."

Bang!

A bullet was lodged in his forehead before he could finish his sentence.

Buggy, his head tilted back, corrected his posture, creaking like an unoiled machine.

"You son of a bitch, if a person is talking, you should listen to the end...!"

Drip!

This time, I didn't cut him off.

The blood slowly flowing from his forehead, where the bullet had ricocheted, stopped his tongue.

His wide-open eyes and stupidly agape lips.

He was so shocked that even his eyebrows were twitching.

"Wh-what, this, blood? Me? How...?"

"Who knows."

It worked well, so that's all that mattered.

I had no obligation to explain.

"You'll have to find that out from now on."

I aimed the gun at him again.

At the end of the one-sided exchange, Buggy finally threw away his composure.

***

Ting! Ting-ting-ting!

'This isn't it.'

Buggy stood firmly like a statue and endured Allen's gunfire.

The magic-imbued bullets could not pierce his skin, which was similarly enhanced with mana.

A thorough check that maintained a relentless distance.

It was a meaningless struggle.

For Buggy, who liked to charge in and sweep away with gusto, it only provoked irritation, not a sense of crisis.

Pssh!

The problem was this something different kind of gunshot that dug in whenever he showed an opening.

It was different from the magic Allen had used, and from the unknown ability using plants.

It should be the same bullet, but only this one pierced his skin.

'Fucking hell.'

This time it was above his eyebrow.

The blood entered his eye, dyeing his vision red.

It stung like hell, but Buggy endured it.

He was slowly getting the hang of it.

'This is it.'

Snatch!

Buggy caught the bullet aimed at his Adam's apple with both hands.

The heat of the gunpowder, and apart from that, he felt the pain of his palm being gouged out.

It was the right answer.

"...What the hell is this?"

After confirming its identity, Buggy let out a hollow breath.

A flower was blooming at the tip of the bullet.

A flower?

It was ridiculous that it was blooming on a bullet, and he couldn't understand that it was the thing that had made him bleed.

"You're a little late to notice."

Although he had been attacking one-sidedly, there were not many effective hits.

Allen, who was gradually running out of strength, opened his mouth, which had been silent, to rest.

"Do you know about Geranium? No, you probably don't."

"...This bastard has been ignoring me since earlier."

"Then do you know?"

"I don't, you bastard."

"...If you don't know, then stay ignorant. You'll find out when you experience it with your body."

Allen didn't elaborate.

It was an amateur who, unable to contain his excitement, would reveal his hand to the enemy.

"Hmph, I've experienced all I need to."

Buggy hadn't asked with any expectation either.

Whether he knew or not, the response he would take would not change.

He just had to be careful of the bullets with flowers.

Now that he knew the difference, this irritating and annoying exchange was over.

Shwaaak!

The wind was torn.

The surrounding scenery was pushed back behind his footsteps, and the enemy's delicate neck touched the tips of his fingers.

In fact, it was a life he could have taken at any time.

The reason he had delayed it until now was due to Buggy's nature.

An enemy he acknowledged would be trampled and crushed so that they could not recover.

His grudge against this enemy, including the fraud at the gambling den, was deep, so he planned to trample him even more thoroughly.

What would happen if he disregarded even a serious injury and charged in?

Give up the flesh to take the bone.

The outcome of the fight was decided long ago.

Swoosh!

"…?"

However, the sensation at his fingertips, which should have been a solid entity, grasped at empty air the moment he clenched his fist.

"Hehe, you had more tricks up your sleeve."

Buggy muttered, waving away the flickering green afterimage with his hand.

Firearms, an unknown ability, and even a trick using aura.

He was a mysterious guy who kept revealing something new the more you peeled him back.

It was exciting.

If he slit his throat, he would surely writhe in endless pleasure.

"But your hand has probably been revealed now. Isn't that right? In the end, you're destined to die here."

"Who knows."

Allen shrugged and returned the gun to its holster.

The green aura that had been spreading from his chest also lost its light.

Buggy's eyes widened.

"...What are you doing? Are you giving up and offering your neck because you think you're going to die now?"

"If that's how you feel, then so be it."

His nails dug into his skin, and blood splattered.

Buggy, clenching his fists, contorted his face.

"Ha, this bastard is making me lose all my strength at the last minute."

If he had admitted defeat, he would have at least felt fear, but his composed and enigmatic attitude was not satisfying.

It had been a long time since he had met someone worth killing, but for the end to be like this.

Buggy's pupils burst with blood vessels from his seething anger.

"My interest is gone. Just die."

Buggy swiped his hand as if clearing trash off a desk.

The sharply honed hand tore through skin and cut muscle.

Allen's head flew into the air.

"Damn it, I just feel even more irritated. I should just go to the Auction and kill everyone..."

Buggy, who had turned around, froze his body.

He was so surprised that his mouth hung open, a rare sight.

It was that unexpected of a scene.

"What the, why is the bastard who just died alive and appearing?"

Allen, whose head should have flown off, was standing in front of him, perfectly fine.

Buggy calmly shifted his gaze backwards.

There was nothing to be seen, as if the corpse had disappeared.

"Kh-kh-kh, ah, this is fun."

Buggy laughed as if he had lost his mind.

He couldn't help but laugh.

"As you said, my head is slow, so I don't know what kind of ability it is..."

Perhaps due to his elated mood, he seemed to smell a sweet scent at the tip of his nose.

"It'll be fun to kill you."

Buggy, with his bloodshot eyes, rushed to slit Allen's throat.

***

"...He finally took the bait."

A gust of wind blew.

A monster that caused a natural phenomenon with a human body was in the distance.

But the scene did not feel mysterious or wondrous.

The sight of Buggy, dancing with a dazed, unfocused look and drooling, was just ridiculous.

"My request is the recovery of the Blade Knuckle, not a life-and-death battle with you."

It was not the virtue of a contractor to mistake one's purpose by putting personal feelings first.

The end of that was right in front of him.

"I'm glad your mental resistance is as terrible as ever."

Thanks to that, the operation worked.

I stared at the single red flower blooming at my feet.

It wasn't just at my feet.

Countless flowers were blooming around Buggy.

'Hypnos, a plant used as a raw material for drugs in FP.'

Even the immature flowers grown in the land abandoned by spirits were that potent.

The scent of a fully bloomed flower was enough to mesmerize a mad dog without any processing.

'The seeds that the World Tree can reproduce also include virtual plants that only exist in FP.'

Reproduction was not a trivial ability like just growing fruits and vegetables.

The aggressive application I had first imagined was realized with the power of the artifact that Sage and Colin had created.

'Spirit Bullet.'

A spirit is a collection of pure mana.

The principle was the same as a magic-imbued bullet.

It just didn't have the purpose of magic; what I had asked for was a vessel to contain mana.

It was possible because a spirit has no form.

And the synergy added by the World Tree's reproduction ability was just as I had thought.

Rapid growth by firing the reproduced seeds along with the spirit-filled bullets.

The Geranium, with its burrowing nature, pierced Buggy's skin, and the Hypnos, which had secretly bloomed in the first barrage, mesmerized him with its hypnotic scent.

"All that's left is the finishing touch."

Click!

I aimed the gun at Buggy.

It was easy to aim at the vital point of a target who couldn't pay attention to me.

It was no different even if the opponent was a legendary mercenary.

Aim, and fire.

Bang!

***

"Oh, you're here?"

Colin greeted me with a disheveled appearance.

I looked around at the changed scenery and asked.

"What happened?"

"Some black beasts suddenly appeared and went on a rampage. The auction, which would have proceeded even if a natural disaster had occurred, was stopped for the first time."

"Black beasts..."

I thought I knew what they were.

Was she the Madhouse companion who had helped Buggy?

Bianca Melbric, the shadow empress who rules the night.

"I'm worried about the Auction's auction items."

"Just as you worried. They were all taken. Every single one of them."

I thought so.

Bianca, a member of Madhouse, was famous for her greed for material possessions more than her mysterious ability to manipulate shadows.

To be precise, she was a person addicted to the thrilling pleasure of stealing other people's things, kleptomania.

"I was too busy protecting people to pay attention."

"You did well. The Auction will take care of the stolen auction items. It's not our jurisdiction."

The auction items I had won were already on their way to my house.

I didn't care about other people's things.

"More importantly, how are you? You look fine for someone who fought with Madhouse."

"I had a hard time, but..."

I put my hand in my bosom.

The bumpy and hard texture of the metal touched my skin.

"I've successfully retrieved it."

Colin received the item and nodded in satisfaction.

The Blade Knuckle of Ainsipal.

The request was a success.

(End of Chapter)