It was now getting dark. Trade in the town square was still going strong, seeming as if the merchants' wouldn't run out of stock anytime soon.
Elliott moved under the cover of dusk, using all he could to stay out of anyone's sight.
"I'm here, Navigator. Got anything to help my infiltration go easier?" The cowboy pressed his back against the wall, leaning forward a bit to look past the gate.
"Of course. I have the entire floorplan of the Domasos residence. Just make sure you follow my commands, or else you'll get caught."
"Copy, ma'am."
"Good. Now, thirty seconds from now, start counting, I want you to leap over the wall and hide in the patch of grass located to your ten o' clock."
The moment counted the half-minute mark, he ran up the stone wall and threw himself over.
Thanks to the night, he was able to jump over without being caught by the guards.
Andrea counted multiple guard patrols walking around the property at different times. With her help, Elliott was able to take advantage of the small window of time when the area was completely unguarded and sneak in.
Just as he entered through the door, he was stopped by Andrea.
"Tripwire to your left."
There indeed was one. It was hard to see due to the lights being turned off, but Elliott was able to spot a dim red light sticking out a few inches beside the door frame.
With a simple whack using the back of his gun, the tripwire began malfunctioning until it eventually turned off.
"The first floor doesn't have any other traps listed in the floor plan. You should be free to move around more easily."
Now that he was free to explore the mansion, Elliott began his scavenger hunt.
The Domasos residence was big. In fact, it was probably one of the biggest buildings in the whole of Blacktear. Just the main building (the one Elliott was in) had three floors and was the size of an entire football field in length.
This also wasn't taking into account the other buildings that made up the property, nor the open garden that surrounded it.
For all Elliott knew, Spiritshot could be located underneath the backyard pool, or even hidden behind some sort of inconspicious bookcase.
"It's a blow to my pride to say this, but I can't help you find the exact location of the artifact. Pablo Domasos has a habit of switching where he stores it every day. Whenever he wants, a press of a switch will send Spiritshot to a different vault. It also acts as the key to the current location of the artifact."
"And based off what my sources tell me, the switch is only one of its kind. Pablo keeps it with him at all times."
Elliott laughed.
"Is there… something wrong?" Andrea asked, confused.
"It's just that, being directly related to The Unseen, you'd think that you'd have done research on the people you were working with. No offense."
"And… your point is?"
"Look me up, my lady. Horace Serrano, the self-proclaimed best bounty hunter of the Beast Continent."
***
Information on the Beast Continent was scarce at this point during the story. As such, little was known about the people who supposedly lived there.
Even The Unseen found it difficult to gather any sort of meaningful information on it. Even with all their resources and manpower, they were only able to obtain surface-level intel, such as the beasts that lived there.
But even amongst the Wastelanders, they all knew of the single best bounty hunter in the Beast Continent.
Well, he was the only bounty hounter, so there wasn't really any competition.
However, that didn't mean he was bad at it by any means. In fact, his skills in the trade were above the norm.
"Elliott… so that was just a nickname?"
"Of course. It was given to me by my master, the best gunslinger in the Beast Continent."
Figuring that the best, most efficient way to get his job done was get it directly from Pablo Domasos, Elliott quickly left through the same door he entered.
His new destination would be the Town Square, where the head of the Domasos would be trading.
Just as he walked past the gates, Elliott noticed a shadow move past the roofs of the buildings. In an instant, he had activated his scouting skill.
"Five. Heh, figured they'd find out who was the cause of the explosion. Alright, this is a good time as any to show you my skills." Elliott said to Andrea.
"No need to see it, their screams are enough evidence."
Realizing he had seen through their ploy, the figures dropped the act and jumped off the roof. In the blink of an eye, they had surrounded Elliott in a pentagon formation.
They drew their daggers and got into their respective stances.
"Not one for speaking, aren't you all? Well, that's fine. Ready yourselves. Hands on your weapons."
Elliott's fingers began to float towards his side, where one of his revolvers were holstered.
He squinted his eyes, almost as if he was waiting for the assassins to move.
The assassins felt like every movement of theirs was being watched. The moment they nudged even a single muscle, the revolver would come out.
"Don't falter! Charge him!" One of the assassins yelled out.
But before they could even move from their spots, Elliott drew his revolver.
"Draw."
Three shots were fired. Like a flash of lightning, three of the assailants were dead the very next moment. Elliott's bullets flew straight and true, each one perfectly piercing their foreheads.
The two who had survived were only able to do so because they weren't in the cowboy's line of sight.
Despite clearly affected by how more than half of their comrades were killed so easily, they still continued their attack.
"This isn't the Academy. There isn't a magical barrier around you guys to protect you." Elliott laughed.
A stick of dynamite formed in his left hand the next moment, which he threw in the assassins' direction.
Instead of waiting for it to explode, he preemptively fired at the stick, causing it to instantly blow up in a vortex of flames.
The assassins' screams of pain blended were muffled by the sound of the explosion, leaving Elliott to watch as fire began spreading across the streets.
"Anyway, now that we're done, who were those guys? Some random thugs?" He asked Andrea.
"Bring me to one of the three you killed first. Check the back of their hood, and tell me if you see a symbol." She instructed him.
"Sure, sure. Here's one." Turning the dead assassin around, Elliott tried to make out the sight he had gazed upon.
"It's… a dagger embedded into a gem? Screams outlaw to me."
"No, you're right. If what you say is true, the ones who tried to kill you are members of the Rogue Guild."
"So… they're companions of the guys from the bar?"
"Most likely. Keep your guard up, I have a feeling this won't be the last time you'll see them."
***
"Okay, tell me what you see, Deadeye."
"Whoa, how about we drop the code names and just call each other by our actual ones when we're alone?" Elliott said.
"No, absolutely not. I intend to keep our, and my relationship with the others, professional. Any sort of attachment will hinder both sides."
"Well, guess I can't convince you."
Giving up on getting closer to Andrea, Elliott brought out his rifle and stared down the scope. The zoomed in sights instantly allowed him to spot the figure he was looking for.
In the middle of the Town Square was a man who was accompanied by four guards. He was clearly overweight, with his stomach being akin to the size of a cannonball.
"...this guy is supposed to be a B-rank criminal?" Elliott couldn't believe his eyes.
"Surprised he isn't what you expected? Me too. Don't underestimate him, though. He's known for being exceptionally cunning, even when compared to demons. And those guys are the most cunning of all."
"Beware of his guards, too. They're all C-rank and above. They'd probably be able to beat the strongest of the Academy's students without breaking a sweat."
Elliott furrowed his brows. "And I guess that's thanks to their expertise and experience in this line of work."
"Precisely. They've been doing this since they reached adulthood, perhaps even earlier. Be careful."
Jumping down from his hiding spot on the rooftop, Elliott continued making his way through the streets of Blacktear, making sure he didn't attract too much attention.
It was difficult to do with the absurd getup he had on, but the people here had better things to do than assault some cowboy cosplayer, at least in their eyes.
"You know, since getting here, I always wondered how the merchants don't get robbed. It's a town famous for holding criminals, so who had the bright idea of doing business here?"
Well, Elliott couldn't complain. The caravan had drawn the attention of pretty much everyone living here, so his job was easier.
"Blacktear has a ruling power. It's governed by King Strife, a well-known thief in underground society."
"And the other guys just let him be the king? You'd think they would like the idea of becoming the ruler of all these people."
"Oh, they didn't. Every four years, Blacktear holds a competition, in which the thief that manages to amass the biggest amount of wealth is crowned the ruler of this place."
"It's a complicated procedure, and no one ever wants to do it. Plus, who'd want to govern an entire settlement of criminals?" Andrea giggled.
"Fair. I'd be in fear for my life every single day. Oh, we're here."
Now that he had reached the Town Square, it was time to put his plan into action.
"Remember what I told you. Just get the switch, and be on your way to the residence. The moment you're caught, the entire town will be on you."
"I've got it, don't worry. Now then, I think it's about time we have ourselves a little smoking session."
As Elliott said this, he raised his hand. In it, a small circular object appeared. Weirdly enough, it looked different from the dynamite he would use.
"Hey!" He shouted.
The shout caught the attention of everyone in the Town Square. They looked to the source of the voice, but could not make out the figure as it was hiding behind a wall.
"Make sure you don't breathe this in. Smoking's bad for your health, heh."
And the moment he said this, Elliott threw the object into the air. It landed harmlessly in the ground directly in the middle of the area.
"Time to start."
The moment he said this, smoke began releasing from the inner chambers of the grenades, shrouding the Town Square in a misty haze.
It worked; people were now in disarray. Some panicked, fearing they'd get picked off in the smoke, and started to run.
The confusion caused them to run into each other, creating even more alarm.
This was exactly what Elliott was aiming for. Under the cover of the smoke, he swiftly made his way to where he last saw Pablo.
Luck was shining on him today. Pablo Domasos was only a few meters from where he last was, but he was completely separated from his bodyguards.
"Guards! Where are you?" He screamed into the smoke.
Taking advantage of this, Elliott smacked the handle of his gun against the back of his neck, causing Pablo to lose consciousness and drop to the ground.
Digging into his pockets, Elliott was able to find a small switch with a button on it.
"I've found the switch, Navigator," He notified her with a smile on his face.
"Good. Now get out of there before you get caught."
"Aye, no need to tell me twice." Elliott looked at the unconscious Pablo. "Sorry, old man! Back where I'm from, we don't care about honor."
Laughing at the success of his stunt, Elliott disappeared into the mist, and began to make his way to the Domasos Residence, hoping to find Spiritshot before Pablo woke up.