Thud—!
As crimson blood sprayed directly onto his face, Gin's eyes widened in astonishment.
Yet he didn't have the luxury to thoroughly assess the situation as a sudden realization struck his head.
Clank—!
Gritting his teeth in rage, Gin compelled his battered body to move and thrashed the table in front of Dune.
Bang—!
"Urgh!"
Sustaining a precise blow to the shoulder from Dune was already considerable damage for Gin after being shot just now, yet he managed to retaliate by hurling the table at Dune to return the damage—or so he believed.
The table, flung at Dune, hung suspended in mid-air, shielded by a water wall that thwarted the damage intended for him.
"Cadet—no, you are private Gin, right?" Dune, on the other side of the water wall, stated, "Child, this was such an unfortunate time for you. To be here in the right time, in the exact place."
"You fucking bastard!"
In his peripheral vision, where Oliver and Ariana's lifeless bodies lay cold on the floor, Gin attempted to draw a dagger from his sleeves, only to realize that there was no such weapon concealed there.
"I understand your anger. Believe me, I do. But you see, I'm just glad that this finally ended," Dune let out a sinister giggle, simultaneously mocking the ones he had shot.
He took a moment of pause, "And it seems you are a smart child since you were the one who notified private Neon so how about this? I'll let you live."
Clenching his fists tightly as blood started trickling down, Gin's eyes appeared bloodshot as he thought.
'Striking a deal for what!? This fucking bastard!'
"We might lose some numbers on my side, but it will be an end for your life. And you have to remember, if we ever made this deal, we can never talk and I'll never let you submit to me. We're never going to cross paths in the future sometime too, if you want."
Noticing that Dune's voice lacked the usual tone of mockery, and instead carried a hint of alarm, added to Gin's perplexity.
"Even if you successfully eliminated me, I'm merely a puppet under someone's orders, and my loyal men listening to the outside will get the job done, so let's calm down, yeah?"
'Wait… don't tell me.'
As if he realized something, Gin wanted to test something out by spouting some bluff words.
"So you realized…"
"Hahh… yes, I know."
By the looks of it, Gin's suspicions are correct.
Dune realized that not only Oliver had made a deal with the grimoire but also himself. Due to his performance from start to finish, especially when fighting Lupire, something changed in him.
Now it might be an assumption from Dune but that could also mean he is capable of such things, making him one of the dangerous people.
The only problem with these meticulous people is that they tend to overthink.
Gin had made a deal with the grimoire yet it was pretty much useless at this point since it was solely directed to Lupire.
His offered luck is not enough to be gifted with such power as looking through one second in the future every time.
Dune killed Oliver first since he was the most dangerous one out of everyone here, even if his soul was broken. Using that moment of surprise, Ariana came next.
Then, taking Gin's moment of surprise, and knowing how capable he is just by Oliver's reports, he will surely wake up from the reverie swiftly.
Gin could understand all of it now.
But if he only understands it sooner…
'No, this guy's acting as if he had done it a hundred times already. He didn't even show weird antics until he cornered us like this…!'
In an effort to quell his pounding heart, which echoed in his chest, and with his mind actively searching for escape routes, Gin struggled to maintain control over his emotions.
"What kind of deal do you want…!"
It was a suppressed shout as raging emotions were put in that sentence alone.
He never even dare to look at the corpses of his commander and vice commander again after watching their pale faces and the blood coming out from their heads.
If he did, he would break down at this critical moment.
"Like I said, I will not kill you, will never talk to you, and will leave you be. In exchange, you need to keep quiet about this. Your commander, your captain, and also the book. Fair enough?"
'This bastard!'
The deal is simple to understand, yet there's a single problem.
As if Gin's concerns were evident, Dune interjected.
"Of course, we're not going to do it just through our words alone. The grimoire will be the witness. I can also read the conditions out loud and I will also be the one to offer something since it's not that great."
'He knows how to use the book too!?'
Oliver only told him about the grimoire, how dangerous it is, and the ability to 'gift' almost anything as long as the offer is matched.
Yet Dune's knowledge about it is what surprises Gin the most, especially when he continues.
Dune laughed, "If you don't believe me, I can recite the incantation right here and now."
'How…'
Gin cannot believe it too since Dune is on the other side of the water wall. He can assume that he was reading the grimoire while talking to him but…
'No, he knew its existence before he killed Oliver!'
On the assumption that Dune was aware of how the grimoire works, Gin calmed himself down, setting aside his seething temper.
He had to think.
"Before we make a deal, answer my three questions first. I don't accept you ignoring my question, giving me a no as an answer, or a half-assed reply."
Dune sighed, "All right, all right. Just get this over with."
With a beating heart, Gin inquired his two questions. "How come you knew the existence of the book and… why did you do this?"
Dune was silent for a brief moment before chuckling, "Hoh? That's it? Even though it's two questions, I guess I can consider it one since the answer is the same anyway."
He thought for an answer he would be giving before saying.
"Well, I said earlier I was merely a puppet right, but I don't mind it! I've received tons of things from them so I wouldn't mind taking the jobs they ordered! As to why I killed them, well, they knew the existence of the book and my benefactors wanted it to be kept secret."
As if he was confused by the answer, Gin wanted to retort something but that wasn't part of the deal.
With a soft, angry sigh, Gin continued, "You said you might lose a few men when fighting me. As far as I'm concerned, you're not the type to care for things. Why don't we fight now?"
"You're quite feisty," Dune added, "You can say, I'm quite a benevolent guy. Believe me, it's your bad luck that put you in this tight spot and it's not like you did anything wrong. You were just entangled up by… well, fate?"
With all questions done, Gin finally spoke after a few moments of silence.
"I was going to say shove your deal up to your ass, but you are doing something on the back aren't you?" Gin calmly stated, "You didn't plan on making a deal. The moment I accept it, you are going to do something. And it must be taking a lot of time since you keep talking shit."
Unable to hide his surprise, Dune drew a gasp from his mouth and replied.
"You are smart."
Almost instantly, Gin, who continued employing his technique after tossing the table, felt his hair stand on end, sensing the imminent danger about to unfold.
'Bend down!'
Abruptly, a mutter came from the other side.
"Projection: Outburst."
As thin as a thread made of water, compressed into the size of a normal finger shot up towards Gin who immediately bent down.
Clank—!
Then, spiraling through the front, it moved with Dune, heedless of obstacles in its path, unleashing a destructive force upon everything it encountered.
Dune lowered his water wall, surveying the scene ahead as his ability, projection, cooled off.
"Unlucky."
Dune just shrugged it off before bringing the book in his hand while also leaving the room to catch the escapee Gin.
…
Not long after Gin escaped.
"Urgh!"
He already fought ten people while finding a way to escape, he killed merely one person. As his injuries had opened, new ones were added.
Different abilities were thrown at him but not threatening like Ariana and Oliver. Their powers didn't even come close to them and just merely pressed their advantage through numbers and his weakened body.
Gin is aware this is a losing battle.
No matter what he did, regardless of his improvement, this was not something he could fight alone.
Numbers continued to increase as he climbed and climbed at the top of the ship.
Swoosh—!
Soon, the onslaught continued without delay.
"Bluergh!"
Driven back by an ability emanating from the same source as before, one that seared through his skin, Gin found himself compelled to adopt a defensive stance.
"Fuck!"
Dodging a kick coming at his head, a knife towards his abdomen, and a sword slash from a thigh from the people instantly and consecutively was an amazing feat on its own.
But because he was preoccupied it lacked his other parts as well.
Slash—!
Someone uses their sword to inflict damage on his back.
"Kuh!"
Gin got pushed at the farthest edge of the back part of the deck.
With a weakened body, Gin grappled to rise, his adversaries showing no patience, pressing on without granting him the luxury of time to recover.
He readied but it seems all of them stopped.
"Wow, I got scared of you for no particular reason." A domineering voice came right behind this group of soldiers as he revealed himself, "I thought you made a deal with this book… Am I wrong? I didn't see you once use an ability. Sigh, whatever, you're going to die anyway."
Dune brought out his handgun as he slowly aimed at Gin's head.
'Something!'
Gin gritted his teeth, feeling himself powerless.
'Think of something god damn it!'
Yet amidst hundreds of ideas that came through his head, not a single one can be applied to this battle alone.
It might be due to his overloaded brain or plentiful damage on his body but he can't seem to think straight.
"Any last words?"
Upon being posed a question, Gin ultimately chose to cease his futile endeavors, releasing the tight grip of his clenched fist.
'Is this it?'
Gin looked passed the back of Dune and the other soldier's back where the sun was rising amidst the dark skies.
Reflecting on his brief yet swift stint in the academy, and finally, the place where hell commenced, Gin could only shut his eyes for a moment.
Memories inundated his thoughts—both gratifying and disheartening ones. Recollections of his academy days were filled with a mix of joy and hardship.
Lastly, memories surfaced of his time with Ariana's squad.
It was as if life was flashing before his eyes.
'I see...'
Gin reopened his eyes, and as if no time had elapsed in reality, he gazed at Dune with a smile.
"See you in hell, you fucking bastard—"
Bang—!
Not wanting for him to continue, Dune shot Gin's chest.
Bang— Bang— Bang—
And he shot it a few more times.
As smoke billowed from the barrel's tip, Dune aimed his gun at Gin's head, uttering with a faint smile.
"Sure."
Bang—!
He shot him in the head.
Thud—!
Reeling backward towards the ship's edge, Gin began to lose consciousness, eventually collapsing backward until his body made contact with the pale river.
'This is the end of my Horrors.'
Gin Vence died.