“Alright, I won’t keep arguing with you about this. Although I’m quite interested in you, there are more important matters to deal with right now.”
Upon discovering that a Demon Hunter was hidden inside the tavern, the moment the red-haired Demon Hunter emerged, the bizarre creatures inside the tavern scattered like startled birds, avoiding her like the plague.
Demon Hunters were notorious throughout the Hell World.
It had long since become common knowledge that wherever they appeared, nothing good would come of it. Any one of them might end up as the designated target on a bounty notice someday.
Their reaction was completely different from when they had first seen Bai Tang.
They displayed the classic bully-the-weak-and-fear-the-strong attitude to perfection.
The only one who still had the nerve to stand his ground was the Barrel Butcher, whose strength had reached the Blood Robe Level. He had probably known of her presence all along.
Bai Tang’s expression remained calm as she prepared to see what this suddenly appearing Demon Hunter intended to do.
The Demon Hunter girl squatted down beside the fallen werewolf and picked up the revolver that had dropped to the floor.
“I told you, you couldn’t handle my revolver. So what if you won it? In the end, it still cost you your life.”
The Demon Hunter girl looked somewhat disgusted by the sticky blood clots on the revolver. Her gaze toward Bai Tang was full of resentment.
That revolver was hers?
“Mm… Your name is Bai Tang, right? I’m Theresa.”
She pointed the gun barrel at the werewolf’s corpse on the ground and explained.
“This guy was my target. Because of this tavern, I couldn’t take direct action, so a lot of things could only be settled through betting games.”
The girl paused for a moment before continuing.
“You get the idea. I’m not very good at those sorts of things anyway. In short, thank you for helping me deal with him.”
What the hell?
So this Demon Hunter had actually lost her own weapon to her hunting target?
Bai Tang was speechless. This seemed far too unreliable.
“So how exactly do you plan to thank me?” Bai Tang said with a blank expression. “Don’t tell me your so-called thanks is just empty words?”
To be honest, Bai Tang didn’t have a particularly favorable impression of this suddenly appearing Demon Hunter.
Although she had a human appearance, she wasn’t a fellow Earthling after all. To Bai Tang, she was essentially no different from the other bizarre creatures in this world.
She was simply more pleasing to the eye.
“Even if you put it that way…”
Theresa scratched her hair. A sudden spark of inspiration hit her as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a bullet.
More accurately, it was a silver bullet that glinted coldly under the light.
Theresa pried open the revolver’s cylinder, dumped out the two remaining ordinary copper bullets, and loaded the silver one in their place.
She spun the cylinder and chambered the round.
Under Bai Tang’s bewildered gaze, the dark muzzle aimed at the dead werewolf on the ground.
“Werewolves aren’t that easy to kill. As thanks, I’ll eliminate the risk of him seeking revenge against you later.”
Bang—!
This gunshot was far louder and more deafening than any before it. The acrid smoke blurred Bai Tang’s vision until it finally dissipated.
There was no longer any trace of the werewolf’s corpse on the ground—only ashes remained, as if it had been burned to cinders by fierce flames.
“To deal with werewolves, you need silver bullets~” Theresa blew away the white smoke rising from the muzzle and struck a cool pose.
Damn, so playing dead wasn’t something only Jotaro could do!
“Alright, we’re even now.”
Bai Tang shifted her gaze away and looked calmly at the Barrel Butcher.
“I won the game according to the tavern’s rules. Can I leave now?”
The Barrel Butcher stared at Bai Tang with a strange look for a long time before finally turning around and returning behind the counter.
“Feel free.”
Only then did Bai Tang truly breathe a sigh of relief.
From start to finish, what had truly weighed on her the most had never been the werewolf sharing the game with her. It was the Barrel Butcher, who had seemed so inconspicuous as the referee.
Now that Bai Tang wanted to leave, no bizarre creature dared to block her path.
Almost all eyes were fixed on the girl.
There was curiosity and scrutiny, but even more so a subtle fear after witnessing the werewolf fall at her hands.
This human didn’t seem so easy to provoke after all.
……
The moment Bai Tang stepped out of the Goat Tavern, she looked up at the sky. It had already grown dark.
Not good. Long Night was almost here.
In some dark corners, low-intelligence ghouls were already stirring, about to crawl out.
“I wonder if I run the rest of the way whether I can make it back to the general store before it turns completely black.” Bai Tang gritted her teeth.
At that moment, a familiar girl’s voice rang out from behind her once again.
“You’d better not. You’ll die if you do.”
Demon Hunter Theresa had followed her out of the tavern and offered the kind reminder.
“That pack of ghouls loves the scent of blood the most. If you run past them, you’ll be like a tempting piece of juicy meat.”
Bai Tang lowered her head and glanced at her palm. She knew the other party was referring to the bloodstains she had gotten on her hand earlier.
“Stretch out your hand,” Theresa said.
Even Bai Tang didn’t understand why she obeyed. She subconsciously extended her hand. By the time she came back to her senses, a cool sensation spread across her palm.
Theresa was holding a mug of beer she had brought out from the Goat Tavern. She tilted it, pouring the entire orange-yellow liquid over Bai Tang’s hand.
Theresa grabbed the girl’s small hand and scrubbed it vigorously, not missing a single finger gap. She nearly rubbed the skin raw.
“I could have done it myself,” Bai Tang pursed her lips but couldn’t help asking, “Why did you come out specifically to remind me?”
“Oh, it was just a small favor. Don’t worry about it,” Theresa waved her hand dismissively.
“Oh, right!” The Demon Hunter suddenly looked up with a serious expression. “Bai Tang, you remember my name now, right?”
“Theresa?” Bai Tang asked tentatively.
“That’s right, Theresa! Remember it—Demon Hunter Theresa Delina!”
Only after confirming that there was no longer any scent of blood on Bai Tang’s hand did she release it. She then handed over the cleaned revolver, along with the remaining five silver bullets from her pocket, into the girl’s hands.
“Long Night is dangerous. I won’t escort you back, but this is a reward for the brave.”
Theresa winked.
“Don’t die too quickly~”
Staring at the revolver placed in her hands, the Eye of Breaking Delusions slowly displayed lines of text.
[Name: Demon Hunter Revolver (5/6)]
[Introduction: A Demon Hunter’s exclusive weapon, imbued with demon-slaying properties. It deals double damage to bizarre creatures of the [Evil] alignment.]
[Value Appraisal: It can save your life.]
Bai Tang found it difficult to put her current feelings into words. More than gratitude, she felt a strong sense of absurdity.
So in this world, not everyone wanted to eat her?
“Go on. I won’t see you off.”
Watching the pink-haired girl’s figure gradually disappear into the night, Theresa’s lips curved upward slightly. Even she herself didn’t fully understand why she had helped that human girl named Bai Tang.
She had simply felt like doing it, so she did.
Perhaps it was a momentary whim, or maybe it was because this was the first time in the Hell World she had encountered a human girl who still held on to the hope of survival.
She was curious to see just how far the other could go.
“Keep striving to survive.”