Gunmage-Chapter 18: Halt!

"Goddammit."

Lugh was out of options. The damned thing had already opened its disgusting maw, no doubt eager to pay him back for the punishment it had earlier received.

Just then, he heard a sharp crack—a sickening impact—and the creature was sent flying off of him, crashing a meter away.

Lugh looked up. It was Sergeant Lyra.

He should have been annoyed that she had stayed behind, making his sacrifice go to waste. But, in this situation, he was relieved that she had not abandoned him.

Reason being that the monster this time was exceedingly weak. It was just so repulsive and scary looking that no one attempted to fight it.

Just like how a person might be scared of a rat or maybe even a roach, despite having a much more overwhelming physical might.

In this situation however, what they were facing wasn't an insect or rodent, but a bona-fide abomination dredged up from the desolate reaches of the Devil Sea.

As long as there was a chance of escape, no sane person would attempt to confront it. They had to be pushed into a corner, and even then, only a few would resist, considering the creature's insidious psychological attacks.

It was a good thing Lugh was one of those few.

He stood up and warned the sergeant,

"It's really weak, but you have to be careful of its scream."

"WHAT?"

"I said it's pretty weak, but you have to be careful of—"

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

Lugh scowled

"The hell are you on about?!"

As if in response, another ear-piercing shriek tore through the air. A wave of raw terror tore through him and his left knee hit the sand.

Lyra, however, remained completely unaffected as she charged at the abomination.

That was when he noticed it—torn scraps of cloth stuffed tightly into her ears. They worked well enough as makeshift earplugs.

'Brilliant'

Lugh thought. She had already figured it out. The battle between Lyra and the monster was completely one-sided.

Her form was better, her punches heavier, and her technique honed from years in the military made Lugh—who had been instructed in martial arts albeit briefly—look like a clumsy toddler.

The difference in skill was painfully obvious.

She would have ended it cleanly.

But then, there was an accident.

One of her improvised earplugs fell off, and those teeth-jarring screeches drilled into her head. Lyra froze, paralyzed by fear.

The abomination lunged victoriously. She managed to backstep out of pure reflex but wasn't fast enough to move her hand back in time.

The creature's maw snapped—

—but met nothing but air.

Lugh had already moved, slamming a jagged stone into its skull. The monster reeled tumbling to the ground. Without hesitation, he raised the stone again and brought it down.

Again.

And again.

And again,

Until its head was nothing but mush. Its body twitched uncomfortably.

"We won."

The boy let out a sigh as he laid on the sand in exhaustion.

Sergeant Lyra walked over to him. She glanced at the battered skull of the abomination, then at his bloodied hands.

"Hey kid."

"What?" Lugh turned to her, red eyes as sharp as ever.

"...No, it's nothing—"

A pause.

"—let's get out of here."

"Nah, I'm too tired."

"OK then."

Following this statement, she reached to the floor then and grabbed him before he could react, hurling him over her shoulders.

It was all done in one swift motion.

"OK OK I'll move! Just put me down."

She dropped him unceremoniously. Lugh tottered unsteadily before regaining his balance, muttering a string of curses under his breath.

"Did you say something?"

She asked with a smile that wasn't really a smile.

"No," Lugh replied, voice flat, face unreadable.

"Good!"

With that, she turned and walked off. Lugh followed. By now, the surviving soldiers who had scrambled away in terror had already regrouped.

There were four of them, a broad-shouldered man with tanned skin, two youths, one lanky, the other more solidly built. and a final man whose uniform was meticulously clean, an enormous feat given their current environment.

He was the one who called out when they had gotten close enough.

"Halt!"

'Halt?' Lugh tilted his head to the side, his face stoic.

"State your full name and rank! Rank first, name after!"

Lyra stopped and gave a proper salute.

"Sergeant Lyra Cross."

The man's eyes flashed indiscernibly, then he nodded.

"I'm First Lieutenant Dain Varcus."

He pointed to Lugh. "And you? Full name and rank"

Lugh paused, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

"I'm Lugh."

Then he kept silent.

"Full name and rank! Are you deaf?"

"Hey, watch it—"

It was Lyra who cut in.

"—he's not military. It's... complicated."

"Then make it less complicated."

Before she could respond, the tanned man interrupted. "Forget all that—what about the monster?"

Dain looked annoyed but held his tongue, also eager to hear the answer.

"It's dead"

Lyra said coolly.

Their reactions were immediate.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

"Y-you killed it?"

"No, he did."

She nudged her head at Lugh.

"It was a team effort," Lugh replied dryly.

The words had barely left his mouth when

"Haha, no need to be humble, sergeant. You don't need to share your achievements with the child. We never planned on treating the kid badly."

'Interesting'

Lugh thought to himself, the amusement almost reaching his eyes.

"Treat him badly? What the hell are you talking about? And didn't you hear me—"

"—That's enough! I don't care to listen."

Sergeant Lyra exhaled sharply, as if releasing all her frustrations in one breath. Then her demeanor changed, her eyes were calm.

The air grew tense.

The two youths behind the man shifted in awkwardness, but Lieutenant Dain remained oblivious.

He continued to speak.

"Now that everyone is here, we need to establish order. An organization cannot function without a leader, and as the highest-ranking officer present, that role naturally falls to me. Does anyone have any objections?"

It wasn't a question.

It was something that should have been accepted as a matter of fact. He was a first lieutenant, and they were all wearing uniforms. Nobody should have the guts to challenge him, but—

"In a place like this, what the hell makes you think that ranks matter?"

A calm voice echoed.

The person who had spoken wasn't Lugh, it was Sergeant Lyra.

Dain's expression twisted with rage.

"You b*tch!"

He then raised his hand to slap her...