North America Gunman Detective

Chapter 1477 - 794: Looking for the Old One Again (2)

The tree-branch monster seemed to be held together by invisible energy, as Jimmy could find no trace of any creatures within it. It was constructed entirely of piled branches, and when he grabbed and extracted a few, there was not much resistance.

"Bang bang," Jimmy blocked one of its "arms" with his dagger — if it could be called an arm — revealing a gap. He immediately fired two shots into the gap between the branches. Although no visible damage was done, the monster did retreat two steps, suggesting effectiveness.

Jimmy decided to toss the dagger aside, embedding it in a nearby trunk. As he maneuvered left and right, he began dismantling the branches on the monster with his right hand, while mainly blocking with the revolver in his left hand. He needed to remove some of the branches comprising its torso to see what was encased inside before figuring out how to kill it. Now was not the time to waste bullets.

For a physical monster like Jimmy, Black Rainbow's enhancement was comprehensive, including spiritual power, strength, and agility all growing simultaneously. Previously, only the possessed Priest drove him to his limits, spurring further transformation by Black Rainbow.

Facing this branch-composed monster, despite its lack of speed, the numerous branch forks and wooden spikes posed significant challenges. Grabbing and dismantling branches safely was difficult, testing his dynamic vision. In addition to grasping, he had to evade attacks, which consumed substantial energy.

However, after successfully grasping the branches several times, Jimmy's movements became faster and more precise.

In just a few minutes, the branches at the front of the monster's torso were mostly dismantled by Jimmy, revealing its weak points covered in white spots. He blocked a thick branch with his revolver and forcefully jumped, kicking the monster's "head." The monster retreated, and as Jimmy landed, he took a step back, aimed the revolver at the monster's torso weak points, and fired the remaining four bullets. Quickly, his right hand reached to draw another revolver from under his arm, continuing to shoot at the monster.

At such close range, it was impossible for Jimmy to miss. All the bullets hit the torso of the monster. As the creature was forced back, Jimmy stepped back two steps further to reload, avoiding a potential counter-explosion that would disrupt his rhythm.

However, Jimmy overestimated the monster's resilience. After retreating a few steps, it shook and exploded with a "boom," losing control over the encasing branches and decayed leaves, scattering them to the ground around him.

Switching between his Heart Eye Vision several times and observing the area, Jimmy found no longer any trace of the monster, confirming he'd defeated or killed it. With relief, he reloaded and began checking his injuries.

Dealing with such monsters without injury was challenging. Jimmy's arms and right hand, due to blocking and grabbing the branches, were riddled with small cuts—mostly red marks from deflecting strikes. Only a few wounds bled slightly, which his clothing absorbed. Though the injuries were minor, he considered visiting a hospital afterward for a thorough check-up to prevent possible infection.

Raising his wrist to check his watch, Jimmy searched ahead and finally located his target. A misty trail tilted downward from the sky, directly into a deep pit in the woods.

The pit looked peculiar, surrounded by seemingly normal trees. If it was a meteorite crater, it should be larger and show impact signs, but no such terrain was present. If someone dug it, there's no indication of pathways or removed soil around the woods.

Jimmy stood behind a tree, pondering how the pit formed. The earth inside was now covered with decayed leaves and grass, indicating it's been there a while.

Most of the aerial mist had dissipated, leaving a lingering trace confirming the black mist had entered the pit, posing a problem. Jimmy lacked the Priest Royte's exorcism prayers—not due to memory lapses, but because he's untrained in such rituals and unlike other exorcist priests, he couldn't harness Holy Energy to manifest his intentions.

Examining the meter-deep pit, Jimmy decided to jump down himself, brushing aside decayed leaves with a branch. Retrieving his Holy Water Bottle and Holy Salt Box from his pocket, he pondered briefly before opening the salt box and pouring Holy Salt onto his hand to scatter across the pit floor. He held off on using the Holy Water to gauge the situation further.

Yet, Jimmy needn't have scattered the salt. As he neared the pit, its creatures had already detected him. By the time he jumped down, monsters began gathering outside.

Just after spreading the salt, Jimmy sensed danger. Immediately, he scrambled upwards, pushing hard with both hands to vault out of the pit. He saw not far in front of him, a larger mass of black mist was forming.

This black mist was noticeably larger and darker than the one he'd previously encountered. Even without Heart Eye Vision, its existence was evident against normal sight.

Composed of countless intertwined dark mist threads, vague, contorted soul faces and monster images were subtly visible within, as if made of innumerable souls. As the mist formed into a ball, it began morphing. Jimmy didn't let it finish morphing – he quickly drew revolvers and fired several shots aimed at the center of the mist.

At the mist's center was a core-like pitch-black object. Under Heart Eye Vision, mist obscured its clarity, while normal vision made it more distinct due to differing shades. Jimmy's shots targeted this core.

The black mist wasn't easily destroyed; as its form adjusted, a large serpent formed in front of Jimmy, built of black mist and dark lines. It was pitch-black all over, with the thick body akin to a giant anaconda, eyes gleaming green as they fixed on Jimmy at the pit's edge, exerting intense pressure.

Baffled, Jimmy wondered if destroying the smaller one had summoned the larger. The sheer intimidating scale signaled a creature far stronger than the former arm-thick black serpent.

The serpent's head swayed slightly side to side, its black tongue extending outward as wisps of black mist floated from tongue and mouth, slowly dissipating into the air.

Jimmy held his gun but refrained from shooting; the serpent's Heart Eye Vision revealed its weak point lay within rather than on its surface. His previous shots were ineffective; evidently, he needed to dismantle the serpent's body to destroy the core. However, how many shots it required was unclear.

With a "swish," the serpent slowly raised its head, suddenly lunging forward at Jimmy. He fired repeatedly at its head until he'd emptied all bullets, resulting in the serpent's head jolting upward, unlike the inert black mist response. Instead, the bullets' momentum tilted and scattered black mist, even in Jimmy's ordinary vision, his eyes catching drifting soul figures within black mist, as they dissipated into the air.

Jimmy lacked time to reload; although the serpent's head was tilted up from the shots, its body and tail continued coiling toward him. The massive tail swung horizontally, forcing Jimmy to jump, dodging and rolling twice before evading the agile tail. In the lull, he traded the gun in his left hand for fresh bullets and retrieved his dagger from his belt, rising alertly.

Having yielded little effect in its first attack, the serpent opted for a different tactic, briefly coiling its body before opening its large mouth, releasing a black mist stream toward Jimmy.

The black mist was clearly noxious, prompting Jimmy to sprint sideways to dodge its assault. But once the mist passed his previous spot, it exploded, promptly engulfing the space, enveloping both Jimmy and the serpent within.

(Suddenly realizing it's the last day of the month, though updates have been scarce, I shamelessly ask for Monthly tickets!)