Benjamin's forehead exploded open.
His smile froze forever.
Without even understanding what had happened, his body collapsed backward onto the grass.
Silence.
Every bandit froze.
Alucard himself froze as well.
His fingers remained locked around the pistol. His breathing stopped.
He stared blankly at Benjamin's lifeless body.
Dead…
He had killed him.
Back during his days as an adventurer, he had slain countless magical beasts. But this… this was the first human life he had ever taken. It had happened so quickly. Too quickly.
The countless hours Kiara had forced him to practice aiming, breathing, and trigger control had come together in that single shot.
Instead of triumph, only horror remained.
His hands trembled uncontrollably. His stomach churned. His heartbeat pounded painfully inside his ears.
The surrounding bandits recovered from their shock far sooner than he did.
One of them roared furiously.
"Kill him!"
The forest erupted into chaos.
Twang! Twang! Twang!
