Chapter 26: Amuro Tooru, I Hear You've Been Looking for Me?

The cold muzzle of a gun pressed against his forehead.

Calvados broke into a cold sweat instantly. He stared at the man before him in sheer terror, unable to fathom how this had transpired. From the moment he had leveled his gun at this "urban legend," to the urban legend throwing a throwing knife, to him drawing his own weapon and reaching into his coat—the entire sequence had taken barely over a second. Yet, this urban legend had managed, in less than a second, to throw a blade to knock his pistol away, close several meters of distance to reach him, and then press a gun to his forehead.

"What... what are you? Human or ghost?!" Calvados’s voice trembled. He had never encountered such an opponent; even Gin, the ace of the organization’s action squad whom he remembered so vividly, did not possess such blinding speed. Could it be that the stories told by those criminals weren't just hyperbolic descriptions, but the literal, terrifying truth?

"Does it matter? No, it doesn't," Nara Hikaru said calmly. "What matters is that if you don't answer my question, you will very soon be a ghost."

Upon hearing this, Calvados’s expression shifted. He and Vermouth hadn't actually been assigned a mission. As a sniper for the organization, he usually carried out assassinations; he would never have been sent to assist Vermouth on an investigative task. Calvados had simply harbored a deep admiration for Vermouth and had volunteered to come along. In other words, he had no reason to be in conflict with Nara Hikaru in Beika Town. If he were to die here, it would be unjust indeed.

Thoughts raced through Calvados’s mind as he spoke, "My code name is Calvados."

Calvados? The name flickered through Nara Hikaru’s mind. He recalled the name appearing in the plot, though rarely; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so unfamiliar with it. It was likely just another Black Organization member who was taken out after crossing paths with the "Red Side"—a minor character like Irish, Pisco, or Tequila, who only appeared for an episode or two before meeting their end.

"Then, who sent you?" he continued.

Calvados, with the gun still pressed to his brow, opened his mouth as if to speak. But if anyone truly believed he would, they would be sorely mistaken. Calvados merely feigned the appearance of speaking while his body lunged forward, one hand reaching out to grab the gun in Nara Hikaru’s hand.

Nara Hikaru simply shifted his stance, and Calvados lunged into empty air. They brushed past each other; Nara Hikaru stood firm while Calvados crashed to the floor. But the moment he hit the ground, Calvados rolled forward. A pistol appeared in his hand—his personal backup. Many assumed a person only carried one or two guns, but Calvados carried three: two small pistols hidden in his sleeves for surprise attacks, and one tucked into the small of his back for emergencies.

His lunging grab had been a feint to restrict Nara Hikaru’s aim, and his fall had been a ruse to draw his backup weapon. In their brief exchange, he had realized the horror of this man’s capabilities. Therefore, without a moment's hesitation, he pulled the trigger.

However, the gun he had pinned all his hopes on made no sound. No matter how many times he pulled the trigger, not a single bullet emerged.

"What?! How... how is this possible?!" Calvados knelt, raising the gun. He couldn't grasp why it had misfired at such a critical moment. It was a semi-automatic, not a revolver; how could it possibly fail to fire?

"Your plan was good, but before pulling the trigger... why didn't you check if there were any bullets in your gun?"

As the voice reached him, Calvados looked up to see Nara Hikaru holding a closed fist in front of him, which then slowly opened.

*Clink, clink, clink...*

Bullet after bullet fell from Nara Hikaru’s palm onto the floor. Each one landed like a ten-thousand-pound hammer, striking Calvados’s heart. In the split second they had brushed past each other, Nara Hikaru had emptied the entire magazine from the gun at his back, reassembled it, and put it back. The movement had been completed in a flash of lightning. As a professional assassin, Calvados hadn't even felt his weapon being touched.

A profound sense of dread exploded within Calvados. He finally realized how vast the gap was between himself and Nara Hikaru. Before he could offer any further resistance, a hand seized his collar and hoisted him into the air, slamming him against the wall with a thunderous crash. Pain radiated from where his back met the concrete.

Nara Hikaru asked again, "This is the last time I will ask: who sent you? Was it Vermouth?"

Calvados’s pupils contracted sharply. Although he quickly regained his composure, the subtle shift did not escape Nara Hikaru’s eyes.

*Whoosh.*

Nara Hikaru let go, and Calvados slumped to the floor. Almost instinctively, he reached for the dagger on his tactical belt, but Nara Hikaru’s bullet arrived long before his hand could reach it.

*Bang!*

With a faint gunshot, Calvados went still. He lay on the floor as blood pooled around him. He was dead. His speed might have been faster than the average person’s, but it was certainly not faster than Nara Hikaru’s bullet.

*Tap, tap, tap, tap.*

Footsteps echoed once more at the stairwell. Furuya Rei, having rushed over from the Metropolitan Police Department, appeared at the end of the corridor. But besides the dead Calvados, there was no one else there.

"Too late again?" Furuya frowned and walked toward Calvados. He reached out to check the body's temperature. It was warmer than he expected; Calvados had not been dead long. The killer had not gone far!

Furuya rose immediately. However, just as he pulled out his phone to order the Public Security Bureau to seal the scene, he froze. The door in front of him opened silently, and a figure stood before him, pressing a gun to his forehead.

"Amuro Tooru, I heard you were looking for me?"