In the moment of danger, the first thing your brain says can differ. For some people, it can be "freeze!" for others "Fight back!" But when your enemy is a huge western gunslinger with two magical guns and the accuracy of an Olympic sharpshooter, the only thing your brain can tell you to do is: "Run!"

I listened to that subconscious guidance and bolted toward the closest structure to me, hoping to hide behind it. The biggest problem was the fact that I was standing out in the open, and before I'd manage to get anywhere close to cover, I'd already be filled with holes. And so, while running, I kept shooting back. Thanks to Divine Creativity, I was able to shoot some of the bullets out of the air, which was quite a feat just by itself, but it wasn't enough. The Gunslinger's rate of fire pretty much doubled with the other gun, and my fingers were starting to hurt. No matter how good my imagination was, there was no way I'd manage to think away my fatigue or to suddenly turn my revolver into a machine gun.

Through rather careful but quick movements, I managed to dodge any fatal or serious hits, but the shots still managed to graze me in many places. Running towards the cover looked more like a dance in the rain, and it felt as if I had just angered an entire beehive. My whole body was stinging from the shots and blood was staining the sand under me. In such a short time, I think I got more injured than I had ever been before in my previous life.

Finally, I managed to get far enough for him to stop firing. There was no way I could confront him like this. My revolver was rendered useless by his secondary weapon and dodging all gunfire that was impossible. Not to mention that I had to beat him before I'd bleed out. Now more than ever, it seemed like an impossible scenario.

"Oh, Eddie... You've fucked up now. No matter where you run, that blood will always give you away." I heard Gunslinger's footsteps in the sand. They were slowly approaching.

Footsteps... That was it. My mind immediately came up with a plan that could guarantee me my victory. The only problem now would be to put it into motion. I needed his attention elsewhere. With Elizabeth's revolver, I shot six bullets at different parts of the wall next to me. The projectiles bounced off of the metal reinforcements, heading around the corner and right toward the Gunslinger. That was the distraction I needed. Before he could protect himself, I ran out towards the backside of yet another building and an alley that led back into the main street. But as soon as I got my eyes on my enemy, I realized just how wrong my plan was. One of his guns was aiming at the shots I fired, the other, right at me. His smile filled with arrogance and pride is something I will never forget, even though I've seen it only very briefly. A flash of red light flew towards me. Never before have I looked death in the face as much as then. And that's quite a thing to say, coming from a person who spent a few days surrounded by grim reapers. I leaned out of the way, but it was clear that dodging entirely was impossible. Fear overcame me and I simply wanted to cry. When the pain hit me though, not even a single yelp could escape my lips. It was terrible. My vision blurred out for a second. The agony spread throughout my right arm as the small explosive projectile seared its way into my shoulder. I yelled as loud as I could, trying my best to withstand the feeling. Everything felt strange. My head was pounding, the sounds as if they suddenly got dulled, and my legs swayed from side to side without me telling them to do so. And yet, with all of my strength, I kept running toward new cover. The Gunslinger was so surprised I survived, he didn't even shoot again. That was nothing but pure luck.

When I made it to at least a temporary safety, I took a look at the wound to analyze the damage. My surprise at that point was immeasurable. There was a tiny hole in my arm after getting shot, surrounded by a sickening burn mark, but that wasn't important. The numbness caused by the gem was gone, along with the immobility of my muscles. Whatever the gemstone did to me when I grabbed it, the bullet had undone. Maybe only because of the crystal was my arm still mostly intact. I looked down at the jewel. I could finally let go of it. Its blue glow and cold aura had disappeared. At that moment, I felt a strong urge to thank it. If it wasn't for its protection, who knows how things would've turned out. Without any more thinking time than would be necessary, I ran into the alley between the hotel and one of the residential buildings.

"ARRGH! EDDIE!!! Enough of those tricks!" I could tell the Gunslinger was furious. His footsteps got much faster and heavier. He was running. Sprinting right toward me. I assumed that my survival of getting shot felt like a stain on his pride. I was the first victim in a very long time who didn't drop dead after a single bullet. That was perfect. Anger would cloud his judgment.

There was no time to lose. With great haste, I started climbing on the ladder, which led to the roof of the residential building. Being high up there would certainly grant me at least some form of advantage. Not to mention that because of the planks and ropes that the locals placed there, I could get from one roof to another. It was as simple as that.

"You're dead!!!" I heard the Gunslinger behind me just a few seconds after I finished my climb. There was no time to stop and think. I had to regain the upper hand in one way or another. The only question was how.

The roof of the residence was connected to that of the hotel by a wooden plank placed across the gap between them. The citizens of Sunwalley created little bridges like this so that they wouldn't have to make ladders for each building separately. It was a product of their laziness. My heart sank as I stepped onto the wood. It shook and creaked the moment I put my weight on it.

"It's okay, just keep walking. One step at the time, you've got this," I kept reassuring myself.

*No you don't. You're gonna fall. You're gonna get shot. You're gonna die.

A gunshot echoed throughout the town. Fortunately, the bullet missed me. As it turned out, not even the great Gunslinger is capable of climbing up a ladder and hitting me at the same time. Needless to say, it startled me. Because of that shock, I pretty much jumped onto the roof of the hotel. It was a long leap and one that would be very costly if I didn't make it, but it was one of those times when your body commands you to do things before the brain has the chance to process them. In this case, it was a good thing. At least I managed to put some more distance between us.

I could see him making his way up the ladder. It would only take a few seconds before he would reach the top and then, I would be standing right in the open with no cover. I had to do something. Out of ideas and panicking, I kept on running, directly towards the edge of the hotel.

"Come on! You can make it!" I shouted at myself, not caring whether somebody heard it or not.

"Got you!!!" yelled the man behind me. I couldn't feel the bullet approaching, nor did I see them fly as slowly as before. Everything about me was growing weak. And yet, I've been fighting against this guy for a while now, long enough to learn one crucial piece of information - He always aimed at my heart and whenever he feels like I am an easy target, he shoots only once. Instinctively, I moved my body to the right, hoping that I'd be faster than him. I heard the gunshot and along with it, the whistling of the bullet churning the air as it flew past me. I made it. I managed to survive a second longer. In a situation like that, even such a small feat was an achievement. It was too early to give up. With all the strength I had left in my uninjured arm, I grabbed the pipe that went alongside the wall and began slowly sliding down the side of the building. I heard more bullets fly above my head, but none of them managed to do more than trim my hair a little. If Jack would see me descending like this, it would drive him crazy. He and his workers were the ones who installed the pipe here, to provide water to the people. It was ironic that if it wasn't for him, I would never make it off that roof.

My feet hit the soft sand. I could feel a loss of balance the moment I landed, along with horrible pain in my knees, as the sudden stop made my body absorb all the kinetic force. None of that mattered though. I was alive and as far as it seemed, uninjured by the fall. But there was no time to lose. The Gunslinger surely wouldn't be far behind. As soon as I spotted a nearby window leading into the hotel, my mind screamed: "Jump!" And without a shard of doubt, I listened to it. Although, I imagined that my landing would be a lot smoother. Whenever some hero in the movies would jump through a glass, they'd do it with such ease and grace, I expected something similar. Divine Creativity, however, wasn't as merciful. Even though I managed to break inside, the impact hurt, and so did the glass shards jabbing into me. On the bright side, the new pain at least made me forget about the gunshot wound on my arm.

"Ugh!!! HOW MUCH MORE CAN YOU SURVIVE?! DIE ALREADY!!!" I thought he couldn't go any more insane. His patience seemed to have run out long before now, but the reality was different. Up until that point, he's been playing around. His true power and insanity started shining only now.

Red glowing bullets began shredding the building. They were falling everywhere, making their way from the roof, where the Gunslinger was standing, all the way to the ground, destroying anything that stood in their way, chipping away the walls, and tearing through the floorboards.

I didn't have a choice. The only way out was through the building, and so I ran. Hell was falling down all around me. Sometimes, a new pain emerged out of nowhere. I didn't have time to check on it though. It could've been anything from bullets, through splinters, to shrapnel. But none of that mattered. I was alive and my legs were still carrying me forward. The whole place was crumbling. It was clear that the structural integrity of the building was lost after a few seconds of this madness. The sounds of the falling roof could've been heard from behind me. I was lucky the Gunslinger didn't know where exactly I was. If he did, I'd be dead in no time. When I reached the exit, through the already-destroyed door, I saw the shadows cast by the building shifting. The whole hotel was falling down onto the street.

"Please don't hit me! Please don't hit me!! Please don't hit me!!!" I kept repeating as I ran outside, just barely dodging the rubble collapsing around me.

"EDDIIIIIIEEEE!!!" I could hear him behind me. He was close. So damn close. When it seemed I ran the correct distance, I stopped and turned around. I could see the Gunslinger, jumping from one collapsing wall to another, trying to find a safe way down or a stable ground so he could take another precise shot. The few bullets he managed to fire were easily dodgeable. Hard to say whether it was because of his poor accuracy or my Divine Creativity coming back. That, I don't remember.

"SAY GOODNIGHT!!!" I saw him jump down to the street. He was about to land barely two meters away from me, right in the middle of the street between the ruins of the saloon and the hotel. I had nowhere to run, but at that point, I didn't intend to do so anyway. Mid-air, he still kept on shooting. I did my best to move out of the way or destroy the projectiles with my own bullets.

He landed just a second or two later, his gun aimed directly at my head. I saw him take a deep breath, but instead of another pull of a trigger, a loud scream left his lungs. "AAAAAARHHH!!!". He slipped and as he was falling to the ground, I commanded my body to act even faster. Two quick shots from Elizabeth's revolver were enough to destroy Gunslinger's precious weapons. With his guard down, it was child's play. The battle was finally over.

He landed and immediately looked at his shoes, the soles were pierced, with ceramic shards stuck in them, covered in blood.

"What the fuck?!" He shouted. That desperate call was like a song to my ears. Maybe it wasn't right to feel joy from someone's pain, but at that point, I couldn't help but smile.

"Do you know what caltrops are?" I asked him.

"WHAT?!" He looked around, desperately trying to search for anything he could use as a weapon. Crawling on the scorching ground, he sometimes decided to throw a loose rock or a handful of sand at my face, but compared to the bullets, those were simply too slow.

"Caltrops. They are these little spiky traps placed on the ground to stop horses or chariots, however, sometimes, they can easily puncture footwear as well. Especially if someone like me tells them to. And although these shards probably can't be labeled as such, well, they did the same job quite well."

"You... You planned this?!"

"Sort of. I wanted to use the shards only to slow you down at first, but then I eventually realized that even a momentary distraction would be enough to create an opening. Sure, the thing with two revolvers surprised me, so I had to shift my strategy around a bit, and sometimes, it was quite a close call, but in the end, everything went pretty much as I wanted. Divine creativity heightened your reflexes, so I needed something you wouldn't see coming. And shards of porcelain in the sand were perfect for that."

I aimed my revolver at the Gunslinger. Now was the perfect time to kill him. When the shock of defeat was still rattling his brain and the fear of death painted his face in beautiful shades of terror.

"Any last words?" I smiled. The victory felt sweeter than anything I had ever experienced before. For each of the innocents killed in the saloon and the city, I would return the pain and suffering.

"Yes." The man sighed and suddenly seemed much calmer than before. "Please... kill Ifrit. Nobody should have the power he possesses." I found it weird that he would wish for the death of his superior, but it was true that sometimes, I wanted to kill my publisher as well, so I simply thought of it as a sign of complicated relationships.

"Don't worry. I managed to beat your Divine Creativity, and I can most likely beat his as well. It's my power. I can make it listen. Of that, I am sure now."

"It's not Divine Creativity."

"I beg your pardon?"

"It's not it. He no longer has it."

"What do you mean? Who would have it if not him?"

"He traded it."

"Traded it? With who? For what?"

A long silence followed.

"ANSWER ME, GUNSLINGER!"

"I don't know with who. But he traded it for something far more terrifying. Please, be careful if you face him."

"Noted." I pulled the trigger, not even thinking about it all that much. The gunshot didn't even seem so loud this time. Gunslinger's brain flew out of his skull, and just like that, I killed a person. The idea always seemed so distant to me. In the past whenever I read or heard about a murder, I couldn't imagine how could any sane person commit something like that. But as I stood there, with blood dripping down my body and coloring my clothes red, adrenaline rushing through my veins, and my heartbeat drumming the sweet melody of thrill, I felt happy. This new world made me a killer, and I enjoyed it.