An active hunter from Hokkaido was thrown into another world

Zombies, Shotguns, and Me – Chapters

Chapter 70 After all it is you!

“Click, click, click, chak, chak.”

I reload the shotgun shells I just used into the tube magazine.

I look at the zombie lying on the floor.

…I remember this. The hero.

The hero who came to this town in front of the shrine. The hero who arrived here with the witch and the monk.

The once shining armor is now covered in rust and dullness.

There are two holes in the chest, where slugs were lodged.

Can slugs penetrate even the high-quality armor that heroes use?

I might be a little unfair, I suppose.

Clutching an old, rust-covered sword.

A thick rope is wound around its neck.

“…This one should have been hung as a heretic.”

“Perhaps resurrected as a zombie.”

“Someone must have dug up the grave?”

“Only someone capable of…”

“What’s the noise about?”

Clank, clank, clank, clank.

Footsteps echo as someone enters the foyer from the west.

“Witch…”

Bal-san exclaims in surprise.

Indeed.

The witch from the witch trial, the one who should have been burned at the stake!

There’s no mistaking it.

The pointed hat, the all-black cloak, long gloves, high-heeled boots, and that oddly sized triangular string bikini!

With the hero present, I had already suspected it was her!

Bal-san stands in the center.

Saran and I quietly take positions on either side.

I aim to blend into the background, unnoticeable like a minion.

My shotgun is at my waist, ready.

“Defeated, hero? How pathetic, to be taken down by these brats.”

“Why are you still alive?”

Mmm, let’s leave this to Bal-san.

I’ll try to blend in, blend in.

Hide behind the conspicuously eye-catching Saran and, for now, the protagonist, Bal-san.

“I used a Transformation Spell. During the church trial, I enchanted that female priest and offered her as a substitute. I managed to escape,” she says, grinning with a new staff in hand. The air of intimidation hangs around her as she dangles the staff, and she laughs.

So, the one who got burned at the stake was the excommunicated priest… Quite the character.

“Is that why you’re researching zombies here, seeking revenge on the church and the Hunter’s Guild?”

“Hunter’s Guild? I don’t hold a grudge against hunters.”

“Then why release zombie pigeons at the guild?”

“Because you’re always shooting pigeons. There were plenty of fresh pigeon corpses in the trash heap. Since they belonged to the guild, they naturally returned there. It was convenient for experimentation. If you’re saying it, then the experiment was a success.”

Well, it seems I’m not really involved here. I was the one who shattered the magic stone in the witch’s staff back then, after all. I had thought that might be why the Hunter’s Guild was targeted.

She doesn’t seem to have realized that at all.

“The target was only the church then?”

“Exactly. They fawned over Hero-sama and the magician, only to turn on me and treat me like a witch once they discovered I’m just an old hag. It’s no joke. I haven’t done anything really wrong.”

Now that you mention it, that’s true.

“…You were trying to undo the seal on the Demon Lord’s shrine, right?”

“His idea,” she points to the corpse of the hero.

“He planned to revive the Demon Lord, defeat him, and become a legendary hero. Looking back, it was ridiculous. Absolutely foolish.”

“No doubt.”

“Now, I still have my revenge against the church. As for him, I’ll resurrect him later, but for now, you’ll die here. And you all will become zombies…”

The witch raises her staff high, poised to strike!

Zap!

I aimed the flashlight at the witch’s face, the shotgun steady at my hip.

For a brief moment, her movement froze, illuminated by the flashlight!

Bang! crack!

I rushed over to the fallen witch!

Straight into her heart!

Bang! crack!

Into her abdomen!

Bang! crack!

And into her neck!

Bang! crack!

The staff is lying on the ground.

I carefully aimed at the magic stone on that staff.

Bang! crack!

The magic stone shattered, spewing flames and bursting into pieces.

“Shin…”

“No mercy…”

Both Saran and Bal are taken aback.

“I apologize. I had a strong sense of danger.”

Clack, clack, clack, clack…

I swiftly reload the seven shotgun shells I just fired.

It’s become second nature by now. My body automatically does it without thinking.

When you shoot, you can’t hold back.

Overwhelm your opponent with firepower, without giving them a chance.

That’s the best approach.

I’ve learned that from playing countless biohazard-themed games. Gaming experience comes in handy.

“Bal, decapitate her.”

“Yeah… You’re really something. Even the Guild Master uses your skills.”

Bal swiftly draws his sword and cleanly severs the nearly severed neck of the witch. The corpse dries up with a shru-shru sound, now resembling the lifeless body of an old woman, almost like a chicken carcass. Maybe her glamourous, voluptuous appearance was due to her magical manipulation…

As for the hero, his head has been blown off, so that should be enough.

“Arrange the bodies side by side. We’ll cremate them.”

Bal drags the hero’s corpse and places it over the witch’s.

“Saran, here.”

While keeping watch with the M870, I take a can of kerosene from my magic bag and hand it to Saran.

Splash, splash, splash, splash.

“Step back.”

Once Saran finishes dousing the bodies with kerosene, she kicks away the still-burning fragments of the magic stone and sets fire to the corpses.

Fwoosh!

The witch’s cloak ignites from the flames of the magic stone, swirling up soot and smoke as the bodies become engulfed in flames in the center of the hall.

I open the main entrance of the hall and step outside.

Thick smoke billows out.

“Saran, toss these in.”

I hand Saran five more cans of kerosene.

From outside, she throws them one by one into the flames.

After a moment, *boom!* *boom!* The kerosene cans, heated by the fire, burst, further spreading the blaze, threatening to engulf the entire mansion.

I switch the barrel of my trusty M870 shotgun to a 26-inch full choke barrel.

Loading birdshot rounds.

I also prepare the other sawed-off M870, loaded with slugs.

Groans… Groans…

A zombie crashes through a second-floor window and drops down.

I swiftly approach and blast its head off with the sawed-off shotgun loaded with slugs.

*Thud, thud.*

A fluttering pigeon, about to escape, is taken down by my birdshot, designed for waterfowl hunting.

One down.

Two down.

…

This should be the last.

I toss the pigeon’s carcass into the blazing mansion through the main entrance.

“…I think this should suffice, Shin.”

“Yes.”

“But how should we report this?”

Bal shakes his head.

“Let’s just not report it.”

“However…”

“Do you really think anyone will believe such a story?”

“I don’t, but this mansion probably has remnants of various things the witch was researching. You can take those back with you.”

“Don’t you think it’s better if nothing like that remains?”

…

“Right, we can’t predict how those things might be misused.”

Saran nods.

“It’s a shame…”

Bal mutters.

“There’s an awfully strong scent of money here, but well, I guess we should give up.”

Exactly, Bal.

It’s because people like that have nefarious intentions that things like this happen.

“The witch who should’ve been burned by the church is alive. The hero turned into a zombie. Dark magic that turns corpses into zombies was being performed in an old noble mansion. Creating zombies can be done through magic. Who benefits from such a story being widely known?”

Bal nods in agreement.

“That’s right. Worst case scenario, we might get wiped out…”

“The authority of the church is plummeting, the involvement of the lord is suspect, and people who misuse such technology will only increase. It’s best to just pretend this never happened. There’s no need to inform the lord or the church.”

“Shin’s right. While an average hunter might exaggerate their achievements for personal gain, you’re clearly different, as always.”

Creak, Crash, Rumble…

The roof collapsed, a cascade of debris. Walls tumbled down, enshrouding the fallen zombie bodies that had spilled through shattered windows. The flames roared with greater intensity, their fiery tongues licking the sky.

Given the risk of a forest fire, we must stand guard until the flames extinguish themselves.

“However, that Shin from earlier was incredible.”

“What do you mean?”

Bal gazed at the blazing mansion and spoke thoughtfully.

“If it were me, I’d hesitate in a situation like that. The opponent is a woman, a wizard armed only with a staff. I couldn’t just instinctively strike with my sword. I’d need to assess what the opponent would do first before counterattacking.”

“Well, Bal-san, it’s because you’re confident in your own skills.”

“It’s impressive that you can make the split-second decision to kill in a situation like that…”

…

“I’m a coward, you see. I can only win by striking first. If I couldn’t shoot first, I’d be weak enough to be easily killed. I know very well that the gun, not me, is the powerful one.”

“Maybe it’s just that…”

In a gunfight, there’s no such thing as unfair play. There’s no point in engaging in a fair and square fight. As a modern-born hunter, I understand that well.

Neighboring farmers and villagers had gathered as well.

“It’s nothing much. We just got rid of the monsters that had taken up residence here. Sorry about the fire, but let it burn until it’s all gone. I’m Buffalo Bal, the Guild Master of the Hunter’s Guild.”

With those words, everyone kept a watchful eye on the spreading flames.

The back of the estate had collapsed into a landslide, so the fire shouldn’t spread to the mountains.

And thus, until morning, we stood alongside the villagers, watching the mansion burn to the ground.