“Grrr—”

A beast’s low growl rose from the darkness in the distance. Kanata caught sight of a pair of eerie green eyes, flickering in and out of view within the tangled shrubs as tall as a person.

That huge shadow brushed against the grass at its side, rustling as it moved. It darted through the undergrowth fast.

Only then did Kanata remember she’d forgotten to turn on her night-vision goggles. She switched them on in a hurry, and finally saw what it was.

A werewolf, more than a meter taller than a human. It could walk upright. Both its hands and feet had sharp claws, enough to tear through rock and steel. If it scratched someone, there was a high chance they’d be infected by a sub-virus of the Killer Virus—the werewolf virus.

Just like how Alessia had been wounded by a vampire bat and turned into a humanoid vampire, that person could also become a werewolf.

“I’ve heard wolves and bats are mortal enemies... If I turned into a werewolf, the first thing I’d do is bite that woman’s throat out.”

Kanata gave a bitter smile. Surely it couldn’t be that unlucky, right? She was wearing such heavy protective gear and armor, and holding the most advanced laser gun in the world. What could really happen to her?

Once she made some money, she could take Nozomi to that famous restaurant and have a huge meal. Just thinking about it made her happy.

But how was she supposed to get that werewolf’s crystal core? It wasn’t especially rare, but it could still sell for tens of thousands on the market. After all, it could be used as medicinal material, like for making serum against the werewolf virus.

The werewolf still hadn’t noticed Kanata hiding in the dark. It was only watching and sensing its surroundings. Up to now, Kanata had no actual combat experience. She’d deliberately applied to work as a helper in logistics, just to avoid going to the front lines and putting herself in danger.

Her dream had been to go to the front lines. Unfortunately, Nozomi had been deeply worried before, so she had no choice but to give up on that idea. That also drew plenty of ridicule. Everyone thought she was a coward, a shameful little weakling.

Those cutting words had stirred up Kanata’s competitive streak. She felt she had to accomplish something, no matter what. Even if it meant... breaking the laws of Falling Cherry City.

There were many ways to attack a magical beast. Setting traps was the safer option, but there was no pit here, no time, no materials, and no partner to act as bait and lure it in, so that plan was an instant pass.

“What do I do... This thing’s worth tens of thousands.”

If she let money like that slip away and wander off to someone else, she’d regret it so badly her guts would turn green after getting home. So there was no way that was happening.

Alessia’s mockery and Gen’s utterly remorseless words were still ringing in her ears. That was basically a shot of adrenaline straight into Kanata.

“Guess I can only charge it head-on.”

A real man once upon a time—so what if it was just a werewolf? She could definitely kill it.

She switched her gun to explosive mode and loaded the kind of rounds with tiny bombs built inside. This ammo was powerful, and expensive too. In a place like this, every single bullet had to count. Waste was not an option, and its power was directly proportional to its price.

The werewolf’s advantage was speed. It attacked fast too, and hit hard. But it wasn’t especially tanky. Even so, it still wasn’t easy for a human to deal with.

Going in alone with just one gun, of course she was nervous as hell.

“Right, I can also use a weakening agent on magical beasts.”

She had some in her supply pack. It was similar to the tranquilizer needles hunters used. That weakening agent also came in syringe form, and could be loaded onto a gun and fired at the magical beast being hunted, giving it a brief weakening effect.

This kind of thing depended a lot on luck. If the syringe missed, she’d have to keep trying a second or third time—assuming she didn’t get smashed to pieces first.

“Then—”

Kanata aimed at the werewolf’s body and pulled the trigger hard.

“Whoosh—”

The weakening agent reached its target without a hitch.