No one knows how the world will turn out. Tomorrow might be the best day, or tomorrow might be the worst day, but in the end, the world keeps turning.
Even if you won't have the chance to see it tomorrow, there's still a silver lining in the misfortune. At least knowing how much longer you have left to live is enough to keep you moving forward.
The boots striking the concrete amidst the raindrops falling on Ark's feet made him stop walking and look up at the sky.
The image of the black clouds reflecting in his eyes, along with the rain falling from those black clouds, struck his face.
Leaving his hood, face, and black hair soaked with rainwater, while the drops flowed down his face onto his black leather jacket.
The water drops falling on his golden eyes blurred his surroundings, making him close his eyes as the sound of rain hitting the ground drowned out the wind.
Even his violently beating heart gradually calmed down from the coldness of the water seeping into his body through his long-sleeved shirt and leather jacket.
As the wind hit his body and face, the freezing air made him take a deep breath, and the scent of the rain made him slowly open his eyes and look straight ahead.
Revealing a street covered in rain, while the road's surface was gradually blanketed by the rain like a mist.
But Ark, who was standing still in the rain, lifted his foot from the ground that had become a small puddle, and continued walking, his feet touching the ground.
Causing the puddle to ripple slightly before he walked through the rain with his golden-yellow eyes, which glowed faintly in the darkness that was beginning to swallow everything in sight.
And finally, the darkness swallowed everything around him, leaving him to see nothing but darkness and hear only the sound of the rain.
Along with the heavy sensation of the downpour. Right then, everything flashed brightly in the blink of an eye, revealing the figure of a cloaked man standing in the rain, water running down his skull mask.
The man appeared for just a brief moment before the light vanished, causing Ark to stop in his tracks while still staring straight ahead.
And right then, the sound of thunder clapped again, and a flash of lightning struck down upon him and the skull-masked man who was walking closer.
Before everything returned to darkness, replaced by the rain falling even heavier than before, its sound drowning out every other noise around them.
Ark, still standing motionless, lowered his right hand to the side of his leg, gripping the handle of his gun and unlocking the holster.
But the gun wasn't drawn yet, as the rain continued to flow down his leather jacket, along his gloves, and onto the black gun in his hand.
He kept his gaze forward and saw the black shadow beginning to emerge through the rain, now only five meters away.
At that moment, the enemy suddenly stopped walking, and Ark's hand gripping the gun twitched slightly. Yet even so, his hand still did not draw the gun from its holster.
Right then, a flash of lightning illuminated the scene, leaving the two of them standing face-to-face, separated by a mere five meters.
As the flash faded, the roar of thunder followed. Just then, the voice of the man in front of him rang out through the rain.
"My eyes aren't playing tricks on me, are they? The guy who was supposed to be dead two days ago is showing up right in front of me with the goods."
The black shadow ahead raised both of its hands slightly in the rain. When Ark remained silent, the man, seeing no response, lowered his hands and spoke.
"But then again, you wouldn't be a legend if you didn't have the skills to cheat death time and time again like this. Even if it meant getting shot out of the sky by that sniper from a kilometer away, right, Ark Morgan? Or should I call you Cowboy?"
"..."
Seeing that the person in front of him wasn't going to reply, he looked down and spoke in a more serious tone.
"Not talking, huh? Makes sense. Neither you nor I probably have much time. So tell me, what exactly do you want?"
He looked up at Ark, who stood motionless in front of him. Ark then let go of his gun, grabbed the strap of the case, pulled it off his shoulder, and threw it to the ground.
The black case hit the ground and bounced over to his feet, prompting him to look up at Ark's face.
Seeing the man in front of him reach down next to his gun, he glanced down at the case on the ground.
When the lightning flashed, the black case below became clear in his sight. Seeing it, he bent down to pick it up and inspect it.
After looking at the case for a moment, he turned to Ark, who was still standing completely still in the rain. He then turned his attention back to the cloth-wrapped case, unwrapped it, and opened it.
The rain poured into the case as the lightning reflected inside the empty interior.
Seeing this, he stood quietly staring at the inside of the case before looking up, only to find Ark with his gun raised to waist level, aiming right at him.
Seeing this, he raised both of his hands, lowered his head, and shook it slightly side to side.
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"So that's how it is. The goods have already been hidden. Just as I thought, someone of your level wouldn't just stroll out in the open without a contingency plan."
A low chuckle escaped his throat before he looked up.
"What do you want?"
Ark, who had been completely still all this time, moved his lips for the first time.
"Three high-grade fruits. No more than three hours, on this street."
Hearing that, the man fell completely silent before speaking up.
"But in the initial agreement, you only wanted one mid-grade fruit, didn't you? Isn't this taking advantage a bit too much?"
The sound of a hammer being fully cocked echoed from Ark without him saying a word, making the man nod gently.
"Sure, fine. But how can we be sure we'll get the goods?"
"And how can I be sure you guys won't hunt me down like you did two days ago?"
"...Fair enough. Then we have a deal."
He slowly stepped backward into the rain while Ark stood silently watching him.
Right then, the case was hurled straight at Ark. Seeing this, Ark's eyes widened, and he quickly ducked, instantly pulling his gun tight against his chest!
Revealing the cloaked man who had appeared on his left, his right foot sweeping past Ark's head in the blink of an eye!
Ark looked up and tilted the barrel of his gun upward, firing off a silenced shot that was muffled by the pouring rain!
But Ark was kicked in the left shoulder almost immediately as the enemy regained their footing in a split second!
The blow sent Ark crashing into the building on the right!
With a loud, resounding crash, the skull-masked man turned to look at where Ark had been launched.
He was about to charge in but froze when he heard a cracking sound, and in that very second...
A crack appeared on the left eye of his skull mask before the white fragment fell to the ground, letting his golden eye shine in the dark.
Raising his right hand to touch his mask slightly, he looked at his hand holding the shattered piece of the mask.
He looked up, and in that instant, a soft swoosh cut through the air as his left shoulder violently jerked backward!
Stumbling back, he quickly ducked as the sound of three more bullets ripping through the air echoed continuously from the front, forcing him to sprint for cover to his right!
The bullets whizzed right past his side, driving him to run a wide arc and charge straight at the spot where he had heard Ark hit the wall.
When he arrived, all he found was a cracked building wall. Ark had vanished. Seeing this, he looked over at the building's window and vaulted inside immediately.
He quickly did a forward roll just as the sound of three consecutive bullets tearing through the air rang out inside the building!
Rolling up into a crouch, he instantly leaped forward, landing right behind a large concrete pillar!
Sitting up behind the pillar, he pressed his back against it, took a breath, and spoke.
"That gun wouldn't happen to be modified with monster parts, would it? Because if it is, that's some pretty decent gear."
He shifted to his left and peeked his head out slightly from behind the pillar.
Just then, his skull mask took a massive impact! He immediately yanked his head back, only to find the right side of his mask shattering as the pieces fell to the floor.
Seeing this, he stared at it for a moment before standing up and speaking.
"So that's how we're playing? Fine."
He pivoted to the right, exposing his body just a fraction, before quickly snapping back to the left and lunging out instantly! As he looked to his left...
He found Ark only two meters away, charging right at him!
His eyes widened in shock as Ark's left shoulder slammed into his ribs, slamming his entire body down onto the floor!
The brutal impact from the floor sent shockwaves through his body, causing him to actually bounce slightly off the ground!
But Ark pinned him down, pulling back his left arm and driving his elbow into his stomach to keep him firmly on the ground.
Then, he raised his right hand, pressed the gun against his ribs, and pulled the trigger four times in a row!
Locking the slide back instantly! Ark quickly scrambled to mount him, only to be met with a vicious right hook to the face! The punch sent Ark flying off him to the left!
Ark, now on the floor, quickly got up while glaring at the man, watching as he slowly rose from the ground.
Flattened bullets dropped to the floor one by one until all four hit the ground, and the man stood up firmly.
Ark stood back up, a trace of blood trickling from the left corner of his mouth. He used the back of his right hand, which was holding the gun, to wipe the blood away, keeping his eyes locked on the man while his left hand pushed him fully off the ground.
The two of them locked eyes in the darkness, surrounded by the sound of rain from outside, water dripping from their clothes onto the perfectly dry floor inside the building.
Thunder roared along with a blinding flash of lightning! The masked man charged straight at him!
Ark whipped his gun forward, launching the magazine right at the man's face!
The man ducked, dodging the magazine as it flew past his face! He tackled Ark with both arms spread wide!
Slipping under Ark in a fraction of a second, he drove his right shoulder into Ark's torso, lifting him entirely off the ground!
Suspended mid-air, Ark raised his gun just as he was being slammed into the floor! He brought the gun's grip down to smash the back of the masked man's head!
But the devastating impact from the floor transferring up his back, accompanied by a deafening thud, made him cough up blood. The gun's grip ended up striking the man's back instead of his head!
Feeling the strike on his back, the masked man immediately sat up, mounting Ark. He grabbed Ark's right wrist with his left hand and pinned it fiercely to the floor!
In response, Ark used his free left hand to throw a punch directly at the man's face! Yet it only made him turn his head slightly!
Seeing this, Ark threw another punch at his face! But his left fist came to a dead halt just a few centimeters away!
His punch was blocked completely by the opponent's right arm.
The masked man then smashed Ark's right hand onto the floor again, forcing the gun out of his grasp.
Turning back to lock eyes with Ark, the masked man pulled his head back before viciously slamming his forehead down!
The sound of cracking concrete echoed loudly as he pulled his head back up, only to see that Ark had twisted his head all the way to the right, narrowly dodging the attack!
Taking the opening, Ark slipped his left hand past the man's arm and delivered a brutal knife-hand strike straight to his throat!
This caused the man to falter, his left hand gripping Ark's right wrist loosening slightly! Ark ripped his wrist free, twisted his body on the floor, and drove his right elbow straight into the masked man's temple!
But the masked man managed to raise his left arm and block it just in time! Even so, the sheer force of the elbow strike knocked him off Ark and onto the floor!
Still lying down, Ark planted his foot into the center of the masked man's torso and kicked! The push sent Ark sliding backward while launching the masked man backward as well.
Ark sat up and snatched his gun with his right hand, using his left hand to draw a magazine from his left waist. He slammed it in, racked the slide all the way, and aimed right at the masked man!
The masked man, now sitting on the floor, frantically dove to his left to take cover just as two consecutive gunshots rang out!
Seeing his opponent safely duck behind a pillar, Ark quickly got up from the floor and bolted behind a pillar of his own.
Ark's shaky, heavy panting echoed, though the sound was soon swallowed by the relentless rain and thunder from outside.
Leaving him hearing nothing but the violent beating of his own heart and the sound of the rain.
He took a deep breath, looked down slightly at his gun, and pulled the slide back, revealing the bullet chambered inside.
Seeing this, he let go of the slide, looked up, and leaned out slightly to peek from behind the pillar, his eyes locked on the pillar where his enemy was hiding. He then stepped back, pressing himself against the wall, tilted his head up slightly, and closed his eyes.
Making everything go completely dark, as the sound of the rain roaring around him slowly faded away. Until finally, everything fell dead silent.
