Chapter 48: Bron vs Bullets
Tobias fires three different bullets, each ricocheting around the area. In defense, he turns his whole body to stone.
"How do you plan on getting your bullets to penetrate my hard stone?"
Tobias smiles and unloads the last two bullets from the cylinder, replacing them with a different set.
"Reckon you still ain’t graspin’ the gravity of things here. Like the Good Book says, ’Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.’ And I’ll do just that, ’cause you ain’t a man of God—but I am. And let me tell ya, nothin’ but His will is gonna shield you from what’s comin’ your way."
He points his gun straight at Erling’s chest. Erling senses a growing discomfort from the way the cowboy looks at him. Tobias fires a bullet straight at him; unlike the others, this one moves faster and with greater precision. Doubting his armor’s ability to fend it off, Erling dodges just in time, the bullet scraping his armor. The bullet stops midair, turns toward Erling again, and shoots itself at him once more.
Because his armor slows him down, Erling is forced to weaken his defense to move faster and counterattack. The moment he reduces the stone’s volume, Tobias shoots another bullet at him. Erling moves swiftly, dodging the second bullet. He charges straight at Tobias and leaps high for a powerful punch.
Tobias leaps backward, creating distance between them. While jumping, he fires the rest of his bullets. As he lands, all six bullets converge on Erling from all directions. Erling quickly hardens his armor but barely in time before the bullets strike. Explosions erupt from his position as the bullets hit.
When the smoke clears, his stone armor is cracked and falling apart, exposing his human skin. He quickly discards the damaged armor and forms a new one.
"I see you’re already using your awakened power."
"Well now, is that so? What of it, you ask? Reckon it don’t change a thing."