After the invasion had started, Crow had been tracking Amara at every opportunity he could manage. He had failed to kill Xain, and with that failure went the organization's larger objective, but at the very least he would still complete his own assignment, and his master's personal request. Amara. That was the target.
He had considered taking the shot multiple times. When she was busy dealing with the normal demons scattered across the battlefield, he had lined her up through his scope, but her fire shield had been active then, making the shot unreliable. Later, during her clash with Arkanis, the chaos of the fight had made positioning impossible, and he could not get close enough to guarantee a clean hit. Even during the battle against the Demon King, he had abandoned the idea entirely, because drawing attention to himself in that moment would have been suicide. Then came the aftermath, when everyone was focused on Annie, but Amara's fire shield still lingered, and he could not find a clean opening.
And then, finally, she lowered it.
She let herself relax.
Crow's lips slowly pulled into a grin as he lay atop the four story building overlooking the crater. "Finally," he whispered to himself as green flames flickered around his hands and his bone sniper rifle materialized already assembled and aimed. He had spent too long waiting for this moment to hesitate now. The barrel settled directly on her center mass, his breathing stopped, and his finger slowly tightened on the trigger. "Die you bitch," he muttered before firing.
The shot cracked across the battlefield like a whip.
The necrotic bone round tore through the air and struck Amara square in the back, the force driving the bullet deep into her body. Everyone turned at the sound just in time to see her stagger forward several steps. Blood spilled from the corners of her mouth as confusion crossed her face more than pain. "Huh?" she quietly muttered, her hand twitching slightly near the wound. "Oh… I got shot…" Her knees buckled immediately after and she started to fall forward.
"Amara!" Clara shouted as she rushed forward and caught her before she could hit the ground. Clara quickly pressed both hands against the wound, panic immediately setting into her voice. "A-are you okay?" she asked frantically, trying to stop the bleeding as blood soaked through her hands.
Amara let out a weak scoff, barely able to finish her thought. "What do you thi—"
Her body went limp.
Unconscious.
Bram, or I suppose now Wolf again, head snapped toward the building the instant the shot rang out, his eyes narrowing beneath the wolf mask. "For fuck sake, can't get a damn break!" he snapped before immediately turning toward Drimus. "Hey you! Take care of this bastard!" Without waiting for agreement he threw Ercale toward the demon, forcing Drimus to stumble forward and catch the unconscious Demon Lord in shock. "Whoa! Wha-what?" he muttered, nearly dropping him from the sudden weight, but by then Wolf was already gone, sprinting directly toward the building Crow had fired from.
Annabel dropped beside Amara immediately, leaning in close as she examined the wound. Her expression changed the moment she saw it. "Necrotic. It's a necrotic bullet."
Vilak's eyes widened sharply. "I-it's a what? We have to hurry! I-if she doesn't get healed quickly she'll rot!" he shouted, rushing in and pressing his hand over the wound. A faint stabilizing force spread from him as he tried to slow the corruption eating through her body.
"Goddess, why won't this day just end?" he muttered under his breath.
There was no time to argue.
They moved.
Clara carefully lifted Amara into her arms, adjusting her grip so as not to worsen the wound while still keeping pace. Vilak stayed close, struggling to maintain the healing focus as they retreated.
Meanwhile Crow stayed atop the building watching all of it unfold, but his focus quickly shifted when he saw Wolf charging directly toward him instead of retreating with the others. Crow immediately raised the sniper rifle again and fired another shot, but Wolf never slowed. With only his left hand, his non dominant hand, he drew the saber and cut clean through the incoming bullet with so little effort it looked almost casual.
Even injured, even with his dominant arm broken, even while using a type of sword he did not normally fight with, Wolf was still one of the heroes from five hundred years ago. Crow had spent his life assassinating and hunting powerful people, but compared to the man sprinting toward him now, all of them combined felt insignificant.
Seeing the bullet split apart harmlessly, Crow clicked his tongue before green flames erupted around the weapon again, the sniper rifle reshaping itself into an automatic rifle formed from twisting white bone. "Try and block this!" he shouted as he opened fire immediately.
The rifle roared to life, spraying a stream of necrotic rounds toward Wolf fast enough to shred apart normal fighters instantly, but Wolf jumped directly into the barrage instead of avoiding it. Mid-air his saber moved in rapid flashes, every swing intercepting another bullet with impossible precision. Sparks and shattered fragments scattered around him while he continued advancing through the gunfire instead of being slowed by it. Then, with one final swing, he struck several bullets at an angle and sent them screaming back toward Crow even faster than the rifle itself had fired them.
Crow's eyes widened in shock as he immediately ducked down, but not fast enough. Several reflected bullets tore into his shoulder while another grazed across the side of his head hard enough to draw blood. "What the fuck?" he muttered in disbelief as he looked back up—
—and Wolf was already there.
Saber raised overhead.
Even through the wolf mask, Crow could practically feel the sheer fury radiating from him.
"Just die and let me fucking rest for the day!"