A moment of meaningful silence fell upon the dead town as the bandits slowed their pace and spread out, seeking their elusive prey. The sand-choked air was thick with the deadly tension of combat, punctuated by heavy footfalls and labored breathing.<br/><br/>This tentative peace lasted for a time as Vic lay hidden in the darkened, empty building, momentarily protected by his invisibility. He clutched his gun to his chest, eyes closed and consolidating his willpower in preparation.<br/><br/>The silence was suddenly shattered by screaming and death.<br/><br/>One of bandits was being violently murdered, his dying wails bleeding into whimpers and finally merciful silence as his body was broken by some unseen monster. Vic's eyes shot open, breath suddenly frozen in the air. He peeked out from the shadowed doorway to see a massive human toss aside the mangled, bleeding corpse of a bandit and stare wickedly at the other bandits, silently challenging them to take a shot at him.<br/><br/><span style="color: #008000">"Dear God..."</span>Vic gasped beneath his breath, shocked by the ease with which this man tore apart the bandit and threw him aside, as if he was nothing.<br/><br/>Blood took this as cue to enter. He leapt out of the shadows and uncloaked mid-flight, taking one of the bandits to the ground with ease and skewering him through with his spiked tail. This ambush shocked the other bandits into action, causing them to take cover and began to fire upon both the stalker and the monstrous human. Bullets began to fill the air, knocking up a thick layer of dust that soon permeated the town square and made it difficult to clearly see.<br/><br/>Vic, ignoring his downed shields, set his sights on one of the bandits nearest to him before taking a few measured shots before slinking back into the wooden building. Each bullet connected with the bandit's torso with a dull thud. A look of mute pain and surprise shot across the bandit's face as he slumped into the dirt, lifeless.<br/><br/>The battle had been met and was quickly in full swing. Three dead, five more bandits in sight.