Becoming a Hunter in a Dark Fantasy - Chapter 117
Only Noblemtl
Episode 117 ‘That’ (1)
Gale Garib. And the ancient being that had been sealed inside for a long time, the Demon King.
‘It’ was something that was a mixture of the two, and at the same time, neither of the two.
《Grrrrrrr… … .》
Without language, intelligence or reason, ‘it’ just walked.
There were two emotions that dominated ‘it’s’ mind.
The compulsion to rise up, to higher and brighter places. And… … .
─You have to kill him!
A murderous intent and hatred towards humanity boiling from deep within!
Destruction, ruin, rage, longing, betrayal, death, apocalypse, emptiness, chaos… …!
It felt like a wave of emotions, rushing in like a wildfire, was swallowing ‘it’ up.
It wasn’t just one person’s share. It was as if someone was whispering softly in my ear.
─Kill him.
‘It’ came out of the tower.
To release and relieve what is overflowing inside.
It was truly an instinctive movement.
Wheeing… … .
The whirlwind that seemed as if it would blow fiercely even if the world ended stopped as soon as ‘it’ came out.
As if even nature is afraid of ‘it’.
Snap.
‘It’ opened its mouth wide. The human mouth grew abnormally large, and black magic energy poured into it.
The ominous black magic obediently followed ‘it’s’ will.
In the blink of an eye, astounding magical power was gathered and compressed into a gigantic mouth that opened like a snout.
In that moment, silence fell for a moment.
《Kuaaaaaaaah!》
‘It’ roared. Starting with this, the black sphere that had been forming in its mouth shot out.
It was a magical sphere with an enormous density of concentrated magical power.
Kwaaaaang─!
The damage stretched in a straight line from where ‘it’ was standing to the ridge in the distance.
The heavy, thunderous sound of a mountain collapsing fell.
“Hipp!”
As the noise died down, all was quiet.
So the sound of someone hiccuping was unusually loud.
‘It’s’ gaze shifted.
There were Gnaud’s children desperately covering their mouths with their hands like ferns.
“Ugh, uh… … .”
“Ugh, ugh!”
The children seemed to have quickly realized the seriousness of the situation and were trying to suppress their sobs and tears.
The children’s bodies trembled with fear and terror.
Two men block the way as if they are trying to protect those children.
“What the heck is that… … ?”
“… … Ugh!”
Hake and Zerap’s complexions had also turned bloodless and pale. It was as if they were looking at a standing corpse.
“……game?”
Those who handled and used magic could feel it. With a very instinctive sense.
─’That thing’ is not human.
There is no way a mere mortal could possess such wicked magical powers!
“… … Huh! It’s incomparable to a manticore.”
I thought back to when I first encountered the manticore that Zerap had awakened in the labyrinth.
According to records in ancient ruins, Manticore was a king in ancient times.
A king of humans who rebelled against God. He eventually fell, but it seems to prove that a king is still a king.
The moment he first laid eyes on the manticore, the weight of its natural rulership seemed to weigh heavily on him.
–
But even those ancient monsters weren’t like this.
The magical aura surrounding it is terrifyingly evil.
It seemed to gather together all the hostility and hatred in the world.
The awe-inspiring sensation that makes your whole body tingle just by existing!
“Huh. I thought one time would be enough for that kind of experience… … .”
Zerap let out a laugh. His white breath dispersed in vain.
The difference was even greater for Zerap, who had actually obtained ‘dark attribute magic’ by trading with the Dark Church.
“Is that Gale? Or is it something that looks like Gale? Why?!”
Hake shouted as if he didn’t understand at all.
That would be the case, because the inhuman ‘thing’ in front of him looked almost exactly like Gale Garib.
Pupils that look like they were made of blood. The whites of the eyes are pitch black.
If it weren’t for the creepy black magic surrounding him, he looked so much like Gale that you would have mistakenly thought he was Gale.
This was actually natural. The ‘thing’ in front of me was indeed the flesh of Gale Garib.
However, Zerap and Hake did not know this and thought it was something similar in shape.
“… … I don’t know. But it’s definitely not the time to be leisurely chatting away.”
Zerap said, glaring ahead. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead.
“Coming.”
There was no time to think any more.
《Kaluk! Kaluk!》
Something that looked like Gale recognized them.
‘It’ stared at me intently and then smiled, showing its fangs. It seemed satisfied.
And then it started to slowly approach.
“… … .”
“… … .”
Zerap and Hake exchanged glances for a moment. They realized that, in a situation where they were on the verge of death, their thoughts were in agreement even without speaking.
Swish.
Hake quietly took out the dagger tied to his thigh, and Zeraf cast a spell.
There was no chance of winning anyway, so the two decided to do the best they could.
“Listen carefully, kids.”
They spoke without saying who would go first.
“While we are wasting time.”
“Run as far away as you can.”
The two ran out without even listening to the children’s answer.
Swaaaaaaah!
The tree trunks that suddenly appeared tried to capture ‘it’.
I never even thought about being quietly taken in.
‘Even if I just brush against the poisonous thorns on the tree trunk… …!’
The battle situation would become much more favorable. It was the Manticore’s venom that would corrode anything that touched it.
“Ice Spear! Poinion!”
From Zerap’s two magic circles, huge ice spears and bubbling masses of poison erupted.
Meanwhile, Hake approached ‘it’ with stealthy steps, pouring out all the secret knowledge he had.
‘This is your first and last chance!’
Both Hake and Zerap had a gut feeling that this might be their last moment in life.
《Grrrr!》
But the next moment, their desperate efforts were immediately blocked.
‘It’ quickly pulled out a sword from my waistband.
“That’s… …!!”
Hake, who had just confirmed the sword that ‘it’ had taken out, was certain that it was the artifact that Elwin had given to Gale.
‘Really, it’s Gayle.’
Clang! Clang!
The long, extended sword blade was swung like a whip. The sharp sword strikes, flexible and elastic, were fierce as if they were cutting all around.
Because of this, the attacks by Hake and Zerap were in vain.
Wow!
The ice spear shattered and shards of ice flew. The venomous mass lost its target and fell.
Countless baptisms of secret knowledge bounced off the blade.
《Crrrrrrr?》
‘It’ tilted its head. It seemed to ask, ‘Is this all there is to it?’
Immediately afterwards, as if it had guessed the answer on its own, ‘it’s’ gaze became noticeably withered.
Oh my.
The ‘thing’ that had lost interest opened its mouth again.
Once again, a huge, inhuman-looking mouth appeared, and an incredible amount of black magic gathered inside.
‘It’s the end.’
The two men sensed death.
To begin with, they were already somewhat worn out from dealing with the mountain elder and his subordinates.
There was no way to avoid it, and no means to avoid it.
They closed their eyes tightly. A flash of their lives flashed through their minds.
‘Frie, I’m sorry. I couldn’t save you… … .’
‘I should have had a serious talk with Nero at least once… … .’
And then came regrets about things I hadn’t finished.
Still, I didn’t want to die… … !!!
But, annoyingly, time, which had felt slow, suddenly accelerated rapidly.
I could feel the evil aura of the magic ball that ‘it’ had fired coming closer and closer.
That’s when! A voice was heard shouting from afar.
“Please sit down!”
It was a familiar voice. Hake’s cat ears perked up.
The decision was quick. Hake lifted up Zerap’s body, which he had not yet noticed, and stepped back.
“Hah, Hake? What are you doing!”
“Be quiet.”
Hake’s gaze turned upward.
“… … It looks like we survived after all.”
“what?”
Zerap’s eyes opened wide as he looked up following Hake.
A long golden curve was visible across the distant sky.
Boom!
A tooth wrapped in a splendid golden light suddenly fell down.
Like a shooting star in the middle of the night. Sudden and wonderful.
“Ha. You finally woke up.”
But he is not a star, he is a person. There was a crater where he landed.
Elwin drew his sword like lightning and instantly cut down the magical orb with terrifying power.
Kukwaaang!
The magical sphere that had been shattered and split apart exploded, leaving behind a ripple effect.
Elwin, who had been standing still with his golden cloak fluttering, looked back and smiled.
“Fortunately, it’s not too late this time either. Are you both okay?”
“Ah, ah! I’m fine!”
“… …Thanks to you, I’m safe.”
Without realizing it, all the tension in my body was released. My body, which had been trembling like an aspen tree, regained its warmth.
Hake looked up at Elwin blankly.
‘… … This is what it felt like.’
Because in the last labyrinth, I pretended to be dead and hid my body in illusions.
I didn’t notice it because I was more wary of the Yellow Special Hunter than the Manticore.
‘The feeling of being protected by someone.’
It felt so strange to me to be so sure and deeply relieved that I was ‘safe’ when that person was around.
Not only Hake, but also Zerap shared a similar feeling.
However, Zerap was already eaten by the manticore and was not there when Elwin appeared.
“This is special… … .”
Because he too had never been protected or saved by anyone in his life.
“You two, stay away from here. I think we’ll have to resort to force.”
Elwin, who was mumbling, looked ahead with a scary expression.
Because of the creepy way his lips rose slightly, Hake nodded silently and stepped back, holding the Zerap at his side.
“Really… … I got kidnapped so suddenly.”
Although he spoke in a gentle tone, there was a clear hostility and competitive spirit within him.
“game.”
《Kurrrrrr!》
‘It’s’ reaction to facing Elwin was completely different from the relaxed attitude it had shown until now.
He was on guard, his whole body tensing up like an animal facing its nemesis.
《Kaaaaaaah!》
It was ‘it’ that took the initiative. It opened its mouth wide and fired a dozen magical balls in an instant.
They were smaller than the previous ones, but there were more of them.
If each one hits, it is powerful enough to tear apart delicate skin.
“Why do we fight a war of attrition?”
But Elwin easily cut them all down.
“You already know it won’t work anyway.”
Pubberbubung!
The remnants of magical power scattered and a cloud of dust rose.
Taking advantage of the gap in vision, ‘it’ quickly approached Elwin.
Wheeeeeek!
He swung his sword towards where Elwin was. Elwin chose to evade rather than defend himself.
“… …Do you have Gale’s memories too?”
Elwin’s gaze was momentarily stolen by the sight of the long blade cutting through the ground.
《Keukkaak!》
The ‘thing’ that came right up to his nose started laughing and giggling.
He aimed his magic gun at Elwin… … no, at the sword Elwin was holding.
Paaang!
Elwin reflexively raised his sword to block the bullet that was fired unexpectedly.
Chaenggang-!
“oh.”
Elwin’s sword broke as he was unable to overcome the shock.
‘It’s’ target was not Elwin, but Elwin’s sword!