Becoming a Hunter in a Dark Fantasy - Chapter 96
Only Noblemtl
Episode 96: The Resurrection of a Lion (3)
“No, that’s not a wrong expression, is it? If it weren’t for Gale’s help, Mr. Zeraf wouldn’t have been able to survive.”
Elwin said, blinking his eyes innocently.
“Why are you so angry, Gail?”
“Eeeeek-! This spoiled brat! The chairman’s analogy is exactly right, exactly right! He’s such a well-mannered brat! No, I don’t think the adjective ‘well-mannered’ is even appropriate anymore!?”
Gale, who was hitting his chest as if he was frustrated, shouted at Elwin who was grumbling.
“What polite gentleman would suddenly turn a promising young man into a widower with a child! I’m not even married yet!”
Elwin scratched his cheek awkwardly as Gale screamed in agony.
“Haha, sorry. I told you I was just joking. Cheer up.”
“That’s enough! An apology that’s just words is meaningless. It’s meaningless.”
Gail snorted loudly.
“Oh, right. Then… … Shall I do it like Mr. Dalton Pactio? Since Gail likes money.”
Elwin, who had been searching through the subspace, took out a heavy pouch.
Gail, who was curious about the unusual appearance, showed a hint of interest.
“Gail. Is this enough to appease your anger?”
“Treat me like a dog.”
Gail’s expression softened as she looked at the gleaming gold bars. Her hands clasped together politely and her waist naturally bowed.
Gayle Garib, he was a man steeped in thoroughgoing capitalism.
“Gail is already my dog. I hired her.”
“Woof woof woof! Arrrrr!”
“… … .”
As he watched the conversation between the two people, which was like a comical talk, Jerap Gnaud felt dizzy.
‘Why am I here? … … Why do I have to be here?’
I felt like I wanted to go back to that strange space from before.
Elwin’s gaze fell on Zerap, who was lying there like a bundle of clothes.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I kept you waiting.”
“… … No. You are the one who saved me.”
The boy in front of you, who introduced himself as ‘Lewin’, saved Zerap Gnaud.
Although his kidney was cut in half, his appearance also changed as if he had been rejuvenated.
‘This appearance… … when I was around 10 years old.’
I honestly don’t know how, but since those two people were in front of Zerap when he first opened his eyes, there must be some kind of connection.
“How are you feeling?”
“… … It couldn’t be more perfect.”
It was real. I wondered if I had ever been this energetic in my life.
What is this powerful magical power that envelops my entire body?
Zerap Gnaud’s original innate magical attribute is ‘ice’.
He had the opposite nature of the Gnaud clan, who dealt with tree roots and plants, so he was able to receive special treatment within the clan when he was young.
‘In order to liberate the Manticore, my original magical properties were taken away in a deal with the Dark Cult… … .’
But guess what? The current him had a completely different attribute of magic flowing through his body, neither the dark attribute he had acquired through his deal with the Dark Cult nor his original ice attribute.
“You may be wondering. How did I save Mr. Zerap from being ‘eaten’ by the Manticore, and why did I spare you? And… … .”
The boy folded his eyes and smiled, pointing at himself.
“Who on earth is this person who can do such a thing so brazenly?”
“… … That’s right. In fact, I don’t understand everything that’s going on around me right now.”
Zerap confessed honestly.
‘I remember seeing that gray-haired man. He was a candidate for the Hunter Exam. He was also in the showdown with the Manticore.’
But who on earth is that blond boy? It was a complete stranger.
‘What an extraordinary person.’
But Zerap could tell that the boy was no ordinary man.
‘The flow of magical power surrounding the author is unusual.’
If it had been the original him… … if it had been him, a genius among ordinary people, an ordinary person among geniuses, it might have been hard to notice.
For some reason, the flow of magical power around him was clearly visible to Zerap’s eyes.
Lies and beating around the bush won’t work.
“To get straight to the point, I saved you to use you. Mr. Zeraf, you’re a member of the Gnaud clan. You have the unique trait of sacrificial prey.”
“… … ! Do you know… … about our clan?”
Zerap’s eyes shook greatly. The secret of the Gnaud clan was known only to them for generations!
Although he was a Zerap who betrayed his clan, he did not go around telling people about the clan’s secrets.
Even though he betrayed his clan to save Freee, his love for his clan still remained unchanged.
“I know.”
That’s why it was so surprising that the boy in front of him knew about the secret that the Gnaud clan was trying so hard to keep!
Because it meant that someone in the clan had revealed their secret to others.
“The Gnaud clan grants great powers to those they eat by being ‘eaten’ as a sacrifice.”
“……you’re right.”
But now was not the time to question him. Zerap was in no position to do so.
Gail asked curtly at his soft affirmation.
“Then how did he survive? That guy got eaten by a manticore. Yum yum, gulp.”
Gail continued speaking in his usual lighthearted manner, but the air surrounding him had become noticeably heavier.
“I’m curious about this old man too. He suddenly brought me here asking for help, and then told me to pour my magic power into a bright red rock.”
“… … A stone?”
Zerap muttered, his voice cracking. Gale chuckled, finding it amusing.
“Oh. Then suddenly a dazzling light came out of the rock and voila-!”
Gale playfully patted Zeraph Gnaud’s forehead.
Zeraph swatted away Gale’s fingers as soon as they touched him. Gale shrugged in a sarcastic manner.
“There you were. You looked like a ten-year-old.”
Gail’s eyes were not friendly, even in empty words.
It was because he was caught up in Zerap’s atrocities in the labyrinth and almost died.
“I don’t know what happened, but thanks to me, that guy was saved. I think I have the right to know, kid. Don’t you think so?”
“I was going to tell you without you having to nag me like that.”
“Tok, knock,” said Elwin, tapping the surface of the desk.
“The Gnaud clan’s characteristic of sacrificial prey. This is a trait that has been used in reverse.”
“Reverse use?”
“… … ?”
As Gale and Zeraph looked puzzled, Elwin slowly explained.
This was information that came from “Rampas”.
The Gnaud clan, who make their opponents stronger by becoming ‘sacrifices’ and being preyed on.
When sacrificed, the Gnaud clan members either turn into dry old trees or into round, lumpy stones.
“But that doesn’t mean there’s no way to save the Gnaud clan who were sacrificed.”
First, kill the opponent that has become stronger by preying on the Gnaud clan, and then take out the heart, the part where magical power is concentrated.
“I killed the manticore and got two loots, one of which was the manticore’s core. And in that core, in addition to the manticore’s magic power, there was your spirit and flesh, Mr. Zeraf, melted into it.”
“… … !!”
It pours light or holy attribute magic power over the ‘core’.
Since the magic power of light and the holy attribute is the purest of all magic powers in existence, it was able to restore the melted spirit and flesh to their original state.
Of course, the uniqueness of the Gnaud clan also played a part in making such a shortcut possible.
“That’s why I joked at first that Gail was Mr. Zeraf’s father.”
If Gale had not removed the Manticore’s evil and unclean magic, Zeraf Gnaud would never have been able to resurrect from his ‘predatory state’.
The person who helped me to exist solely outside of the world once again.
What else could that person be but a ‘parent’?
“Anyway, if we go through the purification process I mentioned earlier, we can save the Gnaud clan that was devoured as a sacrifice!”
In addition, the Gnaud clan that came back to life gains a new ability, which is… … .
“The point is that they can make the power of the opponent they have eaten their own.”
“… … !! If that’s true… … ?!”
Zerap stood up from his seat in shock.
Elwin said with a grin.
“Mr. Zerap, you have inherited the power of Manticore.”
At that moment, goosebumps ran through Zerap’s entire body.
The awe and fear I felt when I first encountered the manticore is still vivid.
Zerap opened and closed his hands repeatedly.
‘I have that kind of power?’
I couldn’t believe it at all. I was dumbfounded, but I didn’t have time to think about it any deeper.
“The reason I woke up Mr. Zerap. Let me tell you about that too.”
It was because Elwin continued the conversation in a serious voice. Zerap focused on what he was saying.
“Currently, Deficio is making plans to revive the King of Water.”
“S, the King? That’s… … the wish of the Gnaud clan, not Deficio’s goal, right?”
But Elwin shook his head firmly.
“No. It’s relevant. Deficio’s cause is… … to erase the Kingdom of Batevils and establish a kingdom of only foreign races in its place. To that end, he is trying to revive the Water King.”
“… … !”
“You know, sometimes the presence or absence of a strong force can be a kind of coercive force.”
If you’re a Rampasian, you probably don’t know. The existing special hunters are killing the endless monsters that are reviving on each continent, and they act as a deterrent to prevent conflicts between continents.
So maybe it could be seen as a valid idea…
‘Overthrow of the state?’
Zerap felt dizzy. His weak mind could not bear the spicy taste of those words.
In fact, he had guessed that King Suin would be resurrected, but he thought that it would be an impossible wish anyway.
But if you listen to what the boy has to say, doesn’t it seem like his brother is going smoothly with both the overthrow of the nation and the revival of King Suin?
“Is that… … possible?”
Unlike the monsters that were sealed in the distant past, the Water King was clearly ‘exterminated’ by a special hunter.
They cut off his limbs, cut off his head, and hung it at the city gate. The pieces of his body were then eaten by wild animals.
Moreover, it had already been about 500 years since King Suin died!
“There won’t even be a body left.”
Isn’t that completely absurd?
“……well.”
But Elwin thought differently.
Because, regardless of what he knows about the original, he doesn’t think the lack of a body is a problem at all.
If there is no body… … why don’t you create one?
“Now it’s time to tell me about myself.”
Elwin stood up gracefully from his seat, placed his hand on my heart, and bowed slightly.
“Nice to meet you again.”
A hunter-style greeting that contains the will to contribute to humanity by hanging it on the heart, the area where magical power gathers.
“I am Lwin Regisel, the vice-captain of Spero, a special hunter group directly under the Emperor.”
“The Emperor… is a special hunter!?”
As Zerap’s eyes popped out in surprise, Gale, who was standing a little further away, clicked his tongue.
Then he muttered to himself, ‘There are more victims of the kid’s blackmail scam.’
“He learned of Deficio’s misdeeds from the Mediale, and soon dispatched us. We need your help to stop Deficio, Mr. Zeraf.”
Elwin suggested.
“If you help us… … we’ll save your lover. Hey, if you get Gale’s help, we can save her.”
“Please take good care of me!”
Without hesitation, Zerap grabbed Elwin’s hand.
But soon he added hesitantly.
“Ugh… … But, would a dull wizard like me be of any help?”
When Zerap spoke as if he was not sure, Elwin smiled broadly.
“I don’t know about the old you, but the current you is enough.”
Elwin confirmed in a confident tone.
This is because Zerap Gnaud, who was ‘eaten’ by a manticore and then revived, was a public thug in ‘Rampas’.