Chapter 22

C22: Hunter in the Mechanical Clockwork City (1)

Chapter 3/3 for the week. I finally made up for the missed releases.

5 years ago Durman Kingdom, one of the small and medium-sized countries in the southern part of the continent, suffered from a headache due to the sudden infestation of cryptids.

The nightmare continued for over a month, with wolves roaming in the middle of the city, bizarre beasts devouring people every night, and the smell of blood lingering for more than a month.

Even if the soldiers and knights were put in, the cryptids flirted with the knights and avoided their encirclement. The situation escalated without a solution.

Among them was one of the most infamous Cryptids. It was a monster who was active in Jévaudan, one of the major cities of the Durman Kingdom. This guy was a rare monster that ate three knights who could be called elite soldiers. It was Jévaudan nightmare, and the worst cryptid that reigned as the kingdom's terror.

King Durman sent out an official announcement that he would give a huge reward to those who subdue the Cryptids and all kinds of freelance wizards, wandering knights, and famous mercenaries from the continent that had heard the rumors gathered in the Durman Kingdom and started a massive cryptid subjugation operation.

Countless cryptids have died, and many hunters have died as well. People called the hunt at that time 'The Bloody Night' because the blood that was shed at that time stained the ground red.

The Bloody Night was enough to establish the reputation of many people. At that time, there was one man who left the greatest achievement. A person who defeated the most notorious monster in Jévaudan alone, and achieved the highest killing record for other Cryptids.

He was neither a famous wizard nor a famous high-ranking knight, nor an elite mercenary, he was just a hunter.

The hunter was adept at handling all kinds of tools and weapons, and for a year after Blood Night, he traveled all over Durman, killing more than three digits of Cryptids.

The name of the hunter who is also famous for not revealing his identity was 'Abraham van Helsing'.

* * *

Rudger, fully equipped, walked slowly to the side of the road.

A damp night mist fell over the coat. Around the street lamp, a hazy scarlet light spreads dimly, as if it drank water from the mist. The stench of the beast, which secretly wafted through the smell of the mud, brushed the tip of his nose.

'It's a memory.'

"Bang!"

Rudger immediately kicked a drum blown in the street with his foot.

"Kudang!"

As the drum collapsed, an intense noise echoed through the air. The werewolf, who was searching for his prey, heard the sound and turned his head. Those ferocious eyes found Rudger standing alone in the center of the boulevard.

"Crung."

The werewolf jumped from the roof of the building and got down in front of Rudger.

'Big.'

Rudger was able to take a closer look at the werewolf. His height was about 2.5m or more, his eyes were blood-drenched and his body was full of black hair.

He had sharp claws on both hands, which were so eerie that the anticipation could be felt through the skin. But most of all, what caught the eye was the metal restraint ball on the werewolf's neck.

'I wasn't wrong.'

There is no way that a beast that has lost its sanity would wear something like that around its neck.

'Someone purposefully raised or created that werewolf.'

I didn't think it was impossible. This is a world where magic exists and science has developed in a strange direction, even Hans, whom he knew, has the constitution to change into a beast when bitten.

Even if a secret organization made a werewolf as a test subject, there was nothing strange about it.

'The question is, why now?'

So far, there has been no news, but the incident happened not long after the opening of the Theon Academy? And in the year he took office? He couldn't help but be suspicious of such a situation.

'Well, if I catch him, I'll know.'

Rudger immediately took a stance.

The werewolf contorted his face, presumably displeased when the man in front of him rather than running away was confronting him.

"Ooooooooo!!!"

The werewolf let out a roar and rushed towards Rudger. A werewolf, who sprinted through the ground on four legs, was faster than a car.

Rudger watched the movement and slid behind him. The werewolf's claws cut through the air in the spot where Rudger had been a while ago.

The werewolf swung its arms non-stop but Rudger continued to back step and concentrate on dodging.

As soon as the tip of Rudger's brown shoe touched the ground, a strange wave spread out around him.

With each miss of the werewolf's attacks, Rudger continued to pound the ground with his toes, spreading waves of his magic. In an extreme situation where even a single touch could shred his bones, Rudger never allowed the werewolf to hit him.

"Wooooo!!!"

The werewolf roared and spread his arms wide. He was going to attack him in that state and hold him so he couldn't escape.

Rudger's mouth, which had been covered by the brim of his hat, smirked, the werewolf, who was about to run to Rudger, suddenly contorted his face and fell to his ground.

"Uh, huh?"

Hans, who was watching anxiously from afar, suddenly opened his eyes wide and puzzled to see the werewolf collapse.

"It will make your head pound a bit."

Rudger gently trampled the werewolf's back.

Werewolves are more like beasts than humans. And since it is part of the canine family, it is particularly sensitive to high frequencies that ordinary people cannot hear. Rudger prepared such a magic while dodging the werewolf attack.

A magic that properly mixes sound waves and vibration magic is okay for humans, but if used on werewolves who hear sounds beyond a certain band. Even now, the werewolf's ears are ringing in real time and the ultrasonic waves are still shaking the surrounding area.

"There is no need to use expensive silver or the like."

There was no more suitable method than this, since the purpose was suppression and not killing in the first place.

Now, let's check where the hell this guy was made.

It was at that moment when Rudger pulled out a syringe and was about to draw his blood.

"Beep!"

"It's here! Here comes the sound!"

"Everyone, move quickly!"

With the sound of a whistle, uniformed police officers rushed towards them from beyond the fog. The police, who had been patrolling because of rumors of a werewolf from two days ago, must have come to hear the commotion here.

'At this time.'

At that moment when Rudger had lost focus for a moment, the werewolf, who had been quiet, jumped to his feet.

Rudger hurriedly stepped back and was wary of the werewolf's counterattack, but the werewolf had no interest in Rudger in the first place...The guy shook his head a few times, then turned his back and ran away.

'This.'

Rudger sighed, dispelling the high-frequency magic that had spread around him.

As police officers carrying his magical powers appeared one by one, Rudger decided that he had to step down.

"There! There is someone over there!"

"Arrest all suspicious people!"

At some point, the werewolf was climbing up the walls of the factory to the roof, Rudger ran after him.

As Rudger was going through the dark alleyway, he felt the werewolf's presence receding and stretched his arms out into the air. The mechanical mainspring under the gauntlet's wrist turned quickly, and then a wire hook shot towards the roof.

The moment the hook was fixed to the roof railing, the gears rotated and the wire was wound at high speed Rudger used the recoil to fly to the roof. Commonly called wire launcher, it was the favorite object of Rudger when he was active as a hunter.

Rudger landed on the roof.

After pulling the wire to retrieve the hook, Rudger found the back of a werewolf running away in the distance.

'I won't let you escape.'

Rudger put magical powers around his legs. In this world, magicians also use magic to strengthen their bodies in case of unforeseen circumstances.

Rudger kicked off the roof with enhanced leg strength and followed the werewolf. The night scenery of the factory area passes quickly and the figure of the werewolf running away in the distance could be seen gradually getting closer.

While running, the werewolf looked back at something strange and found Rudger chasing him, spurring the speed of his escape.

The werewolf, who had been skipping non-stop between the roofs of the factory, jumped down onto the large railroad tracks below. At that moment, a freight train loaded with magic stones was passing underneath.

The werewolf landed rough on the cargo hold. Rudger didn't want to let him escape so he jumped on top of the cargo hold as well.

Rudger lightly patted his shoulder with his hand, staring at the werewolf. Realizing that he could no longer run, the werewolf got up and looked back at Rudger.

On top of the train, Rudger and the werewolf faced each other about three meters apart. The hem of Rudger's coat was blown away by the strong wind as the train ran.

"At first, I was just trying to capture you but now I changed my mind."

My vision was blurred for a moment as the night wind brushed my cheeks and the steam from the train's head. Through the gap, the werewolf rushed towards me.

A fairly sharp movement that takes advantage of the blind spot and pierces the opponent's loophole, however the werewolf rushing towards Rudger stopped at the strange noise ringing in his ears. It was a kind of instinctive intuition he had as a beast.

That judgment was correct as something sharp swept past the werewolf's neck at both ends.

"It feels good."

It passed through the skin of the werewolf's neck, spinning and returning to Rudger. It was a boomerang with sharp blades spread out like a fan and if he had been a little late, the sharp circular saw blade would have cut the werewolf's throat.

The werewolf quickly regenerated the wounds running down his neck. He was furious at the fact that he had been hurt, and veins sprouted from his body.

"I was going to finish it in one shot."

Rudger put his regrets behind him and took out a wand hung from his waist and held it. This time it was Rudger's turn to run.

He holds a staff in his right hand and uses his left hand to gather magical energy to use [Shining Stone] and fires it straight like a bullet at one of the werewolf's eyes.

"Swish!"

The werewolf bowed his head straight away and avoided the [Shining Stone]. At that moment, Rudger snapped the index finger of his left hand and the [Shining Stone] that passed by the werewolf turned in mid-air and hit the werewolf in the back of the head.

As the werewolf panicked by the intense pain he felt in the back of his head, Rudger ran up to the werewolf and swung his staff towards his face with all his might.

The werewolf tried to block it with both arms but a saw-bladed boomerang flew and pierced the werewolf's hands. The boomerang was thrown in advance by Rudger.

The werewolf caught the staff with his mouth and his eyes curved like a crescent moon. The moment the wound on his arm would be regenerated, he was thinking of tearing the cheeky human right in front of him but as if to ridicule the werewolf's inner heart, Rudger made his next move.

The handle of the staff was pulled and a pure white sword came out of it. The sight was so unexpected that the werewolf did not even think to drop the empty shell of the staff he had bitten in his mouth.

Rudger's body rotated once in place and a white line was drawn in the air. The light that was so thin but clear cut the werewolf's neck softly.