Chapter 57: Hunt [4]

....He was afraid of me?

Was that the case....? I thought so at first, but surely that couldn't be the only reason for his hatred and dislike towards me.

There had to be something else.

"....."

Thinking things through I realized that I hadn't exactly been the friendliest of people.

I tended to mind my own business and avoided interacting with others. It was mainly so that my cover wouldn't be blown but at the same time because I didn't want to get attached to anyone.

But still...

For him to be afraid of me. There had to be a more concrete reason.

BOOOM—!

The cave shook as Leon's sword came into contact with Nyxfernal—a large creature with a stout body and thick, fur-covered form. Its sharp claws gleamed under the light from the moss as its small, beady eyes fiercely glared at us.

"Kh....!"

Upon coming into contact with the Nyxfernal, Leon's sword ricocheted back. Just as he was about to lose balance, Aoife raised her hand and his body halted mid-air.

"....Thanks."

She followed up with another wave, stopping the beast's claws from slashing at him.

Kacha!

Lighting burst from out of nowhere, landing on the Nyxfernal thick fur. Evelyn, who stood by the side, held both hands forward as her uniform and hair fluttered.

But...

That too seemed like a futile attempt as Evelyn let out a small curse.

"Shit."

"Let me."

A figure rushed the creature. His speed was fast, and within moments, he appeared right beneath the creature's body. Two magic circles formed around his fists as he punched out with everything he had.

But...

Clank—!

Even that seemed like a meaningless attempt as his fists stopped right after making contact with the creature's underbelly.

Luxon immediately panicked as he looked behind.

"Shit, Aoife! Save me....!"

Just as he said those words, the Nyxfernal's body flexed and its tail swung right at Luxon who crossed his arms to brace for impact.

Thankfully, Aoife was quick enough to react as she pulled him back just in time to avoid the attack.

Bang—!

The cave shook even more fiercely as Luxon skidded several meters back.

"Haa... Haaaa... Thanks."

"Try again."

With cold focus, Aoife lifted her palm and continued to support from behind. She wasn't the only one supporting.

Xiu!

An arrow flew at fast speeds, hitting the tough fur of the Nyxfernal. Sparks flew, but nothing came out of it.

Aoife frowned and turned her head slightly.

"....Aim for its eyes."

"Got it."

He pulled the string of the bow back and prepared to attack again.

"...."

I stood quietly beside him. Until this moment, I remained standing without doing a single thing. I had no business interfering.

I knew the extent of my skills. There wasn't much I could do. At least, not yet.

I closed my eyes and extended the threads towards the ground, splitting them in three. I looked around to locate the best area to set them up.

BOOOM—!

I ignored the chaos around me and guided the threads carefully around the walls of the cave.

My head twitched as I felt a sharp pain. However, I ignored the pain and continued to guide the threads around the walls of the cave.

I was waiting for the right time to act.

For...

"Hm?"

I felt a sudden vibration and opened my eyes.

"What..."

There was something odd about the vibration. It wasn't coming from the Nyxfernal in the distance. It was coming from somewhere else...

"Beneath...?"

I looked down.

It was then that it happened.

!

Something exploded from beneath me and the ground split. The area it covered was small, and it was right beneath where I stood.

The footing I held disappeared, and my body jolted with a weird sensation as gravity started to pull me down from beneath.

In that split second, I felt the world around me slow down.

I managed to catch a glimpse of everything around me. From the changing expressions of Leon, Evelyn, Aoife, Luxon... to the look of panic on Wesley's face as he fell alongside me.

.....I caught all of it in my mind before everything turned dark.

The last thing I remembered was recalling the threads and creating new ones.

***

"Julien..."

It all happened so fast that nobody was able to react on time.

BOOOM!

All Leon felt was a subtle trembling of the ground behind. When he turned his head, he caught a glimpse of Julien.

....As usual, he seemed unperturbed. Even as the ground beneath him quaked, he stood with a frown. As if this had nothing to do with him.

Or maybe things had happened too fast for him to react.

Even so...

His figure, alongside Wesley's disappeared from their sight.

"Ah."

He could hardly make a sound before his ear detected an odd whistling noise heading right in his direction.

Instinctively, he moved back and just barely managed to avoid the tail of the Nyxfernal.

Bang—!

"Get a grip."

A cold voice echoed beside him. When he looked, he saw Aoife staring at the monster with a tight frown.

"I know you're his knight, but you need to focus on the monster in front of us. We can look for them later. They should be f—uh!"

Her words halted and she raised both her hands.

Leon looked at the creature which stopped mid-motion before nodding his head. She was right.

There was no point in thinking about Julien. He was going to be fine.

There was no way his instincts would lie to him.

He...

Was definitely fine.

***

I opened my eyes. Darkness embraced my vision as my head throbbed. I hung suspended in the air as the threads kept me in place.

"Where am I....?"

I looked up.

There was hardly any light.

It seemed like I had fallen into a deep hole.

I closed my eyes and felt the threads. There were a total of two left. The other one had snapped. I focused on creating another one and safely planted it into a crack on the wall.

"Hmm."

I tried pulling myself up, but that seemed to be impossible given my current abilities.

The threads were still fragile. It was already a miracle that I was safe.

"....Looks like I have no choice but to go down."

It was the only thing I could do.

"Hah."

In the darkness, I slowly and carefully extended the threads, guiding my body toward the bottom of the hole.

I thought back on the situation and frowned.

There was someone who had fallen with me. What had happened to him? Had he died...? Or was he still alive? I pursed my lips and continued to guide myself down until I eventually felt my feet touch a surface.

Thud.

The air felt damp and a still silence filled my surroundings. A strange tension lingered over my surroundings as I felt my muscles tense and my skin grow cold.

"....."

I took a quiet breath and took out my bag where I reached for my torch.

".....!"

A pair of eyes immediately greeted my sight the moment I lit up the torch and my heart almost stopped. Thankfully, I was able to keep myself composed.

....I was somewhat used to fear.

"Took you long enough."

A familiar voice reached my ears, and when I got a better look, I stood frozen by the sight that bore before me. The only thing I could recognize were his hazel eyes. Everything else was different.

The contours of the face were distorted, with areas of puckered flesh. The color was uneven, ranging from red to mottled shades of brown and gray.

What had...

Happened to him?

"You're alive."

That was all I managed to utter in the end.

He smiled then.

"What's with your expression, phecda? Are you mad at how I told you to stick close to me? I had to do it. You didn't pick up any of my messages. We're supposed to start soon."

".....?"

Phecda? Message? Start soon?

I felt my blood grow cold and my fingers twitched.

'No, this...'

All of a sudden, an idea sprouted in my mind.

"This isn't the first time you've seen my face. But right, yeah..."

His expression twisted slightly.

"I guess you were disgusted by the way I looked. You made that pretty clear back then when you beat me up."

A lot of things started to click in my mind all of a sudden. The reason for his fear, and his antagonism towards me.

'Ah, this...'

"Why aren't you speaking....? You were rather vocal back at the camp when you killed your way to the top. I'm supposed to be following your orders, but you went and outdid yourself didn't you?"

"....."

His eerie smile stuck right close to me. His hazel eyes turned, and I felt the back of my neck tingle as my heart started to beat faster.

Slowly my head lowered, and my eyes fell on his forearm.

His clothes were ripped so I could see it well. However, much to my shock, I saw nothing. As if noticing my actions, he frowned and followed my line of sight.

"What are you doing? Uh? Why are you..."

He stopped and looked at me.

His expression changed all of a sudden.

But it was too late.

In that split second, my threads were already at his throat. Before he could even react, I clenched my hand as a fountain of red sprayed on me.

Pfttt—

The scent of iron lingered in the air as I felt my face grow wet.

"Ukh."

I took several steps back.

My stomach churned and I hastily closed my eyes.

Thud.

"H-hah..."

....I had to do it.

I repeated such thoughts in my mind. It hardly worked as my stomach continued to churn, but it didn't stop me from repeating it.

'I had to do it.'

It was either me or him...

That much I knew.

My thoughts were further confirmed the moment I opened my eyes again and my gaze once again fell on his forearm. The once clean forearm suddenly changed as a black clover appeared.

"...."

I knew then that my guesses had been right and I turned to stare at the tattoo on my arm.

"What is the meaning of this...?"

New pieces of information entered my mind.

Pechda? Camp? What sort of situation was this...?

I thought about keeping the conversation going to get more information, but I realized it was a stupid idea. I knew nothing about the organization. A simple slip-up and he would've noticed that I wasn't Julien.

What would happen to me then?

I didn't care to find out and acted swiftly. His guard was down, and his attention was away from his surroundings.

All it took was a simple moment.

....While I didn't expect him to be helpless against my attack, I was still ready for any counter he might've made. His death seemed surprising.

Perhaps, he really didn't think I would kill him.

'Is there some sort of harsh rule that forces members to not kill each other? Is that why his guard was so down?'

If not for that, I didn't think I would've been able to kill him so easily.

Still, his death only brought more questions. There was also the fact that I had to deal with the aftermath of this.

Thankfully, I was the only one aware of Etherwave. I could place the blame for his death on the monsters here. Perhaps even hide the traces of the threads...

"...."

My mind continued to spin in the silence as I forced myself to look at the headless body in front of me.

I took a deep breath and looked at my forearm.

Or more specifically, toward the second leaf.

It was once again shining.

'He may not be alive, but there was a way for me to find more information...'

I pursed my lips and quietly looked up. I didn't want to do it. I hated the sensation that came with understanding another's emotions. But... I had to do it.

To get some clues... I had to do it.

"I have to."

I lowered my hand and placed it over his body.

That's when I pressed the leaf and my world darkened.

***

Sorry for bad upload rate. I ended up scrapping this Chapter 2: times before I got to this. There will be another one.