Chapter 53 – Hunting

000

Two hunters run on a tree.

From branch to branch, from low to high.

In a magically tainted forest that almost blocks out sunlight.

Relying only on your eyesight, you always check where you can set foot and where the enemy is.

On the male side, Mikasia borrowed the power of the imprint on her eyes.

Vision, of course, but other five senses also react sensitively.

Check Sasha’s location in real time.

On the other hand, Sasha only relied on her own skills.

I try to locate Mikasia, who jumps between the trees like a flying beast.

But for Sasha, who did not borrow the power of imprinting.

Every sound from the forest was the material that interfered with his judgment.

Rustling

When the sound of a tree branch shaking is heard from the other side, the arrow is immediately put on the string and fired.

An arrow that flies through the darkness.

But it just goes through the leaves and branches.

Rather, the launch location is specified as just that.

Arrows aim for Sasha’s arm from the other direction.

Sasha dodges Mikasia’s arrow by bending over.

It seemed that the other party didn’t care about Sasha’s situation.

It continued to fire follow-up arrows.

`If ​​you stop, keep attacking… Thanks to the trees, the line of sight doesn’t go through well, so I don’t come to snip at the vital points… !`

Sasha broke into a cold sweat and jumped to the next tree to get out of the place she was originally standing by moving her feet.

Although his body has become lighter thanks to the wind assist magic he received from Luti.

Every time I move a tree, I see a branch fall off from where it was.

‘I’m gradually narrowing the siege. It’s reducing the number of seats you can stand on.’

“Hey. If you don’t use the imprint, it won’t be a match in the first place.”

Watching Sasha sweating in the dark.

Mikasia laughs as if talking.

“Of course, I don’t really care if losing is your wish.”

It was a kind of provocation to announce one’s location by making a sound like this.

Even if Sasha shoots arrows in that direction, however he pleases.

I swung the dagger leisurely and cut off the arrow.

“You’re weaker than the last time you fought… If you don’t have the power of the imprint, is it this much after all?”

In that voice, more than disappointment, there was an emotion that seemed like that.

Sasha holds her breath, biting her lower lip, and crouches down to avoid revealing where she has moved.

What you have.

The magic potion I brought to deliver to Lyla.

An ordinary iron-headed arrow.

And a bow I’ve been using for a long time.

Two daggers.

Power goes into the hand holding the bow.

Compared to Mikasia using magic arrows.

Sasha uses the arrow of her substance.

In other words, it is necessary to fight while paying attention to the remaining amount of arrows.

Overwhelmingly unfavorable.

The faces of Cleon and Layla who were fighting beyond the forest came to mind.

“If we don’t get there anyway…!”

Even for that, it is necessary to defeat the man in front of me.

This fight is personal to the last.

You can’t bring them both together.

To free herself from the bondage of the village.

It was something she had to overcome on her own.

Cleon’s advice runs through her head once more.

The hallmark of a hunter is Sasha’s own strength.

Obviously, if you use the imprint, you will be able to fight on an equal footing, even if it is not advantageous.

I don’t know how to use magic arrows, but at least I can reduce the waste of arrows.

However.

Always rely on the power of the imprint.

It might be swallowed up by that power and turned into a beast.

A beast that eats humans.

Then you can no longer be with everyone.

Maybe even fight them.

Sasha’s mind recalls the scene from the day she left town.

Oneself in the river that washes away Marang’s blood.

And a huge wolf looking down on himself in the moonlight on top of a cliff in the distance.

The incarnation of ‘Ruben’, the god of hunting.

The blessing of a free adventure that is not bound by anything.

The curse of unintentionally betraying a precious comrade.

Maybe, he himself becomes a beast.

Might it hurt them?

The next moment after thinking that far.

An arrow that flies towards where you are.

Sasha hurriedly ducks her body, but avoids it.

The next moment, along with the feeling of the ground turning off.

Fall from a tree

What happened?

If you think the same and look at the place where you fell.

What the arrow was aiming for was not himself from the start, but the branch he was standing on.

This is what happened when I took my eyes off the enemy and thought.

“Ugh…!”

Somehow, he fell, and this time he avoided injuring his leg like the last time.

If you keep an eye on the direction the arrow came from…

This time, Mikasia came down to the ground in the same way.

“It’s not fun. Ordinary animals run away the moment they know they’re at a disadvantage, so chasing them would be fun.”

He looks at Sasha with a genuine bored expression.

The imprint that popped up in his eyes emitted a bright golden magical light and was constantly observing Sasha.

“Because I want to take her as unscathed as possible. Would you mind surrendering meekly? That way, it won’t interfere with her giving birth to a child.”

An eerie gaze that judges women by tribal standards.

An excellent woman is, after all, a mother to give birth to an excellent child.

I don’t want to go back to that hellish place anymore.

In that case, she’d rather die, Sasha thought with all her heart.

“I refuse.”

“Did you like the owner that much? Does it quite satisfy you?”

Mikasia with a fishy smile.

Sasha can’t stand it and shoots her bow.

In an instant, the protest is set, aimed, and fired.

Earlier, it was on top of a tree with little visibility.

Now that he has come down from the tree, his line of sight is open, and his vision is secure.

That’s why it’s better to shoot first and dodge first.

If the opponent is looking down on himself and being careless.

You just have to show the taste of pain.

“Ha…”

Mikasia doesn’t dodge, though, and she swings her dagger at the flying arrow.

Then, the arrow splits and falls to the ground.

“Did you see? I’m much stronger than you. This is the true form of a descendant of Ruben. If you do something stupid to seal the imprint, all the best skills die.”

Improved fuselage vision. Sharpened five senses.

Judgment close to short-sightedness, being able to figure out what the opponent is going to do by looking at the dilation of the pupil or the movement of the muscles.

Exactly. This man may be much stronger than he is.

Aside from whether or not it is engraved.

However.

‘If it’s Cleon, he won’t give up even if he’s stronger than himself.’

In any crisis, Cleon’s method is to analyze the other party and overturn their expectations.

What he lacks is an imagination like the one he has.

“You look like you haven’t given up yet. Then there’s nothing you can do about it.”

The man puts an arrow of magical power on his bow.

And the end of the protests aimed at oneself.

Between the two silent people, the pupils move several times to anticipate each other’s movements.

The direction to avoid and the direction to fire.

Fine motions including paint.

After a brief period of restraint,

It was Sasha who moved first.

What she lacks is, of course, imagination, but in this case, it is boldness that can subvert the opponent’s expectations.

As a result of that judgment, what she took.

It was to leap in front of Mikasia with her dagger in hand.

“Hmph. Stupid.”

Seeing Sasha like that, Mikasia let go of her hand holding her protest.

Then, an arrow of magical power surges at Sasha while slicing through the wind.

At that moment, Sasha quickly ducks her body.

“What…!”

If you try to ‘dodge’, your opponent will read it and fire an arrow in an unavoidable trajectory.

But if you jump in a straight line from the front.

Opponents are also determined in a straight line where they must shoot.

In other words. Deliberately exposing one’s own gap so that there is no choice but to attack that place.

That was Sasha’s new strategy learned from Cleon.

If so, you can anticipate the opponent’s movements to some extent.

As an excellent hunter, except for imprints.

The opponent will take an action close to what you think.

I will definitely attack the place where I showed a gap.

Sasha anticipates the attack and takes the next action.

“Ha!”

As a result, Sasha approached him while sliding across the ground, avoiding the arrow.

He succeeds in stabbing her dagger into his abdomen.

“Keugh!”

`Okay… !`

Sasha opens her eyes wide as she succeeds in landing the first effective blow.

But Mikasia, too, let out a moan of pain and kicked Sasha with her foot, sending her flying behind her.

“Aww…!”

Sasha rolls on the ground and flies backwards.

Mikasia pulls out the dagger stuck in her abdomen and throws it to the ground.

The flowing blood could be stopped by drinking a potion.

But if you’re doing that from the front.

To that woman who staggered from her seat with her eyes flashing.

Penetrate… !

Mikasia broke out in a cold sweat for the first time and slithered back behind her.

Was it a mistake to appear from the front…

“Sheesh… It’s a place full of magic, so I don’t want to stay long.”

“…!”

Sasha didn’t miss Mikasia’s complaint.

As he said, this is a realm eroded by the magic of another dimension.

Although it doesn’t have much to do with myself who doesn’t use the engraving.

The imprint reacts sensitively even to magical power.

In other words, if you increase the concentration of magic power around you, you can prevent the imprint from functioning properly.

Just like the one who was struck by the demonic magic that day.

Unfortunately, Sasha herself was unable to control her magical power by releasing it to the surroundings.

At most, to strengthen the body or to use imprints.

However. There were things that were filled with magic power.

At the same time as Mikasia climbs the tree, Sasha climbs another tree too.

The opponent hid himself, but it was a foolish act to be under oneself.

Instead, I do not hold the bow this time either.

It wasn’t even a dagger.

‘I’m sorry, Laila-san…!’

What she held in her hand was her magic potion, which she had brought with her just in case.

Magic potion is the essence of purified magic power in liquid form.

Although Mikasia became a little cautious after taking a lesson from her previous failure.

The smell of her blood also conveys her location to Sasha.

But still, due to the difference in her imprint, he judged that he could find her first.

I can’t see her directly, but I chase after the reverberation of her magical power and shoot her arrow at her approaching this way.

OK-

Clink! Something breaking with a crackling sound.

“What…!”

A wave of magical power that spreads around in an instant.

By stimulating the imprint, it momentarily numbs the senses.

The next moment, Sasha, who had made a huge leap and moved right over where Mikasia was, aimed her Mikasia above her head.

“Get off!!”

Release the pulled string.

Then, arrows falling from top to bottom at high speed.

As it is, it lodges itself in Mikasia’s shoulder blades.

“Keugh…!”

Mikasia, whose body stopped for a moment in pain.

And Sasha doesn’t stop there.

Insert the kick as it is.

It was to throw him down a tree.

Thud! Mikasia fell without even being able to fall with a loud sound.

Sasha landed where Mikasia had been standing just a moment ago.

She looks at him who has fallen.

And squeezed her hand tightly.

I won without imprinting…!

But the pleasure of victory was short-lived.

I had to hurry up and join everyone.

Before that, Sasha had to decide what to do with the fallen Mikasia.

In her honest feelings, it was an act she was reluctant to put the finishing touch on her opponent who had already lost her fighting prowess.

But if you let him go like this…

His existence is known to the village, so other hunters may come after him.

Sasha hardened her heart and came down the tree.

In her hand was another dagger that matched the one used earlier.

It is to finish the hunted animal.

Sasha tries to convince herself, but her trembling hands don’t stop.

And in an instant to slash her dagger from top to bottom-.

Bang! And caught her wrist.

When I look at him in amazement.

The imprint completely melted in the snow, Mikasia’s face lost reason.

It was slowly twisting like a beast.

“Kuh…!?”

The snout lengthens, the muscles throughout the body twist, and the skeleton changes.

The clothes that covered the body were ripped off by the expanding muscles.

As the joint bends, the hair grows slowly.

Sasha felt the strength in her hand that was holding her own wrist grow stronger.

She quickly stabs the hand with her dagger.

Then she let out a scream of pain, no roar.

Micasia… That which was Mikasia was to stagger back behind her, letting go of Sasha.

“I… I don’t like females…! Weak bitches who don’t even have a stamp on them…!”

Mikasia’s body and personality slowly changing.

In her eyes, everything called `reason` had completely disappeared.

This is the true meaning of turning into a beast.

It wasn’t like a metaphor.

Literally, changing himself according to the hunter’s desire.

It was to fall like a beast.

“Hey, Ik…!”

Before long, the appearance of Mikasia completely changed.

It looks like a mixture of a wolf, or a marang, and a human.

It was a ‘werewolf’ as they say quickly.

[KUrrrraaaaa!]

When he completely loses his temper and starts rampaging, he randomly swings his front paws.

Sasha quickly backs away from her and fires an arrow.

However, the arrows stuck in the thick hide did no damage.

Rather, it only angered the beast.

`No… This is no longer a hunter. Just a beast…! It’s also close to the Witchbeast… !`

If you brush even a little on that forepaw, it will fall apart and it will be fatal.

On top of that, if you think about running freely between trees with not only durability but also a keen sense closer to that of a beast and enhanced muscular strength.

Dealing with him was close to committing suicide.

When you can’t move due to the aftereffects of mutation, you have to get out…

“…”

But Sasha was right about her own perception of that.

If the opponent was a Witchbeast, he had to hunt himself.

He couldn’t always depend on Cleon and everyone else.

Because.

Cleon and Ryla are his precious companions.

He himself should be able to keep them too.

So Sasha closed her eyes for a moment.

No matter how confident she is, hunting this monster normally is unreasonable.

And she seemed to be able to know something about beastization.

When I opened my eyes again, the hunter’s imprint came to mind.

When the magical power of the imprint that was suppressed is released.

The sensitive sensation that quickly enveloped his entire body, and the reverberation of magical power.

You can even hear Cleon fighting someone in the distance.

A sharp impact that seemed to pierce the entire body.

“Kuh…!”

Tickling in the head or tailbone area.

Imprints were rapidly eating away at her body.

However, she hangs an arrow on her bow and aims at her demonic beast.

“Sasha… Is a hunter… I won’t fall for the prey beast!”

Reciting an oath to hunt.

She protested

001

[Ku…A…U…]

A werewolf with arrows stuck all over his body like a hedgehog.

Eventually, as the fire of life goes out.

Close your eyes and fall down.

Standing in front of her was a small girl with scars all over her body and on the verge of collapsing.

I used up all my arrows and my dagger was broken.

It wasn’t just the dagger that was broken, but several ribs, one leg.

And a bit of his finger for the final blow.

And in addition to human ears, beast ears rose above the head of her.

The tail below the back wags.

Other than that, there were no significant changes.

I could see that the imprint was half completely infiltrated into the eye of her.

“Cleon… Mr…”

Lastly, call out the name of your loved one.

Sasha also fell asleep on the spot.

Although there is no bleeding or fracture.

It blocks it to some extent with the same regenerative power as that of the Beasts.

Blaming her her own weakness her for not being able to go to the aid of her Cleon her.

Hunters rest after hunting.

The first face you see when you wake up.

I hope it will be the face of a loved one, not an ugly beast.