[Spain - Andalusia]
We arrived in Spain, Andalusia, where the hunting club activities would take place.
The forests of Andalusia were heavily populated, causing many animals to spawn, and rarely, some monsters. Therefore, the hunting club obtained the cooperation of the local government and residents to hunt in this area. By hunting wild animals that frequently invade the residential area, the students would be helping the citizens while enjoying the activity.
I was hidden in the shade of one of the forest's giant trees. Andalusia was known for having the best harvests in Spain, and the fruits within this area were so sweet that they were perfect for making high-end desserts.
I jumped very high, managing to grab an apple that was on the tree.
*Yum!
I bit into the apple. Its flavor, its flavor... It's so excellent!!
With just one bite, I felt like I had tasted a caramel, but without being processed. It was so sweet that I could even compare it to honey.
I definitely have to buy the fruit from this place even if I end up poor in the process.
-Come here, everyone!-
A very energetic voice echoed. I turned in the direction of the voice. The club leader and other members had arrived.
-It's good to see you all again. Once again, our hunting club helps citizens by hunting wild animals, and we make money in the process, in addition to enjoying the hobby. That way, we kill two birds with one Stone-
After that, the leader began his speech.
-Oh, who are you? I don't remember seeing you at the orientation-
He suddenly stopped his speech and asked me.
-I'm Alan Harwey. I couldn't attend the orientation you gave last time-
-Oh, that's fine. We didn't do much that day. Today we'll build a house as a couple-
Suddenly, a clump of ether swirled in front of the president, then formed two large, translucent white boxes.
-The couples will be decided by drawing lots. Please, one by one, take out the ball inside. If anyone draws the same number, it means you're a couple-
Two groups were formed for each box. Each student drew a few, and then it was my turn. I drew a sphere with the number 13 on it.
-Someone has the number 13!-
Suddenly, I saw Hanami scream as she extended her arm with the sphere that had the same number as mine.
I moved to a safe distance in case he suddenly attacked me and spoke...
-Hey, I think you and I will be a team-
-...-
A cold air blew through as we stared at each other with blank faces.
-Of all people, I should have been drawn to you... I'm not so unlucky-
Hanami said with disappointment. This made me a little angry, but since my luck barely affected anything, I just had to put up with it.
Hang in there, Alan. I know you can do it.
*
We climbed a mountain and started hunting a wild boar while laughing.
-It's mine!-
-What are you saying, rascal? That's mine!-
When Hanami tried to attack, she killed the wild boar before it could attack the animal.
-What did I tell you... that was mine-
-Mmm, how unfair-
I murmured softly.
-Nameless was looking for prey for me to kill, so he was further away from me. This feeling of being a rich kid hunting monsters and animals felt good... it's one of the many reasons why I joined this club-
As Hanami and I walked, we saw a second-year couple kissing instead of hunting. This made the girl blush, but she didn't say anything the whole way.
«Why don't I have a partner? Am I too ugly?»
Hanami killed 6 and I only killed 4. Only three more and I'll be able to beat that arrogant little girl.
-Hey, how about a bet?-
Hanami suddenly spoke, and I turned my body to stare at her.
-A bet?-
-Yes, whoever hunts the most wild animals will be the winner and will have the power to command the loser to do anything they want for 24 hours-
Hearing that, my mind exploded. If she kept her promise, I could ask her for materials to create weapons.
-Hey, you better keep your promise-
-And I hope you're not a sore loser, Harwey-
With a defiant smile we parted. Nameless didn't speak to me for a while. I don't know what he was doing, but I hope something didn't happen to him.
*Tap tap tap
I heard the sound of footsteps crushing the dead leaves of the trees. It was a wild boar about to charge at me with all its might.
-My first kill-
When the wild boar approached me, I drew my sword and cut into its chest. The wild boar fell to the ground from its wound, and I finished it off without much difficulty.
-One less-
***
[Third-person perspective]
Dilan, who was in the hunting club, was walking normally until he ran into a certain trio of boys who had a spear, a sword, and the last one who only had leather gloves.
They were Isaac Arden's thugs.
The ones responsible for his misery.
One of the thugs turned his head and saw Dilan. Smiling, the boy pointed.
-Hey, look, it's the loser-
-Is he still here?-
The thugs began to approach, cornering Dilan.
-I see you're still a hunter-
-Why don't you back off already? Loser-
-You're just a low-ranker-
Rank 800
That was his current rank, which he had been able to achieve with all his effort, but even so, in a place where there should have been equality, there was unfortunately a lot of injustice.
Dilan clenched his fists and glared coldly at his bullies.
The group of bullies took a few steps back, but one of them became indignant. How could a loser make him back down?
Gritting his teeth, the bully clenched his fist and, with a look full of hate, said:
-Don't look at me like that!-
The thug landed a hard punch in Dilan's face.
*Crack
Something had broken, and the thugs were scared when they saw Dilan fall heavily to the ground.
-H-Hey, you went too far-
-Look what you did-
His friends began to tremble at the possibility that Dilan was dead. One of the bullies who had been badmouthing his friend began to approach Dilan's body to check his pulse.
*Crash
Suddenly, the bully who was about to check his pulse flew out at a terrifying speed, crashing his back into a tree.
The thugs stopped breathing as they watched their comrade fly away.
Dilan began to stand up while holding his head, which was oozing black blood.
-Ugh, y-you're a Daemon-
-I-It can't be-
The thugs were terrified to the point where they couldn't move due to the immense fear.
Dilan glared at the thugs, his eyes glowing a menacing red as he slowly expelled his corrupted magical power.
Suddenly, a cluster of darkness began to swirl around Dilan's back, forming tentacles.
*Crash, Crash, Crash, Crash
With the tentacles made of darkness, like a whip, Dilan mercilessly hit the two thugs, leaving several wounds.
The thugs' weapons were stuck in the ground as they were bathed in blood with each blow Dilan delivered.
-AAAAAHHH!!-
The two thugs screamed very loudly, so loud that it could even reach the entire forest.
-Because of you... because of you, I became like this. I, I had dreams, and you took them away from me. My life was hell because of you-
The thugs were unconscious before Dilan's immense power, which he gained by selling two-quarters of his soul to the hired demon.
He raised one of his tentacles, ready to crush them.
When he was ready to kill them.
*FIII
A green line separated the tentacle from its body.
-I never thought you were responsible for the disappearances, Dilan-
A female voice echoed in the dark forest influenced by the evil power of the Daemon.
Hanami Sasaki, who came upon hearing a loud scream, saw how Dilan was about to kill the trio of students.
The redhead began to draw her bow tightly while not taking her eyes off her opponent.
Without the others noticing, Nameless was watching the entire situation from the sky and without hesitation began to disappear to give a report to his friend.
***
[Alan Harwey's Perspective]
After killing the wild boar, I began to look for more animals to hunt. Besides feeling the excitement, I also wondered if I could kill more wild boars for their meat.
One by one, I began to kill. My second victim was a wolf. I cut off its tail to make it lose balance and then decapitated it. The third was another wild boar, but it didn't notice my presence, so I killed it stealthily.
I'm not so proud of the fourth and fifth... I killed some bunnies that were eating normally...
I know many would call me "scum" for killing bunnies, but it was a competition, so I couldn't afford to lose to that girl. After that, I made a small altar for them with branches so they wouldn't resent me in their next life.
"Alan!!"
-Aaahhh!-
A loud scream made my skin crawl, and I fell to the ground in fright.
When I turned around, I couldn't see Nameless anywhere until I realized he was using telepathy.
-W-What's going on?-
"Bad news... remember Dilan?"
-Dilan?... Oh, the guy who was on the brat's team... what's going on with him?-
"That guy... he turned into a Daemon"
Hearing my friend's words, I was shocked. Did that boy become a Daemon?
If Nameless is right, everyone is in danger.
-Where is he?-
"He's in the heart of the forest, and now the Choca is fighting that bastard."
I quickly started calling the club president using my video transmitter.
[Beep… Hello]
[Hello club president, I have something urgent to ask you]
[Oh, Alan, it's you. What's wrong?]
[Could I call security, quickly? It's urgent. There's a Daemon in this area?]
[A Daemon?]
[Yes, please]
[Understood, I'll call security, but where are you?]
[I'm in the heart of the forest.]
[Tsk, it'll take a while for security to arrive. By then, you have to escape and run away…]
Suddenly, the signal cut out.
My VCR battery had died.
"Great! Now I have two problems: eliminating a Daemon and saving the girl. Why can't I have a peaceful school life?"
I tried to take the easy way out, but it seemed life wouldn't let me do it that easily.
After thinking more clearly, I decided to help Hanami.
***
[Hanami Sasaki's Perspective] [Andalusian Forest]
-Hahaha! A big fish... how lucky I am today-
Dilan started laughing madly and then sent his tentacles at me.
I started shooting multiple arrows, but the tentacles started blocking them. They were a great defense that was hard to take down. I only shot one of them off when I was careless, but now I can't.
-Hahaha... so this is what it feels like to be powerful... with this, no one will look down on me anymore!-
Dilan continued with his psychopathic laughter.
Several of his tentacles began to follow me as Dilan spawned one after another. I dodged them with some difficulty while shooting.
«I use my unique ability and my second talent...»
I was thinking about using my unique ability, but there was also my second talent. If I used it, I could beat him, but the weapon was out of my reach.
When I blinked, I saw the sword of one of Isaac's thugs on the ground.
*Crash
At high speed, one of its tentacles collided with my stomach, sending me flying into a tree. The impact with the tree caused me to drop my bow.
One of Dilan's tentacles broke my bow into thousands of pieces.
-Hahaha, how amazing! I really, really like this. Hahaha-
«Brother... is this how I'm going to end up? Will I die without pain or glory?»
I gritted my teeth, frustrated by this situation. I didn't like this feeling. It reminded me of how I felt during the Daemon incident at the hotel, powerless and unable to defend myself against a more powerful enemy.
When Dilan began to approach,
*Crash
A white beam struck Dilan's body, destroying most of his tentacles and severely damaging his stomach.
-Tsk...-
I could hear a click of the tongue. On a tree branch, I could see a boy I never expected to come to my aid.
Alan Harwey had arrived as I stared at the Daemon while reciting an incantation to increase the spell's power.
Dilan, in a great rage, moved all his tentacles and in one of his attacks managed to attack the tree where Alan was hiding.
-Ether-Fire Cannon!-
A red beam burned part of Dilan's skin. When Alan touched solid ground, he didn't hesitate to cut Dilan's eyes out in a single movement.
-AAAHHH!!-
Dilan screamed in pain as the cut was under the heat of the fire. I quickly saw how the boy he despised so much shot small fireballs into his eyes, permanently closing his wounds before Dilan could regenerate them.
I could see how Alan went straight to cut off Dilan's head, but the Daemon changed strategy. Instead of attacking, he began to desperately defend his neck. The strategy Alan had employed was impeccable.
Some tentacles emerged from Dilan's shadow as they attacked crazily in all directions.
In one of their crazy attacks, Alan was hit in his shoulder.
"Damn"
That was all I could hear from Alan as he tried to get up from the Daemon's strong blow.
I noticed his breathing becoming ragged, the sweat and trouble breathing resulting from all the fatigue accumulated in his body.
How much effort did he put in just to save me?
Right now, I was nothing more than a mere spectator, a damsel in distress where the hero always had to save her. I didn't like that, but that was my current condition.
When I saw Dilan and Alan under the burning forest from using the fire element, a memory from the past came back to me.
The death of my older brother
He had died in the flames while on an extermination mission. All the hunters found was his body; the rest of his companions were burned to ash.
Unexpectedly, I saw the sword of one of Isaac's thugs stuck in the ground.
Now what I felt was nothing but rage.
[The unique skill "Flames of Vengeance (B)" has been activated.]
[Your Rage level is exorbitant.]
I held the blood-soaked sword as a small blue flame bathed the blade. The flame grew stronger and stronger until it completely covered it.
-AAHHH!! Where are you? Where are you?-
Dilan screamed like crazy, destroying all the trees while Alan was barely dodging his attacks.
-Die!-
A voice filled with resentment came from my lips as if it had been spoken by a stranger.
I slashed with the sword only to see the blade of fire extend, cutting Dilan in half.
I didn't stop. I slashed more with the extended blade of the sword, making five vertical and horizontal cuts with all my strength.
-AAAAHHHH!!!-
Dilan screamed loudly in pain.
The gigantic cut left me exhausted, and standing was difficult because of my wobbly legs. I approached until I saw the dying Dilan.
-Ahh... I can't die... I can't... that bastard, that bastard... I must kill him, I must kill him... I-Isaac-
Dilan was speaking while clinging to life while crawling like a worm.
Tired of all this, I plunged the sword into his head and then, with the last of my strength, incinerated him.
Dilan's body was engulfed by a violent blue fire only to leave him completely dead.
The wind blew through the forest and began to extinguish the fire with the strong blow of the wind.
The charred body of Dilan, with the simple touch of the wind, dispersed into black ash as I watched everything.
Making a pact with a Demon has its prices. Now Dilan belonged to the demon with whom he made a pact. His soul will always be in his hands.
-Hey... are you okay?-
Alan, who had stopped moving, looked at me with a serious expression.
-Yes... I'm... fine.-
*Thud
I fell to the ground, I couldn't feel my body anymore and I was slowly losing strength.
Alan ran over and looked at me, but my senses were fading as my consciousness faded. I just hoped that stupid man was okay.
**
An icy wind crashed against my skin, the sound of the leaves and the icy wind were hard to ignore.
Inevitably, I began to open my eyes. The first thing I saw was that it was no longer daytime. I was now under the veil of night. I looked around to see that the entire atmosphere had changed.
I was no longer in the heart of the Andalusian forest.
All I saw were a few benches, lighting towers, green areas, and a path.
All I felt was a sharp pain running through my body from head to toe. I gripped my head tightly, feeling like my body would shatter like a glass at any moment.
-Ha... was it a dream?-
-No, it was reality-
Suddenly a familiar voice had answered my question, staring at me was that hateful boy who was with me during Dilan's attack.
Looking closer I could notice that my chest was very close to his back and I felt his hands were grabbing near my butt.
And the last and most disgusting thing was that I saw how the face of that boy, Alan Harwey, was flushed and full of pride.
An immense rage invaded my entire being and I began to hit him with all my strength on his head. He may be weak but that doesn't give him the right to take advantage of me.
-Ah! Ah! Aaaahhh! Stop, you're going to give me brain damage!-
-Fucking pervert! How can you do this to me when I helped you?!-
-I'm not a pervert, I was just helping you!-
-You're the worst liar in history, I clearly saw your expression! Let me go, let me go now, you damn pervert!-
-Fine, if that's your wish!-
Alan, without a shred of tact, let me go.
When my feet touched solid ground, I could feel the sharp pain increase, and I inevitably became almost immobile, then fell to the ground.
«What's wrong with my legs? They just wouldn't respond?»
I tried to force my limbs to move, but they wouldn't respond and remained motionless. My arms were the only thing I could move at the moment.
-What m-my legs, what's wrong with my...-
-You have Mana depletion, is this your first time?-
-Huh? Mana depletion?-
-Ha, since it's obvious you're not smart, let Dr. Alan Harwey teach you. It's the state where you've used up all the mana in your body that slows your recovery rate, slows down, and your magic circuits generate...-
-I already know that!-
-And why ask me, ungrateful girl! It doesn't matter, you won't be able to move for 12 hours because it's your first time. Now, quickly, get on my back!-
-Are you crazy?-
-Fine, stay here forever, clumsy!-
His angry look at me was funny and irritating at the same time.
But I had no other choice; without help, I couldn't walk for now. With no other choice, I reached out my hand to Alan, and he started to lift me up until he carried me on his back.
-It's good that you understood I don't have any bad intentions.-
«I'll be watching you anyway...»
Because of what had happened, I could no longer fully trust this pervert, who used that lame excuse of "I was just helping you."
Alan began walking along the path lit by the lighting towers.
I looked at my video camera only to see that it was 8:00 p.m., almost before curfew.
Alan told me that after Dilan's attack, some security agents came to see if there were any injuries. Isaac's thugs were currently hospitalized with broken bones; fortunately, they weren't in critical condition.
The hunting club president ordered him to take care of me and take me to the academy.
-Hey, were those blue flames part of your unique ability?-
The boy asked, seeing her bored expression after walking in silence.
-And why do you want to know that, idiot?!-
-What did you call me? I was just asking out of curiosity?!-
-Flames of Vengeance, it's my unique ability located at rank B, it increases bow damage by 60% and sword damage by 100%, also my flames generated by my elemental affinity will always do 90% more damage to demons, the more rage I have accumulated, the stronger the flames I make will be-
-Wow, that's an incredible ability-
-Yes, I know. Since I was a child, my dad praised me for having this ability, in addition to having my constitution [mana regeneration], which helps regenerate my mana much faster-
-You're a box full of surprises, but why don't you use it?-
-Because keeping my anger under control is difficult, and because of my poor mana management, I'm exhausted-
-And your talent with the sword? I noticed a little while ago that you had one, since you handled it masterfully-
The last question left me speechless. I didn't use my talent for the sword for a single reason, something that even my old master looked at me with great disappointment.
Once again, I remembered my brother's corpse at the funeral, in that cold coffin, tightly holding a sword.
-...It's none of your business-
The boy made a face of disgust at my comment and decided to continue.