Ch.74Hunter, or Prey (5)

His exceptional reflexes became a liability.

When an arm extended from around the corner of the underground waterway, Najin instinctively widened his eyes to identify what the hand was holding and prepare accordingly. Indeed, his reflexes were remarkable, and his intention succeeded.

But success doesn’t always mean the best outcome.

Najin saw the lantern gripped in the outstretched hand. The bluish flames flickering inside the lantern wavered. The moment those wavering flames registered on his retina, Najin felt as if the world had turned upside down.

He could see the bluish flames burning.

The burning flames cast shadows.

The shadow of fire imprinted on Najin’s retina.

The change happened in an instant. First, his sense of balance vanished; second, his visual perception distorted; third, his bodily sensations became chaotic. Am I standing? Have I fallen? Or perhaps…

Confusion of sight and sensation.

-Najin!

But even the voice echoing within him wasn’t distorted. It was the resonance of his soul, not something heard with ears. As Merlin’s voice echoed, Najin gritted his teeth.

Even with his senses in disarray, Najin felt “something” approaching him. Trusting his instincts, Najin stretched out his arm. He kicked the ground.

Thwack-thwack-thwack!

Bone spikes shot out and pierced Najin’s body.

However, the spike aimed at his face was blocked by his outstretched hand, and thanks to kicking the ground, he managed to avoid being impaled in vital spots.

An impressive movement for someone with distorted vision and senses. But that was the limit. Najin, who had leaped without looking around, fell into the waterway flowing through the underground passage.

Splash, followed by a rushing sound…

Almost simultaneously with Najin falling into the water, an arrow was fired. The arrow blasted through all the corpses blocking the path as it headed toward the hand holding the lantern. But the arrow didn’t pierce the arm.

Screech, screech, screech.

A defensive spell deployed above the arm caught the arrow. Eventually, with a crashing sound, the spell shattered. It was remarkable that a single arrow could shatter a mage’s barrier… but that didn’t improve the situation.

Click.

Finally, she revealed herself from around the corner.

A woman holding a bluish burning lantern, adorned with ornaments made of human bones. The black mage Faube, the target of this mission, smiled.

“Impressive.”

With a snap, a broken bracelet fell to the floor.

It was a bracelet that had absorbed the cost of the defensive spell. A bracelet that could withstand four sword strikes from a decent Sword Expert had been shattered in one blow.

The power was astonishing, but Faube merely expressed brief admiration without showing much surprise.

She still had many more relics on her person. With a relaxed smile, Faube looked at the ranger who had a crossbow aimed at her.

“But are you sure you’re okay? Your companion has already fallen into the waterway. Aren’t you going to rescue him?”

As she spoke, she tapped the floor with the staff in her hand. A ring appeared behind her back. Faube smiled as she waved the lantern in her hand.

“If you fall into water while affected by this… you definitely won’t be able to resurface. Shouldn’t you jump in quickly to save him before he drowns?”

One ring. Bone spike.

As the bone spike sliced through the air toward Kaufman, he pulled the trigger on his crossbow. With a twang, his poncho fluttered.

Crack.

The fired arrow shattered the bone spike. The arrow that cut through the scattered bone dust stopped right in front of Faube’s face. This time, the arrow couldn’t break through Faube’s barrier. The barrier concentrated at the front had caught the arrow.

“How cold. I don’t care for men without loyalty.”

Faube clicked her tongue and pointed her staff.

“But what can you do? Nothing is as powerless as an archer without a vanguard.”

One, two, three.

Three rings appeared behind Faube. But rings weren’t the only things that appeared behind her. From around the corner emerged corpses with rolled-back eyes and two black mages.

Among the corpses were knights and inquisitors.

They must have been the first to enter, or perhaps those who had recently fallen to the black mages. Looking at them, Kaufman clicked his tongue. This has become troublesome.

2.

The ranger, Kaufman Theosis, assessed the situation.

Two second-circle black mages.

And one fourth-circle black mage, with over twenty corpses they could control as mediums. Even this alone would be difficult to handle in an “unprepared” situation…

‘She even possesses a masterpiece.’

A masterpiece in the form of a lantern. Shadow of Fire.

He didn’t know the exact effect of this masterpiece. But judging by how that guy lost his balance and moved strangely before falling into the water when the lantern flickered…

It must be a hallucination or sensory disruption type.

The flame in Faube’s lantern had almost died down. Seeing the flame gradually growing larger, it seemed to be an artifact that required recharge time. Having assessed this far, Kaufman exhaled deeply.

A troublesome opponent.

And this was their territory.

He hadn’t fully analyzed his prey yet, and the battlefield was disadvantageous. But… so what? Kaufman was a ranger, and before being a ranger, he was a soldier. He had fought in unfavorable situations more often than favorable ones.

What mattered was turning the situation around.

The corpses rushed toward Kaufman.

The corpses of knights and inquisitors stood guarding Faube, while behind the advancing corpses, Faube and the black mages were chanting spells.

Setting up a vanguard and preparing major spells. Despite being black mages, they were using orthodox methods.

“Tsk.”

Clicking his tongue, Kaufman pulled the trigger on his ballista while simultaneously letting his body ride the recoil. There was no need to aim carefully at the corpses charging from the front.

Twang.

With the recoil, Kaufman retreated significantly. As he retreated, he released the ballista. When the ballista hit the ground with a thud, Kaufman’s hands were already inside his poncho.

What emerged from the poncho was a throwing dagger.

The dagger embedded itself with a thwack among the corpses, whose numbers had been greatly reduced by the large arrow. Corpses fell as the dagger pierced their heads, clearing the line of sight. Beyond them, Faube was pointing her staff in this direction.

Droplets of blood floated above the staff Faube was aiming.

Kaufman knew what that magic was.

It was magic favored by School of Blood alchemists and necromancers. Magic using blood as a medium. A spell that required large amounts of blood, making it difficult for anyone outside the School of Blood to use… except for black mages.

Because it didn’t have to be their own blood.

There were corpses lying on the ground that hadn’t been hit by daggers or arrows. Their skin was completely dried up. As if all their blood had been drained. The blood drained from the corpses was swirling above Faube’s staff.

Three rings.

3rd circle magic, Blood Ray.

A spell true to its name was coming. A ray of blood shot from the tip of the staff. Because it was a destructive spell favored by black mages, Kaufman was well familiar with it.

He also knew how to counter it.

Kaufman lowered his stance and flicked his finger. The daggers embedded in the corpses glowed blue. Though Kaufman wasn’t a mage, he knew how to use magical tools. The more weapons one could use, the better.

Engraved on the five daggers was ‘Refraction’

The glowing blue daggers refracted the blood ray. Avoiding the ray that twisted and turned, Kaufman stretched his arm forward. His arm was aimed at the black mages standing beside Faube.

Thwack.

An arrow shot from the crossbow on the back of his hand.

The fired arrow disrupted the black mage who was chanting a spell. Thus gaining a few seconds of time. Kaufman drew the great bow from his back and nocked an arrow in one motion.

A movement repeated thousands, tens of thousands of times. With smooth motion, the bowstring was drawn to its limit.

Screeeech!

The refracted blood ray returned, melting the walls of the underground waterway. The blood ray was returning at a terrifying speed. Before that ray could touch his back, he needed to reduce their numbers. With that thought, just as Kaufman was about to release the drawn bowstring—

Bubble.

A sound was heard. A sound that came out of nowhere.

Immediately after, something burst out of the waterway, cutting through the water. Spraying water droplets, what emerged from the waterway was Najin with bone spikes embedded in his body.

His sword was already surrounded by sword energy.

Spinning in mid-air, Najin drove his sword into the ceiling of the underground waterway. As he embedded the sword, he withdrew the sword energy. Thus, with his sword fixed to the ceiling, Najin placed both feet on the ceiling.

That was all within one second.

Sword energy once again enveloped the sword stuck in the ceiling, and light leaked out. As he pulled out the sword, Najin kicked off the ceiling and rushed toward Faube.

“…!”

Faube quickly redirected the staff she had been aiming at Kaufman toward Najin. Just as the blood ray that had been scraping the walls of the underground waterway was about to turn toward Najin—

Swoosh.

Kaufman, who had immediately assessed the situation, released the bowstring. The fired arrow aimed for Faube’s staff. The blood ray emanating from the tip of the staff melted the arrow, but before it completely melted, the arrow struck the tip of the staff.

The trajectory of the staff aimed at Najin was thrown off. The blood ray barely grazed past Najin’s side, and Najin, twisting his body, swung his sword.

Pure white sword energy traced a pristine arc. The sword energy, swung in a crescent trajectory, struck down on the defensive spell Faube had cast around herself. Though the spell could block at least four strikes from an Expert…

Slash.

It couldn’t block Najin’s strike.

The pure white sword energy split the defensive spell. Just as the violently fluctuating sword energy was about to touch Faube’s nape, the defensive spell exploded with a loud noise.

2nd circle spell, Veil of Rejection.

Najin was pushed back significantly by the repulsive force generated.

Pushed back to where Kaufman was standing, Najin exhaled deeply. There, Kaufman was glancing at Najin with an incredulous look.

“…Well, you managed to survive somehow.”

An incredulous mutter.

Najin didn’t mention how, from the moment he fell into the water, he had embedded his sword wrapped in sword energy into the wall and moved against the current without direction. He simply conveyed the information briefly.

“That hallucination lasts about 1 minute and 30 seconds.”

From the moment his senses were distorted, Najin had been counting time internally. The duration of the effect of that masterpiece, Shadow of Fire or whatever it was. Conveying that time, Najin breathed roughly.

Bone spikes were embedded in his body.

And having had to hold his breath underwater, his breathing was also labored.

His condition wasn’t particularly good. That’s what happens when you suffer a critical wound in the first encounter without information. Najin pulled out the bone spikes embedded in his body and regulated his breathing.

“Mr. Kaufman.”

“Speak.”

“How many can you handle?”

“You tell me first.”

Najin looked ahead, his sword hanging down.

Two black mages gathered with Faube, and the corpses they controlled. Judging by the corpses of inquisitors and knights, it seemed somewhat challenging to handle alone.

“You crazy bastard…!”

While the two were conversing, Faube was glaring at Najin with wide eyes. Despite using the Veil of Rejection, Najin’s sword energy had managed to graze Faube’s skin just before being pushed back.

Blood flowing from her nape. Pressing her palm against her nape, Faube gritted her teeth.

She cursed and roughly tapped the lantern attached to her waist. The recharged Shadow of Fire flickered bluish once more. Just as Kaufman was about to close his eyes at the sight of the flickering lantern—

“I’ll handle that woman.”

Najin’s voice resonated in Kaufman’s ears.

“Deal with the rest as you see fit.”

“What?”

Before Kaufman could ask what nonsense that was, Najin stomped the ground. With a booming sound, cracks spread across the floor of the underground waterway.

A moment of acceleration.

Najin dashed forward, kicking off the ground. With his eyes closed, Kaufman couldn’t see this, but he gasped. The aura he felt for a moment was too fierce.

3.

Najin sprinted, kicking off the ground.

With mana surged in an instant, Najin’s speed was no less than that of a Sword Seeker. The black mages couldn’t track with their eyes the figure of Najin who dashed forward in a flash, kicking off the ground.

By the time they came to their senses, Najin had already reached right in front of them.

However, the corpses of knights and inquisitors belatedly reacted to Najin’s movement. They swung their swords at Najin, and Faube extended the lantern toward him. But Najin already had his eyes closed.

Though his eyes were closed, he could sense their presence.

Najin took one more step forward. Maintaining the momentum, Najin swung his sword. As the Veil of Rejection shattered and tried to push Najin’s body away, Najin stretched his hand forward.

…The repulsive force of the Veil of Rejection occurs “twice.”

The first focuses on the weapon that shattered the veil and occurs immediately, and the second repulsive force occurs broadly after a brief gap. He had heard this fact from Merlin and had just experienced it.

Because he had experienced it, Najin aimed for that gap.

Because he had experienced it, he swung his sword with one hand.

The sword that broke the veil, and the left hand holding it, were thrown back, but his right hand remained. Najin’s outstretched right hand grabbed Faube’s collar. As Najin’s body was pushed back by the repulsive force, Faube’s neck was constricted by her pulled robe.

“Gack!”

Disrupted breath. Disrupted magical power.

Najin wouldn’t miss that gap. Stomping the ground with his raised foot, Najin swung his arm. Utilizing even the repulsive force pushing him away, Najin threw Faube.

Faube was thrown far away.

The distance between her and the black mages supporting her, and the corpses protecting her, widened. Belatedly, a corpse knight swung its sword and an inquisitor swung its lance, but… by then, Najin was already dashing toward Faube, kicking off the ground.

Najin rushed toward the isolated Faube.

Najin still had his eyes closed.

Looking at Najin rushing with his eyes closed, Faube gritted her teeth. Is he planning to fight with his eyes closed? Let’s see if he can. She touched her nape and swung the lantern widely.

Shadow of Fire is a masterpiece.

If it could be countered simply by closing one’s eyes, it wouldn’t be called a masterpiece.

‘The moment he’s affected again.’

This time, she’d pierce that torso with a blood ray.

Just as a smile formed on Faube’s lips, Najin opened his closed eyes. Then he stared directly at the flickering fire.

Wide-open pupils.

Those pupils were tinged with platinum.