Chapter 2: A Night Hunt (2)
The group of hunters hastened to take up their positions.
They regrouped to cover each other's backs. Siena, particularly on guard, slipped a second arrow before declaring:
"Celestial Eyes!"
After a blink of her eyelids, the normally jet-black irises of the female archer adopted a completely different appearance; a beautiful glow reminiscent of the northern lights shone through her eyes. This spell allowed Siena to see clearly in this dark night as if it was daytime. She scrupulously inspected the forest while searching for a potential danger. She knew very well that a night monster was near.
Several seconds passed.
The deafening silence of this sinister forest alerted them even more. Each of them was an experienced hunter and a fighter who had already faced death many times. However, a certain proverb was very popular in their tribe:
"Mother Nature should never be underestimated."
For these people, this sentence had a very special meaning. Harel, Siena, Rhett and Mia... They themselves have lost count of the number of companions they have lost because of the unpredictability of their enemies. Individually, they probably could not survive a single night. But together, they had a chance to not become a prey.
"Something moved! Mia, prepare the trap. Rhett, you protect her while Harel and I hold its attention. It may have hidden companions, so stay on your guard."
Siena tried to follow the shadowy mass that snaked between the trees, to no avail. The latter seemed to have vanished. However, its disappearance was only brief.
A sinister black fog appeared in front of the female archer, quickly taking a humanoid form. Nothing was visible on its face, except a cryptic smile that made the huntress shudder.
"It's a Shadow! Everyone, use Erebus' Elixir!"
Harel didn't even pay attention to Siena's instructions and immediately threw himself at the night monster. In one leap, the hunter was already in front of his target, his right grip tightening on the handle of his weapon.
"Diaphanous Crescent!"
As he chanted his spell, the blade of his sickle wrapped itself in a pure whitish light. Harel described a lunar crescent on the Shadow with his weapon, trying to cut it. The creature, previously confident, lost its smile and stepped back to avoid the offensive. Its assailant did not stop and declared a new spell:
"Gravity Nullification!"
A faint purple glow covered his body for a brief moment, freeing him from the embrace of gravity. He propelled himself on his prey without giving it time to gauge the effects of his spell. Surprised, the Shadow didn't have the time to get away. It finally chose to face its opponent in a hand-to-hand combat despite the danger of the white light that his weapon emitted. The creature lowered its body to let the offensive pass above it, while raising one of its arms towards the back of Harel. Its foggy hand's size increased drastically, exceeding that of a normal human, before closing on the hunter's body. Unable to evade the attack from this angle, he lifted the shield of blackish bones attached to his left forearm with the hope of not being crushed.
Crack!
The shadowy hand broke the shield as if it was a vulgar toy, eventually catching its target. The poor prey, who was struggling with this monstrous embrace, heard a familiar voice from her position: it was Siena.
"Harel! Brace yourself!"
The leader of the group quickly fired an arrow wrapped in a strange blackish liquid towards the Shadow's arm. The night monster paid no attention to this projectile, thinking it would only pass trough its foggy body. To its surprise, the arrow cut off its arm and freed Harel. The shady humanoid gave up a pain cry before jumping back. The wide, cryptic smile on its face disappeared, replaced by an angry expression. It stared at what was left of its arm, noticing the presence of a familiar black liquid: the Erebus' Elixir.
The anger on its face disappeared, giving way to an indecipherable expression.
The first instinct of the night monsters is to kill the humans. However, they aren't immune to fear and also share the survival instinct of the other living beings.
It's known in the hunter's tribe that during the rare times when these two instincts clash, the night creatures becomes much more dangerous.
Why? Because it will become unpredictable.
Harel, who had just been released, landed softly on both feet. Unlike his companions, no ounce of fear was visible on his face. In reality, it was possible to distinguish an excited smile.
Shadows are dangerous night monsters, and they killed many of his friends in the past. For the hunter, it was a rare opportunity to externalize the rage that slumbered in him.
He leaped from his location, landing between the creature and his group. He then raised his sickle towards the position of his prey, retorting:
"You're going to die tonight, you bloody monster."
The Shadow didn't seem to react to his provocations. Starting to lose patience, Siena shouted from her position:
"Mia, how much time before you're ready?"
"A few minutes!"
Mia answered hastily, busy tracing different purple glyphs in the air. The reason her trap took so long was due to the nature of her target: a Shadow. Naturally intangible to any physical or magical offensive that didn't involve light, it was very difficult to restrict it. For this, she needed a series of coordinated spells by playing on the assets she had against a creature of this kind, including the Erebus' Elixir that nullified its intangibility. Even for a natural genius in assembling, merging, coordinating, and even creating restriction spells like Mia, it needed some time.
"It's coming!"
Harel immediately adopted his fighting posture when he saw the creature beginning to move. The Shadow hastily rushed at the group. Wasting no time, the young hunter intercepted it with his sickle that was still brilliant under his spell's effect. He tried to slice its chest in a circular motion. The creature lowered its body, easily avoiding the blow. It, in turn, made a circular motion using its leg to sweep Harel. He chose to jump to avoid this blow, falling on the shadow's skull with his sickle. His opponent shifted its body to the front to avoid the sickle, before giving him a back kick. Harel placed his left forearm against the offensive, thinking he was going to block it. However, the attack went past his limb and directly hit his face, expelling him on the side.
"Uh! I forgot that this f*cker could do that."
Harel stopped his ejection by planting his sickle on the ground. He then hurried back to the Shadow, giving it no time to approach his companions. The instant he arrived, he dropped his sickle on the Shadow's skull. The latter lifted its remaining hand to Harel's wrist, blocking his offensive. The hunter, unbalanced, fell vulgarly to the ground. But while the Shadow was about to finish him, an object brushed its head; it was a small wooden container. A fraction of a second later, an arrow wrapped in a thin reddish aura hit the container.
"Explosive Arrow!"
The projectile immediately exploded with the container, releasing a large amount of blackish liquid on the Shadow. Harel quickly understood what it was. He placed both palms on the ground to lift his body. During his movement, his right foot went up to the creature's chin, and to its great surprise, he touched it. The blow slightly raised the surprised monster, having just understood what had happened. The hunter then closed his left fist and sent it to the Shadow's face. However, the latter blocked his offensive with another punch, finally engaging in a real hand-to-hand fight. Harel smiled, lowering his sickle on his target's head. The Shadow's hand immediately changed shape, taking that of a dagger. It pushed its new weapon up the trajectory of the sickle, deflecting it. The monster then shifted his body to his left, quickly dodging an arrow that had just been fired by Siena. Harel, coordinating his movements with his teammate, reached the side of his target after it dodged, trying to cut it on the chest. The creature deviated the blow again with its dagger-shaped hand. It then pulled up its right leg, whose size increased drastically, hitting Harel violently with it. The fighter crossed two trees because of the strength of the blow. The impact caused him to spit a stream of blood while plunging him into unconsciousness.
"It's ready!"
Mia shouted from her position, before she opened her two palms towards the Shadow.
"Erebus' Chains!"
The Erebus' Elixir in which the Shadow was bathed began to move. It took the form of a long black chain before solidifying, trapping the creature. Without stopping, the hunter pressed her two palms together, bathing them in a golden light.
"Luminous Lock..."
Seven golden spears appeared around the chained Shadow, mimicking a crucifixion by planting it on each side. The golden light surrounding Mia was quickly condensed. It then took the form of the purification glyph behind the huntress who declared:
"May the Gods forgive your impure existence... Cathartic Pillar!"
The veil of nocturnal darkness was suddenly pierced by an immense luminous column. It shone through the dark night and crashed into the Shadow, forcing it to let go of an atrocious pain scream. In an instant, the creature was knocked down and its body, tangible and viscous, collapsed to the ground. Siena heaved a sigh of relief, before looking at the position where Harel crashed.
"That blow sent him far."
Rhett replied with some disappointment on his face:
"He was too reckless. He would've been dead if you didn't have the idea of plunging the Shadow into the Erebus' Elixir."
Mia broke into the conversation with a broad smile on her lips:
"I know right? It was pure genius! You're so cool Siena!"
Siena turned her face away to hide her embarrassed expression. She retorted without delay:
"Uh, yes. We shouldn't stay here for too long. Your last spell must have attracted many creatures. Let's get Harel and find a better place to make a fire."
Rhett recovered the Shadow's corpse while Siena took the unconscious Harel. The group of hunters plunged a little deeper into the forest to find a good shelter while staying on their guard. They were experienced enough to know that in this broken world, the danger lay in wait for them all the time.
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