章 25: Quietus; Release of an Arrow
A snarling growl, the sound of speeding footsteps, and the shadow of a tiger pursuing the shadow of a human figure chased across the field.
With keen eyes, the body of the tiger was revealed to be bleeding profusely, missing several chunks of flesh on its body. Despite so, the deranged beast continued its pursuit viciously, unwilling to fall behind.
Haz turned sharply while reaching towards his tactical belt for his two daggers, his left eye emanating a strand of lightning at the same time, "Damn beast, just stay down! Regardless of how they did it, Icrin will use the fact that they defeated their opponent so quickly as a constant insult, and you're the one to blame for it! Hmph, don't blame me for being cruel now!"
As lightning swam in his eye, his speed seemed to sharpen drastically. Those of the Krose Clan would recognize this technique as their innate "Chrono-Registry Surge" technique. With their bloodline's innate affinity with lightning, the Krose Clan had the ability to utilize the lightning throughout their body, projecting a variety of skills that were easy for their kin to replicate.
Many techniques were developed and reworked over generations, with Chrono-Registry Surge being one of the most proficient techniques in the clan. The skill functioned by rhythmically sending strands of lightning throughout their bodies, before channeling the strands individually into their minds, allowing their mind to perceive everything slower than it was actually happening.
Even with their innate bloodline, the Krose clan members had to channel the strands of lightning in moderation. Too much lightning could cause severe drawbacks and in worst case scenarios, one could even fry their own body and mind internally.
Haz rapidly approached the tiger in the eyes of the spectators, while he easily registered all of its possible movements, readying his daggers.
Schlew Spurt.
Suddenly, blood spurted out of the tiger as two shallow, yet lethal, criss-cross cuts came into vision on the tiger's neck; the energy used to control the corpse leaked out rapidly, before it collapsed to the ground.
As the tiger wasn't living, the attack wouldn't have been lethal on normal occasions. Knowing this, Haz imbued lightning elemental energy into his daggers; the lightning traveled from the dagger into the corpse, dispersing all the energy that was being used to control the corpse throughout its body.
"Hmph! Too easy." Haz spoke, cleaning the blood from his daggers.
In comparison to Haz's battle with the tiger, Phu's battle against the ape was much simpler.
With each swing of his blade, Phu managed to get a clean slash on the ape. Waiting for the right opportunity, he finally managed an attack which tipped the scale in his favor, separating a leg. The unbalanced ape fell forward, as Phu finished the job.
While one couldn't outright kill a corpse, taking off a limb would cause much of the energy to dissipate, especially if the skill used to control the corpse was in an experimental stage or done with an intermediate grasp of the technique, or if the beast didn't have a lot of energy controlling it.
Against the wolf, Ichi wielded a large broadsword, taking a defensive posture rather than an offensive one. Unlike the others, Ichi held out while awaiting the arrival of the others, when suddenly an arrow found itself lodged in the back of the wolf's skull. Seeing an opportunity, Ichi slashed the corpse in half from the waist, ending his battle.
And then... There was Shin. He was the muscle-head of the group, and his battle was against the crocodile. Rather than using a weapon, he fought with the power of raw muscular strength, packing his punches against the crocodile.
"Har!" As the crocodile attempted to bite down on his arm, Shin grabbed its jaws, prying them open with a loud war cry.
"Shin, we respect your "hustle for the muscle" and all—but your battles just take too long." Haz readied his daggers.
"Agreed, allow us to lend you a hand." Phu also appeared, slowly unsheathing his blade.
Swoosh!
Before they could move, an arrow suddenly entered the crocodile's skull with a loud "thunk," piercing partly through its mouth, before lightning shot off the arrow tip into its body, brutally ripping apart its cells and organs.
"No! Every single time! I never get the chance to show you what these muscles can do, dammit all!" Shin cried out, some even say his eyes were misty.
"Never mind, we were too late as always." Haz re-slotted his two daggers in his tactical belt.
"Uh-hm. We'll get it next time." Phu spoke, having only managed to partially unsheathe his blade.
"You said that last time as well. Tsyun always finishes his battle last, though he helps Ichi's and ends Shin's before we can." Haz shook his head, though his eyes blazed with the desire to succeed.
Tsyun was the last one battling. His fight was sure to end quickly based on the group's unworried expressions, despite their haste to return to the village as soon as possible.
In the distance, Rentaro was marveled as Tsyun's grayish-blue hair blew in the wind, revealing his face for the first time. The first thing that stood out was a long row of stitches, trailing from his forehead, down his nose, and across the left side of his face. And unlike the others, both of his eyes were stitched closed.
Twang Fwoosh!
Even with his eyes stitched closed, every arrow was nocked and released with perfect timing, puncturing the bird's most vital points with the accuracy of a divine archer.
"Hmph, Had you been a living being, you'd have already died ten times over." Tsyun's cold voice abruptly sounded, his hand nocking two arrows on his bow rather than one, with each arrow surrounded in a mix of light blue and gray aura, before he released.
The speed of the two arrows was much faster than the previous ones. As they reached the bird, more arrows seemed to take form alongside them. In all, there were a total of six arrows. With the bird flying absentmindedly, its only thought to tear Tsyun apart, the six arrows tore straight though its body swiftly like the reaper's scythe.
As its body was punctured through six different spots, the ghastly aura which controlled the corpse leaked out from all six openings before the corpse fell from the sky.
Rentaro watched, shocked by the ability he had just witnessed. He had seen all the other hunters' fights, but none of them could compare to Tsyun's. Tsyun was an archer—an eyeless archer. And his ability was too divine, as if he could sense everything around him and perfectly control the trajectory of each arrow.
Not to mention, his ability to merge two elemental energies into his arrows and the strange skill of having the arrows duplicate as they traveled.
Even Kyon, Wilhelm, and the beings in the Grimoire of Twilight watched in admiration.
"You alright, Tsyun?" Haz smiled.
Tsyun gave a slight nod, "I'm fine. Let's get going, there's no sense in sticking around here, and waiting for more enemies to show up."
"Kiddos, I'll rally up my little village and bring the animals back with us. I've watched over them for too long; I can't bear to let these little guys fend for themselves with the arising danger." Kyon spoke before releasing a melodious squeaking sound.
Following which, all the animals that burrowed into the ground off in the distance, flew off into the air, and hid in the trees all returned to follow after Kyon, who stood proudly like a Patriarch, "Finished, let's hurry along now."
"Alright, everyone pack up quickly. We'll have to traverse through the forest, even if it's in the dead of night. Luckily, we haven't ventured deeply within the forest. We'd be in quite a lot of trouble otherwise."
With that, the entourage started on their return to the village, moving with their most efficient speed. Though, their traveling was relatively slower on their way back in comparison to entering the second forest zone.
Rentaro's mind raced as he thought of everything they had just experienced. About how he had taken part in battle, taking part in the "killing" of a beast, though it was technically already dead. He didn't find a time to try out the small needle-like weapons either.
He questioned whether killing, something which was foreign to him, would become natural in this life... Something he'd grow numb and accustomed to. Looking over to his friends and companions, he realized all he could do was give it his all in life, making decisions he wouldn't regret.
Along the way, they didn't encounter any other attacks, and thus they reached the village gate without having met any sort of terrible fate. Still watching over the gate were the four men from not even a day ago.
The oldest one in his forties speaking up, "Hey, you've returned so soon—Wait just a minute! What's with all the little animals trailing behind you?"
"Hey, Arv, those animals... Aren't they from that little village used as a resting point?"
"Eh? Now that I think about it, I think you're right, Fen. Haz, what's going on?"
"Arv, we've got bad news. In the second forest zone, we encountered some peak stage three beasts. And that's not the worst part of it—they were corpses, controlled by a special technique."
"Eh? Corpse Soldiers? Damn! Alright, you all hurry along now. Fen, you go with Haz and the others to report everything to the elders. Nash, Rhen, you two go alert our hunters, anyone who has experience fighting and has the capability to fight for that matter. Preparations must be made immediately, no one wants a repeat of last time's events. I'll continue lookout and if I notice anything out of the ordinary, I'll be sure to give a sign."
At the words, "no one wants a repeat of last time's events," everyone's face took on a different expression. Icrin's eyes revealed a deep sense of sorrow, Tsyun gave off a sense of coldness as if he were made up purely of ice, Haz and his troupe gave off a feeling of hate that seethed from the depths of their souls, and the four men watching over the wall showed signs of melancholy as they thought of what their future could've been, had their past gone differently.
There was one trait shared among them, an unfaltering resolve to stand up for their home, one could even say they saw a speck of craze, borderline insanity, overshadowing their eyes. There was the desire to stand up in the present, giving others the chance to have a future they themselves desired in the past.
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