abcnovels
Chapter 153
Chapter 153
Chapter 153
In that fleeting moment, Deathbringer thought many things.
“…?”
However, all those thoughts disappeared the instant he locked eyes with the Demon Knight’s gray, lifeless gaze.
?But he still managed to acquire power. ?
Funnily enough, only those words echoed through his mind.
?Despite struggling just as much, he can achieve far more than you, exact a deeper revenge.?
Even though he knew just how much he’d suffered because of the Demon, how much despair and countless sorrows he’d endured, envy still reared its ugly head first.
Clench.
Ashamed of these thoughts, he couldn’t bear to face him.
Before the Demon Knight could grasp the situation, before the others could gather here and expose his true nature, Deathbringer quickly fled.As always, the Knight didn’t try to catch him.
“Where are you going, young hunter!”
The Knight.
Didn’t give chase, either.
“Uwaah!”
“Berserk doesn’t understand anything! Explain before you go!”
“Urgh, whatever!!”
As Deathbringer rushed into the street, narrowly avoiding people, he felt heavy footsteps shake the ground. He didn’t need to look back to know it was Berserk; the weight was unmistakable.
She was faster than the Inquisitor and didn’t have to worry about the topography like the priests—who were just ordinary people—so she would undoubtedly be the first to catch up to him.
“Explain before you go!!”
“I said whatever!!”
That spurred him on even further. For some reason, even though he should’ve already been caught by now, the distance between them wasn’t closing so easily.
For some reason, he felt a lot ‘faster’.
“Young hunter!!”
So, he put even more strength into his feet.
He had no idea why he’d suddenly become faster. Ah, no. When that Demon forced the provisional contract on him, it said his physical abilities would get enhanced in exchange for his silence. That had to be the reason.
How was this just ‘slightly’? His running speed was noticeably faster.
Deathbringer laughed hollowly and dashed into an alley.
He didn’t want any of this, but with these enhanced physical abilities, he could now run at an incomparable speed. This was his chance.
Aside from tracking, hiding was another of his specialties. He was highly confident that he could lose them in these alleys and somehow disappear entirely from their sight. Deathbringer knew this was his only option for survival.
He happened to be born in this city. Ten years might have changed a lot of things, but not everything.
He could do this.
He could get away from them.
Deathbringer’s eyes glinted fiercely.
“Hunter!”
Of course, Berserk was still following him closely.
With her superior abilities, she could detect most presences, and her uncanny intuition allowed her to pinpoint even hidden things to some extent.
“Are you here?”
However, she was a fighter, not a hunter.
“It feels like it…”
So, despite her sharp intuition, hiding from her wasn’t completely impossible. After all, he’d once successfully evaded the Demon Knight’s detection, as well.
He also had some items that could tell him the location of others, even through walls.
Like that, Deathbringer held his breath even more, ignoring the figure who’d appeared not far behind him.
“Hmm…”
Berserk placed a hand on the windowsill he’d used to climb the wall he was currently clinging to.
Crack.
Her grip was so strong that just a small push slightly crushed the windowsill.
But in the end, he won.
Berserk slowly moved away.
Phew. The breath he’d been holding in for some time was finally released.
Bang!
“Not here, either?”
Just as he was about to take out the item, the presence he’d felt retreating suddenly returned, gripping the windowsill again. Deathbringer completely froze, even ceasing the slight shaking of his fur.
“Phew.”
It was a good thing that Berserk never looked down.
As the saying went, it was darkest under the lamp. Deathbringer was relieved at her carelessness.
“Her instincts are as sharp as ever…”
However, despite being careless, her instincts made up for it. Although she’d moved away from this place, she hadn’t gone far enough for him to feel safe enough to leave.
She was also circling the place.
“Sigh.”
Taking risks really wasn’t his style, but in this world, things rarely went according to plan.
Berserk showed no intention of leaving this area any time soon, and since others besides her were also searching for him, he had to be extra careful.
So, he moved in regular intervals, using the item to track Berserk’s position. Of course, he tried to walk calmly, even if she suddenly went in another direction or began running.
If she lost his trail, this would become a game of nerves. Running would create much more noise than walking, and a skilled fighter like her wouldn’t miss that sound.
Like that, he took one step, then another. Whenever Berserk made a loud noise, he used that as cover and moved a bit further.
He controlled every other sound he made while stepping forward, moving in a way that made his presence almost undetectable, wholly enveloped in stillness and silence.
Thud, thud, thud.
And when her massive figure finally disappeared in the opposite direction.
He genuinely changed his position. Aside from Berserk’s instincts finally seeming to reach their limit, the number of people actively searching for him was increasing.
“I don’t need this kind of popularity.”
Despite the precariousness of his situation, he couldn’t help but whine a little.
He left the alley, mocking how his situation had abruptly changed overnight.
However, with Berserk, his biggest threat, gone, it wouldn’t be that difficult for him to escape this encirclement.
While it was somewhat inconvenient that the priests were persistently tracking him through the lingering Demonic Energy coming from him, it didn’t pose a direct threat to his life.
Moreover, their pursuit would most likely end after he left the city. He just needed to hold on for a little longer.
Thud!
“Where—”
However.
“—do you think you’re going?”
Unexpectedly, the one with such formidable power he’d so desperately tried to avoid emerged from the alley and approached him.
The way he’d positioned himself, leaning with his arm against the wall as if wanting to break it to block the path, was just as intimidating. It was almost terrifying enough to stop his heart. He was so surprised that he couldn’t even scream.
“M-Mister…”
Deathbringer gulped as he met the gaze looking down on him.
Had the Demon Knight always been that tall? He hadn’t noticed when they were allies. Honestly, he was so terrified that his hands and feet were trembling.
“I believe I asked you a question.”
Shiiiiiit. Was this the kind of fear those who’d previously faced the Demon Knight before felt?
He stepped back hesitantly, thinking it was a miracle his heart hadn’t already stopped. The Demon Knight had blocked his path by leaning against the wall but hadn’t fully trapped him yet.
“That’s…”
Had the Demon Knight heard about him forming a contract with a Demon? Considering he hadn’t immediately struck him down, maybe he wasn’t aware of it.
However, if he didn’t know, why was he here?
Deathbringer lowered his gaze and bowed his head. The hand he’d slid into his cloak clenched around something.
“Even if it’s a misunderstanding, you wouldn’t believe me, right…?”
He spoke with a bit of hope in his voice, but before hearing the answer, he quickly abandoned it. He could never hope for something like that.
“…”
So, he held the thing that was in his palm even tighter.
“…!”
Slash!
The corrupted dagger the Demon Knight had once gifted him cut the Knight’s cheek.
“…Tsk.”
Even though he’d been aiming for the head, all he could only do was leave a superficial cut. However, he hadn’t expected to succeed to begin with.
Instead, he kicked the ground to move forward. He didn’t even stop to apologize for fear of losing his momentum.
Bam!
He squeezed through the gap between the Demon Knight and the wall formed by the arm leaning against it.
He grazed it but still managed to fall behind the Demon Knight.
He didn’t have enough time to ponder why the Demon Knight hadn’t reacted. Whatever the reason, it was fortunate for him.
Even though he didn’t particularly care about his own life, he didn’t want to die yet. That was what went through his mind.
It wasn’t because his life was precious or valuable to him, but because he didn’t want those who’d died because of him to have died in vain.
Step, step, step.
Then, the only thing he could do was run like hell.
* * *
He’d run out to the main street, not seeing the Demon Knight touch the cheek where the corrupted blade had cut him.
The people of the Temple were probably scattered around there, but it didn’t matter.
Since the Demon Knight could cut down enemies from a distance, he had to blend in with the regular people.
Of course, he could only even consider this option because the Demon Knight would never harm civilians just to catch him.
Had he been the type to prioritize killing Demons over the safety of the innocent, Deathbringer would never have run out into the main street.
“There he is!!”
Damn, they were so persistent.
Deathbringer turned to avoid the people running toward him, realizing he was now heading toward the manor, but that didn’t matter.
As long as he managed to escape their sight, he could find a way to disguise himself. It didn’t matter whether he was inside a manor, the main street, or an alley.
“You!”
“Ah.”
Even the iron wall had come out.
He didn’t have time to scout ahead with his item, so he hadn’t noticed the iron wall approaching him until it was too late, though that wasn’t a major problem.
It would be a little troublesome if the iron wall decided to block the entire street with her barrier, but he knew plenty of petty and extremely cowardly methods to counter that.
Whoosh!
So he swiftly took something out of his cloak and scattered it into the air.
Swish.
“C-Cough.”
It was pepper he’d brought with him when the three of them had recklessly gone into the forest in search of the Demon—he’d ground up the leftovers.
Well, back then, he never expected he’d be using it like this.
“Cough, cough.”
Anyway, he flung that precious pepper worth more than its weight in gold—he hadn’t bought it with his own money, so he didn’t feel too bad about it—into the air and turned.
Since it was just a harmless spice, it would only cause one to cough a little if inhaled, so he didn’t feel too guilty.
Instead, he threw something else along with it: a colorful powder that scattered into the air.
Strike!
He then struck the flint he’d taken out alongside it to create sparks in the air.
The powder caught fire, causing some small explosions. They were really minor, only enough to sting someone a little if they came into contact.
However, his purpose wasn’t to hurt others. He just wanted to cause some confusion by spreading colorful smoke.
“Uwah!!”
“Wh-Wh-What is this?!”
“Cough, cough!”
The civilians began to panic.
“Wait, please step aside—”
“Everyone, please calm down…!”
Seeing the civilians inadvertently blocking the priests, he quickly ran to the building on his left.
There were fruit vendor stalls set up, but he easily climbed over them, taking to the air with ease.
“Cough, you troublemaker. Seriously!”
His reason for climbing back onto the rooftops instead of following the main street was as follows: that slowpoke had no long-range abilities to intercept him, but she could still obstruct his path with that weird barrier of hers. Since it wasn’t lethal, she didn’t have to worry about the civilians, either.
“O, Almighty God!”
At that moment, a golden barrier formed over his head. Deathbringer’s legs turned diagonally.
Whoosh.
He jumped down from the building. That way, the building would prevent the barrier from trapping him.
However, he couldn’t just go down to the street, so he twisted his body toward the building as he jumped.
Grab.
His body flew diagonally forward to the next building, and his hands grabbed the edge of its roof. It was just outside of the golden barrier’s range.
He then quickly clambered onto the roof before jumping again, even as he saw a barrier forming right in front of him.
Deathbringer continued moving forward, rolling around to stay out of the iron wall’s sight.
Fortunately, the Inquisitor wasn’t nimble enough to scale these buildings and could only move through the streets. It was also quite lucky that he couldn’t see where Berserk had gone and that, for some reason, the Demon Knight wasn’t chasing him.
Alright, now that things had turned out this way, he could simply escape through that hidden hole in the manor wall he’d previously discovered.
Deathbringer quickly planned a new escape route and pulled out the item that allowed him to detect the location of Arcane Power users.
He didn’t want to experience another of those heart-stopping encounters like earlier.
Fortunately, most of them, except for the Inquisitor, were far away. He could relax a little more while running.
* * *
Physical freedom wasn’t always equivalent to complete freedom.
That was why Young Lord Leon, who was spending his time in his office adjacent to the garden, wore a distraught expression.
The being, which had taken the form of a white cat, purred on his lap, acting cute.
He missed Mia. He repeatedly thought about things he couldn’t speak aloud, tears filling his eyes. He truly missed his strong, steadfast lover.
“Sigh.”
Just what had Mia written in her letter?
Thinking back on the pieces of conversation he’d barely overheard when those guests were around, she might have been asking about this ‘wild beast incident’. He’d written to her about it, and the guests had also mentioned a cat.
However, the Skyflow Tiger’s interference had ruined everything.
Ah, how desperately he’d wanted to tell someone about what was happening. He glanced down at the root of all this trouble.
The cat, sensing his gaze, looked up at him. Its pink eyes, which reminded him of his lover, blinked at him. That was what had made him risk his fur allergy to feed it.
“…”
He quickly averted his gaze, unable to cry but also unable to smile.
Even though it was a beast of legend, it was a relief it didn’t trigger his allergy… But that alone simply wasn’t enough to overlook the great harm it had caused.
Well, aside from Mia being his lover, dozens of people have already died. Even if they weren’t part of his town, they were still innocent.
However… The problem was that this had no solution. Other than breaking up with Mia and offering himself as a sacrifice to the Skyflow Tiger, to be exact.
“Tell me the truth!”
Was this really the only answer?
He pulled out a new piece of paper.
He couldn’t keep neglecting the situation just for the sake of his love. He’d been selfish enough already, and with his last hope—seeking Mia’s aid—cut off, he had to make a decision.
A decision for everyone, even if it meant his own unhappiness.
A decision that would ensure Mia and her city’s safety.
“Catch that bastard who killed the former Lord!”
Had he known this would happen, he would have broken up with her the moment he realized that the Skyflow Tiger was responsible for the immense increase in wild beasts. Then, Mia might have been a bit less troubled by all this.
Unaware that he was shedding a few tears, Leon began to write.
As he began, the cat climbed onto the desk as if to monitor his actions. When it saw the content, it made a satisfied expression.
“If it really wasn’t your doing, then immediately—!”
“…I told you it wasn’t!”
Even knowing this was the best decision he could make for everyone, his lover included, he couldn’t help feeling resentful.
Due to that damn protest outside, he knocked over the inkwell, spilling ink like teardrops across the desk.
> [My dear…]
The cat leaped off the desk. Sizzle. Its plump form soon transformed into that of a platinum person.
The Skyflow Tiger brushed her fingers against Leon’s cheek.
> [Are those people outside bothering you? If you wish, I can remove them for you.]
“…I don’t want you to do that.”
> [But aren’t they troubling you?]
The one troubling him the most was her. Leon swallowed those words as he let his tears flow.
“…No, they aren’t.”
Ah, Mia. He hoped she wouldn’t be too distressed by this.
No, what truly worried him the most was that she might come to check the situation herself. If a breakup notice were to immediately follow a plea for help, she would definitely get suspicious.
She had always been the active type who wanted to see the truth with her own eyes…
> [Then why are you crying?]
“That’s…”
He liked that about her, but right now, he kind of disliked it. Had he known things would turn out like this, he would have just sent her a breakup letter.
Had he known, he wouldn’t have even confessed to her to begin with…
> [Oh my.]
The Skyflow Tiger suddenly clicked her tongue. Leon’s head instinctively jerked upward.
> [I thought it was just a passing beast.]
What was it now? He followed the Skyflow Tiger’s gaze toward the garden connected to the office.
Thud.
Someone fell down from a tree. Dark hair was visible from beneath their hood, but the shade cast by the tree made it rather difficult to make out the exact color.
> [But it was a mortal.]
One thing Leon knew was that this definitely wasn’t a good situation.
His face instantly went ashen.
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