Clank-
A sound like the shattering of chains suddenly echoed through the air, forcing several people to stop and look ahead.
“The Melanchonies have been killed…”
A deep and somber voice echoed shortly after.
The atmosphere surrounding the man turned tense as a pair of deep black eyes fixed themselves on a certain cave in the distance.
“That was fast.”
“…Indeed.”
A sharp voice followed, and her eyes narrowed as they fixed on the same cave. It was as if she could see right through the jagged stone walls, her mouth twisting into a creepy and unsettling smile.
“It wouldn’t be fun if it wasn’t the case.”
“Right.”
Looking back, Taurus saw over a dozen people waiting behind them. He nudged his head in the direction of the cave.
“Go, find him.”
Swoosh, swoosh-
Without a word, the dozen or so people vanished from the spot and swiftly made their way toward the cave system, leaving behind the group of three who halted their steps.
“Should we wait here, or should we go as well?”
“…Let’s wait here.”
Within each order, there were several high seats, each occupied by the most powerful individuals whose strength was so immense it could shake the very foundations of each
Empire.
Each Seat mentored and cultivated a group of disciples, training them to one day take up their mantle.
The one closest to succeeding a High-Seat was awarded the title of; Low-Seat.
Though not as powerful as a High-Seat, each of them showed enough potential to eventually ascend to that rank. Among the group present, the last three were Low-Seats from the Nocturne Order.
With the potential that far outclassed their peers, they were selected for the simple job of hunting down and capturing Phecda.
“You’re being rather cautious, Taurus. While Phecda is indeed a little troublesome, without his Emotive Magic, he’s nothing.”
The girl arrogantly spoke, directing her words at the short man with deep black eyes, her fiery red hair fluttering as a gentle breeze passed by.
Her nickname was Libra, and she was the Low-Seat of Purgatory.
Taurus on the other hand was the Low-Seat of Obscurity.
Libra went on to grasp her necklace.
“We have these with us. I wasn’t afraid of his Emotive Magic before, but now?”
She laughed while recalling the pitiful attempts of the tree from before at trying to stop them. Within a few short seconds, they were all able to free themselves from its illusions and come out.
It was somewhat troublesome given the tree’s strength, but the necklaces they wore were incredibly high-class relics, lent to them by their masters with the tree’s presence in mind.
With them, they had nothing to worry about, let alone Phecda who was weaker than the tree. Libra was confident in the hunt.
In her eyes, Phecda was a nobody who had merely won a competition against a group of pampered kids. What he had endured barely compared to the hardships faced by each Low- Seat.
A lot of blood had been shed to get to their position.
“Phecda is not the one I’m worried about,” Taurus replied, his tone low and steady. “It’s the tree that I’m worried about. Even though we have the relics with us, the tree is still a Destroyer-Ranked monster. I’m sure it wasn’t trying its best before.”
“Psh.”
Libra dismissively waved her hand.
“Whatever the case is, the tree isn’t our goal. It’s Phecda.”
“You’re right.”
Taurus nodded calmly while looking at the nearby cave.
“It’s a bit surprising that Phecda was able to defeat the Melanchonies, but given how he did it, I have to admit, his ingenuity deserves some credit.”
“Even then, so what?”
A deep voice suddenly cut through, its tone sounding rather dismissive. It belonged to the last remaining Low Seat; Sagittarius the Low Seat of Confinement.
“Melanchonies are among the weakest of the Terror-Ranked creatures. If you need to hide in a cave to deal with them, it clearly highlights his limitations. Without his Emotive Magic, he isn’t capable of posing much of a threat to us.”
Phecda thrived in close-ranged situation. Be it his Emotive or Curse Magic.
Then what would happen if he met an opponent strong enough to be able to keep their distance away from him and not be scared of his Emotive Magic?
It’d be nothing but an adult playing with a child.
This was how the three of them viewed the current situation.
Clank-
Letting go of the chains in his hands, Sagittarius took a step forward and pushed his way into the cave, Libra and Taurus following from behind.
Though they said nothing, their silence served as a silent agreement with his words.
This wasn’t arrogance, but the harsh truth, derived from carefully analyzing his fighting style through Summit footage and reports from the Seat of Thought.
There was much to be desired from him.
***
Rustle~ Rustle-
The thin branches scraped against my skin, tearing through some of my clothes as a sharp
sting coursed across my body.
‘Damn it, just how sharp are these things?!’
The branches felt as though they were made of metal, stabbing through my clothes and skin. With only about a quarter of my mana remaining, I had no choice but to abandon using the purple orb that allowed me to pass through objects, in order to conserve what little I had left. Knowing that things were still far from over, I had to be extremely careful with my mana
usage.
‘… Where should I go?’
Pausing for a moment, I scanned my surroundings. A dense fog filled the surroundings, barely
allowing me to see more than two meters ahead.
Looking behind, I didn’t feel anything behind me.
For now, I was safe. Especially now that the Melanchonies were taken care of.
But of course, I knew that this wasn’t the end. The Melanchonies were likely not the only
means they had of tracking me down.
I felt a sudden surge of urgency as I bit my lips and looked around.
“What should I do? What should I-“
“Take out the corpse.”
“What?”
Pebble appeared next to my feet. It was then that I remembered its earlier words and quickly
retrieved the Melanchony corpse it had instructed me to collect. I hadn’t had time to question its reasoning at the moment, but now, with a brief pause, I started to ponder the strange
request.
It took me no more than a second to come up with an idea and my eyes involuntarily widened.
“Bone?”
“Correct.”
Pebble replied calmly as my heart involuntarily skipped a beat and I lowered my gaze to stare
at the corpse at my feet.
“This…”
Considering my lack of time, I bent down and quickly scanned the body of the Melanchony before settling my eyes over its head where Pebble’s paw was pressed. Understanding Pebble’s meaning, I pressed my hand against the Melanchony’s head and stabbed right
through. Psh-
A grotesque sound filled the air as my entire hand was drenched in something wet. When I pulled my hand back, I saw it coated entirely in purple, holding a small bone about the size of
my pinky that I had retrieved from the Melanchony.
“Haa…”
Staring at the bone, I involuntarily breathed out as I observed it in my hand. Much like my hand, the bone was coated in purple from the Melanchony’s blood. However,
beneath the blood’s layer, I could see a faint white glow that seemed to beckon me.
I pressed my lips tightly as I held onto the bone.
‘What should I do? Should I absorb it or should I sell it?’
I immediately came conflicted upon seeing the bone. Given the Melanchony’s lack of intelligence, I didn’t think it would be capable of forming a ‘Will’. At least, I didn’t think, it would form one that was capable of communicating like Pebble and Owl-Mighty.
Furthermore, having already absorbed three bones, I only had two more left…
I needed to be careful about my last two bones.
“You should absorb it.”
As if sensing my inner conflict, Owl-Mighty’s voice echoed softly in my ear. When I turned to
look in its direction, the owl met my gaze with a calm, yet distant, stare.
“Given your current situation, this would be the best option for you. The Melanchony might
not be intelligent, but it will make the perfect hound dog for you.”
“Hound dog?”
What could Owl-Mighty be trying to sa-
“Rather than being hunted, you should do the hunting.”
“Uh?”
I blinked my eyes slowly.
“Eyes of the Seer, Etherweave, Lament of Lies, Step of Suppression…”
All of a sudden, Owl-Mighty started recounting the names of my skills.
I was confused at first, but soon, my thoughts halted as I glanced around me. The image I had
struggled so hard to clarify began to take shape in my mind, and without realizing it, my
breathing grew heavier.
“Take a look at your surroundings. Take a look at your skills. Should you really be running
around like a headless chicken?”
Owl-Mighty’s words began to strangely resonate in my mind, causing me to swallow quietly.
“…How is it that you’re the one being chased when you have all the means to hunt them down
directly?”
My breathing grew even heavier.
Yes, why should I be the one running from them?
I looked at the dense fog around me and my skills. I was at my strongest when I could touch
them. Be it Emotive Magic and Curse Magic, both of them thrived the moment I grew closer to
them.
Before, I struggled to get close to my opponents, but was that the case now?
Looking at all my skills, I started to understand…
“You’re not the prey, human.”
I raised my head and looked directly at the Owl, feeling a strange yet powerful beat resound
deeply in my mind.
Ba… Thump! Ba… Thump!
It was unlike the times when I felt fear.
No, it was clearly different.
Why exactly?
The hand holding the bone trembled as mana began to circulate deep within my body, causing
the bone to resonate in sync with me.
Looking at the bone, I started to understand.
Indeed, my heart wasn’t beating out of fear.
No…
“…They are.”
It was beating out of excitement.