The thick fog enveloped the entire forest, reducing visibility to a minimum. The slender, yet sharp branches of the trees protruded through the fog, obstructing the movement of anyone within.
The air was dry, making breathing rather difficult as a faint scent of decay lingered in the air.
Swoosh, swoosh-
Several figures moved within the dense fog, their expressions calm as they surveyed their surroundings.
Coming to a stop, one of them bent over, and pressed their fingers against the dirt.
“He was here.”
Based on the faint markings on the ground and the temperature, it was clear that their target had been in the area recently.
“…The earth is warmer than the other areas. He stopped her for at least several minutes before leaving.”
Pinching his fingers, he looked ahead before settling his gaze in a certain direction.
“He headed that way.”
He was certain of it.
As one of the Order’s Hounds-an elite group trained for hunting-he was confident in his instincts. Following the clues presented before him, he was certain that their target was close.
“If we pick up our pace now we can-“
It was a pity that he didn’t understand just how close…
In a flash, too quick for him to react, a purplish green hand emerged from within the fog as it slammed against the side of his face. He quickly tried to force out a scream, but to his horror, he realized that no sound came out of his mouth.
“….!”
By the time he realized, it was too late.
His body suddenly grew limp and he quickly lost consciousness.
Thump-!
Everything unfolded so quickly that no one around him could react in time. Yet, as members of an elite group trained by the Order, they instinctively knew something had gone wrong.
Though no sound reached their ears, they sensed the subtle fluctuation of mana in the air. That was enough for them.
“Over there!”
“I see him!”
Magic circles quickly floated in the air, all pointed in the direction of where Julien was.
With his body fully exposed, Julien lifted his hand from the body and scanned his surroundings. Pressing his foot into the ground, he stepped back, his form blending seamlessly with the fog around him.
The spells rained down shortly after.
Wam!
Unfortunately, none of the spells found their targets.
“It missed…!”
“Activate your cloaks. Hide within the fog!”
The Hounds were an elite group for good reason. Even after missing their target, none of them faltered. Instead, they swiftly donned specialized cloaks that allowed their bodies to merge seamlessly with the surrounding fog.
In just a few short seconds, they all disappeared.
But was that truly enough…?
Swoosh!
Suddenly, as if he were a ghost, Julien reappeared, sending a wave of panic through the Hounds. He seized one by the head with both hands, forcing their body to go limp.
Thump!
His actions were swift and decisive.
With one Hound already down, Julien turned his gaze in another direction. It was then that everyone saw it—his eyes, bloodshot and wild, as if he had transformed into a demon. The sight froze one of the Hounds in place, while the others were gripped by growing panic.
“He can see through the fog!”
Realization quickly dawned on them… but it was too late.
Releasing all the tension in his foot, Julien’s body shot towards one of the hounds.
“Support, quickly!”
This time, his movements were clear. Quickly regaining their composure, several Hounds rushed toward Julien’s path, unleashing spells and weapons aimed precisely at the spot he was heading.
But just as the attacks were about to land, his body vanished.
“Ah-!”
A scream followed right after as a body fell to the floor.
Everyone froze on the spot, slowly turning their heads back to see two bodies on the floor.
This…
“Illusion! Quickly get ou-“
“Shh.”
A figure appeared all of a sudden, his finger placed against his lips.
“Let’s not make too much noise, okay?”
Julien’s hand shot forward, seeming to grow larger in the Hound’s eyes as terror consumed him. His entire body trembled with the instinct to run, but running was impossible. In an
instant, the hand pressed firmly against his face.
Thump!
…And his body fell.
Julien’s bloodshot eyes locked onto the remaining Hounds, his demonic expression seeming to rise straight from the depths of hell. Of the remaining hounds, only two were left as their hearts pounded erratically, the fear gripping at their ankles tightly, rooting them in place.
A chilling smile spread across Julien’s lips as two figures emerged silently behind the Hounds, catching them off guard.
Panic overtook them as they darted in the opposite direction, only to be stopped in their tracks by two massive hands that seized their heads simultaneously.
“You fell for it.”
Julien’s cold voice whispered quietly in their ears as they realized what had happened, but it
was too late.
Thump, thump-
Their consciousness quickly slipped away, and their bodies crumpled to the ground.
From the moment Julien emerged and attacked, no more than thirty seconds had passed. It
was practically like a flash of lightning or the strike of a matchstick.
He was direct and efficient.
“Hoo.”
Letting out a long breath, Julien quickly collected his breath and looked around him.
“This is quite different from my usual style.”
He was somewhat surprised by the result of his attack. No, surprised wouldn’t be the right word. Julien understood he had always been capable of pulling something like this before, but he had been too preoccupied with developing his domain to truly utilize his skills efficiently. He also didn’t need the fog to help him. With his skills, he could create his very own fog.
Now that he had the ability to mimic sounds and noises, Julien realized the possibilities for
his skills were limitless.
And most importantly…
“Hm?”
As Julien gazed into the distance, a sharp sting suddenly hit his eyes. Several clusters of red
emerged in his vision, rapidly closing in on his position.
“They’re coming…” Julien looked down at the bodies around him and quickly gathered them up.
He didn’t kill any of them.
Not out of kindness, but because he recalled the words Atlas had once spoken to him.
Lowering his head, he briefly looked at his four-leaved clover before pulling his hand back
and slowly fading into the fog.
He wasn’t worried about the people he had knocked out.
“They’ll need at least a few weeks to fully recover.’
He had not only used Curse Magic on them but also Emotive Magic. Their brains were fried,
and for now, they would pose no threat to him. Most importantly, they could serve as a good
distraction.
Then again, it didn’t really matter to him if they recovered.
He could just do it again.
This was…
‘A nice training ground.’
Swoosh!
His figure fully faded shortly after.
A few seconds after his figure faded, several figures appeared.
“Over here, I felt something over-“
They quickly stopped upon noticing the numerous bodies on the ground.
“This…”
“What happened?”
Their shock merely persisted for a few seconds before they quickly realized they were still
breathing.
“They’re alive.”
“Should we help them?”
“No, it’ll just make us lose valuable time. This is probably what he wants.”
A figure emerged shortly after, his deep black eyes sweeping over the bodies. His very
presence seemed to press down on the surroundings, casting a heavy, oppressive aura.
“Would you look at this?”
Trailing behind him was Libra, a playful smile curling on her lips as her green eyes scanned
the area, searching for any trace of their prey. It was unfortunate that she found nothing. As if
he had turned into the fog itself, all traces of him appeared to have faded.
“…He seems to be a bit trickier than expected.”
With that being said, she didn’t seem at all disappointed.
In fact, she was excited.
How could she not? Things were just starting to become interesting.
“So, he wants to reverse the roles? Instead of being the hunted, he wants to be the hunter?”
Libra laughed in amusement.
She found this sort of behavior to be a little cute.
Then again, in her eyes, this looked no different than a mouse trying to rebel against a lion.
As she laughed, Libra remained unaware that a pair of eyes were fixated on her. Julien hadn’t actually fled; he had stayed close, quietly observing from the same spot. From the very start, none of them noticed that he was near them.
He had known from the start that they’d reach his spot.
He just wanted to see who he was dealing with, and to his surprise, there appeared to be
several figures who appeared close to his age range.
Their strength also only appeared to be slightly higher than his.
‘I guess they are afraid of Atlas after all…’
Had that not been the case, I was sure the High Seats would’ve personally interfered. The fact
that they had sent them meant that they were afraid of what he’d do if they personally got
involved.
“This is good’
Julien sighed in relief.
If the opponent was too strong, he’d have no choice but to flee with the help of Owl-Mighty.
However, things were different now.
As things stood…
‘I can do it.’
He could handle all of them.
His gaze sharpened as he assessed the situation calmly. The woman with her back exposed
seemed to be the most vulnerable, a stark contrast to the others, who were more vigilant.
Was it arrogance, or confidence?
Julien didn’t know, but he quickly pressed his foot against the ground and approached the
three in silence.
His steps were utterly silent, and as he moved past several figures, none of them registered his presence.
He was soon just a few meters away from his target.
“What do you say we do? Should we separate or should we go together? Either way, it makes
no difference to me.”
He could hear her words more clearly from where he stood.
“He also shouldn’t be too far so we shouldn’t waste too much time.”
Julien swallowed softly, his hand gradually shifting to a dark purplish hue. His calves
tightened, and a ripple of discomfort ran through his body as a green and red orb materialized in his vision.
The two orbs slowly merged, their colors swirling before combining into a single, brilliant
yellow one.
All preparations were in place, and just as Julien readied himself to strike, one of the three suddenly paused.
Their gaze flickered in his direction, locking onto him for a brief, electrifying moment as a
deep black met Julien’s vision.
Seeing the figure’s expression shift in an instant, Julien cursed under his breath. Despite the
sudden shift in the air, he didn’t hesitate. With a surge of movement, he pressed forward.
Swoosh-
He was fast, extremely fast.
So fast that the red-haired woman didn’t even notice his presence as his hand came hurtling
for her face.
‘Almost there…!’
Julien felt something form at his throat as his hand rapidly approached her hand.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion then.
He was close, so very close.
And just as his hand was about to touch her head, his entire body froze mid-air.
“Ukh-!” “Uh?”
As if finally sensing the danger, Libra turned back to see a figure appear a few inches away from her.
“What, when-!”
When she turned her head she saw Taurus hold his hand up, his hand shaking as he held Julien
in place.
Time seemed to halt as all eyes snapped to Julien. He felt the weight of their gaze as he
scanned the surrounding faces, and then, as if understanding what had happened, his eyes turned sharply toward Taurus.
Rather than panicking, his lips curled into a smile as he complimented,
“You’re rather quick to react.”
His words gently echoed across the surroundings, sounding like a soft whisper in the wind.
Taurus kept his gaze firmly locked towards Julien, his expression unreadable.
“…That’s good.”
Julien’s voice rang out once more but from a different direction this time. As it did, the weight
pressing down on Taurus’s hand eased, gradually lightening before finally disappearing
entirely.
“It wouldn’t be fun otherwise.”
His presence completely faded shortly after that.