Chapter 78

Hunting down prey once it’s cornered is an easy task. Kapman Theosis knew this all too well.

“……”

Silently, Kapman walked through the underground waterway. What’s the specialty of a ranger? It’s precisely chasing and eliminating prey. Even if the visibility is poor due to the adjacent water flow and the humidity, it poses no issue at all.

Bloodstains. Footsteps. Traces that remain despite efforts to conceal them.

No matter how hard one tries, it’s impossible to escape the seasoned eyes of a ranger. Following the remaining traces, Kapman moved quietly, never letting his guard down even while pursuing.

His vision broad, his ballista always loaded.

The moment he sensed Najin’s presence from afar, Kapman pulled the trigger. The arrow, whistling through the air, grazed the thigh of the fleeing prey. Blood splattered, and a suppressed groan echoed.

Thud!

The prey kicked off the ground and fled.

Bleeding and stifling groans, it ran off into the distance. Even then, Kapman did not run. He merely pursued Najin with steady steps.

At first glance, it might seem like he was taking it easy, but in reality, it was far from it. The prey was already wounded, bleeding, and cornered. Moreover, the path the prey was heading towards was endlessly laden with traps, wasn’t it?

Then, there’s no reason to give up the advantage of being the pursuer.

Allow no opportunity for counterattack.

Press on relentlessly. Never relinquish the upper hand once gained. That’s Kapman Theosis’s philosophy of hunting. There was no reason to close the distance and give the prey a chance to counterattack.

“Devour them.”

Until they’re utterly exhausted.

Until they can no longer move.

Only then, after pressing them to their limits, would finishing them with a bolt to the forehead conclude the hunt. At this point, the hunt was essentially over.

It was just business as usual.

For a hunter, it’s nothing out of the ordinary. The hunter pursued the bleeding prey. The sound of footsteps of two people echoed quietly through the deep underground waterway.

Chasing, pulling the trigger, and chasing again.

Amid this recurring pattern, Kapman had the luxury to be lost in thought. Despite knowing that indulging in stray thoughts during a hunt is foolish, he couldn’t ignore the thoughts swirling in his mind.

“…Huff.”

He sighed deeply and walked on.

Keeping his senses sharp, he pondered. Why had he fallen to such depths? The years spent in the rugged mountains bordering the empire, the years spent bleeding for the empire, are now all in the past.

The honorable soldier who once laid down his life for the empire is not here. What remains is an old, weary hound.

A hound that is dragged along as the leash is pulled, biting whatever it’s commanded to, simply living that way. Of course, if the empire had been the one holding his leash, Kapman would have considered this duty honorable. Dedicating one’s life to the homeland is a matter of honor for a soldier.

However, it’s not the imperial family that holds his leash.

Therefore, naturally, there’s no honor or greater cause in what he does. Kapman felt bitter about this reality.

「For the empire.」

「For the glory and well-being of the empire.」

Memories of shouting such slogans in the past swirl in his mind.

Of course, he doesn’t regret leaving the Techo Mountain Rangers behind and walking away on his own. He found a lover who he cherished more than his country, so it couldn’t be helped.

The problem lies in what followed.

That was the real issue.

“Damn bastards.”

Kapman muttered as if spitting out the words.

Perhaps it’s a common story. A group of dark mages seeking revenge on a retired soldier. An accident that resulted in his wife’s death. And all that’s left in the end is his child.

「Emergency treatment has been administered, but it won’t last long.」

「It’s a terrible curse.」

「There’s nothing we can do…」

A life ruined. A story shattered.

Yet, something remains.

To protect what’s left, a person can throw everything else away.

「Oh, of course, we must help.」

「But to break such a curse… We’ll need His Grace. And He appreciates those who serve Him beautifully.」

「What will you do?」

The options to cling to were limited.

They demanded the unimaginable.

「You’ve made a wise choice.」

「He will respect your decision.」

But there was no way to refuse.

“Damn it.”

Kapman scratched his neck.

“Bastards.”

He scratched roughly, not minding the flesh and blood peeled off by his fingernails. Kapman gritted his teeth.

「Huh.」

「I didn’t think you’d be able to investigate so thoroughly.」

The truth revealed at the end of the chase.

「Yes, it’s true. I was the one who informed the dark mage who killed your wife of your location and instructed them to do so.」

「But what can you do?」

「Will you file a complaint? Go ahead, try.」

「A few words from a retired soldier might catch someone’s ear, but then what?」

His life was toyed with, and what he thought was a tragedy turned out to be a meticulously planned conspiracy. But by the time he realized this, a leash was already around his neck.

「Your daughter.」

「The only ones who can get your daughter out of the Underground City Artman are us.」

「Make a wise choice, Kapman.」

「Don’t you want to protect what’s left?」

What remains is a pathetic hound.

Kapman clutched the contract in his arms. A contract made with their souls at stake. Fulfill the task, and he’d be freed from everything.

Just this once.

Just succeed in this task.

Just one more time…

“……”

Kapman gritted his teeth.

He recalled Najin, who reacted to the word “Underground City Artman”. Kapman knew how that city came to be, how people lived within it.

Born and raised in such a city.

And the boy who finally made it out.

His role was to trample that boy, smash his head, gouge out his eyes so he’d never see the light again. Kapman felt disillusioned by this fact.

“…Damn it.”

Muttering so, Kapman pulled the trigger of his crossbow. The sound of it cocking resounded heavily. Shaking off his stray thoughts and gathering his emotions, Kapman walked on.

Bang, Boom!

A sound came from afar.

The sound of a trap being triggered. The sound did not stop at once but continued to echo. Listening to that sound, Kapman muttered.

It’s over.

The accumulated fatigue and injuries. The sluggish movements making it impossible to avoid traps. The blurred judgment due to pain. Such a vicious cycle leads the cornered prey to lose its judgment completely.

The consecutive triggering of traps was proof of that.

It’s no longer a situation where one can detect and avoid traps. Heading towards where the sound came from, Kapman saw it. Bloodstains scattered here and there, traces of something rolling on the ground.

Those bloodstains extended far into the distance.

Traces as if dragging feet.

This tiresome chase was finally coming to an end. Following the bloodstains, Kapman moved on. To finish off the prey that could no longer move.

Thus, Kapman closed the distance.

He closed the distance, after all.

The hunter, who had always maintained a distance and chosen only the correct answers, chose the wrong one at the very last moment.

-Now.

A voice inaudible to Kapman.

But audible to Najin.

The moment he heard the voice, Najin moved. Hidden in the darkness of the waterway’s ceiling, Najin silently jumped down.

In the darkness where one can’t see even an inch ahead, no one knows who will become the hunter and who will become the prey.

As if to prove that saying, Najin’s eyes shone in the darkness.

「The moment a hunter is most off guard is when they’re about to finish off their prey. Even the most experienced hunter shows an opening at that moment.」

A story Offen had shared.

「It was in such a situation that the ranger, who had been hidden all along, finally showed himself.」

「And that was the only chance for a counterattack.」

He said this while shaking a bottle of liquor.

「Draw them in. Act like a bug caught in a web, struggling in the traps on purpose. Behave and act as if you’ve lost your judgment, as if you’re cornered.」

「Deceive. The. Hunter.」

「Wait until the spider, thinking you’re sufficiently weakened, reveals itself in front of you.」

That’s the moment.

「The moment that spider reveals itself to sink its fangs into you. That’s your last chance.」

Offen smiled as he sipped his liquor.

「Bite back. With all your might.」

With eyes ablaze, Najin saw.

The hunter who had finally revealed himself in front of him. And thus, what he seized was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The moment Kapman’s gaze was fixed on the arrows and daggers Najin had thrown on the ground and stepped deeper into the fray.

-Now.

The voice echoed in his ears.

Najin, who had been hanging from the ceiling, jumped down. The attack was silent, but Kapman, with almost superhuman senses, detected even the slightest hint of presence.

“…!”

Kapman’s eyes widened as he swiftly turned his crossbow toward Najin, but it was already too late. Najin, holding a dagger in his left hand in reverse grip, thrust it into Kapman’s ballista.

Crack!

The dagger was thrust into the ballista before the crossbow’s trigger could be pulled. As the ballista misfired, Najin’s right hand, holding a longsword, swung.

Due to the accumulated fatigue and injuries, as well as the sword aura extracted during the fight with Fauve, the longsword bore no sword aura. However, even so, the blade was more than sufficient to tear human flesh.

A surprise attack. And a longsword backed by considerable force.

The longsword struck Kapman’s shoulder, tearing through the poncho and splattering blood. As the blade dug deep, aiming to sever the arm from the shoulder, Kapman clenched his teeth and thrust his arm forward.

Crunch.

Regardless of the blood flowing from his palm or the blade digging deeper, Kapman gripped the blade to prevent it from penetrating further and kicked out towards Najin.

Crack.

Despite the kick landing directly on his previously injured abdomen, Najin did not let go of the longsword. Even as he was pushed back, he forcefully twisted the longsword, widening the wound on Kapman’s shoulder and deeply cutting the fingers of Kapman’s hand that gripped the sword, as Najin retreated.

Thus, a stalemate was formed.

Maintaining distance, the two looked at each other.

“I’ve never seen such a crazy bastard.”

Kapman laughed as if in disbelief.

Blood flowed from the torn shoulder. The torn poncho fell, revealing the contents inside, and the destroyed crossbow was rendered unusable.

Deeply cut fingers and shoulder.

This hand won’t be able to draw a bow anymore.

However, from Kapman’s perspective, Najin’s condition was several times more serious. His body was covered in wounds, his clothes soaked in red, and several arrows and daggers still lodged in his back as if not all were removed.

Eyes blazing with rage. Harsh breathing.

Even if he had managed to draw him here, that bastard’s condition was far from normal. It was a wonder he could still move… Yet, he showed no intention of releasing the longsword. Observing Najin, Kapman acknowledged.

No one here is the prey.

Here, they are merely hunters to each other.

Kapman’s upper body, revealed as the poncho fell off, was covered in scars on his forearms, and various daggers hung from his leather armor. With one hand, he drew a dagger, and with the other, he unsheathed the machete from his waist.

The scent of blood vibrating in the air.

The only sound was the water flowing along the waterway.

A moment of silence and a single breath. The time it took for each to assess the other’s condition was merely a few seconds. During those few seconds, both had calculated how to kill the prey standing before them.

It didn’t matter who moved first.

Almost simultaneously, the two hunters charged at each other. Najin’s thrown dagger and Kapman’s swung dagger clashed in mid-air and were deflected, and as they parried the flying objects, the longsword and machete collided.

Clang!

Sparks flew.

Blood spurted from the wounds opened by the violent movement. The eyes of Najin, blazing with rage, and Kapman met.

The only reflection in their eyes was the intent to kill.

Reasons, stray thoughts, such trivial emotions had long been discarded.

Hesitation meant death.