Encounter with the Hunter

Today was yet another perfect day for observing my OTP.

From atop a hill with a clear view of the plains where they were, I tirelessly stalked—er, observed the protagonist's party.

No, it wasn't like I was doing this just because I wanted to keep gazing at my favorite ship forever.

Now that the party had assembled, the original story's events should start happening soon.

The attack by assassins from the Vanguard Church.

Laura, who had fled from the Holy Kingdom, was fated to be relentlessly pursued by the Church.

Because of that, they would be attacked by Church assassins time and time again.

Of course, if things proceeded according to the original, they should be able to survive this event.

However, I still had no idea how closely this world would follow the source material.

In "Souls Light Nobly," the existence of parallel worlds was mentioned several times.

Depending on which branch was taken, there were apparently bad-end futures where Riogren and the others died—just casually existing out there.

So I planned to back them up when the assassins attacked. If things accidentally headed toward a bad end, this entire world could meet its demise. Besides, wanting my favorites to find happiness was my genuine feeling as a fellow otaku.

… Ahh, but I want to keep observing like this a little longer. Fren's smile is just too cute.

While I was lost in such thoughts, my sixth sense detected killing intent in the distance.

Ah, they're here.

My healing time was over.

I kept a close eye on the protagonist's party as they faced the enemy while beginning my own battle preparations.

 

＊　＊　＊

 

The protagonist's party—Rio and the others—was walking back after defeating some monsters. Having successfully completed their request, all that remained was to return to the Imperial Capital. However, in this harsh world, letting your guard down for even a moment could invite sudden mortal peril.

"—Hold up. Someone's lurking nearby. And they're giving off serious bloodlust."

Gil, who had survived countless life-or-death situations, was the first to notice the killing intent.

When everyone stopped at his warning, a figure eventually emerged from behind a tree ahead of them.

"My, my, to think my ambush would be detected… Did I underestimate you a little?"

What appeared was a man wearing a black priest's robe with a dark green hood.

What he wore was a standard Vanguard Church priest's garment from the Holy Kingdom.

However, unlike the usual white, his cloth was pitch black.

That garment, which ordinary priests never wore, indicated a certain status.

"A Black Priest…"

Gil, who had his own history with the Vanguard Church, murmured.

Black Priests were the clergy of the Vanguard Church who handled the dirty work.

Their duties ranged widely—from eliminating rebels to disposing of foreign spies to carrying out sabotage.

In other words, they were the ones who managed the Holy Kingdom's dark underbelly.

Black Priests who handled direct combat all possessed exceptional fighting ability without exception.

Indeed, Rio and his party seemed somewhat overwhelmed by the man's killing intent.

"I am Hunter, Second Rank Black Priest. It will only be a short while until you're all dead, but pleased to make your acquaintance."

He seemed to take pride in his title of Second Rank Black Priest.

Indeed, Black Priests were the elite among the elite within the Vanguard Church.

Among the Church members who handled violent work, only a select few could become Black Priests.

Only elites who had succeeded in harsh missions time and again.

"Second Rank" meant the second lowest among seven ranks. Even so, having risen above the most populous First Rank, he could certainly be called elite.

However, he was dissatisfied with his current evaluation. Originally Third Rank, he had been demoted not long ago. It wasn't because he was weak—rather, his sadistic tendency to torment his prey excessively had earned him a negative mark.

 

＊　＊　＊

 

With a grin, Hunter drew the bow slung across his back.

It was less than a meter long. The way he gripped the wooden handle showed practiced ease.

"Now then—shall we begin?"

Hunter nocked an arrow.

In an instant, the arrow transformed into the shape of a snake.

Its eyes rolled about, tongue flicking in and out—it looked like a real snake.

"Wha—!?"

"It's a ranged Soullight! Watch out!"

Gil's warning came almost simultaneously with the arrow's release.

"Hunting Archery—Venomous Fanged Serpent."

The arrow—or rather, the snake—struck at Riogren.

The snake twisted through the air, attacking in an irregular trajectory.

However, Rio's enhanced reflexes could handle movements of this caliber.

Reading its trajectory, he swung his sword once, and the snake was split cleanly in two down the middle.

Once destroyed, the snake reverted to an ordinary arrow and fell to the ground.

Laura breathed a sigh of relief at the sight.

But while everyone's attention was drawn there, a second arrow had already been loosed.

"Hunting Archery—Sprinting Wolf Arrow."

This strike was incomparably faster than the previous snake.

The loosed arrow transformed into a wolf's shape.

It shot straight toward Gil and sank its fangs into his arm.

"Gah!?"

He wasn't even given the chance to use his Soullight.

Caught off guard with one arm restrained, Gil couldn't demonstrate his full power.

The wolf, still clamping down on Gil's arm, whipped his body around like a nunchaku and hurled him into the air.

"Guh, AAAAAAH!"

Thrown skyward, Gil plummeted back to earth.

Struck by an impact violent enough to make him feel like his innards would burst, Gil's consciousness was reaped in an instant.

Seeing this, Hunter smiled with satisfaction.

"Hihih… The most troublesome one has been dealt with. Now then, next is…"

"—Ice Arrow!"

Fren launched a spell at Hunter while he was collecting his thoughts.

Having continued her magical training even after awakening to Soullight, Fren's strike was first-rate in both power and aim.

However, Hunter, who had been observing everyone's movements, left no openings.

Discerning her aim from the direction of her gaze, Hunter evaded the ice arrow with nimble footwork.

"Next to hunt would be you, I suppose."

He nocked another arrow, which transformed. It was a snake—the same as the first arrow.

The released snake headed toward Fren.

She moved quickly, trying to evade.

However, the snake's movements curved sharply to follow her.

Unlike Riogren, Fren had no means of close-range interception, and she couldn't react in time.

"Kyah!?"

The snake bit into Fren's arm.

The wound wasn't large. However, the moment she was bitten by the snake, Fren's face turned deathly pale and she collapsed on the spot.

"Fren-chan!?"

"Laura, it's poison! Prioritize treating Fren!"

Laura screamed, and Rio, grasping the situation, issued orders.

Seeing this, Hunter's lips twisted into a crescent-moon grin.

"Hih, hihihi! This is how a hunt should be! —Now then, let's save the easiest target for last."

Hunter, bow at the ready, turned to face Riogren.

Rio felt fear at Hunter's killing intent, and his legs grew heavy.

Originally, he had been nothing more than an ordinary farmer.

He'd only been an adventurer for a few months.

He had almost no experience in battles to the death between humans.

His fingers gripping the sword still trembled faintly.

"Uu… ooooooh!"

Even so, he charged forward to protect his companions and his childhood friend.

His Soullight-enhanced legs propelled his body at tremendous speed.

"Hihih… Just like a boar."

However, dealing with prey charging straight at him was child's play for Hunter.

With nimble footwork, he sidestepped Rio's charge and fired arrows as they passed each other.

"Guh…!?"

Three consecutive arrows struck Rio's back.

As he staggered, a precisely aimed follow-up shot.

The final arrow pierced clean through his Achilles tendon, sealing Rio's movement.

"Ugh…"

"Rio! Rio!"

Laura screamed.

With multiple arrows stuck in his body, the pain left Rio unable to even move.

"Hih, hihihihi! Neutralization complete! Now then, I could just take the sacrificial girl back to complete the mission, but… let's enjoy ourselves a bit more."

Hunter approached the fallen Rio, wearing a disturbing smile.

"I got bored of peeling off fingernails with my last target… so this time, let's see how many arrows it takes before a human dies, shall we?"

—He was an utterly vile sadist.

After this, he would thoroughly torment Rio while reveling in Laura's screams.

With Gil and Fren already incapacitated and unable to intervene, Rio would be made to painfully confront his own powerlessness.

"—Fog That Heralds Death."

Well, I was going to crush that event anyway.

I deployed the fog with my ability and slowly began to walk.

 

＊　＊　＊

 

White fog suddenly descended upon the battlefield where the outcome had nearly been decided.

"… Fog?"

Hunter wiped the grin off his face and began scanning the area, arrow nocked.

Rio, crumpled on the ground in agony, also surveyed his surroundings.

The white fog completely obscured their vision.

An eerie fog that instilled primal fear just from gazing upon it.

"—There!"

Spotting a shadow moving in the fog, Hunter loosed an arrow.

The arrow transformed into a snake and struck at its prey.

—The next instant, the snake was cleaved cleanly in two.

"What!? Tch…"

Reaction speed that seemed impossible in fog with such poor visibility.

Shocked but wasting no time, Hunter moved to loose another arrow at the same spot.

But before he could, the fog behind him rippled and a small shadow burst forth.

"Tch!"

Hunter barely managed to twist away from the blade that emerged from the fog.

A slash appeared at the tip of his hood.

The shadow melted back into the fog and vanished.

"… An unexpected intruder, is it? —But variables are part of the hunt. I just need to hunt them all."

Murmuring quietly, Hunter quickly spun around and dashed backward.

It could have been mistaken for fleeing from the enemy.

Even in the fog with no visibility, his steps showed no hesitation.

Seeing this, the shadow lurking in the fog chanted something.

"—"

New pursuers emerged from the fog.

They were fearsome-looking hounds.

Black bodies with eyes that gleamed red. Running low to the ground, their speed matched Hunter's own.

"Does a mere dog think it can hunt me?"

But Hunter immediately turned and loosed wolf arrows.

Two wolves launched at the hounds and sank their fangs into the black bodies.

After a brief struggle, the hounds collapsed and dissipated like mist.

"Tch, she's catching up…"

Firing arrows at the hounds had momentarily stopped Hunter in his tracks.

Using the hounds as decoys, the shadow in the fog closed in on Hunter.

However, the shadow was forced to halt before reaching him.

A bear trap—meant to restrain feet.

The one Hunter had set in advance had caught the shadow's foot.

"Haha, got you! Foolish prey is felled by traps—that's a hunter's wisdom! —Wolves, devour the foolish beast!"

The hunter's arrows transformed into wolves and attacked.

The immobilized shadow cut them down, but a second and third arrow followed immediately.

"Ahh, this is the best! The moment of finishing off helpless, trapped prey! This is how a hunt should be!"

Hunter roared with laughter as he continued firing arrows.

When he'd loosed ten, he finally stopped.

To confirm his prey's corpse.

"… What?"

But the trapped shadow was no longer there.

Hunter furrowed his brow at the sight of nothing but empty fog spreading before him.

"Impossible… Did she pull free from the bear trap's jaws?"

"—Is your little hunting game over?"

That he could react to the ambush from behind was almost miraculous for Hunter.

The blade swung down from within the fog grazed Hunter's neck.

Though he narrowly avoided a direct hit, it sliced off his right ear.

"Ah, AAAAAAAH! My ear! My eaaaaar!"

Screaming, Hunter somehow managed to stagger backward.

The figure that drifted out of the fog was—a girl.

Her slender frame seemed mismatched with the great scythe in her hands, her silver hair nearly indistinguishable from the white fog.

A fleeting girl who seemed like she might vanish the moment you looked away.

Her refined features wore an expressionless mask. Yet her eyes held unmistakable contempt for Hunter.

"Can you only hunt when you're the overwhelmingly stronger party? Then you'd be better suited hunting rabbits deep in the mountains."

The girl provoked Hunter with cold detachment.

Blood dripping from where his ear had been, Hunter was enraged by her words nonetheless.

"D-Don't mock me! A mere slip of a girl dares question my hunting aesthetics!? —I'll kill you. I will definitely kill you here!"

Hunter nocked another arrow and aimed at the girl.

His killing intent was incomparably greater than before.

Yet the girl showed no sign of flinching and continued her provocations.

"If you intend to reap souls, you should be prepared for the same. Plucking eggs of the future for your own amusement is like an innocent child throwing stones at sublime art. Utterly childish."

"Sh-Shut up shut up shut up! Hunting Archery—Manifest, king of the skies!"

The arrow Hunter nocked transformed.

Its shape was that of the king of raptors—an eagle.

An aerial predator that strikes beasts from above—one apex of the food chain.

A specialist in hunting other creatures.

This was Hunter's trump card.

The destructive power of the arrow transformed into an eagle was incomparable to before.

A weapon capable of easily piercing thick building walls and killing anyone inside.

To put it another way, it was like an anti-materiel rifle round capable of penetrating tank armor.

The ultimate strike reflecting his Soullight's origin—his desire to "always remain a hunter who stands as the strong one."

Though it heavily consumed his Soullight, this was Hunter's ace in the hole—an attack that had always killed its targets without fail.

"Pierce, Eagle Strike!"

With a thunderous roar, the arrow flew toward the girl.

An arrow so fast that even Soullight-enhanced dynamic vision might lose track of it—the girl gave it a single glance and casually swung her scythe to knock it aside.

"… Huh?"

Hunter stood frozen, muttering blankly.

In contrast, the girl's expression remained unchanged.

"—This is what it means to hunt people."

The girl who had circled behind Hunter raised her scythe.

His final trump card so easily swatted aside, Hunter could no longer even move from that spot.

"Soul Reaping Arts—Death is the great equalizer."

When the girl chanted, the scythe became coated in something like blood.

The substance extended the blade portion, expanding it to nearly one and a half times its original size.

Hunter, about to be struck by it, felt like a condemned prisoner awaiting the guillotine.

"Say hello to the Death God for me."

The man who had fancied himself a hunter had his head cleaved from his shoulders by the girl, and his life came to an end.