Chapter 15 — Hunter VS Prey
The wind carried the smell of iron, blood, and dust. It looked like a battlefield—because at this moment, that's what it was. A crushed car still smoked where the Hunter had crashed into moments ago. Black blood slowly spread across the road from its wounds. Aken stood in the center of the street, still breathing. His chest rose and fell slowly as cursed energy flowed through him like a second heartbeat. Behind him, Jae-Min layed against the wall of a building—still alive, but barely conscious. "…Aken…" he muttered weakly.
Aken didn't turn. His eyes were fixed on the creature standing twenty meters away. The Hunter, a beast that had chased them across half the city—the same monster that had slaughtered players like insects. It stood there, watching him. Its glowing red eye narrowed slightly. Miokuo spoke. "Master, the Hunter's aura has changed immensely."
"I figured," Aken replied.
And it had. The creature no longer looked amused, no longer curious. Now it looked cautious. That alone was terrifying—because something capable of destroying buildings was now being careful. The Hunter stepped forward slowly. Blood dripped from the slash across its chest, another wound marked its arm where Miokuo had cut earlier. But the creature still stood tall, dangerous, and far from defeated. Its voice echoed through the empty street. "YOU…" It paused. The broken jaw moved strangely, as if forming unfamiliar words. "…ARE… NOT… NORMAL."
Aken tilted his head slightly. "…Didn't anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?"
The Hunter's eye burned brighter, then it vanished. Aken's instincts screamed, he moved instantly. A massive claw crashed down where he had been standing. The ground exploded—chunks of road launching into the air like cannon fire. Aken slid sideways across the street. Miokuo flashed. The katana cut toward the creature's arm. The blade landed—but this time—
CLANG.
Aken's eyes widened. The blade had struck something harder than bone. The Hunter's skin had changed, black lines spread across its arm like hardened armor. Miokuo spoke instantly. "Defensive adaptation has occurred, Master."
The Hunter swung again. Aken jumped backward—the claw passing inches from his chest. The wind pressure alone cracked a nearby window. Aken landed lightly. His cursed energy pulsed again.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Cursed Energy: 81━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The Hunter charged—faster than before. Its body blurred across the street. Aken stepped forward instead of retreating. Their collision shook the road. Miokuo flashed, Aken's blade struck three times in rapid succession. Each slash carried cursed energy through the steel. The Hunter blocked two of them—but the third cut across its side, black blood splattered again. The creature roared—not from pain, but frustration. It swung both arms in a wide arc.
Aken ducked, rolled, then kicked upward. His foot struck the monster's knee. The Hunter staggered by a step. That tiny movement was all Aken needed. He lunged forward, Miokuo glowed faintly as cursed energy surged into the blade.
[Curse Slash]
The strike slammed into the Hunter's chest. The impact blasted the creature backward. Concrete shattered beneath its body as it crashed through a parked truck. Aken exhaled faintly. His cursed energy dropped.
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The burst of power from the slash had drained a large portion. Miokuo hummed. "Effective strike, Master."
"Yeah… but still not enough." Aken responded.
The truck suddenly exploded outward. The Hunter stepped out from the wreckage. Its body now carried several deep wounds—but its movements were sharper, more precise. It had learned. The creature raised its arm again, the air began warping. Aken recognized the attack immediately. "Spatial Impact."
Miokuo warned him. "Right side, Master!"
Aken dove. The invisible strike smashed into the building beside him. The entire wall collapsed, dust filled the street as bricks and concrete rained down. Jae-Min coughed weakly behind him. "…You two are destroying the freaking city."
Aken glanced back briefly. "Oh, you're still alive?"
"…Unfortunately, yeah." Jae-Min laughed
Good, that meant he still had some time left. The Hunter moved through the dust cloud. Its silhouette slowly emerged. One step, then another. Its glowing eye burned brighter now. "THE… CHOSEN ONE."
Aken frowned slightly. "…You keep saying that."
The monster tilted its head. "YOU… ARE… MARKED."
Aken's mind paused for half a second. Marked? By what? He didn't have time to think, the Hunter attacked again. Its claw came down like a falling building. Aken raised Miokuo, steel met claw. The impact blasted him backward across the pavement. His shoes carved deep lines into the asphalt. His arms shook from the force, but still—he didn't fall. Miokuo vibrated with excitement. "Your strength is increasing, Master."
Aken's cursed energy surged again.
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He lunged forward, the katana flashed again. This time, he aimed for the creature's leg. The blade cut deep. The Hunter staggered—then countered immediately. Its elbow slammed into Aken's side, the impact launched him across the street. He crashed into the hood of a car. The metal crumpled under his weight. Pain exploded through his ribs. Miokuo's voice remained calm. "Master, minor internal damage detected."
Aken pushed himself up slowly. "…Good to know."
Across the street, the Hunter approached again, but something about its movement had changed. It was slower now, the wounds were affecting it. Black blood continued dripping from multiple cuts. Jae-Min's weak voice echoed from behind. "…Aken…"
"Stay down Jae-Min." Aken ordered
"…You're really insane." Jae-Min said, a smile flashing on his face
Aken scoffed. "…Yeah. I know."
He rolled his shoulders. Pain spasmed through his body—but something else burned stronger. Rage, cold and focused. His cursed energy began climbing again.
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Miokuo whispered. "Master."
"Yeah?." Aken answered
"Your curse is responding strongly to your emotional state." Miokuo concluded
"That sounds graet."
The Hunter stopped walking. Then suddenly—It laughed. A broken, distorted sound. "YOU'RE… GOING… TO… BREAK."
Aken stepped forward. The ground cracked beneath his foot. "…Try me."
The Hunter charged, Aken moved too. Both figures collided again in the middle of the street. Steel flashed as claws tore through the air, shockwaves blasted outward with each impact. The fight had completely changed. This was no longer a chase. No longer a desperate escape. Now it was something else. Two predators fighting over who owned the battlefield. And the city around them…
Was beginning to understand that something terrifying had been unleashed. Because the Level 1 player everyone would normally ignore…
Was now standing toe-to-toe with a monster that had slaughtered dozens of stronger players. And he wasn't losing, not even close.
END OF CHAPTER 15