The Hunter's Madness
Crack! Crack!
The battle began with Draksan’s axe swings.
With an axe in each hand, he buried the blades into the monster’s legs twice on each side.
Graaaah!
A piercing shriek erupted from the beast. Perhaps because its face resembled a human’s, the scream sounded disturbingly human and all the more horrifying.
The monster’s body tilted unsteadily.
Draksan raised his axe again, aiming to hack at the creature’s already buckling legs. He intended to sever them completely; without its legs, the fight would become far easier.
But the bear-like monster refused to take the blows passively.
Just as its massive, bear-like paw—twice the size of any ordinary bear’s—came hurtling toward Draksan, Gwangrang’s enormous frame stepped in front of him.
She met the monster’s descending paw with her own outstretched claws.
Thud—!
The impact rang out like two colossal shields colliding, only heavier and more thunderous.
The monster’s crimson eyes wavered for a moment. It pressed down harder, trying to crush Gwangrang beneath its paw. Gwangrang bared her fangs in a savage grin.
“A contest of strength? I’m strong too, you little bastard!”
The monster tried to grind her into the ground while Gwangrang struggled to lift its paw.
She was slowly being pushed back, yet even that much resistance was absurd. A werewolf matching a monster in raw power?
There was no time to be surprised.
While Gwangrang bought time, someone had to move. Draksan moved first.
Crack—!
The sound of splitting wood echoed cleanly.
With a heavy thud, the bear monster’s body lurched completely to one side. Its right leg had been severed; I knew it without needing to look.
At that moment, Gwangrang, still locked in her struggle, shouted in her neutral tone.
“Doctor, the eyes!”
“I know!”
My only weapon was the scalpel I had brought just in case. Even that wasn’t as sharp as in my previous life; it was little more than a dagger now.
The only place worth aiming for is the eyes.
Gripping the scalpel tighter, I kicked off the ground and leapt. I aimed straight for the bear monster’s face—specifically, its eyes.
But I was a little short. The creature was simply too tall.
Even unbalanced from its injured legs, it was still enormous. I grabbed its fur and began to climb its body like a rock wall.
Climbing… yes, just like climbing.
The memory of the brief climbing sessions I had done in my previous life for social reasons flashed through my mind. As always, a strange feeling accompanied the recollection.
Surrealism. The violent reality of this other world felt oddly distant and unfamiliar.
A counselor who doesn’t counsel… damn it.
Still, what choice did I have? In this world, even a counselor sometimes needed to fight. I had reasons to fight, and the strength to do so. I couldn’t just stand by.
Thud!
Swallowing my rising complaints, I drove the scalpel into the monster’s eye.
Graaaaaah—!
Its horrifying scream echoed through the air.
But once wasn’t enough.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
I stabbed the scalpel into its eye again and again, using my enhanced strength and accelerated nerves to tear it out faster and harder than anyone else could.
“Graaaaaah—!” The pained shrieks continued. Even though they came from a monster, they were never pleasant to hear.
“Doctor!”
After several more stabs, Gwangrang shouted my name. I turned to see the bear monster’s paw flying straight toward me. It meant to swat me off like an annoying mosquito.
Even with the accelerated vision granted by Call of the Dawn, the paw didn’t seem slow. Yet it wasn’t fast enough to be unavoidable.
I leapt off the monster’s head. Then—
“Heh heh.”
Draksan stepped forward.
Having lost all reason, he stared at the thrashing, agonized monster and smiled. The madness in his eyes was unmistakable even from a distance. Beyond the madness, there was also unmistakable joy.
He raised his axe and brought it down on the monster’s neck.
Crack!
The chopping didn’t stop at one blow.
Crack, crack, crack, crack…!
“Ugh, uwaaaaaah, uwa ha ha ha! Ha ha ha, ha!”
Graaaaaah! Graaah…!
Like a woodsman felling a tree, Draksan laughed with wild madness as he hacked and sliced at the monster’s neck. The creature thrashed and screamed in agony. When its neck was half severed and the spine was exposed, Draksan lifted his axe high once more.
Crack—!
He brought it down with full force. The monster’s head came clean off. A fountain of blood spurted like a final death rattle.
The massive bear monster’s body twitched a few times before going limp.
“Ah…”
A collective gasp rose from the villagers who had been watching from the pasture. It was understandable. Even I was stunned.
Draksan wasn’t merely a “skilled hunter.” He was someone born for the hunt. What he had just shown was proof enough.
“Uh, Draksan…?”
But admiration quickly turned to alarm.
Draksan was now radiating murderous intent and hostility from every pore as he approached Gwangrang and me.
No, not me.
His gaze was fixed squarely on Gwangrang.
She noticed the hostility as well and extended her claws again. She glanced at me with a bewildered expression.
“Hey, what’s wrong with that guy? We were fighting together just fine a second ago!”
“He has intermittent explosive disorder—in other words, anger management issues. To explain…”
“I don’t want to hear the complicated stuff!”
To put it simply, then.
“Draksan has lost his reason, and it looks like he’s trying to kill you, Gwangrang.”
“But why me? Why not you?”
“Probably because you look the most like a monster right now…”
“M-monster? I’m not that bad!”
She added the protest as if genuinely hurt. Meanwhile, Draksan had already reached us.
Gwangrang raised her claws, her eyes filled with killing intent as she aimed them at him.
She intends to kill him.
“Don’t kill him!”
“You think that’s realistic in this situation, Counselor?”
Grumbling, she still heeded my words.
Clang!
Draksan’s axe met Gwangrang’s claws. Just before his next swing could land, I grabbed his wrist with all my strength.
“Draksan, it’s me!”
He glared at me with bloodshot eyes. Rage and hatred burned in that gaze. The look seemed to say, Who are you?
Draksan no longer recognized me at all.
Despite weeks of counseling…
It was more sorrowful than frightening.
—I’m afraid that one day I’ll kill someone I know with my own hands.
The words he had spoken during our sessions came back to me.
—Even you, Doctor… or, though I pray it never happens, even Lena… I might end up killing her with these hands. That terrifies me more than anything…
His worst fear had become reality.
Draksan’s axe came flying toward me.
Could I dodge it? No, I couldn’t.
While I hesitated, it was already too late to avoid.
Could I at least block it? Without any real confidence, I raised my arm.
“……”
When the expected impact never came, I opened my eyes.
The axe had stopped right in front of my nose.
Draksan stood there, shoulders slumped, looking down at me with empty eyes. There was no trace of life left in them.
Emptiness…
A profound, unfathomable despair quietly spread through his gaze.
Thud.
After staring at me for a long moment, Draksan collapsed.
Even after losing consciousness, his hand remained tightly clenched around the axe.
I immediately checked his condition.
He’s asleep. Or more accurately, unconscious.
Draksan had swung his axe like a madman while half out of his mind to finish off the monster. No matter how strong someone was, moving like that would exhaust the body before the mind.
He might sleep for several days like this.
At least he wouldn’t wake up and cause another rampage anytime soon. There was no need to administer any drugs.
Just as I finished my assessment and stood up—
“Doctor, it was nice seeing you after so long.”
Gwangrang had approached me without my noticing. She held a potion flask in her hand—the one containing Lullaby of the Mist that I had once prescribed to Naikle.
“What’s that?”
“Naikle and I made a promise. We agreed to respect each other’s time. Even if she calls me out when needed, I’ll return once the job is done. The reverse applies too.”
“You two reached a good agreement.”
“Thanks to you, Doctor. The recorder makes communication easy. We’re practically best friends now.”
Gwangrang grinned, revealing her fangs.
“Let’s meet again sometime. Not for something like this—something nicer.”
“Something peaceful, you mean.”
“Yeah. Something peaceful.”
She chuckled and downed the flask without hesitation, as if the bitter medicine were cold water or refreshing beer. Still, it must have tasted awful; she grimaced.
“Doctor, can’t you make the next one a little sweeter?”
“I’ll try.”
“It tastes like absolute—”
Thud!
Mid-sentence, Gwangrang collapsed without warning. Her massive body deflated like a punctured balloon, and her thick, razor-sharp fur vanished.
A few seconds later, Naikle’s familiar face returned.
She opened her eyes, looked around, spotted the beheaded monster, and smiled in relief.
“Ah, i-it’s over, then. Doctor, are you hurt anywhere…?”
“I’m fine. Thanks to Gwangrang.”
I wasn’t particularly glad to see Naikle back.
Click.
…Because I had expected this.
The moment she regained her senses, Naikle pulled out the handcuffs she had prepared and snapped them onto Draksan’s wrists.
“He’ll probably sleep for several days anyway.”
“Still, j-just in case.”
Given that Draksan had knocked out three investigators, her caution was understandable. Still, I couldn’t help feeling bitter.
That’s that… but there’s still work to do.
While Naikle handled things her way, it was my turn to do what I could.
I headed toward the pasture where the villagers had taken shelter during the standoff between the monster and Draksan.
Some people had already stepped outside the fence after seeing the monster die. They moved as if such sights were familiar—mostly men in military uniforms or grown adults.
Others, however, still couldn’t bring themselves to leave the safety of the fence even after the monster was dead. Women and the elderly were among them, but mostly children.
They huddled and trembled, looking as though they could never get used to such a scene.
Some of them probably lost family members. Maybe even…
There might be children who had become orphans because of this incident. Some might now be the heads of their households.
I took a business card from my wallet.
It read: Kain Mental Health Counseling Office / Resolution Office. The address and the unique number needed for sending messages were all written on it.
“If you need anything, contact me. I can help.”
The children accepted the cards with blank expressions.
Naikle, carrying Draksan on her back, approached me. She looked puzzled as she watched me hand out the cards. There was a strange trace of disappointment in her eyes.
It seemed she was wondering why I was doing business even at a time like this.
“Some of these children lost their parents in this incident. A few may even have become heads of their households.”
“Ah…”
“Of course, right now they probably don’t understand what the card means or why I’m giving it to them.”
Among the children were those who had lost parents or siblings, and some who had suddenly become the sole providers for their families. At the moment, they likely couldn’t fully process the shock.
They were desperately pushing the shock and the new responsibilities deep inside.
“But the moment will come when that delayed shock and responsibility returns. I gave them the cards so I can help when that happens—financially and mentally.”
“There’s one thing I’d like to ask…”
“Go ahead.”
Naikle hesitated before speaking in a low, cautious voice.
“Earlier, didn’t you say you didn’t bring your wallet…?”
Ah. So that was what had disappointed her?
“Some things can be overlooked in situations like this. Let’s move on.”
“Well, yes, but…”
“Let’s go back.”
* * *
Because of the incident, Draksan was arrested and detained at the Public Security Bureau. The charges were assault and obstruction of official duties.
The trial results hadn’t come out yet, but a heavy sentence was certain.
Although an article about Draksan slaying the bear monster of Sauhin had appeared in the newspaper, it was unlikely to significantly influence the verdict. After all, the crimes he had committed were not minor. He had knocked out three investigators, one of whom had sustained injuries severe enough to make returning to duty difficult.
I was also at the Public Security Bureau—not as a suspect, but because Chief Justin had summoned me as a key witness for the case.
“A key witness? I don’t know anything about the incident.”
“The ‘key witness’ part is just a pretext. I called you because I have something to say. More accurately, a favor to ask.”
I felt a sudden wave of anxiety.
Whenever Chief Justin used the word “favor,” nothing good ever followed.
“Draksan was your patient, wasn’t he?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Well, since it’s you, I’ll be direct.”
Chief Justin continued while pouring coffee.
“Keep it a secret that Draksan was your patient.”
“What?”
What on earth—
“What kind of nonsense is this?”