Linked Quest (7)
There was a corpse. Wolves, deer, rabbits—every manner of beast, along with monsters and humans alike. The sight of so many different bodies strewn across one place was chilling enough on its own, but what made it truly grotesque was that not a single corpse still had its head.
The scene looked like something straight out of a horror film with a twisted sense of humor. Chrome furrowed his brow. After days of searching, finally finding something substantial was fortunate, but it was hard to feel purely glad when the discovery was this grotesque.
"Not cut by a blade. Looks like it was bitten off."
After examining the bodies, Ligret muttered under her breath. Bargal Odina added,
"Even so, it's strange. It's clearly the work of a magical beast, yet it only took the heads and left the rest untouched."
The group examined the human corpses as well, but aside from a few herbs and arrows, nothing that could serve as a clue turned up.
"The 'Black Mountain Hunters'?"
At Chrome's murmur, Ligret replied,
"If there are other corpses in these mountains besides us, it has to be them."
The hunters had been hunted in turn, but no one mocked the sight. It was proof of how dangerous the 'target' was. Temporarily dubbing the target the 'Head Hunter,' they began following its trail.
Ligret took the lead. Just as Chrome had learned to craft Attribute Stones in alchemy class, the skills she had picked up in her hunting lessons were on full display. The ground, tangled with tree roots, rocks, and weeds that reached up to the ankles, was far from comfortable, but everyone present was a trained mana user with proper combat experience. Unstable footing was hardly an issue.
What proved far more threatening was the dense darkness. Even after growing somewhat accustomed to the Black Mountain's dim environment under the midday sun, the group now found the visibility so poor that movement itself became difficult. The other three, who could enhance their vision with Red Light mana, fared better, but Chrome—whose Blue Light affinity made enhancement extremely inefficient—struggled even to move quickly.
There were vision-aiding spells, but most required high mana control, making them too difficult for him. Unlike mana capacity, this wasn't something that could be solved by simply consuming something.
Noticing Chrome's condition, Ligret stopped and asked,
"You all right?"
"Honestly, it's pretty rough."
The two knights halted as well.
"Continuing the pursuit like this will be difficult."
"……"
Given the poor visibility, they had naturally prepared torches. They had simply avoided using them, worried the flames might give away their position to the Head Hunter in this fire-prone mountain.
Next time, I should bring some magic tools that help with visibility.
Just as Chrome was berating his past self for focusing only on potions and thinking "I'll just light a fire when it gets dark," he pulled out a torch.
In that instant, a silent yet spine-chilling, primal killing intent pierced through him.
"Ugh!"
Dropping to the ground was almost pure instinct, honed by childhood encounters with assassins and relentless training. That choice proved correct—a split second later, a gust of wind sliced through the air above his head. With a crack, a tree struck by a powerful forepaw and claws was half-severed and toppled.
Shocked that they hadn't sensed the enemy until the ambush, the two knights immediately shifted into attack stance, their elite reputation clearly not for show. Their Red Light-infused slashes were sharp enough to claim the lives of ordinary soldiers before they could even blink, but the opponent once again defied common sense.
It leaped. Then it sprinted. With tremendous leg strength that left clear marks on the ground, the attacker jumped over the knights' swords, ran up a tree as if it were flat ground, soared into the sky, flipped its body, and dove straight down.
"What—!?"
Though experienced in real combat, Bargal Odina had only ever fought enemies on the ground. An attack falling from directly above his head was a first. Judging evasion impossible, he raised his sword to block, but it was merely damage control, not an ideal response.
The sheer force, massive weight, and downward momentum created an overwhelming impact. The wrist gripping his longsword shattered on contact, while his ankle, knee, and waist groaned with sickening sounds. The Head Hunter tried to bite into Bargal's head as he lay pinned and barely breathing, but an enraged shout stopped it.
"You bastard!"
The usually taciturn female knight, Morel Odina, swung her sword in fury at her brother's peril. Her blade—longer and wider than her brother's—was terrifyingly powerful, but the Head Hunter dodged it lightly once again, as if the strike meant nothing.
It leaped up another tree, preparing to pounce from above where defense was hardest—
"How many times are you going to try the same trick, you damn beast?"
Chrome's voice, filled with unmistakable anger rather than his usual sly tone, spurred Ligret into action. Aim. Throw.
A spear summoned by Feldous's Summoning Gloves shot into the air. The Head Hunter twisted midair to evade, but the throw hadn't been aimed at it. An Attribute Stone—specifically the Flame Crystal containing a mid-tier spell of dazzling firepower—pierced by the spear, triggered its effect.
BOOM!
The storm of flames that spread outward in a sphere from above affected even those on the ground, but the Lesser Mana Shield Chrome had cast right after throwing the crystal protected them. Even at the very edge of the blast radius, the heat was intense. The damage to the Head Hunter, struck at point-blank range, was on an entirely different level.
"──!"
For the first time since its appearance, the Head Hunter let out something like a cry. Burning trees and bushes began to blaze, and in that light, the attacker's true form finally became visible.
Its height—from the ground to its shoulders on all fours—was roughly two meters, twice that of an ordinary wolf, with a correspondingly long body. Its needle-sharp silver fur was as sturdy and beautiful as armor, though half of it was now marred by dried blood from its hunts and burns from the recent attack.
While Morel Odina poured a potion over Bargal, Chrome assessed the Head Hunter. Even on closer inspection, its sheer size and overwhelming presence were monstrous. The stench of beast and blood was unmistakable even amid the flames.
How the hell did we not notice something like this until it attacked?
Given the dried blood caked all over its silver fur, it clearly didn't bother with scent management like other skilled predators. It was simply bizarre. Considering its terrifying agility from moments ago, crossbows were useless, and with insufficient distance, throwing Attribute Stones freely was also difficult.
Just as Chrome finished assessing the situation, Ligret charged forward. The Head Hunter tried to respond, but its burned body was noticeably slower than before. Realizing it couldn't leap, it attempted a power struggle using its massive frame, but it had picked the wrong opponent.
Whoosh! Clang!
Just like when it first appeared, it swung its forepaw. In response, Ligret swung her longsword, cleanly severing half of its right foreleg. The Head Hunter howled in pain and thrashed, but Ligret frowned as well. She had intended to cut it off completely, yet her sword, lodged in bone, wouldn't budge. This was her first time experiencing such a thing against a flesh-and-blood beast rather than a metal golem.
"Ligret!"
Realizing Chrome's intent the moment he called her name, Ligret released her sword and threw herself aside. The Head Hunter tried to pursue her, but Chrome's spell reached it first. Lesser Mana Arrows. The most basic spell with the lowest mana cost. Skilled users could make it devastating with just this one spell, but Chrome hadn't reached that level. Still, the sheer quantity was impossible to ignore.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
A literal rain of arrows, pouring out mana without restraint regardless of power or accuracy, covered the Head Hunter's entire body. Even if each arrow was no more than a prick, the nonstop barrage was enough to be maddening. As the Head Hunter froze, Ligret—now wielding a new weapon—moved in from behind. The Ice-White Cross Spear, reassembled from its dismantled state, scattered cold air that forcibly extinguished the spreading fire. The chill gathered along the spear's path and struck the Head Hunter.
The Head Hunter froze solid like a block of ice. Ligret and Chrome prepared to confirm the kill without letting their guard down, but what happened next caught even them off guard.
Thump.
A massive heartbeat echoed. In that moment, Chrome saw it—the frozen body thawing as the Head Hunter's wounds rapidly regenerated, as if time itself had reversed. Ligret didn't hesitate; she hurled a spear straight through its head, but the weapon that had clearly pierced both skulls was pushed out like a thorn being removed. The burns covering its body and the sword still dangling from its half-severed leg fell away as fresh flesh filled the wounds.
Faced with a sight that would require a top-grade potion just to mimic, even Chrome was too slow to react.
"What the hell is this—!"
"Grr……"
The Head Hunter glared at the group with clear fury before turning and fleeing. The others could only stare blankly at its retreating form. When they tried to give chase, the Head Hunter's figure blurred and blended into the surroundings after just a few steps. It possessed not only absurd regenerative abilities but also camouflage—possibly even one that affected scent.
It seemed this incident wouldn't be resolved in a single stroke after all.