Chapter 24
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Hungry Slayer 24
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Dane leaped down from the towering stone wall without a single scratch.
Having grown his strength by devouring monsters, he had long surpassed human physical limits.
‘The cycle’s shorter than I thought.’ It hadn’t been long since the first assault ended, but monsters were already approaching from afar.
Dane’s meat bell rang far more accurately and swiftly than the signalman atop the watchtower.
Gazing at the oncoming monsters, Dane leisurely unwound Bekelztor’s tongue from around his wrist. He tied one end firmly to the cleaver’s handle and the other to his right wrist.
The tongue’s inner surface was covered in rough protrusions that meshed together like saw teeth, ensuring the knot wouldn’t come loose easily.
In that state, he tossed the blade lightly like a yo-yo and caught it.
He accustomed his body to the balance of speed and force as the tongue extended and retracted.
The monsters were nearly upon him now, but he calmly repeated the motion.
The signalman watching from atop the stone wall finally grew troubled.
He needed to signal the second assault, but with the man from Foldtown holding the line below, he didn’t know what to do.
Meanwhile, Dirk, Sandbill, and the other Leighton hunters lined up along the wall, alternating their gazes between Dane’s bizarre actions and the approaching monsters.
They felt just as bewildered.
Small and medium-sized ones swarmed among them, with larger mediums appearing here and there.
The blizzard whipping through the canyon made their forms even more terrifying.
“Captain, what do we do?” They needed to rain arrows down before the monsters got closer. Sandbill gnawed his lower lip and slowly raised his hand.
A choice had to be made.
They couldn’t invite disaster because of the fool standing dumbly below. He moved to at least threaten the distant monsters first.
“Huh?!”
At the precise moment Sandbill lowered his arm to signal the attack, Dane charged forward as if he’d been waiting.
Sandbill froze mid-motion, leaning over the railing with wide eyes.
“Crazy bastard!”
“W-What the hell?!”
Dane had already sized up the approaching horde. No new types, but one perfect for tonight’s meal was mixed in.
‘Been a while. Ballurator.’ Knowing its flavor made him thrilled.
The boar-like beast had a neck shoulder that gleamed invitingly. It’d be great boiled too.
And its thick, red-hot protruding spine just happened to suit the dish he’d tipped off to River.
Perfect timing.
‘Kaipatu really does keep granting me luck.’ He’d ignore the rest for now. What mattered was proving his words and showing Leighton’s villagers the possibilities.
Decision made, he went out to greet them with joy. His red eyes blazed as the predator’s aura manifested.
“GRRRAH! GRRRAH!!!” The Ballurator spotted the charging humanoid monster and bellowed, swinging its massive tusks side to side.
Monsters running alongside it became unlucky casualties, flung to the canyon walls left and right. Then—whoosh!
The cleaver Dane hurled wrapped around its tusk, yanking his body toward the Ballurator at tremendous speed.
He landed atop its neck, unwound the tongue, and sliced its throat.
-Spurt!
Blood sprayed everywhere, mingling with the blizzard cutting through the canyon.
Perched on the collapsing bulk, the cleaver dangling from the tongue tip traced another massive arc.
Space itself was shredded indiscriminately in all directions.
A whirlwind of crimson blood raged.
Monsters toppled to the ground in confusion.
“Whoa...!”
Dirk knelt in awe at the shocking scene one man had wrought in an instant.
The absolute might of a lone human butchering monsters.
From his silhouette, the old man recalled a single name.
Another title for the legendary hunter.
“Slayer!!!!!!!!”
The old man’s cry rang out with all his soul.
Sandbill stared at his trembling father in bewilderment. He’d never seen Dirk this emotional.
“Slayer... you say?” Dirk opened his mouth slowly, as if exhausted.
“Yeah. Everyone dismisses it as tall tales spun by gossips, but I know that name is real. And that young man deserves it...” Sandbill couldn’t comprehend Dirk’s rapture.
But he had to admit the youth called Slayer wielded monstrous power.
* * *
Beyond the stone wall blocking the canyon lay the faint remnant energy of the root village.
At some point, monsters stopped being affected by it, pushing downward relentlessly.
Today was no different.
Nocturnal by nature, they’d simply descended in hunger at the right time, drawn by the scent of humans.
They didn’t know.
That they’d lined up to be butchered.
By the time they realized, their heads were gone, leaving no mouths to warn the latecomers.
Oblivious, the rear guard huffed down the canyon, then halted at the eerie sensation. They wavered between an irresistible scent and primal fear.
Before them, a small but dangerously aura-emitting monster was carving into a massive beast’s flesh, scattering an intoxicating blood aroma.
The monsters encircled it.
Like hyenas prowling a lion devouring its kill, they lurked, eyeing scraps.
They couldn’t close the distance. Instinct forbade it. Approach meant death.
One fool tried to push past, but its head was severed before it could. As proof, the others retreated a step.
Dane meticulously and swiftly deboned the Ballurator’s meat.
‘Water’s probably boiling by now, and the prep’s done.’ The plump neck shoulder and thick, elongated spine were tonight’s stars. Plenty of tender meat clung to the spine too.
He wrapped the portioned meat in its hide and shouldered it. Leaving the watching monsters behind, he returned to the wall, and the gate slid open smoothly.
As Dane entered, the leftover Ballurator meat and fallen corpses became fodder for the others.
* * *
Leighton’s villagers had seen it all, so they guessed why Dane carried meat wrapped in hide.
A strong revulsion sprouted.
They knew they had to eat anything to avoid starvation. But none crossed that line. Prejudice and pride suppressed instinct.
At that tipping point, a pioneer emerged.
‘He’s gonna eat monster meat?’ ‘That’s edible?’ ‘It reeks of game, no way.’ Common questions infested their minds. But none dared ask.
The blood-soaked youth terrified them. Overwhelming power bred fear. Their bodies froze.
Dane paid it no mind. Thawing his blizzard-chilled body mattered more.
“Let’s boil this as su-yuk too.” He handed the neck and spine to Bankers and River, then headed to the warm fire.
Now it was his comrades’ time.
While Bankers soaked the spine in cold water to draw out the blood, River chunked the neck into the boiling pot with herbs to cut the gaminess and started the boil.
In another large pot, Bekelztor’s fat rendered into a savory broth. Dane inhaled deeply and asked.
“How long do you think?”
River’s eyes gleamed.
Monster meat’s fat and flesh were tougher and more fibrous than ordinary beasts.
Boil the neck until the fat retains its form. That way, the texture and flavor meld perfectly when chewed with the meat.
‘And the soup’s heart is the spine...’ Simmer low until fat and meat fully melt. That deepens the broth’s richness.
The key was timing when the spine’s flavor fully infuses, the clinging meat softens, and it absorbs seasoning well.
“Two hours for the su-yuk, four for the soup. Once the meat’s fall-apart tender, it’ll blend beautifully with the veggies and potatoes for even more flavor.” Dane nodded in agreement.
Some dishes taste better the longer they simmer. Reheating and eating again made them even tastier—Dane knew that.
“Bankers, mind the fire.” “Don’t worry. My expectations for the food are higher than anyone’s.” A reliable reply.
The villagers’ stares at Lucas’s group were quite the sight.
Unavoidable, but in two hours, the mood would shift.
And once the final dish was done and shared, they’d end up like Horhe’s folk—he was sure.
The aroma of boiling su-yuk wafted, spicy seasoning mingling with rich broth on the steam.
Dane grew antsy. Chopping to ease the wait wasn’t bad. Might yield more good meat.
“How long will the assaults last?” Washing off the gore, Dane asked Dirk.
“Until dawn breaks... roughly.” “Guess we’ll have to guard it then.” Meant guarding the food, but Dirk misunderstood, his chest heating.
Dane heading back to the wall matched his memory of the Slayer perfectly.
‘How does this young hunter harbor such fearless resolve? Sandbill was right. I was wrong...’ His eyes even rimmed red. Luckily, no one noticed.
Everyone just gawked at Dane launching himself out like a ghost.
* * *
The canyon wind was blocked by the wall, sparing Leighton Village. The cooking spot felt little breeze or snow.
But below was different.
Winds sharpened by the wall battered Dane’s bare skin. To generate body heat, he ceaselessly moved, butchering monsters.
The villagers saw it as devotion. Divine salvation. Some knelt atop the wall in prayer.
The Tike Mountains didn’t spawn monsters endlessly.
Large ones heading for the wall had followers, and stragglers joined packs.
Some that hit the wall at moonrise retreated, only to return deep in the dawn.
That pattern made the assaults.
His superhuman butchery shattered the flow, and approaching numbers visibly dwindled.
After a few warm-ups, a welcome voice called from above.
“Dane!! The su-yuk’s done!!” River waved for him to hurry up.