Hunting the Hecatoncheil
The Hecatoncheil. A chimera crafted as a living experiment by the academy mages. There was a reason Kyle Meyer had been saddled with this particular mission.
Hunting trolls was difficult work for an Expert-level knight, but for a Master it barely qualified as a chore. Even without resorting to an Aura Blade. After all, hadn’t Kyle already dispatched a troll with ease using nothing but raw swordplay? By the same logic, taking down ogres or cyclopes wasn’t particularly hard either. In Gawain’s estimation, facing all three traits at once amounted to the same thing. He figured the creature wasn’t three times stronger than its components; it was simply one slightly tougher monster. The second reason was the mages’ habit of inflating their results. Mages had always exaggerated minor accomplishments to secure larger research grants. It was common to see a weak anti-aging spell reported as true immortality. With that common knowledge in mind, Gawain refused to take the academy mages’ report at face value. A monster dangerous even to a Master? The combination of three monster species he knew well producing something that powerful? Impossible. So the mission had been passed down, and down, and down—until it finally landed in the lap of the Master, Kyle.
“These damn trolls.”
Swoooosh—!
Kyle swung his sword in wide arcs, effortlessly severing the trolls’ necks. Ruby, who had been gripping her own blade in nervous tension behind him, watched him slaughter the creatures with casual grace and wondered if trolls had always been this easy to kill. Their hides were supposed to repel blades, and even aura-infused weapons would snap if the swing wasn’t perfect. Yet Kyle had been tracing flawless sword paths without a single mistake since the fight began.
Ruby, who had briefly convinced herself that troll hunting was simple, had nearly died when she charged one alone earlier. If Kyle hadn’t saved her, she would have lost her life on this mountain.
“Th-thank you…”
“Don’t mention it.”
Kyle shook the blood from his blade with a casual flick and continued toward the mountain’s peak. The higher they climbed, the thicker the murderous intent that crawled down his spine.
It’s up there.
The chimera created by the academy mages. A monster they had left alone because it hadn’t seemed especially dangerous—until it grew strong enough to turn the academy into a wasteland. The silver lining was that it was still in the middle of its growth phase. That meant Kyle could kill a monster that, had it reached its final form, would have been too much for him to handle alone.
Vwoooong.
“Found you.”
Far ahead, Kyle locked eyes with the colossal one-eyed beast and broke into a savage grin. The creature spotted him in return and immediately hoisted its enormous bone club. The two charged at each other with ferocious speed. Then they collided.
The academy territory had fallen into a brief silence after the first- and third-year cadets departed. The problem was that this wasn’t a peaceful quiet—it was the calm before the storm. While the instructors and professors tried to rest while staying ready to rush out at any moment, Gawain stood before the principal, briefing him on the mission.
“Hmm, so you’re saying Cadet Kyle has gone to the Troll Mountains.”
“Yes, well. He’s a Master. Trolls should be easy prey for him.”
“Hmm… This doesn’t sound like a simple troll hunt.”
The principal spoke as he began skimming the report the mages had written.
Ogre’s raw strength. Troll’s regenerative ability. Cyclops’s magic resistance. Combined with traits from numerous other monsters.
At first glance the list looked impressive, yet it also felt strangely insignificant. No matter how powerful the regeneration, a severed neck still meant death. An ogre’s strength was formidable, but it couldn’t match an Aura Blade. And even a cyclops’s anti-magic properties couldn’t block a blade made of pure aura.
“Well, it shouldn’t be anything serious.”
From a Master’s perspective, a monster like this was something they could hunt whenever they felt like it. The principal thought the same and closed the report without concern. Then he cautiously offered Gawain a suggestion.
“We received some excellent new tea. Care for a cup?”
“Oh, that sounds perfect. Getting old really takes a toll on the body…”
“Haha, no one else is going to look after your health. You have to do it yourself.”
The two men settled into a leisurely tea time that would have been more fitting for retirees. Any worry about Kyle, whom they had sent to the Troll Mountains, had vanished long ago.
BOOOOM—!
A massive bone of unknown origin slammed into the ground. The impact erupted like a missile strike, then the weapon was yanked back and swung at Kyle once more. He leaped lightly backward to avoid the blow. Even though he had moved out of range, the Hecatoncheil’s monstrous strength still sent a violent gust of wind slamming into him. Shuddering at the pressure strong enough to rip his head off, Kyle stared at the creature.
This is manageable.
In the game, the Hecatoncheil had possessed hide that could shrug off Aura Blades and regeneration so fast that wounds closed almost instantly. It could uproot mountains with one hand and hurl boulders weighing hundreds of tons. This one didn’t seem to have reached that level yet. The creature looked recently created. It was horrifically strong, but it still lacked the power to overwhelm a Master. Letting his guard down could prove fatal, but that was the extent of the threat.
The problem is…
Kyle glanced back at Ruby, who was hiding a good distance behind him. Her presence meant he couldn’t use his Aura Blade. Taking down this monster without it looked extremely difficult. He had no way to even block the bone club it was swinging. After a moment’s thought, Kyle decided to just use it anyway. The principal and the duke had told him to hide his power, but the only witness here was Ruby. No matter how much she ran her mouth, the fact that he was a Master wouldn’t spread.
“Ah, I just experienced a sudden, incredible enlightenment.”
Still, he needed to put on at least a little show. Kyle muttered the excuse and immediately drew his Aura Blade. A superhuman beam of light capable of severing anything burst forth. The bone that had been flipping the earth itself yet remained intact was sliced clean through. The Hecatoncheil tried to twist the bone in its grip the moment it saw the Aura Blade, attempting to minimize the damage, but Kyle’s sword was faster. It split the massive club in two.
KUUUUNG—!
The falling bone sent up a cloud of dust that obscured vision. Kyle burst through the haze and immediately severed the Hecatoncheil’s Achilles tendon.
KUOOOOO—!
The severed tendon slowly began to regenerate, but the loss of balance was unavoidable. The creature planted a hand on the ground to steady itself and roared savagely at the ray of light flying toward it. The ultra-low frequency typical of giant monsters slammed into Kyle’s body, but he ignored it and began carving into the Hecatoncheil without hesitation.
Slice—!
Flesh and blood soaked the ground. When the immortal monster finally sensed its impending death from the overwhelming damage, Kyle swung his sword upward and neatly split its face in half.
Kk, uooooooo—!
“Shut up, you bastard.”
Beyond the split jaw, Kyle caught sight of its throat and sliced it cleanly. Leaving the creature’s severed head rolling behind him, he proceeded to amputate all four limbs. He pierced the heart, severed the arms and legs, and stirred the intestines. After making absolutely certain that not even its powerful regeneration could save it, Kyle flicked the blood from his blade.
“Y-you… you, youuuu…”
Far away, Ruby, who had been watching the battle between Kyle and the Hecatoncheil from behind a tree, stared at him with an expression of pure disbelief. She pointed a trembling finger at him as if to confirm what she had just witnessed was real.
“J-just now— A-Aura. That was an Aura Blade…”
“Oh, this?”
Viiiing—
Aura surged along the blade. Ruby shook her head up and down so vigorously it looked like it might fall off. Kyle shrugged.
“I awakened in the middle of the fight.”
“Does that even make sense!? How can someone awaken for such a stupid reason!?”
“What part doesn’t make sense?”
Kyle looked at her as if to ask what she planned to do about it. Seeing his expression, Ruby slowly regained her composure and realized he was right. Yes. What could she possibly do if she denied it? Kyle was the one who had awakened, and he himself was claiming that was how it happened. With nothing left to say, Ruby could only stare at him with the eyes of someone looking at an absurdly gifted monster.
Kyle deliberately ignored her gaze and took care of the Hecatoncheil’s head. The thing was far too large, so he simply cut off the ears and discarded the rest.
“Let’s go.”
“…Uh, um. Kyle—that secret sword technique. Want me to teach you?”
“Not necessary.”
“Ehh, come on—”
The Hecatoncheil’s corpse twitched. Although Kyle had inflicted wounds too severe to regenerate, he should have been more thorough. A newborn that had been carefully curled up inside the mother’s belly now crawled out by devouring her remains. The infant that slipped through a gap in the corpse immediately began to grow by consuming its mother’s flesh. This was how the chimera known as Hecatoncheil reproduced—through predatory consumption.
Krrrk.
After devouring its mother’s entire body and absorbing her experiences and memories, the newborn recalled the reason for her death and began researching ways to counter it. The blade of light that had killed its mother. To oppose that ray of light that could cut through anything, it would have to wield the same blade of light.
Ooo… rrrerrr…
Having found clues about its nature from Ruby’s earlier words, the newborn left the area around the corpse. It would now strive to comprehend the blade of light. It didn’t matter if it failed. If it failed, its offspring would try. If the offspring failed, its offspring’s offspring would continue the attempt. If they kept growing, someday they would reach it.