Joint Hunt
Gigantic jet-black wings cleaved through the blue morning sky. Corax's flight was still far from perfect. Like a fledgling bird that had just learned to flap its wings, it wobbled faintly now and then, momentarily losing balance in sudden gusts of wind. Yet its wingbeats brimmed with a primal power and vitality that overwhelmed every trace of clumsiness. For the first time, it felt an intense pride and sense of responsibility unlike anything before—carrying its creator and his huntress on its back. It beat its wings with all its might, striving to fly faster, higher, more majestically.
Jinwoo felt the soft press of Chiharu's voluptuous breasts against his back and the powerful throb of Corax beneath his feet as he flew silently toward their destination.
How long had they flown? Signs of civilization began to appear below. But it was no vibrant city. It was an abandoned amusement park, overgrown with weeds amid rusted steel girders and peeling paint—like the corpse of some colossal beast. The massive Ferris wheel thrust its skeletal frame skyward, motionless; the roller coaster tracks twisted like a shattered spine. The Viking ride swayed slowly like a giant swing, emitting an eerie creeeak, creeeak in the breeze. The hideous ruins of Kejonuma Lezerland.
Following its master's command, Corax descended slowly into the empty plaza beside the central carousel ruins. As Jinwoo and Chiharu dismounted, it reverted to its small baby crow form and fluttered to perch on its master's shoulder. The shift from colossal beast to tiny pet still drained it heavily; it panted raggedly.
[This is the place. Damp and humid, reeking of despair. The perfect environment for that beast.]
The Magic Grimoire's voice resonated directly in Jinwoo's mind.
"What's today's prey?" Jinwoo asked, eyes warily scanning the surroundings.
[Onikuma (Ghost Bear). A ghost-possessed bear, true to its name. Mountain-sized bulk, but its essence is 'invisibility' and 'short-range teleportation.' It hides perfectly in the air, materializes silently behind its prey, and rips out the spine with those massive claws. Eyes and ears won't catch it.]
"Hmm." Jinwoo swept his gaze over the ruins with keen interest. Then he addressed Chiharu—poised in perfect hunting stance, alert to every shadow—and Corax, still catching its breath on his shoulder.
"You heard. Your first joint hunt."
Chiharu's eyes blazed behind her mask, and Corax's red ones ignited with the same fierce battle-lust.
"This is Corax's first real combat." Jinwoo gave his shoulder a slight shake to sharpen its focus. "Those red eyes of yours don't just see the material world. Track the flow of mana, the ripples of presence. Pinpoint the invisible foe before anyone else. That's your first mission today."
"And you, huntress." He turned to Chiharu. "Your eyes and ears won't work on it. Trust only the position your partner Corax signals. Trust your instincts. Trust the power of this bow I granted you. Hesitate for a second, and your spine comes out first."
These were no mere orders. They were a declaration, laying down the rules of competition. Corax: eyes in the sky. Chiharu: fangs on the ground.
Chiharu shot a glare at Corax, which peered down confidently from the master's shoulder with those crimson eyes.
'Trust that birdbrain's eyes...?'
Her pride rebelled. But she knew. This was a test. A trial to shatter her arrogance, to prove she could 'cooperate' with another being. The master's intent burned clear.
Corax, too, gazed down at Chiharu readjusting her grip on the bow, smug as could be.
'Can that leggy bitch keep up with my eyes...?'
Childish rivalry scorched its tiny mind—to prove its worth and smash flat the nose of that arrogant huntress.
"Begin."
With Jinwoo's final command, the two female predators took their first steps into the shadowed ruins of the amusement park, seeking their unseen quarry.
Chiharu crept low and silent. Her footfalls were cat-light, every sense razor-sharp. But nothing. Just the wind, the distant creak of the Viking, her own heartbeat.
The Onikuma had erased its presence perfectly, just as the Grimoire said.
Unease crept in. She'd have to rely on Corax. Her pride screamed no.
Caw!
From the sky above, Corax's sharp cry pierced the air. Chiharu looked up; it circled once, then winged toward the rusted teacup ride on the right.
'That way!'
She hesitated. Trust the birdbrain? No choice.
Grinding her teeth, she launched toward it.
The instant she passed the teacup wreckage—
Kwaaaaaah—!
Kwaaaaaah—!
—right behind her, in the space she'd occupied a second ago, the air tore with a thunderous boom. A massive bear shape materialized.
Mountain-sized bulk. Fur black as pitch. And sprouting from its face... horns twisted like a demon's.
The Onikuma.
It dropped invisibility, swinging a colossal forepaw through empty air.
Without Corax's warning, her spine would've shredded like candy floss.
"!"
Chiharu's back crawled as she twisted mid-leap, landing sure. In one fluid motion, she nocked a black arrow and whipped around.
Nothing. The Onikuma had vanished into invisibility the moment its strike failed.
'Fast...!'
Cold sweat drenched her. This was leagues beyond any monster she'd faced.
Caw! Caw!
Corax cried again from above, arrowing left toward the haunted house entrance ruins.
No hesitation this time. Chiharu spun, unleashing a furious barrage at the doorway.
Shuuu-shuuuk!
Arrows sliced air, thudding into rotten wood. But the space they'd grazed—
The Onikuma flickered into view, faltering as if shocked its position was exposed.
That split-second gap.
'Now!'
All her focus funneled to her drawing fingers. The lewd mark on her lower belly erupted in blinding light, compressing the master's bestowed power and the bow's infused yokai energy into one arrow.
She didn't aim for the massive head. The faint shadow twisting beneath it with every teleport.
'Can't dodge this!'
The arrow flashed red, piercing the shadow dead-center.
[Graaaaaaaaah!]
The Onikuma's maw split in a howl of agony. The shadow-pinned arrow linked straight to its soul, sealing its escape.
No more teleportation. Enraged, it shed invisibility fully, lumbering into a charge with its full bulk.
"Foolish beast."
A victor's smile curled Chiharu's lips. Coolly, she nocked the next arrow, sighting the beast's huge eyeball as it barreled in.
With the hunt ended, silence blanketed the park once more. The colossal Onikuma lay crumpled by the carousel ruins, an arrow buried in its eye.
Chiharu panted, gazing skyward. Corax circled once, then alighted on her shoulder.
The two predators acknowledged each other wordlessly. Perfect synergy.
But the triumph faded quickly.
"This... what is..."
Chiharu frowned, spotting something amid the surroundings. One carousel horse lay shattered hideously—and jammed in the debris was... what looked like a human arm.
Approaching cautiously revealed the horror. Scattered everywhere: bodies torn to shreds.
The Onikuma's victims. Some dangled by the neck from roller coaster rails; others lay bisected in teacup cars, upper and lower halves sundered.
Every mutilated corpse bore traces of joyful expressions. They'd believed this was an amusement park right up to their last breath.
'Why... this place has been shuttered for decades...'
"P-please... save us...!"
A terrified voice echoed from the haunted house ruins. Chiharu advanced; inside, dozens huddled in abject fear.
Clothes varied wildly: families in casual outing wear, students in uniforms, and... among them, a few in black wizard robes and wands straight out of Harry Potter.
"You...!"
A man gaped at her fox mask and bow, voice thick with awe.
"F-Fox... Fox Mask-nim!"
Every eye locked on her. Terror yielded to hope.
"We're saved... we lived...!"
"We were at Universal Studios! In the Harry Potter zone, sipping butterbeer... then we woke up here!"
"We were at Noguri World...!"
They'd been yanked from amusement parks worldwide—mid-joy—by some inexplicable force, dumped into this death trap.
The survivors stumbled forward, weeping.