Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Desert Rose, Paruzan
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Desert Rose, Paruzan.
She was renowned as the empire's greatest monster hunter, her fame extending beyond the southern continent.
After the imperial palace terrorist incident, Damian had wandered various parts of the continent before arriving in the south, where he happened to encounter Paruzan.
She always wrapped herself in a cloak from head to toe, so her gender wasn't apparent until later. Her voice had been much more raspy back then, leading him to assume she was older than him.
She wasn't quite on the level of his guerrilla squad comrades, but she was one of the few people Damian had trusted in his previous life. They had hunted countless monsters together, dancing on the edge of death in the great desert.
But their partnership didn't last long. Damian had headed to other parts of the continent, while Paruzan remained in the desert.
Then the civil war broke out. Unable to bear the Hashashin’s damages any longer, the reformists, led by Michael, launched a massive subjugation campaign.
Paruzan suddenly sided with the reformists. She offered her strength to exterminate the Hashashin.
The trait of her aura was "Pursuit." Her sense of smell was particularly acute, allowing her to never lose a targeted prey even in the endless desert.
Of course, with Michael participating directly, the Hashashin’s fate was sealed. But without Paruzan’s help, it would have taken considerably more time.
Naturally, after the south was pacified, Michael wanted to keep her on his side. Her merits and skills were outstanding, and as a nomad, she posed no threat to future imperial authority.
But after eliminating the last remnants of the Hashashin, Paruzan vanished. She left behind only a note saying the hunt was over, so the hunter was no longer needed.
After that, there was no word of her until the civil war ended.
Damian hadn’t participated directly in the Hashashin subjugation. He had rescued Imur and immediately moved west for other matters.
He’d only learned later that Paruzan had joined the campaign.
He didn’t know why she harbored such hostility toward the Hashashin. She’d never mentioned it during their time together.
Perhaps her family had been killed, but was there really any need to hold such rage against mere hired killers?
In any case, her thirst for revenge was helpful to Damian.
Originally, he’d planned to track her down in Kerjite.
It was there that the incident occurred which spread her moniker "Desert Rose" across the continent.
“Male. Nom nom. What. Nom nom. Fortune teller?”
Paruzan chewed on the dried fruit Damian had brought, her face sullen. Despite her venomous expression, she seemed quite hungry.
Her emotions had settled somewhat, but her wariness remained. Her curiosity, however, was just as strong.
“Think whatever you like.”
She could see him as a fortune teller or prophet, or assume he’d figured it out with magic. There was no reason to add unnecessary details.
The bait was cast, and the young hunter had no choice but to bite.
“So why are you telling me this out of the blue?”
“I know the location of one of the Hashashin’s hideouts.”
At those words, Paruzan lunged again. There was no killing intent this time either—just the instinctive reaction of a wild beast—but Damian wasn’t about to just watch.
Thwack! As he pulled his body back, he struck upward at Paruzan’s chin with his palm.
Paruzan hadn’t expected his reaction and hadn’t reinforced her body with mana.
The impact transmitted fully, and her pupils momentarily lost focus.
Damian grabbed the collar of the collapsing Paruzan, hoisted her up with her back facing down, mounted her before she could recover, and restrained her wrists.
“You...!!”
A translucent aura emanated from Paruzan’s body. But Damian had already fastened Stone Scale shackles around her wrists, leaving her only able to thrash about.
Her kicks, however, were no joke. One wrong hit and bones would break. Damian widened the distance.
If the frenzy continued, he’d have to call Dudek or the other tribesmen, but fortunately, she tired herself out soon enough.
Her skills were one thing, but her temper was a nightmare. The Paruzan from his previous life had been a quiet, composed hunter, but now she was like an undersocialized baby beast.
“...Untie me. I’ll stay still.”
Paruzan bit her lower lip and said. It didn’t seem like a trick. With a snap of his fingers, the Stone Scale shackles vanished without a trace.
“You...!”
Paruzan lunged again. But the atmosphere was different this time, so Damian stayed put.
Paruzan clung to him like she was embracing him, bringing her face close to his nape. Her thin breaths tickled his skin slightly.
“Fine. I’ll trust you.”
Paruzan pulled back with a satisfied expression. This too was part of her "Pursuit" ability—discerning lies through scent.
“So what’s your plan?”
“You and me. We hit it together.”
Damian secures a large quantity of Books of Hell, and Paruzan gets some revenge. No reason for either to refuse.
“Is that possible?”
Paruzan narrowed her eyes and asked. For someone who reacted like a beast, she was calm about this. He’d expected her to nod immediately.
“With your strength and mine combined.”
“Don’t just talk big—prove it with your skills. Don’t strut around just because you took down one injured sandworm.”
He’d already earned Paruzan’s trust in his previous life. Her temper might be worse now, but her criteria for trusting others should be the same.
“Alright. I’ll prove it.”
Damian grinned as he spoke, and Paruzan smirked as if to say, "Go ahead, try."
* * *
The next morning, a tribesman on scout duty brought urgent news.
“It’s a sandstorm. A big one.”
It wouldn’t reach the oasis, but it would cross the shortest path to Kerjite.
“From experience, sandstorms this time of year don’t last more than three days. Wouldn’t it be better to wait it out rather than head back, Mr. Skelt?”
“I agree with the chief. Taking a detour means crossing the gravel desert, and moving this many people through there would be suicide.”
The gravel desert was rougher than the sand desert, and even camels avoided it.
Moreover, they had to move with elders, women, and children.
Thus, Skelt’s caravan decided to impose on the oasis a few more days. Perfect news for Damian.
He’d considered explaining the situation to Skelt since they were under contract, but Paruzan stopped him.
“Dudek won’t allow it. I got in trouble once before for going hunting alone.”
They had no choice but to sneak out of the oasis at night. The area with her prey was quite far from here, she said.
So they tried to steal a camel, but this time Damian intervened. He had a better idea.
Damian tore down an abandoned tent and attached it to a long wooden pole to make a sail.
Then, using Stone Scales, he crafted a streamlined hull. A sand skiff that could traverse the desert using wind.
The weight and strength of Stone Scales were proportional to the time and mana invested. Meaning he could deliberately make it light.
The desert night winds blew fiercely without respite. Adjusting the sail’s angle properly made the fabric taut against the breeze.
“Ooh.”
Paruzan’s eyes sparkled as she stood atop the sand skiff. In that moment, she looked like an innocent girl her age.
“Turn right here.”
Paruzan sniffed the air and pointed. Damian used a prepared pole to steer.
By the time the morning sun rose, the two arrived at a deep ravine.
“It’s down there.”
A few months ago, while tracking other monsters, she’d stumbled upon this spot.
Thanks to her "Pursuit" power, she never forgot a location once found.
Damian scanned the surroundings, turning his head left and right. This ravine looked familiar.
“Do you know what monster’s here?”
Paruzan shook her head. She just assumed it was a strong one.
“Alright, let’s head down.”
Paruzan, her body reinforced with mana, descended by stepping on protrusions in the cliff face. Damian created Stone Scale stairs to follow.
‘I didn’t expect things to line up this nicely.’
Damian knew what monster inhabited this ravine. Moreover, the offering Decarabia wanted was right here.
“Get low.”
As their feet touched the ground, Paruzan covered her mouth with her palm and whispered.
Their breaths and the wind whistling through the ravine. Amid it all came a bizarre cry.
Reaching the source, intense heat emanated from the shadowed ravine.
“What’s that?”
Though she’d led Damian here, Paruzan was even more shocked upon identifying the monster.
Salamander.
A massive lizard wreathed in flames, one of the great desert’s rulers. By its size and flame intensity, it appeared to be a juvenile.
“This... is my prey!!”
Paruzan’s voice trembled as she spoke. Surprised, yes—but not scared. Her eyes blazed as fiercely as the salamander’s flames.
Thud! Paruzan suddenly leaped toward the salamander.
It deviated from the plan. Damian was supposed to take the front, with Paruzan in support.
‘As expected.’
Any test of Damian went out the window the moment she saw the salamander—her eyes rolled back in frenzy.
Paruzan was obsessed with monster hunting. The stronger the opponent, the worse it got.
It was different from Agnes’s devotion to the sword.
Agnes aimed for her own ascension, while Paruzan was closer to venting her emotions.
This hadn’t changed from now or his previous life. No, the less socialized current version was even more ferocious.
Was this tied to her revenge against the Hashashin too?
As he pondered, Paruzan hurled a massive spear from midair. She’d pulled it from her Subspace Pouch.
Monster hunters didn’t train in just one weapon like typical knights. They believed targeting enemy weaknesses was more effective than building personal strength.
“Hiss. Hiss!”
The salamander, spotting Paruzan, flicked its split tongue. The flames engulfing its body roared fiercer, and a fireball hurtled toward the hunter.
But Paruzan hadn’t charged recklessly. She’d draped herself in a fire rat fur cloak with heat and flame resistance. A top hunter was always prepared.
Flash! The spear embedded in the salamander’s body, the sound of tearing flesh echoing through the ravine.
The wooden shaft burned away quickly, but the metal head stayed lodged, tormenting the beast.
“Kreeee!!”
The salamander screeched and spewed fireballs from its body.
But Paruzan twisted her body midair like an acrobat, dodging by a hair.
In the meantime, she drew another spear and flung it at the salamander’s foreleg.
The one-sided battle continued.
Paruzan’s spears kept piercing the salamander, but its flames couldn’t even singe her.
Soon, the flames on the salamander’s body died down. Seizing the chance, Paruzan closed the distance in one breath and hefted a massive hammer.
Salamander hide was tough. Blunt force to shatter bones was more efficient than blades.
Boom! Paruzan targeted the tail—essential for steering.
The flameless salamander thrashed to shake her off its back, but Paruzan maintained her balance skillfully.
Just as she wound up for the next blow.
Whoosh. Searing heat bloomed behind Paruzan. Turning, she saw a gaping maw. It looked like a deep cavern, but flames boiled within.
A trap. She’d thought it extinguished its fire from exhaustion, but it was preparing a more powerful strike.
Too close. Even with the fire rat cloak, she couldn’t withstand that volume of flame.
Even a master hunter couldn’t defy death. Reflexively, though meaningless, Paruzan curled up small.
“...Huh?”
But seconds passed with no heat. Paruzan cautiously peeked from under her cloak.
“Is this passing grade?”
Eric Hilton looked down at her. Behind the smug man stood the salamander, its head impaled on a massive boulder.