The Human Hunter Kizzel (2)
As promised, Hisoral woke Akasa up when the dawn began to break.
Because of his habit of sleeping lightly and waking up early, Akasa was able to rise without much difficulty. Once Hisoral, who had asked him to watch his back, fell asleep, Akasa threw the dry branches and firewood he had kept by the fire—to ensure they wouldn't get damp from the dew—into the flames. Since Hisoral had been tending to it all night, the fire began to crackle and roar back to life.
That was Urnil’s remark.
“If both of you were awake, Kizzel wouldn't have been able to get close, would he?”
“That’s nothing out of the ordinary, is it?”
It went without saying, but this vast land, overflowing with abundance, was home to a diverse and countless array of animals. Since he began living in the forest, Akasa had seen many of them.
Foxes, raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, crows, hawks, and more. Urnil had promised to teach Akasa everything he needed to know about hunting for survival. However, Akasa was still afraid of seeing the blood of animals. That was the reason he stuck to fish, which didn't require the process of skinning, and fruits as his main diet.
“But since you said it, Urnil, I’ll keep it in mind.”
It wasn't a human’s intuition; it was a god’s. There was no harm in remembering it. Akasa picked up his staff and sword, scouted the perimeter once, and then moved to gather food. That much was something even a child like him could handle.
“It feels like this. Do you understand?”
“Uh, that’s not easy…?”
“Come, let’s try again.”
As promised, Hisoral taught Akasa staff techniques. To be precise, it was a method for a child to shake off an opponent who might try to overwhelm him with brute force.
“Being a child means you are small and lack physical strength. That includes having less body weight. But there is exactly one advantage to being a child.”
“An advantage?”
“Your center of gravity is lower than an adult’s. And while I said you lack strength compared to an adult, well, you’re a bit special, aren't you?”
Hisoral pointed to the Karmatio on Akasa’s left wrist.
“I don't know if it’s because of that artifact, but you seem to know how to use a little bit of Essence unconsciously. Even if it’s for a brief moment, you can exert enough power to work against an adult.”
Akasa nodded, looking a bit bewildered.
‘It’s not unconscious; it’s purely Urnil helping me.’
Regardless, it was clearly a good phenomenon. Because he could use that kind of strength, Hisoral wasn't just teaching him the feel of it; he was teaching him techniques in earnest.
Surprisingly, the teaching method was very similar to what Urnil taught him. It was about realizing the principle of how power flows through structure.
Thanks to this, Akasa was able to learn the techniques even faster, including the basics he had already mastered, and Hisoral couldn't help but be amazed by Akasa’s comprehension and learning speed.
“Can you do more?”
“Of course.”
At Akasa’s spirited response, Hisoral laughed heartily and said,
“Understood. Once you get used to it in a little while, I’ll put in a bit more force. Get up. Let’s do it one more time.”
Akasa stood up and faced Hisoral as he lunged. Hisoral, who had blocked the staff easily with his ulna, tried to grab and snatch the staff away. At that moment, Akasa’s eyes lit up, and just as he had done before, he dove into the side behind Hisoral’s arm, where he held the end of the staff.
Then, using his own hand, which was holding the middle of the staff, as a pivot, he spun his back hand to create rotation. As he did, Hisoral’s center of gravity, with his hand touching the staff, swayed as if being coiled. A very subtle sway. Akasa recalled the words he had heard while attempting the technique several times.
‘That subtle sway is the breaking of the center. Do not miss it.’
At that very moment, Akasa shifted the center of the rotation from his front hand to his back hand. Using the principle of a lever, he pressed the middle of the staff with his front hand and pushed it down toward the floor as if stabbing.
As the force moved to the end of the staff, Hisoral’s center of gravity collapsed, and he fell forward. Akasa’s eyes were filled with the light of realization.
“I did it… I did it!”
“Huh, that’s amazing.”
Hisoral looked at Akasa with a dumbfounded expression. At first, it was just training to make him realize the principles and senses of the technique. He had thought that if push came to shove, he could protect the child.
But Akasa’s aptitude far exceeded the imagination of a Martial Priest.
Even though he had only been holding the staff without exerting any power, he had perfectly embodied the act of toppling an adult according to that force.
‘What would happen if this child used the power of the artifact?’
He was a child who possessed techniques that worked on adults with simple stabs and swings. Teaching him this defensive technique would surely be a help to him.
“Let’s move on to the next one.”
Hisoral said, standing up. Akasa looked at the Martial Priest with surprised eyes.
“What? Already?”
“Yes. This time, I will use force. Try to take it away using that artifact. Can you do it?”
Akasa clenched and unclenched his fist. It was a signal they had agreed upon beforehand.
“Yes. I can do it.”
“Good.”
Nodding, Hisoral lunged suddenly as soon as Akasa took his stance. How powerful is a properly trained adult when they lunge? For a moment, Akasa was almost swept away. Just then, a pale streak of Essence surged from the Karmatio through Akasa’s body.
“Hup!”
“Whoa!”
His footwork, which had almost faltered, moved exactly as he had forcibly engraved it into his body and mind. Toward the arm of Hisoral, who was holding the end of the staff. Toward the side behind it.
Going in deep, he swung the staff that had entered the front of the opponent’s body,
using the lever principle,
and finally, he thrust it forward.
Hisoral rolled, throwing his body as if he had been shot toward the floor.
The Martial Priest smiled helplessly at the boy, who was looking back and forth between his own staff and his opponent in surprise.
“You really have talent.”
Excluding Urnil, it was the first compliment from a proper adult and practitioner. Akasa bowed his head and shouted,
“Thank you!”
After the training, the two took a short break and satisfied their hunger with some fruit.
“It’s not good to weigh your body down during a pursuit. But you should eat a little more.”
Akasa accepted the fruit given to him without a word.
As Hisoral had said, they were now facing the pursuit of the serial killer, Kizzel. For the sake of Akasa’s safety and Hisoral’s revenge, Kizzel was a target that had to be dealt with for certain.
“But, Mister.”
“Why do you call?”
“Um, the defensive move I learned is only one, isn't it? The one where I topple the opponent when they grab the end of the staff.”
“Why? Are you afraid it won't work?”
“Yes. I was wondering what would happen if they grabbed it differently.”
Hearing Akasa’s concern, Hisoral smiled. I had those worries too. When was that? Was it over thirty years ago?
Hisoral spat out the seed after the flesh was gone and said,
“Why do you think you can only use it when you’re defending?”
“Yes?”
Akasa looked at Hisoral with a puzzled face. He looked as if he didn't understand.
“Come. It’s a simple drill. Lift your staff.”
Akasa did as he was told.
“Attack like before. But lightly this time.”
As expected, he did as he was told. The staff touched Hisoral’s ulna, and at that moment, Hisoral grabbed the staff. And let go.
“Again.”
Hisoral, who had let go of the staff and pushed it slightly, said again,
“Attack.”
Akasa attacked. Hisoral grabbed it, then pushed the staff slightly and let go again. Only then could Akasa understand Hisoral’s meaning.
“Ah…! It was something I could follow up with after an attack!”
Hisoral laughed pleasantly. He was a child worth teaching.
“It’s here.”
That day, Akasa guided Hisoral to the place where he had seen Kizzel. There lay the corpses of the child and the mother, already beginning to decay.
“Even if they are Exiles, such a death is not right. And what sin could such a young child have committed…”
Hisoral closed the eyes of the corpses with a sorrowful face. Flies buzzed around, but Hisoral steadfastly lifted the bodies of the mother and child and laid them down at the head of a tree.
“The blue pine was a good omen even in the forest of the Li family. May the two souls meet under a good sign.”
Akasa followed Hisoral in a moment of silence.
After the short prayer, Hisoral stood up.
“Let’s go.”
Akasa followed behind Hisoral, keeping an eye on his surroundings. Kizzel’s footprints were quite clear. It was because the terrain nearby was soft soil. However, the pursuit became difficult after a certain point. There were so many tangled tree roots that there was plenty of footing.
“It’ll be hard to find traces like this.”
“Does it look that way?”
But even in such a situation, Hisoral did not miss even the smallest trace.
A drop of blood on a tree. Footprints of toes stepped on by mistake. The strange thing was that every place Hisoral pointed out, Urnil had discovered first before he could point it out.
“...He passed under here.”
It was like this. The two even caught traces of the leaves of the small branches being slightly distorted by the impact. However, to Akasa, it looked like they were just looking into thin air and finding their way. He had no idea what they were looking at to figure it out.
But at some point, even those traces were cut off. Hisoral, who had reached the source of the sound of water coming from the front, had a look of frustration.
“So the stream was flowing around like this.”
As they moved further downstream, the stream widened, forming the entrance to a valley. It was a place that a human couldn't cross without getting their feet wet. However, Hisoral did not cross the stream. And he moved up and down to examine the other side. If there was even the slightest trace of wet ground, he could have figured out that subtle difference. But there were no such traces anywhere.
“Why don't you cross? Then you could examine it easily, right?”
Akasa asked with a puzzled face.
“We are pursuing the enemy outside of a safe distance. Conversely, to that murderer, we—or to be precise, you—could become a target. Wouldn't footprints be left if we went into the water and came out?”
Akasa nodded with an understanding face.
“Then what do we do?”
“Let’s find a place where we can cross without getting our feet wet.”
“Yes.”
Then, Akasa whispered softly.
“Did you hear that, Urnil?”
“Ah…!”
“What’s wrong?”
Akasa, who had let out an exclamation, stammered in surprise at Hisoral’s voice.
“Ah, well, I was wondering if that Exile might have gone down along this valley.”
A glint flashed in Hisoral’s eyes.
“Hmm, now that you mention it, that’s plausible.”
Hisoral changed direction immediately.
“What are you going to do?”
“As you said, I’m going to examine the valley first. If we find a place to cross while going down, we can go back up from there, right?”
“I understand.”
“You must be tired since yesterday, I’m sorry. But I can’t leave you alone, so please hang in there a little longer.”
“I’m fine.”
Akasa cheerfully spun the arm holding his staff. Hisoral laughed heartily as he pretended to step back.
“Yes. I’ll leave my back to you.”
Akasa laughed secretly. The boy guarding his back was protected by a god. What would happen if he knew that Hisoral was carrying a god on his back? He couldn't say it, but the small, trivial imagination made Akasa’s heart happy.
The two followed the valley for about 30 minutes while checking their surroundings, but they found nothing. Well, the weather was nice, and unlike soil, moisture on rocks dried quickly, so it was natural. However, it wasn't that they had no results at all. They had found a place where piles of rocks were tangled, so they could cross without getting their feet wet.
“Let’s go.”
Hisoral drew his sword. Deciding that this was definitely enemy territory from here on, a sense of tension could be felt in his words. Akasa gripped his staff and followed behind Hisoral.
From the moment they crossed the stream, a grim energy began to linger.
Akasa was surprised that he could feel this way just from crossing the river. Was it because it led from the valley? The path leading that way was a hollow path where the forest with trees spread out on both sides and sloped down slightly in the middle. Hisoral moved forward, examining the vicinity closely. Then, the point where they entered the forest boundary approached again.
“How is it?”
It was a question meaning if there were any traces.
“There is.”
Tension swirled in Akasa’s body upon hearing the agreement. However, that wasn't the answer Akasa had been expecting.
“No, it’s not a human. This is a beast’s trace. But… how?”
Hisoral’s expression held the meaning that it was difficult to understand.
“Why are the traces of a human and a beast connected together? At this point?”
Akasa noticed over his shoulder what kind of trace he was looking at.
However, while there were traces of a beast, there were no traces of a human. At that moment, Urnil said,
As Urnil said, there were such traces. Akasa looked back and forth between Hisoral and the claw marks carved into the tree.
Three streaks of claws were clear even on the tree.
“Is it a tiger?”
“No.”
Hisoral shook his head toward Akasa, whose face had turned pale.
“It’s not a tiger. If it were a tiger, the size of the territory mark would have been three times this. This is a wolf.”
“A wolf…”
“From here on, it’s not just him; we might have to deal with wolves. It would be dangerous to pursue any further.”
“But if we stop here, the chance to chase him will disappear. You said you even broke your vows to catch him, didn't you?”
“It’s not something to do while putting a child in danger.”
“Did you forget? Even if that guy is alive, my life is in danger anyway. It’s not something that can be solved just by you protecting me. The fundamental solution is to catch him.”
Intelligence unlike that of a child his age. The brilliance of the prince he had been hiding shone in Akasa’s eyes. Hisoral, who had looked into Akasa’s eyes for a moment, sighed and nodded.
“You’re right. Instead, promise me one thing. Be careful, and be even more careful. Do you understand?”
Akasa nodded firmly.
One adult and one boy, each holding their weapons, stepped into the forest where a wild predator—a man wearing a cruel human mask—was hiding.