Noah, still trying to process the absurd situation, laid his sister's cold body on the ground. Countless thoughts collided in his mind, but when he opened his mouth, the only words that emerged were:
"Why, Edwin?" he uttered, his voice a raw mix of desperation, rage, and above all, shock.
"Where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself," the man said, bowing mockingly. "Kael Thornwick, at your service. Unfortunately, the real Edwin couldn't be present for this meeting," Kael said, his tone calm. A mask covered his mouth, making his full expression unreadable.
A nervous Noah shouted, "This makes no sense! Where is Edwin, and what is your objective in all this?"
"Well, what would an artist be if he didn't explain his art? I got rid of Edwin, of course. I didn't kill him, but not because of moral principles or any such nonsense. It's because if I killed him, the magic the Duke placed on him would activate, and he would know Edwin was dead."
Noah looked stunned, as if discovering a reality worse than he had imagined. "So... this isn't part of the Duke's test?"
Kael clapped his hands, his applause a clear mockery of Noah. "Exactly. I don't like other people taking credit for my plans, especially one I've spent years developing and putting into practice. Or have you not yet realized that nothing that happened here was a coincidence?"
With that, Kael lowered his mask, and a chilling smile became visible.
"I discreetly delivered the map to your siblings years ago so they could find this so-called secret place—a place I know like the back of my hand. I collected as much information as possible. The dead void beasts? I spent years eliminating them so this hunting event would happen again."
Seeing the look of utter shock and surprise on Noah's face, Kael sarcastically continued.
"I know what you must be thinking: 'I'll stall him here until reinforcements arrive.' Unfortunately for you, no reinforcements are coming. Even though the Duke knows of Bjorn's death, he still thinks 'Edwin' is here to protect you. As far as he's concerned, the situation is under control."
"I can only imagine his reaction when he discovers I've replaced his trusty 'Black Moon.' Though I must admit, Bjorn wasn't in my plans. It seems the Duke values his weapons more than I thought."
"And I sent my subordinates to deal with the other children at the cave entrance so they wouldn't interrupt our little game."
"Lucky for me, one of the greatest mercenaries in the North developed every muscle except for the one in his brain. Although, at the moment of the explosion, he did realize I led him down that path on purpose—that's why he called me an incompetent assassin. Fortunately, he wasn't smart enough to connect the dots."
Noah, as if something still didn't make sense, asked in a hoarse voice, "If your objective was to kill us, why did you save us from the rubble?"
"Because if it weren't for me, Bjorn would have managed to rescue you and take you back to the entrance. His title of 'Iron Berserker' isn't just for show. Honestly, in my simulations, a head-on fight against him? I'd win 1 in 1000 times."
Indignant, Noah retorted, "Liar! Even if you caught him by stealth with his guard down, if he were that strong, it would have been difficult for you to kill him."
Kael, impressed by Noah's analysis, readily agreed. "Exactly. A sneak attack like that wouldn't normally go unnoticed." Kael paused for a silent moment before continuing. "That's why a key factor that allowed it is my mediocre talent with mana. As you know, superhuman strength is equivalent to the degree of mana one is born with. Since I was born with a minuscule amount, my strength is in the realm of an ordinary human."
"Bjorn, knowing this, lowered his guard around me."
Noah found this absurd. "How could an ordinary person have such superhuman agility and strength?"
Kael said with a serious look, "Through effort and dedication." Then, as if he couldn't stand feigning seriousness while spouting such nonsense, his expression broke back into a sneer. "The truth is, in this world, people think talent is the ultimate measure of strength. But in reality, the true measure of strength is money. With it, you can buy body modifications, magical prosthetics, and even people with talent."
Before he could finish, Noah lunged at him. "Today will be your grave, you bastard!" With his sword glowing, he swung it rapidly, unleashing a massive beam of light-blue light in the shape of a giant vertical sword. The blade of energy swiftly descended on Kael. A look of genuine surprise crossed Kael's face just before the impact.
Clouds of dust billowed up from the collision.
Noah ran to his sister. Checking her pulse, he could feel it was weak but steady. An enormous sense of relief washed over him, knowing she was still alive. Seeing the bolt, he tried to think of a way to remove it and stop the bleeding, but before he could finish his line of thought, he heard the sound of clapping.
It was Kael, emerging from the dust, unscathed.
"Impressive. I thought you were stalling for reinforcements, but you were actually charging that attack. Knowing my mana control is inferior, I wouldn't be able to sense you secretly gathering mana," he finished, tossing a broken pocket watch to the ground. "Some say I'm arrogant, and perhaps that's true. But I assure you, I am not careless. This protection watch cost me a fortune, but without it, I might have lost an arm. Money well spent."
Looking at Noah and his sister, and seeing her breathing, he sighed. "She still isn't dead. As expected of a monster. For the payment I'm receiving, I knew it wouldn't be this simple."
Noah was breathing heavily, as if that single attack had drained all his mana.
Kael looked up at the sky, seeing the moon was now visible. He rejoiced internally. "Honestly, if it were up to me, you would have been dead right after I shot your sister. But for some reason, my client ordered me to kill you only when it was getting dark and the moon was still visible. Well, it was interesting to show off my skills, but you clearly have no strength left, and I want to enjoy my reward."
But first, he turned towards Noah's sister. "If there's one thing these years of work have taught me, it's to eliminate the biggest problem and never leave a job unfinished. Do you have any last words before I eliminate your little sister?"
Kael saw Noah's head was bowed, showing no sign of response. He picked up his hand crossbow again, loaded his best bolt, and aimed at Aurora.
But before he could pull the trigger, a purple mana dagger shot toward his neck. Kael dodged it quickly and looked in the direction it came from.
"Now I understand why that bastard made me wait until night to kill you. It seems your sister isn't the only abnormal one." In the direction he looked, an eight-year-old child stood, surrounded by a purple aura, her unfocused gaze fixed on him.
Meanwhile, only one thought was running through Noah's mind: kill this bastard.
Without wasting time, he summoned six purple daggers, three in each hand, and hurled them successively at the offender. Kael dodged most of them but was still grazed by the last dagger. He, in turn, pulled out several bombs, which proved useless against the swing of Noah's sword, which detonated them in mid-air. Undeterred, Kael drew his hand crossbow and began firing constantly while creating distance, but every projectile was rendered useless by each swing of Noah's sword.
Until Noah unleashed a giant horizontal, crescent-shaped beam with his sword.
Kael used a grappling hook from his prosthesis, aiming for a tree to escape the attack. "This isn't working. Time to end this little show." After this declaration, Kael, instead of retreating, charged towards Noah.
Noah, as if expecting this, channeled mana into his legs and his sword and rushed toward Kael, intending to end it all with this final attack.
The moment they clashed, Noah felt his sword slicing into Kael's belly, but before he could celebrate, he looked down and saw a small cut on his own stomach.
"It was a good fight, kid. But unfortunately, you lost. The poison on this dagger can immobilize even the largest of beasts. If it weren't for my Mithril armor under these clothes, I'd be dead. But that was a beautiful cut."
Noah tried to speak but failed miserably, collapsing to the ground with a thud.
"...Damn, these cuts will leave scars. Hope I don't lose my popularity with the whores when I go to spend my reward," Kael muttered as he prepared to finish the job.
Then, the world changed.
Darkness collapsed upon the place, and the winds howled with a new fury. High above, the moon bled into shades of purple, transforming it into a colossal, violet eye staring down at them.
Kael, stunned by the environmental shift, scanned the area for a cause until his gaze fell on Aurora. He saw her rising, then pulling the crossbow bolt from her stomach as if it were a splinter.
As if Kael were nothing more than dust, she walked to Noah, took his sword, and cut her own hand, letting the blood drip into his mouth while she caressed his head with a macabre tenderness.
Kael soon snapped out of his shock and drew his crossbow with his most expensive bolt, determined to end this madness.
However, before he could shoot, the girl looked at him, and with a single gesture of her hand, his Mithril crossbow disintegrated into silver dust.
Meeting those eyes, Kael felt something he never thought he would feel again. With his modified body, all his instincts were amplified, but what he felt now was the oldest and purest emotion of all, the foundation of all life: Fear.
Kael quickly stabbed his own hand to snap out of his stupor. Gathering what little mana he had left, he fired a flare into the sky, causing a faint explosion. He looked back at Aurora with a confident expression.
"You must be wondering why I fired that. As I said, I may be arrogant, but I am never careless. I created a plan to deal with even the Duke, should he appear."
He made a theatrical pause. "I've placed several mana nullifiers across the area. They cost a fortune, and I preferred not to use them, but extreme situations call for extreme measures. On my signal, my subordinates activated them, making it impossible to use magic," Kael said arrogantly. "And now, child? Where is your arrogant look?"
Despite this, Aurora's expression remained unchanged. She turned back to her brother and created a barrier around him.
Kael couldn't understand. "How is that possible? Within the radius of these stones, not even an archmage could use mana! My client gave them to me as part of the payment—he said they could buy a small kingdom!"
As he spoke, Kael noticed a macabre smile forming on Aurora's lips. "Oh, that? I thought your friends were too lonely, so I sent my pets to keep them company," Aurora responded, a sinister smile on her face that did not belong to a child.
Kael, upon hearing this, didn't understand where she could have gotten beasts strong enough to fight his subordinates. Only abyss beasts... before he could finish the thought, the horrifying truth hit him.
That damn girl... when she stopped by the dead beasts on the path... she wasn't paying her respects. She was reanimating them.
At that moment, Kael realized that from the very beginning, the real wolf had been disguised as a lamb, just waiting for the chance to show its fangs.
He had always had the gift of a quick mind, and after his modifications, he was capable of simulating millions of different scenarios. But against this being, all those millions of scenarios collapsed into a single, inevitable outcome: Death.
Kael had never been the Hunter. He was the prey, awaiting the slaughter.