6 The 'GREAT HUNT'

[A few hours earlier…. ]

In a deep forest, a duo was walking. If someone were to look at the pair, the person would assume that a grandfather took his granddaughter out for a stroll. But why would they stroll in the deep forest? Weren't they afraid of dangers? What were they even thinking? Or perhaps what if they were here for something else?

Although the man had long white hair and appeared old, nobody could say so. He had a regal aura around it. He wore a savage expression, and his body emanated a terrifying presence. Despite being old and frightening, he had a certain charm to him.

If one were to look at him, he would be shocked as his shadow was nowhere to be seen.

Beside him was a little girl which seemed to be surrounded by a mysterious aura. She had her left eye-patched and a wound on her right cheek. She had pure white hair and wore a purple dress. The only thing that stood out was a toy rabbit tucked beneath her arms.

Her emerald blue eyes seemed to be a little lost. Nobody could decipher the emotion those eyes reflected. It was as if she wasn't capable of showing emotions. She constantly gave off a certain vibe, a vibe of sadness, as if she had suffered very tragic events.

In the deep forest, silence prevailed, and a certain pair could be seen walking in it at a steady pace. This showed that both the persons weren't tense slightest. More shocking was that the duo was walking carefree, not even showing traces of fear. A deep forest was a nest of hidden danger. This showed that the pair was not ordinary. An average person would have already been frightened. Being in a deep forest where silence prevails and filled with many potentially dangerous animals and insects is undoubtedly a hazardous environment.

The old man looked like he wanted to speak something. After some time with a helpless look on his face, he said-

"Nyx, you sure are wilful..."

"Hmm…."

"We could have participated in the great hunt."

"Oh, then what if someone else had taken this mission and its item?"

"The lowest spoil of the hunt is worth way more than what we are here for…."

It looked like they had this conversation many times. The old man wanted to prove that he was right, but Nyx…

"But the thing is important for my Jady."

"Oof, you really are obsessed with your toy rabbit."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing!!!..."

Sweat trickled down his forehead as he said those words. The atmosphere had suddenly turned cold. He couldn't help but shudder from fear. To think an old man would be scared of such a little girl was truly a funny situation. But what was more surprising was that the old man was actually terrified.

He knew her personality and obsession with the toy very well. He would never speak those words if he weren't distracted because of the current loss. He knew that he got off the hook pretty quickly this time. Maybe Nyx felt a little guilty about the losses he had to suffer because of her and let him off the hook without any repercussions this time. But only he knew how lucky he was. The outcomes could have been way too terrifying.

"Really!..?"

Nyx asked in a deep robotic voice while tilting her head simultaneously. Her gaze seemed to have put heavy pressure on him.

"Y-yeah, I-I was t-talking about how such a event would have happened."

"…!"

"After all, to hide such a secret under the eyes of so many factions and hidden families is quite an impossible task."

"Oh… Yeah you are right. We would have participated in the hunt if not for this important mission."

"I-I agree with you. This mission is w-worth it after all…."

The face of the old man twitched on hearing the remark. He wanted to refute but was scared that he would anger Nyx again. So he accepted the loss unwillingly and agreed with her.

The loss he was talking about was the 'great hunt.' The duo had the chance to participate in the recent surprise event. But a coincidence happened, and a regular mission was issued simultaneously.

The regular mission was not worth much for the likes of this duo. But who would have expected that the low-level reward was related to the Moon Rabbit, the "toy" Nyx had. If not for this, there was no way they would be giving up on such a precious opportunity.

Although Nyx had sufficient strength to complete this mission alone, the old man could not leave her alone.

"Do you know about how it all happened?"

"If not for setting off early for this mission, I could have gathered the info."

Erebus[old man] couldn't help but grumble inwardly. He was also curious about the events that led to the 'great hunt.' He wanted to complete this mission as fast as possible. If not for wanting to end this mission early, he already would have gathered all the information. He wanted to voice out how selfish Nyx was but could only remain silent.

The information hinted that the Dark Faction attacked a secret place protected by the Church. Nobody knew exact details about what transpired. Everyone could only make vague guesses. But everyone knew that the aftermath of the big war between the two major factions left many spoils.

The treasures and opportunities at the battle scene were so great that they could make even other great factions and top families salivate. To think that the Church would hide such a secret was quite unbelievable. It was to be noted that all the major factions and top families kept a tab on each other.

With the rise of modern technology in recent years, many had started to believe that Church and the Dark faction had started losing their strength. Almost everyone downgraded their power. But this all changed.

The recent happenings exposed Church's and the Dark faction's hidden strength. Many had started taking them lightly, but this event sent a message to everyone. No one dared to belittle the Church and the dark faction anymore. Who knows how many more hidden secrets they would have…

But nobody could understand why the Dark faction would expose its real strength. What was it that led to the event? Was there something great that everyone missed? If it made them unveil the false cover on their strength, then the thing must be something good!

Erebus was also quite intrigued by the situation. He wanted to see everything with his own eyes, but Alas! This mission had to drop on his head. Moreover, the reward for this mission was a 'mortar and a pestle," which was somehow related to the Moon Rabbit.

"A mortar and a peset"

The words seemed to constantly rang inside his head. He didn't know whether he should laugh or cry in his situation. For a 'mortar and a pestle,' they missed the opportunities to get great hands-on treasures like ancient relics, artifacts and much more. This kind of opportunity was scarce. Moreover, the time was also coming close.

He sighed inwardly and decided to go with the flow of things. It's not like him worrying would change anything. So he decided to go with the flow and complete this mission as fast as possible.

!!!

At that moment, suddenly, Erebus' thoughts got interrupted. Nyx had suddenly stopped, dumbfounding him. He had a hunch that something was not right. The alarmed look on Nyx's face only confirmed his suspicion.

Danger

This could be the only reason why she stopped. He changed his stance in a combat pose, and his eyes darted around as if looking for the source of danger,

Suddenly both he and Nyx flinched. The surroundings started shaking. It was then when--