Chapter 41: Doomsday

"Villains died because they talk too much. Remember that in your next life."

While wearing a fire fighter suit and helmet.

Juan's cold face muttered, eyes not leaving an inch on the shadows, afraid he would miss anything that will cause future troubles.

After sometime, the fire disappeared and the shadow's existence disappeared.

"Finally! No more noises around! I can finally rest my mind in peace."

Stretching his limbs outward, Juan couldn't help but let out a moan as he found himself lying mid air suddenly.

"Oh? I can lie down now? That's great. This felt like I was on a duel or something in a cage, only when the winner appeared will the restrictions disappeared."

As Juan closed his eyes to rest for a while, somehow, he was immediately attacked by drowsiness.

'Uhh...I suddenly feel sleepy. And here I thought I could materialize those things without paying anything. This is also good, I can be at ease knowing this.'

In the next second, Juan's eyes closed and his consciousness entered into oblivion. Without self, unaware of oneself, but still existing as self.

Several seconds later, wisps of shade black smokes suddenly came from where the shadow person was seen standing back a while ago.

It gathered around and immediately form and shaped into a shadow person once again. However, this time, it was solid like before.

The shadow person immediately jumped around swinging his four limbs all around with a face full of anger, fuming in rage.

It opened it's mouth and closed as though it was saying and shouting something. Maybe it was cursing Juan as it would point at him from time to time.

A while later, the shadow person calmed down. However, this time the shadow monster's shoulder slumped down listlessly.

It looked at Juan who was sleeping mid air with complicated eyes.

"Sigh, consider your win this time. I'll definitely come back and settle this debt next time. Hmph."

After saying that, the shadow person burst out into countless wisps of shadows and immediately gathered around Juan.

In a battle of life and death, no method is ugly as long as one stood in the end. Only the winner writes history, while the losers were deemed as thief and forgotten.

As those shadow wisps revolvels around him, they slowly entered every part of his body.

Starting from the soles of his foot, rising up to his waist, chest, shoulders, arms, hands and head, tainting his whole body shaded black.

...

At this time, while Juan was undergoing some kind of transformation inside the glowing purplish red cocoon.

Not far away from, Bal and another hunter arrived cautiously. Looking around at the cause of brightness in this place.

Bal and the man was shaken. What registered in their eyes were wreckage of many burnt houses.

There's also many which was still intact and keep on burning aflame. However the color of the flames were strangely purple which creep them out.

Suddenly, the other hunter with Bal pointed in another direction. Seemingly noticing something more strange there.

They were still crouching beside the intact house, making sure that nothing more unusual around before Bal nodded moved towards the direction the man had pointed.

They didn't talked along the way, afraid that their voice might attract some unknown things hidden in the dark.

Gulp.

Bal didn't know if it was him or it could be his partner who made that noise just now that was particularly loud in this noisless area.

However, his mind wasn't on that topic. Instead, it was the one that was in front of him.

'What....is that?!'

In their eyes, what appeared in them was a long stretched of something purplish red glowing object connected to a stone wall of an intact house.

The fiery glow that wrapped around this ominous looking strange object in this dull land made their skip a beat.

Fear of the unknown slowly engulfed them. Causing their movements to halt and their muscles to stiffened like a puppet.

'In this strange land that looks everything is dull. How could something colorful appeared in this kind of place?!'

After a while, the two regained their senses and immediately surveyed their surroundings for any other anomalies.

Seeing nothing was anything unusual other than this thing that stretches somewhere. The two looked at each other in question.

The other hunter with Bal shook his head, then as raised his hand and pointed at the purplish red glowing root like thing.

Bal thought for a bit before he nodded. In anycase, they were already here. Returning back now is a waste of time.

With that, Bal and the other hunter left the house they were in and started moving cautiously towards the source of that glowing thing.

It wasn't far, and was just a few meters away.

The reason they couldn't see it immediately was because of the houses hindering their vision from seeing straight of what it might be.

When they finally saw where the source was. They were further more given more fear and uneased in their hearts.

Looking frightened, the two hid their bodies unto the wallls of the house. Letting only their heads and eyes out to see outside.

On a certain burning house that blazed with purplish reddish flame.

Inside it, stood a glowing cocoon amidst the fire that stretched out it's silk like roots into six different directions. Even more amazingly, one of them even goes to the sky.

'Just what is this thing?!?'

Bal and the other hunters were confused and could only stare dumbfounded at this scene. They didn't even noticed the strangeness in their surroundings.

Shadows....countless streaks of shadows were all gathering silently from all kinds of directions including from the sky above.

They stopped just a few hundreds of meters away from the burning flames as if waiting.

Different from the shadow minions back then, each of these shadows all have a pair of red eyes. Which made specially eerie in this dim place.

Bal and the other hunters slowly calm their rapidly beating hearts.

Even for a veteran who had seen atleast a monster in their life doesn't really make them completely be fearless in the face of the unknown like this eerie looking cocoon in front of them.

'Although I don't know what you are. Since you existed in this place and seems to be the cause of fire means your a temporary ally!'

'I just don't know what your relationships with the other monster. However, looking at how you can bath your self on fire, that means you might be its enemy.'

'Even if your also a monster... in this time and place, lend me your flame for a while. This land is big, how could you just burn a few houses? Let me help you instead!'

Turning around, Bal made up his mind and whispered to his partner's ears.

"I made a decision, let's use the fire here to set all the houses ablaze. Only where the surroundings are bright will the shadow monsters would retreat."

Then Bal noticed his partner's body seems to be shaking too much at this time and couldn't help but asked.

"Why are you shaking too much? Hardened your heart and face your front with bravery. Even in fear, don't show any cowardly look."

The man nodded, and replied with a relief.

"Bal also noticed them....huh. I think your plan is... good, let's do it before.... they can go.... near us."

Hearing the man's stuttering words, Bal was stunned and showed a look of confusion. Seeing this, the man looked at Bal's expression in dazed.

Then as thought he understands in his heart. The man's eyes dilated and he raised his hands, pointed outside shakingly.

"Look, without our knowledge. There they are. Already gathered, surrounding the whole village and observing us all this time."

"I thought you already noticed them long ago that why I didn't say anything. After all, your the third strongest hunter in our village. In this situation, we're not hopeless right?"

Following the man's trembling hand and answer, Bal eyes suddenly constricted at what he saw with his own eyes.

From his field of visions, everywhere he looked. From the initial dim and dull empty ground, houses, roofs and sky.

Right now, shadows of all kinds of shapes and form spread around looking at them with it's eerie looking malicious red circled eyes.

"Just when did they became so many? How can we even win?"

Bal and the other hunter only felt despair and hopelessness in their hearts looking at this situation.

They were already having problems they can't cope at one monster, now with thousands upon thousands of them gathering around them.

"How can we even survive."

Bal seems to have lost the strength in their knees and couldn't help but bend down with their hands on the ground.

Seeing him like that, the man behind him who was shaking all this time suddenly collapse and fainted.

Bal who had been feeling pressured all this time, being a leader figure and a rescuer who risk going around seeing things beyond his knowledge and heart's tolerance.

He finally couldn't take it anymore and spurted blood before he passed out. Lying there with the other man, eyes white twitching from time to time.

'After all, how could they, a normal human resist the unimaginable horror of this place? It was already a miracle for them to last till this hour.'

'As expected of the hunters who protects the village away from all those monster's who wants to harms them. Unfortunately, those monster's you fought before.'

'Might not even serious when looking at all of you. Like this shadow monster, who knews if what you've fought back then really be .... it's real body.'