12 XII: Killer Instinct. Hunting with the Team.

The next day, Seone stood in the courtyard of his house, brandishing his execution sword with a look of determination. He could feel that slight improvement in his strength as he reached the number 2,000 in his mind, but even with his fatigue, he was excited. Besides, he was thinking of trying one of the three moves of his Killer Sword technique, so he did just that.

He stopped swinging his sword when he reached the 2,000 mark, then he released the air in his lungs and let out a long column of steam from his mouth like a moving train. Then, focusing his eyes, he tightened his grip on the handle of his sword and channeled all of his power into it.

A crimson glow enveloped his sword, his vitality rippling like flames as he raised the weapon, slowly, as if this was the first time he was going to perform this attack with all his might. 

"First Sword: Pressure," his impulse, that impulse, that presence that everyone radiates, controlled or not, emanated from his body to give the final touch. That silent feeling of death covered his weapon as it seemed to descend in a straight slash at a slow speed.

Well, it looked slow, but it was quite the opposite, it was a fast attack with a lot of weight behind it, the way the attack was executed made it look like it was going slowly, but it was quite the opposite. The ground around Seone seemed to crack under an unknown weight, a line was drawn in the ground in front of him. 

From his sword, a crescent-shaped bolt of crimson light shot out, traveling the distance and crashing into the trees, but instead of cutting them, it seemed to hit them with force, causing a loud clatter.

"Uh, I was able to control how it does the damage... well, if I remember correctly, Pressure has three ways to attack: slash, impact, weight. Slashing is obvious, I cut not only with the edge of the sword, but with the energy thrown, either vitality or all the potential energy you get from wielding the weapon that way," he said, using his voice to remember and record the information for himself, something strange but undoubtedly useful.

"That's why it leaves two tracks, one on the ground and one in the air. The impact is similar, only instead of looking for a cut, it looks for a blunt hit, which is good for tough enemies and in a way, protects the environment. Although, well, sometimes slashing is almost the same as cutting, just look at what Gust does with his Dragon Slayer. 

Also, there is a form of damage present in both forms of attack, a 'zone' is created around me and where the attack passes through, increasing the damage of the attacks and even affecting things... the optimal way is to not feel or notice the weight of my attacks, so the cracks around me are an example of poor execution of my technique, I lost 30% of the damage by not being able to control that, sad," Seone finished his reflection as he sat on the ground with his sword on his lap.

"Last night, I touched the edge of the killer instinct, but to access it, I need to kill... kill a lot. But not just kill for the sake of it, it must have a purpose, a goal. If I kill for the sake of killing, how am I any different from those crazy psychopaths? So, let's go hunting, I didn't expect Axel to accompany me," he said, thinking of the guy with the funny glasses in his group.

Axel's knowledge of a country dedicated to archery came from a Chinese novel I read many years ago, something with Jewels in the title. The techniques they used... even though they were 'normal' people, their techniques reached an extraordinary level, and their knowledge came with a way to cultivate their energy and make it grow. Yeah, Axel was kind of like that protagonist in the Chinese stories, without the "You're courting death" or "I'm a young master".

Although... he mentioned that he was a young teacher before he died, Seone died laughing that day when they both started joking around, making references that the others understood but didn't find so funny. So for Seone, Axel was already a brother and not just a partner.

...

"Man, isn't the name of this forest a bit cliché?" said Axel, adjusting his glasses and giving them the legendary effect of mysteriously glowing, something he discovered after training his energy. 

"Oh yes, it is, and very much so. But that's not why we're here, in a way, our hunt has an espionage aspect to it, you know, right?" said Seone somewhat seriously, the view in front of him was frightening, but that wasn't a problem. 

In front of the two boys was a huge forest that seemed to absorb light and emit an eerie aura, even if it was noon, the bad vibe could be felt from afar, and there they were, wanting to hunt in a forest that had a death in its name.

"Anyway, I incapacitate, you cut, right? They say there are a lot of creatures in there, from normal to supernatural, there are even goblins, the kind that rape, you know," Axel joked while adjusting an arrow on his bow.

"Fine, but I kill one and you kill one, that way we both get points and that way we train. Fuck, I have to kill literally until I break a metaphorical limit, if I become a vegetarian because of this... and that we have to eat all the meat, or at least use it as fertilizer for the plants," Seone sighed as he took his sword from his back, the forest in front of him was only quiet for the first hundred meters, outside it was very dangerous.

Besides, he had to eat the meat he killed or use it for the benefit of nature, which would make his limit looser and he could break it, otherwise, if he just killed for sport, to show off or just for the sake of killing, he would never reach that limit. 

"Hahaha, I'll help you with that, selling the skin will give me gold to buy potions, though the fact that they're made from the blood of magical and even intelligent creatures like elves or dwarves... damn, this world is extremely depressing when you look at it," Axel said, shaking his head as both guys walked deeper into the forest, he was a generally calm and jovial guy, so certain aspects of this world made him extremely uncomfortable.

"Look on the bright side... we're not in a Samsara Paradise or something like that," Seone replied, reacting a bit coldly, or maybe the gloomy atmosphere of the forest put him in a bad mood. 

Neither of them spoke after that, walking slowly under the canopies of those huge trees, stepping carefully on the fallen leaves, and paying attention to their surroundings. They both decided to train their senses at this point, to use them to the fullest so as not to miss anything. The atmosphere was tense, they were novices and afraid of the situation, so the nervousness in them was almost palpable.

Soon they heard a rustling, something brushing against the plants and bushes, quick as it was, Axel shot two arrows in quick succession. There it was, something basic of this world, throwing arrows like a machine gun, but Axel executed his attack well, even if he was startled by panic.

They both approached cautiously and saw the fallen animal, a rabbit with arrows piercing its bloody being. It was dead, one of the arrows went through its eye and out the other side, a perfect shot if you ask me.

"A rabbit is worth five points, interesting stuff," Axel said, checking his watch. 

Since it was the young man's kill, he bent down to take his arrows and dispose of the animal, skinning the rabbit right there with nimble movements, holding a dagger as if he were a master assassin, something related to his heritage in a way. He soon had the meat in a pouch in his pocket, a spatial device he got from his 'mother', a famous hunter in the city.

"Next one's mine," Seone interrupted as he watched the way Axel did things, even if he didn't kill, he had to see death, not only because of his instinct but because of his impulse, understanding the end of life would make it easier for him to become stronger. 

The boys continued their search for prey, hunting birds, rodents, and some larger game. They came across some wolves, but when they gave them the meat they possessed, the wolves left. This too was a contribution to nature and served to unleash Seone's killer instinct.

Then night fell, so the two found a small treeless area and made a small camp, or well, just a campfire, where they roasted some of their day's hunt. Seone's job was to execute prisoners, something they didn't do every day, so he had a lot of time on his hands, Axel was a hunter, he was in his element.

"Hey, I saw Marie yesterday," Axel said suddenly, catching Seone's attention.

Both boys were sitting together on a log in front of a campfire, for some reason watching the flames dance was something that made Seone feel at peace, so he didn't think much about his answer to Axel's comment.

"Oh, I saw you too, I think you saw me too, didn't you?" said Seone, alluding to the fact that executions are public. 

"Oh yeah, of course I saw you, I cried a little bit inside for the dead elf, but you know, we can't say these things out loud. No, I mean I saw Marie yesterday, and good thing she smelled of you," Axel commented, staring at Seone, which made her uncomfortable. 

"Huh? I don't understand," Seone was slowed down a bit by the silence the flames gave him, so he only understood after that, and seeing Axel's playful look, he could only slap his hand against his face.

"Damn you hunters and your dog noses," Seone sneered as he commented, causing Axel to burst out laughing.

"Hahahahahaha, brother, I didn't think you'd want to stick your dick in a crazy woman, and even though she's our leader, I never expected her to smell of your male 'essence'. But don't worry, I won't tell anyone, although Ron, the poor guy with the shitty name, might notice, he's big but not stupid. And Jessica, the girl with the divine eyes, can see it, I wouldn't be surprised if she was spying on them or something, I know she's voyeuristic," Axel said as he laughed, annoying Seone who could only sigh.

"Oh yeah, Ron, you'd think he'd be stupid with his size and name, but he's the smartest of the bunch, his plans and ideas...scary. I get an Aizen vibe from him. And Jessica, that broad, how can anyone be so lucky to have the lineage of the Gojo clan!!!? And worst of all, to be talented enough to awaken those deceptive eyes, Hax, they're definitely Hax!" Seone complained, making a bit of a fuss, but they were in the "safe" area of the forest where there were hardly any supernatural beings, so there wasn't much of a problem.

A certain supernatural creature who saw her dream interrupted in the distance didn't think so, but that's a flag for the next chapter.

"We're lucky Ron's a good guy and Jessica's not a bitch, though hey, nice to know you and Marie hehe wink wink nudge nudge so I can go after Jessica," Axel explained, causing Seone to look at him intently.

"So, white-haired brunettes with strong physiques and in a weird way very similar to a certain Street Fighter character attract you? Dude, my friend, no, my brother, you're a culture guy, follow your dreams, die in peace between those watermelon-crushing thighs of Jessica's," Seone said respectfully, giving a military salute.

Axel just nodded in acknowledgment, his expression full of determination, as if a strange skeleton was about to beat him up and he just wasn't going to give up. 

"Yes, but unfortunately she seems to be more interested in using her eyes to watch 'porn' in real life, and that Susie... she's very 'cool' and I feel very strong lesbian vibes from her, which doesn't help her trap is..." there Axel fell silent, Seone too, they both became serious at the thought of Susie's golden finger.

A succubus bloodline, but not just any succubus bloodline, the Omniverse was huge and no one knew what kind of degenerate dick succubi were out there, but this bloodline fell into their teammate, and well... let's just say it fits her like a glove. The girl became the most powerful of the group, she was the one who defeated Marie with her bare fists, but luckily the blonde's leadership isn't based on strength, but on charisma and skill, so there's not much of a problem.

"Oh yeah, she killed that random bastard in our group of 13, the one with the hypnotic ability to hypnotize a succubus? On the other hand, she has terrible lesbian vibes," Seone finally said, acknowledging Axel's words and his fear.

Susie was beautiful, but she had that 'just like pussy' presence about her, nothing offensive or anything, just her strong disdain for the male members of the group, at least before they all met and formed their current team of seven. 

"She's good friends with Marie and Jessica..." Axel blurted into the air, causing Seone to sigh, he had been doing that a lot lately.

"Ah, but his counterpart, John, is another serious thing," Seone said, pointing to the last member of his team and one he got along with quite well.

"Oh, the Black Mage from Final Fantasy 1, wimp at the beginning, fucking nuke at the end, yeah, him," Axel complained, if Seone said Jessica was a cheater, Axel said John was the cheater. 

The legacy of the Black Mage from the original Final Fantasy,k is a weird kind of humor, he's really into void memes and jokes... black ones, yeah, quite a likable character. The guy is destined for glory, and maybe next to Jessica and Marie he is the one with a path set at the top, the others have to make their way, and even Susie, who is the strongest, admits that John has a clearer view of the top he can reach, while she has to explore as well as Seone, Axel or Ron.

"But the most fucked up legacy that I never want to fight and you know it, we can praise the Lord Referí right now that he is on our team, is Ron. Who in their right mind gave him the ability to 'calculate' of Renegade Immortal? HOLY SHIT THAT THING IS BROKEN, I'm just thankful it's a path he has to explore and not one like in the novel, or he would be an Aizen moment for us," Seone said as he grabbed a piece of meat and ate, maybe out of hunger, maybe out of fear.

"Oh yeah, I don't know, our team might be average among reercarnators in a way, but we get along strangely well, maybe Marie's draconic aura makes us more approachable and since we don't have anything against each other, we became buddies after cleaning the garbage..." Axel replied before they started to eat.

So they both talked about some of the things they had seen, heard, or learned about the city and the continent while they ate and admired the peaceful atmosphere, too bad the author recently raised a flag. But at least we know a little more about the team members, don't we? 

But it's tomorrow when... the real hunt begins.

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AN: Hey, what do you think about Seone and Axel being brothers? And, a little talk about the rest of the team, they will have more involvement and development, but right now it's about these two. I think the boss fight is ahead ~

Please review and comment, it's helpful!