Enemy

In the open area surrounded by trees, many people were looking at the faraway sky with wide-open eyes.

Their eyes contained disgust and fear as some of them fell to the ground.

With utter silence shrouding the entire forest, only some voices could be heard.

—KRACKL. —KRACKL.

The sound of wood crackling in the fire was the loudest in the area.

—SHOOOOOOO~.

After that was a silent, creepy wind.

As if flowing from the front, as if being dragged by a large presence, as if a large creature was flattering its wings.

Because of the loud screams, everyone was frozen on the spot they were standing.

With cold sweat flowing on their backs, everyone's faces turned ashen.

This wasn't something they had ever imagined encountering in this lace forest.

They had never thought something like THAT, would be here.

After a moment the sound vanished, someone spoke in an almost inaudible voice, which everyone heard VERY clearly.

"T-the demonic... birds..."

Everyone had their blood run cold.

Never in their life, they had thought to encounter a demonic creature in a peaceful place like this.

But... one person had the most intense reaction to this.

The person is called (Red-eyed hunter).

The intense blood lust was oozing out of his body.

So intense that people had fallen down on their knees around him.

This was the true hunter that everyone feared.

The one that everyone looked up to for his unreal achievements.

A person who had made the vow to kill any daemon he encounter.

Fight it with all his might even if he were to lose.

A fight... to the death.

A fight against the very beings that took away everything from him.

From his parents to his brother.

The hatred he had towards them was something, he could never forget.

But... he stopped himself when he felt a warm small hand, holding his cold and almost blooded hand.

And then... he remembered.

He remembered every single moment he had to spend with this person.

Every single moment changed him.

The person that pulled him out of his cage.

He came back to his senses and looked around.

People were gasping for a breath and some with weak mental fortitude had almost passed out from their unconscious blood lust.

He turned around and met her eyes.

Though she was ok, her face was slightly pale.

Sweat slowly formed around her neck and forehead.

But, she held his hand. Tightly and gently.

His expression turned into that of horror.

He had done something he had never wanted.

He had hurt the very person he wanted to protect so badly.

"MISS NOLEN!"

He grabbed her almost falling body and quickly ran towards their carriage.

Closing the door shut, he slowly helped her to sit down on the seat.

The merchant leader had already grasped the situation and left the carriage, leaving both of them alone.

"I'm fine. Don't worry. This much was nothing," she smiled.

It really looked like she was all right.

Totally different from a moment ago.

She tapped on her large purple bracelet with a golden jewel and a glass bottle appeared in her hand.

It was something he was very familiar with.

A basic healing potion.

She gulped it in one breath and slowly stood up straight.

With a refreshed smile, she looked back at him.

"Don't worry about me and let's think about what we should do about this situation."

She was calm. She had also heard those voices a moment ago and she knew very well what they meant.

He was surprised but, there wasn't time to be surprised about these things.

The matter at hand was more important than anything.

Those voices from ahead were definitely something he had encountered in the past.

[Demonic fowl]

Their presence alone was a bad omen for everything around them.

They were the strongest among non-noble demonic creatures.

And the most terrifying thing about them was definitely their numbers.

From as low as 12 to as great as 60. They were a small disaster.

And now... that disaster was before us.

And as one of the strongest individuals, he had to make a very important decision.

He fell into deep thought, putting his personal grudge agents them aside.

And, after some time, he looked at her and said with a serious expression.

"I will fight. Everyone else should get back to safety.

If needed, all strong individuals from six teams should take the lead in this fight."

His decision was firm and logical to some extent.

But, he was also saying her to get back without him.

This wasn't something any of them wanted but, they understood each other's thinking.

She looked into his eyes with a very serious look.

"I will go with you. And... you can't stop me," she had resolve in her eyes.

She had already made her decision and he knew... he didn't have a say in this matter.

And... he knew something like this was going to happen.

A defeated sigh escaped his mouth as he replied in an exhausted voice.

"Just... stay by my side."

She nodded with a smile across her face.

They left the carriage and shouted while standing in the middle of the camp.

"EVERYONE..! LISTEN..!"

Every single person in all six groups turned and towered to him with a hopeful expression.

After a moment, everyone gathered around the center and looked up at him.

He closed his eyes for a moment and slowly opened them.

He used (Voice Amplification), a (tier-2) spell, and started speaking.

"As we all mostly know the dangers ahead of us, only the stronger individuals should stay.

Everyone else should march back for the time being.

I believe we could take those vail creatures down if we combine all the strength."

With those words, everyone understood one thing.

They weren't going to run away like cowards from those disgusting evil beasts.

They could really defeat them with their combined strength.

Though some were afraid, most of them had an excited look on their face.

They were going to fight.

They were going to fight those demonic birds with all their might.

A fight that would not go as easy as they initially thought.