Chapter 46: The Hunt (3)

"Huh, ain't this something." That's all Simon could say in this situation. He was currently facing down seven enemies. They all had blades out, their eyes oozing a mixture of malice and madness.

A faint chuckle fell from his lips, "I sure am lucky huh… thirteen enemies and I happen to get the majority to take care of."

Even though his words were laced in sarcasm, his eyes were clear and focused. He twirled his twin daggers in his hands; his gaze combing over his enemies. Not getting a moment longer to come with a strategy, or even better; to analyze the assailants four charged at him.

They were quick. In a flash, they were before him. Fortunately, due to the countless hours of sparring he underwent with Rox, he was able to nimbly avoid the strikes aimed at him. He was slightly nicked on his left cheek, but it wasn't anything major.

He leapt back slightly, to gain distance before preparing a counter assault of his own. The benefit of being party members with an A Rank adventurer was the opportunity to constantly learn and grow beside them. This meant he was used to seeing far beyond human feats of strength and speed.

This made the current group before him seem like children; however even children can be deadly with a weapon in hand. He lunged forward, going for a straight thrust with his left dagger. The attack was deflected, but the man didn't see the second slash coming.

Red painted the dirt road as the head of the man went rolling. "How do you like that?" Simon snarled, a confident smirk on his face. To his surprise, he saw no visible reaction among the men. They simply charged at him once more.

This time they were a bit quicker. Simon found this out, as the speed at which he dodged their previous attack was inadequate. Three full-blown cuts were now on his chest, right arm, and outer thigh.

His previous tactic, of dodging and returning fire, wouldn't fly here. If anything, he would be better off on the offensive. So, he did what he was best at; slipping past several enemies.

He darted around and past them with deadly efficiency, making sure to draw blood on each target. The three men didn't know what hit them, as they whipped their heads around quickly to try and keep track of him.

So far, one was dead, while the other six were in healthy condition. Simon did find it strange that they all weren't attacking him at once though.

While he was being hounded by three currently, the other three were watching almost passively. It didn't make sense to him.

Weren't these supposed to be a group of ruthless bandits? Even though many questions were running through his mind; he didn't have the luxury of getting them answered.

A metal blade whizzed past his forehead, lightly scraping it due to his slight head pivot. He returned fire with a cross-slash, making the man fall to the ground, in a mixture of pain and shock from the blow.

Simon was granted a moment to breathe, as the moment he downed the fighter, the two active ones pounced on him.

A heavy shoulder charge knocked him off his feet, making him stumble to the ground as well. He rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a downward stab. He pushed off the ground with his arms, double kicking the two fighters; sending them sliding back a few feet.

Simon's current positioning made it so he could see the whole area; from the two corpses, to the five living targets. The two to the left, who just caught their footing, charged forward once more.

This wasn't the best moment for this, but the feeling of unease which was flooding Simon's stomach was too great. He shot a glance toward the three individuals who weren't participating in the conflict. There were two men and one woman. They appeared plain enough, however, something struck out to him.

The woman amongst the two men beside her had severe bruises on her face. A busted lip, messy hair, and torn clothing.

"Hargh!" One of the men shouted; which brought Simon back to his senses. Due to his being distracted; the man landed a deep cut on his thigh, making Simon buckle toward the ground. The second man was right behind the first, swinging his blade with a cruel and calculated path.

In a flash, Simon's arm moved at an almost inhuman speed; diverting the blade from connecting with his skull.

It merely grazed his forehead; and as payback, he propelled his left dagger while slashing down with his right.

He aimed for both of his opponents. The thrust he aimed to his left sharply pierced through his first opponent's chest; while the slash at the opponent to his right cleaved his head in two.

A big exhale fell from Simon's lips. His body was drenched in sweat. "That was intense…" He muttered under his breath. Now, he could turn his attention to the last three individuals remaining. As he took a step in their direction, they flinched back.

Just as one started to turn, most likely to run, Simon spoke, "Don't go. I know you're not with them… You three were some of the townspeople, no?"

"Glad that you made it."

Rox found the man irritating. Not only was he antagonistic by nature, his tone of voice was silky as if he had no concern in the world.

He despised every part of him. From his dirty clothing to his selfish policy of doing whatever pleases him; which more than nought leaned toward murder or pillaging of some kind.

Rox had chosen to head down the northern path, and to his surprise it happened to house the exact man he was looking for. Buld was standing there, with his hands in his raggedy pockets.

To his surprise Buld appeared alone. This was a relief, but also served as a sign of concern. This meant his subordinates had to handle thirteen enemies.

He had no clue how the madman before him decided to split them up as well. It could have been a seven to five, or a six to seven. Regardless, the only thing had to do was fight him.

"What was up with that trick earlier?" Rox asked.

"What trick?"

"The one where you vanish, like a ghost."

"Oh, that? It was an application of my ability. I call it my terror mirage."

"That's a stupid name."

For the first time in their conversation, Buld's expression changed. He appeared to be genuinely bothered, as his smile shrunk into a frown. "Hey, you're going to hurt my feelings…"

"I'm here to hurt much more than your feelings trust me. I'm not going to play your games any longer. This is where you'll die."

In response to Rox's statement; as if he wasn't just frowning, throwing himself a pity-party, his twisted smirk emerged once more. "Well, come at me then A-Rank. I'm right here."

Rox charged forward, lifting his spear for a thrusting technique. The man, in response, swiftly shifted his head to the side, not even getting grazed by the stab.

That wasn't the end of the attack however, as multiple high speed strikes were lobbed his way. Each and every one was dodged, but, the longer Rox attacked, the closer he got to landing a direct hit.

The moment Buld was actually grazed on his cheek, with blood leaking from it, his eyes widened. In a flash, his foot slammed into Rox's gut, or at least it should have. In a swift movement Rox maneuvered his spear to intercept the blow.

The weight was still heavy enough to send him sliding back slightly. Now having some distance, Buld for the first time took a hand out of his pocket; his finger swiping the blood from his cut. He licked the blood clean off before shifting his attention back to Rox.

"Not bad. I see why you're an A-rank." Then, he slid his hand back into the pocket.

"If you don't take this seriously you'll die before having done anything. Show me your strength. That same strength which bested my mentor."1

"Mentor?" Buld questioned, tilting his head to the side. He still had the crazed look in his eye, including his sinister smile, but his voice carried genuine curiosity. "Does your mentor have a name?"

"Gerald. He was one of the adventurers responsible for apprehending you."

"Gerald…Gerald… oh!" A look of satisfaction at finding an image of the person shone on his face, "You must be talking about that idiot who jumped in front of my attack."

On Rox's forehead a vein bulged. His teeth clenched together so tight they could have cracked. It took everything he had to maintain his composure. He wasn't sure if the man was trying to goad him or just had that vile of a personality.

"Well, "idiot" or not, as his successor is going to be the one responsible for your death I'm not sure you could call him such a thing."

"Well a spade is a spade right? I mean seriously, who willingly chooses to take a fatal attack like that. If you ask me, he should have just let the girly die."

"You're spouting nonsense. Enough talk!" Rox charged forward once more. He couldn't believe the audacity of this man. As he drew closer, Buld was within spear striking range. To his surprise, Rox could spot countless openings.

Buld was not raising his guard whatsoever. If anything, it seemed he was purposefully lax in his stance. His hands were once again back in his pockets. Gripping his spear tight, Rox swung downward.

In a nimble motion, Buld avoided the stroke. But, Rox didn't stop there, he followed up with a horizontal swipe. The blow sent Buld flying across the street, crashing into a building.

The man simply rose to his feet again, releasing a yawn.

"I'll teach you to yawn at me…" Rox muttered. Following his words, a heavy aura spread from his body. Even though Buld was relaxed, his senses still worked. He could tell, the man was vastly more powerful now.

He had no clue what he'd done, but for the first time in the fight he pulled both hands out of his pocket. With a smile on his face, he clenched his fists tightly.

"Here I come!" Rox skipped forward. The way he held the spear was with both hands on the shaft, while the point was behind him. It was reminiscent of the stance a glaive wielder would use. Buld charged forward, a dark purple glow spread around his body.

At the same time, with him giving a heavy straight punch, and Rox swinging his spear like a bat, the two clashed. The force was immense, creating a crater where the two stood. The buildings surrounding them, from the wind pressure, were completely destroyed.

Dust filled the area, and both fighters stood. Neither was breathing heavy, but out of the two Buld appeared more damaged. His hands were bloody, not completely shattered but they weren't in prime condition.

Rox thought to himself, "That's a surprise. Even with my chi enhancement he was an even match. It seemed like he boosted his strength due to 'fear'."

"You're not bad, A-Rank." Buld had a somewhat pleased expression on his face. "It looks like against you, I can do something I've been wanting to for a while."

"What would that be?"

"Let loose. I'm going to tap into some of the reserves of fear I've saved up for the past 12 years."

"Hu-"

Rox didn't even have a moment to finish. He saw a purple flicker of light whiz past him. It took a moment for his brain to catch up to what just happened. He glanced down, seeing his left arm twisted completely.

"Aargh…" He fell to the ground, from a mix of shock as well as the sudden pain of the injury. Rox could admit it, Buld was damn fast.

He glanced behind, to see the man standing a few feet away from him. His back was to Rox, but he turned around, flashing a sinister smile. "Just so you know, I could have taken that arm of yours clean off. I just wanted to give you a warning strike. Do your best now."

Rox's blessing. It was a strange one. He called the ability, -Calculated Danger-. What it did, essentially, was boost his strength and speed based on the level of risk his life was under.

Sometimes, the trigger would be direct, such as him being severely wounded in combat or taking a dangerous blow; while other times it activated based on his perception of the danger he was in.

Previously, when Ashur and him had fought at the Guild Hall, from the injuries he started to sustain, the ability activated, enhancing his speed.

While he had loose control over it, he had no effect on the level at which he was enhanced. For all he knew he could grow stronger by leaps and bounds, or he could have a set limit. At this moment however, his mind went blank.

Never before had he been so utterly outclassed in speed. He didn't even register Buld's movement. Then, it occurred to him. Originally, when Buld was captured; Claire was the one sent after him. Her blessing negated the blessings of others, so they didn't see the full capability of his power.

Because of this, his strength level ranking may have been too low. Buld was most likely a Devil Ranked criminal; standing strong alongside the likes of monsters like Luna as well as Croat.

A smile formed on Rox's face. Sweat fell from his brow, all the while he chuckled. "I'll do my best all right."

With a heavy stomp, the ground crumbled under his weight. A strength he never experienced before surged within him.

Buld was with certainty the most dangerous person he'd ever had the privilege of fighting. Rox's muscles seemed to have endless veins lining them. His physique would rival even those of the giants spoken of in old fables.

The two charged at each other. Rox held his spear in his right hand, while his left arm was still mangled, flopping in the wind beside him. He slashed with furious speed, the wind from the force scratching up the earth as it narrowly missed Buld. The man, in return, fired a flurry of punches and kicks at Rox.

Unfortunately, if it was due to Buld still being somewhat quicker than Rox, or if the man was unprepared for the barrage, he took every single hit directly.

Blood uncontrollably spilled from his mouth. It felt like every vital organ had been completely pierced, even though his body was still in one piece.That's how damaging the hits were.

Even through the pain however; Rox struck back. Using a mixture of his newfound strength thanks to Calculated Danger as well as chi augmentation, he executed four powerful spear thrusts.

The arc of the weapon was truly beautiful. Even Buld, who never put stock in martial arts training could see that. It showed years of dedication and training, as well as practical experience.

The weapon pierced through Buld's chest before three rapid-fire thrusts breached his midsection. A wave of energy from the two's clash sent them both flying back. Rox landed on his back with a grunt, while Buld crashed into a faraway building; a mountain of blood pouring from his mouth.

Rox tried to breathe in but a sharp pain throbbed inside his chest. He knew what that meant, a part of his lung had been crushed. Luckily, his whole chest hadn't been caved in or he would have died on the spot. It still hurt like hell though.

As he rose to his feet he slipped slightly, soon to fall on his face but was caught by someone.

"Thanks…Simon." He muttered.

"Simon? Who's that."

A chill ran down Rox's spine upon hearing the voice. In a burst of strength granted by his surprise, he leaped back a couple feet. He winced at the action but looked forward nonetheless.

There, he saw Buld standing. A feeling of horror washed over Rox. The four stabs, which he had put all of his being into, were nowhere to be seen. Buld's ragged shirt, surprisingly had vast holes where Rox had struck him, but there was no sign of a wound or blood there.

"W-what's going on?" Rox questioned faintly. His spirit was shaken, but it hadn't completely broken yet. Maybe he was still undergoing shock, but he hadn't given up.

When he asked, it was a genuine question. Buld should have been on the floor, bleeding out, if not already dead. How was he standing like everything was fine?

"Eh, don't feel like telling. You're really something though. Even though I used six of the twelve years worth of fear in that clash, you're still kicking. Great job you!" His eyes were glossy, mania oozing from them as he spoke.

For the first time, unlike his usual closed lip, twisted grin; he displayed a wide toothy smile. His teeth were jagged and rotten, amplifying the revulsion he induced.

"BOSS!"

Rox, hearing a familiar voice turned to his left. He saw not only Simon, but Tot as well. They were entering the clearing, and to his surprise they were surrounded by people. At first, confusion washed over him at the sight, but he quickly realized who they were.

They were simple townspeople. He had assumed when first entering that Buld and his crew had killed them all but it seemed he was wrong. Rox had a thought. A thought that things were about to get very, very complicated.