Chapter 47: The Hunt (4)

As the observation that Tot and Simon were surrounded by townspeople continued to stir in Rox's head, he noticed something. Tot was holding a man, one who was drenched in blood; his body appeared limp and motionless.

Rox didn't recognize the man Tot was holding but something did look familiar. He realized; the wounds that caused so much blood were clearly from a weapon, most likely a spear.

A cold shiver ran down Rox's spine, as a thought occurred to him. The brand.

He turned his attention back to Buld, "You.. bastard what is this?" Rox's face was pale, as he looked at the criminal. Buld had a demented smile on his face.

"Aw, I guess the gig is up. Yeah, I didn't say so earlier but you really caught me at a bad time Rox. I sent most of my guys over to a nearby town to take resources and people. This was the one time I decided to hang back and freeload and then an A Ranker came strolling in! That's gotta be awful luck right!?"

"What the hell are you rambling about….?" Rox paused, lowering his head to the ground. The pain from his injuries were immense.

He had no doubt that if he relaxed for even a second, let alone shut his eyes for an extended period of time; that he'd pass out. Though his body was littered with bruises, along with his internal organs, he felt a greater heat.

A deep silence filled the field, however the instant his head raised, with his face embodying fury itself, he screamed, "A SECOND AGO, I ASKED YOU WHAT WAS GOING ON!! I NEED AN ANSWER BULD!"

Buld, in the face of the man's rage could only chuckle. "I just thought it'd be nice to have some meat shields, you know? Just in case. They'll do whatever I ask of them, because if they don't…" He suddenly reached for his pocket, pulling out a small dagger. All looked at him, in confusion at what he was doing before he suddenly stabbed it into his shoulder.

Surprisingly, a scream of pain didn't come from him, but from one of the townspeople near Tot. The man grabbed at his shoulder, as if he had been the one stabbed. The spot Buld stabbed himself in the shoulder, was the exact location the townsperson was bleeding from.

"...That happens!" Buld finished, a sadistic glee in his voice.

"You bastard!" Rox screamed as he charged him, raising his spear to strike when-

"DON'T!" A shout that sounded out from behind stopped the veteran warrior in his tracks. He glanced back to see Simon, his face drenched in panic. The sight caught Rox off guard. He rarely saw the man display such concern, even when his life was on the line.

He understood why however. Because of his rage, he almost made a grave mistake. In this current state, Buld couldn't be touched. If he was damaged, it would just be transferred to the innocent civilians who were forced to take his brand.

"There were originally three townspeople in the area I was in. Suddenly, several puncture wounds just appeared on him. He bled out in seconds…" Simon's face lowered to the ground. Rox just noticed Simon was fairly wounded as well. He presumed he had to deal with at least four combatants, being actual members of Buld's gang.

It seemed, the four fatal wounds that would have affected Buld, spread to two of the townspeople, the man in Tot's arms and one who was with Simon before coming to this area.

In a flurry, Rox recounted how many people he saw. There were four, two being beside both Tot and Simon.

"So, what's the plan now?" Buld asked, seeming genuinely curious.

"Fight you… of course." Rox coughed up through his labored breaths.

"That's cute but you look like you'd fall over with a single finger." The man then started to walk toward Rox, his hands being in his pockets once more. Rox waited, and waited, and the second he entered his range, he jabbed his spear toward the man's neck.

Right before the weapon could reach it, a kick knocked it from its path, making it fly into the air. Buld smirked, before aiming a kick at Rox's chin which connected-sending him tumbling backwards.

He was sent toward his party, and Simon quickly grabbed him up. The glare in his eye was only superseded by his hostile aura. "Boss, are you okay?" He asked Rox, who coughed up more blood.

"I could be… If I just had a couple minutes to recover."

"Done." Tot said curtly. He gently placed the body of the townsperson down to the ground. He stepped forward, cracking his knuckles.

"Wait! Are you sure?" Simon was the one to speak out; having worry present in his voice.

"What other choice is there?" Tot retorted, with his gaze locked on Buld who was cackling to himself. "Boss, I only ask that you try to think of a solution while you rest, you as well Simon. Obviously, killing him would be the easiest but…" His voice trailed off.

Rox knew what he was thinking. While they were no strangers to death, being adventurers for a while and warriors even longer; the killing of innocents was never acceptable to them.

There had to be another way to defeat Buld than deliver severe blows over and over again until his "meat-shields" ran out.

"I'll do my best." Rox replied. Then, in silence, he got into a criss-crossed sitting position. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply in and out. It was very painful but necessary. He had to gather as much chi as possible, to augment himself.

Tot was nearing closer and closer to Buld. The man sized him up quickly before speaking, "So, what's your rank, no name?"

"B Rank," Tot replied.

Without another word, Buld lunged forward. Now, Tot was a huge man. He was slightly taller than Rox and on the surface, appeared to be fat, however; he was 300 pounds of pure muscle.

Buld learned this the hard way, as he went for a full-powered front kick to Tot's stomach.The man simply released a slight huff as response.

He grabbed Buld's arm, before launching him back several feet. Buld's eyes widened in slight surprise. He hadn't expected such strength.

Instead of being discouraged or annoyed, a smirk formed on Buld's face, "That didn't hurt well let me try this then." Following his words a faint purple glow emanated from his body.

Tot could instantly feel the air get colder. The man was much stronger now. In a flash he appeared before Tot. He once again went for a kick but this time, Tot raised his arm to block the blow. It was heavy. The force sent him stumbling back slightly.

"Oh, so you're fast enough to react to my base fear boost… Interesting. Let's see how you react to 2 months of it."

Simon was watching the battle play out, sweat on his forehead as its intensity ramped up. It had been at least a minute, and every couple seconds it seemed Buld was increasing his power. He realized a part of it might have been him feeding off the fear of the townspeople who were watching on with shaky hands.

Simon was trying very hard to rack his brain on a solution to their problem. He thought and thought and thought, but nothing was coming to him.

One possible solution would have been for the townspeople to stop fearing Buld, then his power might have decreased; or the brand possibly would have vanished but it was unlikely to happen.

Not only did their fear for the man seem ingrained, it was also difficult to measure. How badly did someone need to "fear" Buld for him to feed from them? If anything, even being slightly wary of him could have counted as "fear".

A hand grabbing Simon's shoulder snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned, seeing it was Rox. He was clearly straining himself but nonetheless was able to stand. "Simon, I want you to listen closely."

"Yes, Boss."

As the two were speaking, Tot was doing his very best to defend against the ruthless onslaught of Buld. Several wounds as well as blood covered Tot. The man still had a straight-laced expression giving nothing away however.

Rox continued speaking, "While gathering chi I tried very hard to think of a plan to overcome this but I've got nothing. I'm going to help Tot now, but I'm trusting you to figure something out. You and Rann have always been the smarter ones out of us four. I'm sure you can do it."

Simon started to protest, or voice his doubt but the smile from Rox wouldn't allow him to. He was truly putting all his trust in him. Biting his lip in frustration, Simon simply responded, "Understood."

Rox, releasing a guttural scream, jumped into the fray. Buld smiled widely, "Oh, you're back!"

A big explosion of dust engulfed the area once Rox landed. Through the dust, Simon could hear the sounds of shouting and commotion.

Every moment that passed felt like an eternity, as Simon sunk deeper and deeper into his own mind. He looked back on every mission, every situation; that he had ever been in. It may have been a futile effort but it was the best that he had at the moment.

"Um, excuse me mister…"

"Simon." He responded, shifting his attention to the one who called him out. It was the woman, who in part was the reason for his initial observation which led them to where they were now.

"Mister Simon, you're still thinking of how to defeat that man right?"

"Yes." He responded, his tone grave. He was frustrated, but even beyond that he knew this was time sensitive.

"I heard what he said earlier. About how he sent his men to raze another town. That man and his followers… they don't view humans to be the same as them. What they did to me… Because I was attractive-" The woman stopped speaking, her voice broke off. Tears started welling up in her eyes. Simon couldn't bear to look at her.

He knew what she was getting at, even without her explaining further. He had seen the terrible state she was in. That was the main thing that clued him in prior that they weren't a part of Buld's group.

The woman continued speaking, "If, in order to defeat that man… no, that demon; you have to kill us then so be it. It's better than him living and having what he did to me, to my people, to this town repeat again."

Simon opened his mouth to speak but no words came. He wanted to say no immediately, but in this situation he couldn't. He looked over at Tot and Rox, seeing how they were fighting with all their might.

It was obvious, with things progressing the way they were, Buld would win. They couldn't damage him because of the brand. The most they could do was defend and hold out, for a sign of any other way to defeat the maniac.

"Okay…" Simon relented. He stood up, looking amongst the four townspeople. "Are you sure about this?"

The woman, as well as two of the other men nodded solemnly. The last man however, was shivering. Tears were streaming down his face as he cradled his head.

"I… don't want to die! I really don't! That's why I swore to follow that man, because I hoped one day someone would save us. But, it turns out we're the very reason he's able to continue causing more destruction. I watched my brothers get killed… and did nothing! I was too afraid." The man grabbed at his chest, he appeared to be struggling to even stand upright. "This is penance. At least, I won't be a complete coward. My life will have some value, right?"

Simon nodded, struggling to hold his tears back. "Yeah. Because of your sacrifice, Buld will never be able to hurt another person again."

There was immense kindness laced in every word Simon spoke. He wasn't trying to convince them to do this, nor was he pitying them. He was grateful, but at the same time deeply saddened. This may have been the only way to stop him.

Because of their sacrifice, the monster known as Buld would die here, so would his hunt for death and destruction.

The man smiled, his tears flowing as endless as a waterfall. "Thank you…" He said, with relief on his face. Even though he spoke as if he had accepted things, his lip quivered ever so slightly.

"Come on now! Keep it going!" Buld shouted maniacally. His body still held a faint purple glow around it as he threw punches and kicks without relenting.

Rox and Tot were barely hanging on, evident by the limps they both had. Out of the two, Tot was able to defend more successfully while Rox had to grit his teeth for every blow he took. Buld's fist suddenly opened, forming a sort of karate-like chop. A blade of purple aura formed on it.

"He's using chi!" Both fighters thought at the same time. Even Buld himself didn't notice this, he simply had a thought. What if my fists could slice through a body? And so, his aura reacted to that desire.

Both Rox and Tot knew, if that strike connected, it would be fatal. The two prepared to jump back, however, a throbbing pain in the liver made Rox hesitate. Buld saw this, and didn't waste a breath. He slashed downward; glee in his eyes.

"Oh, no you don't!" Simon slid in the way, raising his twin daggers to block the strike. The chop cut one of the daggers clean in two, while the other was simply chipped. Using this moment, all three fighters slid back.

"Simon! What are you doing here?" Tot asked frantically.

"Did you figure something out?" Rox added.

"Yeah… They're dead."

"Who?" Rox questioned, through his labored breaths.

"The townspeople. They sacrificed themselves... Buld can be killed now."

All three adventurers' expressions darkened. No more words traded between them but they all shared a similar sentiment; sorrow.

Buld, overhearing their conversation started chuckling, "You killed them!? Great job! Now you might actually be able to kill me…" Suddenly, an aura oozing pure malice shot out from him. It was like the grim reaper himself had possessed Buld. "Well, kill me if you can." He said with a twisted grin.

"Let's go!" Rox shouted, charging forward with his spear in hand. Tot raised his fists up and Simon readied his single dagger.

Buld seemed to glide over the ground as he dashed forward at blinding speed. Tot was the first target. While he raised his arms to block, a fierce kick bashed into them. Tot winced in pain. If it weren't for him augmenting them with chi they surely would have been broken.

Not wasting a second, Buld went for a reckless swing with his fist at Rox. In a smooth movement, his head barely shifted out of the way. It was thanks to his blessing activating in the nick of time; otherwise his head would have been smashed.

Rox stabbed with his spear, piercing into Buld's shoulder. The man in return jabbed with his fingers toward his eyes. Simon sliced the fingers clean off before they could connect however.

Tot grabbed up Buld, before leaping high with him in hand. He spun mid-air, suplexing him into the ground, leaving a large crater.

The job wasn't finished yet however, as Buld pushed Tot away from him, rising to his feet once more. "I've had enough!" He shouted. His aura shot out from him like mini bullets which had the simple aim of destroying.

A thick dust filled the area. Buld was taking deep breaths in and out, as sweat dressed his brow. The purple aura which covered his body started to fade.

"Ah, guess I'm out of juice… Urgh!"

A spear pierced through his chest. His eyes slowly lowered; finding Rox was the one holding it. Releasing an uncontrollable cough, blood streamed from his mouth, and as Rox ripped the spear from his chest; the man fell down.

When the dust fully cleared, both Tot and Simon stood there, panting heavily. Tot had been hit with a few of the stray aura burst bullets, but Simon was relatively clean.

"Any last words for the great and fearsome Buld?" The man, despite being defeated, and on the ground still had his arrogance. His tone oozed sarcasm yet he maintained his smile.

Rox responded, "Yeah, I'm curious why you didn't join Macro. I know he freed you from purgatory. You could have joined his organization, there you would have been better protected but instead of that you chose to go off on your own. Why is that?"

"Because, he's with Luna… that thing scares me."

Hearing those words, brought several thoughts into Rox's head. Firstly, for the longest time Macro had been "rumored" to be working alongside Luna.

While it may not have been the most trustable source, the fact that was now mentioned by someone who was in association with Macro was of note. However, he didn't voice or even question that further. The only thing he could say was-

"You were scared… Isn't that ironic. A man who lived his entire life feeding off the fear of others for his own gain was afraid of another person." A dry chuckle escaped his lips.

"Luna's different from you and me, that's why."

"Different huh… I don't get it."

"Well, I'm sure you will one day, if you ever have the misfortune of fighting her." Buld trailed off, letting copious amounts of blood leave his lips upon every cough.

His throat was choked full of blood; it was an unpleasant sensation. He didn't fight it however. As he gazed up at the sky, he had a thought, fleeting as it may have been.

The sky was clear. He had never thought he would see a day like it. He had expected to die someplace cold and dark, like a cave; or maybe a ditch.

"The sky really is beautiful." He said, his lips curling into a smirk. Rox looked at him, watching as the color faded from the man's eyes. A deep silence filled the field. Buld, was dead.

Rox raised to his feet. He glanced between Simon and Tot, seeing them still getting their bearings. "Let's finish up."

The three didn't know how much time passed; but they buried the bodies of the townspeople. Even through their severe wounds and injuries, the pain meant nothing to them. At the end of the day, Rox came to a conclusion.

It was quite naive so he refused to voice it. As an A Ranker and seasoned veteran, it may have tarnished his image; not that his party members would have agreed. He thought that maybe, everyone was human. Meaning, just as he had fears, even someone as vile as Buld did too.

Not everything was black and white. There were several gray areas; such as Simon killing innocents, for the sake of the "greater good". Just how to Buld, he didn't see killing as a bad thing. To him, he killed to feel strong.

Rox didn't know, but the man's entire life he was like a child. In his fear and confusion about how the world worked, due to his upbringing as a child; being an orphan who often had to survive off of rats and other vermin, he lashed out at any and everything.

Even if things weren't as simple as they seemed, Rox still had a duty. To protect the innocent and all that were treated unjustly. He would fight, any and all who would stand in his way.