Chapter 38: In the dark shadow

"How are you?!"

Raydel woke up from the trance.

"Yes?"

The woman rushed in and touched both his shoulders, clearly worried. As she stepped closer, Raydel caught a familiar, beautiful scent. He was sure it was the same perfume that the man called Deather wore.

"You're almost under complete control of the boss. Do you know that? If that were the case, it could have serious effects on your body," the woman said rapidly. "Such as seeing illusions or your body being destroyed by the power. Look, there's a lot of smoke coming out of you. But it's okay. You are probably a beginner at summoning a boss, right? It's alright that you haven't learned how to summon them yet!"

Raydel was dumbfounded. He looked down at himself and saw smoke actually coming out of him. His palms were red as if he just held something hot. The pain was intense, causing him to frown. He tried rubbing them against his shirt and of course, it did not help at all. He cursed Cthulhu.

Raydel raised his eyebrows. He touched his belly and his right ring finger. The surprising thing was that there were no wounds or pain. His body returned to its normal state. Apart from his right middle finger, he was surprisingly fine. As he touched his body, he found some injuries, but most of the serious wounds had disappeared.

"Thanks," Raydel murmured and thought, Did Cthulhu heal my body? He looked up and stared at the woman in front of him. "And you are…"

When he had a chance to get a clear look at her, he recognized her.

"Miss… Frey?"

"Do you know me?" she asked him back. Raydel nodded. The woman's face brightened up.

"You are… the third-ranked hunter."

"Oh, right. I forgot."

The woman in front of him was Frey, one of the characters in the 'Ways to Become No.1 Hunter'. She held the third-ranked hunter and was a boss-summoning hunter, just like him. If Raydel remembered correctly, she belonged to the same guild as Deather, the first-ranked guild. Was that the reason she wore the same suit and presume as him?

But why did Cthulhu become emotional upon seeing her?

Raydel asked her instantly.

"Do you happen to know someone named Cthulhu, Miss Frey?"

The woman tilted her head.

"Who?"

"You don't know him?"

"Not at all. Why?"

"..."

Raydel was confused. He tried again. "Then, do you know a boss that looks like an octopus?"

"I don't know who you're talking about. An octopus? I have absolutely no idea," Frey said and opened her hand. A tiny white rabbit appeared out of thin air. It sat on her palm. "I only know beings similar to this. Hey, you're making that face. Does that mean you don't know that you can summon bosses in this form? If you get better at it, you can carry this portable-sized of boss anywhere you want. Do you know that?"

"Really?"

"Of course, but what's your name? It's not every day I meet a boss-summoning hunter."

"Raydel."

"Raydel, will you let me be your master?"

"What?"

"It's been a long time since I last met a boss summoning hunter. I want to teach!"

Raydel's jaws dropped. He had not said anything yet when she continued.

"It's okay. I'll ask the boss first. Come, get on my back."

"Huh?"

Raydel still could not catch up with Frey. He was confused and was thinking about why Cthulhu had a weird reaction to her. Frey confirmed that she did not know Cthulhu. If the two had met before, Frey might have shown some reaction. However, she simply changed the topic and was now looking at him with sparkling eyes.

Did she really want him to be her disciple?

Raydel was not sure what to do, so he climbed onto her back. The moment he moved, he let out a faint cry. His entire body ached. Frey noticed his painful expression and kneeled down to make it easier for him to get on her back.

"Do you really not know anything related to an octopus?" Raydel asked her once again.

Frey started running while turning to look at him.

"Not at all. But you might be talking about my creditor. If that's really the case, I don't know even more because I always run from them."

"Not creditors… he's a man and…" I saw him looking at you in a way I have never seen before. Raydel did not continue. He just pressed his lips together and held tightly onto Frey's neck. She suddenly increased her speed as wolves and hounds started to appear.

Bang!

She pulled out a pistol and shot at the wolves. The bullet exploded, transforming into a net that shredded them into pieces. Then, she aimed at the hounds. But when the 'bang' sounded, something appeared in the air. It could have been a boss that she summoned. It moved quickly and killed the hounds in the blink of an eye before vanishing.

With that speed, Raydel could not see what Frey had summoned.

"Don't know. Don't wanna pay off the debts~" Frey answered. "Tell him I don't have any money."

"He's not your creditor."

"Well, hold on tight. I'm going to start running for real now."

"...!"

Raydel almost fell down from her back as she sped along, the wind roaring in his ears. In that brief moment, he heard her cry out, "ah" and stopped running. When he opened his eyes, he realized she had just dodged some attacks. Raydel thought that the nameless hunter had caught up to them.

But it was not them. The one attacking her was Han.

"Han!" Raydel exclaimed, leaping down. He rushed in to stop the two of them. "He's my friend. Han, Han! This woman is the third-ranked hunter. She helped me!"

Han narrowed his eyes when he heard the explanation. He did not say anything, but Raydel could sense that he would not fight her now. He was just about to persuade Han to calm down when he noticed the Plague Doctor standing behind. He was so happy that he ran toward him to offer a stream of compliments, then, sent him into the coin.

Raydel walked back to Han and Frey. Suddenly, he fainted and almost collapsed to the ground. Luckily, Han caught him just in time. He raised his eyebrows as he saw that Frey also reached out to help.

"Sorry," Raydel apologized, pushing himself away. He really chose the right time to faint, huh? "I'm feeling a bit dizzy, but it's getting better now."

Han stared at Raydel and said out of nowhere, "The wound on your cheek's gone."

"Ah." Raydel immediately touched his cheek and murmured, "The boss I summoned helped heal my wounds. Actually, there are some scars left. They still hurt if I touch them. But what about you? Are you okay? The boss of the double dungeon took me to that woman, but she escaped again. And Miss Frey came to help me just in time."

Frey raised her hand to greet Han with a smile. Han nodded back without a smile. He narrowed his eyes as he stared at Raydel. He saw all the blood on him and said,

"Ray, from now on I'll go wherever you go."

Raydel froze for a moment.

"Huh?"

"I'll always be with you," Han repeated. "Whenever you go out of my sight… something bad happens. So, from now on, I'll stay with you. If you take the hunter test again, I'll take it with you."

"..."

"Do you understand?"

"Wait, this isn't fair!"

"It's not about that."

"It really is. You'll stick with me from now on?"

"Yes."

"I told you I won't die easily."

"You're my only friend, Ray. I won't take any risks."

While the two argued, Frey crossed her arms and thought, Hmm, so this is the bond of young men, huh? But that one keeps pushing hard; it's really interesting. At that moment, she noticed someone running directly toward them. She nudged Raydel to look in that direction.

"They're also your friends?"

Raydel turned his gaze to where she was pointing. Then, his face lit up.

"Sheryl! Shane!"

Sheryl and Shane, their bodies covered in bruises, were running toward him. They held his shoulders and examined him closely to ensure he was truly fine. When they were sure, they stepped back and released a huge sigh. Sheryl looked at Han and Frey suspiciously and positioned herself by Raydel's side.

Raydel, who was surrounded by everyone, looked around and asked.

"Did you kill all of the monsters?"

"Not yet," Shane said. "They ran away. Still, we gathering together like this will surely attract them."

He had just finished speaking when Raydel heard the sounds of footsteps.

He turned around and saw the surviving nameless hunters slowly closing in, along with the wolves and hounds. They emitted a dangerous aura. Raydel did not know why Sheryl, Shane, and Han stepped in to stand between him and the monsters like this. He looked at Frey, who seemed relaxed while standing behind the group. She scratched her head and smiled.

"Don't worry. Boss is here now. Let him deal with this," she said.

"Boss?" Sheryl questioned.

"Over there." Frey pointed in a direction.

Everyone turned to see where she was pointing and spotted a woman standing there, looking up at the sky.

However, the person looked really familiar. When Raydel took a closer look, he realized that the individual was a man, not a woman. He was a tall man wearing a suit that looked just like Frey's. He looked at the sky, and Raydel could see him blinking to shake raindrops off his long lashes. He raised his hands, opening them to catch the rain.

"Deather?" Raydel murmured.

The novel's antagonist closed his eyes. The gentleness made him look like a princess. His red lips opened just a little, and as he whispered some words, the jet-black sky slowly turned bright and blue.

He was exorcizing the dungeon.

The rain grew heavier, enveloping the area in the dimness of a thunderstorm. Then, as the black sky slowly disappeared, an uproar swept through the ranks of monsters. The nameless hunters and all of the monsters there looked restless and started running away in all directions.

However, they could only run for a moment before they collapsed.

Leaving only skeletons behind only skeletons, which quickly turned to ashes.

Everything happened so fast that Raydel could not catch up. Deather opened his eyes and murmured.

"Where is the boss?"

It hurts…

In the parking lot of a darkened department store, a woman sat alone in a corner.

She hugged her blood-soaked body as she slowly let out a trembling breath. She could barely see anything now. Christa leaned her head against the cold wall as memories of her family from her younger day surged in her mind.

Christa closed her eyes. Then, her body jerked. A new scene replaced her memory.

A tall woman was walking toward her, her face looking strangely familiar. It took Christa a moment before she recognized who it was. It was Deather, the strongest hunter.

"So, this is the culprit," he muttered.

Terrified, Christa tried to move away from him.

"Don't come near me…! Ah?!"

Christa realized that she could not move either her arms or her legs. Her wrists and ankles were bleeding, and her vision started to flicker. The scene of the parking lot began to overlap with what she was seeing. She screamed and writhed hopelessly.

"You won't be able to move for a while," Deather said. He knelt down beside her and gazed at her. "Christa Wang, you're born into a wealthy family with a good future ahead. Why did you do this? Is it just your intrusive thoughts, or is someone behind all of this?"

Christa said nothing.

"Do you know this one cult?"

The woman jerked, trying to get away from him. Deather tilted his head, his eyes sparkling for a moment.

"'Nyarlathotep', 'Azathoth', and 'Yog-Sothoth'. Have you ever heard these names?"

Christa forced a laugh, biting her tongue until it bled. Deather sighed at the sight and grabbed her chin. He squeezed it open, and saw that she had already bit her own tongue out.

This is not just the normal kind of craziness, Deather thought, she must be in the cults to act this mad.

"You're aware that there's a cult related to today's incident. What do they want?" Deather asked. "What are they hiding behind this event?" He sighed once again. "It's okay. I'll bring you back to my guild. I have a hunter that can heal your tongue. You…"

The image of Deather suddenly disappeared.

Christa let out a deep sigh. Despite her lingering dizziness, when she looked up, she saw a woman kneeling in front of her.

Mother, Christa thought happily. She hugged the person who hugged her back. Her mother's gentle pats her head caused her to cry.

"Almost. Mother sent him away already," her mother said. "It's okay now. You did great today."

Christa cried out loud. In her head, she could only think, it hurts. My entire body aches. However, she could not say it. Her mouth is filled with blood, and every swallow was tasted of sticky saliva and blood. She sobbed as she felt her mother's hands softly holding the back of her neck.

"God has forgiven you now," her mother's voice reached her ears. "You have no sins for Him to forgive, as you've fulfilled your duty."

Christa nodded repeatedly, her shoulders trembling from crying. Her mother's grip on her neck tightened. It reminded her of her childhood: the time she had pounded a tiny rabbit against the ground, her days at the all-girls school looking at everyone, and the moments by Minnie's bedside, watching her sister sleep.

At that moment, she slowly leaned in until her breath brushed against her sister's face.

The upcoming image disappeared once she heard her mother again.

"Rest now, Christa."

Her mother whispered.

"You've worked hard. It's time to rest."

Christa opened her eyes and whispered back softly.

"Okay."

Crack.

She froze and collapsed to the ground.

The woman who was called mother slowly stood up, remaining still for a moment. When she finally moved, she transformed from a middle-aged woman into a tall man. In the dim light of the parking lot, only his light hair could be seen, shimmering like a diamond. His long earrings swung gently in the wind, creating a soft clinking sound.

He looked at Christa for a while before turning around.

"You've been looking after her for many years. Aren't you saddened?"

A voice asked.

The speaker was standing in the dark. No one could see its real body.

"A bit, I guess. Breaking her neck should be considered a mercy, Nyar."

The person called Nyar smiled and walked toward the speaker.

"Are you saying that I'm soft-hearted like Cthulhu?"

"We are gods. Why should we be soft-hearted for humans?"

"Don't talk like you're not," Nyar tilted her head. "We all have our own favored human, don't we?"

The speaker was quiet, so Nyar looked around.

"I completed my role. I saw him using his power. You probably did too. The plan is almost ready. We just have to wait for the day the tower will appear. If we can awaken Azathoth up that day, we'll have nothing to worry about anymore. I am prepared, and so are you. The end and the beginning are near."

"What about Cthulhu?"

"Cthulhu will not get in our way."

"What if his human asks him to?"

"I don't foresee a future in which that human has an impact on him."

The speaker fell silent.

"How many times has that human invalidated your prophecies, Nyar? If I were you, I'd eliminate him, just in case he can influence Cthulhu. You know well that we shouldn't trust humans. They're tricky beings."

"If you want to kill him, go ahead."

"I sure will."

Then, the speaker in the dark vanished. Nyar stared at the spot for a while before walking away. He gradually distanced himself from Christa's lifeless body. Upon exiting the building, he was greeted by the faint sunlight filtering through the thunderstorm.

…The 25th of September would soon arrive.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Raydel noticed Deather's frown. He opened his eyes just as the rain began let up. The sun was shining through the cloud brightly. The man turned around and walked to the group.

He said to Frey, "It escaped."

"Who are you talking about?" Frey asked.

"The person behind all of this. They've probably killed that woman already."

"What… So, we canceled our flight and came here for nothing…"

"I got nothing from her."

Frey cried. Raydel looked at her and Deather talking for a moment before shifting his focus to Sheryl. She was handing him her telephone number. Assuming that the conversation between Frey and Deather must be serious, he chose not to eavesdrop. In fact, Frey was crossing her arms and whispering to Deather in a serious manner.

"Boss, do you see that kid over there?"

Deather looked that way.

"Raydel?"

"Yes, I want him to be my disciple."

"Why?"

"He's a boss-summoning hunter just like me. And…"

Frey covered her mouth.

"I fell in love with him at first sight."

"Ah, he's your type, right?" Deather repeated.

"Exactly! Please, can he be my disciple?"

"So you could have him, huh?"

"That's an added bonus. It's fine if he doesn't like me back."

"Have you forgotten about us?"

"Boss, I'll still borrow your perfume anyway."

Deather smiled and looked at Raydel again.

"It's too late to recruit him as your disciple now."

"Wait! What do you mean?"

Deather rushed toward Raydel, who was saving Shane and Sheryl's contact number on his phone. He looked up and raised his eyebrows because of the name card he handed to him.

"I'll contact you later," Deather said and walked away.

Raydel was confused, but he took the card. As he read the information on it, someone lifted him up and placed him on their shoulders.

"Han?!"

The novel's protagonist took the card and crumpled it up.

Han said, "Tonight let's sleep at my condo."

"What?!"