Chapter 07:- Hunter Hunted?

When James and his group arrived at the other side of the giant boulder, they got the scared hell from what was in front of them.

******

Few hours earlier,

Deep within the heart of the ominous forest, William grappled with a dire predicament. He had become the prey of a group of ruthless men who sought to end his life. The enormity of his situation weighed heavily on his thoughts.

"How do I escape from them?" William whispered to himself, his voice was barely audible above the eerie silence of the forest. He scanned the surrounding trees, searching for any signs of danger. The darkness of the woods seemed to press in on him from all sides, each shadow seemed to him that they are concealing potential threats to him.

Even if he managed to flee from his current location, William knew there was no guarantee that the relentless pursuers would not find him again, and if goes to his place he knew that they will find his current living place and try to assassinate him.

William knew that every move he made from now could become the difference between life and death.

With mounting tension, he continued to navigate the tangled undergrowth, his senses on high alert. His fear was palpable, but so was his determination to survive.

After a relentless trek through the forest, William's body began to demand sustenance. The reserves of water he carried had dwindled to nothing, and his throat started become dry.

It was then that William stumbled upon a serene, moonlit lake, its calm surface shimmering in the quiet night. "So, this is the reason why the infernal lion comes to earlier he probably would have come to drink water here." William muttered as he bent to fill his water bottle. But the tranquillity of the scene was fleeting. As he tried to stand, his legs were got stuck by an unexpected adversary and that was – a patch of cold, mud.

As he trying to figure a way out of the mud. something extraordinary happened. A plan, detailed and precise, unfurled in his mind.

The thoughts swirled through his consciousness like a well-orchestrated symphony. It was as if his every experience, every moment, had culminated into this precise instant.

His ability, had activated by the direness of his situation, allowed him to see the world in a way he had never imagined.

In that suspended moment, he realized that he could strategize with unparalleled clarity. Every detail, every contingency, formed in his mind as if he held the script to an intricate play.

The revelation was awe-inspiring, and he couldn't help but marvel at the newfound power coursing through him which were unlike how he was a normal human in his past life. His surroundings seemed to slow, and his mind was a wellspring of calculated decisions.

"Wow, so is it was feels to use an ability, It was like, as if everything around me had slowed down and my mind was completely focused on making plan from all the information I have to make a plan for best case scenario."

"I should begin preparing," William thought as he returned his focus to the task at hand.

With swift determination, William retrieved a plastic bag from his pack and began to fill it with the cool, mud that entrapped his legs. It was the start of his plan.

"I should find a suitable place," after saying that William started to head in side the forest.

After a tense journey through the depths of the forest, William's persistence paid off. He had been on a lookout to find a suitable location were he suspect that he could finish them off easily, and after one to two hours of searching, he finally discovered what he had been seeking – a massive boulder, just as he had envisioned.

He moved stealthily, meticulously surveying the area around the enormous rock to ensure that it was indeed present. As he confirmed its location, a sense of relief washed over him. This boulder would serve as the linchpin for his elaborate plan.

And he started to make his preparation around the area and a while it was finally done.

Exhaling a deep breath, he whispered to himself, "Fuu, it's finally done. I just have to make them follow me here, and the rest should be relatively straightforward."

The stage was set, and the pieces were in place. Now, all that remained was to execute his plan with precision, drawing his pursuers to this designated location and unleashing the trap he had devised.

William's heart raced as he ventured toward the suspected location of his pursuers. He was convinced that the group of hunters who sought his life would be lurking somewhere close. The weight of impending danger hung heavy in the air.

After a while he find them taking to themselves.

"If they truly intend to end me, they'll want to do it quickly and efficiently," William reasoned as he cautiously emerged from his hiding spot. He knew that a single mistake or hesitation on his part could be fatal.

Determined and resolute, he set out on a path, leading his followers in the direction of the massive boulder. The moonlight above bathed the forest in an eerie glow, casting elongated shadows that danced ominously.

Every rustle of leaves, every whisper of the wind seemed to conspire against him.

His footsteps were measured, each one calculated for minimal noise. As predicted, his relentless pursuers trailed him closely, maintaining a vigilant distance. Their presence felt like an oppressive weight on his shoulders.

The forest seemed to close In around him, each tree a silent sentinel bearing witness to the high-stakes chase. William's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, each one a potential piece of the intricate puzzle he was constructing.

As he neared the colossal boulder, a sense of urgency gripped him. He knew that, within these shadows, his fate teetered on a knife's edge.

******

In the present time.

High above the forest floor, William perched silently on a tree branch, his entire body obscured by the mud he had carefully applied. Below him, the group of terrified men trembled in fear, their expressions reflecting sheer panic.

And rightfully so, for before them stood the menacing Infernal lion, its fiery gaze fixed upon them with an air of wrath.

This had been William's plan all along, to lead the group of hunters into a deadly encounter with the fearsome beast. For that to happen, William upon reaching the side of the massive boulder earlier, he had taken the initiative, provoking the Infernal lion with a lightning attack.

The reason the creature hadn't immediately targeted William was because during daylight, the Infernal lion's eyesight was very bad, and that the reason it hadn't spotted William at the lake.

And during the night time when it all dark the Infernal lion eyes were like heat sensor which can find it target from they body heat, but in William the cold mud he had applied to his body concealed his body heat, rendering him nearly invisible to the lion, even as he had stood right in front of it.

As the hunters, under James's leadership, approached the area, the Infernal lion launched its assault.

And after looking at beast, They had given up all the will on fighting back, knowing that their ranks, ranging from E- to E+, were no match for an apex predator like the Infernal lion even if there boss were to fight with them, Because the Infernal lion was rated as an A Rank beast.

And after that, a gruesome scene unfolded as the Infernal beast shredded the men from James's party. Some were pulverized, some ripped into multiple pieces, their brains and stomachs strewn across the vicinity.

And between in this all the chaos, James attempted to flee. However, as he turned to escape, his foot triggered one of the concealed traps that William had set.

As James found himself suspended upside down by his foot, but he swiftly drew a knife to cut the rope.

But before he could sever the rope, William issued a chilling warning, "Don't attempt to cut the rope, or the knife you see there will pierce your brain straight away before you even managed to land on ground. Oh, and don't even think about using your abilities to kill me, because if you do, the rope under my feet will be released, and the knife will make its fatal journey through your head."

As James observed the intricacies of his predicament—the ropes, the knife, and the threat— he realized the futility of his situation. He knew that his life is William hand now, or more precisely, in William's leg.

"Now that you understand your life is in my hands," William stated coldly, "or should I say your life is tied to my leg. So Don't concern yourself with the Infernal beast or try to kill me; because the beast, it's still busy devouring your companions and why you should not think of killing me that you know already. So, let's have a conversation."

After was followed was William posing a series of questions and receiving answers to some.

  Yet, when James pleaded, "I've told you everything, now let me go," William simply replied, "Okay."

With those words, he raised his leg, releasing the rope. The knife, no longer anchored, hurtled towards James, its deadly trajectory ending in a swift, brutal hit to his head ending Jami life.

This will become a pivotal moment in William's strange journey, where he has to kill a person so he can live.