Ch 21: Good use of the herb [pt2]

'That person almost caught me. I must be careful not to be caught by anyone before I return home.'

Rachael's heart was still beating fast as she remembered being close to death. She still could not believe she had successfully managed to escape the human chasing after her.

But her chaser quickly followed Rachael once he recovered from her attack. It made Rachael hold her breath, and she was followed behind.

"Hey, kid, you can stop running away from me. I know you are afraid of me, but you do not need to be like this. I am not out to kill you."

Luca followed Rachael, but the child was too fast. The dungeon had a rough terrain for him to navigate. The trees cut Luca's speed in half, and he resisted the urge to uproot the whole forest in a single strike.

'Run.Run.Run.Run.Run.'

Rachael's mind continued to yell at her, and her legs hurt. But in her fear-filled brain, Rachael was not finding what she wanted to do.

She was unsure if she was going the right way, but Rachael quickly ran in the direction her instincts told her to. 

Finally, just as she was about to run out of the forest, someone caught her back and pulled her back in their grasp.

"Tsk, you little shit! How dare you run drug me and my partner and then try to run away? You make me want to kill you."

Rachael was caught by the monster who had tried to kill her. He looked angry, and Rachael was suddenly afraid she would not be kept alive for long.

"Let me go. Let me go right now."

The monster just shook Rachael harder, and her head spun. It made Rachael's head unstable, and she could not see clearly.

Rachael had never acted like a kid, but the fear she felt right now made her act childish. Her senses were numbing, and her brain had stopped working.

"Let you go? There is no way I will let you go after you put me through all this hell again."

The struggle was real, and it showed on Rachael's face. In the end, the monster got tired of Rachael, and he tried to knock her out by force. 

His first connected with the back of Rachel's head, and the feeling caused her to yell out in pain.

That was enough for Luca to track her down and quickly find her.  The scene he arrived to witness caused him to break out into a cold sweat. He noticed how the monster held his young master's obsession up in its claws.

If anything happened to young Miss Rachael, it would affect not only his young master but also their organization.

'I cannot allow anything bad to happen to the young miss. I need to be careful and attack my enemy.'

Luca raised his hand and increased the pressure of gravity between the monster's hand and Rachael's body. It caused the beast to drop Rachael almost immediately.

The fall must have hurt, but it was a far better alternative than being eaten by the monster.

"You little bitch! What the hell did you do? I swear you had not awakened any ability the last time I checked."

The monster yelled at the child in front of him. He regretted not drugging this child and thinking of her as a weakling. 

"I would not call that child a weakling if I were you. Do you know that she is precious to our young master? If you continue to be like this, you will walk into an early grave."

Luca declared as he finally showed himself in front of the monster. 

Luca's sudden entry took aback the monster, and he crushed himself for not paying attention.

At the same time, the monster was confident in his strength. He knew that no ordinary person would be able to kill him or even hurt him.

'Ha, if this person thinks he has any chance against me, he had another thing coming his way. I will show them that I am the superior one and…'

He was poorly slashed before the monster could even finish the monotone to himself. It caused his arm to fall, and he looked up in shock.

The blood had not even dried from the slash on his arm when the monster felt a colossal presence rearing its head toward him.

'I am going to die. I cannot believe a human child like this will do me in.'

For the first time since the encounter had started, the monster felt a shiver going down his spine. He suddenly jumped toward the girl to try and use her as a hostage, but the human was faster than him.

Moreover, Luca had increased the pressure of gravity falling on the monster before him. That caused the beast to get even slowly.

"F-Forgive me. I did not mean to fight you. I just wanted to earn a little profit. If you need it, then just take this child with you. J- Just leave me alone." 

The monster looked at Luca with horror. He was ready to let his hostage go because that ensured his life.

Luca did not talk to him after that. He only walked toward Rachael and pulled her up. Then, he looked at the monster and turned away from him.

'Hah, I get to live another day. This stupid human is not worth my life.'

The monster looked at Luca with confidence. He was sure that the human was letting him live.

The monster was already planning his next attack when his life was cut in half. His body was crushed, and the beast had no remains left behind.

"If you do not want to follow your friend into the afterlife, run away and save your life. If I catch you loitering again, you will also die."

Luca called out to the other monster who was trying to hide. He looked scared but also determined to save his life. As soon as Luca was gone from his sight, the monster made his way toward his partner.

He had a mournful look but did not genuinely feel bad for his partner.

"See, you should have been more careful about your opponents. It is all your fault for falling for my words. Look where it got you."

The monster left alive did not even look remorseful for what had happened to his friend. Instead, he was here to retrieve the spice and other specialties of the lower dungeon.

Most higher monsters could have liked this place better, but some delicacies sold for a lot. That was what the beast was counting on to make his money.

What he did not see coming was the emergence of another human in the forest. And this human looked young, almost as if he was a child no older than 13.

"What are you doing? If you tell me, I can also help you."

The kid asked, and the monster instantly felt salivating at having a tasty meal. This kid smelled far sweeter than any other human he had met.

'Today is my lucky day. This kid smells of divine energy. I can get a lot more powerful if I eat this kid.'

The monster was confident in his powers. And especially against a kid like this, he was more than sure he would survive.

"You want to help me, kid? If you insist so much, I will have to take you up on this offer.  First, you need to skin my good friend here. I cannot do it because I am of the same species."

Plus, there was a superstition that if you skin their species alive, the spirit of death will follow you around and try to kill you.

The monster did not want to deal with such a bothersome curse, so he asked the kid to help him first. He needed to show his tribe that the other demon was dead.

"You sure you want me to help you skin a monster alive? I am rather clumsy with my hands."

The kid asked the monster, to which he just grinned.

"Yeah, sure, kid. Here, take a knife and get to work. By the way, what is your name?"

The monster asked as he watched the kid skin his friend with expertise. The knife got below the skin and did damage any significant part.

"Me? My name is Rook. Well, I have another name as well. But I like to go by Rook most of the time."

The kid explained, and the monster laughed.

"Your name is Rook? What a bold choice of name to have. You humans might not know what I find bold in your name choice. You see, we have a demon king in the higher dungeon, and he has a legion of soldiers in it."

"The top ones are named after chess pieces. It is corny, but I see the appeal of naming yourself such a powerful person. By the way, I heard a rumor about the Rook. They said that he feels like a holy angel and…"

As soon as the monster had finished speaking, he looked at the child beside him. The child who had seemed so normal just a second before now looked much more intimidating.

"Y-Y-You! You are not a normal human, right? W-What do you want from me?"

The monster asked as he felt the danger level rising by the second.

Too wrong for him; he never got a chance to finish his words. His head was detached from his body, and the teen rolled the knife in his hand.

"Aww, and I liked this pawn as well. He was hilarious. Now, shall I get started on my hunt? This smell is making me hungry".