Chapter 6: The Hunt and The Hunter

Ethan and Oliver were on their way to the university after all that happened at dawn.

"Can you like tell me what is exactly happening to you? Is all this because of that girl? I saw that you talked to her everyday but what it looked to me was you were the only one talking. What is happening?"

"I am alright now. After last night I feel a lot refreshed."

"You are not answering my ques-"

Ethan interrupted Oliver's question. "Look this is where we part, see you later~"

Ethan then ran off to his own classroom after patting Oliver in the back.

[ He's gone made hasn't he? ]

Today was the day for their class on the course about history. The course teacher, professor Alleina Perez was a woman in their mid 30s. Despite that her face resembled that of a lady in her 20s. Her body figure was better than most of the students in this university. Somehow most of the students in this course were males as well. Rumor has it that she is a religious woman and is unmarried and uptight.

"With this this chapter is finished. We are gonna hold an exam next week same day. Come prepared."

Just as the the teacher said that, the eyes that were filled with lust suddenly filled with disappointment. After all they had to pass in the course they chose to stay in this university.

As class ended Seraphina, who was sitting in another aisle made a gesture to Ethan to meet her outside. Ethan and Seraphina then went to the canteen and had their breakfast.

"So what do you think about the teacher?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just say what do you think of her at first glance."

"She seemed to be an intelligent woman, very disciplined and heard rumors that she was religious."

"You heard it right, she is our target, the apostle."

"What??"

Ethan's voice was louder than before making others look at him awkwardly. Ethan again looked at Seraphina and asked in a low voice.

"How do you know that? Didn't you say that they are pretty much impossible to find?"

"Let's just say that my training all these years paid off."

"Now that you mention it, I have lived around 20 years in this world so how is it that you have not aged at all? Did you change you face with your spells?"

Seraphina stopped a bit while putting the spoon in her mouth. "Time is different for different world."

"I see. So if you can detect her can she not detect you?"

"..." Seraphina ignored what Ethan was saying. She got up from her seat after finishing her breakfast and proceeded towards the exit while ignoring Ethan. Ethan followed her outside.

"Hey I am sorr-"

Seraphina stopped in her tracks and put her right arm on Ethan's chest pushing him.

"For now lay low and focus on regaining some strength. She's not as weak as it seems."

After that Seraphina went on her way. Ethan didn't chase her either.

Few days gone by just like that. Ethan goes to classes from morning to noon. Studies historical and religious books at afternoon. Trains at night.

"So do you have any premade plans for this trip?"

Ethan, engrossed in books was interrupted by Oliver.

"No, not yet."

"Don't lie... What about that girl you always talk to... your dream girl "

"I am a bit busy right now."

"Well yeah? I am busy as well so would you kindly get all these books outta my room because I need to pack my backs. What happened to your room?"

"Oh sorry about that. As for my room, let's say there was some kind of failure in one of my experiments."

"Your room is not somewhere you should experiment whatever you were experimenting at. Now just get these books out of my sight, they make me vomit."

After Oliver forced Ethan out of his room, Ethan thought about what Seraphina warned him about few days back. She reminded him again and again that something ominous could happen in this trip. She would only say that a witch's intuition is never wrong when he asked why she was so sure. Ethan had already written some self defense scrolls beforehand. The daily training and his body reformation strengthened his body far beyond average humans. He was still unable to properly conjure spells during fight because of the lacking of mana in this world.

The next day Ethan and Oliver were running through the campus field. Why? Because they were late.

"Don't you find this scene somewhat nostalgic, Ethan?" said the panting Oliver as his obese body couldn't keep up with all that running.

Ethan however seemed to be simply jogging behind him. "And who's fault is that?"

After they reached their destination they were greeted by Alleina Perez, making Ethan shocked as he saw that.

[ Aren't our guide teacher supposed to be someone else? ]

[ Why is she here? ]

Miss Perez looked at both the students and said in a domineering tone, "Both of you are 10 minutes late, I am deducting 10 marks from both of you in this study tour."

[ Yes, there were marks even in this tour. ]

Just like that their fateful journey begun.

On the bus Ethan sat beside Seraphina, by which Oliver felt a little betrayed. As the bus kept going so did the mood in that bus. Students sang, gossiped, ate. After halfway through the bus stopped to take a break. Ethan took this chance to get some fresh air while Seraphina remained in the bus.

Ethan went to the washroom discovering Oliver already in there minding his business.

"So life is booming for you huh? Good looks, muscles, rich family, branded cloths and even a girl right now?"

"Would you believe me if I said we were fated to meet?"

"To hell with your bullshit. You are one of the students of a prestigious university. How can you still act like tanagers who know nothing about reality. Did you not already pass your 8th grader syndrome?"

After they both finish their jobs Ethan put his hands on Oliver's shoulders, "Look, you are like a brot-"

"Don't finish that line. I don't mind at all. Just make sure you don't disappoint her."

"She's not who you think she is."

"I don't care but don't you think you should wash your hands first?"

"..."

"..."

After few moments of awkward silence both of them got freshed and left the washroom.

"Ethan go on ahead, I will buy some snacks from the store. I can't just live without them."

"That very well explains how your body now looks."

"Don't worry I got it under control", said Oliver while patting his stomach.

After the students returned to the bus their journey continued. They reached their hotel around evening. The students, tired from their journey, decided to take that day off and rest properly for the big adventure the day after. Each room consisted of two students. Naturally Ethan and Oliver were in the same room.

"This somehow feels nostalgic", said Oliver as he opened the door.

Ethan entered the room pushing him aside and leapt on the bed. "Oh yea?"

"Shouldn't you sometime feel emotional as well?" With a heavy sigh Oliver placed his bags at a corner and leapt on the bed as well. Suddenly someone knocked at the door.

"..."

"..."

Both of them laid on the bed motionlessly. The knocking continued.

"..."

"Go to hell Ethan." Oliver, seeing Ethan won't be getting up no matter what decided to open the door.

"Is Ethan here?"

A Raven-black haired mature looking woman greeted her. Its without a doubt that whoever looks at her would fall over heels for her beauty.

A hand suddenly pulled Oliver away from the door. "Yes, what do you need?"

That beautiful woman was Seraphina. "We need to talk. Meet me at the lobby in 5 minutes."

After saying what she had to say, she went on her way. Her face seemed different than usual.

"What was that? So you now prefer ladies over your brother? Is this how it is?"

"Who does you assignment every time?"

"I wish you luck in your adventure brother."

The conversation was short but many thoughts were exchanged between them. Ethan changed his shirt, took his belongings and went to the lobby. Seraphina was sitting on a couch.

"So what happened?"

"Let's go on a little walk. It's yet for the sun to set."

After that Ethan and Seraphina went outside walking on the streets. Rather than going to places with people where tourists usually go, Seraphina seemed to be leading Ethan somewhere with less people.

After reaching a dark alley Seraphina turned back and faced Ethan.

"I think we got discovered."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"At that break, when you went to washroom. That woman came to me and asked me something. She- she asked me what I thought of witches."

"Well maybe she just asked you that because you always read history books in the library."

"Maybe but what if- I even felt that someone kept an eye on us from the first."

"Calm down Seraph. If she wanted to harm us she would have done so already. And we haven't done anything out of ordinary recently. And how can we be sure? We can't act on mere suspicions," Ethan replied, his mind racing with the implications of what Seraphina had revealed.

"I know, that's why we must be cautious and gather more information. Trust your instincts, but don't let them cloud your judgment," Seraphina advised.

They continued walking for a while longer before deciding to head back to the hotel. As they made their way back, Ethan couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency and the weight of responsibility on his shoulders.

The next day, the study tour officially began with visits to historical landmarks and museums. Alleina Perez, their guide teacher, seemed pleasant and knowledgeable, but Ethan couldn't shake off the suspicion that Seraphina had planted in his mind.

Alleina, being a history teacher was undoubtedly the best choice for guide when visiting historical landmarks and museums.

[ It's already suspicious enough that a last minute change put her, me and Seraph in the same group but if I focus really hard I can see that her movements are refined like a seasoned warrior and she has faint trace of mana on her body, indicating she was a mana user. ]

As if she heard all that, Ethan felt a cold stare aimed at him giving him goosebumps. It was free time at lunch meaning students were free to go wherever they want. Students divided themselves into groups of 3-4. Ethan, Oliver, Seraphina remained in a group.

"I know a good place to eat. Reviews say that place is a must for tourists."

"Well, let's go then."

Their trio then made their way to one of the most luxurious restaurant in the city.

"Well, I am quite rich in this world." said Ethan grinning as he saw Seraphina's baffled face.

The trio had an exquisite lunch and made their way to the meet point for everyone on time. the professor was already waiting there. After all the students gathered the professor spoke up.

"I will be holding a game now. I have a box with me with cards consisting of numbers from 1 to 15. There is 5 of each card, meaning 5 people will have the same card. Students who have the same card will group together. Now come one by one and take a card."

The students then took their cards one by one.

"So now from my right, form a line for each group starting from group 1."

As Ethan went to the professor's rightmost corner he found out that there wasn't anyone in his group that he was familiar with.

"Looks like we are group 1. Nice to meet you everyone. I am Akazaki Hoshino." A cheerful girl introduced herself. One look and anyone can tell she was one of the social butterfly people.

"I am Marcus. Nice to be part of this team. My hobby is cooking so I hope I can serve you some wonderful dishes someday."

"I am Liam. This is my girlfriend Emiliy."

"Hello everyone"

Now everyone looked at Ethan as it was now his turn to introduce himself.

"Ethan Cross" Ethan said with a cold face.

"!! No way!! I heard a rumor that heir of the Cross company was in our batch, never thought I would meet him here."

"If you all have met your group, select a representative amongst you and come forward". The sudden announcement from professor interrupted their conversation.

"Representative huh? Well I don't think I can." Akazaki stepped out the first.

Following her, Marcus also refused to be the representative.

"Thinking logically, the only one among us good enough to be the representative would be Ethan."

"I agree" exclaimed the cheerful Akazaki.

"Very well."

As Ethan went to the professor, she showed him a box from which Ethan picked up a note. It was a riddle.

"If every group has received their riddles, your job is to go to the location mentioned in the riddle. Whoever reaches the destination first will be awarded." announced professor Alleina while winking striking most of the virgins present.

Ethan showed the riddle to his team members.

It read,

"Where ancient wisdom resides and secrets of the past abide,Seek the place where sages learn and history's tales are earned.Through arches grand, a path is traced, to knowledge's embrace,In halls of learning, you shall find, the answer to this riddle's bind."

Ethan was the first one to speak up, "It seems like the riddle is hinting at a place of learning, possibly a library or a university. The 'arches grand' might refer to the entrance or a significant landmark nearby."

Liam added, "It must be one of the places we visited today."

"But I don't remember going to any library or university." asked Akazaki.

Marcus spoke up after pondering for a while, "A place of wisdom doesn't necessarily mean a library or university."

"We went to a museum no?" said Emily after looking at some flyers at the hand of an old couple.

Realizing the answer Ethan told his team, "Let's go then."

After reaching the museum the group looked around.

"We reached it now what?" asked Marcus.

"Now we look for 'Grand arches' and 'Halls of learning'." answered Ethan.

"Whatever it is I think we need to go in." Akazaki suggested.

"So be it."

With this the group entered the museum. As they wandered deeper into the museum, they found themselves in a section dedicated to ancient civilizations and their wisdom. The walls were lined with manuscripts, scrolls, and texts, all containing the accumulated knowledge of bygone eras.

As they explored further, they came across a section labeled "The Enigma of Ages." It was said to hold some of the most cryptic artifacts and inscriptions, challenging the minds of those who sought to understand them.

"This could be the 'halls of learning' the riddle mentioned," Marcus suggested, pointing towards the intriguing exhibit.

They moved to inspect the artifacts but suddenly Ethan stopped in his tracks. Something piqued his interest. As he kept walking towards an artifact Marcus grabbed him from behind.

"Something wrong Ethan?"

"No it's nothing you guys go ahead I need to got to the washroom real quick."

"Alright call us when you are done."

With that the group except Ethan proceeded ahead. Ethan now alone went closer to that artifact. It was a sword. Not just any sword but a sword with runes engraved on them. Though Ethan wasn't proficient with runic language like Seraphina, he had his fair share of adventure. The sword had a strength and healing rune in it.

[ How can this language exist in this world? ]

The description read-"The Taiga's Blade"

[ I thought only whose who had deep understanding on the laws of world could learn the runic language. Who are these Taiga's? I need to talk to Seraph about this. ]

As Ethan pondered these thoughts and looked around he found many more interesting things. scrolls, books etc.

Ethan then called Marcus who he exchanged numbers with beforehand to know their current location. After a while Ethan joined up with the group. Apparently the game had multiple riddles and the team were on their way to solve the last riddle.

"Sorry for that guys"

"Don't worry the riddles weren't that tough" Marcus reassured Ethan

"But where is Akazaki?"

"She said she was having a severe headache so she dropped out" this time Liam replied.

The group, now consisting of 4 members, continued to search for clues for the last riddle. When they reached the last destination, which happened to be the hotel they stayed at, the team found out that they were not the first one here.

"Looks like I beat you this time Ethan"

Oliver greeted Ethan with a cheerful look in his face. Ethan patted the shoulders of the proud Oliver.

"I doubt you did anything with that brain of yours"

"You are hurting my feelings Ethan."

"But where is miss Alleina?"

"We also couldn't find her. Her phone is switched off as well."

Both the teams wait for others to reach here. within 10 minutes most of the team arrived but there was no sign of Seraphina and her team. Ethan kept calling her but her phone was switch off. Ethan was growing impatient more and more as time went by.

Suddenly a he received a text message. Ethan's body suddenly leaked tremendous amount of killing intent. Even those who could not perceive it felt shivers down their spine. Ethan rushed out of the hotel lobby.

He ran through the streets and reached an abandoned building. The building felt so old that cracks appeared on it from outside. But that wasn't what Ethan was looking at, the door was open and there was blood stain everywhere. It seemed like someone who was bleeding was dragged through here. Upon closer inspection, the blood came from different different people. And there were two people who entered the building by walking.

[ Looking at the blood, the incident happened around an hour ago ]

Around 20 minutes earlier Ethan received a text message on his phone.

"If you want to save here come to this address below"

A picture of unconscious and injured Seraphina was attached to that message.

At present time Ethan was meticulously following the blood trail with the help of the torch on his phone. The smell of blood dense and denser. After reaching the staircase he heard a loud noise. Quickly but carefully he went upstairs. The blood trail lead to a room on that floor. As he opened the door his eyes widened by the scene unfolded before him.

Dead bodies of 4 people, 3 male and 1 female were before him.

Swish

Feeling killing intent Ethan immediately bent his waist forward avoiding a sword slash from behind.

"Ah you avoided that? That witch must have given you something."

Ethan balanced himself and took a defensive posture with his bare hands.

"??? Akazaki?"

"I'm no Akazaki for you witch's minion~"

She swung her sword again. Ethan dodged to the right this time again. But feeling sudden danger he tilt her head slightly to avoid a hidden knife aimed at him.

"Ah you are good. Better than those mindless puppets."

This time Ethan decided to confront her. "Where is Seraphina?"

"Maybe dead, maybe alive, who knows?"

Ethan losing his sanity at that moment chose to punch her directly. Akazaki smirked and leapt forward with her twin shorts swords and delivered a number of slashes on Ethan's arm. Ethan's body which has gone through body reformation blocked most of the slashes. Ethan's shirt was torn and there were some cuts in his right hand.

"???" Akazaki was surprised by how her attacks didn't have much effect. Akazaki, realizing frontal confrontation won't work took a step back and disappeared in the shadows.

Ethan took a deep breath and started to analyze the situation.

[ The room is completely dark ]

[ I don't have any weapons while my opponents have short swords ]

[ Judging by her behavior and ambush, she can see in the dark ]

[ There was only 4 bodies so Seraph could be alive ]

[ Okay let's do this... ]

Akazaki leapt from the shadows from time to time to attack Ethan's blind spot. She only targeted the vitals. Ethan on the other hand, barely dodged those attacks and did his best to protect his vital organs resulting him in getting cuts and bruises all over his body.

[ The attacks have become slower ]

[ She must be tired ]

The moment Akazaki leapt from the shadows again Ethan tried to grab her by neck. Just as he was about to catch her, Akazaki turned into smoke. Suddenly Ethan's heart was pierced by short swords from behind.

Thump

Suddenly Akazaki's head was slammed onto the ground from behind crushing her face and breaking her nose.

"???"

As her face was lifted up again she saw that what her short sword pierced were a piece of paper. She understood what this meant.

Thump

Her head was slammed into the ground again and then lifted up. Ethan brought his face close to her and asked, "Where is she?"

"Where she deserves to be~" Akazaki answered slyly.

"This is not my first time dealing with tight lipped people."

Ethan took out a needle from one of his pockets.

"It's amazing how a little amount of mana can cause so much pain."

With that Ethan with a cold face inserted the needle into Akazaki's thighs.

An intense scream filled the room.

"Mana is unique to everyone. Beings take in raw mana from nature and makes it his own. What if one person's mana were to go into another?"

As Ethan pushed the needed deeper Akazaki's blood veins started to turn purple.

"LADY ALLEINA TOOK HER!!"

"Where??"

"I DON'T KNOW I SWEAR I DON'T."

"What is your identity and why did you take Seraphi-"

Boom

An explosion suddenly threw Ethan to the wall beside him. The explosion resulted in so much smoke that the entire room was covered with it.

"I was worried since you were taking time but it seems I made the correct choice by coming here."

An old man in his 70s with a cane in his right arm looked at Akazaki and sneered.

"Is this the human you are having trouble with?"

The old man suddenly came in front of Ethan as if he teleported and placed his left hand on top of Ethan's head. Suddenly he has severe headache and felt that his strength was being sucked by him. Ethan resisted it with all he could. Blood gushed out of his eyes and ears. His whole body felt numb. The old man's face suddenly started to darken as if he saw something. He quickly removed his hand from Ethan's hand making Ethan fall to the ground completely.

"So it was true."

The old man was looking at his hand which has blackened a bit. The old man then turned back and started to cast a chant after giving orders to Akazaki to restrain Ethan. After Akazaki finished chaining Ethan a portal opened before the old man through which they both went through taking Ethan along with them.