Awakening (2)

Chapter 2: Awakening (2)

It wasn't like Hunter expected to die today… it was just that he had never faced anything like the red wolf.

As the hunter team's sidekick, he had seen monsters around adult human's height… but not an abomination like that whose sheer presence was enough to stifle everyone's breath.

Therefore, it was understandable that the thoughts of death had assaulted him first.

But now that he calmed down, and so did the rest of the hunter team, it was time to prepare at least two plans — battle and escape plans.

Drawing out her shield and sword, the leader of the hunter team had different thoughts than the sidekick, "Wake up and fight. We can't show our backs to this monstrosity! I'll bear the brunt of its hunger while you all strike at the intervals! Hunter, you keep an eye on the surroundings and look out for the monster's possible weak spots or unusual movements! I'll leave trapping our front to you! Everyone! Formation Double C!"

Not having any time to respond to the leader's orders, everyone followed her command and took off to take their positions.

Anna was close to Hunter, for she was an archer whose range was the longest. Her muscles were already ripped and tense as she pulled on her bowstring, pointing her arrow's head at the wolf's eye. On her side, Hunter ducked and scanned the monster's frame and environment, searching for possible natural traps.

He extended his hand behind for ropes and a few other traps to litter the ground before him.

Meanwhile, the leader had taken the front, and her shield tasted the strength of the red wolf for the first time. The loud bang of their contact was close to the explosion of a bomb, drawing Hunter's attention.

He stopped preparing the trap and looked up, only to see that the leader's feet had sunk into the ground!

"What the-"

Following that sound was equipped with melee weapons, huntresses, and the arrow that was split faster than them! It was fast and decisive, carrying the archer's entire strength! Alas, it only bounced off the wolf's eye, posing no threat to his weak spot.

Which was so heartbreaking that her long legs buckled, and she nearly fell onto her ass.

At the same time as she experienced those bitter emotions, her friends hacked at the wolf's hide. Their weapons were of the same threat to the monster, not even scratching its flesh.

It didn't even feel itchy!

'It can fart on traps to blow them all away! Goddammit… this is hopeless!'

Just as Hunter had given up on the traps, the wolf lifted its paw and swept the hunter team's leader off the ground, sending her flying. Her scream bounced off the forest's trees…

'She… she was rooted to the ground…' Hunter gazed at the two calves left behind in the ground, which had said more than enough.

The leader… couldn't even escape from this hell. Provided that she had survived this one terrifying attack, that is.

In the same vein were the rest of the team as they tried to bar the wolf's way. It was ambling toward Hunter in a slow, majestic strut, swatting away all human flies trying to hunt its presence.

They flew left and right, with only those stronger than average hunters managing to keep their consciousness intact.

Soon, the corpse of the pig monster was dropped onto the ground like a useless toy. Which meant that the wolf was now getting closer to the main prey!

Feeling that threat was about to befall Hunter, Anna cast aside all her fears and took his front, spreading her arms to use her body as the shield, "I'm his big sister! You can only get to him over my dead body, monster!"

"…that's enough, big sister," Hunter weakly smiled as he extended his hands to Anna's waist, lifting her up with his hidden strength.

Surprised, Anna thrashed, trying to set herself free. Alas, she was weaker and late, her body soon safely flying away from Hunter as he tossed her away.

He then lifted his eyes and glared at the monster.

The wolf's mouth curved into a sneer — at least Hunter felt this way — and then, its hulking form disappeared only to appear before him at a breakneck speed… which it had been hiding all this time.

Its muzzle scratched the ground… then hit Hunter's legs, flinging him up. Stripped of everything, Hunter was left to the force of inertia and gravity… which carried him straight to the monster's opened jaw.

"HUNTER!"

And as Anna's screams echoed throughout the forest, the wolf's teeth closed in, bitting into Hunter's flesh. Fresh blood fountained in abundance, smearing the wolf's muzzle and painting the ground below red.

Hunter's arm and leg dangled off the monster's jaw… and his head rolled in Anna's direction, his widened eyes looking at her with shock and disappointment.

The wolf paid no heed to the crying woman, gnawing on the fresh corpse. Just as its senses had told before, Hunter was… the best prey out of all gathered here. His blood rolling down on its tongue was so cold and delicious that the wolf couldn't stop munching on his flesh.

But… just how much blood could a human produce?

How come… more and more blood was filling its mouth? To say nothing of that, the wolf's muzzle was now in so much cold blood that the wolf shuddered! Below its hulking form, the pool of cold blood unfurled so much smoke that its leg was halfway covered by it…

What was going on?

-

"I thought I died… seems like I haven't… any explanation?"

Hunter looked around, finding no soul in this gray world. Yes, he had appeared in a world that seemed like a graveyard, for everything here was gray. Hunter also saw himself in this color as he lifted his hand to look at it.

Hunter would have thought that he had landed in the graveyard if there were souls, but that wasn't the case!

He was a part of another world that he knew nothing about…

"It's not like before… when I signed a euthanasia form, I just went asleep… had black vision for a while, then was reincarnated in a new world. I only remember getting picked up by a priest, then growing up again in an orphanage. Strange… but maybe I actually died, and I'm on the way to a new world with different rules? What the hell is going on, actually?"