Chapter 1: Battle in Nagano (Part 2)

Episode 02

(Encountering A Monster)

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"Will you be able to? Won't it be hard? So many people will be applying for the test to join their association! Can you do it?"

The elder asked with a worried face. 

"I will."

Kiyoshi replied with an aloof expression. He didn't have his normal wide smile that showed all his teeth or his goofy expression. But his eyes were filled with confidence.

Seeing such confidence, the Elder's eyes widened but then he asked with a serious face,

"Oh? How are you so sure that you can beat everyone? What if you lose? Aren't you afraid?"

"Huh? Do I have to beat everyone?"

Kiyoshi said with an expression as if he didn't understand what the elder was saying. 

"Huh? What?"

The elder asked with a dumbfounded face.

"I mean, obviously I don't want to lose.  I just want to try my best and have fun in battles. And in the process, I want to become the greatest Phantom Hunter."

Kiyoshi said while scratching his head with his goofy smile. 

There was silence for a moment. And soon after, the elder burst into laughter and said,

"Pfft! Hohoho~ I see. So your dream is to be the Greatest Phantom Hunter then. Why do you have to join Hiryuu then? You can join just any other associations…"

"Huh? Isn't it obvious? It's because they are the strongest, duh. I want to fight alongside the strongest hunter. That way I can become even stronger. To be honest, I want to duel with the hunters of Hiryuu… They are the strongest and the coolest!"

"Pfft! You must be a fan of Hiryuu."

"Hahaha~ Isn't that obvious, gramps? Who doesn't like them?"

Kiyoshi said with a wide smile on his face.

"I guess you are right."

< Attention, Passengers. This is your conductor speaking. The train will now stop at the Nakatsugawa station for 30 minutes. If you decide to go outside, please return before that time. If you miss the train, the train authority won't be responsible for that. Thank you. >

"Well, we can tal-"

The elder looked at the seat opposite of him where Kiyoshi was sitting but he wasn't there.

"I will be going out for a bit. Bye, Gramps."

Kiyoshi who was already near the compartment door said and rushed out of the train leaving the elder bamboozled.

"... He is fast. Hmm~"

The elder mumbled while stroking his beard.

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"Wow~ So Cool!"

Kiyoshi was walking in the Nakatsugawa market which was 10 minutes walking distance from the train.

It was snowing outside. But the market stall was busy as ever. People were busy buying different kinds of things there. It was a bustling city… No, more like a town.

"All the buildings here are two storeys with thatched roofs…"

Kiyoshi mumbled while looking around. As he didn't step outside of Shirakawa before, he didn't know much about outside. Even though he saw places on TV, seeing them in real life was a whole new experience. He loves to look around new places.

"Hmm… What should I buy?"

Kiyoshi pondered while standing in front of a souvenir shop.

"Buy this kid. This cat will bring you good fortune."

The owner of the stall said while showing a lucky cat figurine to Kiyoshi.

"Mother will like it… Alr-"

"Aghh!"

Suddenly the cry of a child was heard. And along with that people's voices filled with fear and terror. That was because…

"A monster! A monster is here! Someone save the child!"

"Aghh! A monster!"

"Hurry up and run away!"

"Run away!'

"A m-monster?"

Kiyoshi mumbled with wide eyes.

"Kid! Run away! Hurry up and hide yourself!"

"Is there a monster here?!"

"Yes! So hu-"

Only the word yes went to Kiyoshi's ear. He didn't care about what other things the stall owner said.

"I see…"

Kiyoshi said while covering his mouth with one hand. He was looking in the direction where the sound came from. 

"Kid. Run away."

The stall owner said while removing the sticks that hold up the shade, to shut his stall in a hurry. Although he didn't notice one thing. There was a smile visible on Kiyoshi's face.

"Aghh! Someone help."

"Aghh! Kid. Come to my stall."

The stall owner said to Kiyoshi as there wasn't any place to hide. But without listening to him, Kiyoshi ran in the direction where the monster was.

"Hey, kid! Where are-"

But before he could finish his words, Kiyoshi wasn't even visible to him anymore.

"W-Where did the kid go? He was here a second ago. Did he run away? But there's only a straight road here. Where- Aghh! Forget it. I will just hide."

Saying that the stall owner hurriedly closed his stall.

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I hurriedly ran in the direction where the screaming was coming from.

"Grr~"

I can hear the sound of the monster.

No way… 

This is it… I can finally see a monster in real life… with my own eyes…

And soon it came to my view…

A dog-shaped phantom monster, but it's all black… like only a shadow… pitch-black shadow of a dog…

Glowing red eyes… like it came from hell… Sharp teeth…

Just like I read in the book… Helldog, a B class monster!

"Uwaa~ Mommy."

A 3 or 4-year-old child was in front of the Helldog. 

"Someone! Sob* Please save my child."

A woman sobbed. She was sitting on the ground a few meters away. Guess she hurt her legs.

"Growl~"

The monster growled and jumped towards the child.

If I go there by walking… it will take a minute to reach the child. By running… 30 seconds.

Then that just means one thing…

Kiyoshi thought with a smile. And for your information, he thought all that less than a second.

And whoosh~

Right after thinking that, Kiyoshi used his power and ran toward the child. A trail of blue lightning followed his trail.

He then took the child in his arms and then went towards the mother and put the child in her arms. And it was all in a blink of an eye.

The monster who was going to jump on the child instead jumped on the ground. It then angrily searched for the child. But instead of the child, Kiyoshi came to his eyes.

"Growl~"

It growled with anger. And breathed out fire from its mouth.

"Hahaha. I guess you found me."

Saying that Kiyoshi forwarded his right hand.

'Alright. Between the eyes then…'

And Bzzzt-

A thin bolt of lightning came out of his right hand and it pierced the monster's forehead in an instant.

And whoosh~

The monster turned into dust.

There was silence for a moment. 

"N-No way!"

"He killed the monster!"

"Yayy~"

"The monster is dead!"

"The kid really killed it."

"Good job, kid."

"Thanks for saving us."

The people came out of their hiding places and cheered in joy and relief.

"Ahahaha~ You guys are embarrassing me."

Kiyoshi smiled while scratching his head in embarrassment.

"Thanks for saving me, big brother."

The kid that was saved by Kiyoshi a moment ago tugged his trouser and said with a smile.

"Sob* Thanks for saving my child."

Hearing that, Kiyoshi's heart filled with a strange warmth.

"Haha. You are welcome."

Kiyoshi said with a bright smile.

"Ha?! What did you say? The train is leaving?."

A boy's scream was heard in the middle of the huge crowd that surrounded Kiyoshi.

'Huh? The train?!'

Kiyoshi thought with a dumbfounded smile. 

"Aghh! I totally forgot about it!"

Saying that he ran towards the station leaving traces of blue electricity behind him. 

"Wow! A Blue lightning user!"

"I have never seen that before! He must be really powerful."

 "Mhmm. He is. Didn't you see how fast he was?"

"Not really… He was too fast for my lazy eyes."

"Ah… I get what you mean."

A guy replied with an awkward smile.

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[ Chapter Extra ]

| The Book Of Phantoms |

Page no. 100. 

Monster Name: Helldog

Description: B class phantom monster that can use fire magic. Its height can be from 3 to 5 feet. It has sharp claws and teeth. Instead of saliva, lava drops from its mouth. 

It normally preys on young kids.

A monster with one core that is situated between its eyes.

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