Chapter 32: Under the Moonlight

Chapter 32: Under the Moonlight

(T/N: Those who are reading it from Novelupdates, in case you missed it, I wrongly posted the chapters from Chapter 29 to 31 yesterday. I have fixed it already. You can read Chapter 29 first before continuing)

You are warned of gore content in this chapter.

Hunter arched his brows momentarily but then snapped his fingers right away.

!

A magic circle then unfolded at the spot where Fina had placed her foot. Realizing that it was an installation-type trap, Fina managed to intercept the sharp-edged stone pillar that ejected with an impetus from the trap with the middle of her sword.

Finas body was nonetheless thrust to a height of roughly five meters by the stone pillar as it continued to extend.

Having been flung into the air, Fina was launched into a follow-up attack by Hunter. He quickly attached an arrow to the jet-black bow in his hand before releasing two simultaneous arrows. The magic bow, free of invisibility magic as before, was purely enhanced in its intensity.

Ugh!

Fina was a magician, undoubtedly, but she was likewise a knight. Aside from wielding magic, her physical training was not lacking either.

She flawlessly intercepted each of the two arrows that were nearly shot at the same instant while spinning her falling body and knocked them down.

Fina braced herself anticipating Hunter to pursue after landing, but surprisingly he did not, clapping his hands together discreetly as if he were giving applause.

Not bad. So it wasnt a fluke that you blocked my arrows in the hospital.

Protecting Lady Karen is my responsibility. To bring down long-range attacks is an indispensable skill. Well, it was my first experience protecting her from invisible attacks.

Despite her aggressive words, Fina mentally cursed the fact that she had been introduced into a gnarly field.

Even before her arrival, Hunter must have laid traps in this church in advance, taking into account the moves of a follow-up assault. Expecting a long-distance battle-style enemy, she had pursued him this far but failed to foresee that she herself would be drawn into the enemys field in the reverse order. Fina bit her lower lip at her own lack of thoughtfulness.

You seem to have understood. Let me make it clear to you that escape would not be an easy feat. I am a hunter. Not only am I adept at killing my prey by erasing all trace of them, but the same goes for finishing them from behind as they flee.

To Hunters savage smile, Fina curved her lips to avoid being perceived that she was putting up a bold front.

Hmm, considering that you failed at assassination, your prowess at dispatching prey also doesnt seem to be all that remarkable.

Heh, very well said!

Within a heartbeat, Hunter leveled his bow at her. Even if Hunters attacks were averted, she would have to keep an eye out for traps in the area where she was going to move.

The string was drawn away from Hunters fingers after which an iron arrow passed through Finas cheek, tearing it shallowly.

Seaaaah!

The Flame Pillar that Luke unleashed with all his force engulfed the Golems massive body.

For a golem made of boulders, fire-attribute magic was not compatible, but it still inflicted sufficient damage to temporarily halt the sorcery Golems movement.

Dean!

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The sound of something popping could be heard, and Luke turned around to check what it was but only to be met by the sight

What?

of Dean, who had collapsed to the ground. No, was that Dean? Lukes vision was dominated by a spectacle that eluded his grasp.

The thing that was a person that collapsed was headless. No, to be exact, the part where the head should have been was covered with something sloppy and crimson, and something that had the appearance of white paper. Luke was struck by the resemblance, and immediately had a flash of memory. Right, this looked like potato salad, a dish made of mashed potatoes. The moment his recollection surfaced, though, Luke denied that this was different. That dish was not a vivid red, and above all, there was nothing shining in the moonlight like this

Bang.

The sound was heard again.

This time, he found Ragan sitting down.

Raga

Right as he was about to call out to him, a realization of the abnormality dawned on him.

The huge halberd that Ragan always carried with him. The edge of it was somehow pointed inward, and up to half of the blade was implanted in Ragans face.

A shuddering Luke hurried over to him and held him up. At the sight of his face, Luke almost blacked out there briefly.

The halberd was half-diagonally wedged in Ragans face, and he was already out of breath. Had he not even had time to shut his eyes? In his open left eye, the halberts edge was buried so deep that his eyeballs were halfway down, and was leaking through it like an undercooked fried egg.

This was a huge halberd. The edge of the tip, only half-buried, was already extending out from the back of Ragans head, and at the tip, something that must have been precious to Ragan was shining spectrally against the moon, as it had been earlier.

Was it a sixth sense? For some reason, a chill swept over Luke.

He swiftly rolled over and heard a sound in his ear that was not present before as if it were ripping through the air.

You avoided it huh?

Standing where Luke had been was a man in a suit.

His hair was trimmed to a reasonable lengthneither too short nor too longand subtle creases were visible around his eyes. Because of his rather thin build, he could probably be mistaken for an average person anyplace if he were to go about his business.

But there was no doubt Luke understood instantaneously. It was this same man who had sent the two men to their deaths. And that he would share the same fate as them in the not-too-distant future.

You are aware of the power imbalance between us, huh? That level of wisdom is exceptional for someone your age. Had we hadnt crossed paths here, you may have earned a reputation as a renowned magician in the future.

I dont want to die.

The next thing he knew, Luke was uttering these words in a muffled voice that he didnt even recognize as his own. Even Luke himself was astounded by this. The stark disparity in power between him and Karen had never disheartened him, but now he was giving up in the face of his enemy and pleading for mercy. The man stared intently into Lukes face with vacant eyes.

I dont want to die, huh? I suppose thats true. You are still young and have a future. The act of losing your life at your age must be a terror to you.

No, just when I have finally I have finally been acknowledged by that person. I dont want to die here, in a place like this, where nobody knows me.

You may have regrets about disappearing in the midst of your ambition. But thats how this world often works. Death has always existed close at hand, but simply out of your conscious awareness.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I dont want to die, I dont want to die, I dont want to die, I dont want to die, I dont want to die, I dont want to die, I dont want to die, I dont want to die

There will be no pain. Be at ease.

Another small burst of sound was heard in Lukes ear as he spewed out words that could neither be defined as a plea nor a curse.