Chapter 153

Chapter 153

In that fleeting moment, Deathbringer thought many things.

“...?”

However, all those thoughts disappeared the instant he locked eyes with the Demon Knight’s gray, lifeless gaze.

『But he still managed to acquire power. 』

Funnily enough, only those words echoed through his mind.

『Despite struggling just as much, he can achieve far more than you, exact a deeper revenge.』

Even though he knew just how much he’d suffered because of the Demon, how much despair and countless sorrows he’d endured, envy still reared its ugly head first.

Clench.

Ashamed of these thoughts, he couldn’t bear to face him.

Before the Demon Knight could grasp the situation, before the others could gather here and expose his true nature, Deathbringer quickly fled.

As always, the Knight didn’t try to catch him.

“Where are you going, young hunter!”

The Knight.

Didn’t give chase, either.

“Uwaah!”

“Berserk doesn’t understand anything! Explain before you go!”

“Urgh, whatever!!”

As Deathbringer rushed into the street, narrowly avoiding people, he felt heavy footsteps shake the ground. He didn’t need to look back to know it was Berserk; the weight was unmistakable.

She was faster than the Inquisitor and didn’t have to worry about the topography like the priests—who were just ordinary people—so she would undoubtedly be the first to catch up to him.

“Explain before you go!!”

“I said whatever!!”

That spurred him on even further. For some reason, even though he should’ve already been caught by now, the distance between them wasn’t closing so easily.

For some reason, he felt a lot ‘faster’.

“Young hunter!!”

So, he put even more strength into his feet.

He had no idea why he’d suddenly become faster. Ah, no. When that Demon forced the provisional contract on him, it said his physical abilities would get enhanced in exchange for his silence. That had to be the reason.

How was this just ‘slightly’? His running speed was noticeably faster.

Deathbringer laughed hollowly and dashed into an alley.

He didn’t want any of this, but with these enhanced physical abilities, he could now run at an incomparable speed. This was his chance.

Aside from tracking, hiding was another of his specialties. He was highly confident that he could lose them in these alleys and somehow disappear entirely from their sight. Deathbringer knew this was his only option for survival.

He happened to be born in this city. Ten years might have changed a lot of things, but not everything.

He could do this.

He could get away from them.

Deathbringer’s eyes glinted fiercely.

“Hunter!”

Of course, Berserk was still following him closely.

With her superior abilities, she could detect most presences, and her uncanny intuition allowed her to pinpoint even hidden things to some extent.

“Are you here?”

However, she was a fighter, not a hunter.

“It feels like it...”

So, despite her sharp intuition, hiding from her wasn’t completely impossible. After all, he’d once successfully evaded the Demon Knight’s detection, as well.

He also had some items that could tell him the location of others, even through walls.

Like that, Deathbringer held his breath even more, ignoring the figure who’d appeared not far behind him.

“Hmm...”

Berserk placed a hand on the windowsill he’d used to climb the wall he was currently clinging to.

Crack.

Her grip was so strong that just a small push slightly crushed the windowsill.

But in the end, he won.

Berserk slowly moved away.

Phew. The breath he’d been holding in for some time was finally released.

Bang!

“Not here, either?”

Just as he was about to take out the item, the presence he’d felt retreating suddenly returned, gripping the windowsill again. Deathbringer completely froze, even ceasing the slight shaking of his fur.

“Phew.”

It was a good thing that Berserk never looked down.

As the saying went, it was darkest under the lamp. Deathbringer was relieved at her carelessness.

“Her instincts are as sharp as ever...”

However, despite being careless, her instincts made up for it. Although she’d moved away from this place, she hadn’t gone far enough for him to feel safe enough to leave.

She was also circling the place.

“Sigh.”

Taking risks really wasn’t his style, but in this world, things rarely went according to plan.

Berserk showed no intention of leaving this area any time soon, and since others besides her were also searching for him, he had to be extra careful.

So, he moved in regular intervals, using the item to track Berserk’s position. Of course, he tried to walk calmly, even if she suddenly went in another direction or began running.

If she lost his trail, this would become a game of nerves. Running would create much more noise than walking, and a skilled fighter like her wouldn’t miss that sound.

Like that, he took one step, then another. Whenever Berserk made a loud noise, he used that as cover and moved a bit further.

He controlled every other sound he made while stepping forward, moving in a way that made his presence almost undetectable, wholly enveloped in stillness and silence.

Thud, thud, thud.

And when her massive figure finally disappeared in the opposite direction.

He genuinely changed his position. Aside from Berserk’s instincts finally seeming to reach their limit, the number of people actively searching for him was increasing.

“I don’t need this kind of popularity.”

Despite the precariousness of his situation, he couldn’t help but whine a little.

He left the alley, mocking how his situation had abruptly changed overnight.

However, with Berserk, his biggest threat, gone, it wouldn’t be that difficult for him to escape this encirclement.

There were fruit vendor stalls set up, but he easily climbed over them, taking to the air with ease.

“Cough, you troublemaker. Seriously!”

His reason for climbing back onto the rooftops instead of following the main street was as follows: that slowpoke had no long-range abilities to intercept him, but she could still obstruct his path with that weird barrier of hers. Since it wasn’t lethal, she didn’t have to worry about the civilians, either.

“O, Almighty God!”

At that moment, a golden barrier formed over his head. Deathbringer’s legs turned diagonally.

Whoosh.

He jumped down from the building. That way, the building would prevent the barrier from trapping him.

However, he couldn’t just go down to the street, so he twisted his body toward the building as he jumped.

Grab.

His body flew diagonally forward to the next building, and his hands grabbed the edge of its roof. It was just outside of the golden barrier’s range.

He then quickly clambered onto the roof before jumping again, even as he saw a barrier forming right in front of him.

Deathbringer continued moving forward, rolling around to stay out of the iron wall’s sight.

Fortunately, the Inquisitor wasn’t nimble enough to scale these buildings and could only move through the streets. It was also quite lucky that he couldn’t see where Berserk had gone and that, for some reason, the Demon Knight wasn’t chasing him.

Alright, now that things had turned out this way, he could simply escape through that hidden hole in the manor wall he’d previously discovered.

Deathbringer quickly planned a new escape route and pulled out the item that allowed him to detect the location of Arcane Power users.

He didn’t want to experience another of those heart-stopping encounters like earlier.

Fortunately, most of them, except for the Inquisitor, were far away. He could relax a little more while running.

* * *

Physical freedom wasn’t always equivalent to complete freedom.

That was why Young Lord Leon, who was spending his time in his office adjacent to the garden, wore a distraught expression.

The being, which had taken the form of a white cat, purred on his lap, acting cute.

He missed Mia. He repeatedly thought about things he couldn’t speak aloud, tears filling his eyes. He truly missed his strong, steadfast lover.

“Sigh.”

Just what had Mia written in her letter?

Thinking back on the pieces of conversation he’d barely overheard when those guests were around, she might have been asking about this ‘wild beast incident’. He’d written to her about it, and the guests had also mentioned a cat.

However, the Skyflow Tiger’s interference had ruined everything.

Ah, how desperately he’d wanted to tell someone about what was happening. He glanced down at the root of all this trouble.

The cat, sensing his gaze, looked up at him. Its pink eyes, which reminded him of his lover, blinked at him. That was what had made him risk his fur allergy to feed it.

“...”

He quickly averted his gaze, unable to cry but also unable to smile.

Even though it was a beast of legend, it was a relief it didn’t trigger his allergy... But that alone simply wasn’t enough to overlook the great harm it had caused.

Well, aside from Mia being his lover, dozens of people have already died. Even if they weren’t part of his town, they were still innocent.

However... The problem was that this had no solution. Other than breaking up with Mia and offering himself as a sacrifice to the Skyflow Tiger, to be exact.

“Tell me the truth!”

Was this really the only answer?

He pulled out a new piece of paper.

He couldn’t keep neglecting the situation just for the sake of his love. He’d been selfish enough already, and with his last hope—seeking Mia’s aid—cut off, he had to make a decision.

A decision for everyone, even if it meant his own unhappiness.

A decision that would ensure Mia and her city’s safety.

“Catch that bastard who killed the former Lord!”

Had he known this would happen, he would have broken up with her the moment he realized that the Skyflow Tiger was responsible for the immense increase in wild beasts. Then, Mia might have been a bit less troubled by all this.

Unaware that he was shedding a few tears, Leon began to write.

As he began, the cat climbed onto the desk as if to monitor his actions. When it saw the content, it made a satisfied expression.

“If it really wasn’t your doing, then immediately—!”

“...I told you it wasn’t!”

Even knowing this was the best decision he could make for everyone, his lover included, he couldn’t help feeling resentful.

Due to that damn protest outside, he knocked over the inkwell, spilling ink like teardrops across the desk.

> [My dear...]

The cat leaped off the desk. Sizzle. Its plump form soon transformed into that of a platinum person.

The Skyflow Tiger brushed her fingers against Leon’s cheek.

> [Are those people outside bothering you? If you wish, I can remove them for you.]

“...I don’t want you to do that.”

> [But aren’t they troubling you?]

The one troubling him the most was her. Leon swallowed those words as he let his tears flow.

“...No, they aren’t.”

Ah, Mia. He hoped she wouldn’t be too distressed by this.

No, what truly worried him the most was that she might come to check the situation herself. If a breakup notice were to immediately follow a plea for help, she would definitely get suspicious.

She had always been the active type who wanted to see the truth with her own eyes...

> [Then why are you crying?]

“That’s...”

He liked that about her, but right now, he kind of disliked it. Had he known things would turn out like this, he would have just sent her a breakup letter.

Had he known, he wouldn’t have even confessed to her to begin with...

> [Oh my.]

The Skyflow Tiger suddenly clicked her tongue. Leon’s head instinctively jerked upward.

> [I thought it was just a passing beast.]

What was it now? He followed the Skyflow Tiger’s gaze toward the garden connected to the office.

Thud.

Someone fell down from a tree. Dark hair was visible from beneath their hood, but the shade cast by the tree made it rather difficult to make out the exact color.

> [But it was a mortal.]

One thing Leon knew was that this definitely wasn’t a good situation.

His face instantly went ashen.

____