The Huntress was back in the forest again. Back when she first arrived in this hell, back when she was all alone and confused with what was going on. She gulped as she struggled to stand up despite all of her worries and turmoil, before hearing that one sound that sent shivers down her spine. That same roar that continued to haunt her despite all the training and courage she claimed to have undergone, that horrifying scream that still radiated throughout her bones.
That sound came from all around her. She took her bow out as fast as she could and nocked back an arrow. She looked all around with trepidation, searching for the threat that sent those shivers down her spine.
Another scream. She poured as much magic into her shot. She roared and launched the arrow in the direction she heard that shriek. The projectile sailed through the air and into the depths of the forest, but then, out of nowhere…
Her connection to the arrow vanished. No register to hitting anything, no signs of being tampered, it just simply disappeared.
How? Why? What happened? What could have caused such a thing to occur?
She didn’t have to wonder for long as she heard something big coming towards her. Something that was slithering and making squishing noises that kept getting louder and louder.
The Huntress’ knees started to shake. She stepped back several steps in fear as sweat poured down her brow and back. She could only watch in horror as the thing began to come into view.
What came out of the shadows was a giant human’s face, but all wrong. The mouth had been replaced with an endless swarm of tentacles that continuously rubbed all over the ground and the eyes had been replaced with gigantic stalks that seemed to tower close to the top of the forest trees. The body was akin to that of a snake, tubular and covered with all sorts of colors that made her eyes hurt.
The eye stalks proceeded to look at her. The freak monstrosity made some kind of gurgling squeal as it began to get closer.
And with that, the Huntress screamed. Then she woke up and found herself in a building of some sort. She wasn’t in that dark forest at all, she was safe. She was fine
She had to take some time to convince herself of that fact. Some deep breaths and running through that meditation exercise the Wushi taught her helped, but she still couldn’t shake off that fear.
She took several more gulps of air before looking around her surroundings. The room she was in had several beds, most of them filled with other people groaning and wincing with cloth strips wrapped all over their body.
The Huntress took a deep breath, before stepping off her bed and walking around and looking at each of the injured. She didn’t see the Wushi nor the demon on any of the beds. All she could find were the guards that protected the village and some of the civilians.
“Oh? You’re up.”
She jumped at the sudden statement, turning around frantically and finding herself face to face with an exhausted tall man with a white cloth wrapped over his mouth. He sighed at that, before shaking his head.
“I’m going to guess by the fact that you’re standing without any issues that you’re all healed up then?”
“Eh?” The Huntress jolted, before nodding. “Yeah. I’m all better now.”
“That’s good.” He breathed out as he looked over at another person on the bed, “I was worried for a moment with your injuries. You took a pretty nasty hit back there, you understand that right?”
“Ah, well, it wasn’t really avoidable,” she winced at that, “I didn’t think I’d be in that much of a dangerous position.”
“I thought it was obvious knowledge that getting into a fight of any type would be a dangerous position?”
“Um… Well, I mean yeah, but…” She scratched her head and looked away, slightly embarrassed, “The Wushi doesn’t look like she gets injured any time she gets into a fight, right?”
At that, the man looked at her for a while, before putting his hands gently on her shoulders. “E-eh? What’s this about?”
“Please,” the man said with the most tense and worried voice, “Please, do not try to emulate that mad woman. She’s not someone you should copy, understand?”
“Uhm…” She wanted to say that was impossible and that no matter what, she wanted to be the same as her mentor. After all, who didn’t want to be able to kill anyone in their path with just their fists? Not to mention her ability with her sorcery and how skilled she was.
Then she remembered the Wushi’s face when she was fighting those giants. How she rushed in despite every single situation even though there was no way that she could win, no matter the circumstance. How she had that terrifying grin that basked in all the joy of getting into those battles.
Even though she had to admit her mentor was amazing, she didn’t want to become twisted like that.
“I understand.”
The man nodded at that as he let go of her and turned his attention to the other people that were still injured. “I assume you want to know where your mentor is? She’s in the next building over to the right.”
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“O-oh. Thank you.”
“No problem,” he said, before pausing and looking back at her. “By the way, you’ll want to avoid doing any heavy activities for a week or so. Again, your wounds are quite bad so you need to take the time to rest and let your body recover, understand?”
“Alright. Again, thank you.”
With that, the Huntress went ahead and left the building. She went ahead and went inside the building the man mentioned before, before opening the door and going inside.
The moment she took a step inside, she found herself at the sharp edge of a spear. All the hair on her back stood up with fear as she found herself face to face with the demon that had carried off her mentor. However, there wasn’t anything she could say right now, not with that spear pointed directly at her neck.
She couldn’t say anything. The demon didn’t say anything. And so, the two stood there in the tense atmosphere for a good while until the spear was withdrawn. She then took a few steps back and collapsed onto the wall, her heart beating so fast she felt pain all over.
“Apologies. I had thought you were an intruder.”
“Wh- An intruder in this village? Really?”
The demon scoffed as it set the spear down next to the wall, before sitting down on a chair next to a door, “The guards are pathetic. Had that soldier not run away, he could have easily walked in and slaughtered everyone inside.”
Those words made the Huntress freeze once more, the idea of that bastard coming in and killing everyone set off a nerve. The worst part was that the demon was right, that bastard could have come in and there would’ve been nothing she or the Wushi could’ve done to stop the massacre.
As is, she was still too weak.
“So, does that mean you broke in?”
“You ask too many useless questions, brat.” The demon shook its head. “How else would I have gotten so many more weapons? These new additions to my armory may not be of good quality, but they will prove useful in my endeavors.”
What? The Huntress gave a closer look at the demon, only for eyes to widen. That monster had gotten a lot of new equipment, ranging from the spear that was leaning against the wall to the bow and arrows strapped to its back to the multiple knives strapped to its belt. Stuff that this monster definitely didn’t have before.
“Wait a second! You stole all of those from the guards, didn’t you? And hold on, brat?! I’m not a kid, you know!”
“Brat.” The demon spoke slowly, articulating each word carefully, “These weapons were not stolen. They are spoils of war that are rightfully earned from battle.”
“That’s still the same thing!”
“Would you prefer I had murdered them all then?”
At that, the Huntress shut up. She didn’t say anything else after that, not wanting to think of that sort of event. Though, those words did make her think about that encounter the demon had with the bastard.
“What, you’re saying you would’ve just killed them?”
“Of course. They chose to fight, no? By all rights, their lives were forfeit the moment they launched a strike. The only reason they still breathe is because I would have been far too inconvenienced to deal with the aftermath.”
That was it. The only reason why this monster spared those people’s lives. And yet…
Why did it choose to spare the bastard’s life?
“You wonder why I chose to spare that wounded soldier?”
The Huntress stepped back in shock from that remark. The demon merely chuckled darkly at her response, before leaning against the wall.
“You are too loud, brat. You can’t even keep your thoughts to yourself, you know? But I suppose I shall indulge you.”
The demon leaned in a little bit before looking her in the eyes.
“There was no point in killing him.”
The Huntress went silent at that statement. Huh? What on earth did that mean? What the hell did this monster mean when it said there was no point in killing the bastard?
“Exactly as I meant. What is there to gain from killing a wounded soldier that begs for mercy? What joy, what honor is there in executing one that has come out of a battle like that? There would be no glory to be earned. Rather, letting him go free would allow him to recover and provide an opportunity for a true battle. Besides, it was my fault, as I jumped in far too late to have the battle I desired.”
She didn’t have any words for that at all. The reason was absolutely awful. What the hell did the demon mean by glory, honor, all of that crap?! She wished she had the capability to fight right here and now, only so that she’d be able to strike this monster down and provide some safety to the village.
But she couldn’t. Not with the warning from the healer and especially with how low her magic reserves were at this time. She wasn’t good at melee either and she didn’t have her bow or quiver on her, meaning that she couldn’t realistically get into a fight here and now.
No, more than that. Getting into a battle would mean she’d die, the Wushi would die, all the villagers here would die. She stopped herself from indulging in her desire to simply punch this demon in the face and took a deep breath, before looking it dead in the eyes.
“If there was no point in killing him, then why did you save me and my friend?”
“Hrm.” The demon seemed to think on that question for a little while, before shrugging. “Truth be told, brat, I don’t know myself either.”
“Wha–”
“But enough of this. I suppose you want to go take a look at your friend then, no?” The demon asked, “Don’t worry. She’s still alive, though severely injured. She should still be fine for you to talk to if you so desire. Go on in, the woman’s probably conscious enough for you to talk with.”
The Huntress scowled before moving on into the room, moving right past the sitting demon. The first thing she spotted was the Wushi laying on the bed with a bunch of blankets on top of her. The next thing she noticed were all the bandages and the bloody tools on the table next to her.
She grimaced at the sight, before moving in closer. She looked down at her friend, at least until the Wushi opened her eyes slowly and painfully. The two of them looked each other in the eyes for a little while.
Then, the Wushi smiled.
“It’s good to see you’re not severely injured. Now, shall we go ahead and talk?”
The Huntress stood there for a while, before returning the smile.
“Yeah. Let’s.”