"Running after the old man while sweeping the dense cloud of mist with my hands made me reach an arena established by the pack of wolves. The area was proliferating with the bodies of fallen hunters, brutalised civilians and the cadavers of docile prey, spreading the fetor of decay in the air. In the exact middle, the old man was struggling against the Alpha Kemono as the only thing preventing his death was his thick leather armor," narrated Tamura.

"Firstly, my addled brain wasn't sure of how I was supposed to save him. Then, once I noticed that the minor wolves were ordered to stand down by the alpha, I grabbed a bow along with a couple arrows from a nearby hunter's corpse. After adding on both of my arrows directly at the conglomeration on the beast's torso, I ran with promptitude towards the old man only to drag him towards a nearby tree to support his body. I was only able to accomplish this because the wolf was driven back for a couple seconds by my sudden attack."

"Are you alright?" Tamura searched the old man's bag and began applying bandages he found tightly on the wounds.

"Do I look alright?" heaved Katashi.

"Forgive me." Tamura kept applying bandages tightly with haste to minimise the bleeding.

"I really messed up there huh?" The old man's blood soaked the bandages almost instantly.

"Don't talk, save your energy. I will defeat that beast and get both of us out of here," assured Tamura.

"Just leave me. You only have to avoid the alpha as the pack won't interfere in his fight," uttered Katashi.

"I can't just leave you here! What would I say to Hoshiko!?" yelled Tamura.

"Speaking of her, promise me one thing," Katashi croaked.

"Don't you dare say another word!" interjected Tamura.

"Promise me, you will protect my daughter," wheezed Katashi.

"Shut up. You will protect her yourself! You are stronger than you look!" shot Tamura.

"Who am I kidding? I'm old and fragile. Even if I survive now, how long until I expire from some disease?" argued Katashi.

"Just keep applying pressure on your wounds. I will bring some hunters here, surely once they hear your name and of your service they will come along to help," spoke Tamura.

"I won't be alive till then. That's why, as long as I am here, just agree to fulfill this dying old man's wish!" bellowed Katashi.

"I… can't," lamented Tamura.

"Why not? You two have spent some time talking with one another and I have noticed that you also are interested in her," questioned Katashi.

"It's not that.. She will not be safe with me! I'm weak and unstable!" Tamura got up, aggressively.

"She has grown to trust you and dare I say even" -the old man was cut off by a wolf leaping on Tamura- "look out behind!"

"The Alpha Kemono grappled on my leg and threw me across the arena as I landed on top of a bunch of old rotten corpses. I immediately got up and unsheathed my knife to fight this beast head on. Unfortunately, my mind was still ruffled from the old man's words. After taking a few shallow slices from my blade, the beast managed to pin me down. It proceeded by lowering its jaws in an attempt to bite my head off. To make matters worse, my knife was flown back by that last attack and was no longer reachable. I thought that very moment was my last and my mind filled with regret," Tamura continued.

"Damn it! Get off him!" The old man tried to grab his bow but was too weak to even move.

"(Is this it? My luck that kept me alive all this time is finally running out? Am I going to die a useless man? I have been nothing but a total sore loser who couldn't even control his own body and hurt others as a result. I should be erased from this world as soon as possible)." Regretful thoughts proliferated in Tamura's mind.

"(That's it…..)" a deep, demonic voice invaded.

"(Who? Who are you?)"

"(Your strongest emotions, fear, sorrow and now regret are going to be your allies)." The deep voice echoed through every corner of the host's mind.

"(What are you talking about!? I don't want to be saved! Why can't you just let me leave in peace!)" shot Tamura.

"(The answer is simple, it's Because…)"

Tamura suddenly grabbed the alpha wolf's canine teeth and forcefully pulled them apart, ripping the wolf's body in two longitudinal parts with ease. A massive pool of blood now covered the ground and the corpses around it.

"He did that with his bare hands? What is this guy?" astonished Katashi.

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"I can't let such a perfect vessel go to waste!" yelled Tamura.

"Witnessing the alpha's death made the rest of the wolves attack me at the same time but somehow, I easily massacred each and every one with my fists alone. I was totally soaked in blood when I killed the last wolf and only then I came back to my senses," explained Tamura.

"What happened? Why am I covered in so much blood?" Perplexed Tamura.

"(There is no time for questions! Old man Katashi, I have to get him out of here!)" He made haste towards the old man who was filled with amazement for him.

"How did you... you never told me you were this strong," sputtered Katashi.

"I don't understand, what happened?"

"Look around you. You obliterated each and every wolf with ease and even bested the alpha with your bare hands!" Katashi effused.

Tamura looked around and self talked,

"I killed all of them? But when? I remember that the alpha was about to slaughter me and then everything blacked out all of a sudden. Someone had a conversation with me in my head but I don't remember what he said. It was just like…. Oh God no."

"What's wrong?" concerned Katashi.

"It's… it's Nothing. More importantly, we have to get you to a medic fast," said Tamura as he tried to lift the old man up.

"Leave me! I am too far gone anyway. Just take the trophy and go to my daughter," Katashi resisted.

"I told you I won't do that!" hollered Tamura.

"Listen to me-"

"Please shut your-"

"Just Listen to me! You stubborn shit!"

The two Argued.

"Can't you see it by now you dense son of a bitch! My only job was to fulfill my daughter's wish!" snapped Katashi.

"What wish?" Tamura calmed down and asked.

"It was to stop you from leaving because she is in" -the old man coughed heavily- "she is in love with you."

"Hey, hey! Open your eyes! Don't leave me! Gramps! Katashi!" Tamura shook the old man's body as he suddenly stopped resisting and closed his eyes.

"Just like that, he was gone. I had no choice but to lift his body up and get him out of the forest. On my way I picked up the Alpha's trophy as well because I knew the money that will come from it will help Hoshiko go through a world without her father. Night fell upon us as I reached the village, covered with murky blood and holding a haphazardly bandaged body of an old hunter," grieved Tamura.

The villagers took notice of the two and some of them, mostly men both old and young, gathered around and flooded Tamura with questions,

"What the hell happened to you two?"

"Did you kill the old man?"

"Is that the trophy of?"

"Is that Fujikawa Katashi?" another old man of around the same age inquired.

"Yes he is, you know him?" asked Tamura.

"Yes, he was my old friend. Poor bastard, as soon as he told me he was going on this big hunt, I knew he was going to end up like this. Seriously, what were you thinking? Someone as weak as you shouldn't have taken a hunt of this level. You should've thought about your daughter for God's sake," the old man went on.

"Weak? Wasn't he the best hunter around?" Puzzled Tamura.

The old man replied, "Never. One of his worst habits was that he always boasted that he would complete the biggest hunt someday. Wait, is that the Alpha Kemono's trophy? Who defeated it?"

"It was him, he wasn't lying," disclosed Tamura.

"I see, at least he died after fulfilling his wish. You should take his body to his home and let his daughter know," the old man advised.

"The alpha's trophy? You finally got it for me!" A wealthy looking man with short height joined the crowd.

"And you are?"

"Oh my apologies, I'm the collector who placed that contract up." The man bowed and greeted Tamura.

"Here, take it. I will come by later to collect the reward." Tamura threw the trophy at the collector and walked past him.

"Whatever you say, master! And sorry for the old man. I hope he finds peace in his next life." The collector picked up the trophy and bid Tamura farewell.

"Even though I was enervated, I still carried the body of Hoshiko's father back to her house. I vacillated for a moment whether to open the door or not, I didn't want to know what kind of reaction she would have once learning about this tragedy. But she had to know. Who am I to hide this from her? When this was partly my fault. I made my decision and opened the door to see Hoshiko's back as she was still cooking. It seemed she didn't quite notice the corpse of her father as I gently placed it on the same rocking chair he was drinking on earlier today," narrated Tamura.

"You two are back! Thank God, I was getting worried," greeted Hoshiko, cheerfully.

"....."

"I didn't know what to say, but my silence was enough to give her an unpleasant hint," grieved Tamura.

Hoshiko took a turn only to drop the spoon she was cooking with and slowly step towards the body.

"Father…… ? What is this? ...Tamura?"

"He is…" -Tamura took a deep breath- "I am so sorry."

"Oh no…. Please! Don't do this to me! He can't, father? My father is….? No this can't be! Don't you dare lie to me!" bawled Hoshiko.

"Try to calm down." Tamura softly walked closer towards Hoshiko.

"He can't! He told me he would never succumb from any hunt! He told me he was the strongest!" yelled Hoshiko.

"(You lied to her as well?)" Thought Tamura.

"Even though I knew the truth as I heard it from work, I always denied it. Tell me, my father really was the lying hunter was he?" Hoshiko calmed down and solemnly asked Tamura.

"Well he was..."

"Tell me, was my father really the strongest?"

Tamura closed in and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"He was not the strongest when it came to fighting. But, he was the strongest father I have ever seen. And it is all my fault he is dead."

"What were his last words?"

"I um. He told me to protect you, till the end," disclosed Tamura.

"Huh? Why father? It wasn't like that. I didn't want this." Hoshiko fell into a diverse set of emotions, starting from immense shock and hysterical laughter to extreme lament and constant wailing.

"Hoshiko." Tamura pulled her towards him and placed her head on his chest to comfort her.

Hoshiko tightly clenched her hands on Tamura's back and cried to her heart's content.

After a few minutes, she let go and questioned, "what was your reply?"

"Seeing her in that condition stirred something inside me. I couldn't have just left her alone all helpless. During our travel towards the forest, her father told me she worked in a saloon bar. On top of her low income, she was severely overworked and was treated harshly by customers. That's why her father took this difficult hunt knowing that it had a hefty reward. He believed in me, that I would succeed and give his daughter a better life. That's the reason for the quick answer I gave her."

"I said yes," replied Tamura.

Hoshiko's eyes once again shed tears but this time they were not all full of despair.

End of chapter twenty.