Chapter 73- Deadmans Wonderland - Hunter and Prey

Suta POV

Perched on a firm branch, a pair of dreary, bright brown eyes stared through the partial space between the crowded foliage. Below dwelt a small clearing, where the floor was covered in crunchy, dark brown leaves mixed with hard stones and the aged bones of felled creatures. The boy's eyelids were heavy, having been staring at this same scene for up to a few hours now. But he remained poised in his wait; still, as a log, patiently waiting for a specific outcome to take place.

Two large, sharply tipped boulders sat side by side in the middle of the small clearing. Sounds of teeth grinding against flesh could be heard from behind them. Those same grotesque sounds had been going on for quite some time now. Annoyingly enough, he was forced to stomach it; his ploy relied heavily on that damn beast enjoying its fill to the point it was too full to remain focused.

'Just you wait, you bastard! I'll make you pay ten folds for the shit you've put me through.'

Suta ground his teeth together, very delicately, of course. He had learned time and time again that the creatures within this forest were by far too weird to underestimate. Take his latest prey, for example, a strange, walking humanoid fish creature with blue scales, sharp antlers, and two beefy arms with large clawed pincers.

He called it the 'Ugly Blue-clawed Fish, ' because of its hideous facial expressions and the quite fearsome claws used to chomp and smash things. Suta had been on the receiving end of one of those a few times; luckily, the ugly thing wasn't the quickest on its feet. Being bogged down by those heavy pincers, it relied on surprising or trapping its prey using its second and most devastating ability, shooting a very smelly and yet sticky goo at its foes. Again, Suta had experienced firsthand just how devastating this attack was. And it was also because of this that he fell into the hands of that crazed demonic Flower Queen.

'And that was the first time I was almost killed by one of these wretched fiends.' He nursed his temples, thinking about that terrible ordeal before he swiftly shook away those terrible thoughts.

Suta couldn't think about that right now. Her time would surely come, just like every other damned creature that had made his life hell within this forest. Unconsciously, he traced the glaring scar against his chest. A present was left to him after he dared to exchange blows with that Thorny Flower Queen. That would spell twice now that he had almost died at the hands of her. Suta had already understood his current level was nowhere near the requirement to pose a real threat to her. But a day shall come when all of that changes.

Dreaming of revenge, he finally noticed movement against the clearing. He narrowed his gaze, tightening his palms over the hilt of his ivory-stoned bone dagger, sharpened and assembled to resemble a ninja's kunai. After a few moments of rustling and soft growls, the hideous blue-scaled creature finally unearthed itself from behind one of the tall rocks. Its slightly tall frame hunched over a little while its two arms dropped low and allowed it to drag those two great pincers along with it with minimal effort.

He grimaced in disgust, watching its dopey eyes lazily scan its surroundings. The juxtaposition of its very dangerous-looking body walking carefreely across the clearing bothered him.

'Right, now I need the little fairy to do its job. Saying that, though, where is it right now?' He searched the area for any signs of the familiar green-haired little thing but still found nothing resembling its unmistakable little flutter across the air. A slight panic ensued as he desperately searched along the crowded bushes and the dry land beneath. Just before he thought all was lost, Suta noticed something tiny emerging from the bushes. A wide smile birthed across his face, feeling his anxious heart slowly finding peace once more.

'Ah—there you are.'

The little fairy circled the air before feeling straight into the small clearing, where it was spotted by the blue-finned creature soon enough.

Suta could only observe from where he was, unable to hear their interaction.

The pair exchanged words, and the ugly blue-finned creature started off flaying its meaty claws at it; after failing that, they exchanged a few more words before the creature initiated chase and bundled its bulky frame after the fairy, tailing it around the clearing. Suta's brow narrowed as he readied himself for action. The fairy was way too agile to be caught by something so slow, and it was just as he predicted: the ugly blue-finned carp chased the fairy in circles before Verdi purposely veered closer towards one side, particularly towards the tall tree Suta was hiding in. The creature spearheaded towards the fairy.

It obviously saw the tree behind the fairy, and a glint sparkled within its oily round eyes. It knew the fairy would have to spin towards it or go left or right, and with its long arm reach, it would certainly catch the fairy no matter which way it chose.

Suta watched them fast approaching. He had wrapped a long rope around the tree and popped it over the tall branch. The other end rested by the foot of the tree, woven into a large loop.

The Ugly-Blue claw fish might've noticed it if its attention wasn't solely focused on the fairy it pursued.

Just when it thought it had caught up to the pesky little thing, it took another step and felt a rope suddenly caught around its ankle.

"Hm?—whaaaaa!"

Suta felt the strain against the rope and jumped down just in time while holding the secured end. The Ugly blue claw fish was hoisted all the way to the top of the tree, completely caught off guard by the trap Suta had spent two days trying to get right.

Seeing his invention working so well, he chuckled childishly. Suta was quite surprised it worked so well. Now, the creature was left dangling in the air, flailing its arms around helplessly. Suta felt its sheer hefty weight acting against his hold. His arms couldn't hold on for much longer.

"H-hey... g-gr-r- Hu-hurry!"

The fairy nodded and swiftly circled up towards the helpless creature bound by its foot. It danced around it, avoiding the flailing long arms carrying those dangerous pincers. The fairy hovered just between the creature's eyes. Suta stared at Verdi; the little sprite closed its two eyes and quietly muttered some things beneath its breath. A few seconds later, its entire body started to glow with a blinding light. The pale light was emitting some kind of strange trance. As a result, the ugly blue-clawed carp creature's anger noticeably softened. Suta saw its eyelids softly fall. He sighed in relief before releasing the rope and falling back onto his backside.

The rope whipped out of his hands and traced back over the tree. The Ugly blue claw fish was left in the hands of gravity. As expected, it fell from a tremendous height and landed against its head with a resounding THUMP.

Both Suta and the fairy winced at the same time.

Suta's gaze slightly narrowed.

He rose to his feet and walked towards the immovable creature with slight caution. He looked over the strange humanoid fish-lobster hybrid, bizarrely wearing faded quarter-length shorts. Seeing the thing again up close filled him with memories of himself almost being killed by it.

He kicked its large body several times to ensure it wouldn't get up. The creature's breath seized a few times, but otherwise, it was as good as immobile right now.

"Good." He was pleased with his work. He clapped his hands together before noticing the little fairy fluttering its see-through wings near the distance, shyly trying to avoid his gaze. Noticing this, a rather rare smile creased against Suta's mouth. He couldn't remember the last time he actually smiled.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Well done, Verdi. You're reliable as always." He said earnestly while he lightly stroked the top of the fairy's head. As always, Verdi blushed a little, squirming beneath Suta's light touch as it tried not to show how much it enjoyed being praised. Staring at the cute fairy like this made him reflect on things for a little while, and he couldn't imagine what might've happened if the little guy hadn't been here. How many times had he either healed his serious wounds or helped him escape or defeat one of the many crazy creatures within this place? He swallowed his spit harshly, just thinking about the weeks he had spent living inside this hell.

"F-f-fanks... B-but how will we move him to our hideout?" Verdi asked, looking around the clearing to ensure no other monster was around.

"Well, I've been thinking about that." Suta walked around the tree. He tilted his head and measured the distance between himself and the branch at the top.

He exhaled a deep breath before he scaled up the thick tree with the spryness of a feline. He had already gotten used to the change in his body since he arrived here. Especially since he found himself stranded on this island, his body was forced to adapt and grow quickly enough to ensure both his and Verdi's safety. Plus the scaling from branch to branch helped tone his muscles and physique.

Suta unloosened the thick rope and allowed it to fall. He hopped away from the branch and landed against his heels. He dusted himself off and went to retrieve the rope. "Don't you worry? I'll be carrying our captured guest along with us," he said with a boyishly sinister grin.

***

Suta had stopped counting the days he spent stranded in this place; he saw no real point in doing that, considering there was no point going over the things he couldn't change. When he first woke up sitting on that warm, white sandy coast, he never expected to still be here, almost 77+ days later, hunting and scavenging to make ends meet. Within that time, he had been chased mercilessly by all manners of horrors and strange, nightmarish creatures he could think of. In truth, Verdi had been his saving grace, from being impaled by that Thorny Princess and needing to be constantly healed over a period of two days.

To the countless near-death escapes forced upon him by the numerous ambushes from the terrors that plagued this jungle. For the first 20 days, Suta remembers not catching a single night of rest. The attacks were constant and unpredictable. And when he did find a safe place to rest, he was bombarded by the horrific sounds of flowers wearing human faces crying out to him all the time. This had also become another way for predators to find him. All in all, this hell wasn't becoming easier.

Verdi remained vigilant while they walked through the dense forest. Compared to the Blue Forest, this place felt a lot closer to the kind of area he expected a jungle to look like. The skies were still a blanket of bleeding red, and the trees and thick vines were noticeably larger here, so much so that he first questioned if giants roamed these parts. He had yet to encounter any giant, which was a positive, all things considered.

He tied the rope around the blue creature and dragged him carefully through the crunchy jungle bed. Suta had already mentally mapped out the safest route to their hideout. At worst, he would have to eliminate some red-tailed bats along the way. But if memory served him correctly, he should've removed the alphas from their nests, leaving only the beta stragglers he may encounter roaming around. There wasn't a clear pathway through this forest, so mostly, he trekked through the dense foliage and uneven ground. This was already arduous for him, making it ten times more difficult due to the extra baggage he was dragging along.

Midthought, he noticed Verdi suddenly stopped in the middle of the air.

Suta frowned, knowing the likelihood of what that meant.

"Tsk! How many?" he asked in a slightly hoarser voice than usual.

"Hmm... I think 3 or 4," Verdi said, its bright eyes pressed further ahead into the jungle. Verdi's abilities had also started to bloom. Not only was he an expert healer, but he could also see things beyond a great distance.

'3 or 4, huh? At this time of the day, I suspect it's probably wolves.'

Smoothing his chin deeply, Suta considered steering them in a different direction. But then again, wouldn't that only prolong their journey time? He wasn't trying to chance his luck by staying outside for too long, especially since he understood they were also under a timer. Verdi's fairy dust wouldn't last much longer.

Suta flipped over his palm and summoned his badge.

{Name: Raito Suta}

{Age: 17}

{Race: Human}

{Rank: E}

{Skillset: Glitch, Appraisal Level.1, Double Slash, Intimidation}

{Abilities: Moonlight Tribes Hidden Blessing: Labours of the Fairy King}

{Affinity: ????}

{???: The Strugglers Dying Will}

{???: 143/350}

{???: N/a}

{Status: Memory partially sealed by divine grace}

Double Slash and Intimidation were two welcome additions to his arsenal. Intimidation, in particular, had garnered him a great skill, albeit how he achieved this skill wasn't something he wished to relive. Because of this, he also learned he could learn skills in two ways: through arduous repetition of practice or via living through a traumatic event.

He caressed the familiar crimson dagger glued to his hip. Suta was comfortable using the backward hold, with the handle pointed forward while the rigid, jagged end pointed towards him. He exhaled a deep breath, his bones loosening and the small subtleties of anxiety clearing away. One of the most important lessons he learned since he was stranded on this island was survival.

'Do or die,' a mantra he recalled his father used to say to him the night before he had a big match.

"H-hey, mister?"

Suta re-emerged into the present again, the gentle voice from Verdi having become a gentle candlelight in the cloud of darkness he felt himself soaked in these days—an aura he quickly understood he needed to sit in at times, but also he didn't want to forgo the better things about himself.

Suta tried his best to remove the cold gaze from his mask whenever he was in the presence of Verdi. He couldn't help but change gradually for the sake of their survival, but it hurt his heart to imagine the happy-go-lucky fairy losing its innocence too.

"Do-do you need my help again?" Verdi asked him with sparkling eyes.

Suta felt a pang in his chest. Fighting beside Verdi certainly made things a lot easier, but he carried enough guilt and sadness to last him a lifetime these days. Besides, Suta was beginning to understand the importance of gaining experience in this strange world. Every movement he made, every foe he felled, and each narrow escape from death added to his growth.

Not to mention, he had already gotten more than enough help from the little fairy during these testing days. His gaze fell toward one of its clear, fluttering wings; the corners were chipped and looked permanently damaged. It was another unwelcome reminder that he wasn't the only one suffering during all of this.

Suta scratched the back of his neck, creating one of those boyishly charming smiles he used to relax Verdi.

"No, thank you. I'll take care of it," he replied, half believing in himself.