< Origin: Vestige >
< A Corrupted being born from another Corrupted. Different from Denizens that already exist or are born directly from the primary Corrupted >
“Mister Huntsman… transformed because of the infection…?” Disbelief filled Red’s voice.
“And it’s not his fault that he Corrupted. The Queen of Sweet and Bitter Thorns completely ruined him. He’s… like another Bitter Thorn.”
Snow couldn’t find the will to lift herself off the ground. The toll of losing him placed an immovable weight atop her shoulders. Her head barely hung above the dirt as she groveled in misery, unable to accept that he had Corrupted.
“He’s not like a Bitter Thorn!” Snow proclaimed, causing the girl to shudder. “Origin! Vestige! The others were all Trauma!”
“Trauma…? Origin?”
Snow herself didn’t know what she meant. But the moment Red said this out loud, and as Snow’s tears tumbled onto her filthy diary. It shone with a faint, golden glow. The image of the apple manifested complex inscriptions that Red had never seen before.
Snow rummaged through the diary and stopped at a page that caused her eyes to widen with shock.
“Origins… Meaning… what brought the Corrupted into existence?”
“That’s right!” Red exclaimed.
She didn’t dare turn her head away from The Hunstman. His hooved kicked up dirt as they clopped with a rhythmic beat. It rapidly climbed into a cacophony of sound to declare his intent. If it wasn’t already clear, then the reeling of his great axe confirmed that he was after Red’s throat.
< “Misery breeds contempt. The path of agony leads to a future where can be freed by these shackles.” >
< [Cut Them Down!] >
“SNOW! SKILL! REMEMBER WHEN YOU WERE ABLE TO READ THE SKILL OF THE ENVIOUS BRAMBLES!?” Red cried.
“It’s… It’s – Tch…!” Snow suddenly slashed her hand and wiped her blood along the page of her diary.
“Aren’t you supposed to get hit first!?”
“That’s not the only way I can do it!”
//////// < WARNING > ////////
< Snow’s emotions are rapidly Heightening, as are yours >
The Hunt Must Go On
ATT: 570 (+200)
Blood. A torrent of blood poured from Snow’s wound as she drowned the book with desperation burning in her eyes.
“… for the price of my blood… for the price of my sanity… I can at least reveal one or two Skills!”
Her tone shifted from the immense loss of blood. Red clouds diffused into her blue eyes, indicating a drastic change.
< [Cut Them Down!] >
< Gallop on. Hack down the thorns of the garden >
ATT : 800 MAG ATT : 0
< EFFECT: May only target the highest-level enemy present >
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The Huntsman reared his front legs before making a wild dash towards Red. She pivoted away so that he would not charge into Snow. Afterwards, The Huntsman made a wild dash towards her.
10 meters of air separated them. He closed the distance in the blink of eye.
“What the –!?”
Red was barely able to dodge his swift attack. He approached her like a freight train, shaking the ground with each heavy step. The rush of air alone nearly threw her off balance.
“Tch – How the hell does an 8 AGI difference make that big of a difference!?” Red growled as she bounced on her hand and backflipped aside, just barely dodging the swift axe head.
Suddenly, Snow cried out at her:
“Red! Do not touch those thorns!”
Thorns of the Huntsman
The Huntsman
HP : 13,000
EFFECT: All attacks that puncture flesh apply 20 stacks of Paralysis
Strands of her hair were cut clean off.
Even if it had struck her directly, it would not have done much damage. But the fact that any damage done to her could inflict Paralysis put her a severe disadvantage.
If that had struck my head, then that’d be a Critical Strike, right? 800 times 5… it’s a big number, but definitely not bigger than my HP pool.
… but more than that, Snow… can just use her blood to figure this stuff out.
Red looked back at when the village was first attacked.
Why didn’t she use the diary to help us?
Had she warned them about the Sweet Thorn from the start, then there was a chance that they wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with. Red wouldn’t have had to suffer. She tried to figure out what her reason was.
This isn’t the time for that. If I die here, then Snow will die too!
< [Sorrowful Plough] >
< Push forward, no matter the cost.”
ATT : 800 MAG ATT : 0
< EFFECT: Deal 3x times damage to targets trampled >
< “The path of thorns was laid bare for me. I walked through velvet roads. They were dyed by the blood of those I condemned.” >
“Aaaaaaggh! More… blood… Needed…!” Another Skill description was projected to Red thanks to Snow.
But the toll of using her blood to reveal The Huntsman’s attacks nearly destroyed her physically. Congealed blood collected in the corners of her eyes, replacing her tears. Her sclera became bruised as her vision waned.
“To compensate for the lack of injuries… My blood… reacts to manifesting this knowledge… Red… I told you. Miracles don’t come for free.”
Red dodged the next attack. She rolled to the side, grabbing a handful of loose brambles and wrapped them tight around the handle of her blade. If she couldn’t get close, then she needed to improvise.
“It’ll be weaker like this… but like I got other options!”
< [Sorrowful Plough] >
< [Cut Them Down!] >
< [Cut Them Down!] >
Red attempted to slice The Huntsman’s legs first to disable him. But his DEF Stat was higher than 200. Any attempts to get close enough would result in being grazed by his thorns, she could not inflict her additional 550 damage on top.
“Think, Red! Think! How do you stop a rushing bull!? Of course, the legs! Right!? But… Wait. Snow! Is the head his weakness!?”
“I… I can’t check… I gotta… Tsk… Unlike reading its Skills… emotions dictate whether I can see weakness… parts…”
Snow slurred her words, her eyes rolling into the back of her head momentarily. But she did not allow herself to give up here.
“THEN I’LL DO IT FOR YOU!” Red screamed at the top of her lungs, this time, aiming for the obvious weak point of the Huntsman.
It was only obvious now because she was preoccupied with the logic of how to take him down, when she should have applied the what she learned from the Sweet Thorns. The golden apple was their lifeline.
It has to be the same here!
False Golden Apple
The Huntsman
HP : 2,000
EFFECT: Temporarily Stagger The Huntsman when destroyed
The blade cleaved through the side of its head, causing putrid puss and maggots to spill down his ruined garbs.
The Huntsman | HP: 30,230
Thorns of the Huntsman | HP: 13,000
False Golden Apple | HP: 1,230
“Ahhh! I see. So The Huntsman’s HP is everything combined! Damaging one part removes HP from the total amount!”
< [Cut Them Down!] >
< [Cut Them Down!] >
< [Cut Them Down!] >
She made another three passings with him, dodging and missing on the first. But for the next two she was able to sever the golden apple clean off his shoulders.
“NOW!” Red cried, moving in to deal as much damage as she could.
With him now Staggered, she focused on hacking away as many brambles as possible whilst severing a leg with rapid succession. She left him with a massive tear that ran from one end of his lower body to the other.
< “Failure after failure led me to a wise Witch. The promise I made, the accord she gave me, was a chance to revive the light that once shone in my heart.” >
< [Oath of False Miracles] >
Golden fibers sprung from the nape of The Huntsman. They wriggled into the air, searching for something. Then, they suddenly began weaving another false apple. By the time Red could lift her knife up, the apple was complete.
And this time, it was protected by the Thorns of the Huntsman.
“Dammit! It can learn!? Snow… why didn’t you –!”
Eh…?
Snow shook her head in despair.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m… useless. I can’t… do anything. It’s my fault. It’s all because of me…” She pulled at her hair in distress. Her compounding failures had caught up to her.
She tried to smear more blood into the blood, but she had nothing left to give it. Her pale, ghostly complexion and now crimson eyes revealed a version of Snow that brought Red immeasurable sadness.
No Skill effect could be read to her. But it wasn’t required. Red had fought against the Still Unloving perfectly fine. Observation was key to learning the remaining powers of The Huntsman.
Still, Red couldn’t get over the sight of Snow.
Snow… used to be so happy.
The timid, motherly girl who awkwardly giggled at Red’s antics looked like she had nothing left to live for.
The Huntsman | HP: 23,130
Thorns of the Huntsman | HP: 5,900
False Golden Apple | HP: 2,000