Chapter 82 - Five Days Later
The next five days passed by in a blur.
Theo trained during the day and hunted at night, barely allowing himself any sleep.
But his efforts had paid off.
After spending an entire day observing the ocean and failing countless attempts, he finally realized what he had been doing wrong.
That realization allowed him to fully grasp the Bronze stage and return to training under Elise once again.
Despite his progress, the hunting mission had progressed slowly.
’There’s one over there,’ Theo thought, scanning the distant dark alley.
A tall, bone-like creature rumbled through a pile of garbage in front of him.
He glanced back at Ethan, nodding his head in the right direction.
Ethan nodded, gesturing for him to go ahead.
Theo turned back slowly, a soft stream of water wrapping itself around his umbrella.
Without hesitation, he dashed forward.
The creature heard his footsteps, immediately snapping its head upwards.
But it was already too late.
Theo’s umbrella collided with its head, the water instantly turning into a violent wave.
The creature didn’t even let out a sound as its body shot back.
It crashed hard against the wall, its head caved in from the water’s pressure.
’’That’s another E-rank,’’ Theo said, turning back to Ethan.
Ethan nodded, noting it on his laptop.
As he looked up again, he stared at Theo for a moment.
’’How did you even spot it from that distance?’’
A small smile appeared on Theo’s face.
’’I’ve got some pretty good eyes,’’ he said casually.
It wasn’t a lie.
He had some pretty good eyes.
But the only reason he could see in the dark was because of the latest would-you-rather he’d gotten.
’Seeing in the dark was indeed the better option.’
In only a few days, the choice had already completely paid off.
’’Let’s continue,’’ Theo said, gesturing deeper into the alley.
Ethan nodded once, his laptop by his side.
The two of them continued walking in silence.
It didn’t take long before Theo stopped once again.
He raised his hand, gesturing for Ethan to stop.
’Three of them this time?’ he thought, tilting his head. ’Not to mention, one seems to be borderline D-rank.’
Over the past few days, they’d noticed the average rank increase.
But never to this extent.
Despite that, Theo took a step forward.
’I don’t want them to run again,’ he thought, narrowing his eyes. ’So let’s take care of them all at once.’
In the next second, two lightning bolts materialized right beside him.
Theo pointed towards the sky, shooting them off instantly.
The bolts soared through the sky, only stopping several dozens of meters in the air.
By now, the creatures had noticed something off.
The leader raised his head immediately, letting out a shrill shriek.
Large thunderclouds had already gathered in the sky, a faint golden light glowing from them.
Just as it tried to run, a massive yellow-golden beam shot down.
It hit the ground in an instant, obliterating the creatures and everything surrounding them.
’Done,’ Theo thought, exhaling for a moment.
Last time he’d encountered a large group of E-ranks, they’d all split up and run.
’They didn’t get that chance this time.’
He glanced at his hands for a moment, feeling the mana that had been drained from his body.
’’Theo.’’
Ethan’s voice called out from behind, snapping him out of his thoughts.
’’We have a problem.’’
Theo turned around immediately, seeing a deep frown on Ethan’s face.
’’A new report came in from those government hunters,’’ he continued. ’’The incident zone has expanded again.’’
Ethan looked up, a deep frown on his face.
’’If it keeps going at this rate... the areas with dense populations will be next.’’
Theo’s expression also darkened.
For a moment, he didn’t respond.
The faint echoes of distant traffic filled the streets, reminding him how close they had already gotten.
’It’s all accelerating,’ he thought. ’Not just their ranks, but also their numbers.’
Ethan tapped a few keys, pulling up a map.
A highlighted zone with dozens of red markers appeared on it.
’’It’s expanded by another three blocks since last night,’’ he said. ’’And that’s just what we’ve confirmed.’’
Theo stared at the screen, nodding slowly.
After all the corpses they’d collected, they’d managed to figure out that it was a parasitic creature at work.
But it had always carefully hidden itself.
Just then, Ethan slammed his laptop shut.
’’I think we’ll have a chance to find the host tomorrow,’’ he said firmly. ’’Based on its appearance patterns, I have a rough idea of where it might strike.’’
Theo’s head snapped up, his eyes widening slightly.
’’Actually?’’
Ethan nodded once.
’’It’d have been a problem if I hadn’t after putting in so many hours.’’
His expression remained serious the entire time.
Theo didn’t mind that, though.
’’Good job,’’ he said, clenching his fist. ’’We’ll kill it tomorrow then.’’
Ethan studied Theo for a brief moment.
Finally, a small smile appeared on his face.
"You should prepare properly," he said. "If this really is the source, then it won’t just be a normal D-rank."
He paused, a flicker of hesitation running through his face.
"There might be more than one too..."
Theo’s expression didn’t change.
He planted his umbrella in the ground, staring straight at Ethan.
’’We’ll just have to make it work.’’
The government hunters had made it clear that they weren’t actually going to help them.
As for the Northern Line hunting group, their senior members had all left for different missions.
Even so, Theo didn’t hesitate.
’All my training would’ve been for nothing if I can’t even take care of this.’
’’You’re right,’’ Ethan said, nodding once.
’’For my plan to work,’’ he continued seriously, ’’I need us to meet up two hours earlier tomorrow.’’
Theo nodded.
’’That’s fine.’’
The two of them started walking towards the exit, the sun slowly rising in front of them.
However, just before they turned the final corner,
a soft voice echoed out from one of the side corridors.
Both turned to the sound immediately... only to freeze.
A little girl sat in the middle of the street, sniffling.
In front of her laid a single body, bleeding out over the street.