The Elusive Sorcerer

Chapter 147

Mine frowned.

'This man? Since when did he become insane?'

Mine had slipped the Hoisline Fan artifact into her jacket pocket the moment she saw Zavi's clone shatter and merge with the snow.

When the two of them arrived at the path filled with Hunter-type Chalog, Aaron and Hana stood there dumbfounded for several seconds.

'Did Actitus do all of this alone? Considering how much he hates Chalog, I think it's safe to assume he's the one who went on a rampage here.'

Aaron had no idea how Zavi had come to harbor such hatred toward the Chalog, but the moment he heard the name Chalog, a blazing determination filled with pressure instantly surged within his chest.

While waiting for Zavi's arrival, the three of them made sure to identify the type that had attacked them and discovered the fact that the valley had now become dominated by Hunter-type Chalog.

"Are the rumors about the Curse-type Chalog attacking people on the train a few months ago actually true?" Aaron asked with an intense gaze.

Hana, who was standing two steps ahead of Aaron, glanced back for two seconds before answering confidently, "Yeah. If you don't believe it, just look up the newspaper in Semilir or Minehold."

Aaron shook his head.

"No need." He glanced behind him, staring into the darkness stretching as far as the eye could see.

The orange flames of the Hunter-type Chalog had already gone out. Now, they relied solely on the blue moonlight to see and interact with one another.

Not long after silence settled around them once more, the sound of footsteps crunching over fallen bamboo leaves made all three of them instinctively turn to the left.

Zavi's presence brought an almost magical sense of life as he stood on ground higher than where they were, while the tails of his coat fluttered in the night wind.

Zavi's sharp gaze swept across the corpses of the Chalog he had killed earlier one by one.

"Why were Hunter-type Chalog the ones that came after us? Why wasn't it you?" Zavi asked as he slowly descended from where he stood.

Hana shrugged.

"Even Sirius was surprised the plan failed," Hana said while glancing at Aaron.

"Ah, right." Aaron replied in confusion.

"Should we leave this place?"

Zavi looked at the three of them as he asked.

"Those Chalog... were definitely targeting Mine," Zavi continued seriously.

Hana's pupils widened.

"Is that true?" she asked, walking toward Mine to calm her own thoughts.

Mine nodded.

"Yeah," she answered coldly. "Those Chalog nearly killed me."

Aaron observed them while stroking his chin, thinking that there had to be a mastermind behind this attack and realizing it wasn't mere coincidence.

'Someone is controlling them? I don't think that's possible, but there is one ability that could make it happen.'

After piecing together the evidence from his previous experiences and their stories, he let out a short sigh. Aaron had reached two important conclusions to answer that question.

"Salilfai, they're around here!" His dim gray eyes locked onto Zavi.

Zavi immediately understood what he meant after noticing something strange about the Chalog corpse behind Aaron's right side.

The red eyes that had previously lost their color now burned brightly before the bamboo trees rustling in the wind.

"Mine... quickly, use that artifact!" Zavi shouted loudly.

Mine immediately pulled out the Hoisline Fan artifact and swung it with all her strength toward the cluster of glowing red eyes after noticing the Chalog corpse twitch.

Whoosh...

A violent gust from the Hoisline Fan artifact pushed back the Hunter-type Chalog and the bright red eyes hidden in the darkness, presumably belonging to another group of Chalog.

Dry bamboo leaves began to fall. Meanwhile, the snow drifted in another direction before settling onto the four of them.

Realizing the battle wasn't over yet, each of them drew their weapons.

Zavi inserted the bullets into the cylinder one by one.

Click.

The cylinder was full. The bullets were loaded.

Mine immediately pulled out the Hoisline Fan artifact and swung it with all her strength toward the group of glowing red eyes after noticing the Chalog corpse twitch.

Whoosh...

A powerful gust from the Hoisline Fan artifact drove the Hunter-type Chalog and those bright red eyes back into the darkness, toward the eyes of another Chalog group.

Dry bamboo leaves began to fall. Meanwhile, the snow shifted elsewhere before falling onto the four of them again.

Realizing the battle wasn't over, each of them readied their weapons.

Zavi loaded the bullets one by one.

Click.

The revolver was fully loaded and ready to use.

There was no response for several seconds, and the three of them hurried out of the bamboo forest, taking the initiative to head toward the front of the valley.

'Damn, are they holding a grudge against me for killing their pack?'

Zavi felt a little panicked as he remembered the Chalog's final scream through his clone, which he suspected was a means of communication among them.

Several dozen meters before they reached the edge of the bamboo forest, a Hunter-type Chalog sprang from their right side and lunged at Mine, who had become their target.

Tap... Tap...

"Hauk..."

One Hunter-type Chalog successfully knocked Mine down and now stood on her back with its jaws spread wide, hot orange flames gathering in its lower mouth, ready to be spewed out.

Of course, the others didn't stand still.

Click...

Bang... Bang... Bang...

At the same time, Zavi, Aaron, and Hana fired at the Chalog.

"Aghh...." The Chalog let out a loud scream as the orange flames gathering in its mouth vanished instantly.

Gasping for breath, Mine shoved the Chalog away with all her strength before running toward the others.

"Mine, swing the artifact toward five o'clock and straight ahead right now!" Zavi shouted while watching white smoke rise from his revolver's barrel.

The snow continued to fall. The other two had already moved away following Zavi's orders.

Mine nodded. She stopped briefly to catch her breath before swinging the Hoisline Fan artifact toward the five o'clock and eight o'clock directions as instructed.

Whoosh...

The powerful wind wasn't used as an attack, but as a means of driving away the Chalog watching them from behind dense bushes and beneath the cover of thick bamboo trees.

After doing that, Mine hurried after Zavi, occasionally glancing at the glimmering beads on the Hoisline Fan artifact.

After leaving the bamboo forest, they entered an area overgrown with vines along the trail.

Realizing that fighting near the railway tracks would put them at a disadvantage, they moved onto another road that still led toward Ardoma Valley.

Although this obstacle slowed them down, they managed to overcome it by staying beneath the shelter of the trees lining both sides of the path.

Mine leaned slightly forward while suppressing a groan, her breathing growing heavier with every passing moment. It turned out the Hunter-type Chalog had managed to slash her back before it died.

'Damn monster...' she cursed inwardly while wiping the cold sweat from her forehead.

Although the air around them was cold, something inside Mine surged upward, urging her to survive.

The other three were confused by her condition, but Mine considered the wound insignificant and prepared to continue running.

In the end, the four of them let Mine stay in the center. Aaron and Hana remained at the front as the executioners, while Zavi followed behind to support them. However, Zavi realized he had become the bait and would have to protect Mine from any sudden Chalog attacks.

The Chalog that had been observing them from the bamboo forest naturally didn't remain idle after watching their companions die before their eyes. They continued following from both sides, ready to launch ambushes and fireballs.

Several dozen meters away from the valley where they had stood moments earlier, Zavi created a clone after spotting dozens of ferocious Hunter-type Chalog spewing orange flames toward Mine.

Aaron assisted with the shadows constantly surrounding his feet. Mine swept away the orange flames with the fan artifact, though its sweeping power had weakened, while Hana shot down the Chalog charging from another direction.

Certain they wouldn't last much longer, Zavi shifted slightly and tossed his revolver along with his remaining ammunition into the air, allowing his clone to catch them swiftly while Zavi himself froze in the midst of the Chalog surrounding him.

'This is going to be the most brutal hunt and the largest one I've ever experienced.'

Although Zavi harbored a grudge against the Silent-type Chalog for taking his leg and nearly killing him,

the sight of the horrifying creatures before him now, even if they were a different type, was more than enough to make his breathing quicken.

Without hesitation, Zavi ordered his clone to move while paying no attention to the condition of his main body, because two wolves without blood, flesh, or skin, formed solely from a grayish-white aura, stood beside him.

Aaron, seeing Zavi's seriousness, smiled faintly and pointed his index finger toward the Chalog.

"Beneath the falling snow, the blue moon hangs above, carrying endless silence.

"Human life is so brief, evaporating in an instant without a trace.

"Hope, purpose, body, and soul... shatter into ash and vanish into eternity.

Aaron paused briefly before continuing in a slightly raised tone.

"Become one with the ice, and shatter..."

After completing the first-level Death Manipulation spell, Aaron watched ten Chalog evaporate.

'Insane. I couldn't even see how those Chalog froze and shattered into pieces, erasing both their existence and souls from this world!'

Aaron swallowed hard, realizing the spell he had obtained from Kael was truly terrifying, though it naturally came with consequences.

'Damn it, my left arm is gone too.'

He grimaced in pain, unable to restore his left arm using Retrieval, the first level of the Exorcist ability.

"Salilfai..." Aaron muttered, almost under his breath.

Zavi left Aaron to deal with the dizziness assaulting him while focusing on slaughtering the remaining dozen Chalog.

Bang... Bang...

The mixed scents of gunpowder, blood, pungent odors, and sweet fragrances lingered in the air around them. Meanwhile, the snow continued to fall, creating a heavy atmosphere of survival in this world.

Hana shot the Chalog that Zavi had defeated, making sure they were completely dead.

Meanwhile, Mine was in the same condition as Aaron, staggering away from the Chalog that had targeted her.

Eventually, all of the Chalog, around forty in total, were wiped out. Ten died at Aaron's hands, while the remaining thirty were slaughtered by Zavi.

Realizing the battle had ended, the thin threads binding Zavi's body disappeared, followed by him collapsing face-first onto the ground with a bitter smile.

Mine swept the Chalog corpses away toward another area, unwilling to look at them for too long because of the nausea and disgust they caused her.

"They're completely exhausted, but how did Sirius end up with injuries like that?" Hana asked while looking at Aaron, who was lying flat atop a pile of snow with both arms spread wide.

Mine suppressed a groan and replied weakly, "You're the only one who isn't injured. I hope you can protect all of us by yourself."

Hana hesitated as she looked at them one by one.

Zavi lay face-down weakly to the front left, while Aaron lay behind him with his arms spread.

Mine couldn't maintain her balance any longer, followed by an unpleasant cry.

"KYAH..."

The snow continued to fall, while the night wind grew colder as the hour became later.

Late at night, 11:40 PM. Aaron sat while enduring the pain in his left arm.

'Is it because of that spell? I can't restore my left arm anymore?'

Although the weather was cold, Aaron felt overheated as he wriggled around like a worm suffering in the heat.

Hana frowned when she saw that.

"What exactly did you do? Why is your left arm gone?"

She was genuinely confused, aware of two baffling facts: ten Chalog had vanished, and Aaron's left arm had disappeared.

Aaron nodded uncertainly.

"I got hit."

He fell silent for a moment as he realized the spell's attack speed had surpassed the speed of light, making it impossible for human eyes to follow.

"You should get some rest. I'll stand guard over all of you," Hana said generously.

Aaron blinked, making sure he wasn't hallucinating.

"Take care of yourself."

After saying that, he lay back down. Although his expression remained somewhat apathetic, deep down Aaron hoped his left arm would recover.

Good fortune arrived less than half an hour into their rest.

Choo! Choo! Choo!

Hana and Aaron immediately got to their feet.

"A train?" they murmured almost simultaneously.

Seeing the silhouette of light growing closer ahead, partially concealed by vines,

they hurried toward the railway and prepared to hijack the passing steam train and climb aboard.

Tap...

Aaron climbed up a tree, waiting for the perfect moment to jump.

Several seconds later, after the steam train released black smoke and sounded its horn.

Choo! Choo!

Aaron leaped while carrying them through shadows that formed a cloud, allowing them to float.

Tap...

"Perfect timing," Aaron said weakly.

Hana dusted off her clothes, looked around for several seconds, and said while wiping her forehead,

"Good thing a train came through."

The two of them stood atop the train as it began entering the valley, remaining alert for any danger from other Chalog that might attack.