Chương 51: Hunt

Ch 51 - Hunt When Reid learned that the stadium where Stellaris was performing in the Outskirts had been targeted by the escaped A-rank criminal, ice flooded his veins. His gaze remained fixed on the livestream as Victor ordered the camera crew to keep filming. Countless comments raced across the screen, but Reid ignored every one of them and called Director Shin. She answered on the first ring.

"Director Shin, I need to get there."

"... I have a helicopter ready. Meet me at RCB Headquarters." Reid sprinted out of the academy without another word. The helicopter raced across the sky at full speed, yet every passing second felt agonizingly slow. His phone continued streaming the broadcast, showing Hiroto and Reika being forced to fight each other. Rage burned within him as Victor clapped from the sidelines, reveling in the spectacle as though it were entertainment rather than a fight to the death between children. Then Reika made her move.

Reid's breath caught as she charged at Victor, only for an explosion to send her crashing to the ground with a pained cry. Before he could even process what had happened, Evan stepped forward.

"That reckless child!" Director Shin exclaimed, one hand flying to her mouth. He clenched his jaw. More than anything, he wanted to grab Evan by the shoulders and shake some sense into him. Yet all he could do was remain trapped inside the helicopter, watching helplessly as Evan and Hiroto struggled against an A-rank criminal with no way to intervene. They barely managed to land a hit before the countdown reached zero. Krrk! Reid's grip tightened until cracks spread across his phone's screen.

Victor's explosion tore through Evan's right forearm. His brother collapsed to one knee, clutching the bloodied stump where his arm had been. Even then, a smirk remained on Evan's face as he continued exchanging words with the criminal.

"He truly is your brother," Director Shin muttered, rubbing her forehead. The situation changed quickly after that. Victor lost control of the crowd, Ryusei arrived to subdue him, and the nightmare finally came to an end. The moment the helicopter touched down, Reid rushed toward the hospital with Director Shin close behind. He ignored the staff members trying to stop him, leaving Director Shin to deal with them before pushing open the treatment room's door. He saw Evan lying on the hospital bed.

His face was pale, his right arm wrapped in bloodstained bandages, yet somehow he still wore that same easy smile.

"Evan!"

"Who are you? Only hospital staff are allowed in here!" the doctor protested. Director Shin entered the room behind Reid.

"Let him through. He's an A-rank Healer... and the boy's brother." Recognition flashed across the staff's faces, and they immediately cleared a path for him. Reid strode to the bedside, his expression darkening as he took in the full extent of Evan's injuries.

"Hi?" Evan said. The casual greeting only made Reid's frown deepen. Half of him wanted to scold his little brother, but he swallowed the words as he reached for the preserved forearm and carefully positioned it against the stump. The hospital staff began to protest, but Reid ignored them and channeled his Sacred Light. His eyes turned a brilliant gold as radiant energy flowed from his hands into Evan's arm and the severed limb resting beside it.

Golden light seeped deep into the wound, and the ends of the severed flesh began to glow. Bit by bit, bone fused together, muscles reformed, blood vessels reconnected, and skin knitted itself back into place. Gasps echoed through the room as the staff watched in stunned silence, while Reid remained wholly focused on the healing, carefully directing his power until the arm was completely restored.

Even then, he continued pouring healing energy into Evan's body, mending the bruises, cuts, and countless smaller injuries his brother had suffered.

"How does it feel?" Reid asked. Evan raised his right arm, flexed his fingers, then rotated his wrist a few times.

"Feels good."

"Great," Director Shin said. The moment the word left her mouth, she marched over to the bed, grabbed Evan by the ear, and gave it a hard twist.

"Ow, ow, ow! That hurts!" Evan yelped.

"It's supposed to!" Director Shin snapped.

"Your brother and I nearly had heart attacks watching what you pulled back at the stadium! Challenging an A-rank criminal? This wasn't some academy spar! You could've died!" Evan opened his mouth to argue, only to think better of it and quietly shut it again. Ignoring Evan's pleading look, Reid left the room and continued down the hospital corridor, where he found Hiroto standing outside another ward with his head lowered.

"Hiroto," Reid called. Hiroto looked up.

"Reid... you came. How's Evan?"

"He's fine. I've already healed him," Reid replied.

"Do you want me to heal your sister too?" Hope lit up Hiroto's face before quickly fading.

"Um... thank you, but Mom already arranged for a Healer to treat Reika's injuries." Reid nodded.

"Do you still have the Artifact you took from Victor Osborn?"

"Yeah. I think everyone forgot about it since it's been sitting in my pocket dimension, but I'm sure they'll ask for it eventually." Hiroto reached into his spatial storage and pulled out the bracelet.

"Mind if I borrow it for a moment? I'll give it back."

"Of course. It's not like I'm attached to it," Hiroto said, his expression darkening.

"Thanks." With the Artifact in hand, Reid headed to a vacant private room the hospital staff had prepared at Director Shin's request. Closing the door behind him, Reid turned around and channeled Sacred Light into his fingertips. In one smooth motion, he traced a glowing glyph through the air before the door. It lingered for a brief moment after the final stroke before fading into a thin veil of light that spread across the doorway, sealing the room from the outside world.

He then took a pouch of mana dust from his pocket and scattered it across the floor, forming an intricate ritual circle. Once the final line was complete, he placed the Artifact Hiroto had entrusted to him at its center. The instant his Sacred Light brushed against it, he could feel the lingering traces of demonic energy embedded within its very core. Reid brought both hands together in the prayer sign of the Church of the First Light and began reciting the invocation.

"Where shadow conceals, let Light reveal. Where lies linger, let truth endure. Show me the hand that wrought this Artifact." As the final words left his lips, he formed the Sign of the First Light and spoke Their divine name. The ritual circle flared brightly as Sacred Light flooded into the Demonic Artifact. Closing his eyes, Reid surrendered to the visions as fragments of memory surfaced before him.

He caught glimpses of the man whose demonic energy had saturated the Artifact: an older man in his forties with slightly graying hair and white-framed glasses. Reid opened his eyes. The Artifact now emitted a faint golden glow, while delicate strands of light extended from its surface, pointing unerringly toward its owner. After erasing every trace of the ritual, Reid left the hospital. Guided by the glowing strands, he made his way through the city.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. The barrier that had trapped everyone inside the stadium had been enough for Reid to realize a demonic arts practitioner was involved. Ryusei had captured the A-rank criminal, but there had been no reports of anyone else being arrested. That left only one conclusion: the practitioner was still at large. Reid hailed a taxi and followed the trail to one of the city's older residential districts.

The driver dropped him off in front of a worn apartment complex. After paying the fare, Reid glanced up at the building before stepping inside.

Pouring hot water into a cup, Kolten Lane gently stirred his coffee, the rich aroma filling the apartment he had rented under a fake identity. Through the window, the stadium remained visible in the distance, and he frowned as he recalled how effortlessly Victor had been taken down by that government mad dog. Kolten had expected far more from the mission, especially given the effort required to incapacitate the officers and staff at the stadium and maintain the barrier.

Then again, an S-rank was an S-rank, while Victor was merely an A-rank who had only recently been released from prison. It was embarrassing enough that the fool had even been wounded by two F-rank brats. With a sigh, Kolten reminded himself that none of it mattered. They had already accomplished their objective. Taking the cup in hand, he blew across the steaming coffee before taking a slow sip. Once the sun had set, he would leave the safe house and report the mission's success.

A faint smile spread across his face as he wondered what kind of reward awaited him. Knock. Knock. Kolten tensed and spun toward the door, dark flames gathering around his fingertips as he listened in silence. The knocking continued before a hesitant voice called out from the hallway.

"Excuse me! Your order is here!" Frowning, Kolten cautiously approached the door and peered through the peephole. Standing outside was a young man in a plain white T-shirt, staring down at his phone while holding a plastic bag filled with packaged Chinese food.

"Isn't this the right room?" the man muttered to himself.

"Hello? Your Chinese food is here!" A delivery driver? Kolten hadn't ordered anything. Had someone entered the wrong address? It sounded like the most reasonable explanation, yet something about the situation felt off. He briefly considered ignoring the man altogether before walking over to the window to survey the street below. There were no police vehicles or suspicious groups gathered outside the apartment building, although that hardly put him at ease.

If the authorities had somehow found him, they were more likely to be hiding inside the building than waiting out in the open, and he certainly didn't feel confident enough to simply walk out and test his luck. The knocking became louder.

"Hey! The app says I can't leave it outside the door! Are you there?" Kolten grimaced. If he kept ignoring the delivery driver, the shouting would eventually draw the neighbors' attention, and the last thing he wanted right now was unnecessary scrutiny. Opening the door seemed like the safer option. Even if it was a trap, he was confident he could eliminate any threat before it got out of hand. Unlocking the door, he opened it just enough to stick his head out.

"I didn't order anything. Go away." The delivery driver blinked in confusion.

"Really? But the app says Apartment 0810 in this building. This is actually my first time making a delivery, so... I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do now."

"I don't know. Someone must've entered the wrong address. Just leave and stop making such a racket." The young man looked down at the bag in his hands.

"But... what am I supposed to do with the food? Should I call customer support?"

"How should I know? Just le—" Before Kolten could finish speaking, the delivery driver's hand shot forward and grabbed his shirt before violently barging through the doorway, sending Kolten flying across the living room. His back slammed into the sofa with enough force to crack the wooden frame beneath him. By the time he managed to push himself upright again, the door was already shut, and the delivery driver was advancing toward him. Gone was the nervous, apologetic expression from moments ago.

An overwhelming pressure now radiated from the man, so intense that Kolten found it difficult to breathe. Realizing the man before him was no ordinary delivery driver, Kolten sent a continuous torrent of dark flames toward him, determined to reduce him to ash. Golden light spread over the stranger's body like a translucent veil. The black flames battered it relentlessly, but they could neither scorch nor penetrate the radiant shield.

As the torrent finally petered out, the barrier faded, revealing the stranger standing exactly as before, utterly unharmed. Kolten's eyes widened in disbelief at the effortless display of power. The man vanished from his sight, reappearing an instant later right in front of him. A single swing followed, then the heavy thud of flesh hitting the floor. Kolten's gaze drifted downward, his expression freezing as he found his severed right arm lying at his feet.

"Aaaaargh!" Kolten screamed as he swung his remaining left hand, now wreathed in dark flames, at the man. The attack never reached its target. The Demon Hunter caught his wrist with ease before tightening his grip. Under Kolten's horrified gaze, the bones in his arm crunched one after another, twisting unnaturally until his forearm bent at an impossible angle.

"Ueaaaghhhh!" Kolten desperately tried to pull away, but the man's grip was like iron. Thud! A fist buried itself in Kolten's stomach, driving every last bit of air from his lungs. He doubled over before collapsing to his knees as the Demon Hunter finally released his mangled arm.

"Stop crying. After what you did at the stadium, you should've been prepared to endure this much pain," the man said coldly.

"Anyone who dabbles in Demonic Arts should know better than to let themselves be captured by a Demon Hunter." Demon Hunter? Panic gripped Kolten's heart. Both of his arms were useless now, and after witnessing the man's speed, escape was no longer an option. The Demon Hunter seized Kolten by the face and hauled him back onto his feet.

"Tell me exactly what your group is planning. Don't insult my intelligence by claiming you're acting alone. A barrier on that scale, along with Victor Osborn's cooperation, couldn't have been arranged by a single person." Kolten wanted to answer, but he couldn't. The hand clamped over his face was so powerful that it felt as though his skull would cave in at any moment. Just as he thought the Demon Hunter was about to crush his head, a warm energy suddenly spread from the hand covering his face.

It flowed through his entire body before the grip abruptly disappeared. Staggering backward, Kolten looked down in confusion. His shattered left arm had been restored, while his severed right arm had somehow regrown as well. For a brief, bewildering moment, both of his hands were whole again. Slash! An instant later, both arms were severed once more.

"AAAAAGH!" Fresh agony exploded through his body as blood sprayed across the floor. The next punch slammed into his face, sending him crashing to the ground. His ears rang violently as blood poured from his nose, leaving him sprawled helplessly across the floor.

"That barely repays the pain you put my brother and everyone else through," the Demon Hunter said. Resting a foot on Kolten's back, he continued in the same calm voice, "Now talk. Who's your leader, and what's your group's plan?" Every thought of resisting vanished from Kolten's mind. Anyone capable of calmly restoring his arms only to cut them off again was completely insane.

"I-It's the Human Salvation Church!" he blurted out.

"I'm one of its members!" The Demon Hunter pressed his foot harder against Kolten's back.

"Go on." Kolten choked against the pressure but forced the words out.

"M-My orders were to help Victor Osborn create chaos at the stadium."

"For what purpose?"

"I-I don't know! I'm just a low-ranking member! I only followed orders!" Kolten cried.

"The leader never tells us anything. They just ordered me to help Osborn by keeping the Awakeners and police trapped outside. I only maintained the barrier!" His voice shook.

"I'm supposed to report back to Sunset Inn tonight. T-There's someone waiting for me there!" The Demon Hunter tilted his head.

"You know nothing about your leader?"

"Nothing! I swear! They always hide their face and never even speak to us with their real voice!"

"Then what is your church trying to accomplish?"

"W-We... we want to cleanse this world... of Awakeners. They're the ones responsible for the apocalypse." The Demon Hunter's lip curled in disgust.

"How ironic, coming from someone who practices Demonic Arts." Kolten's voice trembled as he begged, "I-I've told you everything I know! Please, spare me! I'll surrender to the police! I don't care if they throw me into the Special Containment Prison!" The Demon Hunter grabbed him by the throat and effortlessly lifted him off the ground.

Kolten's feet kicked frantically beneath him as his airway slowly closed under the crushing grip, his vision beginning to blur as black spots danced at the edges of his vision and panic overtook him. Was he really going to die like this? More importantly, what was this man thinking? Kolten was a civilian on paper. The moment his body was discovered, the police would investigate, and surely the Demon Hunter knew that. So why would he kill him here? Fwooosh!

Golden flames suddenly erupted from the Demon Hunter's hand, spilling over Kolten's body like a raging tide. They spread from his neck to his shoulders before steadily consuming him whole, their brilliant radiance illuminating the apartment.

"Aaaaargh! W-Why...?" Kolten choked out, thrashing wildly against the flames despite knowing it was useless.

"W-Why?! I... I told you... everything! E-Everything!" The Demon Hunter's grip never wavered.

"This is the punishment for choosing to become a practitioner of Demonic Arts," he said, without the slightest hint of sympathy.

"And for daring to lay a hand on my brother." The flames surged higher until Kolten was completely engulfed. His agonized screams echoed throughout the apartment as he kicked and struggled with everything he had, desperately hoping someone would hear him and burst through the door to save him. But no one came, and the only answer to his cries was the crackling of the fire consuming him.