Chapter 32: D-Rank Hunter (Not), Yoschua Verdi

“If you admit defeat peacefully, I’ll withdraw my sword.”

‘Oh…’

The moment I saw Marcel’s sword wrapped in blue flames, two feelings hit me.

First, it looked damn cool!

A sword wreathed in blue flames — that’s no ordinary fire.

I used to be a guy, so stuff like this still stirs up some romantic fantasy, you know?

And blue flames like that look way hotter than ordinary red ones, right?

Second.

Those blue flames rising from his sword weren’t something you could achieve with just short-term effort.

I could tell how hard he must’ve worked in the past to get stronger, to climb higher.

So.

So it felt such a waste.

His talent, abandoned even though he could still grow more.

At this level, he could be a core member of an A-Rank Gate party right now.

That’s why I deliberately spat out words I didn’t mean, just to provoke Marcel.

“Is that…”

Looking straight into Marcel’s eyes.

“…really all you’ve got?”

Acting isn’t that hard.

“A-Rank Hunters really have low standards.”

I just repeated what I used to say back in the day.

‘Ah, was that too harsh?’

After saying it, I had that thought and covered my mouth without meaning to.

“You…”

I cautiously turned my gaze toward Marcel and saw his eyes wide open.

Well, looks like it worked as intended.

I could feel the rage packed into that single word, “You…”

“Don’t regret this…”

With that, Marcel swung his sword in a wide arc.

WHOOSH—!

The blue flames shot toward me, as if to swallow me whole.

Seeing that, a bitter laugh escaped me at the thought that came to mind.

‘You’re really pissed. What if I were just an ordinary D-Rank Hunter?’

If I were, I might’ve actually burned to death in those flames.

Then you, Mr. Marcel, would’ve become a murderer.

—Murderer!

…Ah, fuck, why did that shitty word have to pop up again?

My poor word choice stirred up a gloomy feeling.

Murderer, right… You don’t want to become a murderer, do you, Mr. Marcel?

Anyone with normal values wouldn’t.

Same for me. I never committed murder in the first place.

—You killed them!

You all just decided I killed them on your own.

Why won’t people believe what I say?

‘…You bastards.’

Calm down. Calm.

Times like this, I need to cool my head.

Cool it, right… Maybe I’ll use Ice Element magic this time.

[ Ice Element — Frost Nova Lv.7 ]

Incantation… yeah.

“Freeze.”

That should be enough. I can’t be bothered to think anymore.

Sometimes I wish there was a fixed incantation.

Memorizing and reciting an existing phrase is way easier than naming things myself. I’ve got no sense for naming.

The moment I reached out my hand and activated Frost Nova.

The flames that had been raging to engulf the entire Boss Room, including me—

*CRACK—!*

Froze solid in an instant.

The Boss Room, once filled with scorching heat, turned icy cold in just one second.

“Hoo…”

As I exhaled, cold breath leaked out from the effect of Frost Nova.

‘How long has it been since I last used a Level 7 attack spell?’

Come to think of it, after my body changed, I hadn’t used any Level 7 magic except for Mana Shield.

I couldn’t exactly cast magic on par with S-Rank Hunters in front of others.

Of course, Mana Shield was an exception.

It’s insurance for my safety, and I hate pain.

“H-How…”

As I was thinking that, a trembling voice reached my ears.

Marcel was staring at me, his face pale blue.

From head to toe, every part of him was shaking.

*THUD.*

In the end, his legs gave out and Marcel collapsed on his own.

“That’s impossible… Even S-Rank Hunters admired that technique…”

His trembling voice didn’t make it to the end.

It seemed he was deeply shocked that his signature technique had been completely nullified.

“No way… S-Rank…?”

Whether he was muttering to himself or asking me.

I wasn’t sure, but instead of answering, I just curled the corners of my mouth into a smile.

“No, that can’t be. A little girl like you can’t be S-Rank…”

“That’s right.”

Watching him ramble incoherently to himself was truly pitiful.

So I answered him.

“The person you were facing is just a common D-Rank Hunter.”

That’s not true, though.

The person you were facing is a former S-Rank Hunter wearing the mask of a D-Rank Hunter.

But I can’t say that.

“Th-That can’t be! With skill like this, you’re D-Rank?!”

“Don’t deny it. I’m telling you, I’m a D-Rank Hunter.”

“R-Right. You’re not S-Rank. A-Rank! You must be A-Rank…!”

He doesn’t listen.

And to think I was originally an S-Rank Hunter, only to be downgraded to A-Rank in his mind.

Well, let him think what he wants.

That’s not what matters right now.

“For an adult, that’s a pretty ridiculous line of reasoning. You can’t stand losing to a Low-Rank Hunter, so you’d rather believe I’m A-Rank like you? Too bad. I am, without a doubt, a D-Rank Hunter.”

I held out the Artifact on my wrist and showed Marcel my Hunter credentials.

It clearly stated D-Rank Hunter.

And the evidence doesn’t stop there.

“You know that, don’t you?”

“Know what…!”

“That I recently achieved Rank Advancement to D-Rank.”

Marcel’s face showed a flicker of realization. He must have thought I caught him investigating me through the guild. But I’d known all along from the start.

“Mr. Marcel, you’re pathetic. An A-Rank Hunter losing to a D-Rank one.”

“…Ngh.”

At my provocation, Marcel only twisted his expression, unable to get up from his spot.

“Why won’t you stand? Don’t tell me you’re planning to admit defeat to a D-Rank Hunter?”

“Don’t talk nonsense…!”

As I kept prodding him, Marcel used his sword as a crutch and barely managed to lift his trembling body.

“That’s right. The moment a rumor spreads that an A-Rank Hunter lost to a D-Rank one, your reputation will plummet into the abyss.”

“You little bastard…!”

Marcel, cursing under his breath, adjusted his stance.

*Tat!*

Then he kicked off the ground and charged at me.

Using high-speed movement, he closed the distance in an instant and swung his sword rapidly.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

But not a single one of those consecutive slashes touched my body.

Found an opening.

“Yah.”

When Marcel swung his sword wide and left an opening, I shot a kick into the gap.

My kick, enhanced with a speed spell, was fast enough to rival his high-speed movement.

*Thump!*

It landed squarely in Marcel’s abdomen.

…I hope I didn’t break any bones.

“Kugh!”

Letting out a groan, Marcel’s body flew through the air for a brief moment before crashing down.

“V-Verdi…”

Deneb, who had been watching from behind, called my name with a worried voice, so I quickly adjusted my expression to show I was fine.

“Should we continue the duel? Looks like it’s over to me.”

“…”

No answer came back.

So he’s not giving up yet? He’s got some grit.

*Step, step.*

Step by step, I slowly walked toward where Marcel had fallen.

When I was about five steps away.

I heard a heavy sigh.

And then.

“I admit it…”

A tone of resignation.

“I lost…”

‘Already?’

Turns out Marcel had no grit after all.

Well, a quick admission saves me from wasting any more energy, so that’s convenient.

Still, I wasn’t in a very good mood.

“You gave up too quickly.”

All I did was block his flames and dodge a few slashes.

And I wasn’t even going all out yet.

I mean, if I had used my full strength, this would’ve been over long ago, but I’d hoped he’d at least struggle to the end.

“I know from experience. I know that clinging to the impossible is foolish… It’s frustrating, but you— no, you are stronger than me.”

Marcel, having admitted defeat, spoke formally again.

*’Experience, huh…’*

From the looks of him, Marcel didn’t seem that old.

My life before possessing this body, my life as Verdiol, and my current life, short as it is.

If you add all three together, I’ve probably lived nearly twice as long as Marcel, haven’t I?

This young guy is already going on about impossible things.

I felt sympathy when I heard his story, but seeing him like this makes him look even more pitiful.

Can’t be helped.

Marcel is a party member who’ll be with us for a while.

Maybe I should give this poor loser some encouragement to help him get back on his feet.

“If you set your limits like that, you’ll never rise higher.”

“Ironically, unlike you, I am not such an outstanding Hunter.”

“I’m still D-Rank, you know.”

“With that level of skill, you could climb much higher. Perhaps even to S-Rank…”

“That’s not true.”

The moment the word S-Rank left Marcel’s lips.

I cut him off and spoke.

“You could have gone higher, so why did you give up? I actually think you, Marcel, have the qualifications to challenge being an S-Rank Hunter.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“Marcel, you looked into me, didn’t you? Don’t try to hide it.”

At my interrogation, Marcel, still lying down, nodded heavily.

“I also did a bit of research on you, Marcel.”

“…Yes?”

Marcel’s eyes went wide. His face clearly showed he was wondering how I’d found out.

Of course, I can’t tell him that. And honestly, I don’t even know how Mr. Luca got the information.

“How I found out is a trade secret.”

“…”

I wasn’t sure if his silence was an admission, but I continued what I was saying.

“If you hadn’t given up and kept swinging your sword, maybe I’d be the one lying here defeated right now?”

“…I didn’t give up because I wanted to. Do you remember the Dark Moon disaster?”

I quietly nodded.

Marcel told me everything he’d experienced in the Dark Moon, holding nothing back.

Most of it matched the information Mr. Luca had gathered.

Marcel said he felt two emotions during the Dark Moon incident.

One was the helplessness of facing an insurmountable wall.

“Before the Dark Moon, I was nothing but a frog in a well. I devoted my entire life to swordsmanship, but I realized that even after all that, I couldn’t compare to an opponent on a much higher level.”

And the other was the fear of death.

“When Apollo’s sword was aimed at my throat, I thought I was going to die.”

Apollo. It’s been a while since I heard that name.

Apollo of the Dark Moon. The name of the boss of the S-Rank Gate, Dark Moon.

A humanoid Demon Beast with black skin and a large talisman on its face, like a jiangshi.

The number of High-Rank Hunters killed by Apollo was too many to count.

I was no different from the other Hunters. I was pushed back one-sidedly.

Even now, thinking about it gives me chills. If Moonlight hadn’t come, I might have died back then too.

“After that, fear took hold. I became afraid of going into dungeons. The fear of not knowing when I might die… I wanted to live rather than die. The comrades who were with me probably didn’t notice, but I slipped out of there like a coward and survived.”

“So that’s why you chose to go through Low-Rank Gates, despite being an A-Rank Hunter. Or you volunteered to be a porter?”

I already knew all of this, but I spoke as if I was hearing it for the first time.

“…That’s right.”

Marcel confirmed it in a tone full of shame.

Without a word, I walked over to where he was lying.

His face was streaked with tears.

It was such a pathetic sight that the words “This is an A-Rank Hunter?” almost slipped out.

But instead of mocking him, I actually felt sympathy.

Because I know exactly how Marcel feels right now.

——It’s all my fault… Because of me… people died. I was too reckless… I should have stopped them…

…I don’t know why I said that, since I wasn’t the one who killed them.

Anyway.

Just like I had, drunk and buried in my bed before finally coming out.

I wanted to help this pathetic, lying A-Rank Hunter get back on his feet again.

“Marcel.”

I lowered my stance.

“Party up with us. This time, I’m formally asking.”

And I spoke to the pathetic bastard, his eyes full of tears, as I held out my hand.

“A party… come to think of it, you did make that offer at first…”

Marcel’s gaze turned to me.

His eyes were all puffy and swollen.

Somehow, that sight reminded me of myself from before.

“I’ll help you get back on your feet.”

I don’t tell lies. So I’ll make you a promise.

So take this hand, Marcel!