Chapter 53: The Attacker, Vasquez

At first, I thought the monstrous bird that stole the egg along with my backpack was just acting on instinct.

But that wasn’t it. The monstrous bird was dominated by this man, lost its will, and stole the egg.

“What kind of bastard… no, what kind of person are you…”

Calming my excitement, I spoke carefully.

“Huh? You don’t know me? That’s disappointing.”

The man slightly opened his half-closed eyes and made a disappointed face. Disappointed my ass, how the hell would I know who you are?

‘So that’s how you’re going to play it, huh.’

He probably thought he’d make me guess.

Well, I can vaguely guess.

He must have come to take back the egg.

From the fact that he approached targeting the egg from the start, I can tell. This man is highly likely connected to the Transfer Mage.

Too obvious.

‘…Hmph.’

The Earth Dragon said it. That it was dominated and killed all the lifeforms in the dungeon against its own will.

—Murderer!

—You killed them!

As I recalled the Earth Dragon’s words, phantom voices suddenly began to ring in my ears.

But those voices weren’t directed at me. For some reason, that’s how it felt.

‘What does it feel like to kill a person.’

It was a question I wanted to voice out loud.

I didn’t see any corpses in the dungeon where the Earth Dragon was. I couldn’t see any traces of bone fragments or powder either.

But one thing I’m certain of is that Demon Beast wasn’t one to lie.

The one who dominated the Earth Dragon is right before my eyes right now.

If I hadn’t encountered the monstrous bird and the man had tried to brainwash me out of the blue, I would still be in the stage of suspicion.

But I did encounter it, and the monstrous bird blatantly stole the egg. At first, I thought it was just its nature, but it wasn’t.

‘It didn’t make sense. The monstrous bird’s movements weren’t those of a D-Rank Demon Beast.’

It was fast and agile enough to dodge my Fireball twice.

Even Marcel, who’s mastered high-speed movement, can’t dodge my Fireball.

It was this man’s doing that created those movements. That’s why I can be certain.

This man is the same person who brainwashed—dominated the Earth Dragon.

And what that means is.

This man is highly likely an ally of the teleportation mage.

He sensed us who subjugated the Earth Dragon, and the teleportation mage sent this man to eliminate us.

“…You’re pretty quick for your size.”

The man, who had rested the iron club that struck the ground back on his shoulder, speaks.

For Awakened Ones, supernatural abilities are the most important weapon. Even though that weapon didn’t work, his voice is filled with leisure.

From that attitude, I could tell.

That this guy isn’t a Hunter of ordinary skill.

And.

…That he didn’t enter the D-Rank Gate just to close the Gate, but came blatantly targeting us.

—!

In an instant, the man’s body vanished from my field of vision. I didn’t even hear a sound.

My dynamic vision can track even Marcel’s high-speed movement. Yet I lost him.

Naturally, I’m not that surprised.

…I was a bit surprised earlier that a D-Rank Demon Beast dodged my attack.

But come to think of it, that was this bastard’s trick, so it’s invalid, isn’t it?

Yeah, that’s right, it’s invalid. It’s because this fucker pulled some unnecessary trick.

If so.

‘Then I’ll make you pay the price for pulling tricks.’

Brace yourself.

* * *

The Hunter who tried to dominate Verdi with his ability, Vasquez, was certain.

That this girl was the Hunter who had subjugated the Earth Dragon under his control.

Vasquez’s ability is Dominator’s Thread.

He can cast an invisible thread onto a living creature and manipulate the target at will.

A living being dominated in that way shares a portion of Vasquez’s power.

Even a D-Rank Demon Beast, the moment it shares his power, gains combat power rivaling an A-Rank Demon Beast.

That’s why the monstrous bird was able to evade the Fireball Verdi fired.

Yet the monstrous bird under his domination was subjugated in an instant.

And in a D-Rank Gate, only one step above the lowest-rank at that.

…Unbelievable. That’s why.

No matter how small and fragile the girl before him looked, he had no intention of going easy.

Vasquez’s acting was smooth, and he naturally approached and cast his domination.

Whether it was to avoid meeting his eyes, the girl clumsily lifted her cloak to cover her face, but it was a futile effort.

After all, the reason Vasquez kept his eyes half-closed from the start was precisely to exploit such openings.

And so, with a smile curling at the corner of his mouth, he cast his Dominator’s Thread.

“…Huh?”

It’s not working?

It didn’t take effect. He kept trying to dominate the girl with his Dominator’s Thread, but every time the thread neared her, it bounced back as if blocked by something.

He flinched at the sight, something he’d never seen before, but it didn’t lead to panic.

As a Hunter who had traversed countless battlefields, he had anticipated that something like this might happen.

He pulled out the iron club hidden inside his clothes and swung it at the girl without a moment’s hesitation.

CLANG!

But his iron club struck not the girl’s crown, but the ground.

“Don’t make that face, young lady. I’m pretty surprised myself right now.”

Vasquez said, furrowing his brow.

His physical abilities were at a level where calling an A-Rank Hunter ‘mediocre’ would be fitting.

He possessed a level of mobility one step higher than the high-speed movement they typically mastered.

And yet she dodged it…

‘Luck…?’

She could dodge once, maybe.

That’s what he thought, but.

CLANG!

Vasquez’s iron club struck the innocent ground once again.

Only then was he certain.

‘This kid isn’t an ordinary Hunter.’

She instantly subjugated the monstrous bird he controlled, and even his Dominator’s Thread didn’t work.

On top of that, her movements were comparable to, or even faster than, his own, which surpassed high-speed movement.

Vasquez didn’t hesitate when assessing value. This girl was simply S-Rank.

‘What a pain in the ass.’

He quickly scanned the surroundings to find the vanished girl, but her figure was nowhere to be seen.

‘In that case.’

Vasquez closed his eyes again. His hearing was superior to most people’s.

So sometimes, he could even hear things others couldn’t.

But Vasquez’s calm expression twisted in mere seconds.

‘…I can’t hear anything?’

There was no sound to be heard. Only the sounds created by nature reached his ears.

Then, after a few seconds, an artificial sound finally began to be heard.

‘Found you, young lady.’

The corner of Vasquez’s mouth lifted slightly.

The moment he turned his body toward the sound.

A blaze.

A scorching blaze had somehow closed in right before Vasquez’s nose!

“What…!”

Even the great Vasquez was startled by the sight.

When mage-type Hunters use magic, they must recite an incantation.

Yet not a single artificial sound or the sound of chanting a spell was heard.

But Vasquez had no time to think about how she had activated the magic.

The intense heat dried his lips, and sweat began to flow.

First, he had to dodge that blaze. So he tried to quickly escape from that spot.

But he couldn’t.

CRACK—

Because his feet had already merged with the frozen ground.

‘Is this even possible?’

In that instant, or perhaps even faster than that.

Vasquez’s ears hadn’t caught the sound of freezing.

Likewise, the incoming blaze made no sound of burning.

And above all.

He hadn’t heard the incantation needed to activate these two spells.

‘To think I’d be cornered like this…’

The situation he was in was, literally, life or death.

The scorching blaze was closing in, and even though he tried to dodge, his feet were frozen solid and he couldn’t move.

Anyone could see the situation was heavily in the enemy’s favor.

Yet, even in such a situation, the corner of Vasquez’s mouth lifted slightly.

‘Looks like I’ll need to get a little serious.’

Of course, he hadn’t let his guard down from the start. He had never underestimated his opponent.

He just hadn’t shown his true self.

Vasquez tossed the iron club he was holding aside like trash.

What he then pulled from his bosom was a small dagger that looked utterly pathetic compared to his physique or the iron club he had been holding.

He swung that dagger toward the blaze.

WHOOSH—!

Then the blaze split left and right and died down, and at the same time, the ice binding his feet shattered.

A lifeform granted Vasquez’s control ability can share a portion of his power.

An ability that, by sharing just a fraction of his power with a D-Rank Demon Beast, makes it rival an A-Rank Demon Beast.

In other words, the fact that he had awakened the Dominator’s Thread was proof that his physical abilities were monstrous.

“I’m surprised.”

He wore a sly smile, but Vasquez was genuinely taken aback. He never thought he, an S-Rank Hunter, would need to get serious for the first time in a while. And in a D-Rank Gate, of all places.

‘Better to nip dangerous buds in the bud.’

Vasquez’s gaze subtly turned toward one spot.

There, he was able to meet a gaze directed at him.

Vasquez flashed a smile toward that gaze.

The moment that gaze flinched at his murderous smile—

Vasquez’s form vanished.

“There you were.”

Where he then appeared was behind Verdi, who had been hiding behind a tree.

* * *

‘Found me, huh?’

It was Stealth Level 4. The second time after Claire. And back then with Claire, it was Level 3. At Level 4, I’m confident even Marcel in his prime wouldn’t notice.

But that man saw through my stealth in an instant. And he casually nullified a Level 7 Fireball and Frost Nova on top of that.

At that point, there was no need to even think about what level this man was.

‘Must be S-Rank.’

When he first asked who I was, I finally understood why he looked so disappointed.

He was genuinely let down that I didn’t recognize him, an S-Rank Hunter! Sorry!

But now wasn’t the time for apologies. The man’s eyes, now open, were quite murderous.

He was definitely smiling… but that smile was ominous. Should I say it felt like he had a firm will to kill me?

The reason wasn’t because I didn’t recognize him… no, of course not. He must have noticed I took down the Earth Dragon he was controlling.

A person’s shadow loomed heavily over my head.

It was him.

This time, I was the one backed into a corner.

Yet the emotion I felt was relief.

‘Good thing it was me who ran into him first, not Deneb.’

If Deneb had been first, that idiot would have been taken down before she even let out a breath.

Just as I let out a snort at the thought—

“There you were.”

“…!”

The moment Vasquez revealed himself, he swung the knife in his hand in a wide arc.