Day before the hunt.

  “Reporting for duty, sir!” The recruit exclaimed with a sharp and snappy demeanor while saluting at the hunting party leader, Luther Aima-Venator.

  With just a glance at Luther, you could already tell he is a veteran in this line of work. Though he was not that old, he was only in his 30s; however, the scars all over his body were a lot to consider him a veteran.

  Luther scanned the recruit with his sharp eyes. Judging by his expression, he wanted to test out the recruit before letting him join the mission. Luther was strict when it came to the selection of a member to join his team. Though this was his standard, he couldn’t do it because it was the final decision of the current patriarch of the clan. The recruit was the current patriarch’s only son, his cousin.

  Luther lets out a sigh. “I can see the full confidence in your eyes, but there is also arrogance within. You may think that it is just a walk-in-the-park mission. But always remember that hunting magic beasts is not as easy as you think. It may pay a lot, but the risk on this job is fairly high. So always think of it as your last,” Luther said.

  However, the recruit didn’t pay attention to Luther. Arrogance? Yes, there it is. It was busy charming the two lasses directly behind Luther with his captivating eyes. Well, the recruit was fairly handsome. The ladies couldn’t stop smiling at him.

  Luther was shaking with anger. He wants to smack the recruit's head with its irreverent act, but then a chilling voice arises from the corridor that connects to the practice ground.

  You're the recruit, then? He said as he approached the group gathering at the Aima-Venator Clan's training ground. It was Payne. With broad shoulders, a terrifying expression, and a height of at least two meters, he halts and stands near the novice hunter, Jefferey. Looking up at the behemoth standing right in front of him. The novice hunter can't help but swallow dryly. The prevailing atmosphere in the neighborhood rapidly dispels his arrogance.

  “Stop that brother. Stop teasing the recruit.” Walter, his twin, walks out from the same direction Payne came from to stop his brother from making fun of the recruit anymore. Though his appearance is not as intimidating as his giant twin brother, his gaze is like a sharp blade that cuts at any time.

  “Eeeek!” The recruit senses a terrifying dread from the twin. The two ladies of the party stood up for the recruit. “Stop it!” said Jenny, glaring at the twins with his pearly, beautiful greenish eyes while puffing her cheeks. It looks cute, though. She looks like a princess. Her blonde hair matches the color of her eyes. Ava, the other beauty in their party, walks toward Payne in a catwalk manner, showing her curves as her black hair waves. Place her palm on Payne’s stone-hard chest. “That is not how we treat recruits,” Ava said with a smile on her beautiful face. Shifting her gaze from Payne to Walter.

  “It was just a jest.” Walter grinned as he spoke. Raising both hands, showing defeat at Ava’s display of the power of her beauty.

  Luther enjoyed the scene, observing the team slowly accepting the recruit, though it was not a perfect party. He always cherishes every moment with his members.

  “Let's move out.” Luther said.

  On their way to the gate.

  “Boss! Wait!”

  Kilner was running towards them and called out for them. The group stopped right at the gate and waited for him. Kilner was one of the members of the team. But he was on leave to prepare for his wedding.

  “What are you doing here? Luther asked. “You're supposed to be on leave.”

  Kilner grinned while scratching the back of his head, and his narrow eyes became even thinner than usual. He looks embarrassed to speak to Luther. Kilner slowly opened his lips and conveyed his words.

  “Hehe… Boss, can I join the mission? I had already spoken with the patriarch about this, and he permitted me; all I need is yours. I’m quite tight with my budget because of the wedding. I need some extra; there is something I want to buy for her.”

  Luther wears a smile on his face. “Of course, going on a mission without an essential team member makes a difference," he said.

  “Thanks boss!”

  Right after he gave his reply, Payned locked Kilner’s neck with his brawny arms while teasing him. “You rascal, you should have told us if you need extra gold coins.”

  “Hahaha… I’m sorry; I feel embarrassed to ask you guys,” Kilner replied with a cheery expression.

  These complete the hunting party for the magic beast. To sum up, the mission's captain is Luther. Jefferey and Payne will be the vanguard. Ava, Jenny, and Walter will be the support. Lastly, Kilner will be the tracker.

  ***

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  Grrrr!

  The creature was growling. Breath out some fog.

  Kilner's eyes widened as the creature slowly opened its jaw, showing the canine that could pierce even a sheet of iron. Shivering from fear from looking up close at the creature, the face of her fiancee flashes before his eyes, walking down the aisle of the church while he waits at the altar. But the thought of not getting out alive plays inside his mind.

  Is this where his thread of life breaks? Kilner slowly retreated backward.

  “H-h-h-how the hell is that thing here? This place was no home for magic beasts, stuttered words came out from the newbie hunter as he held the pup in his hands.

  Grim expressions were slowly showing on their faces. The hunters sense the magical aura that the creature emits. The cheerful atmosphere they had after completing the mission changed into terror. Luther was the only one who was still calm at the moment. Of course, he should be; he is the captain of this mission. Showing fear in front of his subordinates would only crumble the chance of their survival in this situation.

  “Don’t get intimidated. Remember all of your training!” Luther exclaimed, trying to calm his men with his words. Though he boosts their spirits, he cannot shake the fear nesting in the hearts of his men. After all, this is the first time his team has encountered a magic beast at this level, but not for him. Before he assembled the team, he always hunted magic beasts alone; that is how he got those scars on him.

  An arrow hurtling toward the creature. Without waiting for a command and just following what his instinct was telling him. Walter shot an arrow imbued with mana. Aimed at the creature.

  Boom!

  The explosion reverberates through the sanctuary, shaking the whole structure. The good thing is that the structure was well made even after not being maintained for a long time. If not? Then, they all had been buried already. Pebbles scattered at the aimed area, and smoke rose from it.

  ‘Was it a hit?’ Walter asks in his mind.

  As the smoke cleared out, there was nothing on the ground. Only the stuck arrow and the creature were nowhere to be seen.

  “Hahahaha… I think you blew it all, brother, even the fur,” Payne said. “It was nothing; it's just a pile of meat.”

  “Phew!”

  Jenny, Ava, and Kilner heaved a deep breath of relief, lowering their guards, knowing that the creature got obliterated with Walter’s arrow. However, Luther, the captain, frowned at the moment. Catechize the situation. Was it over? Was the creature that weak?

  “That scares the hell out of me,” Kilner said.

  But all of a sudden, a fountain of blood began to spray from one of the hunters standing at the rear side of the group; the hunter was standing without a head. Jenny’s head fell to the ground, rolled, and her lifeless body toppled down with a thud. They just lost their healer.

  From Jenny’s perspective, she was anxious about why she was looking at them from the ground, and then her sight went black. Her eyes lost their life.

  Aaaah! Ava cries out and trips off with her feet. Her beautiful face turned pale with a despairing expression all over it. She just lost her close friend right in front of her.

  “Fuck! What the hell is going on?” Walter grumbles.

  Trying to grasp the situation. Another head rolls to the floor. A headless hunter kneeled on the other side from where the first corpse was. Blood flowed out like a fountain. His fate ended just like the first one. This time, it was Kilner who was standing near the exit.

  The creature canceled his wedding.

  “You’re not getting out of here alive; all of you will die here,” the creature remarked coldly.

  “Get up, Ava! And get in defensive formation!” Luther barked.

  Notwithstanding her mid-despair, she picks herself up and joins the others in a defensive formation. Of course, she still wants to leave and get revenge for Jenny and Kilner's death.

  These hunters are well-trained and prepared for this kind of situation. Hunting magic beasts is their expertise and their way of living. However, this time is different. They are no longer the hunter but rather prey for this creature.

  “Fuck! Jenny and Kirnel are already dead.”

  “This isn't your typical mystical beast.”

  “How is it possible for a magical beast to speak human language?”

  Payne, Walter, and Ava muttered to each other.

  “Watch closely and broaden your senses!” Luther exclaimed with a hard expression on his face.

  “Where the fuck is this thing?” Payne muttered.

  Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!

  A fast-moving shadow encircling the hunters redundantly. It was too fast for their eyes to follow. Freaked out from the creature's words and the speed it displays, Walter steps out several meters from the formation and shoots arrows.

  Tew! Tew! Tew! Tew!

  “Damn you!” Walter cries out while shooting magic arrows with his bow. Release his magic arrow with a fearsome speed. However, it was not fast enough to hit the moving target. It hit nothing but the walls and stone ceiling above them.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  The temple is reverberating with constant explosions. As debris begins to fall from the area, a dense haze develops.

  “Stop! You fucking idiot, you’re going to bury us all,” Payne yelled.

  Walter stops shooting more of his arrows. The words of his brother reach his ears. Regaining his sanity to gauge their situation.

  As the smoke starts to clear and the moonlight brightens the temple more, the hunter with a bow starts to spout blood. Walter slowly gazed at his chest. A hand with sharp claws pierces his torso through his back. Walter’s foot hung from the ground. Walter was shivering in pain. He grabbed a knife from his waist and tried to stab the creature’s hand that impaled him. At least. He wants to wound it before he dies, but he never does so. His breath left him before he got the chance to do it.

  Walter had a more painful death than Jenny and Kilner.

  The four remaining hunters found themselves in shock. A man in a white dress with ears and a tail resembling a wolf unfolded right before their eyes. Its hand was impaling Walter’s body and staring at them, regarding them with disdain. Walter’s body fell face forward and hit the ground as the creature retrieved his hand from being stuck at the lifeless buddy.

  Thud!