Shadow Slave

The Huntsman was so dangerous because he ruled the forest like a stealthy predator. He moved unseen and attacked from the mist and darkness, picking off his victims one by one. He also seemed to know the value of intimidation and mental pressure, displaying the mutilated corpses of his victims on the branches of the ancient trees for everyone to see.

Or maybe skinning corpses simply spoke to the abomination's aesthetic sensibility. In any case, his human enemies often faced him already shaken and rattled, which was a deadly poison for anyone going into battle.

Rain knew that he was approaching the creature's lair because she saw a human skeleton hanging in the trees, its bones cluttering against each other in the wind. Her expression darkened.

However, she wasn't shaken. She wasn't rattled, either. Her mind was much too strong to be poisoned by fear — instead, fear only sharpened it.

'...I'll need to bury them properly after everything is over.'

She shivered — not because of the morbid scene, but simply because she was cold. The battle would warm her up, though, so it was alright.

Every time an Awakened cohort ventured into the forest, the Huntsman was in no hurry to attack. Sensing the threat presented by a group of experienced Awakened warriors, he stalked them silently or retreated into his lair, waiting for the night to come. Then, when impenetrable darkness shrouded the world, his own hunt would begin.

Rain was not a cohort of Awakened warriors, so she was pretty sure that the demon would not wait to attack her. It was for the best — she knew that if she failed to slay the enemy before nightfall, her chances of survival would drop to zero.

And yet, the Huntsman had not shown himself yet.

What was he waiting for?

She frowned, then glanced at her shadow.

"Could it be that the demon is afraid of you, teacher?"

A calm voice resounded from the darkness:

"It is highly unlikely. I am very hard to notice when I'm hiding in the shadows. There is a much simpler explanation, don't you think?"

Rain nodded.

after all. He simply had not

that she had to rely

doesn't want to welcome

was going to have to announce her

the smell of blood and smoke permeated the

***

And yet, there was a presence — a dangerous presence moving through the forest, somehow

which she had honed through dozens of hunts, was telling

forest intently. Even then, she was only using her peripheral vision to observe it — many Nightmare Creatures could sense when a gaze was directed at them, so she knew better than

to notice a

'The frost...'

was as though someone heavy had walked past, leaving footprints on the

'He's... like a chameleon.'

transparent, as if distorted by heat. But how could there be heat in this frigid cold? No, the almost unnoticeable

and prudent, but not as prudent and

and had no other choice but to remain

so many Awakened were defeated by

Chalice Knight was a

about that strange ability of his in advance. She had talked to the members of the cohorts who had ventured into the

was why she had

feeling the

battle-ready mind entered

That state...

angry at her teacher for how vague and confounding his explanations about the

combat was murder, and every action she took in combat only served one

However, once Rain truly understood