Chapter 17: Chapter 17 - The Silver Hunters
Chapter 17 — The Silver Hunters
The moment the prophet finished speaking, the atmosphere inside Erald snapped.
Not emotionally.
Physically.
The air itself became heavy.
Oppressive.
Like invisible pressure descended across the entire village at once.
The three hunters remained perfectly still beneath the dark sky, silver masks reflecting the faint shrine light.
No anger.
No hesitation.
No emotion at all.
Honestly?
That made them far scarier than normal enemies.
Because people driven by emotion could be predicted.
These things?
They felt more like machines.
And that comparison unsettled me deeply.
Elena stood directly in front of me now, silver divine light flowing around her body in soft waves.
Her usually calm blue eyes had sharpened completely.
Battle-ready.
Dorian quietly moved toward the side of the square, subtly positioning himself near possible escape routes.
Smart man.
The prophet remained beside the shrine unmoving, silver eyes glowing faintly.
And me?
I was trying very hard not to panic while pretending I absolutely knew what I was doing.
The tallest hunter finally spoke again.
"Resistance is unnecessary."
His distorted voice echoed unnaturally through the silent village.
"We are authorized to perform containment."
God, I hated how calmly they said terrifying things.
Elena answered instantly.
"You hold no authority inside Seraphine’s territory."
The hunter tilted his head slightly.
"Incorrect."
And then—
the silver symbol on his mask ignited.
A pulse of strange energy spread across the village.
The moment it touched me—
pain exploded through my chest.
"Gh—"
I staggered backward instantly.
The blue divine core inside me pulsed violently like something trying to tear itself apart.
What the hell?!
Elena immediately turned sharply.
"Kaiser!"
The hunters didn’t move.
They simply watched.
Observing.
Analyzing.
The smaller hunter spoke quietly.
"Target resonance confirmed."
Target.
Wonderful.
Love being referred to like military equipment.
Dorian’s expression darkened.
"That’s anti-divine suppression."
The prophet nodded grimly.
"The hunters came prepared."
Prepared was an understatement.
My knees nearly buckled again as another wave of pain shot through my chest.
The blue energy beneath my skin flickered wildly.
Unstable.
Angry.
The tallest hunter stepped forward slowly.
"Your authority remains immature."
His silver eyes glowed brighter behind the mask.
"Submission prevents further damage."
I forced myself upright while breathing heavily.
"No offense..."
I coughed once.
"...but your recruitment strategy sucks."
The hunter stared silently.
Apparently humor did not exist within their operating system.
Elena suddenly raised her hand sharply.
Silver light erupted across the village square.
Dozens of glowing symbols appeared in the air around us instantly.
Magic circles.
Actual fantasy magic circles.
Honestly cool timing.
The saintess’s voice became cold.
"Leave."
The hunters observed the divine symbols calmly.
No visible fear.
That worried me.
A lot.
The woman hunter finally spoke.
"Lady Seraphine’s saintess engaging in hostile interference."
Her tone remained emotionless.
"Updating probability calculations."
What were they, walking calculators?
The prophet suddenly whispered near me—
"They predict outcomes before battles begin."
That sounded horrifyingly efficient.
Dorian frowned deeply.
"The hunters rely on probability divination."
Ah.
Future prediction nonsense.
Wonderful.
The tallest hunter looked directly at Elena.
"Current victory probability: 78%."
Elena’s expression didn’t change.
"Then your calculations are flawed."
And instantly—
the magic circles activated.
Silver light exploded across the square like dozens of lasers firing simultaneously.
The attacks shot toward the hunters from every direction at impossible speed.
The villagers watching from distant windows screamed.
I honestly thought the fight would end immediately.
Then the hunters moved.
Or rather—
vanished.
Three silver blurs disappeared from reality itself.
Every attack struck empty air.
What.
The next second—
BOOM.
A building behind us exploded apart.
Shockwaves ripped through the square while debris flew everywhere.
I barely managed to avoid getting crushed by flying stone.
The hunters had crossed nearly fifty meters instantly.
No teleportation circle.
No visible spell.
Just raw speed.
Holy crap.
Elena reacted immediately.
More silver symbols formed around her while barriers appeared across nearby homes to protect villagers.
The saintess clearly prioritized defense first.
Interesting.
The tallest hunter stood atop a collapsed rooftop now, staring directly at me.
"Containment authorized."
Blue pain surged through my chest again.
That anti-divine energy still interfered with my core somehow.
My authority felt unstable.
Like static spreading through electronics.
Wait.
Static.
An idea suddenly formed.
Terrible timing for experimentation.
But honestly that described my entire life recently.
The woman hunter appeared beside the tallest one instantly.
"No lethal damage permitted."
Interesting.
So they wanted me alive.
Useful information.
Dorian ducked behind broken stone nearby and shouted toward me—
"Kaiser! Your authority reacts unpredictably under pressure!"
Helpful.
Not immediately useful.
But helpful.
The smaller hunter suddenly raised one hand toward Elena.
Silver chains erupted from the ground beneath her feet.
The saintess reacted instantly, jumping backward while creating barriers around herself.
The chains smashed through stone like paper.
Definitely not something I wanted touching me.
Elena fired another barrage of divine attacks immediately afterward.
Again—
the hunters avoided them with impossible movements.
Not faster.
More efficient.
Like they predicted attack trajectories beforehand.
Probability divination indeed.
That was absurdly dangerous.
The prophet stood beside the shrine watching everything carefully.
Completely calm despite the destruction.
Honestly old prophetic people were built differently.
The tallest hunter suddenly looked toward me again.
"Your emotional state destabilizes your authority."
Yeah no kidding.
Pain plus attempted kidnapping usually affected emotions negatively.
The hunter stepped forward.
"Submit peacefully."
I glared at him.
"You guys seriously need better dialogue."
No reaction.
Tough crowd.
Another pulse of anti-divine energy erupted outward suddenly.
Pain slammed through my body again.
This time stronger.
I dropped to one knee.
The blue core flickered wildly beneath my skin.
Elena immediately noticed.
Her expression changed sharply.
"Kaiser!"
The hunters began moving toward me simultaneously now.
Coordinated.
Precise.
Like execution patterns.
My thoughts raced desperately.
Think.
Technology.
Synchronization.
Static.
Interference.
Wait.
Interference.
The anti-divine suppression worked by disrupting spiritual resonance.
Meaning their system depended on stable frequencies.
And technology systems back on Earth?
They constantly dealt with frequency manipulation.
Signal disruption.
Feedback overload.
My eyes widened slightly.
No way.
Could that actually work?
The blue energy around my hands flickered harder.
The hunters noticed immediately.
"Authority fluctuation increasing."
The woman hunter moved faster.
She appeared directly in front of me instantly.
Silver chains erupted toward my arms.
Instinct reacted before thought.
I raised my hand.
And imagined noise.
Not sound.
Signal noise.
Electronic interference.
Static overload.
The blue core exploded with energy.
CRACK.
A wave of distorted blue light erupted outward violently.
For one brief second—
the entire village square filled with screeching static.
Like corrupted radio signals tearing through reality itself.
The silver chains shattered instantly.
The woman hunter staggered backward violently.
Every hunter froze.
Their masks flickered erratically.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The anti-divine pressure vanished completely.
The pain inside my chest disappeared immediately.
Holy crap.
It worked.
The hunters reacted instantly afterward.
For the first time—
their movements lost perfect synchronization.
The tallest hunter stepped back sharply.
"Unknown interference pattern detected."
Static continued crackling around my hands uncontrollably.
The blue energy felt chaotic now.
Wild.
But responsive.
Dorian stared at me like I’d grown a second head.
"What did you just do?"
Honestly?
No clue.
But it looked cool.
The prophet suddenly laughed loudly near the shrine.
Not creepy this time.
Excited.
"The forgotten authority adapts!"
The hunters immediately repositioned themselves again.
But slower now.
More cautious.
Interesting.
The woman hunter studied the broken silver chains around her carefully.
"Probability calculations disrupted."
The smaller hunter looked toward me.
"Impossible."
I finally stood fully again while blue static flickered around my body.
My heart pounded violently.
Adrenaline mixed with divine energy in strange ways.
Honestly this probably wasn’t healthy.
But for the first time since the hunters arrived—
they looked uncertain.
Good.
Very good.
Elena stepped beside me carefully.
Her eyes moved between the blue static around me and the hunters ahead.
"What was that?"
I exhaled slowly.
"...Interference."
Not technically wrong.
The tallest hunter’s silver eyes narrowed sharply.
"The authority continues evolving during combat."
The prophet nodded proudly like this was somehow expected.
"Yes."
Her silver eyes glowed brightly.
"That is why the ancient gods feared Technology."
Cold wind swept across the ruined square.
The hunters became silent.
Then the tallest one quietly spoke.
"Threat classification increasing."
Wonderful.
Love hearing that.
The woman hunter suddenly looked toward the eastern mountains.
Then calmly said—
"We are out of time."
Interesting.
The smaller hunter nodded once.
"Additional divine signatures approaching rapidly."
Everyone froze.
Elena frowned sharply.
"...Lucien."
Dorian’s eyes widened.
"The Church of Eternal Light?"
The hunters immediately stepped backward.
Retreat posture.
Interesting.
Apparently even they preferred avoiding direct conflict with major churches.
The tallest hunter looked toward me one final time.
Silver eyes glowing beneath the mask.
"Containment delayed."
The blue static around my body crackled harder instinctively.
The hunter continued coldly—
"But inevitable."
And then—
all three vanished into silver light instantly.
Gone.
Just like that.
Silence fell across the destroyed village square.
Broken buildings.
Cracked stone.
Flickering shrine lights.
And somewhere beyond the mountains—
new divine forces approached rapidly.
