Chapter 46: Chapter 46- Punishment
Chapter 46- Punishment
*CLING* *CLING*
"Die!!"
Cipha rushed to the side as she dodged several fireballs raining down on her. At the same time, another Hunter attacked her from the side. Her sword shifted as she deflected the attack and pushed the man away before turning around and sending a lightning strike toward the other before he could ambush her.
Then, she immediately tried to escape, only to be chased by the Hunters. Her eyes looked left and right rapidly amidst the chaos. The battle was shifting rapidly, and she was trying to keep up. She had killed four Hunters on her own using her wits and technique. It had gained her a lot of power and even made her rank up, finally.
However, that power boost, as much as it helped, wasn’t enough to fight this many Hunters when she was already running low on Essence and had some serious injuries covering every part of her body. She was bound to weaken and fall.
That was what the Hunters used as they closed the distance and attacked ruthlessly. As a last measure, Cipha turned around and coated her blade in lightning before she deflected the attack. The man froze in place as he felt the energy rush through his body. Then, Cipha shoved her leg into his stomach, pushing him away.
"Hah... Hah..."
"You aren’t going anywhere!"
As she tried to turn around and dodge the attack coming from behind her, her exhausted body was a tad bit slow.
*BANG*
"Agh!"
Cipha was thrown several feet back as she rolled on the ground. Her face and body were covered in mud and ashes as she shook and stood up. However, suddenly, she felt a foot stomp on her back and push her down. She tried to resist it, but the man didn’t let her go.
"You had fun killing us. Did you really think we won’t catch you?" He asked. Cipha stared to the side with her cold eyes, sending shivers down his spine.
With blood and mud covering her face, Cipha appeared terrifying. Like a demon coming from the depths of hell. The look she gave him was not something a person her age should possess.
’W-What the hell is wrong with her?’ He clenched his teeth, feeling humiliated that her look intimidated him that much. Then, he shook his head and aimed his sword at her neck.
"Your fun is done. Go to hell." He said before he lifted his sword and swung it down, ready to sever her head.
*Swish*
However, at that moment, out of nowhere, a silhouette appeared to his side. The man’s eyes widened as he tried to look to the side, right as he felt his side getting bent abnormally.
*BAAAANG*
He was sent flying dozens of meters in the air before he slammed into a tree, breaking several bones on impact.
"Zen..." Cipha muttered as she saw the person she was waiting for appear next to her. Not even for a second did she doubt that he would come back.
"Are you ok, Cipha?" Zen said as he helped her stand up. Just a look at her condition made his blood boil, and his anger rose to a completely different level.
"I’m fine... It’s just... Zen... What happened to you?"
The boy was completely different, and she could tell immediately. For instance, his aura was far stronger than ever before. His body was also far more robust, and he was... taller?
How the hell did that happen in just a few minutes?
"It’s going to be fine. I have killed Kaiser." Zen said. "These bastards will face the same fate. I will make sure of it." He said with a chillingly cold tone. His sword was leaning on his shoulder. "Can you wait for me here?" He asked.
"... Yeah..."
"I want you to help the chief try to retreat with the injured Wood Folks. As for these bastards... I know what I’m going to do to them."
"How are you... going to-"
"Fight them? Don’t worry, I have just gained the biggest prize of all, Cipha. They hold no chance against me."
"..." Cipha saw the light in his eyes, and she realized that whatever happened in that temple.... It can only be one thing.
"You bastard! Where the hell is the boss?!"
"Your boss?" Zen asked as he looked at Cipha and then signaled for her to move. The girl nodded and then turned around and started running. "He got a taste of his own medicine. I gotta say, his corpse was charred really badly."
"..."
"..."
Just hearing that made the Hunters look at one another. Then, they exploded into laughter. "Charred? You? Hahaha, you’re funny, kid. Escaping like a coward after he chased you and now you want to pretend like you did something. You’re very stupid."
"..." Zen didn’t laugh with them as he simply brandished his sword and started walking toward them very slowly. The group stared at him and then at one another as he closed the distance.
"Hah..." One of them finally scoffed and summoned a fire before he threw it at Zen with all his power. The fireball shot through the air at horrifying speed and reached him quickly.
"Boom." The man said with a wicked smile on his face. However, at that moment... The fireball suddenly bounced off Zen and flew back toward him.
*BAAAANG*
The fire hit him before he could react and caught him.
"AAAAAAH! AAAAAAH!!!"
He tried to fight the fire, but it quickly started eating him alive. The rest watched with eyes so wide open they almost shot out of their faces.
"HELP ME!! HELP ME PLEASE!!!! IT DOESN’T WANT TO STOP!!!" His cries snapped them out of their daze as they rushed to try to kill the fire.
"Huh? Why is it not stopping? What the hell? Ouch!"
"The fire isn’t listening."
"I’m not sure... What the hell did you do to him?"
Zen looked at them with a smile before he shrugged. "I don’t know. Maybe your Divine Fire isn’t divine after all."
His words made them snap as they stood up. "Get that bastard. He won’t leave this place alive."
They all attacked at the same time... All three of them. However, suddenly, Zen disappeared out of sight.
"Huh?"
’So fast!’
Looking to the side, they saw his sword swinging like a flash. They had seen him move; he was not this fast, not even close. Everyone was taken by surprise. Before they could realize it, one of the heads flew off the shoulders. Zen ignored the fountain of blood as he rushed toward the next one.
"Die!!!" The second panicked as he swung his sword down, trying to catch Zen off guard. However, shockingly, the moment his sword got close, it bounced off and hit him square in the face.
"AGH!!!" He held his face in pain before it got instantly cut off with insane efficiency. The two dropped to the ground... dead. It all happened in a split second, and only one was left.
He stood there, in sheer horror at what he had just witnessed. Zen’s eyes were looking down before they shot to him. The man’s legs buckled as he tried to retreat, and he fell to the ground.
Zen started walking toward him.
"You killed innocent people... Tried to steal their holy relic... Burnt this beautiful forest to the ground... However, I would’ve overlooked all of that had you not done one thing. I would’ve spared your pathetic lives if you begged me. However, begging won’t save you." He said as he reached the man and stomped his chest down, staring down coldly.
"You hurt my wife. Your punishment is death."
"Heeee!! Please!! Please wai-"
*Swish*
