Boom!
"Th-They are coming! Watch out!"
"Shit! I have only repaired my house a week ago!"
"Will we survive tonight?"
"Hey, kill that cynical motherfucker!"
"S-Sorry, chief!"
Boom!
Enjoying the cacophony from the outside inside our hotel room, we ignore the shaking wall that looks like it is going to crumble at any given moment. We don't know what is happening outside and we don't wish to know.
Bothering to figure it out is the same as showing a desire to help. We just want to enjoy our stay in this cowboy town without attracting much attention, so we won't help the people fight whatever abomination disrupting the tranquility of the town.
Boom!
"Wow…that was loud," Millonia remarks.
"Rather than loud…that hit the room beside ours!" Lunea exclaims as she looks at me and Millonia, who is leaning on me on the bed, in bewilderment. "We might die! Can't you both show some worry? How can you eat cookies like nothing is happening? Also, why are you eating cookies on the bed!?"
From the looks of it, Lunea is more concerned about the cookie crumbles falling onto the bed rather than our safety. She must know we are safe but she doesn't want to let her guard down because of how…rowdy outside is.
"Relax. At times like this, it is better to shut your ear and enjoy yourself in your self-made, peaceful world. You see, just like the time when your parents argue with—"
Boom!
"…each other."
"Kyaa! The wall!"
My expression darkens when I turn to look at the hole in the wall near the window. It is just a couple of inches away from me, which means I had almost got blasted away by some bothersome creature I don't even know how it looks.
Clicking my tongue in annoyance, I tell Millonia to get off me before getting out of bed. I put on my mask under the girls' wondering look and then jump out of our room by breaking through the wall.
Thud!
When I land on the ground, I immediately attract people's attention. Even though they have a weird creature before them, they still find my entrance more bewildering—very weird of them.
Turning my attention away from them, I observe the mummy-looking creature; it is just as scrawny but has charred skin and glowing, vermilion veins, which are something normal mummies don't have. They have a lot of Mana but they can't seem to utilize it. A useless creature, I say.
Taking out my daggers, which I received from Valeria, I dash at one of the closest creatures. The people nearby are too afraid to face it; instead of attacking it, they distance themselves, allowing it to get closer to buildings nearby.
When I appear before it, I hear the men shout, "No, boy! Don't do a thing to that bastard!" They sound like I am about to put all of us in danger.
Their horror is amplified when I pay no heed to their warning. I stomp my urge to slash the creature, though; I hit it in its stomach with [Death Blow]. When it is sent into the air, its stomach explodes, as it should. At the same time, however, its unutilized Mana circulates.
In the next moment…
Boom!
It explodes like a firework. Now, I know the reason why the men were worried or why these creatures do nothing with much Mana in their bodies.
"What are these things?" I ask as a man approaches me. He is the old man who claimed he was still virile before the girls and I entered the town.
"What the heck were you thinking, kid? You were lucky that you didn't cut it. Had it been the case, you would have been blasted to pieces!"
Instead of paying attention to the chastisement, I look around to see how the people are fighting against the creatures. None of them can utilize Magic well, so pushing the creatures away or luring them into a certain place is the only thing they can do.
Boom!
Most of the time, they fail, letting the creatures explode near the buildings they want to protect. Each body part of the creatures is explosive; their hands, feet, and heads will fly away when their bodies explode, damaging buildings within the vicinity.
"Oi, Kid, are you listening!?" the old man who has been chastising me for the past fifteen seconds grabs my shoulder as he tries to grab my attention.
I put my hand on his wrist and then pry his hand off my shoulder. "I understand your concern but trust me when I say I can do a better job than these creatures in erasing this town off the map."
I turn my head to the man and find him looking at me in terror. "I…I am…sorry," he stammers as he sweats coldly. I don't mean to scare him but I don't like it when someone grabs me suddenly like that. It reminds me of the time when I used to get trampled by those bastards.
"Do they come often?" I ask, to break the ice.
"Huh? Yeah…in a month, they will come at least twice," the man answers.
"Where do they come from?"
"Usually, there." The man points to the south. "Somehow, though, they came from the west tonight, which has many sand mountains."
"On the south…that is where the Mana Vein is located, isn't that?"
"Yeah. These creatures are what we called Lost Soul; the Mana Vein is the reason why they even exist."
"The Mana Vein creates them, huh?" I mutter to myself as I gaze at the west. "Well, I think I am going to investigate."
"Huh? Investigate?"
"My girls will help you take care of these Lost Souls." I look in the direction of my room and then motion for the girls to come over. "Ah, don't stand in their way. They don't care whether you are allies or enemies, those who ruin their fun will face doom."
As the man gulps his saliva in dread, I dash to the west. None of the Lost Souls pays any mind to me; even those standing in my way do nothing as I pass them.
From the man's explanation, I realized something: someone is herding those creatures to the town.
Why am I so sure? You may ask. The west, according to the man, is full of sand mountains. Creatures like that prefer easier paths, so they will turn around to find another path when they encounter such difficult terrain. The Lost Souls managed to pull through it and it is only possible because they received help from someone.
I don't care if someone is having a grudge against the whole town but I can't stand someone involving me in their scheme, which is why I am seeking him. I meet the culprit not long after and he is not alone.
There are five of them but the number of people didn't manage to surprise me…
"We have been waiting for you."
…the fact that their target is me since the beginning did.
"Ho-oh? Interesting."
"We bear no grudge toward you and please, do understand we are just doing our job."
"Bounty Hunters working together? I know who will betray you first." I smirk as I plant the seed of doubt in their hearts. "Ah, how amusing it is to see people preparing to backstab—"
Swish!
My attempt to water the seed of doubt is interrupted by one of the Bounty Hunters. He swings his dagger at my neck; failed to nick it but managed to prevent the seed of doubt from sprouting. He is a bright guy. He knows that the seed grows quickly.
I swing my dagger in return but the guy is quick enough to retreat. My dagger only managed to nick his armor but it is already enough to terrify him.
Since I already know they are targeting my life, I don't waste any time. I kick the ground and charge at them, immediately swinging my daggers as soon as I appear before them.
They team up against me, so I can't focus on one person. They are fairly strong too, so I cannot defeat them merely with techniques. There is no need to give my all, still, so I decided to experiment. Gathering Mana in my fists, I use [Death Blow]. I am curious about what effect it will have on my swing.
Clank!
Boom!
When my daggers clash against the sword of one of the Bounty Hunters, he is immediately blasted away by the impact. He coughs out a mouthful of blood soon after, so I can safely say his internal organs have ruptured.
'Now that I think about it, I rarely mix my Skills, don't I? Why don't I explore the possibilities with these guys?' as I muse about it, I use [Wave of Death], which I haven't used for quite some time. Swinging my daggers at the Bounty Hunters, I surprise those whose weapons clash against my daggers.
Boom! Boom!
Three explosions hit the two unlucky Bounty Hunters consecutively. The first one throws them off their feet, meanwhile, the second and third ones roll them up like sticks devoured by sea waves.
Much to my amusement, they die after receiving that attack. I haven't tried everything I want to try yet, so their death is slightly upsetting.
Luckily, though, I still have the other three Bounty Hunters as my experiment subjects. As I turn to them, they immediately backpedal in horror.
"You are not supposed to hunt shadow, you know?" I smile serenely; they can't see. "You are only presenting yourself to it. Shadow will devour you."
No sound comes out of their mouths but the scent of terror they are emanating is very thick as I appear before them.
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