Chapter 100: The Hunter in the Dark

I fell on the cold ground, the heart in my chest suddenly throbbing with violent intensity.

It was like a frantic, trapped beast desperate to break through this cage of flesh and blood.

Ah… I understood.

The thing that began to pound as if answering a divine call was not just my heart, but also that dark contract planted years ago by the black mage who worshipped the Evil God—the Seed of the Evil God.

It had always haunted me.

To be honest, I had almost forgotten about its existence, yet the Seed of the Evil God chose this exact moment to assert its presence.

I confirmed it once more as a scalding, nearly explosive pulsation spread from my heart.

It was like a beaten war drum, urging the killing intent hidden deep within my soul with every beat.

Cold and profound mana began to seep out from within the seed.

It flowed through my numb limbs, re-injecting sensation into my stiff joints and sending a dangerous euphoria into my mind.

The contract of the Evil God, the impulse to fall—after many years, the shadow that had gradually faded in my memory descended once again tonight, at this very moment.

And the target was likely that elf.

I felt it with absolute clarity; it was some power contained within those gray pupils that first invaded our spirit and subsequently drew the gaze of the Evil God.

‘Tiya, Kritiya… are you still awake?’

I called out, but there was no response in the darkness.

Tiya had likely lost consciousness.

After confirming this, I slowly propped my body up, only then realizing with a delayed sense of awareness that a warm liquid was continuously seeping from the back of my head.

“I’m a bit dizzy, what’s happening?”

I reached out to touch the source of the pain and spread my fingers toward the cold moonlight; my palm was already stained a dark red.

A few strands of long, gray-white hair, dyed a pale pink by the blood, were stickily tangled between my fingers.

It was blood…

Perhaps it was because the mana was taking effect, or perhaps the impulse of the hunt had overridden the pain, but strangely, I didn’t feel much agony.

Only an uncontrollable desire for the hunt was frantically urging me, driving my body to take a step forward.

“Truly… doesn’t this make me a completely manipulated puppet?”

The unnaturally high killing intent washed over my reason like a tide.

There was no room for delay or hesitation; I immediately understood that no matter what, I had to prepare for battle.

Because she was attending the banquet tonight, Kritiya—or rather, I, who currently controlled this body—was wearing a formal scarlet gauze and silk skirt along with slender high heels.

They were symbols of elegance normally, but at this moment, they were fatal encumbrances.

Without hesitation, I kicked off those high heels that made my steps falter, standing barefoot on the cold, slightly rough ground.

Then, I reached toward the side of my thigh and pulled with force.

With a loud riiip, I tore a massive gash into the obstructive skirt, ripping it all the way to the knee.

I then took the torn pieces of magnificent fabric and twisted them into makeshift bandages, wrapping them layer by layer around the back of my head, which was still seeping blood.

I imagined my current appearance must be as wretched as a mummy crawling out of its grave.

However, my appearance was irrelevant; this was my only choice.

My bare feet stepped across the coarse pavement as I leaned over to pick up the exquisite hand crossbow that had fallen to the ground.

To bypass the patrolling guards, my figure slipped into the night like a shadow.

***

“Were you crazy just now? With so many soldiers around, you just stood there without running?”

“I was simply fulfilling my duty.”

The elf responded in a flat tone, his face as cold and hard as a tombstone.

To be honest, ever since taking this job and meeting this fellow, Nolan had rarely heard words other than “duty” or “mission” from him.

But what else could he do?

Nolan took a deep breath to steady his racing heart, then poked his head out of the dark alleyway to observe their surroundings.

“We’ve temporarily lost the guards who were chasing us.”

“This area is close to the Dock District; further ahead are the commoner streets of the Lower City.”

“The terrain here is complex and there are too many eyes; we shouldn’t stay long.”

“Once the guards are further away, we’ll do the opposite and circle back to the Upper City.”

“I have a place to stay there.”

“You seem very familiar with this place,” the elf suddenly asked.

“Um…”

“I told you, didn’t I? I have acquaintances here.”

“One of my teachers owns a shop in the Upper City; I studied with him in Romern for three to five years.”

Nolan answered casually.

“So the place you mentioned is your teacher’s shop?” the elf pressed.

“Yes… it is,” Nolan replied somewhat absently.

But in that instant, a flicker of doubt crossed his mind.

He had indeed lived in this city for a few years, but back then, he was either buried in his studies at his teacher’s shop in the Upper City or practicing in the outskirts.

When had he become so familiar with the streets and alleys of the Lower City?

‘Perhaps I passed through here occasionally and remembered it by chance.’

Nolan dismissed that hazy sense of familiarity as a coincidence.

Seeing that no one was around and the guards had moved off, he tugged at the elf’s sleeve and whispered, “Let’s go.”

“Cover your ears well and follow me,” Nolan turned back to remind him.

But the elf spoke again.

“Is that teacher of yours trustworthy?”

“The teacher isn’t in the shop recently, there’s no one else.”

Nolan glanced at him, as if he had already seen through his concerns.

The elf followed silently.

But after walking a few steps, he suddenly asked another question.

“But I heard that your teacher is Darryl, and you studied as a mage from the Southern Wetlands.”

“Yes, that’s my other teacher; he teaches me magic,” Nolan answered naturally.

“What of it?”

“In the eyes of elves, a person having two teachers signifies greed and betrayal,” the elven warrior’s voice was as cold as iron.

“Is that so… unfortunately, I am not an elf.”

“And Teacher Darryl can’t really be considered a pure elf either,” Nolan’s tone was calm.

“A human’s life is too short, so we must constantly learn within our limited time.”

“We learn to read when we are small, and learn crafts when we grow up.”

“In a school, there are more than a dozen teachers taking turns to pass on knowledge in different fields.”

“School…” The elf narrowed his eyes.

Nolan suddenly remembered that the elven race had no schools, so he quickly explained.

“It’s—a place where a large group of people gather together to exchange and pass on knowledge and skills.”

“Well, I’m just speaking off the top of my head.”

“I’ve actually never been to school, but my younger sister is currently studying at the Knight Academy in the Royal Capital; she would probably know more about it.”

“I only have one teacher, and he is currently trapped in the dungeons of you humans.”

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

The elf spoke coldly and then stopped talking.

But perhaps because he had just mentioned his sister, Nolan’s thoughts felt like an old diary blown open by the wind.

“Sister—you understand that word, right?”

“You elves have normal siblings too; you should know what a normal brother and sister are like…”

“Sigh, even though I’m talking your ear off about this, the truth is I haven’t seen her in many years.”

“I only occasionally receive a letter during the holidays telling me she’s safe.”

“Ever since she went to the Royal Capital for school, she became different from how she used to be.”

“Or… maybe she’s actually always hated me?”

“That time, she left without a word to train in the Royal Capital with her mentor.”

“I chased after her alone, sleeping in the wild and asking everyone I could find, and I finally managed to find her.”

“But what happened? What did I do?”

“She left home and traveled far with her mentor; I actually didn’t mind all of that.”

“I originally just wanted to confirm that she was doing well, but somehow, the words that came out turned into reproaches.”

“I finally managed to see her, and yet we ended up in a massive fight…”

“Then I turned away in a fit of pique and left her there all alone.”

“Hmph.”

As they walked forward, the elf let out a low, noncommittal grunt, while Nolan continued dejectedly.

“Looking back now, I was in the wrong far too often.”

“Ever since we were kids, I never realized how she truly felt.”

“It’s only natural she hates me.”

“Things reaching this point is probably my own fault…”

“Even the letters I receive occasionally aren’t written by her.”

“They are written by a friend of hers at school—her name seems to be… Alya?”

“Anyway, she hasn’t contacted me herself again.”

“She must be tired of me, this incompetent brother. She probably wishes I never existed.”

“Alright… I’m running my mouth again.”

“Look—”

“That’s the place. We’ve arrived.”

Nolan pointed toward an unremarkable building ahead.

“Magic Goods shop. My other teacher’s shop.”

“We can hide here for a while.”

Nolan led the elf quietly to the front of the shop and pressed his hands onto the brass magic lock in the center of the door.

Following the path of the preset magic circle, the surface of the lock began to glow with a faint, flickering light.

The elf stood to the side, silently watching this craft belonging to the human world.

“You should find your sister and have a proper talk with her.”

The elf suddenly spoke, his voice still flat, but it made Nolan’s heart stir.

He turned back with a look of pleasant surprise.

He had finally captured a trace of “human” warmth in this elf’s words—one that transcended duty and mission.

Indeed, Nolan had always believed that these seemingly trivial but warm human emotions were the true bridge to crossing barriers.

With a soft click, the magic lock disengaged.

As Nolan pushed open the door, he felt greatly encouraged by the elf’s rare opening of his heart.

The smile starting to form at the corners of his mouth hadn’t even fully spread when his gaze inadvertently lifted.

His entire body froze in place.

In the shadows within the doorway, a pitch-black figure stood as still as a statue.

“Ngh!”

At the moment of entry, there was no time to react at all!

A silver light shot out from the shadow’s hand.

Nolan felt a sharp chill brush past his ear, bringing with it a gust of cold wind.

“I actually have a sister too. Her name is Hill; you should have seen her.”

The elf’s words had barely faded.

“Thwack!”

The silver light accurately buried itself in the elf’s throat, blooming into a striking flower of blood.

Nolan watched with wide eyes as this elf—who had a sister and had just been planning to talk about family—suddenly clutched his neck with both hands.

His eyes were round with disbelief as he staggered a few steps and then fell heavily to the ground.