Chapter 7: AKAME GA KILL (4) - Danger Beast Hunting
Amid the vast snow, the sun shone down from the sky onto the light blue-haired girl while she dragged a three-meter-tall blue lizard-like creature on a very large basket tray. The creature's neck was slashed by a dagger but it was still alive. As the creature has a valuable gem inside its belly that will lose its value the moment it died, she has to capture it alive.
'Finally, got two of them.'
Esdeath thought to herself happily as she smiled. Since yesterday she was busy rescuing that 'foreigner' so she decided to spend more time hunting today, to hunt down two beasts. One more for the one lost yesterday.
It was about noon now. A few hours past the deadline she had planned, but It was a worthy trade-off in her opinion.
The girl began to tie the ropes to the beast close to the other one from the same race and slowly dragged them toward the village at a slow pace. Keeping in mind the distance and weight of these two beasts, It would take about two hours to reach the village.
While traveling, Esdeath thought a little about what happened yesterday. A rather strange yet memorable day compared to others, all because of the man she saved who was an outsider. Because of him, the elders of the tribe started to act more modestly while some act more vigilance instead as if they didn't like the man's presence very much.
Ever since Esdeath was born, she had been living in this village. Even adults like her father had never traveled beyond the Northern Region. Because they are in charge of controlling the population of Danger Beasts in this region.
Apart from 'hunting' and 'surviving in the Northern Region,' the girl was rather clueless. Therefore, deep inside her heart, she wanted to know what's it like outside the North.
The entire yesterday, she couldn't find a chance to talk to that person at all. Part of that is because when she planned to approach, Instead, she saw the scene of the young man cursing himself and crying silently. Due to that, Esdeath didn't say anything apart from introducing herself.
'Hopefully, I can talk to him today, I'm dying to know what's out there beyond the north!'
The girl pondered over yesterday before raising her head and looking straight ahead with determination in her eyes. Her legs unconsciously started to move faster than before.
However, while she was dragging the beasts through the cold snow, the ground shook as if there was an earthquake. Esdeath felt so as she lowered her eyes, looking calmly at the trembling ground, to observe and thought of the possibility before her eyes widened in shock.
'The Frost Dragon... I need to get out of here quickly.'
Even though the girl had never seen it with her own eyes, she had heard well about its infamy. The Frost Dragon had a huge body ranging from five to ten meters. Not only is it fast despite the size, but It also has very strong and durable scales. It can even travel underground to ambush its prey, although it's not really stealthy as the ground would shake like an earthquake. Still, it was considered a very dangerous and annoying Danger Beast from what she heard from her father.
The girl thought so before trying to sense the direction of this thing's movements. so that she can avoid that path. After realizing that she wasn't the target, the girl then tried to look in the direction that it was moving towards.
Although it was difficult to see due to the relatively long distance, the young girl saw a human. A woman who was fighting with two Danger Beasts, surrounding her were the remains of three Danger Beasts of the same group scattered about.
'So the Frost Dragon was planning to steal them.'
The girl speculated as such before she hid herself and observed the situation. It wasn't long after she saw the woman's movement and fighting styles with her curved blade that Esdeath realized who the person was.
'Big Sis Elizia? …b- but wasn't she supposed to look after...'
Recalling her father's conversation with Elizia this morning, Esdeath remembered that she was tasked with taking care of 'that guy' today. The girl was very shocked to see her here and began to have a look of concern.
'Don't tell me that guy is here? This won't do...'
Esdeath thought so and was thinking of making a move to help. Although she was confident that Elizia, her 'teacher,' would be able to fight a couple of beasts and probably the Frost Dragon too. She didn't dare to take the risk. The girl immediately ran straight forward without a sound. But not long after, the girl stopped her steps as she watch the scene before her.
One of the beasts was hit by an arrow into its throat with such force and precision that the flesh in its throat was split in half, revealing the scales behind it, and blood gushing out, dying the snow red. Seeing this, Esdeath tried to look at the source of that long-range attack and then caught a glimpse of 'him.'
'It seems... I was worrying too much.'
The girl chuckled before sitting down and gazing in the distance from the corner, watching the battle with astonishment as she wondered what 'he' could do. Esdeath felt very guilty for mistaking the foreigner as 'weak' when he was actually 'strong' and capable of being a 'hunter' just like her.
_____________________________________
An hour earlier.
After Sol left the village with Elizia, the only thing he did was follow Elysia who was leading him to her so-called 'personal hunting ground.'
Along the way, the two of them didn't talk much. In part, it may be because they haven't reached the place yet and the girl is simply not talkative. But if he had to guess the reason, it was probably because of those insults exchange earlier. However, Sol did not feel any guilt at all and did not intend to apologize in the slightest.
The young man smirked as he recalled her embarrassed face again. Elizia who coincidentally turned around to look at him saw it too. Thus the image of the tanned young man became even more negative in her eyes. She was very much regretting the whole time for accepting this task.
Speaking of the task, Elizia took the opportunity to ask the man. As she planned to explain the information about the Northern Region hunting ground.
"By the way, have you ever hunted a Danger Beast before?"
"Nope."
As soon as Sol heard that question, the young man suppressed the smile on his face and answered Elizia truthfully. Hearing the answer and seeing the expressionless on his face, the woman believed that Sol's words were true. before promptly asking the next question.
"Have you ever hunted anything?"
"…Nope."
When Elysia heard that answer She had a slightly surprised expression on her face but continued to walk as she pondered. Although he did not seem to be lying. hearing that this muscular young man had never hunted gave the young lady a slight shock. Though it might just be the fact that the two grew up in different places, in different circumstances. So it wasn't to the point of impossibility.
"Have you ever shot an arrow? Since you brought them here."
"…Ah, I actually shot an arrow before."
When Elizia heard such a momentary hesitant answer, Her expression immediately became more tired. The reason was not that she didn't believe him but rather she did believe him.
"So you really are one of those young lords from the capital huh, just like the chief said, right?"
"Did my answers really sound like 'young lord's answers?"
"Not just 'sound like,' it just is."
The woman straightforwardly replied to the young man who was scratching his head and laughing dryly.
'Maybe the Chieftain and I were just overthinking.' Elysia thought to herself as she recalled her conversation with the Chieftain last night. before giving a quick warning to Sol.
"Think of this as a first-time experience then. Just follow my lead, Don't do anything dangerous or stupid without consulting me first, Do you understand?"
"Ahuh."
Sol replied briefly as he draped his scarlet bow, originally holding with his right hand, onto his left shoulder, effectively carrying both the bow and arrow holster together. While Elizia turned back to look at the path and kept on navigating. After ten minutes, they finally arrived at the location that Elizia had planned.
They were stationed behind a large rock on high ground, about ten meters above. Making it easier to scout the surrounding area while having a cover to hide, a great spot for long-range attacks.
"Now, let me see the arrowhead."
Elizia said as she lowered herself to cover behind a bush as large as a large rock. As for the young man, he bent down to set the bow off his shoulder. and pulled out an arrow he has taken from the camp to hand it to the woman.
"I'm gonna guess that you only bring this type of arrow?"
"...yep."
Hearing Elizia's tone, Sol feel like he was hit by a hook punch in the middle of his stomach. It was like she implied that he should have picked up multiple types of arrows to prepare for multiple scenarios. —Or at least that's what Sol thought.
"No need to feel bad or anything, it was my mistake for not preparing both of us well enough." Said, Elizia before she signed.
"Luckily. This thing can pierce those 'Springer' scales... I guess you don't know them either. So let me explain further." Her gaze was on the arrowhead before she glanced up at Sol and continued.
"Springer is one of the most common Danger Beasts found in this area. It's a giant lizard with blue scales that are very tough but can be penetrated if hit on the right spot with the right tool, such as your arrow. However, the black plates that were attached to its head and tails can't be penetrated by your arrow. It's simply too durable."
The woman explained before she pointed her finger on the back of her head, implying where the black plates were located on the Springer.
"When aiming, aim at its throat. It is the beast's major weakness. or if you can't shoot there, try to shoot at the back of its neck, If you hit that same spot three times over, it should be enough to knock it down… Our goal is to cause it to be severely wounded in a near-death state. Transport it back to the village, and dissect the gems in it."
"Since it's your first time hunting, Today we will just hunt two. Got it?"
"Got it."
Sol replied to Elizia before the girl handed the arrow back to him. He took it back and put it back in the arrow holster. After that, he sat quietly, waiting for Elizia to continue speaking while opening the system to look at his own status.
< Sol (Lv.3)
Title: World Drifter, King of Knights' Favorite [Increases all stats by 20% when near 'Knight' and 20% more when near 'Knight of the Round Table,' Every servant named Artoria Pendragon will see you as an ally.]
Strength: 2.2 (-)
Endurance: 2.6 (-)
Agility: 2.8 (-)
Mana: 5.6 (-)
Luck: 33 (C)
Original World Power: 0 (-)
Personal Skill: Driving B+, Martial Arts (Fake) C, Storyteller C-
Servant Skill:
Hunter of Uri B [Heroic Costume 'William Tell'], Aiming EX [Heroic Costume 'William Tell'], Bow and Arrow Creation A [Weapon 'Scarlet Bow (Arash)'], Imperial Privilege A [Caligula], Roar of the War God A+ [Penthesilea]
Noble Phantasm: N/A
Stat Boost Points: 0 pt.
Money: 1,000 g. >
"How good is your aim?"
"Probably very accurate."
Elicia asked while Sol quietly read his own status, to which he replied truthfully based on the Servant Skill he was seeing. It was as if he had thought in his head and said that.
"Probably very accurate…?" In her entire life, Elizia never thought that she would hear such a confident yet unsure remark. to the point where she was repeating the answer unconsciously to digest it again.
"So, do you think you shot accurately?"
Sol, hearing that question, nodded back. Seeing this, Elizia hesitated for a moment before finally sighing and choosing to trust the young man's answer.
"Okay, then let's do it like this…"
____________________________________________
After consulting the plan together. Sol and Elizia sit silently waiting for the surrounding prey to emerge. The two of them did not talk at all after that, causing the atmosphere to be quite tense. Although he wanted to say something to lighten up the atmosphere, something in his head suppressed that thought. So he continued to wait in silence.
While the young man was beginning to feel sleepy, his lurking gaze caught a glimpse of something in the distance. The man made hand gestures to signal the woman and spoke softly to let her know what he saw.
"Five are coming."
"…Which direction?" The woman immediately put her head out and look around but she saw nothing but the pure white snowy ground.
"...West, Probably? In the same direction as that mountain, Pretty far from here."
Sol, who heard the question, calmly replied while pointing his finger. Elizia followed, taking ten seconds to finally see the five beasts he had mentioned. She was quite surprised, Not because Springers showed up since this is their area but because Sol could see them from here. She could only barely see it, as they were basically a dot from her point of view.
Elizia guessed that it would take another ten or more minutes for them to reach here. The woman was sure of one thing, the tanned man next to her had very good eyesight. And it wouldn't be strange if he was actually good at archery.
"I'm going to hide under that log there as planned. When I give the signal, I'll handle the three on the front, you handle two on the back... Don't shoot if you risk hitting me. If your arrow hits me, I'll stab you."
Elizia turned her gaze back slightly at him with her last sentence. Sol who turned back and saw the gesture of the woman like that, was a little shocked. He could feel that this sentence wasn't just a throwaway line but an actual threat unlike before when she threatened to gouge out his eyes several hours ago.
'She must have gotten hit before, I'm pretty sure.' the young man thought to himself while smiling sheepishly.
After she had finished speaking, Elizia hurriedly moved. She sprang herself up and ran straight ahead with such speed and agility that it looked extremely inhuman. Seeing such a move, Sol suddenly made a serious face. and then lowered his gaze to look at both of his hands.
'This is the first time after I fought Saber Alter... Can I do it? Last time I got help from the System with Heracles Full Set which raise a lot of my stats, but this time my stats simply sucks, I basically have nothing but Servant skills and weapons.'
The young man thought in his mind as one hand lifted a scarlet bow and stared at it indifferently.
'But looking on the bright side, It's just a long-range ambush this time, from a relatively safe distance too. The only thing I have to think about is to shoot the arrows as accurately and as hard as possible. …but how accurate it is, I'm still not sure.'
He turned around and tried to find a more suitable spot for aiming behind the rocks which took some time until he finally found the best angle. It's the spot that will give him a full view of the area, or at least better than the current one, while also working as a great hiding cover. So the man quickly made his way there.
If there is a disadvantage, it would be that it is located on a very rough slope. If he take the wrong step, He will fall onto the small snowy ground below about five meters high, and if he was unlucky to fall from there again. He would fall from a height of several tens of meters onto the many rocky ground below. By then, his corpse would definitely not be pretty.
'This is pretty intense.'
The young man chortles as he almost reached the spot and stepped on the ground which felt strangely unstable, but he didn't care. In part, if the ground he stood on actually collapsed, Sol was confident that he could run back in time. When he was a stuntman, he had filmed a scene where something similar happened before.
Although he had already known that the ground was going to collapse at the time. So it's kind of different from the current situation. But still, you get the idea.
Let's just say that the young man was just fooling himself. The real reason was that he didn't have time to find any better angle to shoot left by the time he reached this spot. Because now the five Springers had already entered a more visible range. If he popped his head out of the shelter now, they would be able to see him as well.
The young man watched quietly, with one hand pulling up an arrow from an arrow pouch that Sol had placed on the ground for easy picking so he wouldn't need to reach for it from behind his back.
From the distance that Sol could see, the Springers were currently some distance away from Elizia's position. It would take several minutes for them to reach her spot before they started to follow the scent that she had scattered like a decoy, catching them in her trap. After that, Elizia will give him the signal and Sol must shoot an arrow at one of the Springers to create a panic in the group. This will, in turn, give Elizia an opportunity to strike them.
The thoughtful young man glanced at Elizia, who was slightly extending her hand towards him and clenching his fist as if giving a signal to wait. His gaze peeked at her for a moment before returning to the Springers who had begun to move in after the bait.
Now the Springers are moving towards Sol's direction with Elizia hiding to the left. If he popped his head up, it would definitely be seen by them. Thus, the young man had spent the previous several minutes finding an angle from which he could shoot even under the cover. He placed his bow flat, parallel to the ground, with the rocks as a stand. similar to a crossbow but still held in the form of a bow.
Sol brought up the arrow before he began to pull it lightly to force it, aiming it at the neck of the last Springer, which had no black plates whatsoever. A clear weakness, according to Elizia, but with the distance that, even though it's better than the first time he spotted them, is still pretty far away. The size of the Springer's neck that he saw was so small that it was almost invisible.
If it's the normal Sol, There would be no chance of him landing that shot. With this distance of maybe a kilometer, It was just as impossible as when his gaze landed on the five beasts from several kilometers away earlier. However, with William Tell's Aiming Skill, which was at the EX rank, he was able to create this miracle.
Sol felt a thought or something popped up in his head and his body reacted to it accordingly. It was not his idea, but his body followed without hesitation. It was as if someone was helping him guide the way from his mind. His hands became more stable in holding the bow.
Sol then turned his gaze towards Elizia, who had now given a clear signal of firing. By now, she was only tens of meters away from the Springers. The young man turned and aimed towards the last Springer of the group.
That Springer's neck, although at first glance, was so small that it was almost invisible. Now however, there was something merged with it, the image of the 'red apple' in front of him, causing the heartbeat and breathing rhythm to naturally begin to adjust themselves. It was as if his subconscious was reacting according to the apple.
The original goal in his mind, was 'to try and shoot it as accurately as possible,' was now replaced with 'It will definitely be shot.' It was like a part of him was screaming that if he missed this shot his life would be perished. The young man began to draw the bow with even greater strength. and more stable than before.
Elizia, who felt that Sol was taking too much time, slightly turned to look at the young man with suspicion. In her mind, she thought that maybe Sol was reluctant to kill these Beasts because he was young, inexperienced, or something. However, it was only when she finally noticed the young man that Elizia understood that she was wrong.
At first glance, she could barely see him, but she finally saw the young man who had carefully concealed his killing intent, concentrating on the 'target' ahead.
And in the next second, the arrow flew forward swiftly and sharply. Piercing through an enormous amount of wind and charging accurately at its target. It wasn't the precision however that shocked Elizia and even Sol himself, but its power.
Because as soon as the arrow hit the middle of the neck of the Springer, Two-thirds of its neck was shot off. The life in its eyes was gone before its body fell onto the ground as red blood flowed unceasingly. The other Springers who had seen it immediately turned around to look at their friends with eyes that were as shocked and frightened as Elizia's.
'Is that really an arrow?'
She froze for a few seconds, then suddenly flicked off her absurd thoughts and dashed out of her cover. Using her swift movement and slim body, the Springer on the front, who was already puzzled by the situation, was immediately cut through its throat with her curved blade.
Two of the Springers were dead in less than a minute. The other Springers, who had come to their senses that they were now trapped and ambushed, immediately surrounded the girl, hoping to kill her to avenge the deaths of two of their friends.
Elizia wasn't weak and slow to let them surround her. She drew another dagger from her belt, holding weapons in both hands. She then escaped from the encirclement and slashed the daggers onto one of the Springer's necks as she ran.
Elizia's movements were extremely nimble and agile. Sol, who was watching from afar, smiled slightly. It feels like watching a cat run and jump around or something like that. He didn't waste any more time, however, and pulled up another arrow aiming at another Springer.
Elizia threw a dagger into the center of one of the Springer's stomachs and quickly slashed its neck with her sword once more. Now surrounded by the remaining two Springers, she did not have time to pick up the knife that was stuck in the belly of the dead one, so she used her sword to brush off the beast's claws in front of her and found another opportunity to attack.
At that moment, the wind from the woman's back direction was split open. Before the arrow dashed into the neck of the Springer in front of her so violently that a piece of meat was blown out with the blood that splashed onto Elizia's face a little.
Elizia backed away, dodging the Springer's attack behind her, then slashed violently down its belly and leaped upwards, slashing its throat once more. Inflicting a grievous wound on the beast before it fell on its stomach and let out a wail of pain.
The woman slowly put the sword back into its sheath before looking up at Sol while taking a few breaths. Her expression was both happy and puzzled at the same time as what had just happened recently. Sol however does not look much different.
"Bring down the equipment!"
Elizia shouted an order. Hearing that, Sol understood what she meant and glanced behind a nearby bush, where there were ropes and all sorts of devices for transporting the beasts back to the village alive. He then placed the bow on his shoulder before standing up and walking to pick up the equipment.
Just as the two of them were about to finish this 'hunting' task, however, something sounded beneath the ground causing the two to stop moving and turn to look at each other again. Before Elizia she quickly jumped out of her position and shouted out in disbelief.
"Frost Dragon!"
At that moment, the snow ground in the area suddenly erupted from the ground below, causing a large amount of snow to spread into the air and obscuring the vision of the area until nothing but white could be seen. And a shadow of something is rising and dragging Springer's remains into the underground.
Once the scattered snow had dissipated, everything was visible once again. Elizia stared ahead with her curved sword tightly in her hand. Seeing the monster in front of him, Sol immediately pulled out an arrow and aimed it.
It was a dragon without wings. Its scales were snow-white, on its back all the way to its tail, lined with large and sharp spines. Its eyes were blazing red, staring at Elizia, who stood prominently in front of it.
In addition to its formidable appearance, its body size was very large, about twenty meters. Or perhaps even more in his eyes. Sol could feel that it must be extremely dangerous, especially when he saw the fearful expression on the woman's face when she saw it.
Esdeath too had thought of sitting quietly watching at first, but when her eyes saw its form, she was shocked and frightened for the first time. The information she received about the Frost Dragon and what she saw in front of her right now was completely different.
'Is that really... a Frost Dragon?'
Esdeath hesitated to help the two of them escape from that one. Or will it be better to escape by yourself? But there is one thing she can be sure of. She definitely couldn't fight it.
Elizia, who was being watched by the monster in front of her, felt extremely difficult to breathe. She hadn't felt this way since the last time she experienced it several years ago. She was young then. Only four to five years old, However, she remembers this beast well. And remember exactly how many people it would take to get rid of one of them.
'How could this be... it was supposed to have gone extinct...!'
"…Don't shoot! If you shoot it now, we will all die!"
Elizia, who noticed that Sol was pulling the bow, immediately shouted to warn him. Her eyes were still fixed on the monster in front of her, who was making a sound in its throat as if it was threatening the humans. Sol, hearing the woman's words and seeing her raised hand freeze as a signal to him, slowly lowered the bow as she commanded.
The woman slowly put the curved sword back into its sheath, then slowly stepped back from the beast one step at a time. Finally, the distance between her and it was about twenty meters long.
That monster, who saw the gesture of the female human which does not seem threatening to it, then took its eyes out of her body to the Springers, who were mostly dead except for a few. before slowly raking them all into the crevices of the ground where they had sprung out before. as if stealing Sol's and Elizia's hunting trophies without caring about them.
Once the five Springers had been snatched by the Beast, it slowly stepped back and led itself deeper into the underground instead. Before a sound came from beneath the ground as if an earthquake was moving away from the area. There were no more signs of the beast in the area as if it never even existed in the first place, except for the large terrifying hole on the ground.
Once that giant beast had disappeared. The atmosphere in that area immediately returned to its original state. Elizia and Sol let out a sigh of relief that they no longer endured the pressuring atmosphere of the moment. Before the young man hurried to collect the belongings and ran to Elizia, who was kneeling and resting at the same spot.
It took some time for Sol to reach where he arrived and was met by Esdeath running towards them from the opposite direction. She seemed to have been running for a while as well. The young man guessed that Esdeath had seen the monster just now, similar to him. Esdeath was the first to speak. Not to him, however, but to Elicia, who was breathing heavily on the ground.
"Just now, what was that thing, Teacher... Is it the Frost Dragon?"
Sol, who heard the words 'Teacher' from Esdeath's mouth, had a slightly startled expression. However, like Esdeath, he put his doubts aside and waited eagerly for Elizia's answer.
Hearing the question, Elizia raised her head to look at Esdeath. Her expression was still shocked and unable to believe what she saw. Her eyes flickered at the cracks of ground that had been split over there in fear and spoke.
"That's not the Frost Dragon... That's Aspros Charos."
"The super-class Danger Beast that destroyed our Partas Clan ten years ago…"
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A/N:
Ironically, the translation was longer than the original text lmao.
For the Danger Beast that appears at the end of the story, at first I was going to use the other super-class Danger Beast that appeared in the story before, like Death Tagool, but thinking about it. I want to create a new one instead to satisfy my own author's fantasy, haha.
And In case you want to know why I add this thing in, it was partly because while I was researching Esdeath's background a few years back (while I was writing this) I found out that Esdeath's dad mentioned that her mom was weak and then said that she was killed by a Super-Class Danger Beast, which was basically the most dangerous living creature in the world and was used as an ingredient for most of the Teigu in the series.
It feels like saying someone was weak because they got killed by a dragon. It doesn't really scream 'weak' to me as most normal people in this world would probably not survive a dragon. So I added this thing in as a part of the plot to maybe dig on Esdeath's mother's background and what lead her dad to become the way he is now with his "strong lived, the weak dies" mindset.
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