The Hunt

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

Natalia ran desperately, the scenery rushing past her. When a rock appeared in front of her, she leaped onto it, then sat down rather awkwardly. Blood dripped down her full breasts, from her collarbone to her chest; a gruesome gash had almost cleaved her right breast in two. A scar on her beautiful face, stretching from her lip to her jaw, both marred her overall beauty and added a touch of sharp, heroic spirit.

"Asshole!"

She unfastened the Leather Armor at her chest, glanced at her own breasts, and cursed, "That murderer! A madman!"

The knife wound almost reached her ribs; any deeper and it would have pierced her heart. She gritted her teeth, took out a silver needle, and stitched the wound shut. Then, she raised her hand and cast a faint glow, and the torn flesh began to Regeneration rapidly. On her back and arms, there were many tiny bloodstains. Her fair arms looked as if they had been cut by extremely fine threads, covered with dense bloodstains. A bloody gash was left on her full buttocks, seemingly pierced by some short weapon.

Natalia groaned in pain, quickly bandaged herself, and stood up again. Her tenacious Hit Points kept her fighting spirit intact. She glanced behind her with a hint of fear, then continued her escape. As if under some kind of Spell, she ran incredibly fast, leaping over minor obstacles, trees and rocks rushing past her. She didn't know how far she ran until her strength began to wane, at which point she finally stopped, exhausted. "Tsk tsk."

A sinister voice rang out, and a figure emerged from the hazy shadows. His face was obscured, only a pair of pale red pupils were visible. Enveloped in darkness, he stood beneath a towering, lush tree, toying with a small Throwing Dagger in his fingers. His voice, filled with amusement, said, "My dear Elder Sister, why didn't you run away?"

"Is that not enough?"

A flicker of terror crossed Natalia's alluring face. In an instant, she drew two swords from her waist. Her voice trembled slightly as she cried out, "Who's your Elder Sister! You pervert! Murderer! Madman!"

A figure gradually emerged from the darkness, possessing an uncannyly handsome face. His skin was extremely pale, as if he abhorred sunlight. He walked to a shady spot under a tree and sighed, "It seems you haven't fully awakened yet! What a pathetic talent! Has the divine blood your father left within you not yet granted you true power?"

Natalia watched her opponent with extreme vigilance, her hands gripping her twin swords trembling slightly. The previous battle had filled her with dread for the strange man before her, even though she was a near-fourth-tier Ranger and Bounty Hunter. She was no match for him; all her teammates had perished at his hands, despite having no prior conflict. What was even more terrifying was his unparalleled tracking ability. Bounty Hunter were already skilled trackers among Rogue, let alone a Ranger like herself, yet before him she felt like a plaything. She couldn't pinpoint his location, nor could she escape his pursuit.

"Yes! That's the expression."

A Evil smile curled at the corner of the eerie man's lips. Throwing Dagger flicked his wrist, and a bloody gash appeared on Natalia's alluring face. The Throwing Dagger returned to his hand in an instant. He stared at his prey with a malevolent gaze and slowly said, "That's right! This is the smell of fear!"

"You're afraid! You're terrified! My dear Elder Sister, can't you even wake up? What a pathetic talent!"...

Where is the power of your bloodline? Hasn't the Slaughter and fear awakened the latent power within your soul?

Trembling.

Natalia's body trembled slightly. As if unable to withstand the pressure from her opponent, she suddenly roared and lunged forward, her Longsword flashing with cold light, almost creating afterimages. The sword light struck her opponent, but it was as if the air itself distorted in an instant; his figure split into three, then merged back into one before the exhausted Natalia's eyes. A crimson light flickered in his eerie pupils. The man touched Natalia's forehead with his finger, and a strange light appeared. He uttered in a deep voice, "Abyss Cause Fear!"

Time seemed to freeze in that instant.

Natalia's face contorted with terror as she stared around in horror. As if she saw something far more horrifying, she trembled and cried out, "No! No! Go away! You hideous monsters! Demon!"

Her expression grew increasingly distorted. Suddenly, the fear in her heart seemed to reach a critical point. Natalia's pupils turned blood red, the Leather Armor on her back shattered in an instant, revealing her long, beautiful body. Strange tattoos appeared, her skin turned a dark blue, a pair of Demon horns appeared out of nowhere on her forehead, and a pair of bat wings about three meters long unfolded from her back. Natalia let out a shrill scream, the sound raging like a shockwave.

All the wild beasts within a radius of several kilometers that heard the sound fled in panic, running as if they were in a frenzy, as if there was some great fear behind them.

"Fear Aura!"

The eerie man revealed a pair of sharp fangs at the corners of his mouth, and a shadowy phantom appeared behind him. He sighed, "Finally awakened! My dear Elder Sister, your will to fight fear is truly tenacious, much stronger than your younger brother's."

"So!"

"The hunt should begin!"

A pair of black Dagger appeared in the hands of the eerie man. His figure vanished in an instant, and the next moment he appeared out of thin air. The Dagger sliced through the deep darkness and pierced directly into Natalia's heart.

Ding ding ding!

Natalia's twin swords blurred into a series of afterimages, her pupils still a blank, blood-red as she instinctively blocked the attack from behind.

"Such a powerful Combat Instinct!"

The eerie man landed, faint bloodstains on his arm. He licked the wounds with his tongue, as if savoring a supreme delicacy, and slowly said, "If you had awakened earlier, it would be hard to say who the hunter would be in this game!"

"Is that right?"

"My dear Elder Sister?"

Natalia's expression remained completely bewildered. She seemed somewhat lost, glancing at herself before looking at the man before her and slowly asking, "What are you? Why have I become like this?"

The man vanished into thin air. But his deep voice still echoed from all directions, playfully saying, "Who I am is unimportant! What matters is giving me the divine essence within you!"

A figure appeared in front of him. The Dagger blurred into a blur and pierced towards his heart.

Natalia parried the attack with her twin swords crossed, then a Whirlwind Dance swept through the air, revealing another shadowy figure. A malevolent light emanated from the Dagger that struck Natalia the instant it pierced her; her body stiffened, and she plummeted from mid-air as the Dagger twisted and shattered her heart. The eerie man gripped his Dagger and swung it horizontally, severing a beautiful head in a flash.

Strange rays of light appeared, resembling distorted phantoms.

Snap!

The eerie man landed softly, breathing as if in a trance. Invisible forces emanated from Natalia's corpse, gradually merging into his body. When the light faded, he coldly glanced at the body, then crushed Natalia's unseeing head with a single stomp. A dark flame appeared, and the headless corpse quickly turned to ash. He looked coldly at the ground and murmured, "So, who's the next target?"...

"High Priest."

"Why don't you know where my father's most beloved youngest daughter, my dearest sister [Fear Witch] - Lillian, is?"

His figure gradually disappeared into the shadows, vanishing without a trace.

White Horse City.

A row of candles burned in the spacious room, and various trinkets were arranged on the exquisite mahogany furniture. Vivian, dressed in a pure white nightgown, was flipping through a thick book. She turned the pages quickly, and after reading about a third of it, she put it down out of boredom, muttering to herself, "North customs are so strange!"

"My brother said he wants to go to the Land of Ice and Snow someday. The nobles there seem to be quite xenophobic, right? The books say it's very, very cold there, and Frost Giant live in many places. I wonder what Giant look like!"

"The mammoths they keep must be huge."

"I wonder if I can reach its knees. Riding such a big thing would definitely be awesome!"

The little girl put down her book and drifted off into thought. Then she pulled the soft velvet blanket over herself, curling her petite body up. She sniffed the air gently and murmured, "Although it's very soft and warm, it doesn't smell like my brother at all. I'm much more comfortable sleeping next to him."

Why hasn't Elder Sister Goria come to tell the story yet?

"Her story is told so slowly. When will the princess be captured by the dragon? Why don't I expect the knight to defeat the dragon at all, but I really hope to see the dragon capture the princess?" []

"Is my brother planning to leave? Elder Sister Goria is actually a very nice person. I'll definitely miss her after she leaves."

"What do Elf actually look like? Are their ears all pointy and cute?"

"The book says you shouldn't touch Elf's ears, it's a very special spot. But I think it'll be okay if I touch them, right? I'm so cute, if I ask a nice Elf Elder Sister to touch my ears, she won't hit me, will she? Hehe!"

Squeak.

The door was gently pushed open, Goria, dressed in a light blue nightgown, appeared like a beautiful Elf in the night. She wasn't wearing a veil in front of Vivian; her exquisite features were breathtaking. She sat down on the edge of the bed with light steps. She bent down to pick up the book Vivian had carelessly tossed aside, carefully folded a corner of the chapter she was reading, and then gently placed it on the bookshelf beside the bed, straightening up the books the little girl had scattered.