In Terra, a Hunter and a Bad Woman

Turning her head to make sure the Puppy girl had hidden behind her, Maria looked back at the beastmen with their savage expressions.

"Though you still retain most of your human features... your behavior makes it difficult for me to consider you my kind."

Maria stood perfectly straight where she was. Whether her words were mocking or not, even she did not seem to know.

But without question, Maria's actions successfully enraged them.

Anger quickly appeared on their faces.

"You think you're so superior?!"

One fellow who still retained some reason began arguing with Maria, but his crazed expression was truly unpleasant to behold.

"I won't deny that I'm no longer human in many ways, but at the very least, I'm more 'human' than beasts like you."

Maria spoke calmly, her words filled with her attitude toward these beastified people.

These beastified... mad things could no longer be called human.

They were a pack of beasts!

Beasts that should be slaughtered!

Maria's condescending attitude swiftly angered them. Roaring, they raised their weapons and charged at Maria.

Yet Maria remained unhurried. She flicked up the fallen longsword with the tip of her foot, sent it into the air, then swept her right hand out and caught it.

Then...

"Whoosh—!"

A white flash of the blade streaked past. The two beastmen before her did not even have time to react before Maria sliced off their heads!

Four remained!

Without hesitation, Maria quickly closed in again.

The beastman in front of her tried to swing his weapon in resistance.

But Maria merely flicked her longsword!

"Clang!"

Sparks flew as the man's weapon was instantly knocked away!

Off-balance!

Seizing that instant, Maria decisively reached out.

Visceral Attack!

Thud!

Amid spraying flesh and blood, half their group had been completely killed by Maria!

This sight thoroughly terrified the remaining three.

They stood there blankly with their mouths agape, helpless expressions appearing on their faces.

This... how was this possible?

How could this woman be so fast?

Before they had even seen what happened, their brothers had already been cut down?!

What kind of monster was she?!

In an instant, coldness shot from the soles of their feet straight to their scalps.

Fear held them frozen in place.

Reason told them they should run immediately. As long as they ran fast enough, they still had a slim chance of surviving.

But unfortunately, hunger always drove people to make irrational choices.

The hunger gnawing at their bellies not only failed to make them fear their companions' deaths, but instead further stirred their crazed savagery!

Roaring, they charged Maria together!

No matter how powerful Maria was, could she kill all three of them at once?!

As long as one of them survived, the final victory would be theirs!

With that thought in mind, even after losing half their number, they still dared to attack Maria!

That surprised Maria somewhat, but then she lowered her head slightly.

Utterly foolish!

Maria could roughly guess what they were planning.

Trading wounds for wounds.

For most Hunters, apart from retreating and dodging, there truly would be no way to deal with that.

But...

Puppy Girl

Yharnam Hunters were special.

Unlike Hunters in the conventional sense, Hunters in Yharnam possessed an exceptionally unique ability.

Blood-for-Blood!

After the long assimilation of Blood Ministration, Yharnam Hunters could no longer be called human. No matter how gruesome their wounds were, they could use their weapons to strike back at their enemies, seize their blood, and repair themselves!

In other words, as long as Hunters could keep fighting, they could achieve results that would drive others to despair!

That was why Maria had no fear whatsoever of the three people before her trying to trade wounds for wounds!

Three enemies remained...

Maria took a deep breath and raised her weapon again.

Facing the enemies rushing at her, she wore a cold expression as she slowly assumed her stance...

Then...

"Whoosh—!"

Cold light flashed, and the blade pierced straight through one man in an instant!

Two remained!

Looking at the thugs closing in, Maria did not waver in the slightest. She turned and reached out again!

Visceral Attack!

In another exchange, Maria instantly cut down two more!

But... there was simply no time to turn and deal with the third man.

Facing the rusted iron blade speeding toward her, Maria narrowed her eyes and shifted slightly aside.

She intended to take the blow with her body!

Before her, the man who knew nothing of Maria's abilities showed an ugly, exhilarated expression.

He was going to win...

There was no doubt about it. He was about to win!

Crazed thoughts brewed in his mind, twisting his expression into something strange and grotesque.

The long blade was about to fall!

"Woof!"

At that moment, a Stone wrapped in a storm brushed past the side of Maria's head...

"Boom!"

The terrifying sound shook Maria's ears, making her dizzy for an instant.

The violent wind spun around her, scraping against her face with a stinging sensation.

And the one who had launched that attack...

Was the Puppy girl!

She had done that?

Maria was shocked, but the Puppy girl had not thought that much.

This white kindred had given her food. She was a good person.

These other people wanted to hurt the white kindred. They were bad people!

Help good people, beat bad people!

That was the entirety of the Puppy girl's thought process.

Not knowing that Maria possessed Blood-for-Blood, she instinctively did what she could to protect Maria.

She threw a Stone.

But in Maria's eyes, that incomparably clumsy act of throwing a Stone brought about a horrifying result.

In an instant, the Stone carried by the gale slammed into the man.

Then...

"Aah!!!!!"

In but an instant, the storm's power rushed entirely into the man's body, whirling and churning within him without end...

The man's scream lasted only a moment before abruptly stopping.

When she looked again, all that remained was a lump of bloody refuse on the ground, impossible to identify...

This Puppy...

"Woof..."

Completely out of proportion to the ability she had displayed was her timid appearance.

The Puppy girl clenched her hands tightly and looked fearfully at Maria.

Her round eyes were filled with unease and terror.

That gradually made Maria fall silent.

Without question, what the girl had thrown was merely an ordinary Stone... Maria could still recognize something as simple as that.

But... could an ordinary Stone unleash such power?

Obviously, it could not.

Yet this Puppy had accomplished it.

That meant...

"Does your body contain some kind of power I don't understand?"

Maria turned her head and looked down at her.

"...Woof!"

Under Maria's gaze, the Puppy girl instantly looked panicked, her body trembling as she backed away.

Seeing that frightened appearance, Maria froze for a moment before roughly understanding why.

"Did the way I fought just now scare you?"

Though Maria's movements had been decisive and sharp enough, not everyone could accept such a savage fighting style.

At least, for a little girl, she had truly never seen anyone directly tear an enemy's entrails out as an attack.

Perhaps, in the Puppy girl's eyes right now, Maria had already become a monster?

But...

"Rather than running away, you came closer to me?"

Looking at the trembling Puppy girl who still refused to run, Maria felt inexplicably gratified.