The Wisdom of Combat

Lumian focused all his attention.

Now that it was actually happening, he was less afraid than he had been moments earlier. His body still trembled a little, but at least he no longer felt as though he was about to fall apart.

I should have died five years ago. Thanks to Aurora, I've lived until now. I've already gained five extra years. What is there to be afraid of? Lumian gritted his teeth and gave himself a mental pep talk.

The next second, he saw the already dim light grow darker over the loose soil covering the first trap.

A figure had appeared beside it, blocking the scant light filtering through the thick fog high above.

It was the half-human, half-beast monster with the hunting gun on its back. Its blood-red eyes swept over the ground, and its forward-bending "knees" bent.

Barely a breath later, the monster, dressed in a dark jacket and muddy trousers, took down its hunting gun and sprang up. Keeping its jump low, it leaped straight over the trap and landed on solid, cracked ground.

Almost simultaneously, it turned its head, draped in greasy black hair, toward the source of a faint noise.

Then it saw Lumian, his face panicked, hurriedly getting up and trying to duck behind a wall.

With a low growl, the monster leaped high again and pounced on its target.

It aimed for a spot slightly farther out than Lumian's original position, lest he turn around and deliver a fatal blow before it could secure its footing.

Lumian scrambled out of sight behind the wall.

The instant the monster landed, the earth beneath its feet gave way as though unable to bear its weight.

With nothing to push off against, it fell with the dirt and rope net toward the bottom of the pit that had suddenly opened beneath it.

Thud!

The sound of something heavy hitting the ground echoed out, mixed with a noise like a rat's shriek.

Lumian, who had darted behind the wall, saw this and felt an overwhelming surge of joy.

The first step worked!

Most of his lingering fear vanished at once. He snatched up the steel pitchfork beside him and ran toward the trap.

The Skinless Monster's tenacious vitality had left a deep impression on him, and his current target also had a hunting gun. Rather than expose his body above the pit, he stopped a short distance away and thrust the steel pitchfork wildly into it.

Suddenly, the steel pitchfork grew heavy and stopped moving.

Immediately afterward, a powerful force traveled through the steel pitchfork to Lumian, dragging him toward the trap.

Caught off guard, Lumian was pulled a step forward.

Without stopping to inspect the bottom of the pit, he let go of the steel pitchfork, turned, and threw himself toward the side of the wall that was still standing.

Bang!

A heavy blow struck his back, as though a massive hammer had smashed into him.

Lumian felt blood rise in his throat, bringing with it a distinct taste of rust.

He hit the ground with a thud and lost his balance, rolling several times before regaining control of his body and scrambling to his feet.

Almost simultaneously, he saw the half-human, half-beast monster leap out of the pit.

It held the single-barreled hunting gun in its hands. Its jacket had torn across its chest and abdomen, exposing several hideous wounds that pierced straight through its body. Dark red blood mixed with pale yellow fluid streamed out, and various internal organs were faintly visible within.

Clearly, Lumian's trap had severely wounded the monster, but not enough to rob it of its ability to fight.

As it fell toward the bottom of the pit, it must have adjusted its posture in time to keep its head, chest, and other vital areas safe, while also avoiding serious damage to its arms and legs. Otherwise, it probably could not have jumped out of the trap.

The moment Lumian saw its condition, he ran into the ruined house beside him without hesitation.

This was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. He had planned for it beforehand.

After all, he was not certain whether the trap would catch the monster, or whether catching it would put it out of action outright.

If it did not, and the monster was merely badly wounded, Lumian intended to play hide-and-seek with it next.

In other words, he would use the terrain to evade his target and draw things out as long as possible, until it could no longer suppress its injuries and both its strength and reactions declined significantly.

Then his chance would come.

Bang!

Another gunshot rang out. Lead pellets struck the spot where Lumian had been standing, kicking up a little dirt.

Lumian ducked behind a half-collapsed wall but did not linger. On his hands and knees, he crawled through a gap in the rubble to the other side.

Before he could stand, he heard the rush of wind overhead.

The monster had jumped over.

Lumian immediately turned around and crawled back through the gap to the half-collapsed wall.

Like this, he took advantage of the many collapsed buildings, ducking out of sight, hiding, and circling around. He never confronted the monster directly, only evaded its attacks.

Hide-and-seek was one of Lumian's strengths.

Many times before, this very skill had spared him an immediate beating after one of his pranks.

As one chased and the other fled, one attacked and the other dodged, time slipped rapidly by. Lumian himself gradually grew breathless, while the monster's running speed, jumping height, strength, and reactions all noticeably declined.

Wait a little longer. A little longer. I still can't beat it as it is... Lumian hid in his earlier spot again, his back against the half-collapsed wall, and forced down the urge to counterattack immediately.

Crash! Pain struck his back again, and his whole body went flying forward.

Stones flew from the half-collapsed wall behind him as it crumbled completely.

This time, instead of going around to pursue him, the monster turned sideways and slammed hard into the obstacle blocking its path.

Under its full-force charge, the already tottering wall could hardly hold.

However, the impact also made the monster bleed more heavily, staining the ground dark red.

Although Lumian had not expected to be sent flying this way, his injuries were not serious, and he reacted quickly enough. Rolling with his momentum, he ducked behind the remains of a house reduced to a pile of stones.

Bang!

The hunting gun's shot followed a moment too late.

After knocking down the wall, the monster had taken much longer than before to recover its posture.

It felt the cloth pouch hanging at its waist. Finding no ammunition left, it simply discarded the hunting gun and hurled itself toward Lumian's position.

Lumian had already moved and continued their game of hide-and-seek.

Of course, he did not dare keep playing until its injuries overwhelmed it and it collapsed on its own. For one thing, he feared the monster would flee once its condition grew bad enough. For another, he feared that if he dragged things out too long, other monsters would follow the noise.

After circling around a few more times, Lumian keenly noticed that the monster seemed to be having trouble moving.

My chance!

An idea struck him, and he pretended to flee toward the side of a collapsed building.

Then he stood there, drew the axe tucked behind his back, and steadied his breathing.

In the blink of an eye, the monster rounded the corner and appeared before Lumian.

Lumian acted decisively. Before it could get a clear look at the situation, he charged toward it with his axe, without the slightest hesitation.

He took a long step, turned sideways, and lowered his shoulder, intending to use the body check his sister had taught him to knock the monster back, then follow through with an axe blow to its neck.

Thump!

Lumian slipped between the monster's arms and slammed hard into its chest.

But the result was nothing like he had expected. It was as though he had struck a thick wall. The monster would not budge!

What... Lumian's heart tightened. He used the rebound to throw himself toward the ground, trying to force his way out of its attack range.

Just then, one of the monster's hands shot out like lightning and clamped around his neck.

There was no sign whatsoever of any difficulty moving!

Damn it, I was tricked! Pain shot through Lumian's neck as the monster lifted him straight off the ground, leaving him dangling in midair.

A creaking sound followed, and his head rapidly grew dizzy.

The axe he swung in haste not only missed its target but was knocked aside.

Lumian finally understood that he had fallen for the monster's trick.

The monster truly was nearing the end, but it still had enough strength for one last fight. It had feigned weakness to lure him into attacking instead of hiding. He had underestimated its combat intelligence and never considered that possibility, leaving him struggling on the verge of death.

The monster really was close to its limit, too. It had failed to snap Lumian's neck outright, but that did not change the overall situation. It would merely take a little more time.

With his neck about to break and no air reaching his lungs, Lumian's mind began to go numb, almost blank.

Blank.

On the brink of death, Lumian suddenly remembered the lady's words:

She had told him to make use of what was special about him in this dream.

What's special... Taking advantage of his nearly blank mind, free of stray thoughts, Lumian quickly began Meditation.

The crimson sun instantly emerged in his mind.

Previously, when he had used Meditation to calm his emotions, he had dismissed the sun as soon as it fully formed. This time, he did everything he could to keep it there.

Soon, the voice that seemed to come from an infinitely distant height, yet also sounded right beside his ear, pierced Lumian's head.

Excruciating pain followed, accompanied by the terrifying sensation that his heart was about to leap out of his chest. It made Lumian forget that the monster still gripped his neck, that his bones were about to shatter, that he could no longer breathe, and that his brain was beginning to starve of oxygen.

With a thud, he fell to the ground.

His Meditation broke off, and the indescribably strange voice vanished.

Yet Lumian remained in such agony that he could not check his body or assess his surroundings.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally recovered from that sense of impending death.

Without stopping to examine his neck, Lumian braced his hands against the ground, lifted his head, and looked ahead.

The half-human, half-beast monster crouched a short distance away, its arms braced in front of it and its head hanging low.

Blood mixed with pale yellow fluid still dripped from the wounds piercing its chest and abdomen, and its body shook violently without pause.

What happened to it? Did that "special" thing I showed scare it senseless? As his thoughts returned, Lumian picked up the axe lying beside him and stepped closer.

Giving the monster no chance to recover, he gripped the axe with both hands and swung hard at the back of its neck.

With a wet thud, the axe sank deep into muscle and stopped against bone.

Lumian steeled himself, pulled the sharp axe free, and hacked down again.

Once, twice, three times. Amid a spray of fluid, the monster's head dropped to the ground with a thud and rolled aside.

Its body held itself up for another second before crashing down.

Throughout the entire process, it had offered no resistance, only trembled where it was.

The next second, Lumian bent forward, his hands hanging limply as blood continued to slide from the axe.

Huff, huff, huff. At last, he could breathe a sigh of relief.