Apart from the two leaders, all the bandits were dead. Half an hour ago, my stomach had churned when I saw the bodies, but now I felt nothing. The only thing I felt was an unstoppable desire to chase down the two leaders and finish them off.
This had to be what they called the thrill of the hunt. Erebus and his killers were tracking the two leaders, and when I linked up with Erebus, I could see them.
The bandit leaders ran desperately, constantly tripping over things as the surrounding bushes scratched their bodies. They were both covered in small wounds, trickling thin blood.
Catching two grown men would be a bit of a challenge; one had seven points of speed, and the other had seven and a half. But catching them was not impossible, because they were running flat out.
They would collapse from exhaustion in ten or twenty minutes, but thanks to my buffs, I would have stats close to theirs, even if I could not move as fast as they did. My speed and strength buffs each gave me 1.8 stat points, while the stamina buff I had just developed doubled my stamina.
"Aspect of the Cat (Aspect of the Cat), Aspect of the Ox (Aspect of the Ox)."
As I raced like the wind through the trees and bushes, the thrill of the hunt grew within me with every passing moment, making my heart beat faster and faster. With every breath, I could feel each heartbeat as though it were coming through a loudspeaker.
I had run for about half an hour, but I did not feel tired. Aspect of the Ox (Aspect of the Ox) was a very powerful buff. The two bandit leaders were hiding beneath a tree, resting, utterly exhausted.
The effect of Promodynes (Find Animal) had ended, and I had about twenty mana left. I did not want to waste any more mana, since Erebus was keeping watch over them.
Since the connection between me and my familiars had strengthened, I could now passively sense their direction without spending any mana. As I approached the two thugs, my excitement began to spill over, and my heartbeat was almost deafening.
I was about a hundred meters away from them, and I could clearly smell their blood. This ability was a buff my new familiar, Berus, had given me. After I bonded with Berus, my sense of smell and hearing had improved greatly. I could almost see the faint scents, like smoke of different colors floating in the air, and my stats had increased too.
I now had five points of strength and 5.2 points of speed. The forest suddenly began to lose its color, and all I could see was red. A burning sensation covered my hands and face, as though they were on fire. Even this close to them, I could not control myself.
(Bandit's POV)
Today was a damned awful day. Yet it had started so well. We had successfully ambushed a wealthy caravan and seized a huge haul of loot.
What a wonderful slaughter it had been. I had been in complete control; I could still taste their terrified pleas for mercy. But four of my men had been shot dead by arrows in an instant, and the others had been crushed by enormous rocks.
I did not want to know what kind of creature had thrown those rocks. I was exhausted and could not take another step; I hoped it would not find us. I turned to look at my brother; he looked ready to pass out from exhaustion. I kicked his leg.
"Hey, you bastard, get up if you're not dead yet. We've rested enough. We have to go."
I had already thrown away my spear while running, because I no longer had the strength to carry a weapon. I felt in danger because I was unarmed.
Just as we got up, all the birds in the trees took flight together, squawking; the clamor filled the silence of the forest. This was not natural at all; something must have frightened the birds. I looked around, listening carefully for sounds from the bushes, but I could not even sense it coming.
It all happened in an instant. What I did not understand was that something suddenly leaped from a bush into a tree, then jumped over me from there and pounced on my brother. It resembled a human, yet at the same time bore no relation to one. This creature was something feral.
It disemboweled my brother and tore into his throat with its teeth, perhaps in less than a second. In my shock, I could not even accept the reality before my eyes. I could not comprehend the situation.
All I could do in the face of this was freeze in terror. My body would not obey me. I had always wondered why the women and merchants who died beneath my spear did not try to get up and run away, or pointlessly beg me to spare them. Could they not see that I was enjoying their fear?
So this was why. When someone was terrified, their body no longer obeyed them. I could only watch in silence as the creature tore my brother to pieces.
(Male lead's POV)
I thought I had blacked out. When I woke up, I was lying on a body that had been torn to pieces. My face and hands felt wet, and there was a metallic-tasting liquid in my mouth. When I raised my hands, what I saw were claws.
Had it happened again? Primaferus (Primal Savagery) had activated before I cast it. My face also felt very different. Carefully, I brought my clawed hand to my face, and what I felt was unbelievable. I had a long muzzle like a dog's or a wolf's, and a row of sharp teeth.
When I realized the liquid in my mouth was blood, it was not hard to understand what had happened to me, or what had happened to the corpse before me. Just then, I remembered that I had been chasing two people, and sensed a presence behind me. When I turned around, I saw a man who had been frightened out of his mind.
If I had not known what kind of sick bastard he was, I really would have pitied him. This was the first time in my life I had seen anything like this. The man's hair began to turn white with fear. He clamped his hands tightly over his mouth, afraid to make a sound, and his fingernails began to scratch the corners of his mouth.
When he saw me turn toward him, his eyes went wide, and he suddenly stopped breathing.
Awooo!!!
What could I do? He was staring at me with such terrified eyes that I couldn't help doing it. At my roar, the man screamed and struggled to escape. He barely managed to stand, ran a few steps, tripped, and fell to the ground. I quickly walked over to him and tore through his Achilles tendon with the claws of my right hand. As I made the cut, an unbelievable pain struck my right hand. Damn it, I think I broke my fingers; I must have used too much force while I was unconscious.