A Witch That Is Good at Hunting

Chapter 21: Final Test (4)

“Lou Gehrig, behind you!”

“Uaaaaaagh!”

Clang-

Terrified, Lou Gehrig squeezed his eyes shut and swung his arms, trusting only his brother’s call.

Slash!

The twin axes crossed.

The worm demon with its grotesque teeth was cut clean in two.

Blood splattered onto the leaves. The noise stirred a massive creature nearby, and it rose to its feet.

“Ha… haah… jeez… hgh, ah!”

“Be quiet. Shut up. They keep coming because of your noise.”

“S-Sorry, brother…”

Ginter looked at the worm demon’s severed body and muttered in amazement.

“How did you swing without even looking and cut it so clean? That’s insane.”

“…”

Lou Gehrig lowered his head and sighed. He did not know why. Surrounded by demons everywhere, as soon as he gripped a weapon he somehow managed to bring them down.

Even back at training camp, his behavior had been something even instructors couldn't explain.

He had the instincts of a battle maniac, yet was a terrified coward.

“Phew…”

“This is the last one.”

“…Y-Yeah. I’ll focus.”

The brothers stood shoulder to shoulder.

Ginter twisted his wrist and the shaft of his spear extended with a sharp point.

Lou Gehrig grinned faintly as he fitted the twin axes together. Once he held a weapon, fear gave way to a sudden surge of confidence.

“First mosquitoes, then worms, now a deer. Disgusting.”

The demons charged, drawn by the smell of fresh human flesh.

They rushed forward, eager for a feast, but the humans who came here were trained hunters.

Even cowardly Lou Gehrig turned into a bloodthirsty killer once he held an axe. Training had been hell, transforming frail humans into hardened warriors.

A deer demon stomped its hooves, its pale body trembling with red eyes full of hunger. Every movement carried crushing weight.

The deer demon kicked off with its six legs.

Thud-thud-thud!

Crash!

It slammed into a tree, snapping the thick trunk like a twig.

But the brothers were already gone from that spot.

After a swift dodge came the chance to counterattack.

It was exactly the maneuver they had drilled countless times.

“Lou Gehrig! Cut the legs! I’ll finish it!”

“Uaghhhhhh! Here goes nothingggg!”

Lou Gehrig answered with a scream, already charging at the deer demon. The brothers moved as one.

Sliding across the ground, Lou Gehrig dove between the demon’s legs. The creature towered far above his height.

Whoosh!

Eyes shut tight, he swung with all his strength. His double axe carved a huge arc. With a tearing sound, blood sprayed out, and the deer lost balance and toppled sideways.

“Hyaaaahhh!”

Ginter hurled his spear with a shout. It flew like a scorpion’s stinger and pierced the deer demon’s throat.

The mechanism expanded on impact, firing barbed spikes.

The spearhead was coated with venom deadly to demons. The pale throat turned black within moments.

The deer demon’s breath soon stopped.

Whirr!

A wire reeled the spear back into Ginter’s hand.

He sighed in relief and walked toward the carcass. Lou Gehrig struggled to crawl free from beneath it.

Ginter reached out his hand and pulled his younger brother up.

“Well done, Maximilian.”

“…Huh? Oh, ahaha. You too, Hans.”

The brothers laughed, relaxed enough to joke around.

They had taken down a massive deer demon with only the two of them. Even in training, they had never faced anything that big.

Confidence bloomed. Whatever demon came, they were able to handle it. The frightened, frail brothers who had first arrived here no longer existed.

“This really isn’t so bad after all!”

“Brother… maybe… we really can get revenge.”

“Who knows. Maybe we’ve got real talent. Like the great hunter Vigo.”

“P-Perhaps…? Hehe.”

Smiling, they looked around at the battlefield. The traces of their struggle were everywhere. To the eye, it seemed as if a great fight had taken place.

‘This looks like the marks I saw at the training camp on the very first day.’

What once felt impossibly far away, the realm of superhumans, now seemed faintly within reach.

They had grown.

Revenge against the witch who slaughtered their parents and village no longer felt impossible.

―

‘Wait, what is this feeling?’

Suddenly, Ginter’s sharpened senses felt dread. Even the air felt colder.

Both raised their heads and stared into the dark where a strange presence lingered.

Sure enough, a hazy figure stood in the shadows, staring back at them.

Gulp.

Their own swallowing echoed in their ears in the darkness. The smell of blood clogged their noses, and demon cries still reverberated through the dense forest like echoes.

“…A person? Is it from Nike’s side?”

“No… that’s…”

“Hgh! A-Aaaaagh!”

Lou Gehrig screamed.

The figure vanished.

It reappeared at the edge of sight. When Lou Gehrig turned, a human face was right in front of him.

‘Her face…!’

Something was wrong.

She had a face, but no features. A woman with only the outline of a face. Was it hallucination? Delusion? He couldn't tell.

All he was able to do was squeeze his eyes shut in shock.

Blood boiled in his veins.

Soon after, he swung the twin axes with all his might.

Whoosh!

The blades cut the air.

He felt flesh and bone sever at his fingertips.

“I… killed-!”

He opened his eyes.

The woman was still there.

The axe was… not buried in the faceless woman’s neck.

“Kgh… kughh…”

The blade had struck elsewhere.

“Brother…?”

It was Ginter’s throat.

Looking closer, the woman’s neck was strangely distorted, shimmering like a heat haze.

The axe blade had disappeared near her throat and reappeared, buried in Ginter’s neck.

It was like a magician making an apple vanish from one box and appear in another.

Goosebumps ran down Lou Gehrig’s body.

This was not a trick.

It was reality.

Only one thing could twist reality this way.

Magic.

Which meant the being before them was a witch.

“Ru-…”

Ginter’s voice gurgled blood. Lou Gehrig slowly creaked and turned his head.

Half his axe blade was buried in his brother’s throat. Blood poured out in bursts.

Lou Gehrig dropped his axe, face ashen. Ginter clutched his brother’s face and forced out words.

“It’s danger…ous…  Ru…n.”

“B-Brother…?”

The faceless woman leaned closer to Ginter. Now that he saw it, it was not that her features were missing. Her face swirled like a vortex, hiding them.

Her chilling voice warped and echoed from all directions.

“False hunters…”

The face twisted, her voice lingering as her form blurred and disappeared.

It had all happened in an instant.

Ginter’s blood quickly cooled as well.

* * *

The dark forest was damp, suffocating, and heavy.

Ominous energy filled the air.

An ordinary person would lose their mind within ten minutes. It wasn’t just the demons but the crushing mental strain.

The trained hunters Nike and Tia, managed to endure.

Three days of their four-week training had been spent in total darkness like this, preparing for the worst.

Still, even preparation had limits. Wandering aimlessly in a demon-infested forest with no sense of direction tested their sanity.

Tia broke the silence first.

“…Are we even going the right way?”

“We are! Trust me!”

But something was wrong. No demons had appeared for a while now. By Hestia’s calculations, at least one should have shown up every twenty to thirty minutes.

Since killing that first demon, they had walked a very long time.

It was impossible to tell if it had been minutes, hours, or days.

If a demon appeared, they would at least know they were headed toward the center. More demons were supposed to spawn the deeper they went.

‘If fewer appear the deeper we go, maybe we’re on the wrong path.’

Her unease grew. Nike thumped his chest.

“Demons, scared!”

“…Scared of you?”

Nike grinned and nodded. It was baseless confidence.

“…Maybe.”

Ridiculous as it was, part of her almost believed it.

“Demons, slaughter!”

“…Yeah. It’d actually make me feel more at ease if we hunted a few more.”

Tia brushed her hair back with a sigh.

Nike’s spirit never seemed to tire. Sometimes she envied his empty-headed way of living.

It was then.

“A-Aaaaagh!”

A scream echoed from the darkness, directionless.

“Lou Gehrig?!”

“…What was that?”

They knew immediately it was his scream. They had heard that foolish cry countless times in four weeks.

Something was terribly wrong.

“Help!”

Nike motioned urgently, telling her they should go. But Tia grabbed his arm to hold him back.

“Nnnngh.”

“Our comrade is in danger!”

But Nike dragged her along with brute strength like a raging bull. He was like a hound going wild at the scent of prey.

He even looked ready to throw her over his shoulder and run. Tia thought to herself while being dragged along.  

‘I heard there are demons that mimic human voices... We should be more careful about this.’

But that scream just now sounded too real.

Could even the craftiest demon perfectly mimic the desperation of a human, and in the exact voice of their comrade?

And if it was a mimic, it meant the demon had already met Ginter and Lou Gehrig. Which meant they were alive long enough for it to hear them.

‘This isn’t good.’

It felt like nothing would change anyway if they continued to go on their original path, so she decided to follow Nike and look for the brothers.

“…Yeah, let’s go.”

“Emergency! This way!”

They ran together.

The scream had not come from far.

They sprinted endlessly, yet what should have been close never appeared.

“…”

“Gone!”

No matter how far they ran, there was no trace of Ginter or Lou Gehrig. Not even a single demon appeared either.

It was as if every living thing nearby had vanished in an instant.

“…This is strange.”

She couldn't deny it now.

Something was very wrong.

No, it had been wrong for a while.

Tia had only sensed it faintly, and Nike put it exactly into words.

He sniffed, frowned at the darkness, and spoke a single word.

“Spinning.”

“…Hmm? What did you say?”

“We’re circling. Same place.”

Tia bit her lip.

‘We’ve been looping this whole time?’

Looking carefully, the surroundings did look the same.

Scratch!

Tia marked a tree with her scythe, then ran again while dragging Nike, drawing a line in the dirt with a stick to keep direction.

They ran for a long time before stopping.

“…It’s true.”

“Spin!”

The same tree with her mark appeared again. There was no mistaking it.

“The line on the ground is straight too.”

They had run straight but returned to the same spot.

It was impossible unless the path itself was warped. It was a strange phenomenon.

Tia slumped to the ground and rubbed her face.

“Nike… I think we’ve been running in circles from the start.”

“Trick!”

Nike chuckled.

For him, this situation was fun.

It was like exploring an interesting maze. He had enjoyed labyrinth training the same way.

“Trap! Ambush! Prey appears!”

It almost felt as if his eyes glowed red as he bared his teeth in the dark in enjoyment.  

‘He almost feels like a different person like that.’